[Chunksiicle]

I walked into a Telus the other day with my Girlfriend, as she was looking to get a new phone. One of the first things the sales person told her was "I recommend anything other than blackberry". When I told him I had the Z10 and was happy with it he said "I feel sorry for you"... I am kind of confused as to why a Telus representative would push so strongly for one particular brand (Samsung) and be allowed to trash talk another product.

Posted via CB10

[STV0726]

First part - questionable and a silly thing to say in that way at least.

Second part - totally unprofessional. Should've seen a manager.

-STV on Q10SQN100-5/10.1.0.4780 TMO US

[Snowman888]

Higher kickbacks from selling other brands? I suspect the real answer is the sales rep was just giving his honest opinion from his perspective.

[eddy_berry]

It was his opinion and you just take your girlfriend and walk out of there or speak to someone else. Seriously though he was probably a **** anyway. I would never talk to a customer that way. I feel sorry for you? I feel sorry for him. That is really an unhealthy way to think when you are in sales. You like what your customer likes. It doesn't matter if you don't. A lot of hotshots in sales though. Many don't realize they are really just small fish.

[STV0726]

Higher kickbacks from selling other brands? I suspect the real answer is the sales rep was just giving his honest opinion from his perspective.

The "I feel sorry for you" part definitely, inarguably crossed the line.

-STV on Q10SQN100-5/10.1.0.4780 TMO US

[Chunksiicle]

Yeah I called back the next day manager was busy promised a call back in an hour... nothing. I understand if I had asked his opinion, but it seemed like his opening sales pitch was to trash blackberry to make the others look more superior. But in the mean time I'm thinking this is the main reason the 10's are picking up slower than I expected. People have the interest in blackberry again, but are turned down on the idea of getting a blackberry when the sales person doesn't help pitch the idea, but sadly then opposite.

Posted via CB10

[driller35]

Had the same thing happen when I bought my Z10, just ended up telling the salesman keep your sales pitch for someone else I am here for a Z10 , if u don't want to sell me a Z10 I will go else where, he shutup and I bought my Z10 , now everytime I go into that mall I make sure I make a special appearance and let him know how much I luv my BB Z10

[Chunksiicle]

It is one of the reasons I am glad to have left the grasps of the Green Mobile Giant

Posted via CB10

[c_legaspi]

I don't think it's out of line. It's your own responsibility to know what you want and if not, the sales person can make suggestions and recomendations.

Sales person might of made the recommendation based on customers being satisfied with a certain phone or dissatisfaction.

Posted via CB10

[jh07]

The way BlackBerry is going down and the uncertainty of the consumer side, how could a salesperson recommend BlackBerry? It would be the same as a salesperson recommending a Hummer, when there's a gas shortage going on and price of gas escalating.

Posted via CB10

[jdmorin]

I think a lot of stores have given up on blackberry. I got mine from telus and everyone who worked there had the z10 and loved it.

Haters gonna hate, right?

Z10 is by far the best phone I've ever had. I hope BBRY can pull it together.

Posted via CB10

[wxmancanada]

This seems to have crossed into my local TELUS store too. I went in and "tested", for a lack of better words, the sales people. I said I've been an avid BlackBerry user for years, wasn't sure what was new, and was wondering what they would recommend.

"Anything but BlackBerry", word for word. Sigh.

I walked out with (my now 6th) Q10. Take that.

[Dirtymike14]

I went into a Rogers store the other day because I was having battery problems with my Z10, and the first thing they said was "obviously, it's a blackberry". If it wasn't a chick saying that I would've hooked them right in the gabber

My z10 is a Leafs fan

[jdmorin]

The issue is you got all the stupid kids in these stores acting as sales reps.. they don't know the product. They don't know what's going on at these companies on a corporate level.. they make these comments based on media reports and people talking smack.. i guarantee none of them has actually tried it.

The store I got mine from.... everyone loves blackberry there.

Depends on who you get.

Posted via CB10

[BB_Junky]

I bought my Z30 in a telus store in northern BC and they all love BBRY there.... And they said they had only had one left from the stock they got in that week. Still had a lot of Q10's and Z10's on the shelf where she grabbed my 30 from.


Sent from my super secret shoe device using Tapatalk HD

[BCLoco]

This is so very irritating. Anything but BlackBerry? Please.

Just heard the exact same thing going on in the background while I was helping my stepfather get setup in his Z30 today.

The trip into this particular Telus store, near Ottawa, started off great. First thing you see when you walk in the door is the Z30 and Q10 side by side in the most premium display spot. Sweet!

Then I noticed that the security lock on the Z30 is installed so that it's squeezing the volume down key. As a consequence of this, the phone isn't responding normally. Great demo, right? So I point this out, slightly miffed, to the two sales reps. The guy runs over right away, but I hear the girl mumble something about "we put them on however they fit". She was being defensive, not really rude, and to be fair, the problem became obvious when the guy was trying to reposition the lock: the USB port, which is constantly plugged in on all the demo phones, is located so that the lock has to cover the volume down key if the phone is to be plugged in. He left it unplugged temporarily so he could lock it without squeezing the volume key. They'll need to use a different style of lock, I guess.

Then, while the guy was running us through the contract spiel, I overheard the girl talking to an upper-middle-aged couple about phone choices. It was very apparent that they were completely open to anything, and were simply looking for input. Her words: "Well, if you don't go with an iPhone, then it's Android. We don't recommend BlackBerry's."

Didn't even let them have a look at any of the BlackBerrys on display.

The guy was definitely better to deal with. At least he didn't have a chip on his shoulder. It was, however, painfully obvious that he knew squat about BB10.

The point here is that we don't have to worry about what features BlackBerry does or doesn't have. As long as the sales reps remain as badly informed as they appear to be, no one is going to be buying any.

Note: For what it's worth, I tried to be as friendly and informative about the Z30 as I could. The guy was new at the job, and seemed genuinely receptive to tips and info. Maybe he'll have a more positive perspective on BlackBerry after this. The girl was a self-admitted iPhone fan and owner, and wasn't interested in being open-minded on the subject.

Posted via CB10

[campbecw]

I work at a Telus store too. Just, not in sales. However, I know sales reps, and they are all different. Some will push one brand or another. If a sales rep ever talks poorly about a whole brand, they're likely a crummy rep. Because a good rep should always probe with open ended questions to figure out how the client feels about a particular brand before making a statement like that lest they offend or annoy the client and lose the sale.

Night Radio Show Tune-In and Discussion: C0012487D Q&A with an Ex-Mormon/LDS: C00121BDD

[jonno_atamaniuk]

I work at a Telus store too. Just, not in sales. However, I know sales reps, and they are all different. Some will push one brand or another. If a sales rep ever talks poorly about a whole brand, they're likely a crummy rep. Because a good rep should always probe with open ended questions to figure out how the client feels about a particular brand before making a statement like that lest they offend or annoy the client and lose the sale.

Night Radio Show Tune-In and Discussion: C0012487D Q&A with an Ex-Mormon/LDS: C00121BDD

Same situation where I am. We are all supposed to ask open ended questions and put the right device in the hand of each and every client. If they don't like BlackBerry, that's one thing, but if we as sales representatives immediately block the purchase of any given brand (Samsung, HTC, Sony, Apple) by saying it is not recommended before finding out what the client needs, we aren't doing our job.

Posted by my Z30 via CB10

[highos]

Same situation where I am. We are all supposed to ask open ended questions and put the right device in the hand of each and every client. If they don't like BlackBerry, that's one thing, but if we as sales representatives immediately block the purchase of any given brand (Samsung, HTC, Sony, Apple) by saying it is not recommended before finding out what the client needs, we aren't doing our job.

It's nice hearing this-there can always be so many negative reports, we don't always hear the positive at times.

Are there any generalizations used to better have an idea which platform you recommend to clients? I'm curious what someone would say or relay that would make you think "I'll have to show X to this person".

[jonno_atamaniuk]

It's nice hearing this-there can always be so many negative reports, we don't always hear the positive at times.

Are there any generalizations used to better have an idea which platform you recommend to clients? I'm curious what someone would say or relay that would make you think "I'll have to show X to this person".

It's actually pretty easy to say that. As a sales person we all need to know the basic strengths of any particular device or platform. So for example, if I have someone come in and say they need the absolute best camera possible because they don't want to keep carrying around multiple devices, I immediately pull up in my head the three best camera phones available to us: Nokia 1020, Samsung Galaxy S4 / HTC One (depends which way you really want to look at it) and iPhone 5s. Not knocking the BlackBerry camera, just those devices do actually produce better image quality right out of the camera, sans editing.

If someone comes in and says they need the best messaging option possible, I will put a BlackBerry in their hand because I know from both experience and just our own product knowledge that the messaging and communication experience is second to none on this platform.

This is of course just examples. I have sold friends on buying a BlackBerry before (not through me but I convinced them all the same) simply because I find out how they use their phone and it becomes very clear that they need the best messaging experience possible and don't need to be distracted by all the other apps on other platforms (never used that language with them, just how it is for them). I have told friends that an iPhone or Android will work best for them because they need the apps that are there (and hopefully will be there for BlackBerry some day sooner rather than later). I have recommended Windows Phones to some people too! It is all about finding out what will best solve the needs and desires of the client.

That's just me though.

Posted by my Z30 via CB10

[surgeon1919]

I walked into a Telus the other day with my Girlfriend, as she was looking to get a new phone. One of the first things the sales person told her was "I recommend anything other than blackberry". When I told him I had the Z10 and was happy with it he said "I feel sorry for you"... I am kind of confused as to why a Telus representative would push so strongly for one particular brand (Samsung) and be allowed to trash talk another product.

Posted via CB10

There are always contests from manufactures. If they can sell 15 in 1 week, they have a chance of winning a really nice phone from that manufacturer.

The store will also have their own incentive to push a brand or model.

BlackBerry isn't licking the stores or store reps asses clean so why push BlackBerry?

90% of those store reps are morons to begin with. They don't give BlackBerry a chance and never really tried to learn bb10.

All those morons at the store are good for, is selling something because they have to meet their quotas.

Case in point, the S3 is old and has a lot of problems since the last is update. Does that stop them from selling the phone ? Not at all. That phone is still selling like crazy. They would never dare say 1 bad thing but they are quick to badmouth BlackBerry.

Posted via CB10

[magmanray]

My Telus rep has a blackberry passport he loves how fast it is but then we are in Waterloo

Posted via CB10

[brailosa]

That sucks. You should tell that guy to stuff it. My telus rep in mississauga was great. She was really helpful and walked me a long on how to use the z30, and she was an iPhone user believe it or not. Apparently the bbz30 was so successful in that store, I apparently bought the last z30 there!

Posted via CB10

[terminatorx]

Even to hear a rep tell a customer they feel sorry for them using an iPhone or Samsung, just seems so wrong and unprofessional. This person should be reported to the store manager or Telus customer service.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[birdman_38]

they don't know the product. They don't know what's going on at these companies on a corporate level.. they make these comments based on media reports and people talking smack.. i guarantee none of them has actually tried it.

All things which BlackBerry could have combated. But the damage is done and they're not interested in the consumer market right now.