Enthusiast I

Sonos Company Ethicacy, Morality and Integrity Core Values?

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In the aftermath of the CR100 debacle it may be helpful to discuss the direction and methods taken by Sonos management to achieve their end goal of retiring the CR100 by force and the impact on and perception of customers future buying decisions

They still have not made it clear in any believable way why they forced this issue which leaves many people puzzled and angry at the rendering useless of their legally owned equipment.

Personally , this is a first for me . I have never owned a product previously that I have bought that has been rendered useless by the creators period,. Far less easy to swallow is the subterfuge of the battery non issue to cover an ulterior motive. This makes the company Sonos look untrustworthy at best . If you have a reason for doing this , spit it out and let people know. I believe that I, as the purchaser gets to decide when it is time to retire my own possession. I have a belief that quality equipment that was sold as a quality product to prospective buyers should be subject to end of life decision only by the buyer and no one else.

I struggle with the management decisions taken that force me to re-evaluate my investment in their goods within my home.
Prior to the CR100 execution , I viewed my home audio system as an asset to my home , something that simply worked and worked well with minimal intervention required from me which is pretty much what I expect from audio equipment . Now I view the lifespan of this investment as something which looks like is beyond my control even if the equipment is still functioning regardless of my desire to maintain that .

The support aspect of this situation where Sonos staff went into hiding and avoided direct questions from concerned customers has to go down as a low point in any companies record in dealing with their best ambassadors.

These are just a few points that caused me to raise this topic for discussion regarding the ethicacy and morality and integrity of the current Sonos operation...any one of the the issues I have listed above would make Sonos or any other company ineligible for consideration for future investment either in business or in domestic life for this individual.

What do others think....? Please keep the thread social.

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K

Kumar

Anyway, Apple is one of the more heavy-handed companies in regards to OS upgrades but even it has enough foresight to support at least a previous version as well the current one.

Isn't the CR100 a lot older than "at least a previous version"? As far as I know, it hasn't been sold by Sonos for at least five years now, and closer to ten.

A

Amgwanagitbuti

Anyway, Apple is one of the more heavy-handed companies in regards to OS upgrades but even it has enough foresight to support at least a previous version as well the current one.

Isn't the CR100 a lot older than "at least a previous version"? As far as I know, it hasn't been sold by Sonos for at least five years now, and closer to ten.I'm talking about OS support (although older machines, like mine, can run macOS Sierra, the previous version). Similarly, Sonos could release a CR100-compatible 8.4 build and continue developing features onto their latest build.

T

TJRL

Renowned Enthusiast II

Anyway, Apple is one of the more heavy-handed companies in regards to OS upgrades but even it has enough foresight to support at least a previous version as well the current one.

Isn't the CR100 a lot older than "at least a previous version"? As far as I know, it hasn't been sold by Sonos for at least five years now, and closer to ten.

This thread is NOT meant to be about the CR100, it is about the Ethics, Morals and the Integrity of a companies Core Values as displayed by their actions.

In Sonos's case we can look back over a number of years and with the benefit of hindsight look at what has happened, the reasons given at the time and actual results that can be seen years later. This cannot be done just a few weeks after an event.

7x CR100, 2x CR200, 5x SP100, 1x ZP80, 7x ZP100, 1x iPod Dock, 1x Boost, 4x Play 1, 3x Play 3, 2x Play 5, 1x PlayBar & 1x Sub.

W

wds0001

Prodigy I

This is not meant to be a jab, as I am fairly new to SONOS. I have been avidly following post for the past few months. If not about the CR100, what other moral/ethical issues is this thread about? I am genuinely curious.

Chris

Lead Maestro

I haven’t a clue wds0001. I just figured this thread was way for CR100 guys to get more attention.

I mean you have some devices that eventually won’t work on Sonos because of iOS or android updates. But that’s kinda out of Sonos hands and they have allowed some older versions to still run when they are able in limited modes (no settings options). I just think with less being Sonos controller in app and more direct streaming from native apps (which I’m not really fan of but does help a lot of people) .. Sonos becomes less and less able to support older operating systems.

I’m not sure why that is an ethical question through. I’m surprised how Sonos still supports fully the original ZP devices. They seem to have a track record better then most at keeping even their oldest devices current.

Respect the Queue (2)Move (3)Beam (1) Era100 (2)ARC (1)SonosOne (1)Playbar (4)Play5 (4)Play1 (3)Play3 (1)Port (2)Connect (1) Roam (2) Ace (1)Connect:Amp (4)Sonos Amp (1)Sub + (9) Echo + Smartthings; (2)Play)

jgatie

This thread is NOT meant to be about the CR100, it is about the Ethics, Morals and the Integrity of a companies Core Values as displayed by their actions.

In Sonos's case we can look back over a number of years and with the benefit of hindsight look at what has happened, the reasons given at the time and actual results that can be seen years later. This cannot be done just a few weeks after an event.

Can you elaborate on "what has happened" in the past that has been enlightened when you "look back over a number of years and with the benefit of hindsight"? Also what incidents have there been that "reasons given" were at odds with "results that can be seen years later"? Specifics, facts, actual incidents; no speculation please.

K

kjmmAuthor

Enthusiast I

Take away ALL the streaming add-ons they put into the unit and it would STILL be a controller for the base system and for people hosting their own files on their own network.

Good point, but not doing this, IMO, does not make Sonos immoral. Did they lie in this case - I can't say, I haven't tracked the CR100 subject. I don't see them doing anything very different from other makes, is the only point I am making.

IMO also by the way, all the controller upgrades they do is just a lot of noise with little forward motion. Take away a few things like Trueplay and I would say no forward motion for all the upgrade noise and heat since the time I have had Sonos from 2011. Fortunately, my upgrade process is robust, so this is just a minor irritant for me.

Now if my two Connect Amps were to ever be bricked in the coming years by Sonos.......

Kumars last sentence in this post highlights one of the issues that I see exists with the operating policy of a company, any company, forget that it is Sonos for moment for the purpose of looking at the decisions made and outcomes of actions by a management team in the consumer market.
Regardless of the product whether electronics or mechanical or any other consumer item , when is it right for the manufacturer to decide lifespan?
When I bought Sonos in 2005 , no one considered lifespan as determined by the manufacturer in the buying decision.
Fast forward 2018 now it appears that I have to do this according to some beliefs. This is something I am deeply uncomfortable with. I transitioned from being a completely happy customer who like a lot of other people happily recommended a product. That changed completely when that company disabled my product. The change for me is that because of that action forced on me I would never consider buying another product from the same company . That is a moral position that I take because I have beliefs regarding how people and businesses should behave.
I started the thread to try to understand the decisions that were made by Sonos management in the aftermath of the CR100 retiral and what led them to try to manage that particular situation in they way that they did. There are fundamental values at the core of doing business with anyone and for me the values have been violated.
I am still none the wiser as to the real reasons behind the retiral , the subterfuge of the battery issue , and the overall handling of the issue which can really only be described as inept , makes me distrust the company, that is a natural reaction.
If anything it should be of interest to Sonos or any other company to examine why a previously very happy customer has gone from being an advocate to someone who will never buy another product.
I have a large number of ZP'S hard wired into multiple properties and am very concerned that they get euthanised also , that is not something that I thought when I bought into the systems that I would ever have to worry about......

Now if my many ZP'S were ever to be bricked in the coming years by Sonos.....

jgatie

If the ZP units were bricked by Sonos, wouldn't the majority of people be satisfied with the fact there is a modern day equivalent they could use their voucher to buy? After all, I kept reading in the CR100 thread that if they offered a modern hard button controller that was, sturdy, waterproof, and had other features like the CR100, then people wouldn't be upset and would be lining up to buy them.

Chris

Lead Maestro

I buy very little I expect will last me over 10 years.

Respect the Queue (2)Move (3)Beam (1) Era100 (2)ARC (1)SonosOne (1)Playbar (4)Play5 (4)Play1 (3)Play3 (1)Port (2)Connect (1) Roam (2) Ace (1)Connect:Amp (4)Sonos Amp (1)Sub + (9) Echo + Smartthings; (2)Play)

S

Sononos_fan

Enthusiast II

I buy very little I expect will last me over 10 years.

Why am I not the least surprised that you and jgatee would be ok with this. I bet you would even thank them for the voucher and opportunity to spend more money as you both pretty much argued in the other thread. Religious devotion. Laying the ground work for brickening #2 are we? :8

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