OnePlus 3 UK Rollout Experiencing Delays, Vouchers Issued
OnePlus proudly announced before launching the OnePlus 3 that they were finally doing away with invitations once and for all. The teething pains that necessitated that queuing system no longer exist. Or so OnePlus thought. It seems, however, that OnePlus still has a few lessons to learn in supply and demand. It has just apologized for and explained the delays that its UK customers are going through and offering discounts for their next purchase as compensation for the delay and stress it has caused.
OnePlus blames "schedule misalignment" as the primary cause of the delay, particularly for those that have ordered devices together with accessories. In particular, those packages that had both got delayed at UK customs, as they probably had to be treated differently from device only and accessories only orders. OnePlus' solution was to simply remove the accessories from the order and refund those as well as for priority shipping and give affected buyers discounts and free shipping to re-order accessories later on.
But OnePlus also had problems back at home with delays from its factory, both in output and in replenishing stocks for UK orders. OnePlus can do little in this regard other than make up for lost time and give 16 GBP/20 EUR ($22) vouchers off affected buyers' next order. Those orders will also qualify for free shipping, no matter the minimum purchase.
Given the size of OnePlus, compared to giants like Samsung or, even closer to home, Xiaomi, its somewhat understandable that the Chinese startup still hasn't perfected the art of supplying mass demand. But given how hot its previous devices have been, regardless of initial reviews, it should have probably anticipated such problems and put in measures to put limits to orders until it could get things stabilized. To its credit, at least the company has made efforts to be transparent and is willing to compensate disgruntled customers over problems that were not exactly within their control.
SOURCE: OnePlus