[mister2d]

If you say so. I'm not spending $700 on a phone without doing a lot of research. And I certainly wouldn't bank my entire impression of a phone on one model unit that's been man-handled by tons of people

I'm sure the OP shares the same sentiment. I don't think he spent any money. But a physical in person impression is just as much research as staring at a screen of specs and reviews. Something is said for physically test driving something. But like I said, sometimes people just don't have the time to sit on the can and let their legs get numb by reading up. They might have an hour of face time in addition to some reading to make a decision.

[Tre Lawrence]

If you say so. I'm not spending $700 on a phone without doing a lot of research. And I certainly wouldn't bank my entire impression of a phone on one model unit that's been man-handled by tons of people

Neither would I.

Plenty of folks do rely on unplanned hands on forays though, and BBRY has to do everything it can to make a great first impression.

If I had to guess (pure speculation on my part), I'd say most interactions with the Priv will be in-store viewings by folks who didn't specifically come in to see it, and probably had no idea it existed.

[6stringriffs]

Seriously.... if a carrier sales person doesn't know how to work a Priv, he/she doesn't know how to work an LG, Samsung, Motorola, Sony phone. The Priv is 90% android. not much else to learn except launching the Hub or seeing how the BB launcher works. Then also typing on the hard keyboard.

My experience:
Last month I went into my local Verizon store to activate a Nexus 6P. Standard procedure states to see what my current phone was so it can be deactivated (along with the digital paperwork to fill out). VRZN employee recognized my Z30 and asked, "oh? how come you didn't get the Priv?" There was no prompting or mention on my part about any Android blackberry. He knew himself. Of course I told him, it's not available on VRZN and I'm stuck on your contract. He says "don't worry it's coming soon".

Point being: he recognized my BB phone and was well aware of the Priv even though they were not selling it.

And finally, I got great service on activation of the Nexus (new sim card & all) even though I didn't buy it there. No resentments.

[TGR1]

I won't even bother repeating what others have already said multiple times but it's not on BlackBerry to control this issues. You just went to a crap store with a crap worker. I've been to multiple AT&T locations in Arizona and have not had any of these issues. Plus, the all the Canadian carriers I've visited have been treated the Priv better than any BlackBerry device before it as well. Yes, there's a certain level BlackBerry should be involved here but I think that's more along the lines of a follow-up procedure wherein they need to be checking these locations are actually doing what their contracts agreed to in terms of representation.

You contradict yourself. By doing bolded part 2, BBRY is doing bolded part 1.

It doesn't really matter that AT&T is lazy, hires dumb incompetents, can be bought off more easily than a US politician, or whatever. Ultimately, the non-CB consumer out browsing phones and potentially intrigued by the Priv will be influenced positively or negatively by the experience. BBRY's reputation isn't great as it is; no need to further add to it negatively. Is it fair? Irrelevant. It's your product and you do your damndest for it if you care.

Just watch Shark Tank or any of those infomercial backers - they won't fund people who aren't willing to work their butts off to continue to promote and push their product.

Apple's initial very poor experience with trying to sell their computers in Best Buy led them to negotiate their special section and specially trained staff. It's about control of the message. At the time, it was really bad. Now, it works out well not only for Apple but also for the B&M partner. That's also why Samsung does the same thing now.

[John Gee]

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.

I think it depends on carrier. And I think this has changed over time. The sales rep I had a AT&T was great. He was not a BlackBerry or PRIV expert but he knew a lot about Android and has fond memories of BlackBerry phones. An he seemed genuinely enthused to see someone interested in this unique phone. He mentioned that carriers used to train them. But, now they don't.

FWIW: In my experience with AT&T, the sales reps are mostly Apple and DirectTV sales personnel in AT&T clothing.

PRIVateering since 2015.

[jbfair728]

A long rant based on a sole visit to 1 store. Brainless.

Posted via CB app on my BlackBerry Classic

[RyanGermann]

I could do that. But does 1 complain like that help save Blackberry?

Well, first, you have to ask whether you care to "save BlackBerry" or not. I wouldn't bother, personally... for me, the issue is more about what passes for "professionalism" in cellular carrier stores.

Telling your prospective customer that the exclusive device you have is somehow bad and you haven't been trained on it would get them fired in any 'reputable' line of business, and it continues to baffle me why the carriers let their staff pull this crap time and time again. It reflects really poorly on "millennials" who make up most of the carrier staff I deal with, that they don't give a damn about their job or their employer or the products they're selling... but if I managed one or more stores that sold technology and my staff wasn't able to objectively determine the customers needs and point them in the right direction without implying or stating that the products we have on offer are not good quality, they would be looking for another job really quickly.

The sad truth is: people like us who understand and respect technology including each of the various mobile OS platforms are probably OVERQUALIFIED (in terms of our ability to get a higher-paying job) to work in a carrier store or electronics retailer, but we are also the best type of person to do the job.

The fact is, BlackBerry devices have always been and continue to be very good quality, even if they aren't for everyone. It is the retailers job to know how to sell each product on its merits to the right customer... and yet, this... "concept"... seems to be so lacking at smartphone retailers that it must be incomprehensible to them.

[Blacklatino]

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/

It's not the only store. I've been to at least four stores - only posted about one because I figured this was nothing new and no one seemed to be surprised anymore. Regardless of whom is ultimately responsible for carrier reps knowing about new BlackBerry devices(has been off the job since the Z10 launch), BlackBerry is the one that suffers loss of sales and bad PR from non-reps.

[Carmels]

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.

Couldn't have said it better myself!

Look! It's Zedzilla30!

[DolemiteDONS]

I won't even bother repeating what others have already said multiple times but it's not on BlackBerry to control this issues. You just went to a crap store with a crap worker. I've been to multiple AT&T locations in Arizona and have not had any of these issues. Plus, the all the Canadian carriers I've visited have been treated the Priv better than any BlackBerry device before it as well. Yes, there's a certain level BlackBerry should be involved here but I think that's more along the lines of a follow-up procedure wherein they need to be checking these locations are actually doing what their contracts agreed to in terms of representation.

Exactly. Considering there have been many reports of helpful employees, especially when comparing their lack of interest for BB10, perhaps the target of the frustration should be directed at the crappy disinterested employee and his manager. They obviously weren't interested enough to even play around with the new Android.

[scott082801]

I picked up my priv at the att store in lex KY. The nice young lady that sold it to me said that her coworkers were all eager to get ahold the one they pass around next to use it. There was also another employee there that used a priv as their work phone.

I'm impressed. I haven't seen this kind of enthusiasm in an att store for a BlackBerry in years.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[Blackburberry_priv]

That's sad when a employee don't know about products in his job. When I sold phones for T mobile and ATT I knew every phone inside and out and also blackberry my favorite manufacture. But the problem is that people don't care for BlackBerry and thinks they going to fail but Lil do they know they won't there a power house of software and security. But sad that people don't care much for good old blackberry.

Posted via CB10

[wiz9]

OP is a very short-sighted consumer, if the post is legit.

When I am in the market for a phone, I consider specs I'm looking for, then determine a list of phones that meet my needs. By the time I get to a store to test it out, I've already read reviews/previews, watched videos, etc. If my experience in store didn't match my research (slow and buggy in person, smooth and lag free in reviews), I would try another store with the theory that my first try may have been an outlier. I hate to be a jerk, OP...but you sound like you've come at this phone like a caveman. "Is that phone? Phone bad, me smash! Blackberry make rage!"

Don't get me wrong, the Priv definitely has some issues in my experience (battery life, overheating, sms problems)...but you somehow ran into the perfect caricature of a disinterested/bad employee, plus a catastrophically defective Priv unit. Instead of saying, "that doesn't quite match what I've read elsewhere," you spun off into a tirade. Your post honestly sounds like a made-up story to me. Or, if not fictitious, at least filled with hyperbole and exaggeration.

Oh look another Troll.

WHY would I lie? Why would ANYONE come on here and post a false story about a store experience? Read my historical posts. I am a blackberry user, I am not here to "give them a bad rap".

The story is 100% accurate.

And you are another reader that needs to work on reading comprehension. I did not give the phone a bad rap. My complain was strictly that if blackberry wants to survive they are going to have to put more muscle into it. I haven't bashed the actual Priv once. This was nothing more than a narrative about "WHY I understand clients turning their back on blackberry and going to other companies", because if this is the experience you get when shopping for one... I don't blame them. NOT that I would get another phone, because I quite like Blackberry and I am willing to put in the effort. But I KNOW most people are not wiling to put in the effort.

Furthermore jonsource.... you are not the typical client. Make a 'list' to meet your requirements? Are you kidding me... most people go and pick the one that looked the coolest and shiniest. The majority of clients will not go research the product and watch and read reviews. They just go to the store and go with the flow.

Remember the golden years of blackberry when adults + kids were all using blackberries? Kids had no idea everything their phone could do... everyone just got one because it was cool. Yeah right anyone researched anything before making an intelligent decision.

[wiz9]

Neither would I.

Plenty of folks do rely on unplanned hands on forays though, and BBRY has to do everything it can to make a great first impression.

If I had to guess (pure speculation on my part), I'd say most interactions with the Priv will be in-store viewings by folks who didn't specifically come in to see it, and probably had no idea it existed.

Perfectly well said. I am going to do my research, but most people wont. And since most people don't even know Blackberry exists anymore, they will only stumble onto the phone in store, most people will not research it ahead of time, because they have no idea it exists....... lack of advertisement and all.

[mister2d]

Blackberry obviously only paid for 'bronze' level marketing with this exclusive AT&T deal in the US. You pay more, you get more marketing, exposure, and staff to push your product.

[wiz9]

Well, first, you have to ask whether you care to "save BlackBerry" or not. I wouldn't bother, personally... for me, the issue is more about what passes for "professionalism" in cellular carrier stores.

Telling your prospective customer that the exclusive device you have is somehow bad and you haven't been trained on it would get them fired in any 'reputable' line of business, and it continues to baffle me why the carriers let their staff pull this crap time and time again. It reflects really poorly on "millennials" who make up most of the carrier staff I deal with, that they don't give a damn about their job or their employer or the products they're selling... but if I managed one or more stores that sold technology and my staff wasn't able to objectively determine the customers needs and point them in the right direction without implying or stating that the products we have on offer are not good quality, they would be looking for another job really quickly.

The sad truth is: people like us who understand and respect technology including each of the various mobile OS platforms are probably OVERQUALIFIED (in terms of our ability to get a higher-paying job) to work in a carrier store or electronics retailer, but we are also the best type of person to do the job.

The fact is, BlackBerry devices have always been and continue to be very good quality, even if they aren't for everyone. It is the retailers job to know how to sell each product on its merits to the right customer... and yet, this... "concept"... seems to be so lacking at smartphone retailers that it must be incomprehensible to them.

Perfectly well said.
I was probably only 2 seconds older than the sales rep, but I wanted to pull out a computer and started training him on the spot.

I agree with what you are saying. I am the perfect person to work in one of those stores and explain any of the devices, no matter the brand. But they couldn't afford me.

[Gajja]

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.

=D Will all the US guys please stop having periods all over the place. It's unhygenic and distracting for the rest of the English speaking world =D

[duboisstephane0]

Wrong wrong and wrong.
It is absolutely Blackberry's responsibility to ensure that anyone in the position of demonstrating to client how a blackberry works be given proper training.
There no excuse for this at all.
And given that BlackBerry has the most to lose these days, Chen would be smart to have as many reps as possible and oversee the process.

I don't care if people laugh at my Passport or Playbook but i'm not surprised either.
No one who uses an iPhone, android or windows phone gets the same reaction.
BlackBerry users have to justify having one in their hands
"My work phone" is the common excuse.

We blackberry users are the laughing stock.
The phones we use make us ridiculous and the mass of phone users think BlackBerry is dead.
Why am I still with BlackBerry ?? Because I think it is a product ahead of its time and perfect for me.
Will I die if blackberry falls? Nope, cause it's just a phone company.
But I would be chagrinned if the company failed to do everything in its capacity to succeed.

They will never be as great.
They will never best apple because everyone thinks Steve Jobs is god.
Apple is leaving a lasting impression of success, whereas blackberry is one of failure.
At every turn, the company is losing.

Now they are going android, which probably means we lost.
But as long as I can load my bb10, activate a sim and use native apps, I will be happy.
And i'm not delusional, everyday I am quite aware that news about blackberry and the Priv is iffy.
Reviews aren't all great.
I wouldn't be surprised if many are returned.

No phone is perfect but right now, common impression is that BlackBerry is the least perfect.
The rumour mill wins every time and the rumour is that BlackBerry is not faring well.


Posted via BlackBerry Passport

[MmmHmm]

=D Will all the US guys please stop having periods all over the place. It's unhygenic and distracting for the rest of the English speaking world =D

Lol, that's funny

[MC_A_DOT]

LOL the over exaggeration in the OP

Never change CrackBerry.

[d4691]

They probably took it out of the box, turned it on, did the initial setup, and that's all. It probably needs updated.

[Akamali]

It's true it's carrier responsibility to train sales representatives on new products. That being said, BlackBerry should keep an eye on all carriers and ensure that presentation quality is always there and if they hear such stories they should talk to the carriers and have them check what is going on.

Posted via the CrackBerry App for Android

[bb10adopter111]

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!

AT&T has online training available for reps, but it's the reps' and the store managers' responsibility to use the resources available. A lot of the time in retail, their ate managers who won't pay reps for their training time. The managers are trying to improve their payroll ratios, and then they hope that they don't get "mystery shopped" and get a bad rating for the reps' lack of knowledge.

Posted via CB10

[KAM1138]

Hello,

Separate from this, a few days ago, I went to an AT&T store that had a PRIV wall poster up (saw it through the window), so I went in and asked to see the phone. I got a bit of a surprised, response, but then the worker said "Ok, we've got it in the back." A minute or so later he comes out with a really smeared up PRIV, and he starts playing with it--opening the slider and such.

It isn't powered on, and so I start asking him to tell me about it--very basic. "What can you tell me about this phone?" I'm giving them an open opportunity to sell me something. He stated he didn't know much about it, but that it runs android.

He then referred me to another worker, who said "It's pretty much the same as a Galaxy phone" except the keyboard (not sure I can argue that point really). He said he tried it for a day. So I said "Oh, well can you tell me what you like about it, or what you think is different from the Galaxy."
His response: "Not much really. I just can't get used to a physical keyboard anymore."

At that point I asked if I could see the phone, and I looked at it for a minute and then said "thanks."

So, they didn't SPECIFICALLY try to discourage me from buying one, but they didn't provide ANY positive information or make any attempt to distinguish it, and in fact referred to other (Galaxy) phones.

I can't say I'm surprised at this. No phone on display, staff that knows nothing about it, doesn't try to sell it at all. This is typical of what I've seen from AT&T employees, at least in regards to BlackBerry.

KAM

[BBd00d]

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?

First of all, calm down, you're stressing out for nothing here. Let me tell you that this same scenario has happened to be twice at my local Telus store. First when the passport came out at launch, and secondly, when Priv launched. Both times were from the same exact spot, on the side wall where the 4 BlackBerry demo phones sit. The passport was the right-most phone, and when Priv launched, it took that spot and passport was moved over to the left. Both times it has been due to a faulty charge cable that was installed in that spot. I fixed it the first time with passport because I happened to have my charger with me, and I asked the salesman to disconnect the demo power supply and we plugged in my charger. Once the unit turned on, I told him there's his issue. Before I left, the salesman said he would put in a work order with his boss to have it fixed. Nevertheless, I don't think it ever was, because the Priv had the same issue. I reported it to the store manager myself the second time.

Sad thing is, how many people might have passed up the phone simply because it didn't work? Scary but true.

Lately though I went back while waiting for my wife to finish work nearby. I asked the sales lady how the Priv has been doing, and she was excited about it, and said that there has been a lot of interest. People ask to see it and try it, people already come in knowing about it, and it's been selling very well, better than expected. More than I can say about any bb10 device, so this is an encouraging sign.

Posted via CB10