1. BluePumpkinBerry's Avatar
    Hi All,

    A little background on me - I have zero smarts when it comes to technology. I have always had a Verizon Android phone/tab and have played around with my work iPhone (calls and texts only). My work I.T. or Verizon have always set up my devices and if I had an issue, either I.T., Verizon or my friends/family have been able to help.

    However, I want a PKB and have done tons of research and really want the PP! I kept asking my local stores if they had a demo phone and their answers were always weird and standoff-ish. I finally was able to see a PP while on vacation 2 weeks ago and now I really want one.

    During my research period (about 2 months), I would ask friends, family and co-workers if any of them have/have had a BB. I was amazed at the snickering and sarcastic remarks I received and didn't understand the ridicule. (i.e. "God, no!"; "LOL, why would I own that?!?"; "uh, no, this is 2015") Then I read here on the forums some funny stories about others' reactions to owning a BB. I still just don't understand the ridicule. It isn't as if I am trying to talk others into getting rid of their beloved phone, I was just merely asking if they have ever had one.

    My only hesitation in switching to BB is that since I am technologically ignorant, I rely on others help in setting up and fixing issues and my support group is not familiar with BB at all. I know once it is set up and I play around, I will be OK, I am just concerned about the original set-up and the beginning questions I will have (seriously - I don't understand anything! I have read forum help and have to look up half of the words in the reply).

    I thought I will be OK as long as AT&T will help me set it up and be there for any questions (Verizon always was helpful when I stopped in or called with a problem.)

    Then, yesterday happened. I showed up at AT&T and there were 2 workers talking - no customers in the store. They saw me, smiled, walked towards me and asked how they could help. I said "I wanted to get the BB PP". I kid you not, they both stopped walking towards me and actually took a step backwards! If I could have videoed it, I would have because it was so ridiculous, like I scared them. The manager then asked if I was a BB fan. I said I had never owned one before, but think I will become a PP fan. He then said "well, it is really hard to use". I responded "I keep hearing their OS is actually superior and easier to use in the long run". He then said "well, it is really hard to learn" (he had no clue that was my concern) and I said "Yes, I was hoping I would get help in setting it up and getting any questions answered by coming in here" He said "we don't know anything about BB". I looked at him dumbfounded and said "nothing? You carry the phone and won't be able to help me set it up?" He responded "not really. We focus on android and apple. Why don't you get the Samsung Galaxy 6". I said "because I want the PP". He asked "But....why....?" I said "what difference does it make? Is there an issue with that phone that you know about? Why I shouldn't get it?" And he actually said "I don't know if there is an issue as I don't know much about BB". I asked if there was anyone else in their store or even locally that does know something about BB that could help me. He looked at his worker and they shook their head and said "no, but we could maybe google some of your questions." I just stood there for a few seconds and we all stared at each other. He asked if I ever tried the iPhone and I said I had one and didn't care for it. I really wanted a PKB. He said "well, I know the PP is expensive". I was getting pissed at this point. I said that I knew the price point. I then asked how far out an order would be to receive the phone and he said "like 3 months". I looked at him and said I know that isn't true. He said he didn't even know if it was out yet. I told him it was out and was out for several months. He said he didn't think it was. I told him he was wrong. He then said again that it was very expensive, "like 700 bucks" and the reason they don't have a demo is that they aren't going to put a 700 dollar phone on the floor for people to play with. None of the stores would. He advised me that I should wait until it comes out and I can see the demo. I told him I just saw a demo in 2 stores 2 weeks ago (NYC). He actually asked if I was sure it was the Passport. I had to ask him FOUR more times how long it would be to receive the phone upon order. (3 business days....NOT 3 months! and he was surprised it actually was already released).

    OKAY - so after that insane meeting, I am scared to get this phone because I won't even get support from the carrier! I called 2 other local AT&T stores and they said there was no one proficient in BB. Why, oh why does AT&T not give them even a little BB training? And why, oh why did they try their hardest to talk me out of what I wanted? I don't mind advice and recommendations, but this was flat out disagreeing with me. I appreciate the fact they told me they would be of no help whatsoever to me, but why is that the case?

    I swear I am getting tempted to go on Craigslist and post that I want to meet for a Blackberry Lesson. But I fear it will be read wrong and I will be killed. This is so discouraging to me.

    (oops, didn't realize post was so long!)
    04-29-15 12:56 PM
  2. Stomps01's Avatar
    Well you will always have the Crackberry community to help you. There aren't too many questions that go unanswered.

    Posted via CB10
    04-29-15 01:17 PM
  3. CecilTsunami's Avatar
    My advice is, you seem like you've done your research and you really want it, buy it, come here and get help.

    Don't be put off by them telling you BB10 is complicated. My 75 year old mother went from 0 knowledge to running her Q5 with little to no assistance in a week.

    If you get stuck on basic functions, there are tutorial videos on the phone.

    I applaud you, you've passed the first test of what it takes to be a BlackBerry owner, you told the carrier they were wrong.

    Posted via CB10
    04-29-15 01:25 PM
  4. bhoqeem's Avatar
    Honestly, your post, it seems to me, more like a fiction novel, than a reality. I mean, I cannot believe people can be so ignorant, standoffish and alien about BlackBerry--ESPECIALLY in the United States.

    Seriously, is this for real?

    Besides, in this day and age, one only needs to look up the Google to find out and/or learn about anything--particularly about something so worldly famous as BlackBerry! Or, yeah, you can always come here, to this forum, to ask and/or learn about it.
    04-29-15 01:30 PM
  5. redchilli88's Avatar
    Bluepumpkinberry... get one, come here, all and every of your questions will be answered. Because it is a worldwide community, your answers will be posted within a very short time. This community knows Everything and more about BlackBerry. Hurry up!!!

    Posted via Z30 or Red Passport.
    04-29-15 04:04 PM
  6. MobileMadness002's Avatar
    Well you will always have the Crackberry community to help you. There aren't too many questions that go unanswered.

    Posted via CB10
    And I promise to keep my nose out of the OPS business. That being said, Stomps is totally correct. Plenty of knowledge here. Plenty of kind assistance here. No one here would leave you high and dry, but there are and will be hurdles that you may not be able to work around. I will leave that all to the others who can explain easier than my typical response "some android apps work, some don't."

    Pretty much guarantee you will have a great time with your PP and with us.
    04-29-15 04:15 PM
  7. anon(2325196)'s Avatar
    'work iphone' - is that a punchline or a joke? Either way, hilarious. An oxymoron basically.

    Posted via CB10
    04-29-15 05:15 PM
  8. dna47's Avatar
    Screw the carriers, get that awesome phone and come here if you ever need help!

    Posted via CB10
    04-29-15 05:25 PM
  9. BBd00d's Avatar
    I agree, buy the phone, and watch youtube videos on how to use it, or by all means come and ask your questions here. It's not a hard OS to learn. The reason they push you to reconsider iOS and android, is because they get incentives for doing so.

    Posted via CB10
    jrsva2008 likes this.
    04-29-15 05:40 PM
  10. jmb12177's Avatar
    Honestly, your post, it seems to me, more like a fiction novel, than a reality. I mean, I cannot believe people can be so ignorant, standoffish and alien about BlackBerry--ESPECIALLY in the United States.

    Seriously, is this for real?

    Besides, in this day and age, one only needs to look up the Google to find out and/or learn about anything--particularly about something so worldly famous as BlackBerry! Or, yeah, you can always come here, to this forum, to ask and/or learn about it.
    I myself know that this to be true, even though my wife likes android, and I was tempted, I never gave up on BlackBerry. When I went looking for a passport, my closest at&t store told me they will never carry a passport again, as the company went bankrupt, and went under. I looked at him and asked why are they still putting out new phones. He said they are just over stock of devices that they made years ago. So I went to the at&t website to see who near me would have the passport in Stock, 50 mile radius of me, no stores had the passport, only 3 carried it, and they were out of stock. So my only choice was to order online, and it was shipped from Texas. I have yet to see another BlackBerry device in my area since bb10 was released on the z10.

    Posted via CB10
    04-29-15 05:51 PM
  11. CrazyJo82's Avatar
    I am curious as to what questions or potential problems you think you may run into. I would say to old BBOS are more tech driven (shrink my OS!!). The new BB10 seems more straight forward. I personally have not looking into installing leaks or playing with the OS but functionality wise, it is simple.

    I felt in love with it after holding my friend passport for... oh... 10 seconds...

    Posted via CB10
    04-29-15 06:08 PM
  12. GreenCopperz's Avatar
    Blue Pumpkin Berry, you'll be fine with the folks here at CrackBerry. The phone's are surprisingly pleasant to use (read a joy) when you discover the hub's peek and flow. It's a communication beast, but don't let that intimidate you. The store clerks don't get their sales spiff likely and will push you a Droid to earn more commission. These forums are great to help and always a few flicks and clicks away !

    Z30STA100-5/10.3.1.2558
    jrsva2008 likes this.
    04-29-15 06:08 PM
  13. 93Aero's Avatar
    Yeah get it come here add me on BBM and I'll remotely show you all the things it does via Screen Share.


    PassportSQW100-1/10.3.1.2576 -Q10SQN100-5/10.3.1.2576 Posted via CB
    04-29-15 06:29 PM
  14. ArtForm's Avatar
    Welcome to the club: you know more about phones than ATT representative. The phone is not that difficult to learn at all. The only "tricky" thing is that settings aren't always in the same place: some swipe from top (which is what it is supposed to be), some through a "dot menu" in the corner. And of course, if you download android apps, they're all over the place. These other guys are right, though. Between tutorials on the phone (which teach the basics), and a good online community (US!), you won't have a bit of trouble.

    By the way, I know the ATT Passport is different, and in my opinion the design is better, but since you know you won't be getting any support from ATT, I would HIGHLY recommend getting an unlocked on from shopblackberry. Since you aren't "tech savvy" you might be less comfortable putting leaked operating systems on your phone, and with the factory version you will get updates MONTHS sooner than anything ATT will put out. If they don't even stock the phone, or train their workers, what is the likelihood that they will give any priority to updates, right?
    04-29-15 06:40 PM
  15. bhoqeem's Avatar
    I myself know that this to be true, even though my wife likes android, and I was tempted, I never gave up on BlackBerry. When I went looking for a passport, my closest at&t store told me they will never carry a passport again, as the company went bankrupt, and went under. I looked at him and asked why are they still putting out new phones. He said they are just over stock of devices that they made years ago. So I went to the at&t website to see who near me would have the passport in Stock, 50 mile radius of me, no stores had the passport, only 3 carried it, and they were out of stock. So my only choice was to order online, and it was shipped from Texas. I have yet to see another BlackBerry device in my area since bb10 was released on the z10.

    Posted via CB10
    Whoa...that's rather extreme ya. Kinda weird, too, seeing that you're in the United States, nonetheless. Well, at least you can still order online, either through amazon or imported from my country, Indonesia, perhaps, where Passport is rather abundant, especially in cell phones trade centers, despite being not as famously known due to lack of advertising whatsoever. Lots of legacy users here besides android and iphone, but extremely rare BB10 users. Which is kinda odd, considering.

    Good thing about bb10, you won't necessarily need to have BIS like in the old days. Meaning you can use BlackBerry like any other android and/or iphone you've ever used. There's nothing complicated, really. You can even install and enjoy some or all of the android apps you used to have. Don't forget to use BlackBerry link to transfer your old contacts and thingies, though. And you'll definitely enjoy BlackBerry blend for works. I'm a translator and I use passport and blend like junkie on crack everyday, severely abusing my thumbs.

    Don't be afraid to come and ask here. Many will be more than happy to assist, including me.

    Posted via CB10
    04-29-15 06:40 PM
  16. alan510's Avatar
    First, I'm astonished retail would treat customers this way. I've read all sorts of similar stories and I shake my head in total surprise. I can't understand the arrogance and the lack of respect for a customer's wishes. Honestly, and I don't want to dismiss this story, but I find them hard to believe.

    Having said that, there's no mobile device that is HARD to learn. Sure it will take some time to become familiar with them. It takes time to learn to drive, figure out the proper settings on modern a-v receivers, waltz. But millions of people do all those things.

    So come back here and reply to all the offers of help once you pick up your Passport. Lots of folks can help. But if we don't hear from you, I for one have to wonder if your story really does pass the smell test.

    Posted via CB10
    04-29-15 07:08 PM
  17. qphone's Avatar
    One thing I always recommend if you've never owned a BlackBerry before is to setup (it's free) your BlackBerry ID first and foremost before you pick up your Passport.

    Download BlackBerry Link for either Mac or PC and enter your BlackBerry ID there as well.

    https://blackberryid.blackberry.com/...tion_eula.seam

    This way once you've unboxed your new BlackBerry, plugged it in (to make sure battery is being charged) and getting ready for the initial setup process...It'll be way faster since you'll already have a valid BlackBerry ID to enter when it asks.

    Once you've finished all that...fire up Blackberry link and plug in your newly setup device to you computer to make sure that all is well and your computer via BlackBerry Link connects with your phone and has no issues.

     BlackBerry Passport on Telus Network
    Last edited by qphone; 04-29-15 at 11:39 PM.
    04-29-15 07:09 PM
  18. jlinc's Avatar
    Store sales people are almost useless these days. They rarely know any more than they read on the box or the pamphlet. BB10 is easy to learn and very intuitive. Also the crackberry community is always very helpful. I would say go ahead and get it and you will learn it pretty quick.

    Posted via CB10
    AllanQuatermain likes this.
    04-29-15 07:14 PM
  19. eyeb's Avatar
    I never used blackberry before, and found passport easy to learn. I've played on ios and android a lot.

    blackberry is an easier version of ios to me. Both you can't really customize but that's fine. They both act the same way on the homescreen, all icons shown with ability to put into folders. Hold icon to uninstall. You can't really do anything else here. The apps is the same to me too, iOS has more apps true, but I don't care about them. I click on app, it opens and it runs, that's the same and what I meant. Both default browsers are as "simple" in that they only have basic functions. What makes blackberry better than iOS for me is that I can get to the home screen swiping up and not pressing a button (yeah, I like that better). I also like that it's a bit less messy in the settings department. Both OS are about the same for me in smoothness. iOS has those 4 buttons at the bottom to "quick" launch 4 apps, the passport has 26 "letter" keys that you can use to quick launch apps with

    Anyways, if iOS is an easy to learn OS, blackberry is just as easy. The only thing iOS has are apps, and android apps take care of most of that.
    04-29-15 08:15 PM
  20. Jtaylor1986's Avatar
    I would be calling into their customer loyalty number as soon as I left the store if I dealt with that bunch of clowns. Completely disrespectful and awful ambassador for their company.

    Posted via CB10
    04-29-15 08:24 PM
  21. thymaster's Avatar
    This story doesn't surprise me at all. It's pretty common in North America where sales rep are hostile to customer who choose a brand they no longer believe in anymore. I've been through similar situations as well.

    Honestly, your post, it seems to me, more like a fiction novel, than a reality. I mean, I cannot believe people can be so ignorant, standoffish and alien about BlackBerry--ESPECIALLY in the United States.

    Seriously, is this for real?

    Besides, in this day and age, one only needs to look up the Google to find out and/or learn about anything--particularly about something so worldly famous as BlackBerry! Or, yeah, you can always come here, to this forum, to ask and/or learn about it.
    jrsva2008 likes this.
    04-29-15 11:18 PM
  22. CecilTsunami's Avatar
    This story doesn't surprise me at all. It's pretty common in North America where sales rep are hostile to customer who choose a brand they no longer believe in anymore. I've been through similar situations as well.
    They're a little more polite in Alberta, they just ask you if you're sure you want a BlackBerry about 50 times while they try to figure out how to activate your phone.

    Posted via CB10
    04-29-15 11:48 PM
  23. thymaster's Avatar
    Op setting up your Passport is like a no brainer really. You don't have to be technical to understand BB10. It is absolutely easy to navigate and very intuitive. There are tons of tutorial videos on YouTube and the community here on Crackberry is really helpful. Give the phone a try and worst case scenario is you can return the phone within the return limit date if you feel that it's not right for you. Good luck.
    04-30-15 12:33 AM
  24. chuck rund's Avatar
    I was completely helpless when I found this site, everyone here helps no matter how silly my questions are/were, I have learned so much here and would tell you go for it. I have an unlocked passport (which is on sale right now at shopberry) for 549 I think, works on tmobile and att. You'll love it.
    Good luck

    Posted via CB10
    04-30-15 06:09 AM
  25. Zeratul57's Avatar
    Look, you really dont need the att store for much. Blackberry phone support is great and this is 2015. You have youtube, Crackberry and all kinds of resources.

    What if you have an emergency and are near a att store. Dont sweat it. walk in the store and demand that someone get Blackberry support on the phone for you!! They will, once you can find someone who can operate a phone and make a phone call! Its great fun, they will be curious about why you need support and will want to ask a bunch of questions. Just IGNORE THEM and remind them you are calling someone who can help you : )


    Dont forget, att Blackberry users have two choices for support, first att store and phone then they can escalate to Blackberry support through att. You can demand that you are given instant access to BB support.
    thymaster likes this.
    04-30-15 07:40 AM
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