[anon(439228)]

Hello fellow BB owners,

My name is George
Long time reader, part time board level engineer/hardware/software tinker'r... and sadly, rare forum post'r


But today, I am going public with this post to "vent" my frustrations over my current issue at hand: Blackberry Customer Service Failures

Real quick, a bit about me.

I, as the Technical Director.. run a small, 5 employee... 7 figure employee owned AV Service firm, outside our nations capitol in DC: av-service

The only product we "sell" is (Customer) Service, as outlined by our trademarked slogan: All we sell is Service!
https://trademarks.justia.com/870/01...-87001285.html

I am going to be short and to the point.

And here is why.
I love my BB PP's, both of them!

I have an original BB PP that's had not had a single issue in almost 2 years.

Yet, I just procured a brand new BB PP SE no less than 90 days ago.
And it failed right out of the box, with not one... but two distinct issues.

And now the replacement phone has it's own set of new issues, right out of the box!

More on this later...

I myself, have have been a loyal RIM/BB owner for ever.. as far as I am concerned.
I have owned several since the 2000's: 6230, 7230, 7100, 7730 (aka design for current PP?) and the last one I had, a Bold 9700

After a brief hiatus with a Droid Incredible running Android, I switch back to BB when the BB PP was released in 2014, and like I said above... my 1st, 2 year old now BB PP.. has not skipped a beat, EVER!

Later starts here :-)

A few months ago I found that the screen was falling apart, layer by layer on my original BB PP:



Being that it was "out of warranty" but still working perfectly, with years worth of texts and emails and such on it... I was weary of sending it into BB for repair (of the screen). Please note: BB Link Back Ups, "will not" restore the previously stored (cache) of Google Gmail emails. They will all need to be downloaded again, and if like me, if you no longer have those "old" accounts... the emails are gone forever!

So instead of getting a out of warranty RMA and spending good money fixing an older phone, I took advantage of the fathers day sale link I found here, on CB and bought a new BB PP SE:

BlackBerry launches summer sale on Passport and Priv | CrackBerry.com

BB PP SE #1

The day I get the phone, I un-boxed it and to my surprise, found that the touch screen was not tracking correctly... as if the "touch alignment" was not performed on it or something before being shipped.

Anyway, I call BB support up and they try to help me.
After half an hour wasted with them telling me "I was doing something wrong"... they talk me through a factory wipe and reset, that in the end fixed the touch issue.

2 days later, the case is closed and I put the phone away until I can set up all 15 email accounts into my BB Hub:



SIDE NOTE:

By the way, 99% of why I need this specific make & model phone to run my business is the Keyboard and the HUB feature - Aside from the phone and the camera... I don't need this (BB10 OS) phone to do anything else but work! Like it does!

I also carry a Sony Z5 Premium, to do everything else I need, that the BB PP doesn't handle: 4k test video, sound calibration app's and google maps to get me to my customers sites.

For me, Email (gmail) is where the Sony or any other Android (or Apple) phone fails... THERE IS NOTHING, AND WILL NEVER BE ANYTHING... LIKE BB HUB OUT THERE, EVER!

Moving on... so I set up my 15 email accounts on the now working, newly wiped BB PP SE #1 phone:



I also download and install all but two apps from BB World that i need to run to do my job: Wells Fargo, for business Banking and Park Mobile for finding and paying for parking in DC

I take the 128GB memory card and SIM out of my original BB PP and install it on my new BB PP SE #1

Not sure how long it took, but a day or two later I notice that the phone would reboot, when I wasn't looking (previously opened apps look minimized)... the next think you know, the reboots become more frequent and happen whilst the phone is in my hands... doing anything, emails, texting, it even reboot once, when I was on the phone with BB support!

All random, 2-5 times a day. EVERYDAY

So... I call up BB support again, and open another case
I work with a guy named Steve for about 2 weeks, wiping, reloading, wiping restoring, wiping reloading... no matted what we did, it would still keep on rebooting.

So after wasting our mutual time for weeks, they convince me to send it in for "repair"
Me, as a board level engineer knows that this is bad ram, or a bad processor...NOT SOFTWARE!

A week later, I get a box with a NEW PHONE IN IT! - not a refurb.

So now lets open the chapter called BB PP SE #2

I open the box, turn on the phone and am greeted with a partially set up phone (apparently they tested it by getting past the new phone dialog).
Due to the battery being really low, I chose to just dock the phone in the BB dock and charger and let it charge to full.

A day later I come back to find this:



The battery will only charge up to 60%

So I call BB support, again... and tell them about this.

At this point now I am working with Rina, and she tells me that this is impossible and that she will have tech engineers look into it:



Eventually she gets back to me and offers me yet another opportunity to exchange the phone, or work with their tech support to fix the battery charging issues.

Being that I work 16 hour days running a business, I really dont have time to invest in fixing a new phone, when i have a 2 year old version that works perfectly since day 1.

Next day, I spent 2 hours configuring all my email accounts, and installing BB world apps.. on this BB PP SE #2

I power down the phone so that i can install a 128GB SD card along with a new glass protector... and i put it back in its case for on going protections:



power it up... and guess what...

IT WIPED OUT ALL OF MY EMAIL ACCOUNTS AND LOOKS LIKE IT FACTORY RESET ITSELF!

see for yourself:



At this point I am LIVID! I email Rina at BB support and again, I am told for the second time that ALL of their phones are checked before being shipped, see here:



So now Blackberry is calling me a LIAR? or are they the ones "lying" by stating facts, in writing to me mind you stating one thing, but delivering the opposite.. not once, but twice.

Bad luck... or just bad customer service?

Aside from this rant here on CB, the youtube video and blog on my new domain: my-blackberry-sucks.com

I just don't know what to do.

Is anyone out there a Lawyer or Expert on Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act?

All I wanted is either my money back (so i can buy a standard BB PP) or a working new BB PP SE.

Remember, my BB PP SE #1 failed out of the box, and the replacement one as well.

In closing, I am looking for Customer Service advice...
not any suggestions on an alternate phone, make or model - as.. there is nothing out there, and will never be anything ever built again like a Blackberry phone with a keyboard, EVER!

PRIV = Joke, as I own (2) for use by employees.

Thanks!
George

[The Commander]

Hello fellow BB owners,

My name is George
Long time reader, part time board level engineer/hardware/software tinker'r... and sadly, rare forum post'r


But today, I am going public with this post to "vent" my frustrations over my current issue at hand: Blackberry Customer Service Failures

Real quick, a bit about me.

I, as the Technical Director.. run a small, 5 employee... 7 figure employee owned AV Service firm, outside our nations capitol in DC: av-service

The only product we "sell" is (Customer) Service, as outlined my our trademarked slogan: All we sell is Service!
https://trademarks.justia.com/870/01...-87001285.html

I am going to be short and to the point.

And here is why.
I love my BB PP's, both of them!

I have an original BB PP that's had not had a single issue in almost 2 years.

Yet, I just procured a brand new BB PP SE no less than 90 days ago.
And it failed right out of the box, with not one... but two distinct issues.

And now the replacement phone has it's own set of new issues, right out of the box!

More on this later...

I myself, have have been a loyal RIM/BB owner for ever.. as far as I am concerned.
I have owned several since the 2000's: 6230, 7230, 7100, 7730 (aka design for current PP?) and the last one I had, a Bold 9700

After a brief hiatus with a Droid Incredible running Android, I switch back to BB when the BB PP was released in 2014, and like I said above... my 1st, 2 year old now BB PP.. has not skipped a beat, EVER!

Later starts here :-)

A few months ago I found that the screen was falling apart, layer by layer on my original BB PP:



Being that it was "out of warranty" but still working perfectly, with years worth of texts and emails and such on it... I was weary of sending it into BB for repair (of the screen). Please note: BB Link Back Ups, "will not" restore the previously stored (cache) of Google Gmail emails. They will all need to be downloaded again, and if like me, if you no longer have those "old" accounts... the emails are gone forever!

So instead of getting a out of warranty RMA and spending good money fixing an older phone, I took advantage of the fathers day sale link I found here, on CB and bought a new BB PP SE:

BlackBerry launches summer sale on Passport and Priv | CrackBerry.com

BB PP SE #1

The day I get the phone, I un-boxed it and to my surprise, found that the touch screen was not tracking correctly... as if the "touch alignment" was not performed on it or something before being shipped.

Anyway, I call BB support up and they try to help me.
After half an hour wasted with them telling me "I was doing something wrong"... they talk me through a factory wipe and reset, that in the end fixed the touch issue.

2 days later, the case is closed and I put the phone away until I can set up all 15 email accounts into my BB Hub:



SIDE NOTE:

By the way, 99% of why I need this specific make & model phone to run my business is the Keyboard and the HUB feature - Aside from the phone and the camera... I don't need this (BB10 OS) phone to do anything else but work! Like it does!

I also carry a Sony Z5 Premium, to do everything else I need, that the BB PP doesn't handle: 4k test video, sound calibration app's and google maps to get me to my customers sites.

For me, Email (gmail) is where the Sony or any other Android (or Apple) phone fails... THERE IS NOTHING, AND WILL NEVER BE ANYTHING... LIKE BB HUB OUT THERE, EVER!

Moving on... so I set up my 15 email accounts on the now working, newly wiped BB PP SE #1 phone:



I also download and install all but two apps from BB World that i need to run to do my job: Wells Fargo, for business Banking and Park Mobile for finding and paying for parking in DC

I take the 128GB memory card and SIM out of my original BB PP and install it on my new BB PP SE #1

Not sure how long it took, but a day or two later I notice that the phone would reboot, when I wasn't looking (previously opened apps look minimized)... the next think you know, the reboots become more frequent and happen whilst the phone is in my hands... doing anything, emails, texting, it even reboot once, when I was on the phone with BB support!

All random, 2-5 times a day. EVERYDAY

So... I call up BB support again, and open another case
I work with a guy named Steve for about 2 weeks, wiping, reloading, wiping restoring, wiping reloading... no matted what we did, it would still keep on rebooting.

So after wasting our mutual time for weeks, they convince me to send it in for "repair"
Me, as a board level engineer knows that this is bad ram, or a bad processor...NOT SOFTWARE!

A week later, I get a box with a NEW PHONE IN IT! - not a refurb.

So now lets open the chapter called BB PP SE #2

I open the box, turn on the phone and am greeted with a partially set up phone (apparently they tested it by getting past the new phone dialog).
Due to the battery being really low, I chose to just dock the phone in the BB dock and charger and let it charge to full.

A day later I come back to find this:



The battery will only charge up to 60%

So I call BB support, again... and tell them about this.

At this point now I am working with Rina, and she tells me that this is impossible and that she will have tech engineers look into it:



Eventually she gets back to me and offers me yet another opportunity to exchange the phone, or work with their tech support to fix the battery charging issues.

Being that I work 16 hour days running a business, I really dont have time to invest in fixing a new phone, when i have a 2 year old version that works perfectly since day 1.

Next day, I spent 2 hours configuring all my email accounts, and installing BB world apps.. on this BB PP SE #2

I power down the phone so that i can install a 128GB SD card along with a new glass protector... and i put it back in its case for on going protections:



power it up... and guess what...

IT WIPED OUT ALL OF MY EMAIL ACCOUNTS AND LOOKS LIKE IT FACTORY RESET ITSELF!

see for yourself:



At this point I am LIVID! I email Rina at BB support and again, I am told for the second time that ALL of their phones are checked before being shipped, see here:



So now Blackberry is calling me a LIAR? or are they the ones "lying" by stating facts, in writing to me mind you stating one thing, but delivering the opposite.. not once, but twice.

Bad luck... or just bad customer service?

Aside from this rant here on CB, the youtube video and blog on my new domain: my-blackberry-sucks.com

I just don't know what to do.

Is anyone out there a Lawyer or Expert on Magnuson�Moss Warranty Act?

All I wanted is either my money back (so i can buy a standard BB PP) or a working new BB PP SE.

Remember, my BB PP SE #1 failed out of the box, and the replacement one as well.

In closing, I am looking for Customer Service advice...
not any suggestions on an alternate phone, make or model - as.. there is nothing out there, and will never be anything ever built again like a Blackberry phone with a keyboard, EVER!

PRIV = Joke, as I own (2) for use by employees.

Thanks!
George

Wow. You must have bad luck with your phones. I buy almost every new BlackBerry that came out since the 9700 and I don't get any problems.

[anon(439228)]

Wow. You must have bad luck with your phones. I buy almost every new BlackBerry that came out since the 9700 and I don't get any problems.

Hello, I have not had a single issue with ANY BB phone I have owned, ever... up until I bought the BB PP SE in June 2016 - Nothing having to do with luck here.

Its the promises made by people (bb support) , who when they don't deliver, is the issue here! Not luck - I would be "out of the service business" if I left my clients job site saying everything is "fixed & tested"... yet when they use it, it fails.

Thanks!

[StephanieMaks]

Sorry to hear of your troubles. Apart from the satisfaction of venting here, I don't imagine there's much fellow Crackberrians can do for you.

Maybe try contacting George directly on Twitter (not sure if he's on there) or even John Chen (he's definitely on twitter).

Or send your complaints in a physical letter to BlackBerry's head office, addressed directly to George, maybe?

[anon(3641385)]

OP, oh my you are experiencing my worst nightmare with a new phone purchase!!

The only time I've had to contact BlackBerry service was for my original playbook and I got a replacement. I'm in Aus and for some strange reason I was routed to the Portugal office for help. Yeah, I know they don't speak English!!!

Like the previous poster suggested I think you're going to need to make a multiple pronged approach to get BlackBerry attention: their Facebook page, twitter, their blog and maybe emails as well as letters.

How dreadful, because as you say you've got a business to run and that's your priority.

--Classic, 9700, Playbook, flip - posted using crackberry app --

[littlebuff]

I guess I am luckier than you guys for not ever having to get frustrated with BlackBerry customer service, simply because that does not exit where I am, lol.

Posted from my  Passport

[zocster]

That sucks. You're as local as can be. Luckily I've never had issues with BlackBerry, and I live quite few thousands of miles away.

Good luck with the battle.

Sent from mTalk on Windows 10 Phone

[anon(439228)]

hello again,


so i got a response from someone in management of the RMA department just now... so I guess I still have 50 people to climb through the ladder in order to get to George



So look at the BS that this person wrote to me...

AGAIN, in writing stating that it is impossible for my 2nd device to be defective as they (their factory) was clearly told to check my 2nd BB PP SE before shipping it to me.

I am just going to go down to the courthouse tomorrow and file a small claims case along with a Consumer Fraud Litigation case.. if I can find a firm.

and to add insult to injury... now with the BB Passport sale going on... I overpaid by $200 buying this piece of worthless paperweight manure.

what a way to spend a birthday... ruining my day! thanks BB!

[Asuhmiaseh]

hello again,


so i got a response from someone in management of the RMA department just now... so I guess I still have 50 people to climb through the ladder in order to get to George



So look at the BS that this person wrote to me...

AGAIN, in writing stating that it is impossible for my 2nd device to be defective as they (their factory) was clearly told to check my 2nd BB PP SE before shipping it to me.

I am just going to go down to the courthouse tomorrow and file a small claims case along with a Consumer Fraud Litigation case.. if I can find a firm.

and to add insult to injury... now with the BB Passport sale going on... I overpaid by $200 buying this piece of worthless paperweight manure.

what a way to spend a birthday... ruining my day! thanks BB!

I can certainly understand your frustration and seems heightened by other situation(s). To be fair though I read the clip and unless I missed something the writer did not suggest it was impossible, they also seem willing to correct matters. Perhaps give it another shot. Hope it all works out for you.

Posted via CB10

[The Commander]

hello again,


so i got a response from someone in management of the RMA department just now... so I guess I still have 50 people to climb through the ladder in order to get to George



So look at the BS that this person wrote to me...

AGAIN, in writing stating that it is impossible for my 2nd device to be defective as they (their factory) was clearly told to check my 2nd BB PP SE before shipping it to me.

I am just going to go down to the courthouse tomorrow and file a small claims case along with a Consumer Fraud Litigation case.. if I can find a firm.

and to add insult to injury... now with the BB Passport sale going on... I overpaid by $200 buying this piece of worthless paperweight manure.

what a way to spend a birthday... ruining my day! thanks BB!

Crazy. Filing a lawsuit over just a phone.

[anon(439228)]

its not the phone!

I love the BB PP (& SE) phone(s)... when they work, either new out of the box.. or after being "repaired"... if they know how to ship a repaired phone.

The have failed on both fronts... and they will not refund my money.
New one was defecttive and so was replacement.

How do I know the 3rd one will work?
Its been 3 months and I still dont have a "New Working Phone"


If it was you. and you have wasted a sum of over 22 hours on the phone or on line with these people who are "trying to help" but in reality, are driving me insane... would you not want to vent?

My business runs off of my BB PP and its HUB app. That is all I need my "phone" to do!

it's the misrepresentation of claims... in writing! much less that are driving me to spend $1500 on my corporate atty for a demand letter to remedy or "cure" this on going warranty claim.


AGAIN, love BB phones, forever!

BB RMA support = FAIL

[MBrettH]

This comment is to just the issue with your first Passport--the separation of the screen/digitizer from the phone. That is not an uncommon complaint, I don't think. There is at least one thread that I have read on this site about screens not being properly seated in the Passport frame, and I don't spend much time on here; so it could be more common than even I realize. After watching video on the disassembly of the Passport, I think it is mostly adhesive, and not screws, that secure the digitizer and screen.

Next, is the customer service. My past experience with BlackBerry is very good, but I am now having a nightmare, and it also involves an original Passport (Red). I think that they are trying to just get rid of any OS10 phones, at this point, and have actively decided that the customer no longer more important than clearing inventory. I have an replacement RMA phone that has the exact same issues (external speaker volume low and FM tuner creates popping noises during radio play) as the original phone that I sent them. They acknowledge that there is a malfunction, but are trying very hard to refuse to fix it for me.

[MBrettH]

Happy Birthday, Hacker. I read this response from Bernalyn the same as Asuhmiaseh. I think she is trying to help you. As it happens, I JUST, 10 minutes ago, got off of the phone with her, giving her the 3rd degree on my case, and she seemed really sweet. She trying to help me, I think. It's a heck of a thing, trying to get proper service for a phone that BlackBerry is trying to just get rid of, at this point. :/

[anon(439228)]

Hello MBH, TY!

The front line support (like rina) is awesome... it's the people on the back side (h/w repair, software eng's) who are the one who I feel are just not doing their jobs anymore (with pride at least) as their company and department (hardware) is closing down around them.

Regarding my case.. I spoke to admin to VP of Enterprise Support

She forwarded my email rants to someone, who called me and had a BRAND NEW PP SE fed-ex next early am, at my front door this morning.

Now that is "taking care of the customer".


I am closing this chapter on this RMA fiasco and thank all readers for their time in hearing my case.

RIP BB PP (&SE)... The best "business phone" EVER MADE.

[anon(3641385)]

I'm pleased it's eventually worked out for you.

Just curious, does this phone work as it should?

--Classic, 9700, Playbook, flip - posted using crackberry app --

[Ms Cheng]

Hi All:
Fyi, I am dealing with this same crappy product and crappy customer service with the Blackberry Priv. I am in the process of returning my second device in under 1 year. Unfortunately, BB customer service (BERNALYN) can not give me a date on when I will get a replacement and my 1 year warranty is about to run out. I am thinking about filing a lawsuit as I paid nearly $700 for a device that has not only failed, but drained me of time and energy.

Is anyone else experiencing this nightmare? Is a class action lawsuit an option?

Please help. What a waste of time and money.

-Ms.Cheng

[tomsmith786]

Hello all,

I just came across this thread. I’m a BlackBerry Enterprise customer (our company runs BES12) and I support Enterprise devices. I believe he works on the Enterprise Support side of BlackBerry, not consumer or RMA support. I had an enterprise support ticket a few months ago and needed some help. I emailed him directly and he contacted me back within the hour and had my issue resolved the same day. Couldn’t ask for better service.

I also purchased BlackBerry devices for my family and had to send one back for repair a few months after buying it. Took a bit longer than I thought so I used BlackBerry.com/contact > Technical Support > BlackBerry Smartphones & Smartphone Software > BlackBerry Smartphones. Normally get a ticket created in a few seconds. You’ll get much faster responses than posting here, I think.

[Darkfibre80]

Vpad10 this is idiotic.

It's one thing to provide the community with information to help the rest of us gain knowledge about how to handle something -but you sir are an abusive customer. You don't treat people like that. And your rant here is not reflective of BlackBerry customer service generally. And you were being a baby and not following posted terms and conditions.

Everyone knows BlackBerry has hardware challenges - if you want perfection, go buy another device. I'm sorry it takes you forever to setup your 15 email accounts, but follow the procedures, they'll refund you in 30 days or they will do an exchange.

I've bought 5 passports to keep two due to unfortunate quality issues. But I followed the procedures, they paid for return shipping - other than setting up my accounts, and having to go to the FedEx depot to return the faulty units, everything was seamless.

In the end they sent you a another phone; good for you for getting another one out of them for free (assuming you didn't have to return your old one). But they already offered and expedited exchange anyway.