[gnirkatto]

I wonder if someone at BB picks these stories up, and then sends someone to meet a relevant person at the carrier, to work on jointly improving the situation.
But based on the fact that these stories don't ever seem to end, I don't think that this is happening.

[Bobert_123]

I personally prefer to buy my phones without trying it out first. To me it makes the whole experience of getting a new phone way more exiting and fun

Sent from my Passport

[ddtrills]

That is weird, lol

Posted by djeniuss via the CB10 App

[thymaster]

If ATT is going to carry BlackBerry at least do a decent job. Carrying the phone and not putting in any effort to educate their sales staff or stock inventory is going to backfire on them. It's the customer that's buying the phone and when they are ready to purchase the phone, they want to have the best experience ever or they will bad mouth about the dispute they have at one of the ATT store in front of their family and friends at a dinner gathering. It's the negative service dispute at the stores that makes a good conversation and the phone is just secondary.

[woofster]

Does anyone with an inside knowledge at the retail level know what kind of incentive (if any) carriers like AT&T have of selling or promoting certain products or lines? Do the local manufacturers have regional sales people that visit the stores and do training, brand awareness, set up mini-marketing kiosks/booths? Or is it entirely up to the carriers to promote the lines they carry?

[lift]

AT&T sales reps are clueless about a lot of things. Not just Blackberry's. Today I went to a corporate store to pick-up a prepaid micro SIM. The rep asked me what plan I wanted. I said the prepaid $60. / 4GB per month plan. He looked right at me and said it's not 4GB it's 2.5 GB. I said no, it's 4GB per month of the $60 plan. Now another sales rep overheard us and also looked right at me and said you're mistaken, the $60 prepaid plan is only 2.5 GB/month. I looked at both of them and said look it up seeing as you are both wrong. So the second rep looked it up on his tablet and sure enough, they were BOTH wrong. It is 4GB/month for $60. So he said "OK, you win". I said it's not a matter of winning or losing it's the fact that you both told me I was wrong and I can't understand how you can be so misinformed while working here. Then I said forget it and walked out. At that point I no longer wanted to deal with such morons.

[clitrenta]

So I walk into the the store and ask for the "Passport". SA asks what it is and who makes it. I look at him with a "seriously?" look.
I says "BlackBerry".
SA takes his tablet and checks as I walk around to look for the display model. All I find is the Classic in the very back corner.
SA follows me and says he could order it.
I says "I want to hold it before I buy it". And "you don't buy a car before you drove it, right?"
SA says "yes, makes sense..."
I leave the store and wish him a nice day.

This was a corporate store by the way.

Unreal...

Posted via CB10

That would definitely suck. Fortunately my AT&T store (also corporate) tends to have everything on display and as an extra bonus, several in stock. Of course the response to my saying I wanted one was another thing altogether.

[clitrenta]

I personally prefer to buy my phones without trying it out first. To me it makes the whole experience of getting a new phone way more exiting and fun

Sent from my Passport

Now that's just crazy talk.

[newcollector]

I have to say here in Louisville, Kentucky, the AT&T store near my work had both the Passport and the Classic on display the day after it was to go on sale. One sale gal didn't know what I was talking about when I came in, but a couple of other sales reps did. They both thought it was interesting in design. Both were familiar with it, but one said, "I would get one, but there aren't apps like Instagram." I quickly showed him by downloading Instagram right in front of him thru Snap. He was intrigued and surprised.

I didn't buy the AT&T version. I went for the original. Why? I like the distinctive square design better. I ordered mine from shopblackberry for only $499. Plus AT&T frustrates me with their pseudo support of BlackBerry.

Posted via CB10

[ralfyguy]

I have to say here in Louisville, Kentucky, the AT&T store near my work had both the Passport and the Classic on display the day after it was to go on sale. One sale gal didn't know what I was talking about when I came in, but a couple of other sales reps did. They both thought it was interesting in design. Both were familiar with it, but one said, "I would get one, but there aren't apps like Instagram." I quickly showed him by downloading Instagram right in front of him thru Snap. He was intrigued and surprised.

I didn't buy the AT&T version. I went for the original. Why? I like the distinctive square design better. I ordered mine from shopblackberry for only $499. Plus AT&T frustrates me with their pseudo support of BlackBerry.

Posted via CB10

I was in that store before, getting my son a Galaxy S3 Mini. They had different staff then. They seem to have a bunch of turnover...but anyways.
So I got him that phone and the reps were trying to sell me an Android as well. So I whipped out my Z10 and showed them the Android apps and the Google Play Store. You should have seen those eyes pop!
I said I don't need an Android phone, because my BlackBerry Z10 runs Android on the side simultaneously to get some Android apps. They were completely baffled. LOL

Anyway, I say it again: for that AT&T ordered a special made Passport, and not having one on display boggles my mind.
Then what is the sense in pi$$ing BlackBerry off to deviate from the original design, and then seem to not want to sell it anyways?
This was then just for BlackBerry to throw more money out the window just to redesign the phone, have a special production run, special tooling and then not even a tester in the damn stores.
Amazing how they can bend BlackBerry over like that. They are really in bad shape...

Posted via CB10

[Troy Tiscareno]

I wonder if someone at BB picks these stories up, and then sends someone to meet a relevant person at the carrier, to work on jointly improving the situation.
But based on the fact that these stories don't ever seem to end, I don't think that this is happening.

They canceled their contract with the contracting company that was responsible for in-store training and displays back in October 2013, which is the last time carrier store employees have seen someone from BB. But I promise you that corporate stores see Apple and Samsung reps at least once a month, and HTC, LG, and Motorola reps at least once every 6-8 weeks.

BB knows exactly what is expected of them to play in the smartphone game, but they aren't doing their part, either because they can't afford to or they choose not to. Either way, don't blame the carrier - blame BB.

[Troy Tiscareno]

Does anyone with an inside knowledge at the retail level know what kind of incentive (if any) carriers like AT&T have of selling or promoting certain products or lines? Do the local manufacturers have regional sales people that visit the stores and do training, brand awareness, set up mini-marketing kiosks/booths? Or is it entirely up to the carriers to promote the lines they carry?

It is the manufacturer's job to purchase (rent) display space, to build, deliver, and setup any custom displays, and to send reps to train salespeople (there is a high turn-over, so this needs to be done constantly) and to maintain the displays. Every big smartphone manufacturer (i.e., anyone that makes a "flagship" device) does this except for BB. BB used to do this, but hasn't done so since the end of 2013, when the company "put out the 'For Sale' sign."

[ralfyguy]

They cannot be THAT broke not run a damn commercial on TV every now and then.
Take BlackBerry off the Mercedes F1 cars and use that money for TV commercials.
That F1 isn't that widespread here in NA anyways. I've seen some cool ones on YouTube.
Show that on TV instead.

Posted via CB10

[Nitalia]

I suspect At&t has already given up on the Passport due to no meaningful sale numbers. After all has been said, I believe Morgan & Stanley was spot on on the units moved
https://www.yahoo.com/tech/s/blackbe...143732238.html

[extisis]

It still amazes me these threads keep getting posted. Since BB came up with the storm for US carriers to compete with Apple... US carriers have given up on BB. The rule of the day is "indifference" with US carriers and why anyone would expect differently after the last number of years of said indifference is beyond me. By all means post you experiences but really?? Why are you surprised, angry or disappointed... remember the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different outcome... in the case of US carriers it is insanity to expect anything but indifference from them.

understandable. but it is disappointing. OP has a major point that if AT&T went out of their way to have an exclusive form factor, then they should follow through and provide display models in at least the corporate stores which this was.

and it's quite disappointing that SA's try to badmouth BB10 when in most cases they haven't even tried out the OS. They're just sheep like the imores and droiders.

[Maksimfa]

where do you guys live?

My experience here in the north east is quite different.
Not only are the ATT stores stocked with BlackBerry devices, the reps are quite familiar with them.

[Bobert_123]

Now that's just crazy talk.

It's worked well so far lol

Not like I don't research the phone like crazy before I buy it

Sent from my Passport

[YeemanBB]

It's worked well so far lol

Not like I don't research the phone like crazy before I buy it

Sent from my Passport

It isn't that crazy. Most people in the US who bought a Passport through Amazon or Shop BlackBerry before AT&T launch wouldn't have seen one before they bought. At the first couple weeks of its launch in Canada and Europe, both Shop BlackBerry and Amazon constantly sold out their stock. All the people who bought then wouldn't have seen one before either. I bought mine from Shop BlackBerry before stores in Canada had a display model.

If you also consider all the IPhone and Samsung pre- orders, it really is no big deal to buy a phone without "test driving" it.

Posted via CB10

[callec39]

Same experience here, but I persevered and was able to find an AT&T store that had it on display and once I held it it was a no brainer... I bought it on the spot... I love this Blackberry Passport. Now if Renke would make the clear case for it as they did for the original Passport....Crackberry Help I need that case.

[LibertyPhone]

I'm tempting to switch over carrier from Verizon to Att for passport.

Posted via CB10

[clitrenta]

It's worked well so far lol

Not like I don't research the phone like crazy before I buy it

Sent from my Passport

I guess it depends on your knowledge of the device and your tastes. Kind of like those crazy iPhone lovers. They'll buy the next iPhone without even so much as seeing a picture of it. Such is the case with Blackberry loyalists I guess. I'd probably feel relatively secure in doing that with BB but I still like to at least feel it. I will say this, as soon as I picked it up, I knew it would take something totally overwhelming to turn me against it. That of course didn't happen. I haven't had a personal BB in years but I have not regretted my decision for one moment. I love the Passport. I hope the next device out will be just as good because I'm thinking I can finally just stick with BB now. I'm finally back where I started (remember original Blackberry?). I've had many. My two favorites before the PP were the Bold 9700 and Pearl Flip (yah, seriously).

[Gajja]

So if you think you might like one then order one. You have the right to return it within a certain amount of days don't you?

[BBRPWN55]

It's not only AT&T. I believe it's all carriers. If they don't have it, or the sales person is bad mouthing Blackberry. I'm quite fed up with all of it. What happen to it being to each it"s own. If anyone interested in purchasing a Blackberry, order it online.

[vanmat]

Yeah, I wanted to compare a yankee passport to mine. the two clerks had never seen one or knew what i was talking about.

Same here. Took my square Passport in to AT&T when I got it to get a sim card and both of the ladies there gave me the "Blackberry is still in business?" line. No Blackberry's in the store.

[anon(19759)]

Don't forget that Chen doesn't care about the consumer market any more, so why would he want to spend time and money putting them on display in the retail stores? He's attacking the sales plan by going through the B2B channels and using their field reps to try to win more accounts.

Because, you know, people who work in enterprise companies never walk into retail stores. They don't buy their own personal phones. The people walking into retail stores don't work and never talk about stuff at work and the line between consumer and business professional is of course, a large definitive line that no one ever crosses. I've never seen anything in retail and then discussed it at work with various people who may be in positions to make changes and recommendations. Never, never happened to me.

This is ridiculous. CEO's of major corporations still walk through the mall. They still see the bright shiny Apple store that puts a seed in their heads about mobile devices. There is absolutely no excuse for Blackberry to not have put a fancy pedestal display in every ATT retail store with a Passport and Classic sitting high and mighty. Maybe, just maybe, when that CIO or CTO or whoever goes into ATT to get their daughter an iphone, they see the nice BB display and walk over and start playing with the Passport and think, hey, this would be a very productive device for the 1500 mobile users in my company.

I just don't get BB's marketing strategy at all.