[ConorMonkey1418]

Hi folks,

There have been a few threads on related topics, but I wanted to just make note of some really annoying behaviour by sales reps in a number of mobile phone stores in the past 6 months.

When I wanted to buy a BB10 phone last October, I settled on Vodafone as a service provider, as they were offering the best call & data package for my business here in Ireland, but I did a lot of shopping around before settling. When I went into any Vodafone store, they tried very hard to dissuade me from choosing any BlackBerry device - two stores told me that the Q10 had been pulled due to serious faults and poor sales, and three told me that the Z10 "never worked" and was also pulled. I knew better and would politely suggest they look at crackberry.com to learn a bit more about the phones. The fact that several stores told me the same crapola suggests that there was more to it than just a few ignorant reps - more like misinformation during training on new phone models, or a deliberate attempt to push other brands. Anyway, I found a store that said it could get me a Z10 and I went with them.

So I have a Z10 which I adore, but I still frequently visit mobile stores to see what's new and to play with devices. When I have been on the high street in various towns in Ireland and UK (where my partner lives), I have occasionally popped into other stores to look for the Q5, Q10, and Z30 (I'm trying to encourage my better half to switch from her iPhone which she doesn't really like). Last week in Southampton, when I asked a rep in a Carphone Warehouse if they had any Z30s I could look at, they told me that BlackBerry were about to be split up and sold off, and anyone who has a BlackBerry will have to change to Apple or Android because their phones "will stop working by the end of May", so I should look at something else. I simply said "that's a load of pants, go check out crackberry.com and get your facts straight". But I got a similar message from a nearby EE store - BlackBerry had a buyer and was going to be gone within a few months. So I decided to try a couple of other places to see what they said. T-Mobile (Southampton) said they could get me any BlackBerry on the market, but it wasn't worth it because the future of the company was so uncertain, I should go for Apple or Android now in case I had to changeover anyway in a few months time. O2 (Winchester) said the same. (At that point my girl threatened to dump me if we spent any more of our time in a mobile phone shop....).

I asked in a Meteor store in Dublin yesterday if they would be doing the Z30, and I was told it was a massive failure everywhere and would probably never be sold in Ireland. Wow.

What the hell is going on with mobile sellers in these places that they are knowingly or unknowingly spouting bullplop to prospective customers? At best, it shows widespread ignorance of the brand amongst sales reps, probably based on snippets of rumours reported in the media over the past year. At worst, service providers are unwilling to support or promote BackBerry and have encouraged sales reps to push other products. I'm sure its not every store that's doing this, but it has been the majority I have visited.

Anyway, I just wanted to vent my frustration. I hope BlackBerry can do something more to get some facts out to sellers and buyers alike.

- Monkey

[jaydee5799]

Unreal. But not unbelievable . Lots of inept people working in mobile phone stores. and for carriers. They want to sell what makes them money...scads and scads of iphones.

[Dave Bourque]

Unreal. But not unbelievable . Lots of inept people working in mobile phone stores. and for carriers. They want to sell what makes them money...scads and scads of iphones.

Or they could work at a Apple store and do that.

Z10STL100-3/10.2.1.2141

[sixpacker]

Company up for sale, emphasis on enterprise, poor sales, zero advertising. This is what you get.
No matter how much people moan this is what its like for a struggling brand that won't even promote it's own great products.
Effect not cause.

[ConorMonkey1418]

I agree sixpacker, there was some limited advertising here (UK and Ireland) when the Z10 first appeared, and BlackBerry sponsored some shows on Sky TV (notably Game of Thrones on the Sky Atlantic channel ran with a mini advert for BB10 and the Z10), but little else that I noticed, and nothing since the GoT series run ended last summer. Hopefully with a few good quarterly reports, the company will start to invest more heavily in advertising. Such a shame that large sections of the market seem to think they are a dead duck.

[mnc76]

There are still many on CB who say stories like this are essentially 'made up', or that there is no widespread issue with reps telling customers misinformation or aggressively dissuading them from BlackBerry products -- it's just an isolated issue that happens with a vanishingly small fraction of 'bad' reps.

I hope it is now common knowledge that this IS a widespread issue. Maybe it's BlackBerry's own fault -- but the fact is that it's an actual widespread issue.

I remember going to BestBuy in Toronto in 2011 (or may 2012) and specifically asking for a PB, and -- in front of me and my GF -- the rep saying "don't get that sh*t".

Posted via CB10

[propeller10]

Can we please have a sub-forum for sales rep stories?

[Tre Lawrence]

Company up for sale, emphasis on enterprise, poor sales, zero advertising. This is what you get.
No matter how much people moan this is what its like for a struggling brand that won't even promote it's own great products.
Effect not cause.

Exactly.

Isn't rocket science.

[Dave Bourque]

I don't care who's fault it is. These sales reps would be fired in two seconds if they were selling cars.

Z10STL100-3/10.2.1.2141

[Tre Lawrence]

Can we please have a sub-forum for sales rep stories?

LOL. We are getting to that point.

[Tre Lawrence]

I don't care who's fault it is. These sales reps would be fired in two seconds if they were selling cars.

Not if they are selling. If a car salesperson is meeting/surpassing quotas and is able to quantifiably show customer satisfaction, he/she would get a plaque and a bonus.

[mnc76]

Can we please have a sub-forum for sales rep stories?

Why? I guess it must be even more widespread than I even thought of it deserves it's own special dedicated forum.

Posted via CB10

[Tre Lawrence]

Why? I guess it must be even more widespread than I even thought of it deserves it's own special dedicated forum.

Posted via CB10

There is a concurrent thread where folks are calling for salespeople's heads for daring to insinuate that BB devices are EOL.

[djpailo]

I don't think the T-Mobile place was that bad. The future of blackberry is uncertain. I certainly wouldn't recommend a product if the manufacturer had a very uncertain future ahead.

The other stores are downright awful. Next time, you should video it and put it on youtube.

[Sadsfan]

When you are faced with this situation just stand up and say in a very loud voice: "Ladies and Gentlemen! Do not buy a phone from this store. These salespeople are not giving impartial advice and won't sell you the phone you want or need." they don't like it!

[Dave Bourque]

Not if they are selling. If a car salesperson is meeting/surpassing quotas and is able to quantifiably show customer satisfaction, he/she would get a plaque and a bonus.

I mean they listen to the customer and if the customers asks for a certain brand are they seriously gonna say "oh but <insert excuse on how ****ty that brand is>"

Z10STL100-3/10.2.1.2141

[propeller10]

I mean they listen to the customer and if the customers asks for a certain brand are they seriously gonna say "oh but <insert excuse on how ****ty that brand is>"

Z10STL100-3/10.2.1.2141

Almost never happens in car dealerships since most dealers will only sell one or two brands. (e.g 355 Toyota, tyson's Honda, sportchevrolet)

[bennelong]

The one thing the sales reps who would appear to be 'anti BlackBerry' have in common,, is that they don't know how to use a BB10 device, (or so I've noticed).

Posted via CB10 on a Z10

[decoy7]

There are still many on CB who say stories like this are essentially 'made up', or that there is no widespread issue with reps telling customers misinformation or aggressively dissuading them from BlackBerry products -- it's just an isolated issue that happens with a vanishingly small fraction of 'bad' reps.

I hope it is now common knowledge that this IS a widespread issue. Maybe it's BlackBerry's own fault -- but the fact is that it's an actual widespread issue.

I remember going to BestBuy in Toronto in 2011 (or may 2012) and specifically asking for a PB, and -- in front of me and my GF -- the rep saying "don't get that sh*t".

Posted via CB10

I agree with all you've said but also have to confess, any of my clients or friends who were interested in getting a PB when they were first launched was told by myself the exact same thing and I think it was good advice considering launch price, current price, current resale value...the PB was a straight no no for me then and only became a possible purchase when they were discounted to under �100...bad investment prior to that.

Q10 SQN100-3/10.2.1.1925

[mnc76]

There is a concurrent thread where folks are calling for salespeople's heads for daring to insinuate that BB devices are EOL.

Oh yeah I know. I have see them, but didn't think there were so many for a dedicated forum (like we have for 'arm chair ceo' and 'android apks' etc..)

Posted via CB10

[noisey_boy]

Where is T-Mobile in Southampton? They all changed to EE about a year ago.

Posted via CB10

[propeller10]

Oh yeah I know. I have see them, but didn't think there were so many for a dedicated forum (like we have for 'arm chair ceo' and 'android apks' etc..)

Posted via CB10

You really need to browse the 'general discussion' section more often. xD

[Mangelhaft]

I mused, a few weeks ago, that there might be a conspiracy by the other manufacturers. I think it might be more of an issue with the manufacturers’ field representatives. These reps may be telling the store staff the lies about BlackBerry and, since very few of the stores’ sales people will do any independent research and think that the reps know what they are talking about, assume that it is true.

EX: “The Samsung rep told me that BlackBerry is a tool of Satan. It must be true because the rep is God, knows more about the business and makes more money than I do.”

[mnc76]

I agree with all you've said but also have to confess, any of my clients or friends who were interested in getting a PB when they were first launched was told by myself the exact same thing and I think it was good advice considering launch price, current price, current resale value...the PB was a straight no no for me then and only became a possible purchase when they were discounted to under �100...bad investment prior to that.

Q10 SQN100-3/10.2.1.1925

This (situation with the BestBuy rep) was when they were selling for $100. At the time, I wouldn't have spent $600 for any tablet, but for a C note, the PB was a good deal at the time IMO.

Posted via CB10

[mnc76]

EX: The Samsung rep told me that BlackBerry is a tool of Satan.

LOL

But in all seriousness, it's likely that many of sales reps are just uneducated about BlackBerry (since they don't use them) and the bad misinformation just keeps getting passed along without anyone in the chain knowing any better.



Posted via CB10