[birdman_38]

Are you going to do nothing about it Birdman....or are you going to do the same as me and go visit your local 3 shop.....ot even plague them on social media to explain themselves ?

I don't have a local 3 shop. We as BlackBerry users are under no obligation to flood carrier's social media outlets, especially if we're not customers.

The OP should have fought this individual battle. BlackBerry needs to fight the war.

[Omnitech]

Just as well they have tmos John Legere to drum up a little publicity for them, maybe marketing should hire him?

Oh yeah, the guy who thinks-up the "trojan horse" so-called Blackberry promotion.

Do you work for the competition?

[birdman_38]

What is really needed is a place on a blackberry user site to track and rate users experience especially where online is not viable.

That's not a bad idea. There was a blog post last week that alluded to such a feedback site. Not sure if there's a section for retail experiences though.
http://m.crackberry.com/blackberry-i...dback-directly

[Omnitech]

What did the OP do about it? Nothing. What does BlackBerry do about it? Nothing.

Therin lies the problem.

No, the PROBLEM, first and foremost, are the people who jump to the defense of the unscrupulous, lying frauds.

The SECOND problem are the people who BLAME THE CUSTOMER for the unscrupulous, lying frauds.

There is no excuse for that kind of sales fraud. NO excuse.

Once we have gotten that whole attitude behind us, then we can talk about what BlackBerry can or cannot do in response to it.

But if the whole world is BLAMING THE CUSTOMER for not solving the problem themselves, then that is pointless.

[afl777]

I don't have a local 3 shop. We as BlackBerry users are under no obligation to flood carrier's social media outlets, especially if we're not customers.

The OP should have fought this individual battle. BlackBerry needs to fight the war.

I've just looked on 3 website and for the phone entered 'Blackberry'. all I got was a cross.

If this network/ shop no longer wish to stock/sell Blackberry devices then that is their perogative. But you obviously are not seeing the constant posts I'm seeing on help pages....that BB isn't trading now....BB don't sell phones anymore.....BB have sold up. And this sort of thing isn't helping. As with the avalanche of mails etc that went to T.Mobile re their iphone upgrade to BB customers, we need to show our support.

And as the Elites are in touch with Blackberry, its almost a given that BB will know about this come Monday morning.

[Omnitech]

So, you believe BB's best course of action here is to call in the lawyers and threaten consequences?

Or maybe Chen should get into a pissing contest with another carrier?

The point I was making is that outside of the world of cartoonishly polarized fanboys, most of the world thinks such behaviour is despicable and unacceptable, which is why they have passed laws against it.

[birdman_38]

And as the Elites are in touch with Blackberry, its almost a given that BB will know about this come Monday morning.

It's also a given they'll do absolutely nothing about it.

[Omnitech]

That's not a bad idea. There was a blog post last week that alluded to such a feedback site. Not sure if there's a section for retail experiences though.
The BlackBerry Innovation Community is a place where you can share your thoughts and feedback directly with BlackBerry | CrackBerry.com

And I agree. Someone should make a website with a form on it for people to enter these experiences into, and have that data forwarded to Blackberry.

Maybe I'll do it myself.

[cgk]

And as the Elites are in touch with Blackberry, its almost a given that BB will know about this come Monday morning.

And realistically what will they do about it? Using a back of a ***-pack calculation, I would think that Three's sales of BBRY devices is sub-30,000 a quarter, so maybe one-three unit a week per quarter per store? - they have no leverage.

[Omnitech]

Thanks for the info. The sales girl must have been REALLY impressed.

All I can say is that the responses of so many people here to something they should have already known about was awfully impressive too.

[birdman_38]

All I can say is that the responses of so many people here to something they should have already known about was awfully impressive too.

I've heard the term around here but thought it was just a made up status, akin to what kids would do on a play date.

It's not promoted by BlackBerry or CrackBerry very well.

[sixpacker]

Are you serious?

What the OP describes are blatant, malicious lies.

This is not like granny saying to you "Sonny, I heard that that Blackberry company went out of business", these are people in the industry who are supposed to be knowledgeable who are telling customers blatant lies about a company in an apparent attempt to steer them away from their products, and apparently being spurred-on to do this by their company management.

In most civilized societies, companies are subject to major sanctions for pulling that kind of marketing fraud.

Have you ever known a mobile sales rep?
I knew I guy used to sell furniture and white goods and then moved to a mobile store. Subsequently he moved to selling sofas and beds.
He knew little about tech or the mobile business, he was a salesman, not paid too well, but a very decent guy.
I'm not excusing giving false information but I personally doubt the majority is malicious.
The problem is BlackBerry have disappeared without trace. If you want a place in the consumer space you have to market your own brand and get your message out there. If you don't bother why should anyone else?

Posted via the Android CrackBerry App!

[DonMarcello]

That's a totally distasteful and unethical tactic, the lack of a proper advertising and marketing campaign does not justify blatantly lying to customers to steer them toward more popular phones.

[cgk]

I've heard the term around here but thought it was just a made up status, akin to what kids would do on a play date.

It's not promoted by BlackBerry or CrackBerry very well.

I thought the same, like the 'trusted' status some of us have...

[birdman_38]

Written as if you actually relish that scenario.

No, written as though it's ridiculous for a company to not respond to falsehoods in the marketplace.

[JeepBB]

All I can say is that the responses of so many people here to something they should have already known about was awfully impressive too.

I suspect the LOLs had more to do with the thought that *any* young female, in *any* circumstance, would be even remotely impressed by a guy announcing he's a BlackBerry Elite.

[birdman_38]

I suspect the LOLs had more to do with the thought that *any* young female, in *any* circumstance, would be even remotely impressed by a guy announcing he's a BlackBerry Elite.

There's only 125 of them in the world. Instant "in" with the ladies! Lol

[bigglybobblyboo]

A lot of people on here will not believe it until they experience it. What is really needed is a place on a blackberry user site to track and rate users experience especially where online is not viable. I just want to buy a phone without being jerked around.

Posted via CB10

Hmmm...

Now THERE'S an idea!

I wonder....

[Axacta]

Why be outraged, which is counter-productive. The idea is to get the salesperson on your side - getting angry won't do that. It'll just alienate them from BB even more.

I have responded to this sort of thread before:

Nothing like what is described in the OP has ever happened to me, but if it did, depending on the demeanor of the salesperson I would respond in a couple of different ways.

If they seemed sincere in their claim I would use a deprogramming tactic where you seek to implant cognitive dissonance in the hope that this will drive them to Google for resolutions to their newly planted anxiety. This is done by asking questions. But not with a chip on your shoulder. You must come across as genuine in your inquiries. You must let the targeted person think that they are the expert and you are just a naive customer (not an "Elite" for gawd's sake!) searching for answers. The idea is to plant seeds of cognitive dissonance that may eventually blossom into a real search for the facts. Here are a couple of questions:

"Funny you say that, I just read that BlackBerry stock is up almost 100% in the last couple of months. Are you sure that the source of your information is accurate?"

"I've also read that the BB Z30 gets higher user-satisfaction ratings than any other phone at many of the large carriers. How can that be if what you have been told is true?"

Don't attack the salesperson - question their information. You're planting the seeds. Next, water them: You then casually suggest that they might wish to do a Google search or two at bedtime tonight.

This is using the power of suggestion. They go away thinking that they are still the expert. But at bedtime it will pop into their head like clockwork and they will learn something that they can think of as their own. Next day they will want to show off their new unique information by telling their coworkers, "I checked out BlackBerry stock last night - seems they're making a big turnaround." They may even look for a Z30 to check out.

However, if they come across as an a-hole about it, nothing makes a point better than a wager. You can just go for the jugular with another tactic: "So BlackBerry is bankrupt, huh? Care to put a hundred bucks on it right now? Then we'll Google the stock price."

You have just slam-dunked them. They'll waffle and look for a caveat for their claim, or maybe they'll make the bet and you get a hundred bucks out the deal - sweet! Either way, Google the BB stock price and show them. Losing the argument in a graphical way will sear it into their brain.

Either way, you have planted and watered the seed. These deprogramming tactics work on basic human nature, so the likelihood of success is quite high in getting the salesperson to think more positively about BB in the first scenario, and at least less negatively in the second scenario.

[sixpacker]

Oh yeah, the guy who thinks-up the "trojan horse" so-called Blackberry promotion.

Do you work for the competition?

Humour bypass detected...

I would have thought someone with such an immense ego would have realized the point was about marketing and publicity Not Legere himself.

Posted via the Android CrackBerry App!

[anon6040766]

I've just resulted myself to the fact that if I go to a store it is highly likely I'm going to get a robot rep. Yes, there are a few that are nice about BlackBerry but it a rarity. I pay the difficult ones no mine. I simply say what I need and if I get any "why" questions, I simply ask for a rep who will sell me what I want without question. I'm there to buy not make friends. As the consumer I take control.

Ultimately though if possible I completely avoid the stores and call, I've actually made a good customer service contact Jackie and if I ask by rep ID, they'll give me her if she's there. If not, I order online


Posted via my BlackBerry Q10 or Z30 on VZW from Philly

[Omnitech]

I thought the same, like the 'trusted' status some of us have...

I am only aware of one person here who uses a signature along the lines of "trusted member genius" or something.

Which I agree is .. it's just rare.

There are web forums that assign such names to highly active users, which I think is dumb unless it is based not just on posting quantity, but people actually overwhelmingly marking their posts "helpful".

[Omnitech]

Have you ever known a mobile sales rep?

I guess you haven't been paying attention in all the other recent troll threads and I get tired of repeating it but I'll say it again: I spent over 10 years in retail myself.

Yes I have known those people, and I used to be one of them. (Not a dedicated cellular salesperson, but it was part of my job at one point)

I'm not excusing giving false information but I personally doubt the majority is malicious.

Whereas people in sales have a general reputation for untruthfulness or at the very least self-serving bending of the truth. So surprised you have never encountered this. (I'm not talking about clerks at Walmart, I'm talking about real, commissioned salespeople.)

Matter of fact, that perception was so widespread when I was in retail it was a key reason I had to get out of retail. Because it oftentimes felt like I spent 80% of my time and energy trying to overcome all the bad will and negative perceptions of salespeople that customers would come in with, before I could get down to the business of actually helping them find something that served their needs/desires. And much of that ill will was because of all the bad experiences people had had with salespeople generally.

The problem is BlackBerry have disappeared without trace.

That's an awfully exaggerated characterization. Why would you do that?

If you want a place in the consumer space you have to market your own brand and get your message out there. If you don't bother why should anyone else?

It makes no difference. It is not the vendor's responsibility to "solve" a problem of ignorant or blatantly maliciously lying salespeople passing around made-up nonsense about the company. People who are supposed to be "expert professionals". There is no excuse for that behaviour. NONE.


Oh, and by the way:

Posted via the Android CrackBerry App!

How surprising.

[Omnitech]

I suspect the LOLs had more to do with the thought that *any* young female, in *any* circumstance, would be even remotely impressed by a guy announcing he's a BlackBerry Elite.

What does gender have to do with it? The person apparently mentioned this to them to help refute their obnoxious lie that the company was out of business.

Cue the snarkoverse's sniggering about the "unhipness" of that.

But of course, these are the people who are posting from their Android and iDevices, they need excuses to imply Blackberry users are dweebs. Right?

[birdman_38]

What does gender have to do with it? The person apparently mentioned this to them to help refute their obnoxious lie that the company was out of business.

Cue the snarkoverse's sniggering about the "unhipness" of that.

But of course, these are the people who are posting from their Android and iDevices, they need excuses to imply Blackberry users are dweebs. Right?

What does their device of choice have to do with it?