Kobo, a real Mickey Mouse company!

[Marbles]

I don't have a Vox yet but find that emailing them is useless. I emailed on the 4th with a problem regarding a gift card and have received an email but cannot find where to check on it since they upgraded the web site. If any one can help please let me know.

Thanks

[jefftheworld]

Originally Posted by Marbles

I don't have a Vox yet but find that emailing them is useless. I emailed on the 4th with a problem regarding a gift card and have received an email but cannot find where to check on it since they upgraded the web site. If any one can help please let me know.

Thanks

Is it an Indigo/Chapters Gift Card? For some reason (security & fraud reasons, apparently) we've changed it so that you must sign into (or sign up for) an online account in order to check your balance.

After that you can just follow these instructions:

Checking your Gift Card balance

Sign-in to your "Account Centre", click "Gift Cards", then click "Check Remaining Balance".
Enter your Gift Card number and PIN, then click "Check Balance".

[Cdesja5]

This is kind of funny...I got my confirmation from Darryl about 10 days ago that my order was cancelled after contacting him directly. Today I got a form letter in response to my original email (which had a copy of the order in it), saying that they were escalating my request to tier 2 and that I would be contacted for my order details so it could be cancelled. Their process definitely needs to be fixed!
Thanks to the posters that made Darryl's email avaible. I'm only finding this funny right now because I've already got the cancellation. I definitely wouldn't if I hadn't!

[49Kat]

Check your address book in your Kobo account, too. I had somebody else's name and address entered as the default shipping and billing in my account. I mean, someone in the U.S. My actual correct name and address was an extra added to it. My address was correct for my Vox order, but I am baffled about how someone else's name and address ended up in my account address book. I should have printed the info before I corrected it, but I didn't.

I have changed my password, although I don't think anyone hacked my account.

[Cdesja5]

No, everything in my account is accurate, right down to the "cancelled" in my order status...they obviously never looked at it before responding.

[49Kat]

FWIW, I don't think Kobo is a "Mickey Mouse company".

I do think that they were, perhaps, a bit under prepared for the launch of this particular product and for the demand. I think the problems with people's orders are due to that--the technical infrastructure (their ordering system, servers, whatever) obviously was not up to the demand. I also wonder if they had hired on a bunch of new off-shore staff, some of whom also seemed unprepared for a whole slew of phone calls. I also think that someone else's name and address ending up in my address book may have been the result of someone manually attempting to 'fix' my problem and doing so in haste. They were trying to find an order I had placed, but they had no record of it or even my e-mail address or my name and they were dealing with a disgruntled customer--me. With the language barrier involved, the first name of the person whose name was in my address book could resemble mine, as they both end with the same sound, although none of the other information was even close. I had a great deal of trouble getting the call center staff to comprehend the e-mail addresses I was telling them and I had to repeat it several times. They had thick accents, and I suppose to their ears, I was the one with the thick accent. I think they had as much trouble understanding me as I had in understanding them.

Once I found this board, though, and through this board the address of someone actually in Canada, that's the contact person I stuck with and this is the person I will call should there be any further problems with my order. Right now I am waiting for the refund to show up on my credit card account.

I guess if you're going to use off-shore call centers, the staff there need to be better trained. They also need to be tested on their comprehension of the language--including the accents--of the customers they are serving.

And, unfortunately, large companies seem to insist on using such call centers.

It was odd, too, the manner in which the Vox was launched in that a whole bunch of retailers actually had the item on hand on launch day, yet people who ordered directly from Kobo had problems with their orders as well as shipping delays. Why were the pre-orders to individual customers not given priority? Had those customers received shipping notices on the 28th of October, they wouldn't have been high-tailing it to their nearest Best Buy or Future Shop to pick up their shiny new Voxes and then frantically trying to cancel their online orders--with limited success, I might add--with Kobo.

My husband has speculated that staffing numbers at Kobo were deliberately kept lean because of the pending sale to the Japanese company--your bottom line looks more attractive if you're spending less on salaries. I don't know what goes on behind the scenes, but I do expect things at Kobo to settle down and improve within the next few months.

[49Kat]

Originally Posted by Cdesja5

No, everything in my account is accurate, right down to the "cancelled" in my order status...they obviously never looked at it before responding.

The put the word "closed" as the description of my order, rather than "cancelled". It actually doesn't say "cancelled" anywhere, but if you click on 'view', you see 3 tabs, and one of them for me says refund. There is a record of the refund there, and that has its own number. So I suppose my original order wasn't actually "cancelled" per se, but a refund is coming.

[Cdesja5]

I agree with you that Kobo isn't Mickey Mouse, it's rather the off-shore call centre they use. I work for a large retailer here, with call centres located in both Canada and off shore and they have the same kind of problem with the one outside Canada. As a matter of fact, they have repatriated part of the calls here because for more complex issues, customers were getting stock or incorrect answers.
Hopefully Kobo comes to realize that although cheaper in cost, dealing with an offshore centre where the staff don't have personal experience with the technology and our expections for quick and effective service is not cost effective in the long run. I would think that in view of the way things have evolved, chances are that this contract with the offshore co. will not be renewed...

[tslemko]

Originally Posted by 49Kat

Tslemko,

See this thread. This has been my experience when buying a Vox from the Kobo site, or at least trying to:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=155200

See post #11 in that thread. I know Darrell is being inundated with e-mails and phone calls, but he'll get it straightened out for you.

It would be a good idea for Kobo to just permit order cancellations on-line, the way Amazon does, instead of requiring a phone call.

Thanks, I will contact Darrell.

[tslemko]

Originally Posted by tslemko

Thanks, I will contact Darrell.

Well I did contact Darrell and he wrote back the next day and said I can refuse the shipment and he will make sure my credit card is credited. Finally some service from Kobo. A few minutes after the email, the shipment did arrive and I refused it, so hopefully I will have the credit in a week or so.

Definitely, if you have a problem communicating with Kobo, Darrell is the answer.

[cristovao]

Sadly, my experience with Kobo since my wife pre-ordered the Vox has deteriorated horribly.
Similar situation, she pre-ordered expecting to have the device before or on the day of public release. When release day came and she saw stores had them in stock, I called and requested the pre-order cancelled. I was told only Tier 2 could cancel the order so I asked to be transferred but she said they don't answer phones (WTF?). After pressing for several minutes, she finally spoke to a supervisor/manager and said they'd send a request to Tier 2 to cancel the order. We even received an email about our request. I thought we were done...I was terribly wrong.
A week later, my wife got an email saying "Thanks for your Order"...so I called back and told them how we requested the order be cancelled. This time, they assured me that Tier 2 would cancel the order by having sent them a "private message".
Three days later, she got the email saying the Vox was shipped.

Are they a Mickey Mouse company? No, but at times they are simply unprofessional and largely unhelpful. Why is the department responsible for cancelling orders available by email only? That's unacceptable.

I've since put a dispute in with my credit card to remove the charges (which I found out could take up to 120 days!!!), I've instructed Purolator to send the Vox back (we never picked it up) and the best was the call I made today to Kobo. I asked, quite simply, to speak to a manager of Tier 2. The answer? "No, but they can email you."

Again, unacceptable, unprofessional and unhelpful. Now I have $200 sitting on my credit card, awaiting the CC company to reverse or Kobo to credit back. Who's going to pay for the interest accrued on this card? Me. I have no hope in Kobo righting this wrong by giving me some form of compensation.

Plus, I returned the Vox we bought in store (after exchanging the original due to not powering up) because of all the problems we were having with it (the wake-from-sleep issue, the library re-downloading every book repeatedly and lastly, eating my brand new SD card). I REALLY wanted to stick with this device...when it worked, it was enjoyable but there were simply too many problems with it.

In summary, I'm not impressed and disappointed.

[49Kat]

Cristovao, that is awful!

Talk to this guy:

ddiljohn@kobo.com

He'll get you sorted out. If you have an order number, he can get the charge on your credit card reversed for you.

Somebody at that call center very much needs to be fired, IMO. 'nuff said. Darrell knows all about my conversations with the call center staff, and it very much resembles yours.

Re your credit card--it can be pointed out, as well, that carrying a balance impacts one's credit rating, and not in a good way. Kobo needs to step up and fix this for you.

[Aemma]

Originally Posted by Cdesja5

I agree with you that Kobo isn't Mickey Mouse, it's rather the off-shore call centre they use. I work for a large retailer here, with call centres located in both Canada and off shore and they have the same kind of problem with the one outside Canada. As a matter of fact, they have repatriated part of the calls here because for more complex issues, customers were getting stock or incorrect answers.
Hopefully Kobo comes to realize that although cheaper in cost, dealing with an offshore centre where the staff don't have personal experience with the technology and our expections for quick and effective service is not cost effective in the long run. I would think that in view of the way things have evolved, chances are that this contract with the offshore co. will not be renewed...

Well I certainly hope that their call centre will change. The service from the first call centre person was really unhelpful to a person (me) who is already not terribly techno-savvy. I was told to do a factory reset all while the syncing issues I have been getting seem to be Kobo's issue from their end.

And yes unfortunately the language barrier is not helpful at all. I had to ask the call centre worker to slow down when she spoke since I couldn't understand what she was telling me. It felt bad for asking her to slow down but I really couldn't understand her at all.

The second person I got to help me (when the factory reset did nothing to fix my current problem) was great though. He was supportive and took his time and was careful to speak clearly and positively. He however did tell me I didn't need to do a factory reset which was unfortunately too little, too late.

I really hope that Kobo fixes this bug, or whatever it is that is fouling things up. I miss my Kobo ereader.

[49Kat]

Cristovao

I just got my refund on my credit card, and that was thanks to Darrell. I wouldn't waste my time with the call center anymore.

Since your Vox has already been shipped and by Purolator, you should try to get a Purolator tracking number and track the shipment all the way BACK to Kobo, and print out the result. At least you'll have a record that they have received the item back.

I've had other companies instantly refund my card even before they received back shipments I've returned, but I don't know what Kobo is like in that respect.

There's also this site where you can post as well, and it is monitored by Kobo staff.

http://getsatisfaction.com/kobo

If you do post there, they will advise you to write to the help link at Kobo and get a support ticket number, but at least then there is an official record in writing that something is being done. I think it's help@kobobooks.com . Then you would post back to the getsatisfaction site with the ticket number and the Kobo staff there will work on it.

[cristovao]

49Kat,
Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll email Darrell and use that site.

A little update from this morning (keep in mind this all happened before I read your comments tonight); I called my credit card to find out the status of my dispute and to confirm that they received my fax with all the information. I was advised that they did receive my fax but that it could take up to 120 days () to process, although he did say that's the absolute maximum.

Then I called Purolator to ensure that they were sending the unit back. They advised it would be sent back today and that if I wanted a tracking number I'd have to call back tomorrow. I'll be doing that.

I then called Kobo to advise them of what I've done and to request to speak to a manager because after all this nonsense, I'd had enough. I immediately asked to speak to a manager, none was available but I got a supervisor instead. I explained the situation to him, told him everything I'd done and ultimately requested that I speak with a manager in Tier 2 about this and some possible compensation. I got the same line about them not taking calls. I told him firmly, yet diplomatically, that that wasn't good enough. I wanted to talk to someone...on the phone. He put me on hold and returned saying the best he could do was pass all my information to a Tier 2 manager and have them email me today. I told him that was unacceptable but realized that I wasn't going to get any further and didn't want to get into ugly words (I was shaking with frustration at this point) so I agreed and let it go.

Guess what? It's now 22:15 in Calgary and we haven't gotten the promised email. I'm going to email Darrell now but I am likely going to make a phone call tomorrow.

I understand that this type of service is not uncommon, especially with off-shore call centers and whatnot, that Kobo isn't the only company that suffers from this type of professionalism (or lack thereof) but I'm really tired of being complacent and just accepting poor customer service from all types of companies. I simply will not stand for it and if they (meaning any company, not just Kobo) think they can just script me away, they've got another thing coming.

On a side note, I returned the Vox we purchased in store today. With the wake-from-sleep issue, the library re-downloading all my books randomly and the stuck SD card, I just couldn't keep it anymore. Best Buy were VERY helpfull...they refunded me even after the 14 day period, and managed to extract my brand new SD card without incident. THAT my friends, is good customer service.

I want everyone to know that I'm not here simply sh!tt!ng on Kobo maliciously. I actually quite enjoyed the Vox when it was working and when my wife suggested switching to Kindle/Amazon for our next eReader, I said that I actually really like Kobo (especially the Reading Life and social integration aspect) and will likely stick with them...plus her Kobo Touch is quite nice.

(Sorry this was so long-winded...)