I have mentioned my love of my Kobo Arc before. I went from thinking I needed the feel of an actual book to practically living on my kobo tablet. So imagine my dismay when last Monday I got a message saying there was a system update for security measures which I installed and then on clicking restart – nothing – a dead kobo! Even worse, my warranty ran out recently.
Now I use my kobo heavily, having to replace it when it is on sale for $100 would not be the worst thing in the world, but since it was an update that caused it, I contacted Kobo to see if they could help me fix it. Seems I was not alone as I read comments on their facebook page and forums and waited on hold for over half an hour to speak to a rep and there was no fix for my kobo either. No blue screen of death for a kobo just a sad blue light that blinks 4 times before it shuts itself off without ever fully starting up.
At this point started shopping for a new tablet, while reading the comments, I found that Kobo are not known for great customer service but had been making efforts to turn it around – and they certainly did for me. Despite the warranty ending, the rep told me to send all my info and photos to show the kobo was in good condition along with purchase information etc, some back and forth and just over a week later I have my paws on shiny new kobo, the exact same as my old one so I don’t have to worry about a new sleepcover (they are fairly expensive and each is custom fit to certain models).
Had they not replaced it, I likely would have gone with a regular tablet and just installed the kobo and kindle apps. Since kindle books are often cheaper, they would have lost out on future business but instead they have a lifelong happy customer – one who got to read the new Richard Castle book the day it came out because they sent me the replacement in time!