Product review (1 stars): Kobe refuses to honor warranty on a new but malfunctioning range hood. Poor quality control and worst customer service ever!
For nearly $800 in November 2014 I bought a new Kobe Range Hood model CH2230SQB-1, which was dropped shipped to me directly from the Kobe warehouse in Arcadia, CA. It was defective out of the box. During the temporary power up test suggested before installation, the fans seemed to work fine but the LED lights did not work. Looked to see if there was a loose connection but all wiring looked intact. Began moving the hood to put it back in the shipping box, and the lights temporarily flickered and even stayed lit for a few seconds, but the lights quickly stopped working and couldn't get them to come back on. Started a service call with Kobe's ADCO warranty division and they were distant. Had to be proactive and provoke them into moving the service order along and give me status updates. Kobe then refused to send a repair technician from the company that ADCO usually contracts with in my region, and the only other trained servicer in my area would not take the repair call because I did not buy the unit from them. Requested KOBE to reconsider sending the alternate servicer or send a replacement working unit and they refused to do either! They would not honor their stated warranty to repair or replace a defective unit!  Asked the vendor to step in, but he insinuated that I may have compromised the hood during testing the unit, and even said "what's the big deal; it's just the lights; go ahead an install it." Wow! I turned to pressing Kobe to resolve the issue, and they only offered to refund my money if I returned the hood. But I don't want to return the hood, as this model would fit best in my remodeled kitchen. I was able to talk to a manager at Kobe, but he said he could not authorize anything more than a refund. He said there was no one in the entire Arcadia office that could authorize repair or replacement of the defective hood, including the head executive! He said all they could do is send an email to the Kobe headquarters in Japan to ask if there is anything they may be willing to authorize in relation to this warranty issue. So the American headquarters of a global manufacturing and supply company cannot make a decision on a simple customer service issue to repair or replace a malfunctioning unit as per the terms of their warranty. I don't see how a global company does not delegate a simple customer service issue decision to its American management staff. If Kobe's weren't the only 30 inches wide x 22 inches deep x 6 inches high hoods I could find with baffle filters, LED lights, and supposedly quiet fans, I would run from this non-customer centric company as fast as I could. Problem is, this is the model that fits my space. All I want is a functioning CH2230SQB-1. It's not too much to ask. I cannot understand how Kobe has been unwilling to resolve this simple issue. Kobe's behavior toward this matter is quite the opposite of how the company markets itself on its website: "KOBE Range Hoods has experienced tremendous growth throughout its history due to OUR ATTENTION TO QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SERVICE. We INVITE YOU TO JOIN US and play an important part in the innovation that KOBE creates for the kitchens of the future!" Do not believe it for one second. Kobe has poor quality control and the worst customer service I've ever experienced. BUYER BEWARE!

Update 12/7/14:  Along with this Amazon post on Friday night I also posted to Facebook and Gardenweb. And before these posts I emailed the company telling them I was going to post to social media, and I cc:d a consumer columnist at the LA Times on that message. Lo and behold on Saturday morning I get an email from the vendor saying that Kobe had decided to not require the hood to be returned, canceled the shipping tag, issued me a full refund, voided the warranty on the hood, and said happy holidays. Great. Got my money back after a bunch of grief, and if I can repair the malfunction, which is hopefully likely, I get a free hood, but with the baggage of this experience. It's also weird because I didn't ask for a free hood; I just wanted it fixed. And it's sad that I had to get extreme before Kobe would do the right thing. I guess this should remind us all that if we feel we are getting mistreated as customers, then turning to social media may help.