[Katsunami]

So... I did e-mail Kobo, and got a fast response from their (out-sourced) helpdesk.

It's like every helpdesk I ever contacted: they only read the first three words of the e-mail subject, therefore identifying the problem incorrectly, and giving you the wrong, canned response.

I sent them a message in which I stated that books are missing in my library, making me unable to download them using the "ADOBE DRM EPUB" button. I also said that the books *are* in the purchasing history, and even gave them the order numbers.

I requested Kobo to put the books into my library.

This was the subject line of the return e-mail:

"Puchasing & Billing: Missing Purchase History"

Then the e-mail proceeds to explain how to bookmark books in the library and how to download the books into the Kobo Desktop Application.

"Have a wonderful day!"

I don't.

First, I have no problems with the purchasing history. The problem is with the library.
Second, you are giving me steps to follow that cannot be folowed. The books are not in the library, so they can't be bookmarked. They're NOT THERE, just like the Mystery Cat MacAvity.
Third, I have not asked for information about the Kobo Desktop Application, so I don't expect to get any information about it.
Fourth, the books are still not in my library.

"Kobo Customer Care – Tell Us How We Did!"

Badly.

When I worked at a helpdesk many years ago, I made it a point to *ACTUALLY READ* what people were asking. The result was that every e-mail that coudn't be answered with a canned response eventually landed in my inbox (mostly after a history of being handled wrongly by people sending out canned responses).

I answered the fewest e-mails of everyone in a day, but after *I* answered one, it *NEVER* returned except to say "Thank you". Despite answering the fewest e-mails of everyone, I often had the highest number of solved inquiries at the end of the month, and also the highest rating of customer satisfaction. Not because I'm some helpdesk god that knew so much more than others, but because I actually read what people were writing.

So, doing less, gets done more.

Answering an e-mail quickly with a canned response so you can do more in one day invariably gives you more work (because you *WILL* get a return mail if the canned response is the wrong one), less solutions (because you need more mails, so your mail vs. solution ratio becomes worse) and lower customer satisfaction (giving customers the wrong answer invariably irritates them).

Maybe someone at Kobo will read this and contact their helpdesk to have some stuff changed there, but I doubt it.