In the “Common People” episode of “Black Mirror,” medtech company Rivermind repeatedly changes the terms of its subscription service, requiring users to either accept new restrictions or pay more to access an upgraded plan.
After this week’s two new product announcements, a vocal contingent of longtime WHOOP subscribers feel they are in a similar boat.
Given the fitness wearable company’s longstanding business model and value proposition, these subscribers expected to receive an automatic upgrade to the “latest and greatest” device. Instead, they were met with two cold realities.
First, WHOOP articulated restrictions on who actually qualifies for an instant upgrade to its 5.0 device. Those who do not qualify either have to prematurely renew their subscription for another year – or pay a device upgrade fee.
Second, the brand put what is arguably its most compelling new feature – a blood pressure monitor – on the new “WHOOP MG” device. Positioned as a separate, premium offering rather than a linear upgrade, this device requires a markedly more expensive subscription.
Insofar as the rollout contradicts actual quotes from the brand (not to mention the widely presumed business model), it represents an irrefutable customer experience misfire. The backlash, thus, is unsurprising.
How the brand is handling that backlash represents a CX failure in its own right.
An Unhealthy CX: Why WHOOP Customers Feel Misled About Upgrade Access
Whereas popular wearable offerings from companies like Apple and Garmin require users to pay for a discrete physical product, WHOOP’s model bundled access to the “latest and greatest” device into a required membership fee.
The approach represented a win-win for customers and the WHOOP business. Customers received peace of mind, never having to experience buyer’s remorse if a new device arrived shortly after their purchase. WHOOP meanwhile guaranteed itself recurring revenue (since one cannot use a WHOOP device without continuing to pay a membership fee) and eliminated the pressure to rush a completely new device each term in order to earn that revenue.
“The hardware is free and included in your membership,” said WHOOP CEO Will Ahmed in a 2022 interview with Fitt Insider (40:50). “And when we come out with new hardware, that also rolls into the subscription. So it’s a very unusual business model in a sense, but I think it’s one that our members have really liked.”
A since-edited line from an official WHOOP FAQ page makes the same point, noting “WHOOP is a membership, which means you get the latest and greatest technology as soon as it's available as long as you are an active member. No need to buy a new device each time it is released; you can upgrade for free.”
Both comments are pretty unequivocal: your WHOOP subscription grants you continuous access to the app and data as well as any upgraded hardware releases.
WHOOP has at times articulated some equivocations. In a late 2024 post, WHOOP noted free hardware upgrades would be issued to those who had been members for at least six months. Though it would logically be superseded by the 2024 post, a 2021 blog about the upgrade from WHOOP 3.0 to WHOOP 4.0 notes that one needed at least six months left on their subscription.
Unfortunately, WHOOP adhered to none of the above with its new upgrade policy. Even after a recent concession, only those with at least twelve months remaining on their subscription receive the free upgrade from 4.0 to 5.0.
Any other existing member has to prematurely renew for another year beyond their expiration date – or pay the one-time fee. Given the longstanding availability of the 12 month subscription, a significant portion of users will have less than that still remaining on their contract and thus be in this predicament.
Beyond contradicting the brand’s own statements and value proposition, the new upgrade restriction feels like a slap in the face to longtime customers. WHOOP’s last device upgrade came in 2021; that means a user who renewed four times and paid upwards of $800 without receiving a new device – may still be ineligible for an automatic upgrade. Meanwhile, a brand new customer can get instant access to the latest tech upon starting their membership.
WHOOP Goes Full Black Mirror and Redraws Product Lines
The customer backlash concerns more than WHOOP contradicting past statements about who qualifies for an automatic upgrade. It also involves a debate over what that upgrade entails.
In both explicitly and implicitly promising all members access to the “latest and greatest” technology, WHOOP was essentially committing to a linear development stream. It could of course charge for accessories, but it could not withhold core WHOOP functionality. If you were an active WHOOP member, you were supposed to have access to the best version of WHOOP.
The new rollout violates this principle. Much like Rivermind in “Black Mirror,” the “latest and greatest” WHOOP features (notably, the blood pressure monitor) are only available on the “lux” MG device. This device requires a more expensive membership plan (Life).
The linear upgrade is to the WHOOP 5.0, a new device offering less significant improvements on the accompanying Peak plan.
This is where things get especially messy. Whereas WHOOP can obviously increase prices, it should not be able to do so while a customer is already in an active, prepaid membership. This means that customers should have access to the “latest and greatest” product (the WHOOP MG on the Life Plan) for the duration of their existing subscription. Once that expires, sure, WHOOP can ask them to pay more to continue.
Instead, WHOOP is applying the cost increase immediately. Most who upgrade to WHOOP MG and Life plan will have their existing term shortened to account for the difference in price. Those who do not want to accept the increase will not receive access to the “latest and greatest” technology, even though they realistically paid for that at their last renewal.
Not simply an immediate affront to the “latest and greatest” concept, introducing a WHOOP MG/Life track creates a potential slippery slope. Instead of continuously providing all members with access to the newest features, WHOOP is setting a precedent to restrict its best innovation to new products behind a new, potentially higher paywall.
WHOOP Controversy: The Customer Experience Was Bad; The Response Has Been Worse
The measure of a company is not only in how few mistakes it makes but in how it handles those mistakes. WHOOP is not faring well against that metric.
No matter how acceptable the WHOOP team internally felt the rollout was, it cannot ignore the reality: customers are angry. The r/whoop Reddit community is overrun with complaints about the situation. There are viral X threads ripping WHOOP over what happened. Major tech media outlets are chronicling the backlash.
Unfortunately, WHOOP does not seem meaningfully committed to remedying that anger.
In responding to the aforementioned “receipt” about users qualifying for a free upgrade after six months of membership, WHOOP claims that it was an “incorrect” blog article that “should have never been posted.” Even if sincere, this defense ignores the pretty plain reality that it was posted on the official website and publicly accessible to existing and prospective customers for months. It also ignores the fact that WHOOP’s FAQ page and CEO had previously made even more inclusive promises about who qualifies for an automatic device upgrade.
Regarding that FAQ promise, WHOOP’s decision to edit the text without making a separate public statement (and only calling it an outdated policy in private AI-powered support conversations) is even more alarming.
Between the publicly stated policies and the irrefutable reality that so many customers sincerely believe they are entitled to an upgrade, WHOOP’s scripted customer service talking point “your WHOOP membership has always included access to the latest hardware — at no additional cost — based on how much time you have remaining in your membership” comes across as incredibly tacky.
And even if one accepts that notion at face value, WHOOP openly affirms that the previous policy entitled anyone with six months left on their membership to receive an upgrade. WHOOP now requires at least twelve remaining months for the free upgrade, which means the brand is admitting to changing a policy without a meaningful grace/grandfather period.
All of WHOOP’s official commentary on eligibility, moreover, presumes that the upgrade from WHOOP 4.0 to WHOOP 5.0 is unquestionably acceptable. It effectively ignores the argument that the WHOOP members who were expecting the “latest and greatest” technology should be receiving free access to the WHOOP MG.
Ultimately, though, none of this debate should even matter to a customer-centric brand. Customer-centric brands are not focused on proving themselves right but on doing right for their customers. They own the situation, honor what was (or what was reasonably assumed to be) stipulated, and transparently advise customers on necessary future changes.
They also respond with empathy and care, something WHOOP is not doing. It is instead (openly) using AI to provide worthless responses over email. I personally responded to the generic AI message with some of the above receipts, and I have not yet heard back from a human who understands the context.
And even if it truly believes it is in the right, what does it say that WHOOP will not “make a one-time exception” to keep its customers happy?
I will tell you what it says: that my longtime loyalty means nothing to the WHOOP brand.
How Does WHOOP Recover From This Customer Service Mistake?
In my own life, WHOOP has long been a shining example of the “retention without loyalty” dilemma. I have had issues with WHOOP: a sudden adjustment to the sleep algorithm makes me question the data I had long been relying upon, while the automated workout/strain calculation repeatedly struggles with one aspect of my regimen. I do not derive value from the manual input/journaling features, and I find the new app UI to be an abomination. Though not unusual for the tech industry, the fact that new iterations of WHOOP are not compatible with many past (and pricy) accessories adds another element of frustration.
However, after spending years reviewing my recovery data every morning and my strain after every workout, WHOOP has become a staple of my life. Add in the fact that there is no similarly low-profile alternative (the best competitive tech is only available in full-on “Smart Watches”), and switching has not really been on my mind. Call me a “passively satisfied” customer.
That all changed this week. Between what can at best be described as a dubious rollout and the unwillingness to take empathetic action on so many public and heartfelt customer complaints, I have learned that WHOOP does not really care about me. Worse, insofar as automatic upgrades to the “latest and greatest” technology are evidently not guaranteed, I lost confidence that I will benefit from future innovation – and have no reason to continue dismissing “pay upfront for the device” competitors.
From reviewing the commentary on Reddit, I am certainly not alone.
At this point, the most acceptable option is for WHOOP to do the customer-centric thing and deliver the value customers were expecting: instantly ship them the MG device, and provide access to the Life service for the duration of their existing contract. Alternatively, if it cannot or will not do that for whatever reason, it should give members the ability to instantly cancel their membership for a prorated refund. Ideally, WHOOP would also provide extra compensation and a deep apology for the past few days of stress.
But if it chooses not to take that bare minimum action, I can no longer support this brand. And WHOOP most certainly cannot claim to prioritize the voice of the customer.
Photo: Official press image for WHOOP MG, courtesy of press release