Purchasing Vox

49Kat · 10-29-2011, 06:20 PM

Hello, I'm new here. What brought me here was a search to see if anyone else is having a problem purchasing the Vox online from the Kobo site. I have a Kobo account which I have been using for about a year now to buy e-books and read them on my Sony PRS 650 reader. I was happy to see the Vox is a color reader plus the wi-fi, which my sony reader doesn't have, so I decided to give it a try. I signed into my Kobo account and placed my order. Got the congrats page in my browser for completing the purchase, but...two days later, no confirmation number for my order, no e-mail, no receipt, two phone calls and 3 e-mails later and Kobo is saying they don't have an order number and I should check my spam folders (already did) and wait one more day or re-do the order, but the funds have been reserved from my credit card for this one. My available credit has been reduced by exactly the price of the Kobo Vox. I have the opportunity to get an iPad with some points. If I go that route, my next discussion with the Kobo staff will be to instruct them to cancel my order. Kobo has one more day to get this straightened out, or are they normally this slow? I have been ordering online for years and I have never had an experience like this before. I mean, usually one gets at least an order confirmation number immediately and an e-mail shortly afterward confirming the order.

frddgls · 10-29-2011, 06:45 PM

Thank you for posting. I too had not received a confirmation email after my purchase from Kobo. After reading your post I checked my spam filter and found my confimation email. I haven't received my Vox yet, but at least I have an order number.

I hope you get a solution soon.

robdrob · 10-29-2011, 07:39 PM

I received my confirm email from Kobo when I ordered last Thursday (Oct 20) but nothing yesterday. I emailed them for a shipping status update last night but nor response so far. No one here has responded to my post to see if they received a shipping confirm email yet. I goes no one has received a notice yet.
Rob.

Graycee · 10-29-2011, 09:20 PM

I ordered a few days ago. All I received was the initial order confirmation, but no email about shipping yet.

49Kat · 10-29-2011, 09:28 PM

frddgls, robdrob, are you in Canada? I am. I'm wondering where the Kobo facility is actually located, although I see an Ontario address on one of their 'contact' pages. Yet both of the individuals with whom I spoke had very thick accents and the first lady had so much trouble with the English language that I had to spell out my full name to her and I had trouble understanding her.

I just don't think it should take 48 hours to even confirm the receipt of an online order. I have never had anything like this happen before. They haven't even come up with an order number yet, but they've placed a hold on the funds from my credit card company. I mean, even if one places a pre-order, it is standard procedure for the online vendor to (a) provide the buyer with an order confirmation number immediately (b) send an e-mail immediately confirming receipt of the order and (c) send another e-mail when the order has been shipped. I didn't place a pre-order, I ordered an item that the website says is "in stock". The first lady I spoke to said I would get an e-mail when the item was shipped. Well, considering my Kobo account doesn't even show that the order ever occurred in the first place...? The second lady, after having me check my spam filters and then suggesting I order it again and then telling me she can find no order number (although they have already placed a $200+ hold on my money) assured me I would receive my confirmation e-mail tomorrow, but if I don't I am to call back. It makes me think that they really don't know what they're doing. And no, I'm not going to place another order and end up with a $400 hold placed on my credit card funds and an extra Vox...or not...

I'm going to do some more reading on this site about how people are liking the Vox and decide what to do.

kaikara · 10-29-2011, 09:42 PM

When I ordered my Vox online I recieved an order confirmation right away. This was on Oct 23. Then on Oct 27th I got another email that said the order was being processed. I still haven't gotten a shipping notification which my guess will happen on Monday or Tuesday. In my case it doesn't matter because i just went to futureshop and bought one. When I get the one I preordered I will just return it.

frddgls · 10-29-2011, 09:46 PM

I'm in Canada. My confirmation email says that I will get another email when my Vox ships. My order was placed on the 22nd. I haven't tried making any phone calls. I hate making phone calls.

49Kat · 10-30-2011, 02:18 PM

Still nothing from Kobo. I called my credit card company just to check who that $200+ authorization is going to and it is, indeed, to Kobo.

There was some discussion here about whether or not to cancel this order and get an iPad, since we could get the iPad with no outlay of cash. However, we have a laptop, a desktop PC and a netbook. The netbook is our travelling device and it actually meets our needs better than an iPad would. (We can use a Rogers stick with that, so it's a more secure connection than a wifi would be.) We don't really need an iPad, it's overkill. I have a Sony reader that I really like, it fits in my purse and I take it everywhere. I was just waiting for a color reader, which is why I wanted the Vox. Actually, I'm surprised Sony hasn't come out with a color reader. The other stuff that comes with it is just gravy, and some of it quite unnecessary, as far as I'm concerned.

So maybe Kobo is just being uber-pokey in processing their orders. I do think, however, I should expect some progress tomorrow, which is a business day.

49Kat · 10-31-2011, 01:52 PM

Well...my advice: DO NOT ORDER YOUR VOX FROM THE KOBO SITE.

They have no technical support in Canada. I asked to speak to someone in Canada, they don't have anyone in Canada. The ladies answering the phone can barely speak understandable English. She wouldn't let me speak to the finance department, she wouldn't pass me on to a supervisor. I was so angry I had to terminate the call.

All I wanted was a receipt for my order. I have clarified e-mail addresses repeatedly. They can barely comprehend English, so naturally they don't get it right.

Eventually, on phone call #2 today (total of 4 phone calls and 4 e-mails), I have cancelled the order. Hopefully they manage to get that right because I STILL have not received one single piece of e-mail with any record of this purchase. My credit card has now been charged for this.

Oh, and they tell you different stories, too. The first lady I spoke to today, when I attempted to cancel, said my order was pending and would be shipped today. I was ready to let it go then, until I decided that since they couldn't seem to get the info right, I should verify at least the shipping address. Well, then they had no record of the order. Oh, well then how are you telling me the item will be shipped today if you have no record of the order?

At that point, I told her I am going to contact my credit card company to get this reversed.

But you need a merchant number and Kobo won't give me a number. They won't do it over the phone and they won't send it by e-mail.

The second lady I spoke to today said that due to high demand, nothing is getting shipped before November 7th. Rather a different story than "your order will be shipped today", hmm?

What seems to happen here is when things get difficult during the conversation, they resort to perhaps just making things up to fend off an irate customer.

I told lady number 2 today I am going to order from Best Buy. She made some comment about this that I couldn't understand due to her accent, but I caught the words 'wait for one day' and so forth. Well, I've had enough, I am going to place my order. I told her Best Buy actually shows the number they have in stock on their web page and I can SEE right now that they have the Vox in stock.

The excuse re lack of e-mails and a receipt is that they are 'backed up' due to high demand. Nonsense! Utter nonsense. Every online vendor provides an order acknowledgement within minutes, as does Kobo when you buy an e-book.

I have a feeling this will come to my credit card company going after Kobo to get my money back, since Kobo is refusing to provide me with any documentation about this.

Kobo might be OK to buy e-books, and I've been doing that problem-free for about a year now, but I would say do NOT buy anything physical from them. Ever.

taming · 10-31-2011, 03:29 PM

I conversed with a very nice woman at Kobo support who sounded like any other Canadian. The immigrant and refugee population in Toronto and most of Canada's major cities is pretty significant--and growing. I see that as a strength, not a problem, though it can make phone support challenging. I am willing to bet that had you said to the support person directly that you had trouble understanding her and had you asked for another tech support person, she would have gotten you another help desk person with whom you would have been happier.

PS: I am an immigrant, though as I came from the US, you'd probably understand me pretty well.

emilikins · 10-31-2011, 03:48 PM

Darrell, a Kobo guy, has been very helpful in cancelling people's orders on here. Email him: ddiljohn@kobo.com

I had an order # and called Kobo to cancel, got "escalated." I tried to wait, but since so many people have had support issues, I went ahead and emailed him this morning. It was maybe 10 minutes before I got the email from him and Kobo that he'd cancelled it. Kind of feel bad for him right now!

pokee · 10-31-2011, 04:13 PM

Yeah, I cancelled with Darrell via email and he responded right away. I also asked him a question and he wanted to speak on the phone with me about it today. I ended up addressing about 5 or 6 issues I am having with the Vox right now, in addition to a whole conversation about some improvements that could be made with the Kobo store. HAHAHA! I was very apologetic about how many things I brought up with him, but he was very gracious.

I think with Kobo it makes sense to try to go through the 'back door' to get help if you can. They are 'trying' with their customer support, but I think it's going to be a while before their new staff can really help some of us with some advanced issues we are having.

49Kat · 10-31-2011, 04:58 PM

I've been talking to Darrel both yesterday and today. He's really good to deal with. I think he's having a very busy day.

The support staff I spoke to by telephone are located in St. Lucia. That is where Kobo's call center is located. This is an off shore call facility.

When one phones tech support, one is supposed to receive follow up e-mail each time. I have received no e-mail whatsoever related to this order or to the phone calls. I received automated responses to the e-mail requests for help that I sent via their web site form and that is all. Considering that I was told conflicting stories by the same person about what is going on with my order, they've lost credibility with me as to their truthfulness. And considering that I have repeatedly requested written documentation about this order and they have not provided me with one single jot of it, that IS a serious customer service issue.

Anyway, I now have the direct telephone number of Kobo staff in Canada and I won't bother contacting their call center in St. Lucia again. This has been the most bizarre retail experience I have ever had.

Oh, I placed my order with Best Buy. Got my confirmation number on the web page, which I printed out. Got my confirmation e-mail right away. Got another e-mail saying my order is being processed and that I will be notified when the item is shipped. Which is how it's supposed to be done. Had I known Best Buy would be selling the Vox, I would have ordered from them in the first place. I've been a customer of theirs for years, things always ran smoothly.

pokee · 10-31-2011, 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 49Kat

The support staff I spoke to by telephone are located in St. Lucia. That is where Kobo's call center is located. This is an off shore call facility.

I had NO idea!!! Thankfully, I've never tried to call that number before!

Yeah, I love Best Buy! I even love Future Shop most of the time, too. And Chapters. I think, for the most part, Kobo is just a victim of their own success. They are growing faster than they can keep up.

One thing is for sure, I've really been impressed with their individual staff members that come onto these boards to help us out. THAT'S really got to count for something!

49Kat · 11-09-2011, 09:49 AM

I just got an invoice by e-mail! For the order that was supposed to be cancelled.

So I gets on the phone with Darrell. Hey, the good news is, we now have an order number, which we never had before What a snafu! My card has been charged, too.

Anyway, he's on it, hopefully it won't get shipped. At least we finally have an order number now.

10-29-2011, 06:20 PM	#1
49Kat Fanatic Posts: 580 Karma: 1309104 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: BC,Canada/NV, USA Device: iPad 9th Gen, iPhone 11, Paperwhite 10th Gen.	Purchasing Vox Hello, I'm new here. What brought me here was a search to see if anyone else is having a problem purchasing the Vox online from the Kobo site. I have a Kobo account which I have been using for about a year now to buy e-books and read them on my Sony PRS 650 reader. I was happy to see the Vox is a color reader plus the wi-fi, which my sony reader doesn't have, so I decided to give it a try. I signed into my Kobo account and placed my order. Got the congrats page in my browser for completing the purchase, but...two days later, no confirmation number for my order, no e-mail, no receipt, two phone calls and 3 e-mails later and Kobo is saying they don't have an order number and I should check my spam folders (already did) and wait one more day or re-do the order, but the funds have been reserved from my credit card for this one. My available credit has been reduced by exactly the price of the Kobo Vox. I have the opportunity to get an iPad with some points. If I go that route, my next discussion with the Kobo staff will be to instruct them to cancel my order. Kobo has one more day to get this straightened out, or are they normally this slow? I have been ordering online for years and I have never had an experience like this before. I mean, usually one gets at least an order confirmation number immediately and an e-mail shortly afterward confirming the order.

10-31-2011, 01:52 PM	#9
49Kat Fanatic Posts: 580 Karma: 1309104 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: BC,Canada/NV, USA Device: iPad 9th Gen, iPhone 11, Paperwhite 10th Gen.	DO NOT ORDER FROM KOBO Well...my advice: DO NOT ORDER YOUR VOX FROM THE KOBO SITE. They have no technical support in Canada. I asked to speak to someone in Canada, they don't have anyone in Canada. The ladies answering the phone can barely speak understandable English. She wouldn't let me speak to the finance department, she wouldn't pass me on to a supervisor. I was so angry I had to terminate the call. All I wanted was a receipt for my order. I have clarified e-mail addresses repeatedly. They can barely comprehend English, so naturally they don't get it right. Eventually, on phone call #2 today (total of 4 phone calls and 4 e-mails), I have cancelled the order. Hopefully they manage to get that right because I STILL have not received one single piece of e-mail with any record of this purchase. My credit card has now been charged for this. Oh, and they tell you different stories, too. The first lady I spoke to today, when I attempted to cancel, said my order was pending and would be shipped today. I was ready to let it go then, until I decided that since they couldn't seem to get the info right, I should verify at least the shipping address. Well, then they had no record of the order. Oh, well then how are you telling me the item will be shipped today if you have no record of the order? At that point, I told her I am going to contact my credit card company to get this reversed. But you need a merchant number and Kobo won't give me a number. They won't do it over the phone and they won't send it by e-mail. The second lady I spoke to today said that due to high demand, nothing is getting shipped before November 7th. Rather a different story than "your order will be shipped today", hmm? What seems to happen here is when things get difficult during the conversation, they resort to perhaps just making things up to fend off an irate customer. I told lady number 2 today I am going to order from Best Buy. She made some comment about this that I couldn't understand due to her accent, but I caught the words 'wait for one day' and so forth. Well, I've had enough, I am going to place my order. I told her Best Buy actually shows the number they have in stock on their web page and I can SEE right now that they have the Vox in stock. The excuse re lack of e-mails and a receipt is that they are 'backed up' due to high demand. Nonsense! Utter nonsense. Every online vendor provides an order acknowledgement within minutes, as does Kobo when you buy an e-book. I have a feeling this will come to my credit card company going after Kobo to get my money back, since Kobo is refusing to provide me with any documentation about this. Kobo might be OK to buy e-books, and I've been doing that problem-free for about a year now, but I would say do NOT buy anything physical from them. Ever.

10-31-2011, 03:29 PM	#10
taming Trying for calm & polite Posts: 4,012 Karma: 9455193 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mostly in Canada Device: kobo original, WiFI, Touch, Glo, and Aura	I conversed with a very nice woman at Kobo support who sounded like any other Canadian. The immigrant and refugee population in Toronto and most of Canada's major cities is pretty significant--and growing. I see that as a strength, not a problem, though it can make phone support challenging. I am willing to bet that had you said to the support person directly that you had trouble understanding her and had you asked for another tech support person, she would have gotten you another help desk person with whom you would have been happier. PS: I am an immigrant, though as I came from the US, you'd probably understand me pretty well. Last edited by taming; 10-31-2011 at 03:30 PM. Reason: PS

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10-29-2011, 06:45 PM	#2
frddgls Connoisseur Posts: 69 Karma: 44857 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Forma, iPad, Samsung Galaxy A20	Thank you for posting. I too had not received a confirmation email after my purchase from Kobo. After reading your post I checked my spam filter and found my confimation email. I haven't received my Vox yet, but at least I have an order number. I hope you get a solution soon.

10-29-2011, 07:39 PM	#3
robdrob Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 1658 Join Date: Jun 2011 Location: Philly Device: almost every kindle,iPad,android tablet,kobo you name it	I received my confirm email from Kobo when I ordered last Thursday (Oct 20) but nothing yesterday. I emailed them for a shipping status update last night but nor response so far. No one here has responded to my post to see if they received a shipping confirm email yet. I goes no one has received a notice yet. Rob.

10-29-2011, 09:20 PM	#4
Graycee Enthusiast Posts: 27 Karma: 4101 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Ontario, Canada Device: Kobo Aura, Kindle (2014)	I ordered a few days ago. All I received was the initial order confirmation, but no email about shipping yet.

10-29-2011, 09:28 PM	#5
49Kat Fanatic Posts: 580 Karma: 1309104 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: BC,Canada/NV, USA Device: iPad 9th Gen, iPhone 11, Paperwhite 10th Gen.	frddgls, robdrob, are you in Canada? I am. I'm wondering where the Kobo facility is actually located, although I see an Ontario address on one of their 'contact' pages. Yet both of the individuals with whom I spoke had very thick accents and the first lady had so much trouble with the English language that I had to spell out my full name to her and I had trouble understanding her. I just don't think it should take 48 hours to even confirm the receipt of an online order. I have never had anything like this happen before. They haven't even come up with an order number yet, but they've placed a hold on the funds from my credit card company. I mean, even if one places a pre-order, it is standard procedure for the online vendor to (a) provide the buyer with an order confirmation number immediately (b) send an e-mail immediately confirming receipt of the order and (c) send another e-mail when the order has been shipped. I didn't place a pre-order, I ordered an item that the website says is "in stock". The first lady I spoke to said I would get an e-mail when the item was shipped. Well, considering my Kobo account doesn't even show that the order ever occurred in the first place...? The second lady, after having me check my spam filters and then suggesting I order it again and then telling me she can find no order number (although they have already placed a $200+ hold on my money) assured me I would receive my confirmation e-mail tomorrow, but if I don't I am to call back. It makes me think that they really don't know what they're doing. And no, I'm not going to place another order and end up with a $400 hold placed on my credit card funds and an extra Vox...or not... I'm going to do some more reading on this site about how people are liking the Vox and decide what to do.

10-29-2011, 09:42 PM	#6
kaikara Zealot Posts: 110 Karma: 347050 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: Kobo Glo, Kobo Touch, Kobo Vox	When I ordered my Vox online I recieved an order confirmation right away. This was on Oct 23. Then on Oct 27th I got another email that said the order was being processed. I still haven't gotten a shipping notification which my guess will happen on Monday or Tuesday. In my case it doesn't matter because i just went to futureshop and bought one. When I get the one I preordered I will just return it.

10-29-2011, 09:46 PM	#7
frddgls Connoisseur Posts: 69 Karma: 44857 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Forma, iPad, Samsung Galaxy A20	I'm in Canada. My confirmation email says that I will get another email when my Vox ships. My order was placed on the 22nd. I haven't tried making any phone calls. I hate making phone calls.

10-30-2011, 02:18 PM	#8
49Kat Fanatic Posts: 580 Karma: 1309104 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: BC,Canada/NV, USA Device: iPad 9th Gen, iPhone 11, Paperwhite 10th Gen.	Still nothing from Kobo. I called my credit card company just to check who that $200+ authorization is going to and it is, indeed, to Kobo. There was some discussion here about whether or not to cancel this order and get an iPad, since we could get the iPad with no outlay of cash. However, we have a laptop, a desktop PC and a netbook. The netbook is our travelling device and it actually meets our needs better than an iPad would. (We can use a Rogers stick with that, so it's a more secure connection than a wifi would be.) We don't really need an iPad, it's overkill. I have a Sony reader that I really like, it fits in my purse and I take it everywhere. I was just waiting for a color reader, which is why I wanted the Vox. Actually, I'm surprised Sony hasn't come out with a color reader. The other stuff that comes with it is just gravy, and some of it quite unnecessary, as far as I'm concerned. So maybe Kobo is just being uber-pokey in processing their orders. I do think, however, I should expect some progress tomorrow, which is a business day.

10-31-2011, 03:48 PM	#11
emilikins Short One in the Stacks Posts: 142 Karma: 198348 Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Midwest Device: HTC Flyer; Kobo WiFi	Darrell, a Kobo guy, has been very helpful in cancelling people's orders on here. Email him: ddiljohn@kobo.com I had an order # and called Kobo to cancel, got "escalated." I tried to wait, but since so many people have had support issues, I went ahead and emailed him this morning. It was maybe 10 minutes before I got the email from him and Kobo that he'd cancelled it. Kind of feel bad for him right now!

10-31-2011, 04:13 PM	#12
pokee Fanatic Posts: 569 Karma: 199759 Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC Device: Kobo WiFi, Kobo Glo, Kobo Vox, Samsung Galaxy S4, Samsung Tab2	Yeah, I cancelled with Darrell via email and he responded right away. I also asked him a question and he wanted to speak on the phone with me about it today. I ended up addressing about 5 or 6 issues I am having with the Vox right now, in addition to a whole conversation about some improvements that could be made with the Kobo store. HAHAHA! I was very apologetic about how many things I brought up with him, but he was very gracious. I think with Kobo it makes sense to try to go through the 'back door' to get help if you can. They are 'trying' with their customer support, but I think it's going to be a while before their new staff can really help some of us with some advanced issues we are having.

10-31-2011, 04:58 PM	#13
49Kat Fanatic Posts: 580 Karma: 1309104 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: BC,Canada/NV, USA Device: iPad 9th Gen, iPhone 11, Paperwhite 10th Gen.	I've been talking to Darrel both yesterday and today. He's really good to deal with. I think he's having a very busy day. The support staff I spoke to by telephone are located in St. Lucia. That is where Kobo's call center is located. This is an off shore call facility. When one phones tech support, one is supposed to receive follow up e-mail each time. I have received no e-mail whatsoever related to this order or to the phone calls. I received automated responses to the e-mail requests for help that I sent via their web site form and that is all. Considering that I was told conflicting stories by the same person about what is going on with my order, they've lost credibility with me as to their truthfulness. And considering that I have repeatedly requested written documentation about this order and they have not provided me with one single jot of it, that IS a serious customer service issue. Anyway, I now have the direct telephone number of Kobo staff in Canada and I won't bother contacting their call center in St. Lucia again. This has been the most bizarre retail experience I have ever had. Oh, I placed my order with Best Buy. Got my confirmation number on the web page, which I printed out. Got my confirmation e-mail right away. Got another e-mail saying my order is being processed and that I will be notified when the item is shipped. Which is how it's supposed to be done. Had I known Best Buy would be selling the Vox, I would have ordered from them in the first place. I've been a customer of theirs for years, things always ran smoothly.

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11-09-2011, 09:49 AM	#15
49Kat Fanatic Posts: 580 Karma: 1309104 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: BC,Canada/NV, USA Device: iPad 9th Gen, iPhone 11, Paperwhite 10th Gen.	I just got an invoice by e-mail! For the order that was supposed to be cancelled. So I gets on the phone with Darrell. Hey, the good news is, we now have an order number, which we never had before What a snafu! My card has been charged, too. Anyway, he's on it, hopefully it won't get shipped. At least we finally have an order number now.