[rlongsta]

I'm a longtime BB fan and have had a z10 since day one last year. This weekend, I was helping to get mom on a smartphone and convinced her to look at the z30 (dad has a z10, so easy for them to learn and figure things out together). However, I went to Best Buy and they had no stock of z10s or z30s. I was very very surprised by this, knowing how much extra inventory Blackberry has, etc. Best Buy called around the lower mainland (BC) and eventually came back and said they stopped carrying supply? We also phoned their 'sister' store, Futureshop, who came back with the same response?

Another thing, I was looking to start a share plan for my parents. I ended up getting in a fight with the CSR at a Bell store over BIS. We were looking at all phone options but he came back saying it had to be a Blackberry (totally okay with me lol) because they both need to share BIS (!?!?). We fought about BIS and os10, etc. So, I challenged him to give me a os10 phone with BIS on it and I'd be a happy customer. Anyways, we ended up leaving because he also didn't know the right plans and I didn't want to give him any commission for his blatant lack of knowledge.

I guess what I'm looking for is comments from other people's experience in being able to actually buy a z10 or z30 phone these days. It sure doesn't help when CSRs don't know anything about Blackberry anymore, push Samsungs/iphone sales, AND, at the end of the day they don't have any inventory in store to even sell to the smart customers. This really shocked me as I really want to see Blackberry succeed but, they have a lot of obstacles to overcome of course... Future is looking brighter with John Chen, that's for sure. Looking forward to seeing some meaningful marketing someday

[Bla1ze]

You pretty much answered your own question really. You have to fight with some reps to even get them to sell you a BlackBerry device. I find a lot of it is regional though, I never have bad experiences like that where I live in Halifax, Nova Scotia and our stores are generally always stocked with BlackBerry devices. But some folks here have some pretty gritty tales of CSR's doing everything they can to NOT sell a BlackBerry device. Is what it is I suppose, let your wallet do the talking and take your business where it's welcomed.

[chiphazard]

I'm a longtime BB fan and have had a z10 since day one last year. This weekend, I was helping to get mom on a smartphone and convinced her to look at the z30 (dad has a z10, so easy for them to learn and figure things out together). However, I went to Best Buy and they had no stock of z10s or z30s. I was very very surprised by this, knowing how much extra inventory Blackberry has, etc. Best Buy called around the lower mainland (BC) and eventually came back and said they stopped carrying supply? We also phoned their 'sister' store, Futureshop, who came back with the same response?

Another thing, I was looking to start a share plan for my parents. I ended up getting in a fight with the CSR at a Bell store over BIS. We were looking at all phone options but he came back saying it had to be a Blackberry (totally okay with me lol) because they both need to share BIS (!?!?). We fought about BIS and os10, etc. So, I challenged him to give me a os10 phone with BIS on it and I'd be a happy customer. Anyways, we ended up leaving because he also didn't know the right plans and I didn't want to give him any commission for his blatant lack of knowledge.

I guess what I'm looking for is comments from other people's experience in being able to actually buy a z10 or z30 phone these days. It sure doesn't help when CSRs don't know anything about Blackberry anymore, push Samsungs/iphone sales, AND, at the end of the day they don't have any inventory in store to even sell to the smart customers. This really shocked me as I really want to see Blackberry succeed but, they have a lot of obstacles to overcome of course... Future is looking brighter with John Chen, that's for sure. Looking forward to seeing some meaningful marketing someday

BIS is no more. Did you look at a shared family plan that offers a couple of gigs. Old BIS accounts would probably not come close to what us needed on bb10.


BlackBerry Since 2006. BB Z10,10.2 Official. Rogers Halifax, NS

[rlongsta]

BIS is no more. Did you look at a shared family plan that offers a couple of gigs. Old BIS accounts would probably not come close to what us needed on bb10.


BlackBerry Since 2006. BB Z10,10.2 Official. Rogers Halifax, NS

Yeah, I know. That's why I jumped on him when he said that she needed to get a Blackberry because they needed to share a BIS plan. I would love a BIS plan on my z10.
Ended up getting a shared family 2 GB plan (they don't use much data on their phones) and, unfortunately, a galaxy 4s. I find the android interface still really clunky and unorganized. Too many unnecessary options that no one uses and poor UI. Looks cheap. I won't even start about the keyboard either but I was reminded by the rep that there's a "swiftkey app for that" and I quickly rolled my eyes while I told him "of course there is". He said it is the exact same as the BB keyboard but without text prediction over the keys, so, more arguing with a different CSR (I wasn't too sure if I was right on the keyboard differences or not lol).

[Daryll Davis]

That CSR don't know ****, I always suggest the Z10 whenever I can. I had a little spat with a prospective customer last night because a CSR at Sprint told him that a BlackBerry isn't good to use for work. My job doesn't carry any Blackberries which sucks because we get a lot of BBOS users that want to upgrade and like my Z10 when I give them a demonstration.

Posted via CB10

[bungaboy]

BIS is no more. Did you look at a shared family plan that offers a couple of gigs. Old BIS accounts would probably not come close to what us needed on bb10.


BlackBerry Since 2006. BB Z10,10.2 Official. Rogers Halifax, NS

As far as I know, Bell Canada still requires BIS on BlackBerry. At least they did when I upgraded to Z10s

[Bla1ze]

As far as I know, Bell Canada still requires BIS on BlackBerry. At least they did when I upgraded to Z10s

Them requiring you to have a BIS plan does not = BIS existing. It's their way to soak people for cash and not have to update their systems. They stick everyone on the already existing plans and treat BB10 no differently.

[bungaboy]

Them requiring you to have a BIS plan does not = BIS existing. It's their way to soak people for cash and not have to update their systems. They stick everyone on the already existing plans and treat BB10 no differently.

Exactly!

[Richard Buckley]

Them requiring you to have a BIS plan does not = BIS existing. It's their way to soak people for cash and not have to update their systems. They stick everyone on the already existing plans and treat BB10 no differently.

Yup. Back at launch Bell said they stuck with BlackBerry plans to make it easier for their customers. SMH

The good news is Virgin Mobile finally woke up. I moved my Z10 LE from Rogers to Virgin Mobile in December and I couldn't be happier. I'm not sure, but I think a Bell locked phone should work on VM, or you could try to get an Android/Apple plan on Bell and edit the APN to pda.bell.ca instead of the default blackberry.net

Also, I have a friend who is now on an Android phone, as is his wife, both with Bell. He has been talking to retention about upgrading to either a Q10 or a Z30 and getting a shared data plan with his wife's phone. No mention has been made of BlackBerry data plans. So you may just have to talk to someone from higher up in the food chain.

[rlongsta]

Just to be clear, the Best Buy reps were knowledgeable about BIS no longer being available for BB10 (on every network). They were 10x better than the Bell store reps. However, they had no Blackberry phones to sell!

[NtotheK]

Yeah, I know. That's why I jumped on him when he said that she needed to get a Blackberry because they needed to share a BIS plan. I would love a BIS plan on my z10.
Ended up getting a shared family 2 GB plan (they don't use much data on their phones) and, unfortunately, a galaxy 4s. I find the android interface still really clunky and unorganized. Too many unnecessary options that no one uses and poor UI. Looks cheap. I won't even start about the keyboard either but I was reminded by the rep that there's a "swiftkey app for that" and I quickly rolled my eyes while I told him "of course there is". He said it is the exact same as the BB keyboard but without text prediction over the keys, so, more arguing with a different CSR (I wasn't too sure if I was right on the keyboard differences or not lol).

So you just caved and got a Samsung out of convenience? Didn't check to see if you could order one online? Sad to see people sacrifice a great user experience and product because they can't get one "now".

Posted via CB10

[rlongsta]

So you just caved and got a Samsung out of convenience? Didn't check to see if you could order one online? Sad to see people sacrifice a great user experience and product because they can't get one "now".

Posted via CB10

No, like I said, I consider myself a big Blackberry fan and promote the phone and company to everyone I talk to. I don't need to justify myself here but Dad was stuck in a plan with Bell for another ~18 months, I was only visiting them for 2 days and don't live near my parents and needed to resolve it that weekend to help them out, they literally didn't have any Bell phones within an hour of where we were, and our time was very limited as it is.
I was really upset that we couldn't get a Blackberry, that is why I created this post. If people that want them, can't get them easily, that just further proves that any customers on the fence or unaware of BB10 will not be getting them either. Even if we could order one online from Bell, that in itself is very disappointing. Again, I feel only the diehards would be ordering them. I'd that any casual users aren't going to be bothered to wait and will get an iphone to 'catch-up' to their friends.

[NtotheK]

No, like I said, I consider myself a big Blackberry fan and promote the phone and company to everyone I talk to. I don't need to justify myself here but Dad was stuck in a plan with Bell for another ~18 months, I was only visiting them for 2 days and don't live near my parents and needed to resolve it that weekend to help them out, they literally didn't have any Bell phones within an hour of where we were, and our time was very limited as it is.
I was really upset that we couldn't get a Blackberry, that is why I created this post. If people that want them, can't get them easily, that just further proves that any customers on the fence or unaware of BB10 will not be getting them either. Even if we could order one online from Bell, that in itself is very disappointing. Again, I feel only the diehards would be ordering them. I'd that any casual users aren't going to be bothered to wait and will get an iphone to 'catch-up' to their friends.

It's a shame that in today's society we have lost all patients for the sake of simplicity and convenience. I also push BlackBerry 10 devices so that I will always be able to "trouble shoot" using screen share and video chat. To each your own and as long as they are happy with their purchase that's all that matters. Cheers!

Posted via CB10

[nfld_sapper]

As far as I know, Bell Canada still requires BIS on BlackBerry. At least they did when I upgraded to Z10s

They do not.... they require you to have 1X RIM provisioning though....

[nfld_sapper]

Them requiring you to have a BIS plan does not = BIS existing. It's their way to soak people for cash and not have to update their systems. They stick everyone on the already existing plans and treat BB10 no differently.

Blaze they do require you to have 1X RIM provisioning though....

[cman5]

My daughters old iPhone3 contract finally got to the 4 month left stage (she couldn't stand the phone and swears she will never get another apple phone again) and I convinced her to get the Z10. She really liked mine and wanted to get it. She's on MTS ( regional carrier) and didn't want to switch. When we went to get her Z10 we found out MTS no longer carrys the Z10, they only carry the Z30. She feels the Z30 is too big for her so she unfortunately settled for the Samsung S4 mini. What annoys me is that I had to wait for MTS till March last year before they finally got the Z10 myself and now less than 8 months later they dropped it! How could they not at least given it a year?? Makes no sense to me. I tried really hard to get my daughter to switch to either Bell or Rogers but she still had 4 months left on her contract and couldn't afford to swallow the cost. Still bothers me though.

[G-malien]

As far as I know, Bell Canada still requires BIS on BlackBerry. At least they did when I upgraded to Z10s

nah, they don't require it. Bell doesn't even know I'm using a BB10 device. All they need are the SIM card details and the handset works, like magic.