There are so many companies all over the world, with so much invested in not only the way they operate, but also the way that we, as consumers, go about our lives. Even the smallest things that these companies do has an effect on the way that we buy things, talk about a certain device, or skip over a product altogether. However, what may be more of a driving factor for some consumers is when a company just doesn’t do anything at all – or acts after the fact, and doesn’t seem to do enough. There seems to be a veil over companies, keeping them from having to come clean on certain events, and there just has to be a point where that comes to an end.
Truth be told, there’s no specific reason why a company would have to come forward and acknowledge something is such a way. After all, in today’s world the rumor mill will usually take care of that eventually. But, until the topic is silenced by time, these companies are doing absolutely nothing to talk to the consumer, and let them know what’s going on. One way or another, it’s up to the general public to discern from the information they’ve gathered what’s going on, and in some (if not most) cases that’s just a bunch of rumors that don’t amount to anything.
Most recently, Verizon was hit by a 4G outage that went across the United States, and blacked out the LTE-activated areas. While the outage didn’t last as long as it could have, it still upset quite a few people, leaving their recently acquired HTC ThunderBolt unable to access the faster data speeds, and one of the reasons they purchased the phone (if they’re in a 4G area, of course). And since the outage, Verizon has remained quiet on the topic, deciding against telling customers why it happened. They did confirm that there was a problem, but the issues remain a mystery.
Compounding the situation was the subsequent delay of a highly anticipated device: the Samsung Droid Charge. With its high-end specifications, the Droid Charge was a 4G-enabled device that many were looking forward to getting their hands on. However, rumors suggest that due to the 4G outage, Verizon had no choice but to delay the device. And, as of this writing, there’s still no updated official release date for the handset. There are rumors, but that doesn’t count for much without an official confirmation. Verizon hasn’t informed anyone in the public as to why the Droid Charge was delayed, just leaving it up in the wind for people to figure out on their own, or (perhaps more accurately) to just forget about it.
Some may argue that for the most part, the general public doesn’t need or care about this type of thing. That, given the choice, this sort of haze over general information would be kept intact. That’s possibly true, and for the most part I would agree with that. And I would also say that a company obviously doesn’t have to come forward and announce every little thing that happens, especially when it doesn’t affect the general consumer at all. But, when we’re dealing with a product like the Droid Charge, and Verizon’s 4G LTE network, then these things directly affect customers and they should know what’s going on. No matter how fast you fix the problem, people should know what’s going on.
Do you think companies aren’t as transparent or up-front as they should be? Or do you think this is something that doesn’t need to change? Let me know in the comments below what you think.
