Desperate to restore their damaged brand reputation, Sonos is now having a crack at trying to snare new customers with the roll out of words instead of measurable actions, after thousands of existing Sonos speaker owners ditched the brand this year, following their disastrous app roll out which nobbled Sonos products including both speakers and headphones.
Some observers are claiming that the actions of Sonos management this year will become a business school case for what not to do with their latest exercise in PR spin also being questioned.
In a blog post overnight , Sonos CEO Patrick Spence who several investors are claiming should be sacked, admits that the firm’s app update “fell short” of usual standards for an update. Insiders are claiming that a “woke” culture at the Company and executives allowed to work from home during the development stages contributed to the disaster.
Now Spence is claiming that in the future the business will deliver better “software quality”, he also claims that owners of a Sonos product will get a customer experience.
This is the same guy who led a Company that was quite happy nobbling perfectly good speakers in an effort to force customers into new speakers running a new Sonos operating system.
He also claims the business will deliver an “unwavering commitment focus on customer experience”, more stringent pre-release testing and “approaching change with humility”, which includes gradual app changes rather than a radical overhaul.
Some claim this is 101 business practises that Sonos failed to implement in the past.
The problem is that in Australia and the rest of the world repercussions are still being felt, retailers have lost sales and are also having to confront the wrath of angry Sonos customers, many of them who purchased a speaker in the months prior to the disastrous app roll out only to discover that their Sonos speaker would not work as sold.
Ther metrics around the overnight announcements scream desperation with the business spelling out seven “commitments,” ranging from business platitudes like “unwavering focus on the customer experience” and “demonstrate humility when introducing changes” to more concrete solutions like extending warranties and the appointment of a “quality ombudsperson.”
Some observers are already questioning the Companies latest moves such as “relentlessly improve the app experience with regular software upgrades” as being difficult — if not impossible — to quantify.
Tech Crunch claimed that ‘If you drill down a bit further, you begin seeing actual metrics like, “We will roll out updated mobile software versions every 2-4 weeks to optimize and enhance the software experience, even once this issue is resolved.”
Three actionable items jump out from the list. The first is the appointment of an “ombudsperson.” This individual will effectively serve as a liaison between fellow employees and management.
They will take employee concerns to executives during the development process, present to the board of directors, and product a twice-yearly transparency report.
As for re-earning trust, Sonos says it is working to establish a “Customer Advisory Board,” wherein its user base can provide feedback to “help shape and improve our software and products before they are launched.”
And get this as a token of good faith, the company is extending the manufacturer warranty on home theatre products and speakers currently under warranty by an additional year.
This is after most customers not being able to get full use or even connectivity for the last six months.
Sonos claims “Many of these initiatives are already underway and others will be implemented through the remainder of the year.”
After losing millions in sales due to the incompetence of Sonos management Spence is now claiming that the Company has axed executive bonus payouts between October 2024 and September 2025, “unless the company succeeds in improving the quality of the app experience and rebuilding customer trust.”
He is not saying whether any of the management team got pay rises recently to compensate for the lack of bonuses.
Sonos states that more than 80% of the features removed from the app have been restored, with “almost 100%” arriving in coming weeks.
“Our priority since its release has been — and continues to be — fixing the app,” CEO Patrick Spence concluded.
The app disaster was first discovered in May 2024 after being rolled out to its entire customer base.
Spence describes the disaster as a “Misstep”.
Others are claiming that the Sonos brand is already dead in the water with the likes of Bose, Denon and JBL picking up former Sono’s customers.
