Kobo CS is horrible.

[voracious71]

Originally Posted by Pookeysgirl

It's not all you can do. If you're really that worried about it, then you would call.

There have been quite a few problems with the Kobo, I personally have a few gripes of my own, but really, what's the problem with calling? Afraid they'll actually help you so you can't make anymore complaints about them? When somebody doesn't respond to my e-mails, I pick up the phone.

I did call in addition to email. I chose to email primarily so there would be a "paper trail" of what went on..good thing I went this route.The lady was nice, but not really helpful. Asked her how long refunds take, a couple of seconds of silence, and then a mumbled response of " a few days". Guess what, it's been more than a few days since the last email from them saying I'll get my refund shortly. So, this phone call solved nothing.

Sorry if you're offended by my posts but when you are selling a product, and claim to have CS available to support your product( by both phone and email), people will be annoyed when your CS is terrible. They got into the ereader game because they wanted to compete with Amazon and B&N..evidently, they aren't ready to play with the big boys yet.

My post was meant as a warning for those considering this product..if you don't like it, you don't have to read it.

[voracious71]

Originally Posted by erictoma

Where do you live ? Canada or USA??

What was your real problem with Kobo ? was is the gadget or the customer service ?

I have been a Kindle owner for years. I also have an iPad..don't read on that much, because the backlight gets to me after about an hour and a half.

Being that Kindle doesn't do library books, and I'm not quite ready to live on the wild side and strip DRM, I figured I'd have 2 ereaders( I know quite a few people who have more than one) and get the Kobo. I found it sluggish to be honest, and putting the library books on there was a pain. A friend then told me about Bluefire Reader for iPad so I decided to go that route. I already owned the ipad, so that worked out.I buy most of my books anyway, so I can confine my reading on the iPad to about an hour a day.

I didnt ever consider a Nook either because I'm very happy with both my Kindle and Amazon CS. That's my main beef is Kobo's CS. I think the ereader is alright..not fantastic, but a nice option for those on a budget or maybe for a kid. The CS is abysmal and I think it's going to hurt them in the long run if they don't shape up.

I live in the US.

[zoran]

Originally Posted by voracious71

My post was meant as a warning for those considering this product..if you don't like it, you don't have to read it.

Don't get me wrong. Your posts are not making difference of the
very product and customers support. I have a reader and, cause
the spot on earth I live, never expected any help from them. In
fact, aside this forum, nobody even might help me if needed. You
do have right to be angry. The point is that you will get your mo-
ney back sooner or latter. I know you put two readers side by si-
de and decided to get rid of this one. The policy lets you turn it
back and have refunds.
I want to stress this: you warn people on something that is wrong.
Finally, how could I know if I like the content prior to read it?

[monkateer]

I tried to return my defective Kobo to Chapters on Nov 19th. They told me I had to call the support line so I drove back home and called. Answered on the first ring. I explained my issue and they promptly upgraded me to "level 2 support". I received an email about 5 minutes after the call was ended. Gave me a request number and a promise to have an update via email "shortly". Its now Dec 4th. I sent off another email requesting action and I will start calling this week. Im using my Kobo as a bookmark. Im not interested in posting the issue with my Kobo but I want to share the CS experience Ive had so far. From what Ive read in the forums, if you get put on level 2 support, your doomed. Kinda like being put on hold on a phone call and no one comes back.

[La Coccinelle]

The problem I was having with my Kobo has been solved (thanks to this forum), but out of curiosity, I went to the tracking e-mail that I received from customer support when I e-mailed them. Despite never getting an answer, the tracking link has expired and it appears they have no record of my complaint.

That's pathetic. How hard is it to track an e-mail and make sure it stays in your database until you answer it?

[monkateer]

Its now Dec 12th and still nothing. Sent off an email back on the 4th. I have not had the opportunity to phone during their hours. (I work) Been almost a month now...I dont even remember what is wrong with my Kobo anymore! Im beyond disappointed, now Im mad. Now my only goal is to get my money back so I can buy the Kindle or the Sony or whatever one I choose. If any Kobo reps read this forum, your customer service is pathetic. I enjoyed the ebook for the short time I could use it but now it sits, and has sat, for a month... as useless as the box it came in.

[taming]

Did you look to see if they did happen to answer your email by checking the open tickets on the site? Sometimes messages end up in spam. If there is no open ticket, they may not have gotten your original email. Go to: http://help.kobobooks.com/ and click on check your existing requests.

Support does leave much to be desired, but I know I would not wait 8 days without checking to see that they actually got the email. I have used support a number of times, and while there have been some truly annoying things abut it, I always had my first reply to an email by the next business day.

[La Coccinelle]

Originally Posted by taming

I have used support a number of times, and while there have been some truly annoying things abut it, I always had my first reply to an email by the next business day.

That certainly hasn't been my experience. I've sent them three e-mails in total and only one was ever answered. The others expired without a response.

The one that was answered was answered quite promptly... but I'm wondering why they seem to ignore/lose e-mails two-thirds of the time!

[taming]

I generally open a ticket on the web, rather than sending an email. I wonder if that makes a difference (it shouldn't). That being said, I have experienced the escalating to level 2 debacle and then had to follow up in a different way when it was not followed through.

[La Coccinelle]

What does "open a ticket on the web" mean? I don't see that option. Is this something that can only be done with the Wi-Fi version?

[taming]

No. Anyone can do it. Go to the help page on the site: http://help.kobobooks.com/. Click on "Submit a Request". Once you have done that, or when you have an email ticket on the go, you would click on "check your existing requests", to see what is happening. You can always check there even if you started the request by Email.

From my POV, the advantage is that you always have a ticket number to refer to when you followup by phone or email (or PM to a Kobo person on MR). BTW, when you said you could not call during the week because you had to work, I wondered if you had noticed that the help phone lines are open from 8 AM to midnight, Eastern Time Zone (-5 GMT).

[JCKobo]

Our customer service has definitely been below par for the last while. One of the problems with growing as fast as Kobo has, is that you can't just scale the number of units you sell - you also have to scale up your customer service organization, which often takes longer.

People have to be hired, and trained, and new processes have to be put in place.

This isn't an excuse, just the state of the nation. We need to get better, and are working at it.

Everyone in the company is now jumping on these tickets, and we are working through our outstanding backlog of requests this week.

Email and web, as taming mentioned, remain the most effective way to reach us.

Effectively they do the same thing, and you should get a ticket # as an auto-reply from email.

[taming]

I suggested the web ticket because some folks have not been getting a return email with a ticket number, Jordan.

[pokee]

Originally Posted by JCKobo

Our customer service has definitely been below par for the last while. One of the problems with growing as fast as Kobo has, is that you can't just scale the number of units you sell - you also have to scale up your customer service organization, which often takes longer.

People have to be hired, and trained, and new processes have to be put in place.

This isn't an excuse, just the state of the nation. We need to get better, and are working at it.

Everyone in the company is now jumping on these tickets, and we are working through our outstanding backlog of requests this week.

Email and web, as taming mentioned, remain the most effective way to reach us.

Effectively they do the same thing, and you should get a ticket # as an auto-reply from email.

I absolutely LOVE that Chapters/Kobo staff read and post on this forum. The fact that they have addressed the issue and are working on it is quite exceptional.

We all know that Kobo is relatively new - and with that comes hiccups for the product and the CS. This is a risk factor in making a purchase - and should be considered (in addition to the less than flexible return policy).

In the meantime, my advice to ANYONE in ANY situation where CS is a problem: The squeaky wheel gets the grease. I know it's a pain to keep following-up, but do it - and you will get results faster than waiting around for a week scratching your head (or fuming...).

[JCKobo]

Thanks Taming - I'll follow up with your customer service team and see if I can find out why that is happening.