1. BBrickk's Avatar
    * * * Update Start***
    My friend decided to skip the process of visiting stores and called Rogers's customer service number to figure out how he could get his hands on a Q10. Before he called, I told him that when he does so, he should simply demand a Q10, instead of asking if they are available.

    The conversation didn't take long and went as smooth as butter. However, when he asked for the Q10, the CS rep said "are you looking into getting a Q10 or were you looking into other options as well? We have a variety of phones you can pick from that you're eligible for". That right there ticked me off! He never said "nice, you're eligible for the Q10", instead he threw a grain of discouragement hoping it would grow and change his mind about a Q10.

    My friend was firm and said " I called to order one because the stores were not so pleasant to shop at", that when the rep processed it and the conversation started being finalised with routines ( address, payment, next bill, etc).

    Looks like the problem is bigger than just local stores. It's made its way to call centres too!
    ***Update End***

    I was at a Fido at a mall located in Toronto, ON. I was with a friend who currently still uses a legacy BB device. He was looking to upgrade to a new Blackberry. The Q10 specifically because he wants to stay with keyboards.

    I wasn't planning on interfering between the sales person and my friend until the sales person said " BB 10 is being discontinued" then the other rep yelled out " yeah they're going bankrupt and we're not getting any more Blackberry devices".

    I, of course spazzed at both of them for being so uneducated about where Blackberry is and where it's heading. They didn't even know who John Chen is and were being drastically ignorant. The conclusion was that me and my friend left the store because they simply didn't have a Q10 in stock and didn't not want to say if they will be getting any shipments.

    We then walked into a Rogers store in the same mall and the sales rep starts going on how she doesn't recommend that my friend gets a BB10 because she gets complains from customers about hardware/software issues. One of the reps did agree that it's an efficient phone and gets things done, but he also said " yeah but that's it, nothing special about it". That discouraged my friend and made him second-think his upgrade plans.

    If there is anything that John Chen needs to work on is the relationship with Canadian Carriers. Those two stores where Fido and Rogers stores, not just a private re-seller. Outside Crackberry, I can't see anyone knowing what's going with BlackBerry, and that needs serious and quick changing.

    Posted via CB10
    Last edited by BBrickk; 02-10-14 at 01:31 AM.
    01-14-14 11:47 PM
  2. CrackBerry Kevin's Avatar
    Yeah, the amount of misinformation that is being perpetuated out there by people is really kinda ridiculous. Agree that it's something BlackBerry needs to work on very hard, very quickly.

    I think the John Chen strategy that "BlackBerry is a portfolio of business" (not just a handset business) is a good way at looking at the company. It lets you tell the story at least that BlackBerry is more than just handsets - so even if the handset sales are lagging right now, it doesn't mean the company is bankrupt and dead in the water. They have money in the bank, smart people working on smart things, and are moving forward in multiple mobile categories.

    BUT.. that's easy for us to understand. It's a whole other ballgame to get the average person understanding where things are at. I sure hope they can do it though.
    01-15-14 12:14 AM
  3. EchuOkan1's Avatar
    That is sad especially since this is happening in Canada. It would not surprise me to hear something like this here in the U.S. Thanks for sharing this experience. I hope Mr. Chen does something quickly.
    01-15-14 12:26 AM
  4. hodula1's Avatar
    I pretty much had the same thing happen to me at a Verizon store here in the U.S. I walked in and asked to see a Z30. The sales reps had smirks on their faces and one wasn't even sure if they had one on display. Another rep pointed it to me. While I was there looking at it, yet another rep walked over and asked if I needed any help. Unfortunately, the phone was frozen and I had to reboot it. Told her I was waiting for it to reboot. Got yet another smirk and she said that's pretty much what I can expect with the phone. I smiled and told her I knew why she smirking and she was wrong. We had a quick conversation and she said (nicely with a smile) "You probably do know more about this phone than I do." and she would let me continue to look at it. I responded that yes I probably do know more about it with a smile also. All in all, it was a good exchange. She didn't sway me, but I can imagine someone else that didn't know more about Blackberry 10 being turned away from Blackberry with the whole experience.

    Apple has always done a very good job educating sales people and this is an area Blackberry continues to falter. You can't expect great sales if the people selling it don't know much about it or believe in it.
    milo53 and nt300 like this.
    01-15-14 01:05 AM
  5. Dr_Gibbs's Avatar
    I had a different experience at a Sprint store here in US and a good one, too.

    I went in for an upgrade from my 9930 to the Q10 and I'll be honest, I was expecting to hear some form of negative remark against BlackBerry or some form disillusionment; Instead, The sales reps in the store actually were positive about BlackBerry, while being realistic about recent events.

    Now, what really surprised me was that they actually had a BlackBerry dedicated sales rep and not just some average Joe who knows how to turn it on, but actually owned a Q10 and went the whole nine yards showing what had been changed/improved/removed in BB10 and even did a video chat with a BlackBerry service rep.

    Got to say, didn't see that happening, at all.

    Posted via CB10
    01-15-14 01:47 AM
  6. BBFanatic4Life's Avatar
    I'm involved in the Canadian cellular industry myself and I can certainly relate. I always try to be as unbiased as possible and just try to get the customer the best phone for their needs, but that is sometimes very difficult to do. Either the customer comes in with something in mind or they have too many outside influences clouding their perception of things.

    Many of my fellow coworkers used to be very anti BlackBerry but since winning some Z10's and actually using them for a bit their perception and attitude has changed. Most of them have gone back to using iPhone or some Android device but if a customer comes in asking about BlackBerry they no longer bash it and try to convince them to get something else. I'd love it if they actively pushed BlackBerry but I'll take their current attitude over the former any day of the week.

    I've actually noticed an uptick in BlackBerry 10 sales over the last few weeks. Over the last 2 weeks my location has sold 4-5 Z30's, 2-3 Q10's and 2-3 Z10's. Sure it's not earth shattering numbers but it's an increase and I've also noticed less negative sentiment from customers looking for new phones. When presented with an open minded customer I always show off my Z30 and it got me 3 Z30 sales in two days which was rather nice.

    Hopefully 2014 will be all about turning the page on the negativity surrounding BlackBerry and it'll no longer be "popular" and "cool" to bash BlackBerry and the phones that they make.

    Posted via CB10
    01-15-14 01:53 AM
  7. Tatwi's Avatar
    My wife and I merged our Rogers accounts a while back, so she had to handle my upgrade when it came time. The places she went to tried to talk her out of the BlackBerry with miss information. Very sad.

    What is also sad is that originally I wanted a Sony Experia model that launched in Jan 2013, but no one local carried it and several store reps said it was "old and dated"... it was the same age as the Z10, but pretty wicked hardware and a strong chassis. Even more sad? They refused to order it and tried to sell her an older, lesser Samsung instead - thank God I was on the phone with her at the time....

    Bottom line folks: Just like with computer hardware, store reps are full of **** and worthless in nearly every case. I would imagine it is because cute bull**** artist get hired before dorky looking geeks who actually know what the hell they are talking about... And it would not be shocking to learn that most companies have poor product training on top of hiring the wrong people.

    Do your research and shop online - don't miss out on something awesome, because of some inane store rep who is just regurgitating media garbage to appear smart and to shut you up. If you must go to a store, walk in and tell them what you want. Walk out if they don't have it and refuse to order it. Simple as that.

    To the 0.025% of good store reps out there: Chin up, stay strong, and get out while you are still young!

    Posted via CB10 on BlackBerry Z10
    01-15-14 02:40 PM
  8. Bigbacala's Avatar
    I have seen that several times myself here in Canada. Once I was waiting to find out some information and a woman was wanting to get a new BlackBerry, however the sales rep was doing everything in his power to sway her to any other device. When he pulled out the "Blackberry is bankrupt, and we are not getting anymore in and all the ones we have are being recalled". Well, I lost it! I said " excuse me mam, but this guy is a lying ***** and I suggest you take your business elsewhere." I also told him that spreading outright lies could be considered slander and he could be setting himself or his store up for a lawsuit. The woman then said that she wanted to buy there from the Costco store because that was her carrier and she had her Costco membership etc.etc.yadayadayada. She asked to speak to the manager who was not there and said she would return the next day to speak to him to get the truth. I told her not to give in to their lies and she thanked me for interfering.

    Posted via CB10
    .pinkberry, nt300 and xBURK like this.
    01-15-14 04:28 PM
  9. Wiki Cydia's Avatar
    I have seen that several times myself here in Canada. Once I was waiting to find out some information and a woman was wanting to get a new BlackBerry, however the sales rep was doing everything in his power to sway her to any other device. When he pulled out the "Blackberry is bankrupt, and we are not getting anymore in and all the ones we have are being recalled". Well, I lost it! I said " excuse me mam, but this guy is a lying ***** and I suggest you take your business elsewhere." I also told him that spreading outright lies could be considered slander and he could be setting himself or his store up for a lawsuit. The woman then said that she wanted to buy there from the Costco store because that was her carrier and she had her Costco membership etc.etc.yadayadayada. She asked to speak to the manager who was not there and said she would return the next day to speak to him to get the truth. I told her not to give in to their lies and she thanked me for interfering.

    Posted via CB10
    You killed a fly with hammer. Even if we ignore the ridiculous assertion that a carrier might get sued for what its reps have said, your whole approach here is way over the top. If you see or hear bad information being given out, feel free to correct, but I'm not sure you having the response described above is helpful.

    Also, be careful using words like "lying" unless you know the person knows their statements are false. If someone simply repeats what they honestly believe, their statements may include false facts, but "lying" suggests an intent to obscure) or hide) the truth that you could not have established based on the exchange you described.

    I fear that the person watching all this came away thinking the rep is misinformed and that you were a little crazy. Just saying.
    01-15-14 05:16 PM
  10. thurask's Avatar
    Not surprised, Fido only sells the Q5 (formerly having sold that plus the Q10, Z10 and legacy), and it took enough people shouting at Rogers to get them to stock the Z30. Although, trying to pass off their pricing in just about anything as a good deal further reinforces the belief that Rogers/Fido has rejected our reality and substituted their own.
    01-15-14 05:21 PM
  11. sunjammer's Avatar
    I've run into my own share of sales reps (Best Buy, Staples, Telus stores) all repeating the same thing -- bankrupt, discontinued. Hard to blame them, really, when even the TV and print media are reporting these same 'facts.'

    Unless these sales reps are getting their info from Crackberry, they wouldn't know any different.

    John Chen's new army really needs to get a handle on this.
    01-15-14 05:37 PM
  12. bbhuh's Avatar
    The second one (Rogers) from sales point of view to me is normal thing to do.

    Why would I recommend a phone if if it has received many complaints? I'd rather just recommend my customers a phone that's work with less complaints.

    They're there to do their job and trying to avoid hassles with the customers.

    I have no comment for the first store though, that's clearly miss-informed.

    Sent from multiple devices using Tapatalk
    01-15-14 05:51 PM
  13. pantlesspenguin's Avatar
    I get frustrated with sales reps who say something is "discontinued" when they mean they just no longer carry it at their particular store. I've had it happen with shoes, perfumes, and messenger bags too and it's very frustrating. I typically research most things that I get that are over $50 so when I go in I know the difference between not being carried in a store and not being in production any longer. It's sad that sales reps don't know the difference, because they could really mislead a potential buyer. And yeah the whole "bb is going bankrupt" is very frustrating because that was NEVER even a possibility.
    01-15-14 05:55 PM
  14. ksbb10's Avatar
    My local ATT store might as well take down the ATT sign and hang an apple sign out front. Every time in there it's "buy an iPhone". Not one person in 15 reps at this regional store has ever touched a blackberry 10 device yet they all manage to form an opinion about its shortcomings. They have no interest in even helping me with my z10, just "if you had an iPhone we could help".

    Went into a t-mobile store early on in bb10's release as my fiance was with them initially. Two employees there total and they both answered so many questions for me on the z10. One guy even had the q10 and told me I'd probably be happier with the z10 for me personally even though he was a q10 guy all the way and I loved my Bold. Couldn't believe the insight they could offer after all the negative stories I'd seen here and experienced at ATT. I'd switch to t-mobile in an instant and never forgot their nice unbiased attitude toward a BlackBerry diehard and my fiance who was undecided at the time and actually went for an android phone that day. Unfortunately their coverage at my house is awful but hopefully they'll remedy this sooner than later.

    Posted via CB10
    01-18-14 01:13 PM
  15. Notcho's Avatar
    Sasktel is the same I loose it on anyone who says BS like that.

    I wish I could be bankrupt with $4 billion in the bank, idiots

    Posted via CB10 on my ?Zed10
    01-18-14 01:19 PM
  16. BroncoVAL's Avatar
    yes of course... Blackberry is dead...
    in the real life though, if you invested when share was at 5.80$ one month ago you now have a 50% benefit as it was at 9$ today...
    My guess, in a few months (2-3 years) Blackberry will at least be around 60$ ... i believe in Chen's strategy and a sub 10$ share is simply ridiculous (even Sculley saw it as a great deal and wanted to buy out Blackberry at that price...)
    01-18-14 01:23 PM
  17. coldRooster's Avatar
    My experience is more with telling people about the BB10 OS than being told about it. I actually got my Z10 with a new contract and the guy who sold it to me knew about it but he didn't know a lot and he saw me pick it up and play with it. I came back a week later to get a case and he said he saw how smooth the os was when I got it and how beautiful it looked that he had to buy one (Verizon Rep). a couple weeks later I was in the electronics dept at Target and a sales person there saw me rocking my Z and he came over to ask me about it. I told him how I've been on every os out and this one was the best. I showed him features of the phone and told him how I was able to get android apps too. He said it looked awesome and he had an upgrade available. I told him to go with the Z as he had never had a Blackberry before and the Z was all touch. I gave him my PIN and told him if he ever needed anything to put that in BBM and I would help him. I got an add from a person a week later and it was him. He said he loved his Z10 and it was the smoothest OS he's ever used.

    Posted via CB10
    01-18-14 01:39 PM
  18. boyo66's Avatar
    We need the same problems in the UK. I took my father to get a Z10 and the assistant just said don't bother BlackBerry are not going to be around much longer, then he said you'll need to change your plan to include BlackBerry services. This is total nonsense basically they just want to push android and Samsung junk I haven't been in one phone retailer that hasn't knocked BlackBerry phones. Perhaps BlackBerry should have their own shops like apple run by people who love the product and can show the customer how great these devices are.

    Via BlackBerry Z10 Z10STL100-2/10.2.1.1925
    Bigbacala likes this.
    01-18-14 05:36 PM
  19. Tatwi's Avatar
    Perhaps BlackBerry should have their own shops like apple run by people who love the product and can show the customer how great these devices are.

    Via BlackBerry Z10 Z10STL100-2/10.2.1.1925
    Maybe we Crackberrians should set up our own make shift booths to educate people. Heck, with wifi we could probably even set people up with carriers and devices mailed to them lol..

    Posted via CB10 on BlackBerry Z10
    coldRooster likes this.
    01-18-14 08:36 PM
  20. sleepngbear's Avatar
    Yeah, the amount of misinformation that is being perpetuated out there by people is really kinda ridiculous. Agree that it's something BlackBerry needs to work on very hard, very quickly.

    I think the John Chen strategy that "BlackBerry is a portfolio of business" (not just a handset business) is a good way at looking at the company. It lets you tell the story at least that BlackBerry is more than just handsets - so even if the handset sales are lagging right now, it doesn't mean the company is bankrupt and dead in the water. They have money in the bank, smart people working on smart things, and are moving forward in multiple mobile categories.

    BUT.. that's easy for us to understand. It's a whole other ballgame to get the average person understanding where things are at. I sure hope they can do it though.
    "not just a handset business" -- how very true and poignant -- but try telling this to the doom-and-gloomers and you'd think you were speaking in Greek. I do hope that the new management team is aware that this is one of the more significant hurdles they need to overcome -- in both the consumer and enterprise markets. Mr. Chen's "we are not dead" speeches are a good start, but they are also commonplace for any business that finds itself struggling. Probably what scares me the most about the company's future is their ability to shake this stigma.
    milo53 likes this.
    01-18-14 09:18 PM
  21. milo53's Avatar
    I think bigbacala is onto something, BB should sue the carriers into selling their product. They could develop a wonderful reputation for a "sue happy company".

    What minute carrier support would disappear overnite, forever.

    BB is out hussled by Apple and Android, with regards to carrier relations. Maybe a nice lawsuit would improve the situation.
    01-18-14 11:49 PM
  22. bbhuh's Avatar
    Maybe we Crackberrians should set up our own make shift booths to educate people. Heck, with wifi we could probably even set people up with carriers and devices mailed to them lol..

    Posted via CB10 on BlackBerry Z10
    I hope you're joking...

    We, crackberrians? Uh.. no thanks don't count me in.

    Blackberry is a company not a charity firm.

    I'd better spent my time with my family and beloved one or donating my time on social activity around my area.

    Sent from multiple devices using Tapatalk
    lnichols likes this.
    01-19-14 01:14 AM
  23. BBrickk's Avatar
    I hope you're joking...

    We, crackberrians? Uh.. no thanks don't count me in.

    Blackberry is a company not a charity firm.

    I'd better spent my time with my family and beloved one or donating my time on social activity around my area.

    Sent from multiple devices using Tapatalk
    No need to bring anyone down. Tatwi was being encouraging and a true fan.

    Posted via CB10
    01-19-14 02:44 AM
  24. Carjackd's Avatar
    Most of the people selling phones are trained by others selling phones before them. Their perceptions of BlackBerry are in-bed-ed in them from other employees as well uneducated comments from consumers...its a slippery slope and their is very little of their own research evolved in the sale.

    Posted via CB10
    01-19-14 09:24 AM
  25. Tatwi's Avatar
    No need to bring anyone down. Tatwi was being encouraging and a true fan.

    Posted via CB10
    And clearly not being serious... food for thought though, we do know more about the devices than most store reps. Their training is likely nonexistent.

    Posted via CB10 on BlackBerry Z10
    01-19-14 10:55 AM
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