During the first recall of the Samsung Galaxy Note 7, I wrote about the unprofessional manner in which Samsung Hong Kong handled the situation. Here's a quickie recap: Samsung Hong Kong began selling their batch of Note 7s on the same day Samsung headquarters in Seoul announced a global halt of sales and recall of the Note 7 devices (September 2nd). The news broke in the afternoon, yet stores across Hong Kong continued to sell the device with no acknowledgement of the event. It wasn't until the next day did Samsung Hong Kong explain the situation via a vague Facebook post that essentially said, "our batches of Note 7s use a different battery, so they're unaffected."
Of course, that turned out to be false, as two days later Samsung Hong Kong announced that some 500 devices that had been sold in the city did, in fact, use the faulty battery. And now, with the Note 7 safety concerns getting so severe that Samsung has axed the device and ordered everyone in the world to return their devices... guess what? Samsung Hong Kong is still handling things in an inadequate manner.
Today, Samsung Hong Kong announced its Note 7 return policy -- after first saying earlier in the day it wouldn't be accepting returns -- and as I had feared, the program is full of absurd restrictions and red tape. In the U.S., Canada, Singapore, and UK, Note 7 owners are able to return their phones for a full refund regardless of any condition. You just have to bring the phone. Even if the phone is missing the stylus, it's fine, they'll take it. In Hong Kong? Samsung HK states customers must have the full package: original box, all included accessories, and original sales receipt. So if you purchased a Note 7 through official channels, but you've lost your receipt or have thrown away the box, you're out of luck. This is ridiculous, considering these phones are potentially dangerous and Samsung headquarters waxed so much poetic about "putting customer safety as our top priority."
What's more, all those accessories that Hong Kong customers purchased? Samsung Hong Kong will only offer refunds for them if you made the purchase at the same time as the phone, and they must all have original packaging. Who keeps the packaging of a $20 rubber phone case, or a $10 (overpriced) screen protector more than a month after purchase? And why limit it to only accessories purchased at the same time as the phone? So if I bought a Note 7 on Tuesday morning at an official Samsung store, and later that afternoon I returned to buy a Note 7 cover case, I can't get money back for the latter?
Then there are gifts, or in Hong Kong's case, the lack of them. Samsung messed up royally here with the Note 7, so it's not surprising that it's trying to make amends with customers in the form of small freebies. In the U.S., customers are getting a $25 coupon for their troubles. In Taiwan, the coupon is NT$3,000 ($94!). Hong Kong customers? We get zilch. Nothing. Nada.
In fact, reading the Facebook post from Samsung's Hong Kong team, you might get the impression that they're doing us all a favor, as if we are the ones causing all thess problems. As several people pointed out in the comment, Samsung Hong Kong's statement had a "take it or leave it" tone, and the word "sorry" or "apologize" didn't appear once. Looking at Samsung Singapore's Facebook page, and its posts are apologetic and there's a live person actively responding to customer queries. The difference is jarring.
Finally, I want to reiterate the point I made yesterday: Samsung, you need to open up your return program and let anyone with a Note 7 to return their phone, regardless of region. You can't keep spinning the PR talk of putting customer safety first, yet enforce so many rules and restrictions on returning a defective, potentially combustable, device. As it stands right now, Samsung Hong Kong won't accept my Note 7 because it was purchased in Singapore, nor will they accept returns from anyone who no longer have the device's original box (which is absurd). So what are we supposed to do? Keep the device with us and hope it doesn't start a fire?
