[Bash_Man]

Hey everyone,
I am sorry for ranting, and as much as I hate saying it, some stores salesmen are bunch of idiots.

My father in law wanted a Playbook because he wants something more portable than a 15.6" laptop when hes out on a construction/project site.

i went to the local Staples and they were sold out of all 3 models. i asked the guy if they're getting anymore soon, he said not sure because staples and RIM are trying to clear available store stocks to make room for the new Playbook 2.0 thats gonna be coming out soon and if i wanted a tablet, i should just buy an ipad or samsung because they're better any ways. so i just walked away from the and left the store.

then i went to the near by Bestbuy and they were also out of stock. so while i was standing looking at the accessories and screen protectors, a woman comes by and asks the salesman if the playbook was made/available in a 3g/4g model, and the says no rim doesnt make such product and they only have a wifi version which isnt that great anyways.

so as the woman was walking away, i spoke to her about what the PB can do and its features are when you bridge it to a BB handhel d(she had a bold 9900). she was amazed and went to customer service to see if she can pre-order one.

why arent these salesmen up to date on info and more informed. no wonder RIM gets a bad rep with people through word of mouth.

cheers

[Smiley88]

You should check out Walmart or the Source. They have PB.

[Bash_Man]

You should check out Walmart or the Source. They have PB.

both were sold out too.

[mikeo007]

idiots is a pretty harsh term. The one rep was ignorant to the existence of a 4G Playbook and I don't blame them since it's not available at Best Buy anyway.

Congrats on making a sale for Best Buy, did they write you a pay cheque?

[southlander]

Viral anti-marketing. Just as positive word of mouth and misconceptions can snowball like crazy -- so can negative. There is not a lot RIM can do about this except make BlackBerry 10 highly compelling and hope the tide will turn.

[rkonert]

I actually had a great experience at Futureshop concerning the PB. I was looking for a car mount to use the PB as my GPS, unfortunately they didn't have anything, but did suggest ebay or amazon as they would have it. He said he didn't understand why people would buy any other 7" tablet because, for the price, you can't beat it. As I was leaving he talked somebody out of an ereader, that was more money and to the PB!!!

[Philldoe]

idiots is a pretty harsh term. The one rep was ignorant to the existence of a 4G Playbook and I don't blame them since it's not available at Best Buy anyway.

Congrats on making a sale for Best Buy, did they write you a pay cheque?

No, is the proper term. When you work in sales your job means you must learn your products. That sales rep failed to do so either because he does not care about his job, or because he does not care for the product. Either way he's just another who isn't going anywhere in life.

[BigAl_BB9900]

I visited a Staples (UK) store yesterday to get some urgent stuff for my business (mucho expensive - my fault for leaving the purchases so late...)

They didn't have any PB's or accessories on display, so I asked the salesman if Staples (UK) had given up on selling the PB

The response I got was.... RIM/BlackBerry have scrapped the whole PlayBook programme

Wonderful!

(The salesman, then did point out their range of iPads....)

[mikeo007]

No, is the proper term. When you work in sales your job means you must learn your products. That sales rep failed to do so either because he does not care about his job, or because he does not care for the product. Either way he's just another who isn't going anywhere in life.

If you say so champ...expand your vocabulary a bit

[rcab]

I was in Office Depot which has the PB in stock and was looking for some of the accessories others had mention being clearanced at OD. I was talking with the store manager and was discussing the PB and bridging to my BB9800. He told me that is limited because the only thing the bridge does is let you see email. It does not allow any other connection on the internet. I told him he was wrong about what the bridge will do. As others stated most of the box stores do not have any PB or accessory items. RIM will have to market and not rely on salesmen in these retail stores to push the new BB10.

[grover5]

If you say so champ...expand your vocabulary a bit

What does this mean?

[bdegrande]

It's not ignorance. The salesmen are likely working on commission, and are trying to sell tablets that they have in stock. At the time when the PlayBooks weren't selling at all, they might have been given a bonus on each one sold, and if you had walked in thenm the PlayBook would have been the best thing in the world.

[slowrvr]

My experience over the past 10 months has been consistent regarding sales staff at Best Buy, Future Shop, Staples, and Rogers. In all cases I have been told that BlackBerry is a horrible product and I should buy an iphone/Galaxy/iPad/RAZR/etc. Even when explaining why I have selected the product I'm searching for I get an argument about RIM going down and I am really mistaken about what I want and it is almost always in a condescending tone.

It is one thing to promote a certain product because of preference/commision/experience, but another to pro-actively campaign against a product, often through ignorance or misinformation. No wonder RIM is struggling, they stand no chance at the retail level.

Every Future Shop and Best Buy I've been in over the past 6 months has had their display iPads hooked up to the store WiFi and their PlayBook's with no connection!

[tdexter77]

I agree with the OP. Staples and Best Buy are techno idiots. They claim to be companies focused on customer service and providing the right information to their customers when in fact, they are idiots. The term is not too harsh when it is the truth. I can't find PlayBook accessories anywhere besides here, BB site, Amazon and a few others but nothing in Big Box retailers. I guess I shouldn't care since I LOVE my PlayBook and my 9900. I showed my boss and counterparts how this tablet works vs iPad or Android and they were amazed. They now are happy owners of PlayBooks. I do hope BB10 changes the way BB is perceived in the retail world or at least these companies take the time to EDUCATE their associates on the features and benefits of BB10.

[esk369]

I agree is a strong word frustrating imo sounds better I look at it this way in the area where I live most of the sales reps are high school or collage kids I have t shirts older then most of them I use a sales rep as a basic guide I make sure I do my own due diligence reserch etc yes some of these reps truly suck at their jobs some just make due with what they know or what the store tells them and they probably make crap money but I hear you the pb is treated by most as the unwanted step child if I relied on sales reps and even so called expert reviews I would not own my playbook .

[Mhatham]

The sales people definitely contribute to the overall impression of a product, and when they talk down a product simply based on a perception driven by poor media reporting and knowledge doesn't help; and this goes for all the products.

Last time I was at Furtureshop I was on the other side of the isle from were the ipads are and got to watch a salesman sell what he prefers instead of listening to the customer. I have no issue with selling ipads or anything else, but the first thing this customer said was "I have an iphone and I am kind of over the Apple thing". This guy didn't seem to be very knowledgeable on the products at all, but from what I gathered his mom was buying whatever he needed as he was going to college. The ipad may be his best choice, even if he didn't want Apple's products, but all the salesguy said was the ipad is the best, he has used many others and it's what he prefers and said there's a reason they are number 1 in sales; sold right there. I don't know, not a few questions about use, or even going to the other side of the isle to show the other tablets.

The funny part is that this seems to happen everytime I go there, and that's not a lot, so how much of this is really going on?

[esk369]

I think at the moment the best advertising rim has for the pb is pb owners using my pb in a public place more times then not turns into me demonstrating the pb for people and I'm glad to do it.
I do wish rim would discover ADVERTISING its not a new concept and many corporations are very successful at it.

[bambinoitaliano]

It's not ignorance. The salesmen are likely working on commission, and are trying to sell tablets that they have in stock. At the time when the PlayBooks weren't selling at all, they might have been given a bonus on each one sold, and if you had walked in thenm the PlayBook would have been the best thing in the world.

Precisely! How much of commission can one make on a low price item ? In reality, RIM can only provide so much info to the retailers. And the retailers sells hundreds if not thousands of items in the store. You expect lowly paid sales reps to know every piece of merchandise in the store? You'll be fortunate if they know 25% of what the store sells. It's always important to know the product you intent to purchase before stepping foot into a store. You rarely get any professional opinion at a retail level. That's what Internet is for.

[terminatorx]

idiots is a pretty harsh term. The one rep was ignorant to the existence of a 4G Playbook and I don't blame them since it's not available at Best Buy anyway.

Congrats on making a sale for Best Buy, did they write you a pay cheque?

Mike mike mike.. both those salesmen WERE idiots.

If you say so champ...expand your vocabulary a bit

Don't take it too personally.

[Chrysalis1156]

My experience with Best Buy salesmen regarding the Playbook has been dismal at best. Mostly they're surprised I have one and that I actually LIKE it. I've stopped going there and have found most of what I need online elsewhere. I do my own homework before I make an electronics purchase and wish more people did.

[Philldoe]

Staples employees do not make commission. Just letting you know.

[mikeplus1]

My experience with Best Buy salesmen regarding the Playbook has been dismal at best. Mostly they're surprised I have one and that I actually LIKE it. I've stopped going there and have found most of what I need online elsewhere. I do my own homework before I make an electronics purchase and wish more people did.

I don't disagree with this and find their salespeople to be under trained for the most part, but I would never rely soley on their information anyway, do your homework and don't be disappointed. I also do not go into BestBuy except to maybe get a quick hands on before I buy online for much less money. Surprised they are still in business really.

[twstd.reality]

I don't disagree with this and find their salespeople to be under trained for the most part, but I would never rely soley on their information anyway, do your homework and don't be disappointed. I also do not go into BestBuy except to maybe get a quick hands on before I buy online for much less money. Surprised they are still in business really.

They won't be for long. They lost 1.7 billion last quarter and will be closing something like 50 stores next year.

[madman0141]

OP I feel your pain. Retail salespeople for the most part are idiots who try to sell products based on their opinions. I just wonder how a retail sales person making minimum wage who can't afford a TI calculator know anything about daily practical uses for these devices.
Like most these people need an app to do anything on a tablet.
Retail sales is one step above....well I might hurt someone's feelings.

[Angus_CB]

I haven't been on this board long, but I am tired of seeing people rant and rave about BB and other stores calling these people idiots. You cannot know everything about everything. I've worked retail in a past life and I didn't know jack about 1200 other products the store sold.
...

Jessica

I partially agree with you. The sales people at BestBuy and FutureShop work in all departments and can't be expected to be experts but... the proper thing to say is "We are out or stock on Playbooks, can I show you something else?" not "The Playbook is crap anyway. You should look at the iPad or Android tablets.".
Sales people have about 5 seconds to make a first impression. I respect a sales person saying "I'm not sure but I'll find the answer." rather than bullting me.

I went to FutureShop recently to do some pricing on TVs. The sales guy spent the whole time telling me how I should get their TV calibration, set up service at $300+. He never did show me a TV. I know he gets a better commission on the set up service than he does on the TV but in the end he lost both because he didn't listen to the customer and put his needs ahead of mine.