Essential Apologizes For Huge Privacy Blunder

[DroidModderX]

Essential just can't seem to get things right. They announced what seemed to be another me to flagship device which ended up actually getting quite a bit of hype thanks to the company's CEO being none other than Andy Rubin the co-founder of the Android Operating System. His new device was one of the first to feature the now very popular minimized bezel display. It would also offer a sort of modularity feature with various accessories. Folks were allowed to register to pre-order the device. Later those who registered were able to pre-order and it was promised the devices would ship soon. Shipment for devices was delayed, and every subsequent deadline to ship was missed. In the meantime many other high end devices have been announced, and most of those who pre-ordered the Essential don't have the phone in hand.

To make things worse some users were denied the ability to even cancel their order. The only option for them so far seems to be to have Essential charge their card, ship the phone, and deny shipment for a refund. As if all of this were not enough earlier today an email from "Essential's" email handle was sent to those who pre-ordered asking for further identification including alternate email, phone number, and a copy of a photo ID. This almost seemed like a phishing scam. This whole fiasco resulted in personal information from 70 customers being shared with a small group of other customers.

Essential CEO Andry Rubin has already responded to the blunder. He had this to say:

One of the most important jobs of a founder is to recognize when things aren’t going quite right, and make the necessary decisions and take action to correct them before customers are impacted. Founders are often faced with thousands of micro-decisions daily to keep their companies laser-focused on delivering products into the right markets at precisely the right time.

Yesterday, we made an error in our customer care function that resulted in personal information from approximately 70 customers being shared with a small group of other customers. We have disabled the misconfigured account and have taken steps internally to add safeguards against this happening again in the future. We sincerely apologize for our error and will be offering the impacted customers one year of LifeLock. We will also continue to invest more in our infrastructure and customer care, which will only be more important as we grow.

Being a founder in an intensely competitive business means you occasionally have to eat crow. It’s humiliating, it doesn’t taste good, and often, it’s a humbling experience. As Essential’s founder and CEO, I’m personally responsible for this error and will try my best to not repeat it.


I remain heartened and motivated by the groundswell of support that Essential has experienced since unveiling the company on May 30th. We continue to believe deeply in our vision and the innovation we are bringing to life via our Home, Phone and 360 Camera products. I humbly thank our customers and channel partners for your patience and understanding as we proceed with the launch of our first products.

This is a brand new company. Of course there will be growing pains. Is this acceptable? Are you so interested in the Essential phone that you would be willing to overlook all these mishaps? Let us know your thoughts below.

 

[me just sayin]

not being able to cancel the order is just plain wrong. I think I would report the card lost or stolen and get a new number. this way they could not charge me if I could not cancel.

with the hassle,they could be cutting their own throats when it comes to future sales.

 

[hammerhead13]

At that Point Im Calling my Bank. Thats not right!

 

[bkdodger]

It's not the only company that won't let you cancel order once placed.. I've come across it previously with same results... Deny delivery or accept delivery and return... That said I'm already seeing reviews on the phone might be good to pass on this one...

Sent using Tapatalk

 

[hammerhead13]

I waiting to pull trigger on Note8. Waiting for others to be Released (iPhone, v30, etc) for better promo.

 

[PereDroid]

So glad I didn't wait for this phone....

 

[tech_head]

Not being able to cancel and order is nothing new.
If the order is already pulled on the floor at a third party and being stacked in a pallet, no way to stop.
They aren't going to sort through each one every time that they get a cancellation.
This is automated pick and pull folks.
You get the same results, with Amazon, Apple, etc.
There is a point of no return.

 

[xeene]

Amazon let's you cancel order anytime till it ships and all it takes 4-5 clicks. Go to orders, select which item, click on reason and hit cancel.

But back to this phone, knew it was a dud since the first leak on Twitter appeared. All this money and they couldn't figure out aesthetics of it. Could have consulted me, I don't charge much!

 

[me just sayin]

you are right, nobody wants to go through pallets of boxes but they are scanned at pickup and cancels can be easily weeded out.

 

[oldman_58]

I think it's worth the wait. It is after all a Start up having expected glitches. Just because Andy Rubin is at the helm does not mean he has a magic wand... Seems Android is still experiencing growing pains of sorts. Be patient things will work out.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

[me just sayin]

I think it's worth the wait. It is after all a Start up having expected glitches. Just because Andy Rubin is at the helm does not mean he has a magic wand... Seems Android is still experiencing growing pains of sorts. Be patient things will work out.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

maybe it will be worth the wait but usually it would be better to wait for the 2nd generation and hope the kinks are worked out by then.