[Allen Guarin]

I received an email the other day asking me to fill out a survey and at the end of the survey asked if I would want to join a 3 day discussion panel and would be given an incentive if i did.

here's the email:


Share your thoughts on the BlackBerry Z10
Hello,

You recently completed a short survey regarding your experience with your new BlackBerry Z10 smartphone, and we thank you for your feedback. As part of our on-going efforts to exceed our customer�s expectations, we would like to invite you to participate in additional research.

Please click on the link below to take an 8 minute survey which will help us continue to improve and make sure you�re getting what you want as a BlackBerry user. Your participation is completely voluntary and, as always, your responses will be kept confidential.

Take the Survey
BlackBerry� has partnered with GfK NOP Market Research, a leading market research company, with the intention of further understanding the needs and preferences of our customers.

If you have any questions about the survey, please email GfK NOP Market Research at [email protected]

This email was sent to by or on behalf of BlackBerry� based on a subscription received online or at an event you attended.

To change your communication preferences, including unsubscribing from further marketing or commercial communications from BlackBerry, please click here. You may also unsubscribe by writing to: Attn: Unsubscribe GBO, BlackBerry, 295 Phillip St., Waterloo, ON, Canada, N2L 3W8.

BlackBerry has a long-standing policy of protecting customer privacy. Please take a moment to read RIM's Privacy Policy found here.

� 2013 BlackBerry. All rights reserved. BlackBerry� and related trademarks, names and logos are the property of Research In Motion Limited and are registered and/or used in the U.S. and countries around the world.


Does anyone know if this is legit? The questions in the email seem to be valid enough but I highly question the fact that they would be giving out monetary incentives for joining an online discussion board.

[cferneyh]

It's legit. GFK is a market research parter of BlackBerry, and monetary incentives are typically given out for discussion forums run by market research firms.

[xamdam]

We are GfK

Our people are the best in the world at converting data into insights. And we work with our clients to convert those insights into opportunities. We have a strong scientific heritage and believe in quality and precision. We offer pioneering techniques to forecast the future with as much clarity as the present.
We see the big picture

We answer key questions about how consumers experience brands and what they think of them. We look at all levels: from changing consumer trends to store experience to what consumers are buying and why. We also tell you which items are selling best, where, over what channels and why. We provide insight on audience engagement with content across all platforms.

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[anon(2325196)]

Well, I can tell you now that my experiences with both BlackBerry 10 launch devices has been excellent because the phones are exceptionally good.

The only problem I have is how the representatives of carriers and carrier dealership representatives act unprofessional when talking about BlackBerry as a brand. They might even roll their eyes at the suggestion of a client upgrading to BlackBerry. This must change and is actually quite inappropriate behavior coming from the staff of these companies. TELUS for example, here in Regina, the staff at the Cornwall Centre store are both uneducated and misinformed when it comes to BlackBerry. Not sure why. Also, at The Wireless Age (a SaskTel dealership) the staff actually convinced my father that BlackBerry was going out of business completely when he tried to upgrade to a Bold 9900 and sold him a Galaxy S2, which is probably the worst phone I have ever had to help my father with. I was livid about how they lied like that, to my father. So lame. Anyways, there are numerous examples of BlackBerry neglect by carrier staff and independent dealerships everywhere, with every company. This is the one area BlackBerry needs to communicate to their retailers.

Posted via CB10

[anon(2325196)]

Carrier staff and independent dealer reps need to be educated on having non-bias opinions when representing any particular network and / or brand. They need to keep their unprofessional comments and uneducated opinions to themselves, save it until their work shift is done. They are NOT hired to bash any particular brand used on the network that their employer hired them to represent, regardless of their personal beefs or opinions. That is how I was always trained at TELUS in Calgary, when I worked there for 10 years. One of the training components at TELUS was to never bash the company or partners, especially on duty.

Posted via CB10

[anon(2325196)]

Bashing the company (TELUS) and / or partners (BlackBerry) could be considered grounds for dismissal.

Even if I still worked at TELUS and was (for some weird reason) selling to an existing or potential client - I would never allow my BlackBerry "fanboyness" to get in the way of somebody who really wanted an iPhone or Android. Even if I personally dislike those platforms. This stuff is common sense in the business world.

Posted via CB10

[anon(2325196)]

I routinely go into dealerships on my own time to test them. It's fun. However, I can't say that I have ever been happy with how they treat me when I ask about BlackBerry phones or accessories. Seriously, they get weird when asked about BlackBerry 10. This must trickle down from the "top" somewhere. It is like "brand bashing" and totally inappropriate.

Posted via CB10

[Allen Guarin]

Thank you all for your responses. I just wanted to make sure that the email is legit. You can never be too careful with email with links and monetary promises.