[eGeezer]

Originally Posted by jenifer.ezread

I'm sorry to hear you've recently had problems contacting Astak support. Please send a message to support@astak.com and I will personally make sure our tech team responds to your Pocket Pro issues.

Well, if you followed the forums as closely as you imply you do (and which Robert most assuredly did), You would already know what I'm talking about.

On Friday, Jul 30, at the start of my vacation, I awoke to find my PPro screen acting pretty weird. I searched for similar problems on the forum, did all the tests mentioned (reset, repower, pull the battery, reinstall the FW), and even posted a picture of the screen. Then I noticed a little indent in the screen and realized most of the pattern in that area did, indeed, look somewhat like a shattered window. Apparently it was somehow bent between the evening before and the A.M. when I turned it on.

Okay, problem figured out, so I called the "support" number and left a message at 11am asking for help. I noted the Astak address on the website was in San Jose, mere miles and minutes from my location, and since I was to be in San Jose on Saturday, I called the second number inquiring whether Astak might be open on Saturday.

By late afternoon, I finally discovered the "support" email hidden away at the bottom of the FAQ page with no link to it. (Yes, I did notice later that the email address is at the bottom of all the web pages).

By then, it had been 6 hours since my first call to "support" with no response. I noted in the email that in order to send the unit in for repair, I needed an RMA, but had been waiting for 6 hours for a response giving me that RMA, or an answer on the Saturday question.

Despite TheDucks having indicated they might not be open on Saturday, I went ahead and stopped by to confirm it.

On TUESDAY I finally received an email from Astak "support" listing a bunch of excuses -- but not providing any information whatsoever what my next step is. My response was answered politely by Elliott telling me to call or respond to the email, as was my response to him. This was over a period of days because I was in Yosemite National park with a wifi connect not much better than 56k.

Being on vacation, I abandoned the whole mess, until I got home late Friday night (Aug 6) so I got to wait until Monday to call. At that time, Elliot asked me to send an email with my contact info so he could issue an RMA. Wow, I was sooooo thrilled. Why couldn't that request been emailed to me in the first place so I could have sent the unit in a LOT earlier?

NOT what I would call good service.

But I'll tell you one thing: The main reason I didn't buy a nook on the way home thru Oregon (saving $15 tax) is because of Robert. Robert has been an enthusiastic advocate of Astak on this forum, and I was perfectly willing to pay the extra to replace the PPro with a Plus to help hold of the elephants in the room for a little longer.

Robert's silence on the forums is likely due to the personal time he is taking at the moment. His retirement is a very personal issue, and was discussed thoughtfully and at great length with our bosses, I am sure.

Perhaps. But I don't think there is a person on this forum that believes Robert wouldn't have already given us at least a hint he was considering "retirement" so we'd be prepared for the change if he made the decision.

While one might take an extended leave of absence to recover from surgery, "retirement" seems a bit of a reach.

The new EZ Read "Plus" is actually available for sale right now at www.astak.com. You were right, Robert did have the facts wrong: the device is actually available now.

Well, it may be available, but your website must be as bad as your support, because I don't see it listed anywhere either on www.astak.com or www.ezreader.com.

Yes, I see it is there in a banner, if the customer knows to wait around for the banner to appear. Wow, that sure makes Robert look bad. And the lower price makes him look a like big fat liar, so I guess we should all be glad he's gone, what with all these errors on the side of caution that kept people from buying a nook on the way home thru Oregon.

I am sorry to hear you'd like to take your business elsewhere in the absence of Robert.

It's not the absence of Robert. Its the silence of Robert.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that after it was "discussed thoughtfully and at great length with our bosses" it also included a boot full of money with a gag order tied to the laces.

Robert had already indicated we would be seeing you on the forums more. Would have been better if you and he had been posting simultaneously before he "retired" so it would look more like a transition than what it appears.

Tell you what. I was actually going to wait to see how many weeks it would take your "support" to send back a refurbished PPro and claim they had actually replaced the screen before I ordered a Plus, anyway.

My PPro went in the mail yesterday. How about you give me $50 credit toward a (Black) Plus and you keep the PPro with its broken screen and peeling paint.

Took me 8 months to break the PPro, so that should give us time to see if you can really replace Robert in the forums.