Wow - Experience I just had at Best Buy trying to get a PB
- I was at Staples this morning to check if they had any of the charging pods left. PB display was gone, no accessories and nothing in the clearance area. Had a display of Amazon products, one for Nooks and one for Motorola. Cashier said they were gone and nothing new is expected. As a side note, I traded my 9650 for a iPhone 4S. Wanted something different and hadn't really utilized Bridge to make a difference. I would not say its a better experience, just different. I miss my keyboard.12-30-11 10:36 PMLike 0
- I ordered a PB for myself on the BlackBerry site the other day and decided I would pick one up for my mom as well. She is getting ready to go into radiation treatment for 6 weeks and I thought it would be a good way to stay connected and make a good entertainment device, praying she isn't too weak. She is getting a Curve as well and I thought why not pair them to get the full experience.
It was pretty chaotic and I regretted going into Best Buy today but waited patiently for a blue shirt. After about 20min I intercepted an employee and said I would like to buy a PB.
Her response was and I quote "Why would you want that one? They are discontinued and will not be getting any updates ever. That one is obsolete." She then informed me there were none in stock anyways. You had to be there to believe the tone she took like I had to be the biggest fool on the planet for wanting a PB. She looked at me like I had three heads.
I am going to go elsewhere and still get a PB for mom but I am in total disbelief and had to share.12-31-11 01:03 AMLike 0 - Yet another example of how "Best" Buy sucks. I don't know why people continue to shop there. They are overpriced rip-off artists and their staff are completely ignorant. Stay away!12-31-11 02:07 AMLike 0
- Let's not overreact, folks. Even if clerks at Staples and Best Buy and other stores think the Playbook is toast, so what? It just means they have heard the same rumors we all have. They could even be right--but no one knows, and we'll all have to wait to see. As for their expertise in selling Playbooks, I don't think they do any better showcasing the other tablets. Half the time I try to check out a display tablet, it's not even working. Same with the other big boxes...there was an Office Depot where, for months, the display Samsung 10.1 wouldn't work--since I have one, I had a certain morbid curiousity in it...12-31-11 02:38 AMLike 0
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best buy - non commission sales
future shop - commission sales
so of course you get "better service". there is more at stake for them. their paycheque.12-31-11 02:58 AMLike 0 - Because for some folks, the "half" it does encompasses all they need. I personally bought it to bridge to my bb phone. Not aware of any other tablet that can bridge.12-31-11 03:30 AMLike 0
- 12-31-11 03:33 AMLike 0
- Same here, stopped by my local best buy yesterday and asked for a PB case, guy told me they were discontinued and once all stock is gone there will never be any more available.
Last week they had a cage with about 10 16gb versions and they didnt have one on display. Most likely Apple and Samsung are paying them to push their products.
News flash 80% of PlayBook owners love their PlayBooks. straight from the world leading source for everything BlackBerry, CrackBerry. But nobodies selling the truth these days.. it will be up to the public. once again.
edit: to the degree that some of this negativity campain is true, Looks like it works. In the end people tend to give up/in because they dislike defending again and again. Its worked before and will again.Last edited by Dapper37; 12-31-11 at 04:45 AM.
12-31-11 04:37 AMLike 0 - yeah i know. Got a buddy who worked at FS for couple yrs. But I like to pay for quality service .... and with price match I'll drive a little out of my way to get the better service ( even if owned by same parent corporation).12-31-11 08:08 AMLike 0
- I ordered a PB for myself on the BlackBerry site the other day and decided I would pick one up for my mom as well. She is getting ready to go into radiation treatment for 6 weeks and I thought it would be a good way to stay connected and make a good entertainment device, praying she isn't too weak. She is getting a Curve as well and I thought why not pair them to get the full experience.
It was pretty chaotic and I regretted going into Best Buy today but waited patiently for a blue shirt. After about 20min I intercepted an employee and said I would like to buy a PB.
Her response was and I quote "Why would you want that one? They are discontinued and will not be getting any updates ever. That one is obsolete." She then informed me there were none in stock anyways. You had to be there to believe the tone she took like I had to be the biggest fool on the planet for wanting a PB. She looked at me like I had three heads.
I am going to go elsewhere and still get a PB for mom but I am in total disbelief and had to share.omniusovermind likes this.12-31-11 08:28 AMLike 1 - What a nice coincidence. I just happened to be in Best Buy last night helping a girlfriend shop for a TV. When I went over to look at Playbooks I was told they were out and may have a couple left in the warehouse. The clerk then proceeded to tell me that Blackberry will be out of business in 2012 and that there's no reason for them to carry anymore Playbooks. He told that to the wrong person as I replied that Best Buy will be out of business before Blackberry as they are committing the same mistakes Circuit City made which is pathological lying to its prospective customers. When three other clerks convened to gang up on me they were surprised that I'm too well versed for them to win an argument about the superior qualities of the Playbook. I don't even have one yet but am looking forward to getting one when OS2 comes with the device.12-31-11 08:30 AMLike 4
- What a nice coincidence. I just happened to be in Best Buy last night helping a girlfriend shop for a TV. When I went over to look at Playbooks I was told they were out and may have a couple left in the warehouse. The clerk then proceeded to tell me that Blackberry will be out of business in 2012 and that there's no reason for them to carry anymore Playbooks. He told that to the wrong person as I replied that Best Buy will be out of business before Blackberry as they are committing the same mistakes Circuit City made which is pathological lying to its prospective customers. When three other clerks convened to gang up on me they were surprised that I'm too well versed for them to win an argument about the superior qualities of the Playbook. I don't even have one yet but am looking forward to getting one when OS2 comes with the device.12-31-11 08:50 AMLike 2
- Prior to my iPad purchase I went to Best Buy to play with the playbook and no one knew anything about it. On the plus side, it was on display nicely, but the sales lady couldn't answer even basic questions. She said they hadn't really had a chance to mess around with it. She didn't try to sway me to any other product she just didn't help. Disappointing, but I suppose I should have done the basic research myself. As someone else said most of them are kids who just need a job. They aren't trying to make this a career so it's probably easier to sell what they already know.
I will say that every apple display I see in Target, Best Buy, Walmart etc looks identical and very well kept. This is a direct result of Apple retail reps coming in to make sure they are maintained. I think lazy employees who don't care about presentation aren't just singling out the playbook. They simply don't care about any of it and if the company doesn't have someone monitoring it then it just goes to h3ll.
Kudos to you dedicated owners though. I like my device, but I'm fairly certain I wouldn't be able to go into a store that didn't carry it and become a spokesperson for all the people looking at different products. I'd need a commission for that... :-)12-31-11 09:57 AMLike 0 - What I find most disturbing is that it's one thing for a buyer who's done their research to be told incorrect information. It's a whole 'nother thing for the average buyer looking for a tablet who relies on the salesperson's knowledge to make a decision.
For every one of us, who presumably had some knowledge of RIM and PB, there are probably 10-20 who don't and were convinced to either buy another platform whether or not the PB would have been a good fit for them.12-31-11 10:06 AMLike 0 - What a nice coincidence. I just happened to be in Best Buy last night helping a girlfriend shop for a TV. When I went over to look at Playbooks I was told they were out and may have a couple left in the warehouse. The clerk then proceeded to tell me that Blackberry will be out of business in 2012 and that there's no reason for them to carry anymore Playbooks. He told that to the wrong person as I replied that Best Buy will be out of business before Blackberry as they are committing the same mistakes Circuit City made which is pathological lying to its prospective customers. When three other clerks convened to gang up on me they were surprised that I'm too well versed for them to win an argument about the superior qualities of the Playbook. I don't even have one yet but am looking forward to getting one when OS2 comes with the device.
Doesn't make either of those situations better. Suprisingly, The "I know you are but what am I" argument has lost credibility with investors.12-31-11 10:08 AMLike 0 - I'm curious about the source of that rumor in BB - could be sales reps from another company talking smack about the PB...
Was in Staples Xmas eve to buy a laptop and look @ tablets. Saw Samsung, Acer, Asus, iPad had it's own display...but no PlayBook.
Helpful salesdrone came over with the generic opening salesline. I asked him where the Playbook display was - he replies - get this - "They're in the back" As in there's a display towards the back of the store? "No, they're put away in the back, nobody's interested in them"
This pissed me off a little, so the next came with no small amount of condescention: "How exactly do you propose to generate interest...and sales, when there are no display models to try out?" He mumbled something about "Yeah, someone was supposed to do that and didn't get around to it"
Idiots.12-31-11 10:10 AMLike 0 -
I don't own RIM stock so it doesn't impact me other than I do own a Playbook and an employer supplied Torch that I would like to see continued support for.
As for their expertise in selling Playbooks, I don't think they do any better showcasing the other tablets. Half the time I try to check out a display tablet, it's not even working. Same with the other big boxes...there was an Office Depot where, for months, the display Samsung 10.1 wouldn't work--since I have one, I had a certain morbid curiousity in it...
I don't expect these sales people to have a good understanding of every product they sell. They aren't there to advise customers they are there to help you find what you want.
I have found that if I want service in one of our local Staples stores all I have to do is try to pick up one of the Asus tablets. The anti-theft thingy is malfunctioning on it so it sets off an alarm. When the employee rushes over to reset the alarm I ask for whatever I am looking for at the time.12-31-11 10:50 AMLike 0 - My wife and brother went through something similar when they went to Best Buy to purchase mine. Several employees even gathered around to make fun of me for wanting one, despite that my wife explained that I'm a developer not looking for a toy. They had my wife nearly convinced not to purchase anything whatsoever. And almost all of what they were telling her was incorrect, which is right up there in jackassedness with the crappy customer service. With so many alternatives out there, I won't be shopping from them anymore.12-31-11 11:41 AMLike 0
- WOW! I seriously think we should contact rim BB and tell them what is going on, I'm sure they have no idea that they are getting such bad rep from the BB/FS/WM/staples ect ect as this sort of BAD talk can seriously damage thier reputation and business survival! I mean this is serious allegations! if I was BB I would be hitting the roof or bouncing off the walls as this is no short of defamation!
Last edited by beman39; 12-31-11 at 12:16 PM.
12-31-11 12:14 PMLike 0 - Well, this a.m. I went with a buddy - he got gift cards to buy a laptop - salesperson was full of it which is why I was asked along... while he was paying I hopped over to the tabs - PB nicely displaying a network connection screen I've never seen, and would not close. Did hard reset and it restarted into it - only thing I can figure is they interrupted an OS d/l and will need to DM restart.
But as usual, all other tabs were hooked up and working nicely. Best product in the store left abandoned to it's fate... if u don't want them, I'll find them a good home!12-31-11 12:41 PMLike 0 - though i had a similar experience when i bought my playbook, some how sales people being some type of prophets being able to fortell the future of a multi billion dollar company, my most annoying experience was actually when i went to purchase my blackberry curve.
after i told the person i really wanted to buy the curve they asked me why, my most excited reason was at that time blackberry bridge. they proceeded to tell me "why dont you get an ipad" why i said, "icloud"....
i rolled my eyes! icloud isnt even the same damn thing!
getting so tired of this hive mind mentality, after i proceeded to tell him what bridge actually does, he just gave me kind of an "oh" in a i didnt know it did all of that sorta way.12-31-11 01:03 PMLike 0 - I had a somewhat comparable experience today at Radioshack wanting to buy a longer monitor cable. The sales clerk asked me if I wanted to buy an iPhone today and I declined saying that I have a BlackBerry phone and pulled out my Torch 9810. And he just scoffed at me like I am from a third world country and it made me feel stupid. So I told him that this is way better than an iPhone because it does the same job and lacks any restrictions.
It seems that if you even say "BlackBerry" nowadays anymore it automatically makes you a 2nd class individual that needs to be mocked for that reason. It is just sickening with that apple mafia...get a life!12-31-11 03:17 PMLike 0 - i have to agree with her actually a little bit.
i have bought one as i got it for just about two hundred euros. but still im not sure to keep it. i love a lot especially how it looks and feels in my hands as well as how qnx is working.
but will it have a future? will it get better app support ?
at the moment im struggeling. would love to keep it but at the same time i already have a bold 9900 and only flash is what the bold is missing compared to the playbook. ok and the size of course
so an android tablet would probably the better decision as i would get all the apps im missing at the moment. but i will test os 2 beta at least before i decide. still have ten days for thisLast edited by boldkeyboardholic; 12-31-11 at 03:41 PM. Reason: as i wrote this with the pb and are used to the awesome bold keyboard ;)
12-31-11 03:35 PMLike 0 - I have read tons of posts in tons of threads about how Best Buy has an anti-PB conspiracy. I have not heard any discussion about realistic reasons why. Best Buy purchases, or at least, used to purchase PBs for resale. Why would they, or any other company, systematically sabotage their own bottom line by talking down one of their showcase products? If they don't like the product, they don't have to sell it. There has to be a good reason they would actively discourage sales of their products. I can think of one.
Returns. I have not seen any numbers for returns, so I don't know if that is a problem or not. But that is one very good reason why retailers turn agains a product. Returns cost money and hurt reputation. Once a product gets a stigma for being returned, or unreliable, or any such thing, reps will steer customers to items that have low returns and high satisfaction. Does anyone have any insight into the situation, or should we just go back to complaining?
For the record, I hate Best Buy too, just not for the same reasons.mpcook likes this.12-31-11 03:45 PMLike 1
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Wow - Experience I just had at Best Buy trying to get a PB
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