The bad Kobo customer service thread

[guitarizt]

Like I said, for me I'm sick of waiting so I opted to go for a cheaper PW. If roles were reversed and I was magically waiting for the PW from Kobo and I could get the Aura in 3 days or less from Amazon I would pay more and get the Aura again.

6charlong is from the USA and ordered his Kobo the exact same day as me. He already has his and I'm still waiting for mine to ship. I've contacted support 4 times to check on the order status and to try to cancel the order. It would be nice if the Aura was sold on Amazon with warranty by the time the pw2 comes out so I have some options, but I don't want to have to deal with buying direct from Kobo ever again because of their poor customer service. At least with Amazon they let you cancel orders in a timely manner, and people's orders ship in the order they were received.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by guitarizt

6charlong is from the USA and ordered his Kobo the exact same day as me. He already has his and I'm still waiting for mine to ship. I've contacted support 4 times to check on the order status and to try to cancel the order. It would be nice if the Aura was sold on Amazon with warranty by the time the pw2 comes out so I have some options, but I don't want to have to deal with buying direct from Kobo ever again because of their poor customer service. At least with Amazon they let you cancel orders in a timely manner, and people's orders ship in the order they were received.

Are you sure you haven't received a tracking number yet? Perhaps the email got put in spam or something? I ordered on 4/25, received an invoice 4/30 and got the tracking number 5/3.

I wouldn't count on customer service knowing since they seem to be there more for ebooks rather than hardware sales. Seriously, though, I have no idea why Kobo didn't just sell the ebook readers via Rakuten/Buy.com.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Seriously, though, I have no idea why Kobo didn't just sell the ebook readers via Rakuten/Buy.com.

Yes, this would have been a good solution. Apparently a lot of the Rakuten companies are run 99.9% separately though and have no interface at all (not that they couldn't).

[Sharkus]

Firstly, please read my disclaimer in my signature, as this is personal comment, not official.

Secondly. Aura is meant to be a limited edition, I believe it is primarily because it's a jump from the regular eInk devices. It's an attempt to see if there is interest in a premium eInk device, as opposed to a tablet based device. I don't believe it was thought out to be sold in the number of units that Glo is. This limited / premium feel extends to where it can be purchased.
Look at the "Where to Buy" listing for Glo vs Aura and you'll see there is a big difference. The primary seller for the US is Kobo.

There is a Kobo twitter account, so you could always tweet that account with a message mentioning you're not happy about your Aura order, it could get passed up the chain.

It could be that the lower CS tiers don't have access to order information, and that is why it got bumped up the ladder. I don't know what they do / do not have access to.

It could as others have said just be a junked tracking email, no spam system is perfect, I've had emails that usually come through dropped into spam for inexplicable reasons.

I'm *not* trying to make excuses and I can understand the frustration and not getting a good or speedy reply to your queries, and I can see why it would cause you to lose confidence in Kobo.

Kobo's on Amazon, directly from Kobo (seems they are, well Glo certainly, on there, just not from us direct) is somewhat amusing to me, given that we are in the eBook / eReader market and so it's direct competition. Can you buy a Sony eReader, from Sony, on Amazon (never looked so I don't know), as it could be the same kind of thing.

The Rakuten / Buy.com angle is an interesting one. As said by others, some of the companies run by Rakuten, of which Kobo is one, are basically left to their own devices (no pun intended), and I do recall being told that this was going to be the case for Kobo. Mickey (Hiroshi Mikitani) likes what he sees, and doesn't want to change anything, less it change what we do and how we do it. The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" cliche springs to mind.

I can see sense in the Rakuten us website selling Kobo devices, it'd be another avenue for the US, and who knows, it might happen

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by Sharkus

The Rakuten / Buy.com angle is an interesting one. As said by others, some of the companies run by Rakuten, of which Kobo is one, are basically left to their own devices (no pun intended), and I do recall being told that this was going to be the case for Kobo. Mickey (Hiroshi Mikitani) likes what he sees, and doesn't want to change anything, less it change what we do and how we do it. The "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" cliche springs to mind.

I can see sense in the Rakuten us website selling Kobo devices, it'd be another avenue for the US, and who knows, it might happen

Yes, well, given all the complaints, we can clearly see that the hardware sales side of Kobo is a bit broken. It's understandable that they'd keep it separate from ebook/digital sales but why they couldn't even have a decent online order tracking system in place is beyond me. Even if all it says when you log in is "Processing", I think that still would've gone a long way to alleviate customers' concerns.

[david_e]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Yes, well, given all the complaints, we can clearly see that the hardware sales side of Kobo is a bit broken. It's understandable that they'd keep it separate from ebook/digital sales but why they couldn't even have a decent online order tracking system in place is beyond me. Even if all it says when you log in is "Processing", I think that still would've gone a long way to alleviate customers' concerns.

How many complaints were there, really? There were two very vocal posters who repeatedly posted their experience over and over again in every thread. And how real / reliable are they? One of them stated they had a certain ereader, then they said they ordered it, then they said they were going to order it. When one part of the story seems to constantly change I tend to doubt the entire story and the person relating it.

I also find it odd that both people were hell bent on finding out the status of their order, finding out if it had shipped, and finally confirming it had shipped, then decide they want to cancel. It just doesn't seem logical to want something so badly as to invest all of that time and energy into finding out where it is, is it coming, only to no longer want it once you've confirmed it's coming.

As for changing the way they process orders, they aren't an online retailer, it's more of an afterthought for them and a line of last resort for most buyers, so why sink time and money into something you don't need or aren't going to use in the future. Like they said, this is a one time thing. I would think any future readers of similar size / quality would go through their regular selling channels.

[Pierre Menard]

That is just a downright offensive post.

[pidgeon92]

Originally Posted by david_e

As for changing the way they process orders, they aren't an online retailer, it's more of an afterthought for them and a line of last resort for most buyers, so why sink time and money into something you don't need or aren't going to use in the future.

Pretty much their entire business is online. If they can manage to track ebook purchases, it really ought not be that difficult to track physical ones. If this is beyond their capabilities, they should farm that part out to someone who knows what they are doing.

[John F]

Originally Posted by david_e

...

As for changing the way they process orders, they aren't an online retailer, it's more of an afterthought for them and a line of last resort for most buyers, so why sink time and money into something you don't need or aren't going to use in the future. Like they said, this is a one time thing. I would think any future readers of similar size / quality would go through their regular selling channels.

Interestingly, checking Kobo's website today, all their ereaders are available online.

[chilady1]

Originally Posted by John F

Interestingly, checking Kobo's website today, all their ereaders are available online.

I only see Onyx and Ivory available - Expresso not available or at least that option is not there.

[John F]

Originally Posted by chilady1

I only see Onyx and Ivory available - Expresso not available or at least that option is not there.

I meant "all" as in all models (mini, touch, Aura, glo, arc). I believe as of last week the only models available online (in the U.S.) was the Aura.

[ilovejedd]

Originally Posted by John F

I meant "all" as in all models (mini, touch, Aura, glo, arc). I believe as of last week the only models available online (in the U.S.) was the Aura.

Pretty sure the rest was available for online purchase via Kobo website before the Aura HD was released.

Engadget: Kobo finally makes its e-readers available through its own site

[John F]

Originally Posted by ilovejedd

Pretty sure the rest was available for online purchase via Kobo website before the Aura HD was released.

Engadget: Kobo finally makes its e-readers available through its own site

My mistake. Sorry about that.

So it looks like they started in the beginning of April (from the article). From their press release:

... Kobo Inc., a global leader in eReading, today announced that its Family of eReaders is available for purchase directly at Kobo.com for customer in Canada and the United States. The world-class family of eReaders includes the award-winning Kobo Touch™, the Parent Tested, Parent Approved™ Kobo Glo and Kobo Mini E Ink eReaders, and Kobo Arc 7" Google-certified Android tablet. Kobo eReader accessories will also be available for sale online. ...

For a "global leader" not to have an online tracking seems pretty deficient.

[david_e]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Pretty much their entire business is online. If they can manage to track ebook purchases, it really ought not be that difficult to track physical ones. If this is beyond their capabilities, they should farm that part out to someone who knows what they are doing.

My fault for not being more clear...

Yes, they are an online retailer, but they specialize in digital content. And while they may offer actual, physical items, their readers, this seems to be an afterthought. Their primary channels for selling readers are other retailers.

Did offering the Aura tax their system? I don't know. Based on my personal experience, no. Am I going to say yes based on the anecdotal and, in my mind, questionable experiences of others? No.

[ilovejedd]

Just received my Aura HD (Los Angeles, CA). No wonder Kobo's customer service reps had no idea about order status. Packing slip on mine said it shipped directly from Ingram Micro which is an electronics wholesale/distributor. That said, pretty sure Ingram Micro provides Kobo with order info so Kobo should still develop a way for customers to easily track orders online.