In the wake of the Karma debacle, action cam experts turned drone experimenters, GoPro, are offering customers a free GoPro HERO5 Black as part of the ongoing massive recall process.
Currently all customers who bought the potentially defective Karma are being urged to return their purchase as soon as possible. This follows multiple reports of the drone falling out of the sky due to an unknown mechanical issue. Interestingly, this recall request is asking buyers to give back not just the problem drone itself, but for those who bought it as a bundle, their GoPro HERO5 too. In return, GoPro has promised that on return of Karma purchases in their entirety, it will issue a complete refund of cost and send out a HERO5 Black.
The official Q&A on the GoPro site states: “All components included with the Karma drone bundle, including HERO5 Black and Karma Grip, must be returned for a full refund. Once your complete return has been processed and refund issued we will send you a HERO5 Black as a thank you. ”
Karma will undoubtedly be known as the heartbreak tech tale of 2016. A prestige product designed to bring GoPro back to its halcyon days of the early 2000s, the drone has been mired in difficulty since day one; From constant delays causing concern among investors, followed by a grand reveal being quickly overshadowed by DJI’s Mavic, to the series of worsening mechanical issues that led to this recall.
Examining this move, it’s easy to recognise it as an obvious attempt by the California-based company to retain goodwill with its customer base and recoup a loss in reputation for this unmitigated disaster. Now, though grand and most certainly generous, the gesture unfortunately also smacks of desperation. HERO5 was planned to be GoPro’s big sales product for the holiday season, bolstered up by the smaller batch of Karma sales. On top of lost drone revenue, the company will now miss out on holiday sales, traditionally a peak selling season for any technology company. This follows on from a woeful financial report in 2016’s third quarter. Unless things can be turned around rapidly, Christmas at GoPro is likely to be far from cheerful.
Source: DigitalRev
