Please Trust Me

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about controversy inviting attention.  However, it does not always lead to success.  That is why I refrained from using the phrase “All publicity is good publicity.”  Curiosity is strong but curiosity knows its boundaries too.  The wolf is next to a dead body.  I might take my chances.  The wolf killed the guy right in front of my eyes.  I’m gonna run away and not try.

It is the same when you look at footage of a Samsung Galaxy Note 7 exploding.  There is nothing left to interpretations.  People have different taste buds, sort of.  People can interpret a scene as gay or not gay, kind of.  However, a phone blowing up when you put it to your face is not up for debate.  Nobody wants that!

That’s why Samsung has been having a tough time.  I mean there’s always risk of using a phone, electrocution and radiation and whatnot.  However, the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 took the brunt of all the frustrations directed at phones.  It was the trend to make fun of it and it was the trend to hate it.  It became the scapegoat.  It broke the cardinal rule.  You never ever lose your customers’ trust.  You may lose their interest temporarily but you cannot lose their trust.  Or else, it’s a long way back.

But given Samsung’s big name, they are not going down without a fight.  This year on April 28, they are releasing their Galaxy S8.  People were skeptical and cynical, as they should be.  There was no way a serial flyer didn’t come across the announcement “Please do not board the aircraft with a Samsung Galaxy Note 7.  Please discard of it before boarding the plane.” in the past year.

However, one feature piqued everyone’s interest.  Samsung was creating its own Siri.  This one was called Bixby.  They released videos and everyone bought into it.  It was almost like no phones ever exploded before.  General shoppers are that forgetful, especially when they think in a large group.  You do something to get on their good side again, you’re alright.

So, all is well with the world again, until April 19 2017, a mere 9 days before its official release.  The New Daily article titled “Samsung to Release Galaxy S8 Without Key Feature” reported that Galaxy S8 will no longer have Bixby.  Cue large groups of devotees suddenly turning against the company.

To be fair, this isn’t the first time a company has backtracked on promises.  Back in 2012, Motorola didn’t update its operating system much to the fury of online forums.  However, Samsung is the world’s largest smartphone maker.  We expect more to be frank.  Pre-orders for the new Samsung model exceeded more than a million in the opening two weeks and since then, it has still garnered more than 50,000 new pre-orders a day.

Will that momentum stop abruptly?  It seems like it.  In the article above, University of Technology Sydney technology adviser Rob Livingstone described the bad news as a marketing nightmare.  I can’t think of a better way to say it.  You are trying to regain trust after unwittingly setting off pocket grenades in the past but now you are giving the customers less than what they paid for.

Even more embarrassing for Samsung, they have to resort to their rival product Google Assistant.  That’s like moving back in with your parents after claiming that you found the person of your dreams, only for that person to walk out on you as you carried your luggage into your supposed new home.

The only way all of this goes away is if the phone works well without Bixby.  Reviews have been written about the Galaxy S8 and they have been positive so far.  If those reviews stay positive and as long as no phones explode this time around, they’ll be fine.  But one more strike, and the wolf has found its next prey.