Samsung’s reputation currently at its lowest in the US, says Harris Polls

Undoubtedly, 2016 was a bad year for the South-Korean tech giant Samsung. Though the company's earnings report didn't show any impact on the financial status of the company, its reputation has gone for a toss.

According to 2017 Reputation Quotient Rating report by Harris Poll, Samsung currently ranks 49th, whereas companies like Apple, Amazon, Tesla, Google are on the top ten list.

The same survey ranked Samsung at the third place, in 2015 and no 7 in 2016.

The poll, conducted between November 28th and December 16th, 2016, queried 30,519 US adults on areas social responsibility, vision and leadership, financial performance, products and services, workplace environment, and emotional appeal.

According to Harris Polls, among the biggest risks to corporate reputation are illegal actions by corporate leaders and lies about products or services. Apparently, the company could not pass in either of the categories.

Samsung recalled the Galaxy Note 7 after faulty batteries caused explosions almost everywhere, and the flagship smartphone was eventually discontinued. This was followed by more explosions, but out of its washing machine. Last week, Samsung heir Lee Jae-Yong was arrested on charges of bribery.

Notably, the Harris Poll survey is in stark contrast to a Reuters Poll survey which said that the Galaxy Note 7 fiasco didn't damage the brand's reputation in the US.

Samsung, which will unveil the next iteration of Galaxy series - Galaxy 8 - later this year, is trying to address concerns about product safety and quality and recover the loss.