[Gary_M_Mugford]

Got a call from my mother today with some distressing news. Seems her SECOND Kobo has bitten the dust. And the Chapters folk seem less than willing to help her out. So if Sameer or any other citizen here have some helpful hints of what to do next, I'd appreciate it.

I got the first Kobo for her over the Mother's Day weekend at a store here in Brampton. Was a big hit with her. Unfortunately that first one died on her birthday, which was June 1. Second problem. She lives two hours away in Brighton. Sooo, I fedex'd the sales slip down to her and she took it in to the local Chapters there on June 3 and was given an exchange that took until the first week of July to finish. This was during the initial release of the product and having a black one to boot, there just weren't any replacements until then.

She has been using the replacement very happily until about three days ago. Then, the page turns started skipping. My guess is that something went wrong in the D-Pad. Mom's in her eighties, very careful and I find it hard to believe she actually broke anything. But anything IS possible and I wasn't there. So I reserve judgement. She finally took it in yesterday to the local Chapters.

Things went from bad to very much the worst. The clerk took the machine into the back and came back with a brick. Upsetting indeed. Then, the clerk compounded the issue by insisting since there was no original receipt (turned over during the first replacement), there would be no replacement. Even though the bill, gift card replacement and assorted other Chapters paperwork was right there (my Mom has every receipt she's been ever given. And I mean EVER). End result, what was working intermittently was not working at all and Chapters was insisting this was a Kobo issue.

Other facts that might or might not be pertinent. The firmware of both the original and the second was 1.0. The second one was never upgraded. The books added to the Kobo were done so by placing on a card. EXCEPT for two books that were added to main memory about three weeks ago via Calibre. She recharges every other night.

At this point, I've got little to offer in terms of guidance. I, in fact, also have a Kobo. I'm testing it out for future delivery as a birthday present to a nephew. I've been generally pleased with the Kobo and have recommended it in my own blog. It's not quite right for my needs, but for my mother and for my nephew, I think (thought?) that a Kobo was the right device from the right company at the right price. Now, I'm wavering in my faith.

So, I'm asking here what the next steps should be. The local Chapters appears to have changed their support stance this time around and I was distrustful of the company before. I suspect this will have to be resolved by Kobo directly. But a month turnaround this time won't cut it. I'll ship her the one I've got before I'll deprive her of what has become the source of great pleasure. I've got a Sony Clie that I have been using for years as an eReader and I'm sure I can get a new something or other for my nephew. And that has to be said, I'm wavering on this whole Kobo thing right now.

At any rate, I've rambled on long enough. Ideas anyone?

Thanks in advance, GM