I went to one of several local Verizon stores today. I wanted to see if I could put a Q10 in my hand and feel how it felt and determine if I could live with less screen real estate.
I walked into the store and asked the Verizon employee standing up front if the Q10 had come in or if a demo unit was available. He said: "The Q what?" I explained that it was the new Blackberry 10 QWERTY keyboard phone. He said he had never heard of it. I explained that preorders started last week, so how could he have not heard of it?
The Verizon employee chose not to answer my question, but instead said: "We have sold maybe five of the Z10's since they launched and all of them were returned because they suck. If the 'Q' comes in, you should not get it because Blackberry phones suck."
The Verizon employee then asked me what phone I would be "coming" from. I told him the HTC Droid DNA. He then proceeded to tell me that "HTC phones" also suck. He then said that he had "never heard" of the Droid DNA. I pointed at the phone ten feet from him and said: "The Droid DNA is your company's flagship android phone. What do you mean you haven't heard of it? That is the top android phone you sell." He responded, "Oh, that phone."
Well, there you have it. I don't expect Verizon in my area to push Blackberry phones. The Q10 is doomed here.
Tallahassee does not appear to be a good place for Blackberry sales.
I literally want to pay the termination fee and get off of Verizon's network. I have been a customer for many years, but I am tired of the obnoxious, rude sales force at every one of their stores. I may as well terminate my contract with them and go buy a Q10 at AT&T.
Also, here is a rundown of how their sales force has treated me over the years:
1. 2009- Started my first account with Verizon while in law school. I ended up purchasing two Blackberry 8330 phones at a Tallahassee Verizon store. The Blackberry 8330 was my first smartphone and I chose it because the emailing on it was top-notch. The Blackberry salesperson kept telling me that Blackberries were bad phones and that I should get an android phone. After explaining that I wanted a physical keyboard and the portrait keyboard on the Blackberry was nicest, the person told me I was making a mistake. I bought the phones anyway, but I should have just walked out of the store. I loved my Blackberry 8330 and so did my wife.
2. 2011- Smartphones had advanced a long way and now the iPhone was available on Verizon. I went into a Verizon store in Tallahassee again and tried to buy an iPhone 4. The sales person told me that iPhones were not very good and that I should get a Samsung Galaxy S2. I told the person I wanted an iPhone 4 and he insisted that it was a bad phone and android was superior. I left the store and went to Best Buy. Best Buy's sales team provided me with an iPhone 4 while explaining how awesome the phone was. Further, when I told them about the Galaxy S2 issue at the Verizon store, they also explained how amazing the Galaxy S2 was and that I could not go wrong with either purchase. My wife decided to get the Galaxy S2 and I got the iPhone 4. Ultimately, she decided she liked the iPhone I bought more and we returned the Galaxy S2 for an iPhone 4 for her. Our iPhone 4's were great and we loved them.
3. 2013- I bought a Droid DNA from Best Buy and avoided Verizon stores like the plague based on my prior experiences. I had no issues and walked out happy.
Now, being a busy attorney in a high volume law firm, I decided that I would like to have a Blackberry for the physical keyboard and top-notch emailing capabilities. I decided to look at the Q10 today and went to a Verizon store; the story above shows my mistake in thinking Verizon could change how rude their sales force behaves.
Hey Verizon, you guys talked me out of a Q10 for no reason today. You made me want to cancel my contract. I am sure I could throw $600.00 at your employees and they would still act like I am an idiot for buying phones from you. Seriously, what is wrong with your sales force?
Thanks,
Another Loyal Unhappy Disappointed Customer
