Repair Parts for Vox

[jubi]

Hi folks, I've been searching the web for a way to replace the glass on my Vox. I've contacted Kobo, and I'd like to share the email correspondence:

My Request to kobo customer care:

"Hello,
I have a Touch and also a Vox, and love them both. The other day I was
in the store with my Vox in hand, looking at protective sleeves and covers,
and I accidentally dropped it to the floor(*the irony* *became evident later
*). I picked it up and the corner of the glass had suffered a chip, from
which a crack extended partly into the viewing area of the screen. I was
very disappointed, and too discouraged to purchase a sleeve.

I called and spoke with a service rep at Kobo, who told me to go where I
purchased it. I went to Best Buy and was told to check with Kobo as they
could do nothing, short of shipping it out for repairs. I should point out
that the unit works just fine; the damage is cosmetic only. I would simply
like to order a replacement glass screen and repair it myself, at my
expense. I have repaired numerous laptops, phones, cameras, etc. and am
confident about it. I understand the Vox is a new device and the builder
may not be ready to ship out spares, but I feel it is worth verifying. I
am asking the good folks at Kobo to contact their supplier and try to
obtain the glass for me through whatever channels are available, or provide
me with a contact person.

I very much appreciate you taking the time to consider my request and await
patiently your reply.
Best regards,

xxxxxxxxxx "

The Response:

Hi there,


Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care. We apologize for the delay. We are sorry to hear that your
Kobo is damage, but all sales are final.


Sincerely,
The Kobo Team
Customer By Email (J J)11/08/2011 07:05 AM
Question Reference #111108-000230
Product Level 1: Kobo Vox
Date Created: 11/08/2011 07:05 AM
Last Updated: 11/11/2011 06:32 PM
Status: Solved"

Did they even READ my request? I had more faith in this canadian company's customer support. The grammar mistake in there also suggests that my reply came from Asia In any case, it's a very poor response. I acknowledge the damage is my fault, and am willing to pay for a repair, but not to send it out for 3 weeks. I have a lot of travelling in the next 12 weeks, and I need this unit!
There is little information available so far. I've found that they are manufactured by Wistron (is that accurate?). Perhaps it would use the same glass as another 7" tablet, and if just slightly bigger, one could trim it to fit with special glass cutting tools? Anyone have some input?

[taming]

That Kobo silver coverage sure looks good doesn't it. For folks who have not purchased the additional insurance, it is designed to address situations similar to this, and if you damage your Vox, in this kind of way, they will take care of it--even though it is your own fault. You need to buy the coverage within 30 days of activating your Vox.

I'm guessing that the glass is not going to be readily available. It seems to be a kobo-only choice.

[hieronymos]

I myself have already worked at customer support and sometimes this just happens (even if it is totally unacceptable). Responding 'Please read my email again from the beginning to the end. You did not answer my question.' often works. :-)

[KoboJW]

Jubi - I have forwarded your email internally. Hopefully someone can get back to you with a more appropriate response.

James

[pokee]

Originally Posted by jubi

Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care. We apologize for the delay. We are sorry to hear that your Kobo is damage, but all sales are final.

This is a huge peeve of mine (see bold). Chances are, they missed the gist your email altogether, due to a language barrier.

Hope James can help you out. I would be curious to know how it is resolved, just in case my Vox gets a boo-boo one day.

Curious though: CAN we buy the Silver protection for our Voxes, as long as it's within 30 days of your purchase, as Taming suggests? By reading what's on the Kobo website, it looks like the extended warranty must be purchased at the same time you buy the Vox (but the Vox just needs to be activated within 30 days of delivery). I was under the impression I could not buy the Silver protection, unless I bought my Vox directly from Kobo or Chapters...

[taming]

I believe it depends not on where you bought it, but rather on it being purchased within 30 days of activating a new device. See http://download.kobobooks.com/learnm...ionPlan_TC.pdf for more info.

[pokee]

Originally Posted by taming

I believe it depends not on where you bought it, but rather on it being purchased within 30 days of activating a new device. See http://download.kobobooks.com/learnm...ionPlan_TC.pdf for more info.

Yeah, I saw this - but it only details the plans themselves - it doesn't detail eligibility for purchasing the plan. The only thing I can find documented is this:

You will be billed at time of purchase of a Protection Plan but your coverage will not start until the day you activate your Kobo eReader. For your Protection Plan to be valid, you must activate your Kobo eReader within 30-days of order delivery. Download and read our Terms and Conditions for full details.

That's not exactly stating that you can purchase the plan within 30 days of purchasing your Vox...it's just stating you must activate it within 30 days of purchasing the Vox and your plan...at least - that's how I interpret this...

Most of the time, you are not allowed to buy any extended warranty coverage after you've taken possession of your item, because you could buy the coverage due to an accident. But, I guess it depends on the company and the item...

[jubi]

Thank you James, I appreciate that

@pokee: spelling and grammar mistakes are an annoyance to me as well, and they are common today.

[jump4jay]

jubi, have you had any luck with getting your Vox repaired or a replacement glass? Mine and a friends' has a nice crack in them, too.

It's a very safe bet that Kobo did NOT use Gorilla Glass in the units. Both of our Kobo's had relatively short/small drops, and the resulting crack in the glass you'd think it was thrown across the room!

[pcampbell]

Just wait for China to catch up and start making the replacement digitizer/lcd. Trust me they will.

[oldyellr]

There are all kinds of vendors selling inexpensive screen repair kits for Blackberries and iPhones. If Vox sales get anywhere near those volumes, you'll see the same for Vox on eBay. Chargers too.

[jubi]

To be honest, I have sort of gotten used to the crack being there, and also lost hope; most likely what Kobo anticipated. I will try and contact them again, maybe now there are some spares available somehow but I won't hold my breath.