Wacom is one of the biggest names in drawing tablets, and we've been impressed by plenty of its products over the years. But the company appears to have found itself at the centre of a rather unfortunate Twitter storm lately, with users less than impressed (to put it mildly) by its customer service.
Things kicked off when one user revealed (below) that they've been blocked by Wacom on Twitter after calling them out for "falsely advertised warranties". And plenty of users have since piled on calling for a boycott of the brand. So what exactly is Wacom, the maker of some of our best drawing tablets, being accused of?
oh my god what pic.twitter.com/mr40nUhsBWJuly 27, 2021
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In a thread, Twitter user @ompuco explains that Wacom refused to repair their Cintiq tablet, and that documentation on its website claiming a two year warranty is actually "inaccurate". Instead of a being given a free repair, @ompuco was quoted almost $400. This is because their device was a refurbished model which Wacom claims only comes with a one year warranty – information that @ompuco says was nowhere to be found online.
The company makes some of our favourite drawing tablets, like the Wacom Cintiq 16 (Image credit: Wacom)
After much back-and-forth, Wacom eventually offered to repair it free of charge. But the debacle didn't end there – it was returned to the user with a "massive scratch" on the screen. And when @ompuco complained some more on Twitter, it seems Wacom hit the Block button.
The drama has led many on Twitter to declare their allegiance to other such as Huion (hey, why not check out the best Huion drawing tablets?), while plenty of others are sharing their own displeasure with Wacom's customer service.
i was about to upgrade to a 4k tablet somewhere this year and after reading this thread it certainly won't be from wacom, like holy shit if it breaks you're basically fucked https://t.co/Ri0aCvGaKRJuly 28, 2021
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I think it is about time i start looking for other tablets that are not wacom, not only the quality and designs of their products have been laughable for like 10 years, they also have super scummy refund policies and will straight up block you if you dare complain about them https://t.co/04yokUxw59July 28, 2021
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Indeed, the story seems to have stuck a chord with designers on Twitter. While Wacom is yet to comment on the controversy, the brand is no doubt aware of the conversation – 'Wacom' is trending with over 11k tweets right now, with plenty of users sharing their own stories of failed attempts to get their kit repaired under warranty.
Of course, we only know what @ompuco and various other users have shared on Twitter – Wacom could indeed have a valid explanation for the confusion over its warranties. All we'll say is that we can't imagine, say, Apple, blocking users who criticise its customer service on Twitter.
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Right, well, now all of that has been explained, you're probably ready to get back to some good old relaxing, drama-free digital drawing. With that in mind, check out today's best drawing tablet deals below.
Daniel John is Senior News Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of art, design, branding and lifestyle tech (which often translates to tech made by Apple). He joined in 2020 after working in copywriting and digital marketing with brands including ITV, NBC, Channel 4 and more.
