The Worst Customer Service

[piratepanda]

Their twitter account told me my replacement shipped two weeks ago and should be here in 5-7 days. When I asked them yesterday why i haven't received anything yet they told me my shipment is on hold until they have units in stock again. WTF? Kobo is seriously the worst company ever

[rogerinnyc]

I've been going back and forth with Kobo for weeks, trying to get them to send me a replacement for my screen defective Aura One before I return it, so I can compare them side-by-side. I offered to have them provisionally charge my credit card to ensure that I would return one, but...wait for it...they're not set up to do that. So eventually I gave up and decided just to send it back and hope that the replacement would be better. But first I wrote and asked whether my replacement would be delayed, given the out-of-stock notice on the web site. They said "no" (I've attached our exchange), but given the entry above I have my doubts.

Their customer service really is pretty terrible. There's no central record keeping, so, among the innumerous steps I had to go through to get an RMA was to provide them with a copy of their own invoice!

Back to using my H2O and Kindle Voyage for now. Still bounce back and forth in my preference!

[piratepanda]

Funny thing is, I received my replacement today. Nobody told me, which is in line with my expectations nowadays

[sladflob]

Originally Posted by rogerinnyc

I've been going back and forth with Kobo for weeks, trying to get them to send me a replacement for my screen defective Aura One before I return it, so I can compare them side-by-side. I offered to have them provisionally charge my credit card to ensure that I would return one, but...wait for it...they're not set up to do that. So eventually I gave up and decided just to send it back and hope that the replacement would be better.

This is the situation I find myself in too. Kobo agreed to send me a replacement, but I was overseas at the time so told them I'd get in touch when I got back. Now I'm back but it's getting close to Xmas and I think it's pretty likely that I'll be without an e-reader for the holidays if I send this one back (well, I do have my old Touch...). Please keep us updated on whether you get a replacement in a timely fashion.

[rogerinnyc]

@sladflob, funny you should ask. Just got the replacement yesterday, so they were actually good to their word (once I was able to extract it), although I got no notice of shipping or tracking number and had to contact them again after our email exchange to make sure they received my old one and were shipping a new one.

On the other hand, I'm not sure the new one is any better. It's beautiful without the front light on, or with the front light almost at 100, but still some grayish margins at levels in between, and the natural light definitely is still splotchy, especially as it gets brighter. But I otherwise love the shape, size and other functions of the A1, so I will be keeping and using it. But I wonder whether their long out-of-stock period means they are making any factory QA improvements that would argue for you to wait to send yours back until they have the new stock?

Good luck in any event!

[sladflob]

Originally Posted by rogerinnyc

On the other hand, I'm not sure the new one is any better. It's beautiful without the front light on, or with the front light almost at 100, but still some grayish margins at levels in between, and the natural light definitely is still splotchy, especially as it gets brighter.

That's what I'm afraid of, that this is just how these things are. I've kind of gotten used to it now but can still make myself righteously indignant if I stop and think about the screen quality vs. the cost of the device. It's tempting to return it to the store and see if next year's batch is any better. Not quite sure what to do!

[moorekom]

Someone mentioned here before to contact them through their FB page. Thank you. This has made everything much easier on my replacement process.

I recently bought a Kobo Aura One and noticed that there was the same two tone issue in A1 just as the voyage. I was disappointed and contacted kobo. I showed them some pictures and they agreed to send a replacement (it also had a green blotch at natural light setting). The replacement has arrived after several days of follow-ups (and just being a nuisance) and I'm disappointed again. It looks very yellow and it has the two tone problem too (only much worse). No green light anymore so I guess that is an improvement.

I have contacted Kobo through FB and they promised to send another replacement and told me that $25 store credits will be provided because of this issue. Kudos to them. Although I was frustrated with their CS, contacting them through FB is the way to go. I declined the credits and asked them if they can expedite the delivery instead as the last one took about 3 weeks (Canada to US. I know it's Holiday season.. but still). They said it will ship in another 5-7 days and sent a waybill to return both the defective devices. Even through FB, they are no where near fast as Amazon (especially if you have prime), but it is a considerably better experience than their online CS.

As already mentioned here, their CS seems to be completely outsourced and, for the most part, untrained. But their fb page seems to be handled by their Canadian employees. Not only will you get accurate answers, you'll also get better treatment as compared to their CS.