Kobo wising up?

[Uncle Robin]

In the first 3 years after I switched from Kindle to Kobo, the one area where Kobo was AT least 12 parsecs behind Amazon was customer service. No phone number, and a "culture of no" to simple customer requests. The contrast between the way that Amazon would routinely waive the $20 fee for the ad-supported version of the Kindle if asked versus the way Kobo's CSR reps reacted on chat when asked about missing Super Points was like the difference between sugar and salt.

In the last few months though I've noticed a huge improvement. Ever since they started listing contact phone numbers, it seems like Rakuten Kobo might be finally beginning to grok that happy customers are much more likely to be repeat customers. I've found the CSRs I've spoken with to be helpful and significantly more empowered to take the initative to act on their own to address issues.

Today, I decided to test Microsoft Edge to see if I could get the chat function working that doesn't work for me in FF, Chrome or Pale Moon. I wanted to ask CS about 'missing' Bonus Points from a "5X Bonus Points, 10X if you're VIP" book I bought today. I have got into the habit of contacting CS via chat to generate a log of the interaction because literally every single time I've had this happen previously (which was literally every single time I took advantage of similar "double points for VIP" promos), I have had to ask for the extra points and then had to wait 48-72 hours to get them, and have often (though not always) needed the 'paper trail' of the chat logs to prove I was entitled.

Today, I logged into chat, explained the issue, and within 5 minutes the CSR had verified the issue and credited my account the missing points. This was the second time in as many months that a Kobo CSR has taken the initiative to correct a points problem (the previous time I got 1000 or so more than was missing, as a 'sorry for the mixup').

Since they're just store credit anyway, Kobo's previous miserly reluctance to part with Bonus Points made no sense. especially when it left a customer feeling irritated and thus disinclined to buy. It's great to see them finally getting a clue and realizing that when keeping the customer happy costs neither party anything, that customer is more likely to reward Kobo with actual coin in future.

[hobnail]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

was like the difference between sugar and salt.

Good one. I've got to remember to use it.

[PeterT]

Originally Posted by hobnail

Good one. I've got to remember to use it.

I still remember back in University, on one occasion after an all nighter on a computer science project, heading into a diner for a club sandwich and fries and covering the fries with sugar (grabbed the wrong shaker). They weren't bad, but doubt I would do that again.

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[Cootey]

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

In the last few months though I've noticed a huge improvement. Ever since they started listing contact phone numbers, it seems like Rakuten Kobo might be finally beginning to grok that happy customers are much more likely to be repeat customers. I've found the CSRs I've spoken with to be helpful and significantly more empowered to take the initative to act on their own to address issues.

Maybe you got lucky. I'm still more likely to get a CSR who is clueless about the problem I have, or who is downright combative. The phone reps are so much more helpful than the chat reps, but perhaps the quality of the CSR experience depends on the nature of the issue. It's not that I've never had a good Kobo CSR experience, but I only contact them with issues I can't solve, like missing purchases, etc. And efforts to escalate matters rarely yield any results. I have to do all the leg work to get situations resolved with chat, but I have better results on the phone.

I'm glad you had a positive experience, though. I hope I get that CSR next time I chat with them.