[Denise in Los Angeles]

When I bought my Playbook (over the phone) I told the guy who was trying to sneak in the ipad sideways that any mention of it again and the call ends.
Suffice to say if it was instore he would have rolled out a red carpet after the dressing down i gave him when he said in that case I needed insurance as it was going to break down one way or the other.

For that reason, I prefer to order products online. No chance of someone suggesting I
buy something that I don't want.

[anon(2325196)]

Sales people are naturally dumb I retaining only enough information or intelligence needed to close a sale, they have to be. They're narcissistic, self absorbed puppets of greed. This is just the way it is, so asking a sales person their opinion is pointless. They do not have valid opinions by design. They're passive aggressive psychopaths who are trained to lie in order to make money by selling things.

A sales person. Is a manipulative pawn. A product selling products. Sure, they may have a family, eat, and breath just like you and me, except the key difference is they can look you directly in the eyes, tell you lies, in the name of extracting any wealth you might possess.

I am not saying this to be mean to sales people, I am just explaining the way a sales person has to be in order to be successful - and it only involves "situational ethics" - so they're methods are accepted by us and the companies for whom they're employed.

It is a unnatural by-product of a completely corrupt economic system. The fact they're outright hostile about a particular brand of device with which they sell, when they actually sell a bunch of different brands, makes this true, in a way.

I would never ask a sales person their me-tarded opinion and more should you.

[13echo4]

Sales people are naturally dumb I retaining only enough information or intelligence needed to close a sale, they have to be. They're narcissistic, self absorbed puppets of greed. This is just the way it is, so asking a sales person their opinion is pointless. They do not have valid opinions by design. They're passive aggressive psychopaths who are trained to lie in order to make money by selling things.

A sales person. Is a manipulative pawn. A product selling products. Sure, they may have a family, eat, and breath just like you and me, except the key difference is they can look you directly in the eyes, tell you lies, in the name of extracting any wealth you might possess.

I am not saying this to be mean to sales people, I am just explaining the way a sales person has to be in order to be successful - and it only involves "situational ethics" - so they're methods are accepted by us and the companies for whom they're employed.

It is a unnatural by-product of a completely corrupt economic system. The fact they're outright hostile about a particular brand of device with which they sell, when they actually sell a bunch of different brands, makes this true, in a way.

I would never ask a sales person their me-tarded opinion and more should you.

This would make em socialpaths right wouldn't it?

[anthogag]

Something is definitely weird when salespeople are that hostile.

The new (not yet announced) marketing chief at BlackBerry will have outstanding products to work with and will make BBs irresistible to the point where salespeople at carrier stores become irrelevant

[crack_me_silly]

I got my bold 9900 at the beginning of Dec. and went into an AT&T store asked if I could see a 9900 and their response was "We dont carry the 9900." So i was like ok, and started for the door, on my way out the manager grabbed me and said "we do have it, come with me"

The manager had a 9900 and said that he loved it, and that feedback from consumers was positive as well.

[r.santa1]

My corp verizon store in boise when i went in to ask to see new curve last week...young snot nosed little said to me" we dont even get many bb's in anymore, so whats out there on display is all we have. People only want to see droid and iphone's because bb is so outdated".

UN FREAKING REAL!!!

[elphie28]

Sales people are naturally dumb I retaining only enough information or intelligence needed to close a sale, they have to be. They're narcissistic, self absorbed puppets of greed. This is just the way it is, so asking a sales person their opinion is pointless. They do not have valid opinions by design. They're passive aggressive psychopaths who are trained to lie in order to make money by selling things.

A sales person. Is a manipulative pawn. A product selling products. Sure, they may have a family, eat, and breath just like you and me, except the key difference is they can look you directly in the eyes, tell you lies, in the name of extracting any wealth you might possess.

I am not saying this to be mean to sales people, I am just explaining the way a sales person has to be in order to be successful - and it only involves "situational ethics" - so they're methods are accepted by us and the companies for whom they're employed.

It is a unnatural by-product of a completely corrupt economic system. The fact they're outright hostile about a particular brand of device with which they sell, when they actually sell a bunch of different brands, makes this true, in a way.

I would never ask a sales person their me-tarded opinion and more should you.

I am curious as to why you are just downright nasty in your assessment of salespeople. Perhaps you were forced to sell as your first job, and you felt that it was "beneath" you? I know a lot of salespeople who are anything but "narcissistic self absorbed puppets of greed" nor are they "passive aggressive psychopaths", nor do they lie. Many are hard working, honest, kind people who are supporting themselves and/or their families by trying to help people who think they are less than dirt. Certainly there are salespeople who are in it for the money, just as there are people like that in all professions, but your post was mean and unnecessary. I hope YOU don't work with people.

BTW, my sales rep at my local Verizon store knows his product info for all phones in the store; in particular, the Bold 9930, and he listens to his customers. That is why I go back to that store.

[13echo4]

my sales rep at my local Verizon store knows his product info for all phones in the store; in particular, the Bold 9930, and he listens to his customers. That is why I go back to that store.

That's what I like to hear. Our cingular store was like that. For a short time so was att. Now its no telling what your going to be meet with when you go into the store.

[Moonbase0ne]

RIM needs to work on their image to the average consumer. And they need to send people out to stores that sell their products more.

While cruising the tablet section at my local electronics store Saturday while looking for something else, I went looking at the Playbook. The display was ok. Them I checked
Out Android. They have a nice variety. Checked out the Kindle Fire. It had its own nice little display set up.

I will definitely give Apple credit, their display was nice. The whole setup. It kinda took the spotlight. I can see why people were drawn to it. Playbook on the other hand, the display was just, there. And that was at 3 different stores I was at.

I will probably decide on a tablet in a couple of months, after the new ones are out and I can decide on the best one for me.


War Is All We Know

[llllBULLSEYE]

The thing is with these Androids and iphone it's
much easier to sell the 4gb data plan and basically
lots of add ons.
I'm Blackberry all the way,but it's becoming harder to sell
when even the older over 60 folks come in asking
"hey you got those 4G Androids"
They have no idea what Android or 4G is
all they know is they seen it on tv, it looks good
and they want it.
believe it or not the 12-18 age crowd ask for
Blackberry's way more than the 18+ crowd.
actually still very popular among teens.

[palmless]

Sales people are naturally dumb I retaining only enough information or intelligence needed to close a sale, they have to be. They're narcissistic, self absorbed puppets of greed. This is just the way it is, so asking a sales person their opinion is pointless. They do not have valid opinions by design. They're passive aggressive psychopaths who are trained to lie in order to make money by selling things.

A sales person. Is a manipulative pawn. A product selling products. Sure, they may have a family, eat, and breath just like you and me, except the key difference is they can look you directly in the eyes, tell you lies, in the name of extracting any wealth you might possess.

I am not saying this to be mean to sales people, I am just explaining the way a sales person has to be in order to be successful - and it only involves "situational ethics" - so they're methods are accepted by us and the companies for whom they're employed.

It is a unnatural by-product of a completely corrupt economic system. The fact they're outright hostile about a particular brand of device with which they sell, when they actually sell a bunch of different brands, makes this true, in a way.

I would never ask a sales person their me-tarded opinion and more should you.

Wow. Take out half of the misspellings, typos, and grammatical errors and this would be offensive to salespeople!!!

[o4liberty]

My corp verizon store in boise when i went in to ask to see new curve last week...young snot nosed little said to me" we dont even get many bb's in anymore, so whats out there on display is all we have. People only want to see droid and iphone's because bb is so outdated".

UN FREAKING REAL!!!

I understand were you are coming from but we can't avoid the truth anymore that bb is way behind the Times. This shows in their sales and how well their devices compare to other platforms. Hopefully the change at the helm at Rim will point them in the right direction.

[dobiefan]

I understand were you are coming from but we can't avoid the truth anymore that bb is way behind the Times. This shows in their sales and how well their devices compare to other platforms. Hopefully the change at the helm at Rim will point them in the right direction.

I wouldn't say that my Bold 9900 is behind the times at all. i own two Macs, an Ipod and an Ipad. i have a good point of reference. My Bold does what I need to do better then any competing smartphone. Why would I sacrifice this functionality for a phone that is a jack of all trades and master of none? If I want to watch videos on a mobile device I will pick the largest screen possible. My Playbook or Ipad fit the bill nicely.
In a pinch, my BB browser is on par with the competition. I had a Shazam dual with an Iphone the other night and my BB won hands down. There were a few very surprised onlookers.

[JoyfulHeart35]

I had a salesman tell me you arent suppose to putt themes on blackberries because that just slows them done if you wanted to customize a phone you should of gotten a android

[BrizzadMan]

I wouldn't say that my Bold 9900 is behind the times at all. i own two Macs, an Ipod and an Ipad. i have a good point of reference. My Bold does what I need to do better then any competing smartphone. Why would I sacrifice this functionality for a phone that is a jack of all trades and master of none? If I want to watch videos on a mobile device I will pick the largest screen possible. My Playbook or Ipad fit the bill nicely.
In a pinch, my BB browser is on par with the competition. I had a Shazam dual with an Iphone the other night and my BB won hands down. There were a few very surprised onlookers.

The 9900 is a great device and I have had similar experiences demonstrating what it can do and how it compares. Working amongst IT Pro's, who should be in the know - are surprised to see a functional webkit browser, speed, build quality, and the recent advancements in OS7. You have to endure criticism as soon as you make any claims about BlackBerry these days though. Most people are quite happy having jumped ship, and they haven't looked back since.

I was nearly one of those to jump ship (for my corporate device) as well. Companies have been slow to switch mobile devices over for employees, and many bitter people have been left to use very old BlackBerries; I was in that boat where I work (running an 8703e a year ago). Our company adopted a BYOD policy alongside the option of supplying a Bold 9700 or an iPhone 4 (was not yet released and would have to wait 3 months). I couldn't wait to drop the 8703 for anything else and I was not about to wait 3 months so went with the 9700 which was becoming dated already. Finally I could install Twitter (not supported on 8703) and enjoy some mp3's. After upgrading to OS6 and using the 9700 to its limits in less than a year, it was time to consider jumping ship again - i wanted MORE convergence and SPEED than what the 9700 was able to provide. It gave me a taste though I wanted more media capabilities and the speed and memory to handle the multitasking I was trying to push through the 9700.

I do understand the bitterness of most people against RIM, though for me it was because of always using a dated Berry that was already behind the times - I recognized this and luckily managed to get upgraded to a 9900. Based on the good reviews, knowing I was using RIM's latest & greatest... things had to be better.

Luckily ... this time 'round, they are. Overall my experience has been you need to have had a high tolerance for pain being stuck with old RIM devices over the last few years.

After loving OS7, my 9900... and now investing in a PlayBook due to renewed faith thanks to the 9900... I'm still cautiously optimistic about RIM's future. Most people are fickle, and will change platforms when something better comes along, though won't forget when they feel they've been done wrong. Most people lack patience.

If BB10 impresses like an ex-girlfriend that has new hair & a new fit body - will people be continue to be fickle and jump ship to BB10 if it is the next best thing? Or will they remember the the exhausting patience required to maintain a relationship with RIM... and stick with their existing girlfriend... be it Apple, Android, Microsoft, etc?

Most sales people, and even IT Pro's we speak of in this thread are happy to be getting milk from a different cow & are speedy to warn others about their old 'crazy' girlfriend.

[kidmac13]

reading this is funny to me because i used to sell phones for the number one carrier in Australia(in the biggest store in the country), and i was never a "why that?" kind of "customer service rep" but there were some, needless to say i sold more then them, mainly BB's and Iphones because i made a point of knowing the products.
i do often go into shops to check out phones, and like the Op stated, even here in Aus, sales reps try to steer customers away from certain products, at times just for the easy sale.


slightly off topic, ive used BB's since the very day the Bold 9000 released, and out here amongst friends, family, and their friends, im Blackberry guy(i do also have an iphone), and its hilarious to me when people try to tell me i shouldn't be using Blackberry's then i sit back and let them try to explain exactly why i shouldn't.

talk about barking up the wrong tree. lol

[si_chindo]

I am tired of all this my phone is better cr@polla. Why can't we all just get along who knows maybe it'll lead to us having peace in the middle east.

[p90xdiva]

Hi everyone, I am new to this forum. I had a blackberry years ago and loved it. 2 years ago I got an Iphone 4 since all my computer products were Apple. I was a fierce Apple advocate too. I remember when I got my Iphone the guy really wanted me to buy a BB and told me not to get the Iphone. Anyhow over a week ago I picked up the playbook. Absolutely LOVE IT! I like it much better than the ipad and I am having a lot of fun with it. I guess its because I didn't need an ipad since i have an Iphone. Recently because of my love for the playbook I am thinking of getting a BB when the BB10 line comes out. I really don't know why people get so aggressive when talking about their products. I think sales people should be respectful to everyone and also be UNBIASED. Honestly I worked in sales for 8 years while I was going to high school and university and I never trusted biased sales associates, they always had some hidden agenda. I like when people can tell me about every product and let me decide for myself. I know when I tell people I like the playbook they tell me so many negative things, but they honestly don't know what they are talking about as most of them have never even given it a fair try. I am really enjoying this forum and thank you everyone for great tips and advice!

[phoreoneone]

SAME HERE !!!

I went into TheSource in Canada, otherwise known as RadioShack in the states.
I went into the cell phone section and asked a representative for a blackberry on a 3 year term. He gave me the funniest look as if I was serious. During the activation he asked me 4 times if I was sure if I wanted to go through with this lol. I find that to be really funny. I guess they might get some sort of penalty if I return the phone. I asked him why he kept asking me and he said that a lot of people return blackberries and it goes against their selling record or something like that. thats no good

[ritesh]

If people, who suggest to others, which phone to buy, had the understanding to check what the buyer wants out of his phone and accordingly suggest an appropriate OS, the scenario of smartphone sales would have been different than what it is.

Unfortunately, people push their biases on their friends and family, when it comes to suggesting 'the appropriate phone'.

[BBPandy]

I see it as the priorities are in line. Last night, for example, I was under several tornado warnings from 8PM until well past midnight. When my power went out, I was able to use an app on my iPhone called LiveStream and watch WMC out of Memphis and watch live weather coverage to see if I needed to bend over and kiss my fanny (since we can't say the 4 letter word that starts with B and ends with UTT) goobye. BB doesn't have an app like that and when you're under 2 tornado warnings at once and your power is out, you need to be informed. Not only did I have that app going, I also have NOAA Radio as well as NOAA radar. Again, BB doesn't have either.

But getting back to the topic at hand, last year when I went in for my S2, all of the sales people I talked to looked at me as if I was nuts. I had to have my S2 FedExed to the Verizon store because they didn't have one in stock. They had a handfull of Curves and I think one Bold. The rest were iPhones and Android phones. WSPs stock what sells. Android and iPhones sell. I should have listened back then, but as we all know, hindsight is 20/20.

Small point....They do have the Radio

[BBPandy]

I see it as the priorities are in line. Last night, for example, I was under several tornado warnings from 8PM until well past midnight. When my power went out, I was able to use an app on my iPhone called LiveStream and watch WMC out of Memphis and watch live weather coverage to see if I needed to bend over and kiss my fanny goobye. BB doesn't have an app like that and when you're under 2 tornado warnings at once and your power is out, you need to be informed.

Lol, so when your power goes out you start streaming live on your battery powered device?

I would've thought push tornado warnings would make more sense.

.....and BB has a bunch of Apps that do that

[cgull]

Carriers are all about capped data plans now and Andriod / iPhone consume much more than BB in an average persons hands. Also, I think RIM pissed off the carriers with the PB bridge as it bypasses their tethering plans.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[BBPandy]

Which actually says alot about the priorities of the average smart phone user too.

"Build something that's foolproof, and only a fool will use it."

lol too true

[BBPandy]

Carriers are all about capped data plans now and Andriod / iPhone consume much more than BB in an average persons hands. Also, I think RIM pissed off the carriers with the PB bridge as it bypasses their tethering plans.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

I think that is a BIG BIG part of it! Because it was after Bridge that we started hearing a lot of reports about carriers not recomending BBs or telling customers to buy anything but BBs