Kobo Support (Good Experience)

JeffD · 12-03-2010, 11:45 AM

I just saw the Kobo CS Is horrible thread (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=109250) and thought I should post my own experience as a sort of counterpoint.

My (original) Kobo had developed a screen issue where the bottom half of the screen was locked displaying the cover of the last book I had read and the top half of the screen was actually offset by half a screen length (so what should be the bottom was displayed in the middle of the screen, you can see for yourself here --> http://imgur.com/e6EIu).

I sent an email off to Kobo support with an explanation and pictures showing the issue last Friday night and received a reply the next day asking me for shipping information (which I replied with on Sunday).

The return package came Tuesday but no one was home so Wednesday I went to Purolater on my lunch, picked up the return package and popped my reader in it to send back that day. The new reader arrived two days later on Friday morning (which was about an hour before this post time).

I couldn't be happier with the experience. The Kobo reps were faster than I had expected in replying to my emails especially considering all correspondence was on Friday night or the weekend and all shipping seemed to be next day when my usual experience with warranty returns had lead me to expect a week or more per hop.

tl;dr

Kobo broke, I originally contacted support on a Friday night, received a return package Tuesday, sent it back Wednesday and received my new reader Friday. I'm very satisfied with the service, all shipping seemed to be next day.

Pookeysgirl · 12-03-2010, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JeffD

I just saw the Kobo CS Is horrible thread (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=109250) and thought I should post my own experience as a sort of counterpoint.

My (original) Kobo had developed a screen issue where the bottom half of the screen was locked displaying the cover of the last book I had read and the top half of the screen was actually offset by half a screen length (so what should be the bottom was displayed in the middle of the screen, you can see for yourself here --> http://imgur.com/e6EIu).

I sent an email off to Kobo support with an explanation and pictures showing the issue last Friday night and received a reply the next day asking me for shipping information (which I replied with on Sunday).

The return package came Tuesday but no one was home so Wednesday I went to Purolater on my lunch, picked up the return package and popped my reader in it to send back that day. The new reader arrived two days later on Friday morning (which was about an hour before this post time).

I couldn't be happier with the experience. The Kobo reps were faster than I had expected in replying to my emails especially considering all correspondence was on Friday night or the weekend and all shipping seemed to be next day when my usual experience with warranty returns had lead me to expect a week or more per hop.

tl;dr

Kobo broke, I originally contacted support on a Friday night, received a return package Tuesday, sent it back Wednesday and received my new reader Friday. I'm very satisfied with the service, all shipping seemed to be next day.

Hi Jeff,

Welcome to MR! Glad you had a good experience with Kobo's CS. I think every company has it's good and bad days.

JeffD · 12-03-2010, 12:22 PM

Thanks for the welcome Pookey

I'm actually a bit surprised to realize this is my first post, I signed up a few months ago when I first started looking for an eReader to buy. I guess I just defaulted into lurker mode after registering. From what I've seen so far though there's definitely a lot of good information and helpful people on here.

Psyke · 12-03-2010, 12:29 PM

Unfortunately you'll always see more complaining than you will compliments, particularly on forums such as these, mainly because when things are working well, you usually won't comment becausethey are busy using whatever it is that is working well. People who it doesn't work for are frustrated and have plenty of time while they wait for resolution to their satisfaction, which is understandable.

my personal experience with Kobo has been mixed. the original kobo I had, the batterry could not keep a charge past a day. The day I had bought it, they had just announced the the wi-fi and I decided to return the original and chapters took it back no issues. I've since bought the wifi and while I don't get the battery life advertised, it's sufficient. I've also had issues that I've reported to kobo. Their phone support is seriously lacking, but, as a career IT person who has managed call centers, it's disapointing when they don't know even the basics to their own readers, and I've come to the conclusion that they are not techs, but just simple operators that direct the issues to where they need to go. I've also submitted issues via their website; the first issue I had fixed myself, and the second there still has been no resolution, which has been a couple of months (the last time I went to check on it a couple weeks ago, my account no longer existed apparently). Most of the problems seemed to have been fixed via the last firmware, but there are still outstanding issues. If this forum had not existed, I problably wouldn't know that these issues were still being investigated because kobo doesn't provide status updates.

The support given on this forumn has been very good, and I appreciate the info and help Mike and JC and his crew have given here, but they do need to increase the knowledge base of their staff and be more proactive and providing updates to their customers via their own website and to customers who have open tickets rather than operating like there is a big black hole in place of their customer service.

Small company or not, if they want to compete with the likes of Amazon and Sony, they need to have more visibile presence to their customers in how they provide support.

cheers!
Steph S.

amo · 12-03-2010, 04:01 PM

So far, I've had good CS experiences with Kobo, too. I've called them on the phone several times, and each time got to talk to a real person in very short order. They were always helpful and friendly; and while they didn't always solve my problems, at least they made a good stab at it. To date, the CS is actually one of the things I like about kobo.

And thanks for bringing this up, Jeff; it's always good to hear positive comments.

pokee · 12-03-2010, 06:56 PM

I agree that's it's nice to see this. I've had a good experience with them with a minor issue (prompt and courteous). I think most people are complaining that they can't return their Kobo's after they've 'tried them out' and changed their minds. That's not a lesson in bad customer service, IMO - that's a lesson in bad pre-purchasing research!

Gary_M_Mugford · 12-11-2010, 10:55 PM

My mother is on her third Kobo. The first was replaced, albeit with a three-week delay, via Chapters (Her local one, not 200 miles away where I bought it). The second was running a little herky jerky until she took it to Chapters and the anarchist at the front desk took it to the back and returned it as a non-functional brick. I had her contact Kobo customer support. Kobo's shipping box arrived within 48 hours, and she had a replacement less than a week later.

I could understand the delay the first time, given that is was less than a month into product life and this all happened within two weeks of her getting it on Mother's Day. Supply was slim, very slim at the time. I have no idea why the intractability the second time, but no member of my family will ever step into a Chapters ever again.

On the other hand, I bought a Kobo for my nephew for Christmas. I TRUST Kobo Customer Support. And I've expressed that support with cold hard cash.

GM

P.S. I also point out that I'm a Kindle3 user. Different needs, different eReaders. It's NOT a Kobo slam.

12-03-2010, 11:45 AM	#1
JeffD Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo	Kobo Support (Good Experience) I just saw the Kobo CS Is horrible thread (https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=109250) and thought I should post my own experience as a sort of counterpoint. My (original) Kobo had developed a screen issue where the bottom half of the screen was locked displaying the cover of the last book I had read and the top half of the screen was actually offset by half a screen length (so what should be the bottom was displayed in the middle of the screen, you can see for yourself here --> http://imgur.com/e6EIu). I sent an email off to Kobo support with an explanation and pictures showing the issue last Friday night and received a reply the next day asking me for shipping information (which I replied with on Sunday). The return package came Tuesday but no one was home so Wednesday I went to Purolater on my lunch, picked up the return package and popped my reader in it to send back that day. The new reader arrived two days later on Friday morning (which was about an hour before this post time). I couldn't be happier with the experience. The Kobo reps were faster than I had expected in replying to my emails especially considering all correspondence was on Friday night or the weekend and all shipping seemed to be next day when my usual experience with warranty returns had lead me to expect a week or more per hop. tl;dr Kobo broke, I originally contacted support on a Friday night, received a return package Tuesday, sent it back Wednesday and received my new reader Friday. I'm very satisfied with the service, all shipping seemed to be next day.

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12-03-2010, 12:22 PM	#3
JeffD Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kobo	Thanks for the welcome Pookey I'm actually a bit surprised to realize this is my first post, I signed up a few months ago when I first started looking for an eReader to buy. I guess I just defaulted into lurker mode after registering. From what I've seen so far though there's definitely a lot of good information and helpful people on here.

12-03-2010, 12:29 PM	#4
Psyke Evangelist Posts: 482 Karma: 534340 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Ottawa/Canada Device: Kobo Wi-Fi - Kobo Touch - GNex - N7	Unfortunately you'll always see more complaining than you will compliments, particularly on forums such as these, mainly because when things are working well, you usually won't comment becausethey are busy using whatever it is that is working well. People who it doesn't work for are frustrated and have plenty of time while they wait for resolution to their satisfaction, which is understandable. my personal experience with Kobo has been mixed. the original kobo I had, the batterry could not keep a charge past a day. The day I had bought it, they had just announced the the wi-fi and I decided to return the original and chapters took it back no issues. I've since bought the wifi and while I don't get the battery life advertised, it's sufficient. I've also had issues that I've reported to kobo. Their phone support is seriously lacking, but, as a career IT person who has managed call centers, it's disapointing when they don't know even the basics to their own readers, and I've come to the conclusion that they are not techs, but just simple operators that direct the issues to where they need to go. I've also submitted issues via their website; the first issue I had fixed myself, and the second there still has been no resolution, which has been a couple of months (the last time I went to check on it a couple weeks ago, my account no longer existed apparently). Most of the problems seemed to have been fixed via the last firmware, but there are still outstanding issues. If this forum had not existed, I problably wouldn't know that these issues were still being investigated because kobo doesn't provide status updates. The support given on this forumn has been very good, and I appreciate the info and help Mike and JC and his crew have given here, but they do need to increase the knowledge base of their staff and be more proactive and providing updates to their customers via their own website and to customers who have open tickets rather than operating like there is a big black hole in place of their customer service. Small company or not, if they want to compete with the likes of Amazon and Sony, they need to have more visibile presence to their customers in how they provide support. cheers! Steph S.

12-03-2010, 04:01 PM	#5
amo Teaist Posts: 230 Karma: 74542 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: British Columbia, Canada Device: Kobo WiFi, Kobo Aura ONE, Android cell phone	So far, I've had good CS experiences with Kobo, too. I've called them on the phone several times, and each time got to talk to a real person in very short order. They were always helpful and friendly; and while they didn't always solve my problems, at least they made a good stab at it. To date, the CS is actually one of the things I like about kobo. And thanks for bringing this up, Jeff; it's always good to hear positive comments.

12-03-2010, 06:56 PM	#6
pokee Fanatic Posts: 569 Karma: 199759 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kobo WiFi, Kobo Glo, Kobo Vox, Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Tab2	I agree that's it's nice to see this. I've had a good experience with them with a minor issue (prompt and courteous). I think most people are complaining that they can't return their Kobo's after they've 'tried them out' and changed their minds. That's not a lesson in bad customer service, IMO - that's a lesson in bad pre-purchasing research!

12-11-2010, 10:55 PM	#7
Gary_M_Mugford Groupie Posts: 180 Karma: 299 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Brampton ON Device: Kobo, Kindle3	My mother is on her third Kobo. The first was replaced, albeit with a three-week delay, via Chapters (Her local one, not 200 miles away where I bought it). The second was running a little herky jerky until she took it to Chapters and the anarchist at the front desk took it to the back and returned it as a non-functional brick. I had her contact Kobo customer support. Kobo's shipping box arrived within 48 hours, and she had a replacement less than a week later. I could understand the delay the first time, given that is was less than a month into product life and this all happened within two weeks of her getting it on Mother's Day. Supply was slim, very slim at the time. I have no idea why the intractability the second time, but no member of my family will ever step into a Chapters ever again. On the other hand, I bought a Kobo for my nephew for Christmas. I TRUST Kobo Customer Support. And I've expressed that support with cold hard cash. GM P.S. I also point out that I'm a Kindle3 user. Different needs, different eReaders. It's NOT a Kobo slam.

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