Sonos Recommits to Software Quality and Customer Experience Following Disastrous App Release

Sonos on Tuesday announced that it is “recommitting to quality and Customer experience” renewing a focus on software quality and customer experience. The announcement was accompanied by a video from Sonos CEO Patrick Spence, as the company is attempting to bounce back from its recent app release fiasco. (Why do they always wear a dark t-shirt for videos like this?)

Sonos says that it is going to fix its app problems, while also building a better Sonos experience. Sonos made seven pledges:

• Unwavering focus on 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.
• Increasing the Stringency of Pre-Launch Testing: 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.
• Approaching Change with Humility: 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. We will also provide customers the ability to opt in to test new features.
• Appointing a Quality Ombudsperson: We are creating a new role: Quality Ombudsperson. This person will ensure employees have a clear path to raise concerns regarding quality and customer experience. The ombudsperson will report directly to executive leadership, publish reports twice a year, and present regularly to the Sonos board of directors.
• Extending 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.
• Relentless App Improvement: 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.
• Establishing 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.

Sonos says that its Executive Leadership Team will not accept any bonuses for the October 2024 to September 2025 fiscal year unless Sonos is able to fix the app’s issues and rebuild customer trust.

Sonos says more than 80% of the app’s missing features have been reintroduced and the company expects to bring that percentage up to 100% in the coming weeks. (Bonuses are a powerful incentive, no?)

In September, we reported that while developing the app, Sonos made some cost cutting measures, which included laying off some employees, which also led to internal restructuring, which the report says “caused chaos,” as it split up teams that had worked together for years. As the app’s launch deadline neared, employees are said to have “forcefully” urged company executives to delay the app’s launch because it was far from being ready for prime time.

Former Sonos employees claimed that instead of ensuring that equipment owned by longtime Sonos customers continued to work properly, the company instead focuses on keeping investors happy and attracting new customers. Many employees were afraid to push back harder, due to fears that they would be terminated.

The app, which launched in May, was riddled with bugs and lacked many key features from the previous app, leading to a large outcry from Sonos customers. Sonos has since focused most of its corporate efforts on fixing the app and restoring goodwill from customers.

Sonos expects to miss its annual revenue target by a cool $200 million or so.