Bad Kobo support story on the Consumerist

[artifact]

Gifting An E-Book From Kobo: No Book, No Help

Kris purchased the new biography of Steve Jobs through the Kobo e-bookstore as a gift for his dad, but here's the trouble with buying an e-book: no one knows where it went, and no one at Kobo is capable of helping him. The Kindle version cost $3 more, but actually worked.

The Consumerist website is a division of the publishers of the well respected ConsumerReport magazine, so I assume this'll hit Kobo hard. There is already a response from 'KoboCare' to the article so something is watching the internet press.

I would like to see proper reporting on their customer service one day, because any number of factors can impact on anecdotes. Obviously bad customer service may be an issue here. Yet I have also found that approaching customer service representatives in a friendly and patient manner elicits far more helpful responses. This is especially true when you're talking to someone who is earning close to minimum wage, and the reason why they are earning close to minimum wage is because you are buying a low cost item. (While $18 is pricey for a book in my opinion, Kobo also has to watch their margins. Spending a few minutes on the phone with a customer will kill that margin on an individual purchase.)

[Joe563]

Originally Posted by artifact

Gifting An E-Book From Kobo: No Book, No Help



The Consumerist website is a division of the publishers of the well respected ConsumerReport magazine, so I assume this'll hit Kobo hard. There is already a response from 'KoboCare' to the article so something is watching the internet press.

Read KoboCare's first response - it is unintentionally somewhat funny. The person who posted the note was named Kris and he had a problem with the Steve Jobs biography. KoboCare's response begins with "We are very sorry to hear that your friend Steve has had a negative experience with our Customer Care."

[shaf]

After all the talk about KOBO Customer Care improving I've actually found it to be the same as before if not worse. The Problem is the disconnect between Tier 1 and Tier 2 support.
When talking to a tier1 rep. yesterday I was told there was no contact between Tier 1 and Tier 2 once an issue is escalated to Tier 2 there is nothing Tier 1 can do.
I've been waiting 6 days for a response from Tier 2.
Hope your Kobo device never breaks because if bought from a Capters/Indigo Store they now refuse to replace or exchange them. Kobo support is your only hope.

[feedbakbwr]

Wow if this is true of Chapters/Indigo that would be a kicker for me not to buy one.

[molman]

So is koboexecutivecare@kobo.com the special email address one needs to use if they have issues with CS's service?

[Ninjalawyer]

Originally Posted by Joe563

Read KoboCare's first response - it is unintentionally somewhat funny. The person who posted the note was named Kris and he had a problem with the Steve Jobs biography. KoboCare's response begins with "We are very sorry to hear that your friend Steve has had a negative experience with our Customer Care."

Every time I've called Kobo tech support, they've assigned me a name wholly different than my given name; In the past 6 months, I've been Mark, Chris and John to Kobo customer support.