Maintaining a lively presence on social media has become a norm for brands, often spiced up with humour and sarcasm. However, this approach doesn’t always hit the mark, as seen in the case of Dbrand, a Canadian accessories brand. They found themselves in hot water after taking a sharp and offensive tone with an Indian customer who raised concerns about a MacBook accessory. The whole ordeal ended with Dbrand offering compensation, but not without staying true to their quirky style.
It all started when Bhuwan Chitransh, a man from Pune working in the Netherlands, aired his disappointment on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) about his Dbrand MacBook skin changing colour within just two months. He tagged Dbrand and asked, “@dbrand bought this skin a couple months back. Couldn’t even remain the same color after just 2 months. What should I do?”
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Dbrand’s comeback was quick but not so classy as it shot back with what seemed like a dig at Chitransh’s last name. “Your last name is basically s**t rash, be serious,” they quipped.
Needless to say, the internet wasn’t impressed. Folks called out Dbrand for crossing the line into racism and cyberbullying. “It is shameful to see a skins and phone accessories company like dbrand openly making discriminatory and offensive remarks toward a customer who expressed dissatisfaction with their product on Twitter,” commented one user. “Gosh, dbrand is literally a cyberbully. Horrible racist comments under the original tweet all thanks to a piss poor attempt at humor. Please go to their profile and report the tweet for bullying and hate speech,” said another amidst a flurry of comments laden with criticism.
Meanwhile, in the face of mounting criticism, Dbrand attempted to clarify their stance, stating that they had commented on the customer’s name after responding to the MacBook sleeve problem.
In a separate response from another customer support account, Dbrand had advised, “Like most surfaces, dirt and grime can accumulate on the surface of a skin over time. You can clean it using a microfiber cloth lightly dampened with isopropyl alcohol,” addressing the techie’s complaint.
However, the company fully addressed the situation only when they used their main handle to acknowledge the post and respond to the criticism. They began by admitting, “Well that escalated quickly,” labelling their initial response as a “huge fumble.” The company privately apologised to the customer and offered $10,000 to maintain goodwill.
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Ending on a witty note, they maintained their humorous tone, stating, “We’ve been poking fun at customers on social media for over a decade now. We’re not going to stop, but maybe next time you’ll be the one who gets $10,000.”
Cracked the ‘case’ and didn’t leave a trace? Absolutely.
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