don't buy pocketbook reader

[Guns4Hire]

Originally Posted by Boston

While that type of service may be going above and beyond -and- not judging who is "right or wrong", I have to admit that this type of response is not one I would expect from a customer oriented company.

I have experienced this kind of service from companies in the past (not regarding an e-reader). Ive been told point blank that the issue isn't covered under warranty (that it wasn't hardware related etc) but they would fix or replace the hardware anyway. And its created a customer for life to these companies. Sometimes taking a small loss gives big gains.

So your point is a very good point.

[Yar-PocketBooker]

OK,ok...

A little loss really might be a bigger gain, you're right....

Here's the suggestion to the author of the thread: we, as the customer oriented company, don't want to leave anybody unsatisfied, and suggest the following:

- you ship us your device back once again, we take the screen off and take a picture of the crack, to show you and the folks on this forum that we were right about our judgment eventually;
- we ship you a new device for free;
- we will not make it a practice of replacing broken screens, making a little exemption exclusively for this specific customer.

I made this offer publicly, on the forum, to avoid any misunderstandings, plus I'll send RangRang an email with the link to this thread, as I know that he said he left the thread and will not return to it.

RangRang, please let us know here whether you accept this offer.

Sincerely,

Yaroslav Bondarenko,
PocketBook-USA

[Guns4Hire]

Wow!!!


Seeing this shows real commitment to the customer. My second ereader is going to be another PB! Seriously.

[Logseman]

The fact that they can individualise cases like this up the point of losing money should tell us that they trust their product more than a bit. Even so, I consider Yar's backdraft a bit over the top as well as Boston does. Nevertheless, the opening post has its deal of venom as well (the title, the vagueness of some details) so I guess it's a mistake from both parties.

May you come to an agreement for the best.

[EowynCarter]

One point there : 99% of screen looking like that looks like that because they where hit / twisted, so, pocketbook's answer was the excepted one. Plus it's hard to tell exactly what happened, with only photos.
Then you can still speak right ? It's a shame the only way to do so seam to be a rant on a message board... Well, personally, I would have flamed support directly, no need to bother the entire earth.

But I can very well understand rangrang's frustration. In my case, the only reason I didn't yelled at bookeen where the marks on the cover, that told me the screen was indeed hit, even if I don't know when or how.

[Dulin's Books]

RangRang (like some news outlets) seems to have gotten the wrong impression somewhere that I am the producer or importer of PocketBook devices. I am not.

I have "no control" over the sales agent- in this case Yaroslav- because he doesnt work for me. I am a retailer of various devices.

Yaroslav works for PocketBook who produce several of the items I retail. He also sells directly from his website which is where this customer purchased his device.

When rangrang contacted me I did respond to his email and I had a conversation with Yaroslav about it. But i wont presume to tell Yaroslav what to do.

[Boston]

Wow..very nice comeback Yaroslav/Pocketbook!

Admittedly, I wandered into this forum because of the rave reviews of the PocketBook 360. It was at the first reader that's really tempted me as a replacement for my Sony. But admittedly, the tone of your post was a big deterrent from giving it future consideration.

While I can't justify purchasing a new reader right now (as much as I try ), your offer (and product) has definitely put me back on the potential future customer list. (But please don't feel the need to post pictures to prove you are right..its not the point or necessary as we weren't questioning the screen damage itself).

A company that listens to its customers is one that I want to do business with and you are clearly doing that

[Seabound]

Originally Posted by Boston

I have ready many posts where other mfgs have replaced a screen where the cause did not appear to be owner mishandling (which you admitted there was no proof of)...maybe not technically covered but goodwill towards keeping customers long term.

While that type of service may be going above and beyond -and- not judging who is "right or wrong", I have to admit that this type of response is not one I would expect from a customer oriented company.

While I understand that upset customers can be frustrating to deal with, the sarcasm and glee in being right made me empathize with the OP more so than his case.

I'm glad others have reported having better customer service experiences.

I very much agree with Boston. I think the way the Pocketbook representative handled this case---the tone, the fishing for public opinion in a very public forum when the Pocketbook representative should be the expert on this, or at the very least have a more direct and private access to that expertise---is in very bad form. If MobileRead admins are not yet aware of how the MR forum is being used in such a manner in this case, then they should be and, I think, create guidelines for cases like this. Without knowing what the "truth" is in the case of this damaged eBook reader, I too empathize with the OP for the way his case was handled in this forum.

[Guns4Hire]

We are all human and we all have our good days and bad days. Customers aren't the only ones that have bad days. And keep in mind we are all trying to communicate in the written word which is a mess to begin with. And keep in mind that some of these guys probably are doing this outside their first language (on top of it being the written word). Its the end result that matters. And its the end result that determines whether a company is customer oriented or not. The stuff that happens in the beginning and the middle a lot times is just human beings being human beings (wow those last five words are crazy), mis-communications and frustrations all heaped on top of the written word which is easily entangled all by itself when no emotion is involved.

So before anyone starts being the judgement police and handing out tickets. Keep in mind regarding the written word, human beings and the end result.

[Boston]

Originally Posted by Guns4Hire

And keep in mind that some of these guys probably are doing this outside their first language (on top of it being the written word).

Good point...one I didn't consider

[Seabound]

Originally Posted by Guns4Hire

We are all human and we all have our good days and bad days. Customers aren't the only ones that have bad days. And keep in mind we are all trying to communicate in the written word which is a mess to begin with. And keep in mind that some of these guys probably are doing this outside their first language (on top of it being the written word). Its the end result that matters. And its the end result that determines whether a company is customer oriented or not. The stuff that happens in the beginning and the middle a lot times is just human beings being human beings (wow those last five words are crazy), mis-communications and frustrations all heaped on top of the written word which is easily entangled all by itself when no emotion is involved.

So before anyone starts being the judgement police and handing out tickets. Keep in mind regarding the written word, human beings and the end result.

That completely misses the point. The Pocketbook representatives or sellers chose to be in this business, where presumably they are making some profit. As a business, even if a very small one, I assume they must have some business philosophy and practices. If the way they handled this case reflects that philosophy and those practices, giving the customer support in the appropriate manner only when challenged, and using this forum as their platform to resolve an issue with a customer in their favor, then they do not inspire much confidence from me as a consumer. In fact, it smacks of a very bad business practice at least in this case, to be honest.

Their English seems fine to me.

[Logseman]

Seabound, I can tell from experience that the modus operandi from Pocketbook people is far away from this exceptional blurt. Yar, Fork, mtravellerh and even the Guys from Kiev are very receptive to consumer's feedback and friendly people.

[orwell2k]

Originally Posted by Yar-PocketBooker

OK,ok...

A little loss really might be a bigger gain, you're right....

Here's the suggestion to the author of the thread: we, as the customer oriented company, don't want to leave anybody unsatisfied, and suggest the following:

- you ship us your device back once again, we take the screen off and take a picture of the crack, to show you and the folks on this forum that we were right about our judgment eventually;
- we ship you a new device for free;
- we will not make it a practice of replacing broken screens, making a little exemption exclusively for this specific customer.

I made this offer publicly, on the forum, to avoid any misunderstandings, plus I'll send RangRang an email with the link to this thread, as I know that he said he left the thread and will not return to it.

RangRang, please let us know here whether you accept this offer.

Sincerely,

Yaroslav Bondarenko,
PocketBook-USA

Wow! I'm impressed - I don't think any other company would make such a generous offer. My PB360 is an excellent device and I can recommend it to anyone interested in a compact, reliable, easy-to-use eBook reader.

Originally Posted by rangrang

Friends:

I will not visit this post again. I will accept my bad luck. Hope my post can remind you to be more careful and gentle with your e-reader. I will wait for several months to find a really dependable E-Reader.

It's a pity RangRang vowed not to re-visit this thread and see this generous offer - if no one passes the info on somehow it seems the bad luck will continue...

[Yar-PocketBooker]

Rangrang accepted our offer and even generously has sent us some compensation for the new device.
We've sent him the new PB301. I hope it'll be working alright and nothing will happen to it this time!

[Guns4Hire]

Originally Posted by Yar-PocketBooker

Rangrang accepted our offer and even generously has sent us some compensation for the new device.

Yep a little loss will probably end up being the companies gain.

Not only did he compensate you guys a little something (which wasn't required based on your posts). But you have probably created a customer for life. Verse having a former customer who would never consider one of your products ever again. He will end up praising PB and probably end up giving you new customers.

Its a gain for everyone in my opinion. More companies should be this forward looking.