Your Customers Are Watching How You Handle Criticism
You might have seen the headlines about a small AI pendant that lets you talk into it and get a voice back. It was mocked widely, the brand became a punchline, and now it’s back with a speaker and a bigger ask for users. For a Malaysian SME owner, this story might seem like an American tech soap opera. But watch closely: this is a masterclass in what happens when you ignore your customers’ feedback, and then launch a new version anyway.
What Happened
According to The Verge, Friend has relaunched its AI pendant with a speaker, so it can now talk back to you instead of just sending messages. The founder calls it “Friend 2.0,” even though the product name on the site has not changed. The relaunch comes about nine months after a public protest in New York City where demonstrators targeted the brand because of concerns about how dependent people have become on technology. The founder even promoted the protest himself and showed up in person.
The original pendant only replied with text-like messages. Now, the speaker makes it a two-way voice conversation. The company also added a subscription feature that lets the device remember conversations for longer than 30 days. The Verge’s coverage is blunt: “Everyone hated it, so Friend is making it even more expensive.” That sentence captures the core problem. Instead of addressing why people rejected the idea, the company doubled down on the same approach with a new button.
“Protestors tried to bring attention to our growing dependance on technology.” — The Verge
Why This Matters for Malaysian SMEs
In Malaysia, you have likely seen your own version of this pattern. A business launches a new chatbot or automated ordering system without asking the people who actually use it. For example, a restaurant in Petaling Jaya might install an AI voice assistant to take orders over the phone. If it constantly confuses “teh tarik” and “tarik teh,” or makes it hard for older customers to reach a human, regulars will complain. And in a country where word-of-mouth on WhatsApp and Facebook spreads fast, one viral complaint can undo months of goodwill.
The Friend story also shows that the technology itself is not the issue — the positioning is. Friend’s original pendant sent texts, which felt impersonal. Now with a speaker, it is still a device asking you to share personal problems with a piece of hardware. Your SME does not need to reject AI. You can use automation for follow-up messages, reminders, and FAQs. But keep a human line open for things like refunds, cancellations, and complaints. In Malaysia, trust is personal. Your customers want to know that someone is actually listening when they speak, not just a script.
The Bigger Picture
Friend’s relaunch is a sign that the AI hardware market is still unsure what it wants to be. But for you as a business owner, the bigger picture is about the relationship between automation and accountability. When you adopt a new tool, you are not just adding a feature — you are making a promise to your customers. If that promise breaks, no amount of polish will fix it. The New York protest is an extreme version of the kind of backlash your business could face in Malaysia if you use AI in ways that feel intrusive or indifferent.
The lesson is not “don’t use AI.” It is “use AI with respect for your customers’ boundaries.” Friend failed because it treated the product as a statement, not a service. Your SME has an advantage: you know your customers by name. Use automation to handle repetitive tasks, but never automate the act of listening. The moment you stop listening, you become the thing everyone loves to mock.
| What Friend did | What your SME should do instead |
|---|---|
| Launched a product based on the founder’s vision without broad testing | Test your MVP with real Malaysian customers before scaling |
| Faced public backlash and kept the same product direction | Acknowledge the feedback and adjust your offering quickly |
| Added a speaker instead of rethinking the core idea | Fix the experience that caused the complaint, not just the interface |
| Introduced a memory subscription without clear data clarity | Be transparent about how you store and use customer data |
As you plan your next automation move, remember Friend. The company survived on hype, but hype does not pay your bills in a market where customers can switch to a competitor in one tap. Your reputation is built on how you respond when things go wrong. That is one thing you should never outsource to a machine.
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