Kybotech Ltd

goldfish74

JP30 wrote: »

Update from 09/05/08
Mr Walton very quickly responded to my PM and was extremely helpful and courteous in looking into what had gone wrong with my order. I received a very positive email from one of his employees first thing yesterday offering me either a full refund or delivery of my order by Tuesday.

...which is great news for you. However, had you not come on this forum; had you still gone through the channels of their customer services; do you think
anyone would have given a s---? Would you have got the positive email?

This is the point - and it's not just Kybotech - when things go wrong, the only thing you can do is speak to a customer services drone. The best companies will train the drones to be able to put the customer at ease and make it clear that something will be done, and escalate issues that arise. In my dealings with Kybotech, I never got the impression that they were even taking notes about my problem, let alone doing anything about it.

Problems happen, computers have glitches - that's ok; that's life. But it's how issues are dealt with which separates the companies that can be trusted with those that can't. I don't have a vendetta against this company - I'm just one of the 3% of dissatisfied customers. A small number for Kybotech, but my dissatisfaction percentage with them is 100%.

mozbud

tried to cancel my order due to all the negative feedback that I have seen but can't get through on customer service line, tried emailing but no response, got through on sales line but they advised to email cancellations@kybotech.co.uk but no response from there either - just checked the website and the item I orderd has gone up by £40 and is showing out of stock until the 01.07.08

goldfish74

I too was advised to email [EMAIL="cancellations@kybotech.co.uk"]cancellations@kybotech.co.uk[/EMAIL]. I too have yet to receive a response OR my money back.

However, I did get this email today:

Dear Mr. XXXXXXXXX

Thank you for your recent purchase from Garden Buildings Direct.

We hope that you are pleased with your BillyOh Rosette Complete Greenhouse - Rosette
Complete Greenhouse 8' x 6'.

Your feedback will be very helpful, whether positive or negative. But if you have a
problem, please put it first to us by email - productsupport@kybotech.co.uk before
leaving feedback.

Similarly, do not hurry to leave feedback. Make sure that you really are happy (or
unhappy) with your purchase before saying so. Considered feedback is worth much
more.

Leaving Feeback: To leave feedback click on the link below and add a review to the
product you purchased.
http://www.gardenbuildingsdirect.co.uk/Metal-Greenhouses/BillyOh-Rosette-Complete-Greenhouse

You couldn't make it up.

tanvach

My experience with them is one of the most frustrating I've come across.

It started with an order for a barbecue on flamingbarbecues.co.uk. This was a professional looking website which did not set off any alarm bells. Really I should have googled the company for reviews.

After placing an order, the first sign of trouble was the details in their confirmation email which revealed that real parent company was kybotech. Googling them turned up a few review sites with many unsatisfied customers. Oh dear.

After waiting for 9 days for the order to be delivered (and multiple emails to [EMAIL="productsupport@kybotech.co.uk"]productsupport@kybotech.co.uk[/EMAIL] that never got answered), we had to endure the ridiculously long wait on the customer support line.

The person told me that they got my email address wrong (how could this have happened? I got the confirmation of sale from them) and they'll be sending an email to the corrected address. It was assured that the order would be delivered in a couple of days. Both the email and the order never came.

Another call to the support team, and again I endured the now famous "kybotech wait" listening to the crackling hold music, a person named Dan answered to again say that the email address was again wrong, and offered to fix the problem. He also said the order has now been allocated for shipment, and that I should have it delivered in 3 days (a full week later than the quoted 5 working days). He also said that two emails were sent to the now corrected address to confirm this.

The emails never came.

[TEXT DELETED BY ABUSE TEAM]. I will not shop with this company in the near future.

You've been warned.

adampaine

Hi

I read this Forum thread before I purchased from simply garden furniture (Kybotech) as I agreed with previous comments that the only people to post and add to these threads are people with problems. I then read what Kybotech had to say and thought ok there was a period of problems which companys get from time to time and they were addressing it, so ordered some garden furniture which had a 3 day approx delivery time on it. It is now 8 days later and no furniture and no despatch date given.

I am currently on hold to them now and it has been 21 minutes and I sent them an email on Wednesday enquiring when I would get delivery for which I have had no response. The email was sent to them through the Live help box, so they have no excuse for not receiving it. As far as I am concerned the company has not addressed any of their problems especially reading the most recent comments. This is very poor customer service and I will be cancelling my order with them.

DONT TOUCH THEM and do what I did by giving them the benefit of doubt otherwise you will be only posting on here what has happened to you!

(still on hold by the way and not holding my breath)

They just answered and got through to some russian sounding guy who told me to cancel you have to send an email to [EMAIL="cancellations@kybotech.co.uk"]cancellations@kybotech.co.uk[/EMAIL], or he will chase the delivery department. I asked if the product was in stock and he said they had lots of stock which says to me a very poorly run organisation if they can't send it out on time. Also no form of apology until I asked if they cared that I was cancelling my order, GREAT customer service.

Again I wish I had taken note of previous comments buy somewhere else unless you want problems.

P.s The reviews they have put up from their stock of good comments cannot be trusted as I have worked for a few sales organistions who have posted "real testimonies" which are made up and the old data protection act is a great way of getting around proving they are false.

Stoop

My experience so far is pretty much similar to so many of you.

I ordered a Billyho table and chairs on Monday 12th May, having liked the look of the product and the price. The consumer reviews also looked good.

Then we decided to order some cushions to go with the chairs so I did this and thought I would email them to see if they could put them on the same van. I'm still waiting for a reply.

I tried their 'live help' on numerous occasions and also left emails on that system when prompted. I also wanted to know if they would be delivering this week as I would need to arrange for someone to be their. I'm still waiting for a reply!

I managed to track the first order and it said I would be getting it Thursday 15th. As I was going to be at work I decided to try and ring them (I gave up on previous attempts due to massive waiting times - 45mins on average) to let them know where they could leave it. Eventually - after about 35 minutes I got through to a helpful girl who told me to leave a note on the door for the driver.

Fortunately my son was there when it arrived and he checked the boxes for any damage and signed for the goods.

When I got home last night I decided to have a look at the goods. I opened the table and all seemed fine (I have not had time to errect it yet but it does look good). Then came the chairs. Very heavy and in boxes of 2 so I opened them very carefully. The folding actioned looked good and they looked strong. However the last chair I opened simply shattered at the front edge leaving a big chunk of wood on the floor and a rather large screw sticking out. It is totally unusable.

I quickly emailed the care line to tell them about the problem and up to now (4-30pm) I have had no reply.

I did however decide to ring them again this morning (after a few attempts as the longest wait was 116mins) and after 45 mins I got an answer.

I asked why I had received no replies to any of my previous 6 emails and got the reply that I might not have sent it to the correct email address. I was then given the productsupport address to use.

The adviser seemed pretty calm and told me to take a picture of the damage, send it to them and they would send me another chair within about 5 working days.

Since then I have found all these negative reviews and others on pricegrabber - in fact one guy had exactly the same problem with 2 identical chairs last year. So I emailed them with a copy of his experience stating that I would still send a picture but that I would be checking the other chairs very carefully and if any more were damaged I would be requesting a full refund on the basis that the goods were substandard. I also said I wanted them to get a new chair to me within 7 days or I would be chasing them for a full refund on the same basis. This time I did at least get an auto response reply saying that someone would get back to me within 3 working days.

So at the moment I reserve judgement. The product looks and feels good but the broken chair worries me. Is it a regular fault with this product? I wonder.

The customer service is a shambles. I know they must be exceptionally busy at this time of year but a 116 minute wait to speak to an adviser is not acceptable - especially on an 0871 number which charges you at a national rate call. They also 'promise' to email you with delivery dates - I'm still waiting. Their email system seems to be slower than snail mail!

All in all a bad start and I wish I had googled them before I bought.

ZinZin_2

Kybotech Order No: OTD98846, MadDash, 8ft trampoline (yellow)

And might I also add my displeasure of doing business with Kybotech.
We ordered the trampoline on 26 April 2008 and it was supposed to be delivered in 3-5 days. To date (18 May 2008) we are STILL waiting.

My pattern of events are similar to all the comments here. After dialling the profit-making 0871 number, I am told the waiting time. The average waiting time on the phone ranges from 37 minutes to 59 minutes - so I hang up.
I have had ONE patronising e-mail reply. Also, automated reply e-mails - all contradicting each other. In one e-mail, my item was (allegedly) loaded onto the wagon for delivery on 7 May 2008, but it NEVER came.

Do NOT believe all the 'correct channels' mentioned by their Director. I have tried ALL e-mail contacts which they use - and there are a few! You will NOT get a reply.

I have contacted MasterCard to recover my money as there is at least consumer protection with this.

You may also be interested in this blog which also features Kybotech's dreadful reputation:

http://www.digeratistudio.com/blog/2007/05/29/customer-experience-lesson-1-answer-the-phone/

I ask the people on this forum, do you seriously believe all the so-called five-star 'customers comments' on their website?

I URGE ALL PEOPLE NOT TO ORDER FROM KYBOTECH. THOSE THAT HAVE, YOU MUST REPORT THEM TO TRADING STANDARDS. Hopefully, they will investigate the 'bonafide' customer comments.

Rex_Mundi

Whilst I hope Charles Walton sorts out the above problems, I also hope that he sees the ongoing contact/service problems within his company.

Charles

You must surely understand that if you sort out your own inhouse problems, you wont see posts like this on the boards?

It's one thing to say that you are dealing with problems, but when we see posts still being made about problems with your company, it doesn't instill confidence for potential customers (think Google).

I don't believe the problems of last year can still be held as an excuse for the posts that keep appearing now.

It's very good that you are willing to help people out by PM on this site, but if these customers (people that have posted here) could get a quick and straightforward response from your staff, they wouldn't have to publicise their problems with your company on an open forum.

SaraSeahorse

JP30 wrote: »

Update from 09/05/08
Mr Walton very quickly responded to my PM and was extremely helpful and courteous in looking into what had gone wrong with my order. I received a very positive email from one of his employees first thing yesterday offering me either a full refund or delivery of my order by Tuesday. So my fingers are crossed hoping that nothing goes wrong and that it will be delivered on Tuesday.
No company possesses perfect customer service, and we are all too quick to criticize when things go wrong but in this case Mr Walton and Kybotech have acted with commitment and professionalism to put right what went wrong (IT failure that didn't save my order) in a matter of 24hours, so they get the thumbs up from me!
Judging by what Ive read in this thread and comparing it with my own experience I would say that they are not 'as crap as 2 years ago' as some people might think. On the contrary, they have proven to be decent enough to recognize that an error had been made, whilst prompt and professional in resolving it! Maybe people should give them a chance to prove that!!
Thanks Kybotech! :T

did they write that post for you?

Stoop

I also emailed Charles Walton on Friday 16th and had a reply in my in box this morning (17th). He was very apologetic and has promised to sort out my problem first thing on Monday.

I will keep you all informed of course but I do think he genuinely wants to sort out the current problems.

Time will tell.