Enthusiast I

Don't accept this app!

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Dear Community,

Many Sonos customers are angry and unhappy at what Sonos has done in releasing a new app which removes a vast amount of functionality, much of it basic stuff, with just the promise that it will be re-added over forthcoming releases. I personally feel that Sonos has treated its customers with derision, and I’m angry and unhappy that this new app was released in such a poor state of development.

I have pursued my complaint, asking that the old app is made available again to iOS users whilst the new app is developed to an acceptable level which includes the last functionality.

I am asking the community to back this by:

Call customer service and demand that your complaint is escalated to the highest level. Don’t accept the “standard” reply that the 1st line customer reps have been given to respond to you … that the functionality will be added over forthcoming releases. Insist it is this is not acceptable and ask for your complaint to be escalated. Unfortunately, it can take over an hour to get your call answered due to the obvious popularity of the new app… but don’t allow call queue to put you off.

Email the CEO at ceo@sonos.com. Yes there is a “form” response which you may get, but every complaint to the CEO is given a number internally.

The line I have taken is that “the product has become unfit for purpose as key features have been suddenly and unexpectedly removed, making the purpose for which it was purchased unachievable.” I have adopted this wording following a brief exploration of the potential for legal action should Sonos insist we wait for the functionality to be restored. You may use this or adopt your own approach, but remember calls are recorder (assuming you permit).

Do nothing and you are accepting that Sonos can ride rough-shod over its community.

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.

J

Johnprogers

Lyricist III

Email sent!

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A

amdyhouAuthor

Enthusiast I

Thank you JP…

C’mon community… show the strength of the community! Call. Email.

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G

George Parr

Trending Lyricist I

Not sure about the functionalities that were removed, but the new app is just bad. Plain as that.

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Asgorath

Chromatic Producer I

I fully support this!
The new app lacks functionality, is badly designed, not user friendly and seems to favor using a single react-code base that is more ‘cost efficient’ to develop for over actual basic user needs. Sonos seems to have forgotten how much it also is a software company.

This app feels like it was designed and developed by first year IT students who ran out of time. Its a virtual crime against the user base in more ways then can be expressed in one post.
And this comes from someone who has been in the IT and UX industry for over 20 years. It breaks basic golden UX/UI designrules a first year should know. And thats without even mentioning the lack of the most basic functionality. This is not even an MVP. Its at most a prototype.. one that would be murdered in any user testing..

roll back the old app.. go back to the board and come back with this once its at least somewhat functioning...

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T

Tbq22

Email sent, thanks for the suggestion. Pasting it in below.

I've been a loyal Sonos customer and evangelist since the mid-aughts, but that ended yesterday when I was force upgraded to the latest version of the Sonos app. The new version of your app is an embarrassment to Sonos and an insult to your customers. I am shocked anyone at the company considered it worthy of release.

Simply put, you have removed some of the most basic functions that made customers such as I buy your hardware in the first place. Most egregiously: we can no longer search our local libraries, edit our queues, or even simply add more songs to what's currently playing. I cannot imagine any rationale that would lead a company to believe that degrading the user experience in this way is necessary -- especially without offering customers any way to roll back to a previous version of the app.

In addition to being a (formerly) satisfied customer, I've been a product manager and executive focused on music tech at companies such as Rhapsody, RealNetworks and Google, so I feel I have some relevant experience when I state that releasing this app, in this manner, is product development malpractice. I'd fire anyone on my staff who recommended releasing an app in a state like this, and then would likely resign in shame at the realization I'd created an environment where anyone on that staff could ever think such a course of action were permissible.

Please roll the app back until it can once again support the most basic music queuing actions that the kinds of music fans who spend thousands of dollars on stereo components consider fundamental requirements of any streaming system.

And consider apologizing to your customers, as well. I have never seen a disaster quite this inexplicable in 25 years in this business.

Thank you for listening.

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C

cokkinos

Lyricist III

Expecting an Upgrade

Receiving a Downgrade

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A

amdyhouAuthor

Enthusiast I

Email sent, thanks for the suggestion. Pasting it in below.

I've been a loyal Sonos customer and evangelist since the mid-aughts, but that ended yesterday when I was force upgraded to the latest version of the Sonos app. The new version of your app is an embarrassment to Sonos and an insult to your customers. I am shocked anyone at the company considered it worthy of release.

Simply put, you have removed some of the most basic functions that made customers such as I buy your hardware in the first place. Most egregiously: we can no longer search our local libraries, edit our queues, or even simply add more songs to what's currently playing. I cannot imagine any rationale that would lead a company to believe that degrading the user experience in this way is necessary -- especially without offering customers any way to roll back to a previous version of the app.

In addition to being a (formerly) satisfied customer, I've been a product manager and executive focused on music tech at companies such as Rhapsody, RealNetworks and Google, so I feel I have some relevant experience when I state that releasing this app, in this manner, is product development malpractice. I'd fire anyone on my staff who recommended releasing an app in a state like this, and then would likely resign in shame at the realization I'd created an environment where anyone on that staff could ever think such a course of action were permissible.

Please roll the app back until it can once again support the most basic music queuing actions that the kinds of music fans who spend thousands of dollars on stereo components consider fundamental requirements of any streaming system.

And consider apologizing to your customers, as well. I have never seen a disaster quite this inexplicable in 25 years in this business.

Thank you for listening.

Total agree. Don’t be treated like this. Email the CEO at ceo@sonos.com.

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A

amdyhouAuthor

Enthusiast I

ceo@sonos.com

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A

amdyhouAuthor

Enthusiast I

Email sent, thanks for the suggestion. Pasting it in below.

I've been a loyal Sonos customer and evangelist since the mid-aughts, but that ended yesterday when I was force upgraded to the latest version of the Sonos app. The new version of your app is an embarrassment to Sonos and an insult to your customers. I am shocked anyone at the company considered it worthy of release.

Simply put, you have removed some of the most basic functions that made customers such as I buy your hardware in the first place. Most egregiously: we can no longer search our local libraries, edit our queues, or even simply add more songs to what's currently playing. I cannot imagine any rationale that would lead a company to believe that degrading the user experience in this way is necessary -- especially without offering customers any way to roll back to a previous version of the app.

In addition to being a (formerly) satisfied customer, I've been a product manager and executive focused on music tech at companies such as Rhapsody, RealNetworks and Google, so I feel I have some relevant experience when I state that releasing this app, in this manner, is product development malpractice. I'd fire anyone on my staff who recommended releasing an app in a state like this, and then would likely resign in shame at the realization I'd created an environment where anyone on that staff could ever think such a course of action were permissible.

Please roll the app back until it can once again support the most basic music queuing actions that the kinds of music fans who spend thousands of dollars on stereo components consider fundamental requirements of any streaming system.

And consider apologizing to your customers, as well. I have never seen a disaster quite this inexplicable in 25 years in this business.

Thank you for listening.

Total agree. Don’t be treated like this. Email the CEO at ceo@sonos.com.

Re-reading this response from Tbq22 I realise it is very well put. Really does sum up things well. I too have work in quality control of software (even writing a specification adopted by large organisations and a government) so the response resonated perfectly with me. Thank you for emailing the CEO Tbq22. Others should do the same! It doesn’t matter of you don’t get anything back. Add to the numbers of complainants.

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Asgorath

Chromatic Producer I

I wrote yesterday and today got a reply from support with a story this ** is needed due to a changing streaming landscape. They really are not taking this serious or do not know how to respond anymore. Double irony is of course the old app worked better with streaming services then the new one..

*Moderator Note: Modified in accordance with the Community Code of Conduct.*

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