Mini help please - Kobo not syncing

[euro traveler]

Originally Posted by paola

well, so far I have received an email requesting contact details and details about the Kobo. Then I haven't heard back, save for a message copying me in our previous correspondence (excluding the details I had filled in)

Kobo customer support did the same thing to me, paola. It took 4 or 5 days until they emailed me again with the return authorization number. Then it took another couple of days for them to email me the address to return the defective unit to. (I had to send them a reminder email to get that return address out of them.)

[paola]

Originally Posted by Mrs_Often

I think I'm jealous!I think I'm jealous!

I promise you it sounds much more "jetset life" than it actually is

Originally Posted by samhy

Good luck to you Paola!
I hope you'll have a new working device soon

thanks for your support - I feel you as a kindred spirit as we researched and bought the Mini at more or less the same time!

Originally Posted by euro traveler

Kobo customer support did the same thing to me, paola. It took 4 or 5 days until they emailed me again with the return authorization number. Then it took another couple of days for them to email me the address to return the defective unit to. (I had to send them a reminder email to get that return address out of them.)

thanks, this is very useful to know - I hope they'll be fine with me sending my unit out from Mexico, having to wait until I'm back would add a couple of weeks!

[euro traveler]

Originally Posted by paola

thanks, this is very useful to know - I hope they'll be fine with me sending my unit out from Mexico, having to wait until I'm back would add a couple of weeks!

You're welcome. With my Mini replacement, Kobo actually told me to wait until after I received the new unit before I mailed the defective one back

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by paola

I hope they'll be fine with me sending my unit out from Mexico, having to wait until I'm back would add a couple of weeks!

I hope so too! Wouldn't know why not though. All they ask for is your address – you could just give them your Mexico address and that will be that

Have you heard back from them yet?

[paola]

Originally Posted by Mrs_Often

I hope so too! Wouldn't know why not though. All they ask for is your address – you could just give them your Mexico address and that will be that

Have you heard back from them yet?

no, not yet - though I did give them my home address in the initial email asking for info - I don't need them to send the replacement here (I've less than two weeks to go here), but I'd like them to get the ball rolling before I get back, and if they need me to post the thing, i'd rather do it from here. We'll see, I'll keep you posted.

[paola]

ok, I have to say not looking good at all: it took them 5 days to get back to me to ask me to return the mini to the shop I bought it from. Especially after what they had told me in chat, this is very disappointing. Not an happy bunny at all

EDIT: I should have added, the Whsmith page says to contact Kobo!
http://www.whsmith.co.uk/Support/Hel...Qs.aspx#FAQ1.4

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by paola

ok, I have to say not looking good at all: it took them 5 days to get back to me to ask me to return the mini to the shop I bought it from. Especially after what they had told me in chat, this is very disappointing. Not an happy bunny at all

EDIT: I should have added, the Whsmith page says to contact Kobo!
http://www.whsmith.co.uk/Support/Hel...Qs.aspx#FAQ1.4

How ridiculous!! I'm sorry they're giving you such nonsense trouble. Did they state why they suddenly want you to go through WHSmith? The year warranty is with Kobo, not with Smith, Kobo should sort it for you.

[paola]

Originally Posted by Mrs_Often

How ridiculous!! I'm sorry they're giving you such nonsense trouble. Did they state why they suddenly want you to go through WHSmith? The year warranty is with Kobo, not with Smith, Kobo should sort it for you.

nope, beside a vague indication that they have an agreement:

Hi

We are sorry to hear that you are experiencing problems with your device.

As per an agreement with WH Smith, the repair/replacement process of their customers is managed by them .

Please take your device to the shop where you bought it or any other WH Smith store or give them a call for further instructions.

Sincerely,
The Kobo Team

The whsmith site says that they also refund damaged items (as opposed to replace them) - I must say I am very tempted to do just that!

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by paola

The whsmith site says that they also refund damaged items (as opposed to replace them) - I must say I am very tempted to do just that!

Oh dear! Why? I thought you were happy with your Mini while it was working?

[paola]

Originally Posted by Mrs_Often

Oh dear! Why? I thought you were happy with your Mini while it was working?

yes I was happy with it, as long as it was working: and this to me is the problem. I am particularly fond of the fact that Kobo has EPUB3 rendering, and I do like the screen, but - though of course I do realise things can go wrong with any device - the thing which worries me is that in the few weeks I've been roaming on this forum I have seen too many replacements of the replacement for my taste. Of course I am happy to spend some time setting the device up, adding various tricks and so on, but in the end my objective is to use the thing to read!

Now my other (wrong) impression is that Kobo customer service was great, and after the chat online I was quite impressed, hoping that they could send the replacement straigthaway (after all, they do have my credit card details if they are afraid I can run!). This is not happening, and if I want a replacement I will have to return the item and order (???) a new one. Then suppose (which is not too extravagant given the experiences reported here) that this one does not work either, then what?

So the prospect of having to wait and wait for possible future replacements is not enticing, so I am having a good think...

[samhy]

Originally Posted by paola

the thing which worries me is that in the few weeks I've been roaming on this forum I have seen too many replacements of the replacement for my taste.

Hello Paola,
Your point is very fair, however are you sure there was that much replacements for the Mini? I know you know but don't forget that unhappy customer are more likely to voice their discontent than others. I, for one, have nothing to complain regarding the device. I miss some things from the Sony 650 but it has nothing to do with the Kobo or Mini quality.

Also, Kobo relies on well established companies in different countries to be able to sell ebooks and the devices. Thanks to that the company can reach a broader market, which is good for us, Kobo customers. On the other hand, this should imply some agreements, one of them may be how to deal with defective units/returns.

I am sorry that you have to deal with WHSmith and not Kobo, since Kobo seemed to be listening to you. Do you think that being abroad could override the mandatory WHSmith step? Special situations call for special solutions
If you get a refund, can't you buy a Mini through Kobo directly?

[Mrs_Often]

Originally Posted by paola

yes I was happy with it, as long as it was working: and this to me is the problem.

[...]

So the prospect of having to wait and wait for possible future replacements is not enticing, so I am having a good think...

Understandable.

On the other hand, you mustn't forget that this forum is filled with a certain type of Kobo user. In no way at all do 'we' represent the general public. People here are mostly the people with Kobo problems, or people that used to have Kobo problems and have stayed here to help others. Also, don't forget that you did hack your Mini with unsupported (by Kobo) extra's... for all Kobo knows you could have caused your own break.

Having said that, I do understand how frustrating it is to get sent elsewhere after the promise of a replacement. That's just unlucky, and probably a mistake of the Kobo rep who promised you a replacement without checking first. As for your chance of getting another non-working device: I don't think you have to be afraid of that at all. The repeated "broken" replacements that are reported in this forum are the newer Touches and the Glo's, and it's about the battery draining in sleep mode that only occurs for a select group of people. Plus, it's a problem Kobo are working hard on to figure out. And it hasn't been reported to be in the Mini (yet), and if it is in the Mini, you are not one of the people the problem occurs for (considering the culprit is probably user settings and your current Mini's battery worked fine). The way your Mini broke, sounds more like a database gone wrong or something, than an actual fault of Kobo's. My guess would be that once you receive your replacement (either from WHSmith or from Kobo), you'll have a working device to be happy with once again.

If you would prefer to receive a replacement from Kobo instead of from WHSmith, I think I would just thank the person pointing me to WHSmith and then start a new ticket, without mentioning you got it from WHSmith. On the other hand, wouldn't it be faster to get a new Mini from WHSmith anyway? You can just walk in, hand in your current Mini and get a new one back... that's faster than emailing to and fro and waiting for shipment etc. Unless of course you live far away from your "local" WHSmith.

Sorry to be harsh and factual, I do appreciate the emotional distress (for wont of a better term) this causes. And I know very well how it is when the pessimistic Kobo doom feeling comes along. I would just like to emphasise that it is important to decide and weigh up what to do only from your own experiences, not the whole wreck of everyone's bad experiences plus the one tiny good thing that you experienced.

[Mrs_Often]

Hah Samhy got in there before me, more or less making the same point and adding a really good idea (using your Mexico-state for special treatment).

[paola]

Originally Posted by Mrs_Often

Hah Samhy got in there before me, more or less making the same point and adding a really good idea (using your Mexico-state for special treatment).

Samhy, Mrs Often, thanks for this - I do see exactly what you are saying, and trust me, as a Pocketbook owner I am pretty thick skinned when it comes to customer service and of course we are not a representative sample of users.
The problem is also with WHSmith being a bit baroque, and perhaps I should consider alternative vendors - to give you an example: I originally ordered the Mini online on the WHSmith webpage, thinking I could collect in store, which I could. Only, I could not then go and pick up any mini, oh no, I had to wait for "my" ordered Mini to arrive, about five days or so. What I did then was pick up a Mini in store, then wait for "my" mini to arrive, go back to the store and cancel the online order to get a refund. How efficient is that?!

So who knows what will happen when I go if I want a replacement - the fact that they say I have to "order" one sounds suspicious, given my previous experience - that is, I wouldn't be surprised if something processed as a replacement had to be ordered expressly (with more to wait). Of course I could return it and then buy a new one, but the first one was bought with a discount, so i guess the price will be higher now. Yes, I am a cheap bastard!

[samhy]

Originally Posted by paola

Yes, I am a cheap bastard!

No, not at all. Those are very valid points.
Just don't give up on the Mini (or Kobo) altogether, only because of a retailer. But it's true that things can add up quite fast.