Don't Buy "The Book" E-Reader from Argus

[boblabontefan]

I wanted to get an e-reader for my Mom. Her eyesight is failing and she loves to read. I figured the best way to remedy this is get her an e-reader so she can enlarge the print. When I was that Menards had an e-reader "The Book" by Argus on sale on BF for $69.99 I got excited and purchased one.

 

I am very disappointed. I spent the following weekend setting up the e-reader and took it into work on Monday to get the wi-fi registered. The registration didn't work so I called customer service. After being on hold for 10 minutes I got a message that said to leave my name and number and I would be contacted. By the end of the work day I hadn't received a call back so I sent the service department an e-mail. On Tuesday I found a software update on their website and figured I would try that. Only to find that the update would load on my computer. Wednesday I called customer service again and received the same "please leave a message" line again. After that I called their office number and explained that I hadn't received any call back from customer service in over 48 hours. Within 10 minutes a customer service rep called me back.

 

It seems that even though the e-reader is compatible with 64 bit operating systems the update isn't. Their options to me were to mail them the e-reader and they would update it, exchange it at the store in hopes I would get an updated model or find someone's computer that was 32 bit and do the update there.

 

Maybe I my judgement right now is clouded by frustration, but these options don't seem customer friendly to me. The company won't send me an update file that is 64 bit compatible.

 

I called the company back to express my frustration with the limitations of their system and they suggested I take the e-reader back and get my money back.

 

 

I am taking option #4 and returning "The Book" to Menards.

 

Definitely not a good deal!

[Kibit13]

That is so frustrating! How do they expect customers to use the E-Reader if it is not compatible.

 

I hope you are able to find a nice one at a good price for your mom.

[boblabontefan]

Thanks Kibit13. I plan on getting her a Kindle. Shouldn't get any problems there.

 

I wonder about others that may have purchased this for a christmas present and will have these problems a month from now. Hopefully if they read this thread they will check out their unit before wrapping it.

[HansieDZ]

I got the refurb Nook for my husband but wondered about those knock-off ereaders you see at CVS etc.

Glad to know that,even though it's a cheap price,it's not really a "deal".

Your mom will love the Kindle and what a thoughtful present!

[MandaJo111]

I am sorry to hear you are having such a hassle. That is horrible!

 

My mom got a kindle a few months ago and absolutely loves it. She has talked to so many people with other brands since then that don't like theirs. I swear the demonstration she gives of her kindle she should get paid to market the things. lol My mom is in her 60's and she has never had the best eyesight (wears strong glasses and has glaucoma). She loves being able to make the words bigger. Another great feature is that many of the books have a text to audio function so it will read it to you. There are also thousands of free books available on amazon for kindle and thousands more at only a dollar or two. Also, if you ever get a new kindle or want to use a kindle app for a phone or computer, your library is remembered through amazon and you can re-download them instead of having to buy the titles you have over again.

[angleyez423]

Sorry about all the problems. I got the Sony and love it because it does library downloads for free so I don't have to buy each book.

[boblabontefan]

I returned "the Book" today at Menards. I gotta say, the Menards we have is great. I explained the entire situation to them and they were very eager to listen and know about my experiences with the Argus customer support. I warned the personnel at Menards they may have a lot of people returning their "Book" after Christmas because of the upgrade problems. I was able to get all my money back.

 

The good news is I bought the Kindle Wi-Fi today for my Mom at Staples (again another store with great customer service). We invited my parents to come out for the football game and some steaks on the grill tomorrow and I plan on giving it to her then. She will be so excited!