[wiz9]

I finally had time to go into a store today to check out the Priv.

I walked into the AT&T store at Walden Galleria in Buffalo NY.

I asked for the Priv, the sales guy seemed confused and asked me "why". Took me over to it.
I asked him to confirm if Blackberry Blend works on it... he asked what that was.
I asked him to show me the hub... he asked what that was.

What blew me away most was that the phone was slow, buggy, and kept freezing and shutting off.

I left, came back a few minutes later to show my dad the phone, we again picked it up... couldn't get it working, it kept shutting off.

The guy came back over and was like "yeah... I'm sorry but blackberry makes it really hard for us. Their phones don't work, they don't send a rep in to train us at all, we have no idea about anything on the phone, I don't know how they expect to sell their product".

FRANKLY, he isn't wrong.
Blackberry makes it ridiculously difficult to stick by them.

I am BLOWN AWAY that the display phone doesn't work. You really think anyone is going to buy a phone if what they are seeing in front of them is a buggy piece of $h!t? Or do you think they are going to move right onto the next android option?

I would like to report this to Blackberry somehow... but have no idea who to contact that would be worth my time, or if it's worth even bothering.

I am blown away by what I saw in the store today, a display phone that doesn't work and a salesman that is telling me they know nothing about it because Blackberry can't be bothered to send them some training.

A1 work blackberry... keep it up!

[AphaGunnar]

It's not Blackberrys responsibility to train store reps, I work for a Canadian carrier and all training was done via my employer not blackberry. As phone the store demo acting up its probably defective and the store doesn't want to send it to be replaced. It seems to me the store you visited just has poorly trained reps who don't keep up with internal training systems.

[Spinal]

It's not Blackberrys responsibility to train store reps, I work for a Canadian carrier and all training was done via my employer not blackberry. As phone the store demo acting up its probably defective and the store doesn't want to send it to be replaced. It seems to me the store you visited just has poorly trained reps who don't keep up with internal training systems.

Agreed, the major electronics retailer I work for is in the same boat. Its nice when reps come around and do some training, but they are not obligated to, though - Apple has their own rep, sometimes two in every single weekend and a couple days during the week to help our employees be more familiar with their products. I remember when the playbook came out, we had a blackberry rep, was some teenager who didn't really know anything except what he read out of the manual when he got it. Couple months after that we had some other guy who seemed confident that 'skype was going to come to the playbook' and when i told him no it won't he gave me a dirty look, and low and behold skype never came, the playbook got discontinued and we never had a rep from BB again. So I can't say I'm surprised.

It is however the stores responsibility to have a functional display - least for mine, so you could complain about that.

[twelvezero8]

Anyone keeping count?

Productivity via THE PRIV

[TGIS]

I finally had time to go into a store today to check out the Priv.

I walked into the AT&T store at Walden Galleria in Buffalo NY.

I asked for the Priv, the sales guy seemed confused and asked me "why". Took me over to it.
I asked him to confirm if Blackberry Blend works on it... he asked what that was.
I asked him to show me the hub... he asked what that was.

What blew me away most was that the phone was slow, buggy, and kept freezing and shutting off.

I left, came back a few minutes later to show my dad the phone, we again picked it up... couldn't get it working, it kept shutting off.

The guy came back over and was like "yeah... I'm sorry but blackberry makes it really hard for us. Their phones don't work, they don't send a rep in to train us at all, we have no idea about anything on the phone, I don't know how they expect to sell their product".

FRANKLY, he isn't wrong.
Blackberry makes it ridiculously difficult to stick by them.

I am BLOWN AWAY that the display phone doesn't work. You really think anyone is going to buy a phone if what they are seeing in front of them is a buggy piece of $h!t? Or do you think they are going to move right onto the next android option?

I would like to report this to Blackberry somehow... but have no idea who to contact that would be worth my time, or if it's worth even bothering.

I am blown away by what I saw in the store today, a display phone that doesn't work and a salesman that is telling me they know nothing about it because Blackberry can't be bothered to send them some training.

A1 work blackberry... keep it up!

Wow... either a big fluke or the employer has something against BlackBerry

'it all started with the  Priv...'

[Carmels]

I agree with @AphaGunnar. The sales rep not knowing a anything about the products he/she has to sell on a daily basis is a carrier issue with training. When I was both a rep and store manager with a Canadian carrier back in the day, I always preached to my reps to be knowledgeable about every service and product sold under the carriers portfolio, otherwise they were only cheating themselves out of the potential to increase their income through various commission structures.

Look! It's Zedzilla30!

[kobnyc]

It's not Blackberrys responsibility to train store reps, I work for a Canadian carrier and all training was done via my employer not blackberry. As phone the store demo acting up its probably defective and the store doesn't want to send it to be replaced. It seems to me the store you visited just has poorly trained reps who don't keep up with internal training systems.

OK, what you say may be true, but look at BlackBerry's position? Wouldn't this be a prudent move on their part to insure the issues mentioned above are 'non-issues'? Seriously, why couldn't BlackBerry have a rep to do exactly what OP suggests, if they do not already? BlackBerry puts hardly any muscle behind the marketing of their phones. Armchair CEO stuff here, of course, but what's the downside for BlackBerry here if they stand behind their products a little with some superior proactive moves at launch, like those mentioned by OP and the store rep?

BlackBerry Priv

[Tre Lawrence]

BlackBerry is ULTIMATELY responsible for ensuring sales staff are knowledgeable about its products.

[Mark Sb]

I finally had time to go into a store today to check out the Priv.

I walked into the AT&T store at Walden Galleria in Buffalo NY.

I asked for the Priv, the sales guy seemed confused and asked me "why". Took me over to it.
I asked him to confirm if Blackberry Blend works on it... he asked what that was.
I asked him to show me the hub... he asked what that was.

What blew me away most was that the phone was slow, buggy, and kept freezing and shutting off.

I left, came back a few minutes later to show my dad the phone, we again picked it up... couldn't get it working, it kept shutting off.

The guy came back over and was like "yeah... I'm sorry but blackberry makes it really hard for us. Their phones don't work, they don't send a rep in to train us at all, we have no idea about anything on the phone, I don't know how they expect to sell their product".

FRANKLY, he isn't wrong.
Blackberry makes it ridiculously difficult to stick by them.

I am BLOWN AWAY that the display phone doesn't work. You really think anyone is going to buy a phone if what they are seeing in front of them is a buggy piece of $h!t? Or do you think they are going to move right onto the next android option?

I would like to report this to Blackberry somehow... but have no idea who to contact that would be worth my time, or if it's worth even bothering.

I am blown away by what I saw in the store today, a display phone that doesn't work and a salesman that is telling me they know nothing about it because Blackberry can't be bothered to send them some training.

A1 work blackberry... keep it up!

Stop being so sensationalistic. If this even was the situation in the store you visited...did you bother visiting another one before posting this rant? I went to 10 different malls in my area and many of the Rogers and Telus stores had the Priv front and center in its own display case. If not in a case it was placed right beside the s6 and s6 edge.

Also, do you remember this?
http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...tores-1048683/

[Phinhead54]

AT&T has provided training since before Nov 6th. Sounds like that rep neglected to take it.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[Carmels]

BlackBerry is ULTIMATELY responsible for ensuring sales staff are knowledgeable about its products.

That's a irrational opinion. At most BlackBerry could have conducted an exercise to determine what AT&T's (Carrier in this case) A Class corporate locations were or high activation locations are, so that they could strategically dispatch knowledgeable representation to those high volume locations for a day or two at launch. That's assuming of course BlackBerry has well established resources to sustain the approach I've just mentioned, which by the way I highly doubt they do.

At the end of the day, The carrier is ultimately responsible for their sales staffing to be or become knowledgeable in all facets of their business, not just BlackBerry devices. The best sales reps are Jack's of all Trades and have no bias over one product or another, if anything their decisions on push of products or services are usually financial in nature i.e. bundling commissions on multiple service sales, spiffs on select handset etc.



Look! It's Zedzilla30!

[blackburberry]

OP, my thoughts are somewhat similar to yours. I posted my experience with a BestBuy rep a while back. They knew squat about the Priv, and seemed very bored to even try to explain features and benefits of the Priv.

Mind you, every time I walk into a BestBuy it's an increasing disappointment. My trips to BB are getting fewer and farther between, but I digress.

Apple was in the same boat in the 80's. The big box retailers especially, relegated all Apple products to the back of the store, and in many cases never even powered up the machines. Things changed when Jobs returned and Apple upped their game in many areas, and the rest is history. Many don't or can't truly appreciate all the effort that the reborn Apple has put into designing, education clients, and marketing their brand. They deserve to be the alpha dog.

By comparison BlackBerry is either plain lazy or has poor leadership when it comes to marketing and educating their potential customers and deserve their position in the pack. Period.

[Tre Lawrence]

That's a irrational opinion. At most BlackBerry could have conducted an exercise to determine what AT&T's (Carrier in this case) A Class corporate locations were or high activation locations are, so that they could strategically dispatch knowledgeable representation to those high volume locations for a day or two at launch. That's assuming of course BlackBerry has well established resources to sustain the approach I've just mentioned, which by the way I highly doubt they do.

At the end of the day, The carrier is ultimately responsible for their sales staffing to be or become knowledgeable in all facets of their business, not just BlackBerry devices. The best sales reps are Jack's of all Trades and have no bias over one product or another, if anything their decisions on push of products or services are usually financial in nature i.e. bundling commissions on multiple service sales, spiffs on select handset etc.

Hopefully, BlackBerry is "irrational."

No successful OEM ships devices and then sits back and waits on profits. In the good old days, BBRY had people on the road, checking on displays and getting feedback from frontline salespeople.

That's how devices are moved. Apple, Samsung and LG have people going around training carrier staff. They don't leave it to spiffs.

Now, one could argue that BBRY doesn't have the resources to do so, but that doesn't change the reality of the situation: no one cares more about a product than its manufacturer.

The carriers like making money. If they aren't pushing BlackBerry instinctively, then it isn't making them money, and it's up to BlackBerry itself to change the narrative.

In a perfect world, all store folks will know everything about all products and push each equally. Let me know when the screenplay is written.

[Tre Lawrence]

OP, my thoughts are somewhat similar to yours. I posted my experience with a BestBuy rep a while back. They knew squat about the Priv, and seemed very bored to even try to explain features and benefits of the Priv.

Mind you, every time I walk into a BestBuy it's an increasing disappointment. My trips to BB are getting fewer and farther between, but I digress.

Apple was in the same boat in the 80's. The big box retailers especially, relegated all Apple products to the back of the store, and in many cases never even powered up the machines. Things changed when Jobs returned and Apple upped their game in many areas, and the rest is history. Many don't or can't truly appreciate all the effort that the reborn Apple has put into designing, education clients, and marketing their brand. They deserve to be the alpha dog.

By comparison BlackBerry is either plain lazy or has poor leadership when it comes to marketing and educating their potential customers and deserve their position in the pack. Period.

I understand that Apple invested an insane amount of manpower to initially train folks to teach customers the basics of touchscreen usage.

Apple still does, even though the product arguably seeks itself at this point. I hear its display agreements are the most stringent in the business, and it checks frequently to ensure compliance.

Apple will NEVER rely on, say, Walmart to unilaterally define its public perception.

[meltbox360]

BlackBerry should have knowledgeable reps going around. When I was in an ATT store looking at the priv the LG guy came in and started talking about the V10 and how LG would like its product pushed. Surprise surprise, suddenly an employee asked me if I had ever seen the V10 and started talking up the camera and hardware to me.

He didn't know anything about the priv. So I was essentially demoing him all the features.

Posted via CB10

[DolemiteDONS]

I finally had time to go into a store today to check out the Priv.

I walked into the AT&T store at Walden Galleria in Buffalo NY.

I asked for the Priv, the sales guy seemed confused and asked me "why". Took me over to it.
I asked him to confirm if Blackberry Blend works on it... he asked what that was.
I asked him to show me the hub... he asked what that was.

What blew me away most was that the phone was slow, buggy, and kept freezing and shutting off.

I left, came back a few minutes later to show my dad the phone, we again picked it up... couldn't get it working, it kept shutting off.

The guy came back over and was like "yeah... I'm sorry but blackberry makes it really hard for us. Their phones don't work, they don't send a rep in to train us at all, we have no idea about anything on the phone, I don't know how they expect to sell their product".

FRANKLY, he isn't wrong.
Blackberry makes it ridiculously difficult to stick by them.

I am BLOWN AWAY that the display phone doesn't work. You really think anyone is going to buy a phone if what they are seeing in front of them is a buggy piece of $h!t? Or do you think they are going to move right onto the next android option?

I would like to report this to Blackberry somehow... but have no idea who to contact that would be worth my time, or if it's worth even bothering.

I am blown away by what I saw in the store today, a display phone that doesn't work and a salesman that is telling me they know nothing about it because Blackberry can't be bothered to send them some training.

A1 work blackberry... keep it up!

If he received a defective phone, that's one thing. He should report it. Otherwise, that is a weak and tired excuse by the salesperson. It's Android. If he refused to help a customer and blamed his ignorance on a 3rd party, that's on him and his employer. There are no acceptable excuses for him to not know the basics. I'd deflect your frustration to his retail store manager. Again, it's Android, like 80% of the other phones in the store.

[darkehawke]

BlackBerry is ULTIMATELY responsible for ensuring sales staff are knowledgeable about its products.

This statement is true.
Even though it may be up to the carriers to ensure that their staff is trained in the products, they still have to get that training material from Blackberry

[Vetboy]

BlackBerry is ULTIMATELY responsible for ensuring sales staff are knowledgeable about its products.

Really?!? So they should dispatch a rep to every one of the tens of thousands of retailers all over the world to check in and ensure every rep is up to speed? Think it through.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[RyanGermann]

BlackBerry is ULTIMATELY responsible for ensuring sales staff are knowledgeable about its products.

Not necessarily: it depends on the marketing agreement laid out with the carrier. At this point, AT&T is the exclusive carrier in the US. I don't have access to the contracts, but if the party responsible for training staff isn't articulated in the contract, and the types of sales tools that BlackBerry must provide to AT&T also wasn't laid out in the contract, I would be surprised.

BlackBerry is ultimately AFFECTED by whether or not AT&T sales staff are knowledgeable, but from AT&T's point of view, they don't care very much WHICH device a customer purchases so long as they sign up on a new cellular service plan... although, I gotta say, AT&T, if you're going to have an exclusive, which logically will make customers come to you if that's the device they're after, well, you don't want to undermine that exclusive by offending potential customers with your sales staff's indifference to the product.

[NickMcBride]

OK, what you say may be true, but look at BlackBerry's position? Wouldn't this be a prudent move on their part to insure the issues mentioned above are 'non-issues'? Seriously, why couldn't BlackBerry have a rep to do exactly what OP suggests, if they do not already? BlackBerry puts hardly any muscle behind the marketing of their phones. Armchair CEO stuff here, of course, but what's the downside for BlackBerry here if they stand behind their products a little with some superior proactive moves at launch, like those mentioned by OP and the store rep?

BlackBerry Priv

Simply put it costs a lot of money and resources to put a rep in every carrier store and it doesn't guarantee more sales, I do wish they did this and made some commercials for their products as well but it looks like Chen doesn't seem to think either one is worth the potential lack of added revenue...

Posted via CB10

[csiguy1]

My Priv works great. Any demo phone is handled by hundreds of different people who push every button they can. That phone could have been handled by ages 5-105 year olds who know nothing about the priv. I for one am not going to fault BlackBerry here at all.
Typed on my Priv.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[anon(870071)]

Good post!!!I often wonder about this as first impressions count don't they!?!?

Why isn't BlackBerry sending in their brand managers or regional marketing reps to educate regionally prior to launches. Don't most manufacturers do this our did BlackBerry cut those positions!? Can anyone that's works for BlackBerry chime in?

вιaсĸвεггч® ᕵяiv (STV100-3 Rogers Wireless)via CB for Android 5.1.1

[Tre Lawrence]

Really?!? So they should dispatch a rep to every one of the tens of thousands of retailers all over the world to check in and ensure every rep is up to speed? Think it through.

Absolutely. LOL.

Companies have regional staff that do just that.

As Ryan pointed out, who loses the most here?

[Tre Lawrence]

BlackBerry is ultimately AFFECTED by whether or not AT&T sales staff are knowledgeable

Agreed.

If I were BBRY, this would be my bottom line.

I know BlackBerry used to have folks roaming stores when things were better.

[Phinhead54]

Again, I was at an AT&T store on Nov 6th and the rep told me the training materials was there already.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android