Speaker company Sonos unveiled a slew of new plans and commitments Tuesday in an effort to turn around the troubled audio company following a botched app relaunch in May that is still impacting the company.
The changes are mainly focused on creating new ways for employees and customers to raise concerns and rigorous beta testing. The seven commitments include: “an unwavering focus on customer experience, increasing the rigor of pre-launch testing, approaching change with humility, appointing a quality mediator, extending our home speaker warranties, continuous app development, and establishing a customer advisory board.”
Sonos’ senior leadership team also will not receive annual bonus payments for the October 2024 to September 2025 fiscal year unless the company “succeeds in improving the quality of the app’s experience and rebuilding customer trust.”
Sonos in May released a new version of its operating system that ended up causing tons of users to experience extreme problems with their wireless home speaker systems. Basic features within the app, such as setting speakers to a certain volume level or adding new devices, were missing or broken, according to user complaints. The manager of this company said when he spoke to investors in August that fixing the ongoing problems with the mobile application will cost the company about $20 million to $30 million. It also laid off 100 workers that month.
“We are working to ensure that we not only fix our mistakes but create a better Sonos experience for everyone,” the company wrote in a blog post on Tuesday.
Sonos said in terms of progress, most of the programs have started, while others will continue throughout the year. More than 80% of the features removed from the app have been restored, it said, and it is expected to reach 100% in the coming weeks.
“We are committed to making Sonos better than ever, and these commitments are just the beginning of that journey,” the company said.
There are ways around using the Sonos app, which can help antsy users who don’t want to wait for the company to release individual fixes. Apple users can rely on Airplay, for example, while Android users can work with AirMusic.
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