It’s the worst kind of press anybody in any IT support industry can have. Whether it’s computer repair, or smart fitness wear, no company wants to hear their product or service hurt them. But that’s what happened to smart fitness tracking company Fitbit. It is a Fitbit burn: Woman says Fitbit burned her.
Dina Mitchell, from greater Milwaukee, Wisconsin, claimed her Fitbit Flex 2 tracker gave her a second degree burn. She also says the device caught fire while she wore it on her arm. She wasn’t even working out at the time. Dina Mitchell was reading a book when suddenly, the tracker caught fire. Then, she ripped the burning tracker from her arm.
But it didn’t stop there. It still burned as she threw it on the floor. Mitchell suffered a second degree burn on her arm. I saw the picture of the burn. It’s nothing pretty. In fact, the doctor had to pick parts of her Fitbit Flex 2 out of her arm. But what did Fitbit say or do? So far, Fitbit told media outlets they are investigating. Fitbit expresses the seriousness of Ms. Mitchell’s well being and vows it’s commitment to safety. However, they make clear this is the only incident involving any Fitbit product.
For any tech company to have any kind of bad press is bad enough. But to it to be nationwide, this could be a business killer, or a business destroyer. Remember what almost happened to Samsung last year. But this Fitbit burn is the only one that we know about. I’m sure Fibit users and Fitbit employees hope it stays that way. So do I. I do hope this is just one incident. But there’s still a lot we don’t know. What caused the Fitbit burn in the first place? What was the malfunction? And here is the biggest question of all: What can be done to prevent it?