Strum Drum Messages: 229 Registered: November 2017
Master
Sonos accidentally shipped extra speakers to their customers - and charged their credit cards for the trouble. It was a mistake with their online ordering system. Some people were sent multiple orders and charged thousands of dollars. It's quite the mix-up. Sonos has handled it terribly. If the customer wants their money back, they need to ship the speakers back to the company. I don't think that's surprising, but what is shocking is how aggressive their customer service agents have been about it. Apparently, some customers were warned that if everything wasn't in pristine condition or anything got damaged during shipment, then they wouldn't receive a full refund - on speakers that they never ordered in the first place. Is this just a PR flop, or is their customer service usually pretty terrible? Is anyone here dealing with this debacle?
I've heard about that. Didn't they send one guy like $15,000 worth of extra speakers?
That's a heavy credit card charge. I wouldn't be happy with that, especially if I had to pay interest on that total before Sonos could refund my money. If I were them, I think I'd offer a 50% discount on the extra items. It would save them shipping fees, it would move merchandise, it would be good for PR, and it would prevent the expensive gear from possibly getting damaged during the return process. It's not like Sonos can sell them as "new" anymore.
Strum Drum Messages: 229 Registered: November 2017
Master
Sonos never offered a discount or did anything to rectify the situation, other than paying for return shipping, which was the bare minimum expectation in my book. However, the situation was covered by media companies like The Verge, which basically forced Sonos' hand. Sonos can't force the customers to return those extra speakers and remain compliant with the FTC. The agency rule is that, "You never have to pay for things you get but didn't order. You also don't have to return unordered merchandise. You're legally entitled to keep it as a free gift." Sonos finally admitted as much. I think this rule came about after Columbia House began sending merchandise to people, then demanding payment for it. I personally wouldn't feel comfortable keeping the extras, and I bet most people will return them, but Sonos sure has behaved badly.
I think most folks will return them, too. I'm glad I heard about this mishap. I like Sonos speakers and headphones, but I'll buy them from Amazon or Best Buy with better customer service.