[OriginalLucy]

I had a client tell me that she and her husband went to London Drugs to get the PlayBook after I showed them mine and the salesman told them not to waste their money. She asked why and he replied that the PlayBook is the only tablet that gets returned and that they should buy the ipad. Now, if you were to walk into the computer section of London Drugs, you would see right away that they have an apple bias. Big section of everything apple, and a shelf along the wall of everything else. RIM should really pay attention to how the resellers are sabotaging them at every turn.

[Economist101]

I had a client tell me that she and her husband went to London Drugs to get the PlayBook after I showed them mine and the salesman told them not to waste their money. She asked why and he replied that the PlayBook is the only tablet that gets returned and that they should buy the ipad. Now, if you were to walk into the computer section of London Drugs, you would see right away that they have an apple bias. Big section of everything apple, and a shelf along the wall of everything else. RIM should really pay attention to how the resellers are sabotaging them at every turn.

Resellers make money when items sell. Therefore, resellers push the items that sell. The only "bias" you've established is a bias towards revenue and profit.

[Canuck671]

salespeople are sellers - I dont usually listen to them when they babble.

If i listened to salespeople, I would have purchased a newton, be driving a pinto, living in a "reconditioned" sea can, and wearing a pirate shirt.

That being said, I am sure that "You" are the exception which proves the rule.'

[swyost]

1) Apple pays for that big section - anyone else could also negotiate a deal for that sort of visibility.
2) It is a very common theme to hear stores refer to the Playbook as having a high return rate. The volume of refurbished, no warranty, items on Best Buy's website suggests that may be true.
3) I doubt the person put it as bluntly as is suggested but I would not be surprised if they at least directed them to consider other options.

[SifJar]

Well, for one thing Apple products are very highly priced, so they can sell less of them and probably get the same profit as having to sell more other products. Plus, as said above, they are just trying to push what does in fact sell well, as that's what will probably appeal to people. (Personally, there aren't any Apple products I would actually buy I don't think, but if I was a sales person, that wouldn't stop be selling them. I have sold various things i my time that I would never consider buying.)

[rjedge54]

Resellers make money when items sell. Therefore, resellers push the items that sell. The only "bias" you've established is a bias towards revenue and profit.

He problem I have with that statement is in this case the customer wanted a PlayBook, so the product to sell at that moment in time was the PlayBook. The reseller in this case doesn't get a sale since the customer did not want an iPad. I didn't realize that in today's economy that salesmen and retailers were earning so much that they can afford to turn down sales.

Another problem with this that from what I remember from my limited past sales training, you don't get many sales by trashing a product you don't want to sell, but instead by promoting the product you want to sell. That technique never works for me, it is extremely unprofessional. As soon as a salesman trashes a product I want to purchase I walk away and take my business elsewhere.

[[email protected]]

I had a client tell me that she and her husband went to London Drugs to get the PlayBook after I showed them mine and the salesman told them not to waste their money. She asked why and he replied that the PlayBook is the only tablet that gets returned and that they should buy the ipad. Now, if you were to walk into the computer section of London Drugs, you would see right away that they have an apple bias. Big section of everything apple, and a shelf along the wall of everything else. RIM should really pay attention to how the resellers are sabotaging them at every turn.

Or maybe people are returning them and they don't want the hassle.

[Scotter75]

Apple pays for show and movie producers to push Apple products ad nauseum onto the viewing public. Apple itunes get delivered faster than most Internet content. With $100 billion in their bank account, money talks. From the early 80's onward it was Microsoft ad nauseum, nows its Apples turn.

[anon(4018671)]

If the salesman didn't say why people return them, then how can the customer make a informed decision? Sounds like a cheap way to make commissions to me.

[gwinegarden]

Simple. If I am on commission and I can either sell you a $200 playbook or a $600 ipad, what do you think I am going to push?

[Cracklen]

Salesman probably worked previously for one of the usbased tech stores and any training our cdn-based LDrugs gave him has not 'stuck' yet ! ya should have enlightened a bit and asked for the manager to propose the salesman be sent for a refresher course . .

'Cause just after their flyer went out mid-march advertising the pricepoint as seen here, BlackBerry - PlayBook Price - BlackBerry Tablet Price - Buy BlackBerry PlayBook, would also be at LD till April1st I dropped into a couple of their local outlets and found they only had 16gb units left and no negativity expressed by the salesman other than inclination of sadness they did not have the 32s or64s in stock !! This past tuesday one of the 2 shops had upgraded their shelf tag with a "out of stock" over the remaining 16gb . . . .

Maybe RIM could hire some of us as 'smart test shoppers' to ferret out the negative salesmen LOL

BTW marketing marketing works
ex. CFL vs nfl, some u.s. based org. which for some reason still has some fans up here --- marketing, marke. . . .
nite !

[SnoozerBold]

Yeah, the ipad is more $ and in general an easier sell to most people probably. so they'll push the product more.
Personally, I go to buy anything, electronics, car or any high priced item i do my research and know what i want when i go in and just ignore what the salesmen say when they try to up sell me. It sounds like your friend did the same. i just chalk it up to a salesman trying to make more money. You cant blame them so long as they don't get snotty or rude with you.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9790 using Tapatalk

[OriginalLucy]

You all make valid points, but,it still makes me frustrated that someone walked in to specifically buy the PlayBook, and left thinking that the salesperson must be the expert, as afterall, they are the ones that are trained.

[madman0141]

Consumers should be able to buy what they want the small percentage of educated salespeople will give an opinion but tend to the consumers needs. It is sad that so many people believe advertising is the word of God.

[tabletfanatic]

I had a client tell me that she and her husband went to London Drugs to get the PlayBook after I showed them mine and the salesman told them not to waste their money. She asked why and he replied that the PlayBook is the only tablet that gets returned and that they should buy the ipad. Now, if you were to walk into the computer section of London Drugs, you would see right away that they have an apple bias. Big section of everything apple, and a shelf along the wall of everything else. RIM should really pay attention to how the resellers are sabotaging them at every turn.

It's unfortunate; what I guess most people do not realize is that the Playbook is still a beta product; especially with WIFI not working right with poor connections and problems connecting to IMAP server and loosing passwords which is due to a WIFI connectivity issue and Android player crashing with some apps needing a complete restart isn't awe inspiring. I heard that these issues are going to be addressed on the next firmware upgrade. But no one is waiting around patiently enough for a firmware fix, so those are the things people return the Playbook for an iPad or Android. The problem with the Playbook is that iOS is a more polished product with at least a couple of generations ahead.

And salespeople are reviewed on their sales performance. You don't sit around getting paid making no sales. A returned product equals no sale -- I think you know that. If he or she needs to meet a sales quota per month, wouldn't a sales person be more proactive to sell you a product that has less return rate. I would.

However, something is fishy here. I don't get why a salesperson would refuse to sell a Playbook to your client when in fact, you said your client is adamant in getting it. London Drugs return policy is stated clear.
I suspect that your client got into the store, found the Playbook but have 2nd thoughts and wasn't totally sold on it. Client asked a few questions and realized its limitation. Why would London Drugs instruct and train its staff to badmouth a product to the customer? Either you carry it or you don't. If you carry it, then you also have to be honest about its product track record and London Drugs are usually pretty open about it. The sales person is telling your friend that track record. But your client can still buy it knowing this track record. No one is sabotaging anything.

[anon(4018671)]

It's unfortunate; what I guess most people do not realize is that the Playbook is still a beta product; especially with WIFI not working right with poor connections and problems connecting to IMAP server and loosing passwords which is due to a WIFI connectivity issue and Android player crashing with some apps needing a complete restart isn't awe inspiring. I heard that these issues are going to be addressed on the next firmware upgrade. But no one is waiting around patiently enough for a firmware fix, so those are the things people return the Playbook for an iPad or Android. The problem with the Playbook is that iOS is a more polished product with at least a couple of generations ahead.

And salespeople are reviewed on their sales performance. You don't sit around getting paid making no sales. A returned product equals no sale -- I think you know that. If he or she needs to meet a sales quota per month, wouldn't a sales person be more proactive to sell you a product that has less return rate. I would.

However, something is fishy here. I don't get why a salesperson would refuse to sell a Playbook to your client when in fact, you said your client is adamant in getting it. London Drugs return policy is stated clear.
I suspect that your client got into the store, found the Playbook but have 2nd thoughts and wasn't totally sold on it. Client asked a few questions and realized its limitation. Why would London Drugs instruct and train its staff to badmouth a product to the customer? Either you carry it or you don't. If you carry it, then you also have to be honest about its product track record and London Drugs are usually pretty open about it. The sales person is telling your friend that track record. But your client can still buy it knowing this track record. No one is sabotaging anything.

^^^ If what you say is true than NOBODY would be useing Windows...Windows had big problems (BSOD) but they fixed up their OS (mostly). You make a lot of assumptions about everything actually.

I don't have any problems with Android player for instance, browser crashing yes and calendar opens slowly because it is syncing. Poor reasons not to buy it IMO.

Its truly unfortunate and sad that people take time out of their lives to speak on behalf of strangers they only heard about on the internet

[gimpy666]

The people I have talked to are returning their new iPads not PlayBook as they are disappointed with the lack of changes other than the screen.

[Spellreflekt]

Salesmen stick the PB in a corner all smudged up and complain when they aren't selling? Actually they get better profits when selling nonipads. It has been revealed that the margin for retailers is around 2% on one iPad sell vs nearly 50% on androids.

[Old Davy]

iPads are a dime a dozen - more than 30 - at my workplace and they are a fine product. Because they were available and a step up from other e-reader 7" tablets, and well in advance of the Blackberry, the early-adopter techies I work among quickly acquired iPads.
Because of the size the users mostly handle them like a precious carton of eggs, often carrying them on top of clipboards.

However, since I appeared with my PlayBook (there are 7 of them now among my colleagues) even the Apple guys are wandering over to have a look-see at this smaller stylish truly portable pocketable package. When I have the to time to show them what it can do I see the dawning of realization in their eyes. If the smaller screen suits your purpose then I think the form factor will garner more & more fans at my workplace as time marches on...

[amro]

i'm not going to waste my time reading 2 pages of this. it's the same drivel time after time.

your friends problem was going to london drugs in first place. steer them to a dealer that will listen to them, not the cash register.

[tabletfanatic]

^^^ If what you say is true than NOBODY would be useing Windows...Windows had big problems (BSOD) but they fixed up their OS (mostly). You make a lot of assumptions about everything actually.

I don't have any problems with Android player for instance, browser crashing yes and calendar opens slowly because it is syncing. Poor reasons not to buy it IMO.

Its truly unfortunate and sad that people take time out of their lives to speak on behalf of strangers they only heard about on the internet

Hmmm, this is no assumption. Basically, I work in the business and deal with London Drugs on an ongoing basis and would like to shed some light into their business and not some random post with a one-sided RIM is the victim post which I am beginning to get pretty tired reading.

I am not sure what you are so hyped up with returns and my comments. Returns is a normal process now in the retail business -- it happens ALL THE TIME buddy. It is a strategy USED TO MAKE CONSUMERS WANTS and turn them into NEEDS! The states and Canada do this. It is one of the most effective means of selling a product and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure out why!

One of the most common reasons for returns is products isn't living up to their expectation. It can be many things, but do you know that those problems can be commonly addressed with a serious of firmware upgrades? Sadly, many of these people aren't waiting around for the messiah to come through with a well polished product. They rather return, then wait until the product is well polished and then buy. I bought the iPad 1 when they came out with iOS 4 with their WIFI issues and unified mailbox already fixed. I wasn't ready to be playing iTunes sync for hours just to keep up with updates. There are people out there, unlike you, who don't lurk on Crackberry.com. They have a life.

Having said that, PB OS 2.0 is a recent upgrade and is due to receive the first of many updates. Windows, as you had pointed out, had been through many iterations and updates plus upgrades for many years. I think it is extremely arrogant to think that only RIM can put out a OS 2.0 software that is bug free on their first try. No company I have known in this world and in my 3 decades in this industry has ever put out a software that is perfect and requires no updates and fixes.

What I was saying earlier is that some people aren't willing to play beta tester. Life is too precious to be wasting on potential problems that other more polished tablets OS had been addressed a generation or two ago.

I use the Playbook still today with the iPad and find it very useful for what I do. I know for the fact that it will only get better. We are the early adopters, so what's the point of blaming retailers for not doing their part. Retailers pay rent for shelf space and hydro to keep the Playbook there for people to see. Do you think they would ever badmouth a product you have dedicated shelf space for and paying all the incidentals? There's a lot of costs involved -- it's just not that simple as the OP made out to be.

London Drugs will sell anything to you no questions ask. Go in the store and buy a PB and they would not stop you. But if you ask an honest question, they may give you an honest answer that some RIM fanboy dislike to hear.

[yaytoast]

i'm not going to waste my time reading 2 pages of this. it's the same drivel time after time.

your friends problem was going to london drugs in first place. steer them to a dealer that will listen to them, not the cash register.

Like who? These threads prove time and time again, that it's down to the salesperson, not the company.

London Drugs is one of the few bastions left where I know I can get good technical expertise. It was one of the salespeople at that showed me how he used his Playbook, which led to me buying my own, last summer.

[lotuslanderz]

No issues with the London Drugs near me. The sales guys in the computer tech Dept are actually quite knowledgeable and I like their price-match and return policies.

[mikeroscoe]

I had a client tell me that she and her husband went to London Drugs to get the PlayBook after I showed them mine and the salesman told them not to waste their money. She asked why and he replied that the PlayBook is the only tablet that gets returned and that they should buy the ipad. Now, if you were to walk into the computer section of London Drugs, you would see right away that they have an apple bias. Big section of everything apple, and a shelf along the wall of everything else. RIM should really pay attention to how the resellers are sabotaging them at every turn.

Change the thread title to 'London Drugs salesman bias against Playbook' and you'll realize there's no problem or conspiracy. Every salesman is going to have an opinion on what they believe to be the superior product. Your sample size is one. As for the way the store is organized, which product is selling more? Apple or RIM products? The answer is obviously Apple. Their products are more popular, that's the reason they're featured. Blaming retailers for RIM's missteps is pretty ridiculous.