1. Clifford Brown's Avatar
    1st it was T-Mobile and now AT&T is joining the foolishness. The manager of the local AT&T came into my store yesterday and I decided to ask him about the Passport availability on their network. He gave me a look of utter confusion and said "what's that?". I told him that it's the newest BlackBerry that everyone is raving about. He smiled and said "I only buy good phones. Didn't BlackBerry go out of business? " and pulled out a iPhone 6 plus. He also had a HTC One M8 and said he hated it and only tells customers to buy iphones. He told me he had the Z10 for a week at launch and that is was a garbage phone.

    How is AT&T supposed to sell phones with integrity with employees that don't even know the industry? BlackBerry has an up hill climb but not because of value /quality but because of their inability to control and disseminate information. I love my Z30 and can't wait to get my passport but for the sake of the company that I value so much I hope they get their heads out of their butts and start letting people know that they're alive and well. I don't even mean marketing their phones but tell the people that are in vehicles, protecting their company's information on BBRY servers and they have quality phones. End rant.

    Brought to you by THE Z30
    Mr BBRY, CBmanJWS and gokulesh like this.
    10-22-14 05:39 AM
  2. stooy leown's Avatar
    im a real ***** sometimes. been thinking about going to att and asking to see how they respond. With the passport in hand btw. just see what they have to say and then pull the phone out like hmmmm. then just grab a sim and walk out lol.
    EsJayDee likes this.
    10-22-14 06:03 AM
  3. lonestar1135's Avatar
    My ATT store was great about it. Lots of reps asked to see it and the ones who haven't heard of it were impressed. Hard to change people's minds sometimes. Wish reps were more objective to the customers needs and wants and not just selling what they like.

    Posted via CB10
    10-22-14 07:08 AM
  4. CBmanJWS's Avatar
    When I decided to go with BlackBerry, I went to the t&at store and the rep I spoke to actually directed me to a Z10. He didn't even trash it. All he said was the caveat that "this" (the display model) was one of the few left in their inventory. It was kinda nice, but it was too narrow for my hands.
    So I got the Q10. Perfect. =So the moral of the story is: not all t&at reps are dishonest.
    jakie55 likes this.
    10-22-14 07:19 AM
  5. bakron1's Avatar
    Most folks I have talked to at T Mobile have long since wrote Blackberry off. They have focused on Android and Apple which are the hot sellers here.

    After the falling out last year and no store I have been in even has a trace of a Blackberry device or advertising literature displayed.

    I seriously doubt if T Mobile will ever carry the brand anymore which only leaves AT&T whom I had terrible issues with and would never go back to them.

    So it looks like if you want to use Blackberry in the USA, you are tied to Blackberry USA website to buy your device.

    This is going to be a pain in the *** because most folks want to touch, feel and play with it before they buy it. That's kinda of hard to do through a computer screen.
    10-22-14 07:35 AM
  6. anon(2026370)'s Avatar
    When I went into the AT&T store yesterday to get a SIM card for my new Passport, the rep there was very intrigued by my phone. He did tell me that someone had come in earlier in the day asking about availability of the Passport, which he didn't know the answer to. He didn't have many good things to say about BlackBerry, although like I said, he seemed to be impressed by my Passport.
    10-22-14 07:39 AM
  7. CBmanJWS's Avatar
    Perhaps that impression may get him to think a little bit!
    thymaster likes this.
    10-22-14 07:42 AM
  8. anon(6038817)'s Avatar
    T-Mobile and AT&T are still a lot better for those who prefer to BYOD. I'm with Verizon, and though their BlackBerry support is arguably the best among the US carriers, it's sometimes difficult to find off-contract BB10 phones that are "Verizon compatible" at a decent price. Unlocked GSM phones are easier to find and usually cheaper.

    Hopefully this limitation will disappear as Verizon migrates to VoLTE, but they're only supporting it in their newest phones. I really hope they have the Passport by the time I'm ready to upgrade.

    Typed with dazzling speed and accuracy on my Q10
    10-22-14 07:48 AM
  9. KarlS's Avatar
    Went to an AT&T corporate store outside of Chicago last week to swap out my Z10 sim for a nano sim for my newly arrived Passport. Although the rep was very nice and helpful she couldn't care less about the odd device I was holding in my hand. When I told her that they would be carrying the Passport at some point in the future she gave me a blank stare. Finally, she responded that they already have the "new" Blackberry but that they only have one left and added that they she didn't think they'd be getting anymore. Knowing full well she wasn't talking about the Passport, I asked her which phone she was referring to. She wasn't sure but thought it looked like my Z10. I replied that my Z10 came out (in the States) back in March of 2013. Another blank stare. At least she smiled the whole time. Completely clueless.

    Foolishly, I thought all the reps would gather around me all wanting to check out the Passport. God, I'm an *****.
    10-22-14 10:29 AM
  10. CBmanJWS's Avatar
    Sheesh! Sounds like she was a damn bimbo!

    Q10SQN100-1/10.2.1.3337/ t&at
    10-22-14 12:30 PM
  11. Clifford Brown's Avatar
    I don't necessarily blame the rep because they are only mouthpieces for upper management. Plus BlackBerry needs to be sending emails or pamphlets to retailers detailing their offerings. I know the Passport isn't "available " yet in the states but they have a golden opportunity to showcase the phone prior to its launch. Getting demos in the hands of reps and managers well before launch. Sending it's own reps in and showing them how to get instagram, Snapchat, etc as well as native versions of each. I don't think commercials are going to do the trick, it's needs to be the people doing the selling to get the word out. It's game over once my passport gets here. I won't be able to shut up about it. I already talk too much about my Z30.

    Brought to you by THE Z30
    10-22-14 02:50 PM
  12. Turnda643's Avatar
    The problem with ALL carrier reps is that the majority are just there to collect a check. They don't care about their job enough to know what's going on in the industry to know about devices to offer the consumer the best device for them.

    Experienced, knowledgeable reps are a needle in a haystack.

    Subscribe to Tri County Catering and Party Idea Channel. Pin #C00123065
    10-22-14 05:48 PM
  13. stooy leown's Avatar
    No bs. Went to tmobile today. Got my sim and the female helping me asked to see it. I showed her and she was shocked and confused. She went to tell the other guy, and he goes on about BlackBerry being purchased by softbank? Wtf? Says their all touch aren't doing well. The Q10. I said this Q10? The keyboard device. And NO bs, this dude wouldn't look at the phone. I told him, I'll bet ya a 100 that BlackBerry still makes phone, etc etc. They weren't bought by that comp etc. He goes on and says we don't support the device and it won't work.

    The female comes back at him and says, your wrong, it will work, and we just don't offer support in terms of updates.

    Long story short, I didn't even have to start the convo with the dude. He started, and was game on. Made him look a fool infront of people(which I do regret, that's not me.). Got my sim and all is working

    Posted via CB10
    D3C0D3R likes this.
    10-22-14 07:14 PM
  14. SeanSolo's Avatar
    You can't blame them really, I got the same responses about my phone from coworkers.

    You drop from 40% to. 5% in 5 years you can expect that kind of chatter.

    Posted via Passport~!
    10-22-14 10:38 PM
  15. THBW's Avatar
    Look Cliff, I will tell you the truth. Sales reps are paid minimum wage and they hate their jobs. Been there, done that.

    I think that BlackBerry has given up on the carriers and has decided to take a different approach. They have taken on a gorilla marketing where they engage niche buyers. The thing is, they are not niche but average people looking to find a device that fits their needs.

    I never really appreciated this niche approach until my son got involved in online gaming. What I realized was that there was nothing niche about these so called peripheral events. It was a huge industry ready to be tapped.

    Posted via CB10
    10-22-14 11:13 PM
  16. D3C0D3R's Avatar
    No bs. Went to tmobile today. Got my sim and the female helping me asked to see it. I showed her and she was shocked and confused. She went to tell the other guy, and he goes on about BlackBerry being purchased by softbank? Wtf? Says their all touch aren't doing well. The Q10. I said this Q10? The keyboard device. And NO bs, this dude wouldn't look at the phone. I told him, I'll bet ya a 100 that BlackBerry still makes phone, etc etc. They weren't bought by that comp etc. He goes on and says we don't support the device and it won't work.

    The female comes back at him and says, your wrong, it will work, and we just don't offer support in terms of updates.

    Long story short, I didn't even have to start the convo with the dude. He started, and was game on. Made him look a fool infront of people(which I do regret, that's not me.). Got my sim and all is working

    Posted via CB10
    That is an amazing story and you just made my night, thank you sir! Ahahahahhahaha

    Praise be unto our Lord Squircle | Passport SQW100-1/10.3.0.1418
    10-23-14 12:12 AM
  17. D3C0D3R's Avatar
    Look Cliff, I will tell you the truth. Sales reps are paid minimum wage and they hate their jobs. Been there, done that.

    I think that BlackBerry has given up on the carriers and has decided to take a different approach. They have taken on a gorilla marketing where they engage niche buyers. The thing is, they are not niche but average people looking to find a device that fits their needs.

    I never really appreciated this niche approach until my son got involved in online gaming. What I realized was that there was nothing niche about these so called peripheral events. It was a huge industry ready to be tapped.

    Posted via CB10
    It's interesting to see that this is how they sell stuff to customers, yet I have met a few people who actually do push the Passport!
    I was in Telus on launch day playing with the demo unit at a Telus in KW when I realized the employee behind me was selling a Passport to an older lady who had been amazed by the device when she was looking at all of them. He turned it on and set it up for her and thought the keyboard was defective because the cursor was moving around and words kept deleting, so I jumped in offering information about how it's actually a touch-enabled keyboard, etc.

    Needless to say, after she left with the phone, he was super excited and started talking to the other employees and the manager about the phone and decided he was going to stay a little later that night to play around with the phone since he was closing!

    Moral of the story? If you have open-minded employees, they're going to be a lot better for the customer in finding what best actually suits their needs! These employees honestly should get a perk over the other ones to give them proper reward for not being iSheep or killing off the BlackBerry years ago.

    Praise be unto our Lord Squircle | Passport SQW100-1/10.3.0.1418
    jakie55 likes this.
    10-23-14 12:17 AM

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