Sonos CEO Vows Reforms Following App Release 'Failure'; Leaders to Forgo Bonuses
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence and other leaders to forgo bonuses following app release issues. Sonos addressing app problems with regular updates and enhanced testing. Company implementing reforms including extended warranties and customer advisory board.
In an exclusive interview with Reuters, CEO Patrick Spence admitted to errors surrounding the app release, which serves as a central hub for music playback and speaker control. Spence, along with seven other company leaders, have agreed to forgo their bonuses for the past fiscal year and potentially the upcoming one, pending certain performance targets.
Acknowledging the misstep, Spence took responsibility, stating, “This is obviously a failure of Sonos, but it starts with me in terms of where it started.” He emphasised the commitment to learning from the incident to enhance the Sonos experience moving forward. Following the flawed release, users encountered difficulties in performing essential functions like accessing music libraries, setting timers, and even downloading the app itself. Sonos has been diligently updating the app every two weeks and is now over 80% towards a complete overhaul.
Since the app incident, Sonos and Spence have been actively engaging with their user base of approximately 15 million. The company has issued apologies, explored reinstating the previous app, rolled out updates, and Spence even participated in a Reddit Q&A session with disgruntled customers. Spence attributed the app's issues to inadequate testing and a rushed deployment of multiple features simultaneously, referring to it as a “big bang roll out.”
To address the fallout, Sonos has extended speaker warranties, committed to enhanced app testing, pledged regular upgrades, and appointed a quality ombudsperson to oversee tech developments and conduct biannual audits. Additionally, a customer advisory board is in the works to provide feedback on necessary improvements before wide release. Despite the setbacks, Sonos reported a 6% increase in third-quarter sales to US$397.1 million and turned a profit of US$3.7 million, a significant improvement from the previous year's loss of US$23.6 million.
Spence reassured that there are no further job cuts planned and mentioned ongoing efforts to establish new performance metrics for leaders to earn bonuses, with details to be disclosed in a securities filing. Spence, who received US$5.19 million in total compensation in fiscal 2023, opted for a modest US$72,000 cash bonus. He affirmed the company's unwavering commitment to improvement, stating, “We're not going to relent on this until we're satisfied.”
Sonos CEO Patrick Spence and other leaders to forgo bonuses following app release issues.
Sonos addressing app problems with regular updates and enhanced testing.
Company implementing reforms including extended warranties and customer advisory board.
Source: REUTERS