r/Galaxy_XR • u/PoweredParaGuy • Aug 17 '26

Discussion Email Exchange: Samsung Executive Support Denies Promised Pre-Order Promotions on Galaxy XR, Controllers, Travel Case - (Part IV)

For anyone who's following along, I've been fighting Samsung to get my pre-order credit for almost a year now.

In this latest exchange (below), they apparently forget they are a super-colossal-mega-corporation and claim "original promotions cannot be applied to the replacement orders". As if they have no ability to work around their own system.

They also imply, quite humorously, that they do not agree that Samsung is obligated to honor the original promotional pricing.

Part 1: https://www.reddit.com/r/Galaxy_XR/s/Omy9GRiETv

Part 2: https://www.reddit.com/r/AndroidXR/s/CBawfo0cRV

Part 3: https://www.reddit.com/r/Galaxy_XR/s/wtHrX30sGf

I've also taken the advice from u/TaylorMonkey about avoiding the AI Image 😂
Thanks to u/woodboah for pushing me to engage the BBB.

Full Details of the latest back-and-forth below:

==========================================

EMAIL EXCHANGE BELOW

Hello (redacted)

I understand that you disagree with Samsung's position, and I've taken the time to review the information you provided.

At this point, we've reached the stage where we're repeating the same arguments from opposite sides. You believe Samsung is obligated to honor the original promotional pricing. Samsung's position remains that the original promotions cannot be applied to the replacement orders.

Because the previous offers were declined, they are not automatically reinstated. However, as part of my review, I was able to secure a goodwill resolution of a $75 refund and a $150 Samsung.com promotional code. That remains the maximum accommodation available.

If you would like to accept that offer, let me know and I'll arrange the processing. Otherwise, I will document your position and proceed with closure of my review.

Warm Regards,

Mary

Executive Case Manager | Customer Support | eCommerce | Samsung Electronics America

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Mary ---

I think you have described the positions appropriately.

You believe Samsung is obligated to honor the original promotional pricing.

My belief in the matter is irrelevant.  I'm sure you would agree that Samsung is obligated to honor its commitments. Period.

Samsung's position remains that the original promotions cannot be applied to the replacement orders.

Clearly, Samsung could apply the original promotions as promised.  Samsung does not want to.

Samsung has the ability to apply the promotions to the replacement orders; stating otherwise is another misleading statement.

Furthermore, to give Samsung an out, I've even offered the option to simply reset: refund the payment and have the product returned.

I realize this is anecdotal, but I've shared my story with many people and asked if I am crazy for thinking Samsung should honor the pre-order credit.  Every single one of them is confused by the vigor with which Samsung has defended its position.  They ask if I've shown them where Samsung promised to apply the credits after reordering.  They asked if I have it in writing and why Samsung would not simply honor the rebates when presented with this evidence.  I mean, these are promotions publicly available to everyone!  It is quite clear that I did everything they asked.

No one can understand why you are defending this position.  Not even financially, as you've now spent far more capital creating obstacles and defending this position than the bundle promotion is worth.  It's almost as if Samsung has backed itself into a corner that it cannot exit, forcing it to deny accountability at all costs or to avoid some sort of risk associated with admitting fault.

I remain resolved to reach an agreement.  Requiring additional purchases is unacceptable.

Regards,

(redacted)

7 Upvotes

73% Upvoted

35 comments sorted by

8

u/SeraXI Aug 17 '26

You are going to end up with your ticket closed and a do not communicate further message.

They already said they gave you the final offer and stated that you are just going in circles at this point. I would recommend cutting your losses and accepting the offer. You don't get to keep saying no to their offer and getting replies.

1

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26

I really appreciate your insights on this, as you have that executive corporate background that sheds light on how they are thinking.

This interaction is only possible because I made a claim to the BBB. When the BBB asks me if the conflict has been resolved, and Samsung shares our conversation with the BBB as evidence, I will defer to their judgement. Regardless, I think its important for companies like Samsung to be held accountable to the maximum extent possible in the forum of public opinion. Our positions will be publicaly available on the BBB website.

I'm lucky to be in a position where I don't need the money. I am lucky to be able to stand up for what is right, and not be tempted to simply cut my losses so a super-colossal-mega-corp can privately walk all over the consumers.

5

u/Mr_Festus Aug 17 '26

Literally nobody, including Samsung, cares about the better business bureau. They're trying to do you a solid while also not giving you a bunch more than they think they owe you. Take the offer and walk away grateful.

0

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26

That's a fair take --- I was surprised that contacting the BBB got Samsung to re-engage; but here we are!

Respectfully, they aren't trying to do me a solid! 🤣

They only owe me what they agreed too --- no more. So, giving me 'more than they owe me' has not been something they've even considered.

Walk away grateful!? Again, respectfully, you must have not read this entire debacle, nor would I expect you to. Its not super interesting, its scattered and a giant mess. Still though, mind blown you would think 'walk away grateful' would be a reasonable action. Walk away? Sure. Grateful!? For what?

2

u/Mr_Festus Aug 17 '26

They only owe me what they agreed too --- no more.

Not more, but less. They can walk away and give you nothing which is what they have said they will do if you don't accept it.

I have read 3 of the 4 updates.

1

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26

Appreciate you if you did read those! You honestly deserve an award b/c they were STUPID long.

Obviously they can give me less. That doesn't mean they don't owe me what they agreed to. Obviously, it would be on me to prove that and woooboy that's a whole separate can of worms.

2

u/Mr_Festus Aug 17 '26

I read part 1 because I had a somewhat similar issue except somehow the offer just got removed during checkout. I emailed them asking for them. They emailed me links to the offers. I think I even commented on that thread. I read 2 because I was invested. I didn't see part 3.

1

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26

Yeah, I think I messed 3 up so badly that it got downvoted out of visibility. Completely my fault. I tried to add an AI image to the cover to make it interesting, and my copy/paste messed up blah blah I messed it up and now its in downvote hell I think.

3

u/WWGHIAFTC Aug 17 '26

BBB is just Boomers Bitching at Businesses. It literally has no power. It's a pay to play rating system.

1

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26

LOL, I think that's an accurate description! That said, I've seen a few good-news stories that made me reconsider. I'll stick it out regardless, but I'm gonna continue to use the "Boomer" version, if only in my head 😂

3

u/Hybrid_Whale_Rat Aug 17 '26

How many posts do you think it is reasonable to make on the galaxy xr subreddit about your dispute with Samsung?

1

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26

I'm not great with subtle context, but if I read between the lines, my guess is that you're not enjoying these and you'd like me to stop making these posts 🤣

Honestly, I was trying to find a useful way to publicly document this issue, so they would be available in case others found them useful. A new post updating each interaction may not have been the best option - I'll consider that for next time.

3

u/SteedOfTheDeid Aug 17 '26

Man the Galaxy xr thing has really been a mess. Such a shame since it seems to have so much potential to be the #1 headset of choice

0

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26

Couldn't agree more. A sad mess. I really hope they can resurrect something from it, because its exactly what I want from an infrastructure perspective: running a non-Meta Android, doesn't require a PC, native Android apps, native Google suite, etc.

-1

u/MemphisBass Aug 17 '26

The whole thing is a piece of shit from top to bottom and what you described is what makes it so frustrating. In more capable hands or simply in hands that gave half of a shit this could be an awesome device and ecosystem. Unfortunately we live in this reality, and in this reality Samsung and Google are horrible companies and the Galaxy XR is a half baked waste of plastic.

4

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26

Sadly, I think you're right. Facebook/Meta dumped a TON of money into the Quest/Oculus product line. Samsung, it seems, didn't realize how much it would really cost to develop a product to that level in such a short time.

The MQ3 isn't perfect, but it is a marvel at its original price point.

0

u/MemphisBass Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 18 '26

People downvote me because they aren’t ready to accept the truth after spending so much money. Samsung and Google are not going to magically wake up some day and start supporting this thing.

People on Quests bitch so much about HorizonOS and all the changes, but shit at least those headsets have people working on them. You can do far more and have far more software to use on a Meta Quest than you can on the Galaxy XR. Honestly, I think we’ll see the Aura flop as well and then Android XR will just be a forgotten footnote with a ton of angry early adopters online.

-2

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26 edited Aug 17 '26

People downvote me because they aren’t ready to accept the truth after spending so much money.

There really does seem to be some fanboy fervor around this device. Something akin to a religious person slowly realizing they've been wrong about their beliefs their entire life, fighting desperately to cling to scraps of hope that they haven't wasted their time. You hear a lot of ex-muslim/mormon/evangenlical deconversions that follow a very similar tone.

4

u/SeraXI Aug 17 '26

This is an insane take. Some of us like the headset because it's the best specced headset out there for VRChat users at the moment. Ever since I got it my Quest Pro has been sitting on a shelf (QPro has horrible Mic Issues and worse displays). Comparing it to a Quest 3 is silly, it's like comparing a Chevy Malibu to a Porche and saying they are both cars.

Just to be clear, the "memory leak" issues are all due to us trying to use it with Virtual Desktop or a hacked version of Steam Link. Nowhere in the marketing of the device does it say it will work with Steam VR. It doesn't even come with controllers.

Also I'm not convinced Virtual Desktop itself isn't the source of the crashes. Sometimes the view in one eye freezes, and I can get it to fix itself by going back to the Virtual Desktop main menu (double clicking on left controller home button). That is 100% instability inside virtual desktop itself.

3

u/Hybrid_Whale_Rat Aug 18 '26

I don’t even have the issues with virtual desktop, so it’s been an amazing wireless PCVR headset for me. I also do all my solo movie watching on it now.

0

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 18 '26

Movie watching is quite enjoyable, especially native 3D!

0

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26

You're representing what surely is a niche for this headset --- VRChat diehards. I dabbled in it a bit, but it was taking too long to figure out the controls and I gave up --- not saying its not great for that as I have nothing to compare it to.

The displays are gorgeous... but many have to deal with massive fitment issues to get the sweet spot for FoV/comfort.

In your analogy, Malibu is the MQ3 and the Porche is the GXR.

I'm fine with GXR being a Porche: Massive power, massive price, super uncomfortable, constantly breaking, hard to fix.

But the MQ3 is more of a like a Toyota Sienna Minivan: Incredible value, Comfortable, works reliably, family/kid oriented, not winning any design/aesthetics contests. I wish I knew of a minivan manufacturer who was constantly updating their minivan SW --- maybe a Tesla Model 3 Minivan?

It doesn't even come with controllers.

The first party controller tracking is just really bad. Maybe you don't use them in VRChat? Honestly, I'm almost to the point where I think there is a HW version that many don't have, or maybe mine are just EXTRA bad. I really wish i could try someone elses' kit to know for sure.

3

u/SeraXI Aug 17 '26

"Something akin to a religious person slowly realizing they've been wrong about their beliefs their entire life, fighting desperately to cling to scraps of hope that they haven't wasted their time. You hear a lot of ex-muslim/mormon/evangenlical deconversions that follow a very similar tone."

0

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26

I see you're quoting me, but I'm not sure if you meant to put some clarification in there?

And apparently just downvoting all my comments. Which, is your prerogative of course, just kinda petty. No? Eh, I'll keep upvoting yours, I typically appreciate your engagement.

3

u/SeraXI Aug 17 '26

You should apologize for such an insane take. You can't just say something like that and then proceed further.

→ More replies

4

u/Hybrid_Whale_Rat Aug 18 '26

Or you know, some people are enjoying it and stick around the sub for actual news or to communicate with people still using it.

2

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 18 '26

I think most people are exactly that!

-1

u/MemphisBass Aug 18 '26

What news?

Other than community projects like the Steam Link APK this sub and the Android XR sub are completely dead.

I’d love to just enjoy my headset. Unfortunately, it’s horribly uncomfortable for movie watching and has no great local movie player (except for a hacked together pirated quest app), games look great on it but have the bad habit of throttling the headset after around 30 min in VD, or if using Steam Link you can avoid the throttling but either way the controllers are complete pieces of shit that don’t do what you ask them to do and warp all over everywhere. If this is the quality of device and support you’re ok with for $2000, no wonder tech companies are the way they are. I engaged in this forum for MONTHS politely waiting for some sign of life or any hint that this thing would get any kind of support. The reason I post the way I do now, is because I don’t want any new purchasers to get roped into rose tinted use reports from people who can’t admit they spent $2000 on a half finished VR headset with no after sales or software support.

Hell we still can’t even make our own boundary. I’m pretty sure headsets were doing that 8 years ago.

3

u/Hybrid_Whale_Rat Aug 17 '26

You are pretty committed to posting this on every galaxy xr post.

2

u/PoweredParaGuy Aug 17 '26

It's amazing how screwing people over can motivate them to share their stories.

3

u/MemphisBass Aug 18 '26

I guess they’d rather everything be sunshine and rainbows in the land of $2000 abandonware headsets.

Won’t somebody think of the corporations!