Some of this is sharing my experience, a little is venting, and perhaps there's a little advice.
I have a Fitbit Charge 3 and I started to experience a dim screen sometime last year. I thought I must have accidentally changed the screen brightness and I was too lazy to fix it. I can't say how long it was going on, but it was a matter of months before I tried to fix it, but the screen was already at its brightest setting. I know the screen used to be brighter, so I couldn't figure out what happened.
After a little searching, I discovered that my issue wasn't mine alone. A quick search for discussions about dim screens in these forums nets more than 600 results. This issue was commonplace, though the cause was unknown. What was clear was that this wasn't specific to one user group or one type of activity. The conclusion was it was a product defect or an issue caused by an update. Either way, all evidence suggested this was Fitbit's fault, not mine.
I reached out to Fitbit customer support on January 5 of this year and I was told that my product was no longer under warranty, so the company couldn't do anything for me. It didn't matter that the problem was Fitbit's fault, either by faulty design or, more likely, by a bad firmware update. The warranty had lapsed, so I had to suck it up. Not to worry, I was told! Geraldine N. from the "Fitbit Team" wrote she wanted to keep me "in the Fitbit family," so I was being offered a 35% discount on a new device--but I had to buy one in the next 30 days or the discount, like my screen, would expire.
I argued that I shouldn't have to buy a new device because Fitbit broke my old one. And if the company wasn't going to stand behind this product (it was the second Fitbit I owned, and the first one had a warranty issue as well), why would I invest in yet another one? And if Fitbit really wanted me to stay "in the Fitbit family," why would this discount be subject to a 30-day window? I was told that "the system" would not allow them to take action if the device was outside its warranty.
The last email I received from Fitbit acknowledged, "Since you've already exhausted all the available troubleshooting steps, we can confirm that your Charge 3 is defective..." In the very same breath, the warranty period was reiterated. I was told Fitbit had to "enforce our policy." That ended the conversation and any effort Fitbit was going to invest in making this right and retaining me as a customer.
I get it that Fitbit is a big company, lots of products, and millions of customers. They can lose one and it won't make a dent in their financials. But look around online and see that the dim screen is a widespread problem, realized by customers who use their devices in a variety of environments. This isn't an isolated issue caused by misuse; this was an issue caused by bad programming or bad design. Any company could make that kind of mistake, but to hide behind policy is bad business. A half-assed discount with a ticking clock deadline doesn't do anything but make the customer even more frustrated.
The result of all this isn't hard to predict. I was a loyal Fitbit customer, a repeat Fitbit customer, the kind of customer any business tries hard to cultivate. Now I'm an ex-customer. I haven't worn my Fitbit in weeks, but I can show you pictures of my new Apple Watch. Your loss, Fitbit. And no one to blame but you.
Moderator edit: subject for clarity
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