With factories cranking out hundreds of millions of electronic devices every year, things are bound to go wrong every once in a while. That’s why companies offer warranties. Stories of smartphones catching fire or batteries exploding are not new and one would expect companies to know how to deal with such issues by now. Replacing the unit, especially when it’s under warranty, and investigating the issue to hopefully prevent such events in the future should be the least we can expect. Samsung Canada decided to take a slightly different approach with a Galaxy S4 that caught fire while charging and has, rather than resolving the issue, stepped into a public relations nightmare.
The story started with a YouTube video posted by GhostlyRich showing his damaged Galaxy S4. The smell of something burning woke him up one night. He found his Samsung Galaxy S4 burning where he had left it to charge overnight. He was fortunately able to unplug it but not before the charging port and surrounding area were damaged. He posted a video of the damaged phone, apparently in response to Samsung asking for proof.
So, what did Samsung Canada do then? It sent GhostlyRich a letter saying that it would exchange the smartphone but only if the YouTube video was pulled down and he refrained from making any further statements or videos about this burned Galaxy S4 incident. Needless to say, GhostlyRich was less than impressed and rather than agreeing to Samsung’s conditions, has gone public with the matter, posting Samsung’s letter on PasteBin and recording a second YouTube video expressing his feelings.
GhostlyRich‘s original burned Galaxy S4 video is now nearing the 100,000 view mark and the second video has passed the 430,000 view mark. Instead of quietly addressing the issue, Samsung Canada has turned it into at least a minor Internet sensation and given itself a PR black eye.
No company wants to see its name associated with quality issues. But they happen and the way to deal with them is not to try to bury them and hope that they’ll simply go away. This strategy may have worked in the past but the Internet and social media have completely changed that. If GhostlyRich has a legitimate claim (we’ve seen instances where they are not), Samsung Canada would have been better to simply acknowledge it and address it in a fair manner.