US reputation survey: Samsung plummets to #49 due to Note 7 fiasco

Samsung’s reputation among US consumers has taken a beating in the last year. According to the Harris Poll Reputation Quotient survey, Samsung ranked 49th among the top 100 companies, which is a very bad result. The tech giant’s reputation quotient dropped by 46 positions when compared to its best result a couple of years ago. In 2015, Samsung came in third, while last year, it ranked as the 7th most reputable company in the US.

Every year, Harris Polls surveys the general public about the reputation of well-known companies in the US. The survey evaluates public perception of these large companies across 20 attributes that are classified into six categories of corporate reputation. The categories are financial performance, workplace environment, vision and leadership, social responsibility, products and services, and emotional appeal.

It looks like Samsung didn’t do very well this year. The company’s reputation suffered a blow because of the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco. Additionally, Lee Jae-yong, Samsung’s vice chairman and the company’s current acting leader, has been having some legal trouble that didn’t do Samsung any good. He has recently been arrested on charges that he attempted to bribe the president of South Korea.

Things aren’t looking too good for Samsung at the moment. The tech giant is trying to regain some of the trust it lost by telling consumers that quality is its priority. The company recently released a short video that shows various tests Samsung’s smartphones have to complete before they can hit the market.

It also announced new quality assurance measures a few weeks ago, including an 8-step battery safety check. The company is definitely on the right path, however, it will take time before it can fully recover from the recent problems it has been experiencing.