I think you underestimate Bitmain, they will most likely not do the same mistake as with the D3 IMO.
Of course they are in it just for the money and don't really care about the users but even they are not stupid.
More users means more money, today, tomorrow or in a year. They are aware of this and I don't think they will bash their name with the same mistake as with D3s and risk a growing bad rep among new users.
The ASIC mining market is growing and will continue to grow so a good face is important for long term business success.
Just my opinion..
I do not think they care about their reputation.
Yeah, could be true but I think only a smart brain can make a company like theirs and that smart brain knows that on the long run the reputation is gold.
Them entering the AI market with Sophon emphasises the importance of a good reputation as they would fail and be eaten there with a growing bad rep.
Reputation counts when you are offering services. Not when you are selling an item which you can abandon once you sell it. They have terrible reputation when comes to customer support. You think they care of it? I don't think so.
IMO their policy is: Buy a miner, give us your funds and then leave us alone (we don't care of you anymore, there is plenty customers willing to put in their funds).
Thing is their products are really good (effective, profitable) so they don't need to care of reputation (product is selling itself).