1. wmscottmc's Avatar
    Don't you think the majority of us chose to keep the phone in hopes of timely software updates? I guess we were all fooled.
    Many people are just too gullible, and believe what they hope will happen.

    Ive been saying for months that we may or may not see an upgrade anytime soon, and each time Id get blasted. Many people told me that a release was days away and that I was an ***** for suggesting otherwise.

    And NO I dont think that the majority of Storm users have just kept their Storm because they expected regular OS patches. Most Storm users dont even follow this stuff, or read this forum.

    Many people on these forums were fooled, but NOT by Rim or Verizon, but by others on this board that claimed to have special secret inside knowlege, when they really knew nothing about what was going on. Many also suggested that they heard directly from Verizon (or a friend of a friend that works there) that an OS patch was on the way.... I doubt that this ever happened.

    Ill never understand why so many people on this forum believed all of the nonsense that others posted, ........But it was fun reading!
    05-13-09 09:40 PM
  2. Oilersboy's Avatar
    many of you just don't get it, just remember very clearly, no cellphone is perfect at all , same with computers with windows have serious flaws due to security problems, same with cars, many parts have recalled, you name it.

    RIM knows that there is no such device will be much better than that but they just working hard to make people happy with blackberry devices. to tell you truth, sending letters to verizon and RIM never ever will solve the problems. remember that storm is RIM's first ever touchscreen device and they knew it will be sort of a problem at first then things will get better later as they release OS updates.

    all you could do is just leave the problems to them ( verizon and RIM) and they will take care of it so just for now, be happy with storm !
    05-13-09 10:05 PM
  3. R12RTpilot's Avatar
    So true, I did my research, and armed with knowledge went to the VZN store to try a Storm out...It was a terrible experience...OS lagged, blacked out etc etc.

    So I found a sales rep who actually owned one. After playing with his Storm I was hooked, and remain so still!

    best,
    Steve
    05-13-09 11:08 PM
  4. Octavious84's Avatar
    I understand some of your frustration. Keep in mind that this is a phone not a computer. I understand you expect the functions of the device to work, but seriously not a good idea to do presentation with a phone. The screen obivously has some latency issues. This is the first of its kind for blackberry. Further if it was such as bad product consumers would not purchase it. The curve and several other blackberries are still available. As you mentioned the Iphone is as well. From what I have seen and read most peoples issues with this phone is lack of knowledge on how to use it and maintain it. I have owned it from day one and really just had minor issues. Overall I think it is a good product. I am looking forward to an updated sw that Verizon will be launching hopefully soon.
    05-14-09 03:50 AM
  5. Henry740's Avatar
    wow!....strong letter!!...i would love to see the response since iam thinking of getting a storm next week
    05-14-09 04:18 AM
  6. Snarfler's Avatar
    Don't you think the majority of us chose to keep the phone in hopes of timely software updates? I guess we were all fooled.
    No I don't think the majority bought the phone thinking it was crap that would be made glorious by an impending software update.

    Instead, I think most either evaluated the phone and decided it was worth getting
    or did not evaluate it at all and bought it on impulse or hype. I think anyone who
    invested in what they felt was an inadequate and unworthy device on the hopes of
    It being made perfect by some unpromised software update were poor consumers
    and na�ve. Would you buy a new car that ran poorly hoping for a free engine upgrade?

    Don't get me wrong, the storm is not perfect, there are a number of things I would like
    to see improved, but I made a decision that the phone was worth buying and I still
    feel that way..

    But to evaluate and find it inadequate before purchasing it then find it more so during
    the grace period and still keep on a slim hope of a fix, then get angry at the vendor is misguided.
    You made a poor decision several times, don't blame RIM and Verizon for your own mistakes. It was the wrong phone for you
    you failed several times to accept what you knew to be true. Its your fault. Suck it up
    and stop blaming them for your bad judgement.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-14-09 05:24 AM
  7. SocaZeus's Avatar
    While the display Storms were pretty horrible, one has to take into account how many times those phones were tampered with daily. Kids and inexperienced adults would put those phones thru smartphone torchure!
    And I would think that a company that was rolling out their biggest product release in a long time would have trained their staff to prepare for this. It was not like these stores I visited were crowded and busy. The Staff was standing around waiting to help customers. However, they were definitely avoiding the Storm displays.


    I don't see where there's any question you asked that will help solve your issues, you are not offering any recommendations or asking for any response. Just complaining.
    As far as I see it, there is nothing I can do to solve my issues. I am the consumer. It is the job of the producer/retailer to look at complaints and decide how to address them for the purpose of customer retention and/or expansion of the customer base. I have had great results with letters to several other companies in the past. If there is no response by either company it will only cement my allegations of poor corporate choices and customer support as fact.

    many of you just don't get it, just remember very clearly, no cellphone is perfect at all.....all you could do is just leave the problems to them ( Verizon and RIM) and they will take care of it so just for now, be happy with storm !
    The phone restarts after taking 2 pics, music player is erratic, the Lock and accelerometer snail-like, and the call clarity inferior. I get it--good and hard every day.

    I understand some of your frustration.....I understand you expect the functions of the device to work, but seriously not a good idea to do presentation with a phone.
    My presentation was to play 4 .mp3 files through a small portable speaker system for further discussion. The only requirement was to be able to stop, pause, rewind and fast forward to a particular point in the file. Points and time that I had already written down on paper. The phone should be capable of this simple task and was not. My mistake for trying to use one of the functions claimed by the manufacturer as part of the product.

    RIM is truly blessed to have customers who make so many excuses for their problematic product. I know that If I buy a V8 Corvette, I may not expect it to out perform the top of the line Ferrari, but I do expect it to run on all 8 cylinders and not only 4.

    I would pay money to see the internal memos within RIM regarding this product.
    Last edited by SocaZeus; 05-21-09 at 10:43 AM.
    05-21-09 10:34 AM
  8. dennis_1956's Avatar
    ......Programs were opened a gazzilion times a day and never closed properly, which makes for a MUCH SLOWER AND BUGGY device than what I currently have sitting on my desk.
    ....
    How does simply using a phone make it more BUGGY?
    05-21-09 12:54 PM
  9. evlarberryman's Avatar
    Wow, nice letter socazues. I was very close to doing the same as I am normally the type to sit down and write out my thoughts. I often feel like it is the only way that we can effectively express ourselves as consumers other than switching to a competitor's product or service. The reason we take the time to do this is because companies like Verizon may not notice people quietly leaving and if they do, they can't be sure as to why. Leaving quietly doesn't change anything... if you want to see reults then you need to give consumer feedback every time that you possibly can. This goes for the good feedback as well as the bad. I'm just as likely to sit down and write a letter of thanks as a letter of discontent.

    In a time where the economy is down, you think organizations would pay attention to customer service. If it is in fact for fear of getting sued as to why Verizon is not addressing this Storm 1 issue with it's existing customers... then they just don't get it. People simply want to knw what is going on rather than being left completely in the dark about development on a device that folks have invested money in. We hold our elected officials accountable... why not our CEO's if we are their customers?

    I was a Verizon customer (for 4 years) up until last week. I owned the Storm and waited patiently for 6 months for Verizon to address the known bugs with the device. Nothing... So I went to AT&T and tired the iPhone for a weekend and liked it very much. It is missing features that the Storm had, but overall was a much more complete device with very few OS bugs. Paying the $150 to cancel was well worth it in principal and in keeping my sanity.

    So long Verizon.
    05-21-09 01:22 PM
  10. mungo#CB's Avatar
    There are a few issues with the letter.

    Too much emotion not enough fact. For instance, you never explicitly said your complaint about the Storm on your trip to Vietnam. I suppose it is the lack of WiFi? These emotional ramblings will cause someone, especially at the executive level, to discount your whole letter. If it even makes it to your intended readers. (Which I highly doubt it will)

    The fact that you were sent on what had to be a fairly long company(?) trip without a laptop sort of causes you to loose a bit of momentum.

    The fact that you were trying to give a presentation on untested equipment, much less a PDA, really lends doubt to your credibility. I mean seriously, if it were a presentation worth giving, why risk it to a PDA? Hope you're not in sales. And even if you had to resort to a PDA, did you not test it out first? Any good presenter is going to run through his/her presentation at least once.


    The message rambles and you clearly didn't lend yourself any credence with your lack of preparedness for your trip. I would be highly surprised if this letter makes it past the mail room trashcan.

    I'm not trying to rip on your letter at all, or present any disrespect, but you try to build yourself up in your letter and by divulging too much irrelevant information, you bring yourself back down.
    05-21-09 01:42 PM
  11. SocaZeus's Avatar
    There are a few issues with the letter.

    Too much emotion not enough fact. For instance, you never explicitly said your complaint about the Storm on your trip to Vietnam. I suppose it is the lack of WiFi? These emotional ramblings will cause someone, especially at the executive level, to discount your whole letter. If it even makes it to your intended readers. (Which I highly doubt it will)

    The fact that you were sent on what had to be a fairly long company(?) trip without a laptop sort of causes you to loose a bit of momentum.

    The fact that you were trying to give a presentation on untested equipment, much less a PDA, really lends doubt to your credibility. I mean seriously, if it were a presentation worth giving, why risk it to a PDA? Hope you're not in sales. And even if you had to resort to a PDA, did you not test it out first? Any good presenter is going to run through his/her presentation at least once.


    The message rambles and you clearly didn't lend yourself any credence with your lack of preparedness for your trip. I would be highly surprised if this letter makes it past the mail room trashcan.

    I'm not trying to rip on your letter at all, or present any disrespect, but you try to build yourself up in your letter and by divulging too much irrelevant information, you bring yourself back down.
    Thanks for your careful analysis of my letter, and especially for not trying to "disrespect" me. However, I truly love your assumptions--though they are actually all wrong. Still, I see no need to elaborate further as it is irrelevant to the issues with the storm.

    Also, just for your information, over my lifetime all my letters to CEO's/Presidents/Management have been responded to. And each time, the result was the companies offering reimbursement/refund, repair/replacement, and additional benefits all at their costs. Granted, in this case, I'm not sure what could be offered as a new Storm would have all the same problems. Still, so far as my letters go, I'm shooting 100%, so I'll trust myself on this one.
    05-21-09 02:58 PM
  12. shaydakiss23's Avatar
    How does simply using a phone make it more BUGGY?
    Simply using it doesnt make it more buggy. But, as I said, having every program on the phone open at the same time, and not closed properly makes for disaster. Try it on ur phone or computer when you get the chance and see what happens. Smartphones are little computers...you can not put them thru overload with everything open at once. Maybe buggy isnt the right word (maybe it is), but "slow" sure as he11 is!

    See what I mean?
    05-21-09 04:16 PM
  13. Morf32's Avatar
    Thanks for your careful analysis of my letter, and especially for not trying to "disrespect" me. However, I truly love your assumptions--though they are actually all wrong. Still, I see no need to elaborate further as it is irrelevant to the issues with the storm.

    Also, just for your information, over my lifetime all my letters to CEO's/Presidents/Management have been responded to. And each time, the result was the companies offering reimbursement/refund, repair/replacement, and additional benefits all at their costs. Granted, in this case, I'm not sure what could be offered as a new Storm would have all the same problems. Still, so far as my letters go, I'm shooting 100%, so I'll trust myself on this one.
    I worked in the retail/business industry for a long time... the one thing I was taught from the very beginning was this... "take the emotion out of it". We were told this over and over and over. I'm not saying anything about your letter... just want you to understand that the people who are telling you to take the emotion out of it are giving you good, solid business advice.
    05-21-09 08:49 PM
  14. ScubaCA's Avatar
    Please post any response you get.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    05-21-09 11:22 PM
  15. boss4life#AC's Avatar
    I'm telling you people. Everyone needs to mail VZW and RIM a bunch of toilet paper as a present. One roll from each person will be a bunch at their doorstep. Please include a short note which indicates that they should pretend the roll is the Storm and "proceed with the usual action of use"... i.e. wiping their *** with it.
    Awesome idea!
    05-21-09 11:30 PM
  16. nhpace's Avatar
    Simply using it doesnt make it more buggy. But, as I said, having every program on the phone open at the same time, and not closed properly makes for disaster. Try it on ur phone or computer when you get the chance and see what happens. Smartphones are little computers...you can not put them thru overload with everything open at once. Maybe buggy isnt the right word (maybe it is), but "slow" sure as he11 is!

    See what I mean?
    I have never seen a poorly acting iPhone in a Best Buy and these are always being played with by people of all ages. No question, the Storm has significant stability issues. How often do you have to automate (or perform) a battery pull? Why do BB customers tolerate this crap?
    05-22-09 12:57 PM
  17. anon1239929's Avatar
    I have never seen a poorly acting iPhone in a Best Buy and these are always being played with by people of all ages. No question, the Storm has significant stability issues. How often do you have to automate (or perform) a battery pull? Why do BB customers tolerate this crap?
    Those are the breaks when you have a phone that is capable of running more than one application at a time. iPhone doesn't slow down, because in order to do anything else, it requires you close what you're doing.
    05-23-09 07:48 AM
  18. nhpace's Avatar
    Those are the breaks when you have a phone that is capable of running more than one application at a time. iPhone doesn't slow down, because in order to do anything else, it requires you close what you're doing.
    Those are the breaks? As BB users we tolerate way too much crap. Multi-process or not, RIM needs to get their house in order. Perhaps I will be proven wrong but when Apple gets background apps working I highly doubt they would expose the same experience to their users.
    05-24-09 08:57 AM
  19. shaydakiss23's Avatar
    Those are the breaks? As BB users we tolerate way too much crap. Multi-process or not, RIM needs to get their house in order. Perhaps I will be proven wrong but when Apple gets background apps working I highly doubt they would expose the same experience to their users.
    Thats one of the luxuries of having a Blackberry over an Iphone. Like the previous poster said, Iphone's cant have more than one program open at a time, Blackberries can. Thats why you dont see slow Iphones on display in the store. Had the Iphone been capable of that, you would've seen slow Iphones on display during release time as well. Those phones go thru he11 while on display during a time with heavy traffic like that. Imagine ur computer being tampered with by 500-1000 inexperienced adults and children a day. Disaster!

    Like I said, its pretty much like a computer. You cant have everything opened and not closed properly and expect it to run like a champ. Not gonna happen. This is what ur getting into with the new wave of Blackberries (more apps, more games, due to the increase of consumer interest, therefore more programs to bog the phone down if not used properly). I dont mind it, because I take care of my phone like its a newborn baby, so it doesnt have to go thru all of the struggle. I'm sure to close all programs that I'm not using at the moment for max performance. Maybe the Iphone would be better suited for you, but if you use any of the features that make a Blackberry a Blackberry you'll be sure to miss it once you enter the Iphone's world.

    The grass aint always greener on the other side. True story...
    05-24-09 09:43 AM
  20. SocaZeus's Avatar
    For those who asked to hear if I got any response to the letter. Someone from the Verizon Executive Offices called. They tried over several days until they eventually got me. 1 point for Verizon.

    The Verizon official apologized for my experiences with the phone and explained that she had the same issues with her own unit. She agreed that there were many issues with the Storm, and that they were slowly being sorted out. I told her that with the latest OS my phone had finally become usable, but was still a mediocre product. She admitted that the lag was annoying and that hopefully this would eventually be solved. She did bring up the old excuse of this being the first Blackberry touch screen, and that Apple had problems at first also. I told her that that is no excuse. It is now 3 years since the introduction of the touch screen phone. If you can't at least replicate the basic working functions and speed of the original product that introduced the functions, then you really can't compete.

    She also stated that customer experiences and problems are all reported to RIM, and there was a suggestion that Verizon was being quite demanding of RIM to get it right. This might explain the long period between OS updates. Still, being demanding when it comes to the fix still does not excuse Verizon in its launching of the the phone when it was not ready.

    I also told the representative that as a long term Verizon customer my loyalty was lost. I did not appreciate being a guinea pig for a product they new was defective at launch. Further, the almost 6 months that I have had the phone before it finally became usable is disappointing to say the least. I used my old analogy of buying a V8 Corvette that only runs on 4 cylinders.

    The Rep did mention the "rumor" of the next version of the storm that should be substantially better. Again, I reiterated my distaste at being a guinea pig. Paying money to upgrade to a new phone that will give me what I was supposed to get with the current one will only increase my distaste. All I could say was that I appreciated her call, but based on my experience with the Storm, Verizon went from a company that I enthusiastically recommended to just another corporation that I expect very little from. Sort of like GM.

    I have not heard from RIM and don't expect to, there is nothing they can do to solve the problems I experienced with their product.
    06-03-09 04:07 PM
  21. RedDeltas88's Avatar
    What a wonderfully well written, long winded, borefest of a letter. I would imagine it got filed in the trash can and a personalized form letter was sent to the author.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    06-04-09 11:31 AM
  22. kinggeoff's Avatar
    Thats one of the luxuries of having a Blackberry over an Iphone. Like the previous poster said, Iphone's cant have more than one program open at a time, Blackberries can. Thats why you dont see slow Iphones on display in the store. Had the Iphone been capable of that, you would've seen slow Iphones on display during release time as well. Those phones go thru he11 while on display during a time with heavy traffic like that. Imagine ur computer being tampered with by 500-1000 inexperienced adults and children a day. Disaster!

    Like I said, its pretty much like a computer. You cant have everything opened and not closed properly and expect it to run like a champ. Not gonna happen. This is what ur getting into with the new wave of Blackberries (more apps, more games, due to the increase of consumer interest, therefore more programs to bog the phone down if not used properly). I dont mind it, because I take care of my phone like its a newborn baby, so it doesnt have to go thru all of the struggle. I'm sure to close all programs that I'm not using at the moment for max performance. Maybe the Iphone would be better suited for you, but if you use any of the features that make a Blackberry a Blackberry you'll be sure to miss it once you enter the Iphone's world.

    The grass aint always greener on the other side. True story...

    Well said!

    I'll never understand the whole "what this phone was SUPPOSED to deliver" angle that people seem to love taking
    Last edited by kinggeoff; 06-04-09 at 11:50 AM.
    06-04-09 11:48 AM
  23. leo1055's Avatar
    What a wonderfully well written, long winded, borefest of a letter.

    Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com
    Yes, ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

    whatEVER
    06-04-09 11:50 AM
  24. joechiliman's Avatar
    I am a former Storm owner and Verizon customer. I had the displeasure of going through 5 Storms before I threw in the towel. I wrote the idiots a long letter explaining how after 10 years as a loyal customer they were unwilling to meet my request for a brand new phone versus a refurb. All I got was a generic response apologizing for my experience and they wished me luck with AT&T. The the idiots sent me an email welcoming me to Verzion as a new Storm owner a few days later and telling me if I needed help with setting up my phone to contact them. Not only did I get an email a rep called me not once but twice to welcome me to Verizon. Both times I told them I went to AT&T and they both said 'Oh yeah, I see it on my screen. Thank you for choosing Verizon". Are you kidding me!
    06-05-09 09:13 AM
  25. Gitpicker51's Avatar
    I have a ROLE at work. I have a ROLL with dinner....
    06-05-09 09:19 AM
57 123
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD