Samsung has come up with a special upgrade plan for select Korean customers who exchanged their Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone units. As a customer retention program, the tech company is offering its upcoming Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and S8 units to eligible consumers.
After the massive recall of Samsung Galaxy Note 7 phone devices, the South Korean conglomerate is looking to retain its customers with a special mobile phone unit upgrade program. In a statement released on Oct. 24, Monday, obtained by Reuters, Samsung announced that eligible Korean customers can participate in the said trade-in program.
Korean Note 7 phone users who will trade in their units for a Samsung Galaxy 7 (S7) smartphone can opt to get either a Samsung Galaxy 8 (S8) or a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 when the said units are released next year. However, interested customers will need to pay for the S7 replacement at half its original price, according to the company's announcement. The S7 discounted purchase is a required step for customers to avail of the free S8 or Note 8 upgrade in the coming year.
At this time it is still unclear if the said upgrade promotion will be offered in other countries. The deployment of a similar upgrade plan will be "dependent on the situation in each country," as indicated in the report.
The company has also had to step up advertising and marketing activities for its other Galaxy S product line due to the Note 7's safety issues. Critics and market analysts have shared that Samsung may need to come up with other retention rewards and incentives to affected consumers as a way to protect its customer-base.
In other news, another Samsung Galaxy phone exploded but not a Note 7 unit. An employee working at one of the U.S.' big wireless carriers shared an incident where a customer handed in a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge smartphone that exploded.
In an email sent to Phone Arena, the employee recounted the customer's S7 Edge experience whose phone got damaged after charging it overnight with an OEM charger. The said customer only had the said unit for two weeks after having received it in exchange for a Note 7 phone.
Samsung has yet to comment on the latest S7 Edge smartphone explosion incident. Meanwhile, learn more about the Note 8 in the clip below:
