Hoping this is not what I can expect from Customer Help in future

Katel · 09-16-2012, 02:51 AM

Hi,
As a new user of Kobo Touch and already being sent of lists of books to buy I asked Customer Help how I could access the Customer Ratings of the books, as clicking on to them doesn't bring them up.

After a steady to-ing and fro-ing of emails and being given a few dud answers this is the last I received -

Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care. I apologize that you cannot read the ratings of what others have to say regarding books. Unfortunately the rating system is done through a third party. Kobo has nothing to do with the rating of the books on its site. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns by replying to this email or calling us at 18557323662 North America.
Kobobooks.com/help

The last sentences is quite funny. And no,I can't phone Kobo as I'm in Oz.

I'd love to know which is they mysterious third party where they get their ratings from, and how hard it would be for them to link us to them.

rainio · 09-16-2012, 03:27 AM

Your post is a little worrisome. I was going to get a kobo glo in october, but with responses like this from them, and what I've heard about their firmware upgrades, is Kobo the right choice?

No company should ever respond as they did to you. They put it in their device, they have the ultimate responsibility on how it works.

meeera · 09-16-2012, 03:59 AM

Is this on the website or on the device? Are you seeing the lines of little ratings stars? What do you mean by "bring them up"?

If you mean the website, and you are seeing the little lines of stars on an individual book page (followed by "(<num> customer ratings) Rate this book!"), and by "bring them up" you mean you want to see more detailed reviews:

can you see the line below the stars, where it says "Average rating includes goodreads"? If so, click on "goodreads", and it should take you to that book's page on Goodreads, where you can scroll down to see reviews and a detailed ratings breakdown.

If any of the "if" isn't true: drop more details, and people here will likely try to help.

Katel · 09-16-2012, 05:01 AM

Meera, Both on the website and the device. There is a line of stars, yes, then in brackets, eg (150 customers' ratings) then Add your Rating. And by bring them up I would say yes I would like to see them. There is no line beneath saying Average Rating includes Goodreads.

Below is the reply I received from Kobo prior to the one I printed above -

Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care. I apologize that you want to see how others rate the book on the Desktop. The rating of a book is done through a third party. What you can do is go to your web browser put in that "rating for title of book, then the author". The ratings of the book become available. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns by replying to this email or calling us at 18557323662 North America.
Kobobooks.com/help

As I didn't have the faintest idea what they meant by go to your web browser and put in that "rating.......etc, I asked them to clarify it and got the response as shown in my OP.

I'd like to add I love my Kobo Touch and in no way wish to denegrate it or its services, but have found this response rather bewildering.

meeera · 09-16-2012, 05:26 AM

Yeah, it's not exactly a secret here that the Kobots aren't much chop. Which is why I said better help can be found here.

I've tried Firefox, Chrome, and even Icab, logged in and logged out of Kobobooks, and I can't get that Goodreads line to disappear. I should point out, however, that I'm sighted, and that "goodreads" part is presented as an image without an alt tag, so if you're using a screen reader or have images turned off, it just won't show up at all. (Kobo, your web designer needs to be replaced or re-educated on accessibility quick smart - that's incompetence, and there's no excuse for it nowadays.).

If you're sighted and have your browser set to load images, and want to troubleshoot: Do you have any plug-ins or hacks installed that could be blocking it? Have you tried a different browser? Could you please let us know what browser you're using, whether you're logged in, what exact URL you're at (just give an example or two), and drop a screenshot of that part of the page?

Alternatively: if you don't particularly want to trouble-shoot this, or you're blind and it's therefore untroubleshootable in this case, but you do want to read Goodreads reviews of the books you're looking at, you can just go to goodreads.com and check them out directly.

Katel · 09-16-2012, 05:59 AM

Thanks Meeera. I've been using IE 8 so I just tried Chrome with a random search which shows this -

http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-H...e-6ea3cc1ea701

So then I went back to Explorer and it shows the same.
That is it shows so many Ratings but nowhere to go from that.

Yet doing another random search i picked up 50 Shades of Grey and as well as Ratings it also showed Customer 'Reviews' which links to Goodreads ( By the way I am sighted.) As far as I know I have no blocks in place.

So there seems to be some inconsistency there.with Kobo.
Anyway it appears that you have answered my question which is to go to
Goodreads to get the reviews ., though honestly it would have saved a lot of waffling around if Kobo had told me that in the first place (and maybe think about setting up a decent link). . And I am assuming that Ratings applies to the build up of stars only

.

meeera · 09-16-2012, 06:11 AM

I don't know if I'm seeing what you're seeing at that link without a screenshot (it leads to a geolocked page for me), but I think you're happy with your current solution?

Transonic · 09-16-2012, 06:29 AM

Response Via Email (John E) 09/05/2012 08:08 PM
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care.

thank you for the spam.

Sincerely,
The Kobo Team
Your lucky you got a reply, when I asked for help finding a book purchased from the Kobo store which, wasnt in my library or on my Touch the above quote is what I received.

paulsalter · 09-16-2012, 06:30 AM

Ratings are just ratings, nowhere to go from there, when you finish a book and rate it, the average is shown on that screen (464 have rated it but it has no reviews)

Reviews of books are different, I cannot find any off hand but there are some

Not sure if I am getting confused by Kobo's response, but are you talking about Reviews or Ratings

paulsalter · 09-16-2012, 06:39 AM

you are right in post 6

Ratings are just stars nothing more to it
Reviews (if they are there are accessed via clicking the 'Goodreads' link

paulsalter · 09-16-2012, 06:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Transonic

Response Via Email (John E) 09/05/2012 08:08 PM
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care.

thank you for the spam.

Sincerely,
The Kobo Team
Your lucky you got a reply, when I asked for help finding a book purchased from the Kobo store which, wasnt in my library or on my Touch the above quote is what I received.

What did you ask Kobo?

Transonic · 09-16-2012, 07:42 AM

I purchased a book from the Kobo store however the book didnt appear in my library or on my reader so I asked them for some help
In the end I found the answer to the problem on this forum so I didnt need their help after all.

murg · 09-16-2012, 08:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Transonic

Response Via Email (John E) 09/05/2012 08:08 PM
Hello,
Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care.

thank you for the spam.

Sincerely,
The Kobo Team
Your lucky you got a reply, when I asked for help finding a book purchased from the Kobo store which, wasnt in my library or on my Touch the above quote is what I received.

Wow.

I'm amazed they didn't include the instructions to factory reset your spam...

Katel · 09-16-2012, 11:12 PM

Yes, thanks a lot, I did get the info I needed from here.
So I know where to go for help in future and where not to..

Mrs_Often · 09-17-2012, 02:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by meeera

I've tried Firefox, Chrome, and even Icab, logged in and logged out of Kobobooks, and I can't get that Goodreads line to disappear.

For some reason, not all books are linked to goodreads. So for all books you can see the stars, which, like stated above, are just stars (ratings) without any review. And for some books they've added a link to the goodreads reviews.

I've known for ages the Kobo Customer "Care" is terrible, but time and time again they go ahead and surprise me with their ridiculous nonsense. If people on the forum here know how to interpret a question and respond to it correctly (even if the response includes a lot of 'if's) Kobo's *own* people should be able to figure it out. Sheesh. It's like Kobo have just planted a bunch of random people that don't read at all and don't own a reader and never browse the Kobobooks site in front of a computer to answer emails. Come on. Pfft.

09-16-2012, 02:51 AM	#1
Katel Evangelist Posts: 402 Karma: 10038776 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NSW Regional Device: Kobo Aura	Hoping this is not what I can expect from Customer Help in future Hi, As a new user of Kobo Touch and already being sent of lists of books to buy I asked Customer Help how I could access the Customer Ratings of the books, as clicking on to them doesn't bring them up. After a steady to-ing and fro-ing of emails and being given a few dud answers this is the last I received - Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care. I apologize that you cannot read the ratings of what others have to say regarding books. Unfortunately the rating system is done through a third party. Kobo has nothing to do with the rating of the books on its site. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns by replying to this email or calling us at 18557323662 North America. Kobobooks.com/help The last sentences is quite funny. And no,I can't phone Kobo as I'm in Oz. I'd love to know which is they mysterious third party where they get their ratings from, and how hard it would be for them to link us to them.

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09-16-2012, 03:27 AM	#2
rainio Connoisseur Posts: 59 Karma: 38262 Join Date: Oct 2011 Device: none	Your post is a little worrisome. I was going to get a kobo glo in october, but with responses like this from them, and what I've heard about their firmware upgrades, is Kobo the right choice? No company should ever respond as they did to you. They put it in their device, they have the ultimate responsibility on how it works.

09-16-2012, 03:59 AM	#3
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,814 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	Is this on the website or on the device? Are you seeing the lines of little ratings stars? What do you mean by "bring them up"? If you mean the website, and you are seeing the little lines of stars on an individual book page (followed by "(<num> customer ratings) Rate this book!"), and by "bring them up" you mean you want to see more detailed reviews: can you see the line below the stars, where it says "Average rating includes goodreads"? If so, click on "goodreads", and it should take you to that book's page on Goodreads, where you can scroll down to see reviews and a detailed ratings breakdown. If any of the "if" isn't true: drop more details, and people here will likely try to help.

09-16-2012, 05:01 AM	#4
Katel Evangelist Posts: 402 Karma: 10038776 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NSW Regional Device: Kobo Aura	Meera, Both on the website and the device. There is a line of stars, yes, then in brackets, eg (150 customers' ratings) then Add your Rating. And by bring them up I would say yes I would like to see them. There is no line beneath saying Average Rating includes Goodreads. Below is the reply I received from Kobo prior to the one I printed above - Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care. I apologize that you want to see how others rate the book on the Desktop. The rating of a book is done through a third party. What you can do is go to your web browser put in that "rating for title of book, then the author". The ratings of the book become available. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns by replying to this email or calling us at 18557323662 North America. Kobobooks.com/help As I didn't have the faintest idea what they meant by go to your web browser and put in that "rating.......etc, I asked them to clarify it and got the response as shown in my OP. I'd like to add I love my Kobo Touch and in no way wish to denegrate it or its services, but have found this response rather bewildering.

09-16-2012, 05:26 AM	#5
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,814 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	Yeah, it's not exactly a secret here that the Kobots aren't much chop. Which is why I said better help can be found here. I've tried Firefox, Chrome, and even Icab, logged in and logged out of Kobobooks, and I can't get that Goodreads line to disappear. I should point out, however, that I'm sighted, and that "goodreads" part is presented as an image without an alt tag, so if you're using a screen reader or have images turned off, it just won't show up at all. (Kobo, your web designer needs to be replaced or re-educated on accessibility quick smart - that's incompetence, and there's no excuse for it nowadays.). If you're sighted and have your browser set to load images, and want to troubleshoot: Do you have any plug-ins or hacks installed that could be blocking it? Have you tried a different browser? Could you please let us know what browser you're using, whether you're logged in, what exact URL you're at (just give an example or two), and drop a screenshot of that part of the page? Alternatively: if you don't particularly want to trouble-shoot this, or you're blind and it's therefore untroubleshootable in this case, but you do want to read Goodreads reviews of the books you're looking at, you can just go to goodreads.com and check them out directly.

09-16-2012, 05:59 AM	#6
Katel Evangelist Posts: 402 Karma: 10038776 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NSW Regional Device: Kobo Aura	Thanks Meeera. I've been using IE 8 so I just tried Chrome with a random search which shows this - http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-H...e-6ea3cc1ea701 So then I went back to Explorer and it shows the same. That is it shows so many Ratings but nowhere to go from that. Yet doing another random search i picked up 50 Shades of Grey and as well as Ratings it also showed Customer 'Reviews' which links to Goodreads ( By the way I am sighted.) As far as I know I have no blocks in place. So there seems to be some inconsistency there.with Kobo. Anyway it appears that you have answered my question which is to go to Goodreads to get the reviews ., though honestly it would have saved a lot of waffling around if Kobo had told me that in the first place (and maybe think about setting up a decent link). . And I am assuming that Ratings applies to the build up of stars only .

09-16-2012, 06:11 AM	#7
meeera Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,814 Karma: 68407974 Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Libra 2, iPadMini4, iPad4, MBP; support other Kobo/Kindles	I don't know if I'm seeing what you're seeing at that link without a screenshot (it leads to a geolocked page for me), but I think you're happy with your current solution?

09-16-2012, 06:29 AM	#8
Transonic Enthusiast Posts: 26 Karma: 4990 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kobo Mini, Kindle 4 NT, Kindle Paperwhite, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2	Response Via Email (John E) 09/05/2012 08:08 PM Hello, Thank you for contacting Kobo Customer Care. thank you for the spam. Sincerely, The Kobo Team Your lucky you got a reply, when I asked for help finding a book purchased from the Kobo store which, wasnt in my library or on my Touch the above quote is what I received.

09-16-2012, 06:30 AM	#9
paulsalter Fanatic Posts: 579 Karma: 3243761 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Fire HD8	Ratings are just ratings, nowhere to go from there, when you finish a book and rate it, the average is shown on that screen (464 have rated it but it has no reviews) Reviews of books are different, I cannot find any off hand but there are some Not sure if I am getting confused by Kobo's response, but are you talking about Reviews or Ratings

09-16-2012, 06:39 AM	#10
paulsalter Fanatic Posts: 579 Karma: 3243761 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Fire HD8	you are right in post 6 Ratings are just stars nothing more to it Reviews (if they are there are accessed via clicking the 'Goodreads' link

09-16-2012, 07:42 AM	#12
Transonic Enthusiast Posts: 26 Karma: 4990 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Melbourne, Australia Device: Kobo Mini, Kindle 4 NT, Kindle Paperwhite, Samsung Galaxy Tab 2	I purchased a book from the Kobo store however the book didnt appear in my library or on my reader so I asked them for some help In the end I found the answer to the problem on this forum so I didnt need their help after all.

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09-16-2012, 11:12 PM	#14
Katel Evangelist Posts: 402 Karma: 10038776 Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: NSW Regional Device: Kobo Aura	Yes, thanks a lot, I did get the info I needed from here. So I know where to go for help in future and where not to..