[Rooster99]

... I am getting tired of the ignorance!!! Why are so many people followers?...

Keep in mind RIM trained them to be this way, with poor products (Storm, Storm 2), not listening to customers and ignoring the competition and industry trends. It's Blackberry's responsibility to reverse what they've done over the past several years.

- R

[donald duck2]

Hey, what's really happening at AT&T on the BB Z10 launch? I called a Fifth Avenue location at 47th Street in Manhattan and had to listen to a 30-sec. spot on the Iphone, which AT&T claimed to be superior to all other phones, then a rep came on and couldn't explain why I had to listen to an Iphone commercial on the day AT&T was launching the new Z10. There's apparently a lack of communication between the corporate power at AT&T on product launches at their stores. Maybe Apple will buy AT&T as a takeover target, or something like that and BB's CEO should get their marketing department to call AT&T's marketing department to get their act together. This BS Iphone commercial is probably on every store's answering system throughout the U.S. Now I have three Z10s I need to get and I'll check every store possible until I get someone with some exhuberance about the Z10 at AT&T before I buy from AT&T, or I'll just wait until Verizon offers the phone and switch my account there if they have the right Answers. Lets see some support please for the Z10. at AT&T.

[donald duck2]

Hey, what's really happening at AT&T on the BB Z10 launch? I called a Fifth Avenue location at 47th Street in Manhattan and had to listen to a 30-sec. spot on the Iphone, which AT&T claimed to be superior to all other phones, then a rep came on and couldn't explain why I had to listen to an Iphone commercial on the day AT&T was launching the new Z10. There's apparently a lack of communication between the corporate power at AT&T on product launches at their stores. Maybe Apple will buy AT&T as a takeover target, or something like that and BB's CEO should get their marketing department to call AT&T's marketing department to get their act together. This BS Iphone commercial is probably on every store's answering system throughout the U.S. Now I have three Z10s I need to get and I'll check every store possible until I get someone with some exhuberance about the Z10 at AT&T before I buy from AT&T, or I'll just wait until Verizon offers the phone and switch my account there if they have the right Answers. Lets see some support please for the Z10. at AT&T.

[LewLew23]

I went to my AT&T store today in downtown Boston. I have been to this store before and today there were a greater than usual amount of employees buzzing around. I was immediately met by a manager and when I said I wanted to look at the new blackberry, her eyes lit up and she whisked me away to a place towards the back of the store. At the front of the store were Blackberry Z10 vertical banners and a blackberry table being set up (not sure for what), at the back of the store they had 1 demo device available and there was a small line forming behind it, around 5 people. The woman who whisked me away immediately called out to the back room if they had more phones to show us. They didn't have any more demo phones but a few of the employees had Z10's and were letting us play with them in the line. I was using the personal phone of a blackberry marketing manager named Corey. He was in the store for the launch obviously. He let me do anything on his phone, I tried not to look at his personal email and bbm stuff. Mostly I wanted to see the hub and check out the keyboard. The keyboard was impressive I was typing as fast as I could and it was 100% accurate, shocking honestly. We chatted about the phone, he knew I had seen videoes and demos online because of how I navigated it. I was really impressed with the snappiness of the OS. After playing with it for about 10 minutes, I gave his phone back and he gave me his card.

I plan to buy a blackberry z10 once I get my tax return since I am not due for an upgrade until next year.

Oh, and at the demo phone was stationed a perky younger sales person who knew the in's and outs of the phone and was explaining it as people played with the phone, demonstrating multi-tasking, videos, the hub, timeshift, explaining the keyboard heat map, blackberry balance, etc.

So, not all retail's were fails?

This is how it was for me at Union Square Best Buy this morning...somewhat. The guy that sold me the phone had just sold 2 more before he dealt with me. He seemed excited about the phone and another salesman came over and when he saw I was buying a Z10, he said "oh yeah man that phone is great, you're gonna love it." The mobile manager though, he's a different story. I won't go into detail about how much I dislike him.

So I guess it's just who you talk to. I know this Best Buy received training because I met the BlackBerry rep yesterday.

[donald duck2]

Get this, if you're trying to get a Hey, what's really happening at AT&T on the BB Z10 launch? I called a Fifth Avenue location at 47th Street in Manhattan and had to listen to a 30-sec. spot on the Iphone, which AT&T claimed to be superior to all other phones, then a rep came on and couldn't explain why I had to listen to an Iphone commercial on the day AT&T was launching the new Z10. There's apparently a lack of communication between the corporate power at AT&T on product launches at their stores. Maybe Apple will buy AT&T as a takeover target, or something like that and BB's CEO should get their marketing department to call AT&T's marketing department to get their act together. This BS Iphone commercial is probably on every store's answering system throughout the U.S. Now I have three Z10s I need to get and I'll check every store possible until I get someone with some exhuberance about the Z10 at AT&T before I buy from AT&T, or I'll just wait until Verizon offers the phone and switch my account there if they have the right Answers. Lets see some support please for the Z10. at AT&T. from AT&T.

[randall2580]

I have been an AT&T customer since 2007 and have watched them roll out every BlackBerry since the 8820. There was something palpably different about this launch. AT&T had a 2 week advantage on their biggest competitor (they don't really consider Tmob competition - see the C suites comments recently to that effect). In the past I am 100% certain you would have seen simple ads "The new BB10 - revolutionary - get it first on AT&T". There hasn't even been anything to that effect on the website in a sort of passive advertising. Go to the website right now att.com. You will see first, them trying to sell the HTC One X for 99 cents. After a few mins the BB10 shows up but it's not "today is launch day" its just a phone you can "buy now".

On the preorder page yesterday it said "ships March 20, 2013" now mind you that was on March 21, 2013.

Did you sign up for the AT&T email notice when the phone goes on sale - did you get it? I did not and to be sure I signed up 2 days in a row, once to my personal email and once to corporate.

Watch the CNBC videos and look at where the phones are in the store. Read what the Wall St Journal says about what they found when going into the stores, echos a lot of what you hear here in this thread - in the back corner next to older phones not in line of sight.

The 9800 and 9810 were in BB kiosks in the front of the store you couldn't walk in without tripping over it.

Something happened between BBRY and ATT along the way. My guess? ATT wanted bigger discounts than BBRY was willing to give. ATT felt they were in the drivers seat. Time will tell if they were right.

[Linda9600]

[QUOTE=jrlong;8173383]People are embarrassed by the stigma of old BlackBerry phones, and embarrassment is why people don't speak up (in ANY situation).
Public speaking. Trying to convince someone to buy the Z10 is like giving a speech to a hostile audience. Imagine doing that 20 times a day to every customer? Smartphone salespeople making minimum wage are not going to be promoting BB.
QUOTE]

I agree. BlackBerry still has that image that they're a failure. Talking about BlackBerry in the USA is embarrassing. Samsung and Apple are popular; therefore it is cool to mention their names and own their devices in public. But BlackBerry is embarrassing because it is old and no one has one anymore.

While it is nice BlackBerry has positive news about worldwide sales, the true test is in the US market, the one that has forgotten about them and now laughs at them because they were once great but became failures. With this topic and not surprisingly some AT&T employees not even knowing that the launch is today or that they'll bring out a Z10 only when someone asks for it, I am afraid that BlackBerry will not make it here, especially when stories like these will be written by journalists and published for everyone to read. BlackBerry doesn't need anymore bad press in the US. They're already hanging by a thread here.

[donald duck2]

I wonder if BB marketing people know how AT&T markets the Z10! Hey, what's really happening at AT&T on the BB Z10 launch? I called a Fifth Avenue location at 47th Street in Manhattan and had to listen to a 30-sec. spot on the Iphone, which AT&T claimed to be superior to all other phones, then a rep came on and couldn't explain why I had to listen to an Iphone commercial on the day AT&T was launching the new Z10. There's apparently a lack of communication between the corporate power at AT&T on product launches at their stores. Maybe Apple will buy AT&T as a takeover target, or something like that and BB's CEO should get their marketing department to call AT&T's marketing department to get their act together. This BS Iphone commercial is probably on every store's answering system throughout the U.S. Now I have three Z10s I need to get and I'll check every store possible until I get someone with some exhuberance about the Z10 at AT&T before I buy from AT&T, or I'll just wait until Verizon offers the phone and switch my account there if they have the right Answers. Lets see some support please for the Z10. at AT&T.

[Wilsonia Goldens]

Carriers do not care about customers experience or how well they will do with a product as long as they buy from them. So don't expect any support from a carrier unless another carrier starts selling a lot of units and starts to take customers away. Then you will start to see carrier discounting and support for the Z10. There has been a lot of misleading information put forward by analysts. Just listened to CNBC broadcast where one analysts said the sale was a flop that he had been in a Verizon store today and there was not one customer there buying a Z10. DUH! They don't go on sale at Verizon until next week.

[beanctr10]

I had a totally different experience today when I went to my local ATT store. True there was no display for the Z10 but the rep took me right over to the blackberries and other exit was in all its glory. He told me how he loved typing in the keyboard. He said it was the best by far he had ever used and he was a very tall man with big hands. In fact all of the reps had been trained on them. He said the brouser was great and very fast. The only drawback he saw was the lack of apps. I can't waut to get my hand on one for real and ditch this S3.

[donald duck2]

People, you need to read this and maybe you'll understand why AT&T isn't promoting the Z10 at flagship stores around the U.S. Call (212) 221-3453, which is the AT&T shore on Fifth Avenue in NYC. Keep in mind that this is the launch day at AT&T throughout the U.S. of the Z10, the first carrier to get it in the U.S. And what do you hear, an Iphone commercial. WOW, what incompetence at AT&T. It's as if AT&T sold BB stock short and now wants to insure they can't sell the Z10 at their stores. After AT&T covers it's short position, that's when the Z10 gets on tables with storewide support. Hey, AT&T, stick it with the Iphone, had one, can't wait to get rid of it and now I'm waiting for Verizon to offer it so I can switch to Verizon. BB users should do the same.

[KemKev]

I am sure there are any number of variables at play that we are not aware of. It is not as if the folks at BlackBerry are idiots, morons, or whatever else we want to call them. Frankly, we are so far removed from the various corporate halls of power that our sitting here and blaming/criticizing BB for not executing a more visible marketing strategy may be misguided. Is it just possible that BB did the best it could but other power brokers **** bent on BB's demise were also at play? Let us remember that not everyone wants BB to succeed. I am inclined to think there are people and institutions out there who stand to make a lot of money if BB fails. I do not believe what we are seeing is simply a case of BB not knowing what to do or how to do what they want to do. Let us give them some credit. Any company that puts out a device like the Z10 must have some smart people running it.

[agp101]

they make more money selling the other devices because I believe they get kick backs from apple and samsung. amd they also make more money off apple and samsung because they burn through data quicker then a blackberry does.

thanks for the uninformed comment.



Posted via CB10

[Rello]

I actually went to a AT&T store mayb 3 hours ago. I live in Cincinnati OH and I'm on a different carrier and I just wanted to play with it. My experience, I went in and there were no banners of any kind on the Z10 in there. Ok, so I look in the front....not one Z10. Just iphones, GS3, and Lumia 920. I find out the Z10 is in the very back.

I got passed all that once I got the phone in my hand though lol. OMG....I can't wait to get this phone lol. A couple people working there came up and saw I was interested in it. They didn't seem negative on it, but weren't extra excited either. One guy did admit that it was much better than any other BB before it....but that's really all he said.

I personally don't think they're pushing these devices either and I Personally haven't seen 1 single commercial either. I still don't know how BB can change peoples perception of the brand if they can't get carriers to give them a fair chance...

[Pete The Penguin]

This morning, I went to our city's large, corporate AT&T store to witness the BlackBerry Z10 launch. I'm disappointed to say that it revealed major obstacles to BlackBerry's success in the U.S. market. This needs to be addressed by BlackBerry if they are serious about competing in the United States. In the alternative, if possible, it should be addressed by users, fans, and investors through semi-organized, informal, and cordial consumer "activism."

Here's the problem: When I walked in the store, I immediately noticed that the Z10 was not displayed with the top smartphones. Then, I noticed that it wasn't displayed anywhere in the store. Then, I noticed that the word "BlackBerry" wasn't visible anywhere in the store. I immediately felt a little embarrassed because I'd told many friends about the phone being available at AT&T and Best Buy today. Politely, I began chatting with a customer service representative about the Z10 and asked to see one. None of the employees knew "for sure" whether the Z10 was set to go on sale today or on Sunday and they had not yet received training on how to use the phone or what distinguishes it. Nevertheless, they went in back and grabbed a device, opened it, and let me use it a bit. They explained that "it takes a long time to boot up because it's a BlackBerry", but mentioned that in many ways the phone reflects BlackBerry listening to its customers, who've been saying, "we want an iPhone."

While I was there, a BlackBerry user with an old torch-slider came into the store and said he was looking to get a new phone, either a new Z10 or an iPhone. He asked how many Z10s had been sold or how many were preordered. This customer was a little more serious than I was -- I have a limited edition Z10 on the way -- so they called over another salesperson and a manager. The BlackBerry user really seemed like he intended to buy a Z10, but the salespeople argued forcefully for a new iphone citing a lack of apps, BlackBerry's precarious financial situation, and some reference to "modern design" as favoring the iPhone. I didn't debate, but I did mention that, for what it's worth, I own both iOS devices and a Dev Alpha BB10 device and think BB10 is the superior experience and that BlackBerry users would appreciate the superior virtual keyboard. The customer left with a new iphone 5.

Now, many of you are probably thinking that this was limited to just my local AT&T. I think not. The AT&T employee pretty much explained that AT&T will gladly offer the Z10 to "legacy BlackBerry users who are loyal to the brand", but that customers looking for the best smartphones will be showed flagship Android, iOS, and Windows 8 Phone models. Their support for Windows 8 Phone was obviously excellent and the Lumia 920 was featured right along with the top Samsung and Apple phones. A friend, and fellow BlackBerry fan, had a similar experience at a local Best Buy. A young employee was an Apple fanboy and my friend had to argue in support of buying a Z10 before the employee would check the back to see if any Z10s were in stock at the store.

It's not the end of the world, but it will be very, very difficult to gain market share when the only customers who have a chance of emerging with a Z10 are those who are already primed, BlackBerry brand loyal, and willing to put up with uninformed or fanboy salespeople who advocate for Android, iOS, or Win8 devices as superior alternatives.

Is my experience unique? Has anyone else had retail experiences that illustrate this problem? Any ideas on what me might be able to do about it?

I had a similar experience in a branch of Carphone Warehouse in the UK, 3 days after launch. Eventually, the manager told me they "were only allowed to sell to existing BB owners, and only on a like-for-like contract".
I bought an unlocked Z10 from Phones4U, but only after showing the manager the email from customer service stating I could buy a sim-free device.
BlackBerry have work to do.

Posted via CB10

[Wiki Cydia]

they make more money selling the other devices because I believe they get kick backs from apple and samsung. amd they also make more money off apple and samsung because they burn through data quicker then a blackberry does.

I don't know about Samsung, but there's no evidence in Apple's financials of any "kickbacks." The iPhone ARPU (~$615) doesn't suggest any kickbacks, while AT&T and Verizon's financials suggest a $400 per unit subsidy.

[kylecowan]

Yeah it was really bad marketing, but there were plenty of people picking one up at my location.

[kbz1960]

I had a similar experience in a branch of Carphone Warehouse in the UK, 3 days after launch. Eventually, the manager told me they "were only allowed to sell to existing BB owners, and only on a like-for-like contract".
I bought an unlocked Z10 from Phones4U, but only after showing the manager the email from customer service stating I could buy a sim-free device.
BlackBerry have work to do.

Posted via CB10

What kind of ish is that???????????? If true BBRY is shooting themselves in the foot again.

[DawnMills]

I think that's what the BlackBerry Experience is, a travelling roadshow that hits various towns and malls to demo BB10 and help drum up enthusiasm.

[silversmith75]

that sucks....

Canada it's WAY different... when you walk into ANY carrier store or 3rd party store (i.e. wireless wave, Telephone Booth) the first things you see for the last month is the black and white versions of the Z10.

some of the stores even have 6 feet sized posters with the new BB on it with their slogans etc.

At virigin all the employees are wearing a Grey Tshirt that says BLACKBERRY in keyboard type font.

the Z10 is on a lot of major billboards along the major highways in Toronto as well as carriers using it to advertise features and plans etc.

it's pretty sad this is the case in the US... really sad indeed..

i have to admit there was not alot at launch but with in a few days.. tons of sign-age.. and lots of commercials.. even during hockey games at least 1 every commercial break..i am in alberta..

[rogerculture]

I live in the Philadelphia area, went into the largest ATT store in Bala Cynwyd on City Ave. First they said they didn't have any in stock, then I was told the phone was hard to use and they only got them in last night and nobody knew how to use them, sales also mention that they were suppose to get their training late next week. The only phone they had on display was hidden in the back and running a demo video which the user couldn't get around. Got the phone, love the phone but was disappointed in ATT launch.

[texazzpete]

You may need to worry more about the UK market.

From the heady days of the launch period, not only has the Z10 all but disappeared from the Phones4U website homepage, there's hardly any mention on the three and CarphoneWarehouse website.

Massive banner images fr the iPhone 5 and Galaxy S4, as usual.


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[raysgrumpy]

I stopped by the corporate T-Mobile store in town after dinner today. There was not a single BlackBerry banner or ad anywhere and they didn't have a Z10 on display. The sales rep said that the phone should be there next Wednesday.

[JGuez]

I just stopped by an AT&T store in Los Angeles (La Cienega and Beverly Blvd). I'm a Sprint customer but I did want to check out the phone and there was absolutely zero signage. I asked about the new Blackberry and the guy pointed to the back and lost all enthusiasm once I mentioned it. One guy was using the phone (that didn't stand out compared to the million Android phones on display) and I used it for a couple of minutes and another guy asked me if that was the new Blackberry I was holding. I let him try it out.

I'm incredibly confused as to who's fault this is. It really sounds like AT&T because I just don't see why Blackberry not making an attempt........

[MartyMcfly]

I went into my local AT&T store today...Sales staff was great, chatted with a Blackberry sales rep, the salesman I spoke to was really excited about the Z10...


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