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Keith N
Sonos Staff
October 1, 2024
News

Our New Quality and Customer Experience Commitments

Related content:Sonos

Hi all,

We’ve been sharing app updates with you all over the last several months, and today we wanted to share commitments that we are announcing following our internal review of the app release in May of this year. In addition to all we have been doing to get you back to enjoying your Sonos products, these commitments will drive us to emerge from this with an even stronger commitment to quality. You can read highlights of the commitments below, and read more here: www.sonos.com/commitments.

 

To address the root causes of the problems of the app release, we commit to:

  • Unwavering focus on the customer experience. To deliver the highest level of customer experience, we will always establish ambitious quality benchmarks at the start of product development. We will not launch products until they meet these criteria. We will also enhance the tools needed to measure and maintain the standards our customers expect.
  • Increase the stringency of our pre-launch testing phases. Our beta testing program will include a broader range of customers and more diverse setups, helping us diagnose and resolve issues faster before going to market.
  • Demonstrate humility when introducing changes. In contrast to the all-at-once automated app release we issued in May, any major change to the Sonos app will be released gradually, allowing customers to adjust and provide feedback before it becomes the default. For new features smaller in scope, we will introduce an opt-in experimental features option in the app for customers who would like to participate in testing them.
  • Appoint a Quality Ombudsperson. This new role will ensure our employees have a clear path to escalate any concerns in terms of quality and customer experience. This person will be consulted by executive leadership throughout the development process and before any product launches. In this role, the ombudsperson will guarantee transparency and publish a report to management and employees twice per year, and will present regularly to the Sonos board of directors. 
     

In addition, we are also committing to the following to begin to regain your trust: 

  • Extend our home speaker warranties. To reflect our strong belief in the quality of our products, we will extend the manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year for all home theater and plug-in speaker products currently under warranty.
  • Relentlessly improve the app experience with regular software upgrades. We will continue to roll out updated mobile software versions every 2-4 weeks to optimize and enhance the app experience, even after the current issues are fully resolved.
  • Establish a Customer Advisory Board. We will form a Customer Advisory Board to ensure we never lose sight of our customers' voices. This board will provide feedback and insights from a customer perspective to help shape and improve our software and products before they are launched.

As a demonstration of the significance of these commitments, the Sonos Executive Leadership Team will not accept any annual bonus payout for the October 2024 - September 2025 fiscal year unless the company succeeds in improving the quality of the app experience and rebuilding customer trust.

 

If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Thanks for all of your support and patience the last several months - we’re excited to move forward and get you back to enjoying the quality that Sonos is known for.

Your Sonos team.

 

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    138 replies

    Trending Lyricist I
    October 18, 2024

    Thanks for additional info. I have a VERY large library (around 1TB), so for me it’s Plex (due to the memory restrictions those of us with large libraries ran into years ago … the first Sonos surprise). So I don’t really use streaming services, although I am releasing a record soon and it will be on streaming services, so I guess I need to open a couple of accounts. My system is currently stable and I’m able to enjoy music. I have some reservations about hitting that update button in the Windows Sonos app. I just don’t have the patience for that right now, and funny enough, I am an IT person, so I can handle most troubleshooting, but also, since I do that for a living, I like to limit that outside of work, if you know what I mean.

    Good luck on the app update.

    Avid Contributor II
    October 18, 2024

    ….. and yes - updated and worked for all of ten minutes when it all suddenly dropped out for no apparent reason. First world problems - but so mind numbingly tedious and frustrating. If I wasn’t so heavily invested I’d junk the lot.
    Good luck with your record release and making your upgrade decision. 

    Trending Lyricist I
    October 18, 2024

    Agreed, as to it being ‘first world problems’. But yes, incredibly frustrating to say the least. And same, I feel relatively invested and also am not keen on the idea of chucking the speakers into landfill and going with another system. I’d feel terrible to even gift these to someone, as it would lame for anyone to have to deal with the issues, etc.

    I think I’m going to hold out a bit longer on the update.

     

    Collaborator I
    October 21, 2024

    The “Leadership Team” should be fired.

    I have been 6 months without my stereo system in working order. The Sonos product that I once relied on has turned completely to crap since your update.

    Why would anyone on this forum believe you people?

    Why would an existing customer buy more stuff from you guys?

    These are existential questions, Sonos “Leadership Team”.

    Lyricist II
    October 22, 2024

    Hi all,

    We’ve been sharing app updates with you all over the last several months, and today we wanted to share commitments that we are announcing following our internal review of the app release in May of this year. In addition to all we have been doing to get you back to enjoying your Sonos products, these commitments will drive us to emerge from this with an even stronger commitment to quality. You can read highlights of the commitments below, and read more here: www.sonos.com/commitments.

     

    To address the root causes of the problems of the app release, we commit to:

    • Unwavering focus on the customer experience. To deliver the highest level of customer experience, we will always establish ambitious quality benchmarks at the start of product development. We will not launch products until they meet these criteria. We will also enhance the tools needed to measure and maintain the standards our customers expect.
    • Increase the stringency of our pre-launch testing phases. Our beta testing program will include a broader range of customers and more diverse setups, helping us diagnose and resolve issues faster before going to market.
    • Demonstrate humility when introducing changes. In contrast to the all-at-once automated app release we issued in May, any major change to the Sonos app will be released gradually, allowing customers to adjust and provide feedback before it becomes the default. For new features smaller in scope, we will introduce an opt-in experimental features option in the app for customers who would like to participate in testing them.
    • Appoint a Quality Ombudsperson. This new role will ensure our employees have a clear path to escalate any concerns in terms of quality and customer experience. This person will be consulted by executive leadership throughout the development process and before any product launches. In this role, the ombudsperson will guarantee transparency and publish a report to management and employees twice per year, and will present regularly to the Sonos board of directors. 
       

    In addition, we are also committing to the following to begin to regain your trust: 

    • Extend our home speaker warranties. To reflect our strong belief in the quality of our products, we will extend the manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year for all home theater and plug-in speaker products currently under warranty.
    • Relentlessly improve the app experience with regular software upgrades. We will continue to roll out updated mobile software versions every 2-4 weeks to optimize and enhance the app experience, even after the current issues are fully resolved.
    • Establish a Customer Advisory Board. We will form a Customer Advisory Board to ensure we never lose sight of our customers' voices. This board will provide feedback and insights from a customer perspective to help shape and improve our software and products before they are launched.

    As a demonstration of the significance of these commitments, the Sonos Executive Leadership Team will not accept any annual bonus payout for the October 2024 - September 2025 fiscal year unless the company succeeds in improving the quality of the app experience and rebuilding customer trust.

     

    If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Thanks for all of your support and patience the last several months - we’re excited to move forward and get you back to enjoying the quality that Sonos is known for.

    Your Sonos team.

     

    Baloney! I am returning $2,000 worth of Sonos equipment tomorrow because the app foes not work.  

    Trending Lyricist I
    October 22, 2024

    Totally had enough of this. All speakers that were on wifi have now dropped off the system. What a joke. 

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

    Lyricist II
    October 22, 2024

    In detail, Inhave restarted the Arc and Sub, the “smart” TV, the cable box, the Wifi modem and my iPhone 12Pro. I have the latest Sonos app update and am running iOS 17.7. (Technically 18 is not in full release.  I have disconnected and reconnected all the wiring including new HDMI cabled to the eArc outlet in the TV. I have sound from both the Arc and sub but it is not great. Trueplay has failed dozens of times. Try again? I have had enough  

     

     

     

    Trending Lyricist I
    October 22, 2024

    Ok so I used some naughty words in my last post but seriously, this is a joke! The previous app had none of these issues and yet here we are almost 6 months later and it’s worse than it ever was! How is this being allowed to continue? Is it even legal? I know we can sell the equipment but at a loss of course. Sonos should be offering to refund everyone who wants it at full value. This is totally nuts!

    Avid Contributor I
    October 23, 2024

    FYI  The new app has suddenly started emptying my content haphazardly, which means I have to labour to reload all my content such Plex, Mixcloud, Spotify, Radio etc.

    Lyricist I
    October 25, 2024

    Hi all,

    We’ve been sharing app updates with you all over the last several months, and today we wanted to share commitments that we are announcing following our internal review of the app release in May of this year. In addition to all we have been doing to get you back to enjoying your Sonos products, these commitments will drive us to emerge from this with an even stronger commitment to quality. You can read highlights of the commitments below, and read more here: www.sonos.com/commitments.

     

    To address the root causes of the problems of the app release, we commit to:

    • Unwavering focus on the customer experience. To deliver the highest level of customer experience, we will always establish ambitious quality benchmarks at the start of product development. We will not launch products until they meet these criteria. We will also enhance the tools needed to measure and maintain the standards our customers expect.
    • Increase the stringency of our pre-launch testing phases. Our beta testing program will include a broader range of customers and more diverse setups, helping us diagnose and resolve issues faster before going to market.
    • Demonstrate humility when introducing changes. In contrast to the all-at-once automated app release we issued in May, any major change to the Sonos app will be released gradually, allowing customers to adjust and provide feedback before it becomes the default. For new features smaller in scope, we will introduce an opt-in experimental features option in the app for customers who would like to participate in testing them.
    • Appoint a Quality Ombudsperson. This new role will ensure our employees have a clear path to escalate any concerns in terms of quality and customer experience. This person will be consulted by executive leadership throughout the development process and before any product launches. In this role, the ombudsperson will guarantee transparency and publish a report to management and employees twice per year, and will present regularly to the Sonos board of directors. 
       

    In addition, we are also committing to the following to begin to regain your trust: 

    • Extend our home speaker warranties. To reflect our strong belief in the quality of our products, we will extend the manufacturer’s warranty by an additional year for all home theater and plug-in speaker products currently under warranty.
    • Relentlessly improve the app experience with regular software upgrades. We will continue to roll out updated mobile software versions every 2-4 weeks to optimize and enhance the app experience, even after the current issues are fully resolved.
    • Establish a Customer Advisory Board. We will form a Customer Advisory Board to ensure we never lose sight of our customers' voices. This board will provide feedback and insights from a customer perspective to help shape and improve our software and products before they are launched.

    As a demonstration of the significance of these commitments, the Sonos Executive Leadership Team will not accept any annual bonus payout for the October 2024 - September 2025 fiscal year unless the company succeeds in improving the quality of the app experience and rebuilding customer trust.

     

    If you have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Thanks for all of your support and patience the last several months - we’re excited to move forward and get you back to enjoying the quality that Sonos is known for.

    Your Sonos team.

     

    not taking a bonus for one year? You really think that means anything to me? That is smoke and mirrors and adds nothing to help me made whole. Pathetic.