Canada Firm Offers Indian Man $10,000 In Apology After Mocking His Surname

A Canadian accessories brand is facing backlash on social media for responding offensively to an Indian man who lodged a complaint about a MacBook accessory. It all started after X user Bhuwan Chitransh posted his complaint about his Dbrand MacBook skin changing its colour within just two months of purchasing it. Mr Chitransh shared a photo of the MacBook skin and wrote, tagging Dbrand's official account, "@dbrand bought this skin a couple months back. Couldn't even remain the same color after just 2 months. What should I do?"

In response, the Canadian company made an offensive statement, mocking the customer's surname. "Your last name is basically s**t rash, be serious," it wrote.

Your last name is basically shit rash, be serious https://t.co/SmQd5So5bS — dbrand (@dbrand) April 9, 2024

The company's response quickly went viral on the microblogging site and sparked outrage among users. 

"It's astounding to me how fully grown adults think racism is still okay in 2024. Grow up people, you don't have to be a minority to understand common decency," wrote one user. "You've fully crossed the line here, mate, no coming back from this," commented another. 

"Not cool. Making fun of a foreign name and a market of over 1 billion people who probably won't ever buy your products now," expressed a third user. "Normally your marketing is on point. This is in poor taste," said another. 

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"First and foremost. Why would you attack someone's last name like that? Do you want to ruin your reputation? That is terrible customer service! I guess you will find out if you made the right choice with your sales numbers," wrote one user. 

The company also clarified that it made fun of the man's name after providing him with customer support. "Correction: we made fun of his name after the customer support," the firm wrote in another post, sharing what it told the customer. "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," Dbrand had written in response to the man's complaint.

However, as the backlash against the company mounted, dbrand issued a clarification about the remark. 

Well that escalated quickly.

1. Yes - we made fun of a guy's name. It was a huge fumble.

2. We apologized to him directly and offered him $10,000 as a gesture of goodwill.

3. We've been poking fun at customers on social media for over a decade now. We're not going to stop, but… — dbrand (@dbrand) April 10, 2024

The company claimed that it had made a "huge fumble" and apologised to the customer directly. The Canadian firm even offered the Indian man $10,000 as a gesture of goodwill. 

Moreover, dbrand reiterated that they have been "poking fun at customers" on social media for over a decade. "We're not going to stop, but maybe next time you'll be the one who gets $10,000," it said.