Verizon BlackBerry Storm Return Rate
Here’s the skinny on this situation… We had heard various return rates on the Verizon BlackBerry Storm from three (actually four, but we’ll discount the last one) extremely credible sources of ours. These ranged from 35-50% in some markets/regions. That is an absurdly high figure, folks. While we trust our sources, we wanted to continue to dig until we wrote up a post on it here. We let a publication quote us on that, because that is what we had heard. No harm, no foul. But we weren’t going to post on it here until we had 100% confirmed it.
Verizon Wireless hit us up and here’s what a Verizon Wireless official had to say: “The Storm has the lowest return rate of any of our PDAs and at this point in its life cycle, it has the lowest return rate of any PDA we currently sell.”
We’ll let you guys do all the talking. Own a Storm? Happy with it? Returned it? Know friends that are happy/returned theirs? Hit us up so we can get some good feedback and your thoughts on this.
HELLO. THIS IS VERIZON. THE STORM HAS THE LOWEST RETURN RATE OF ANY OF OUR PDA’s.
IT HAS THE HIGHEST RETURN RATE OF ANY OF OUR SMARTPHONES.
THANK YOU,
VERIZON
Ok, I used Treo’s for the past 3 yrs and I loved it except for its chunky size, no probs what so ever. Very clean UI, user friendly, stable, never crashed, fast touch response, quick and almost no lag time. It was a breakthrough when it first introduced.
Now I got the storm b/c I want the functionality of my Treo but with a slimmer design that doesnt feel like a brick in my jean pocket. SOoooo, I’ve had the Storm for a couple of weeks, the biggest problem has to be the LAG. It lags in the browser, sms, phone calls, practically any transition will lag abnormally for this quality of device. I just wish I could have my Treo in a thinner design like the I-phone. That’s all, is that too much to ask for from Verizon and Palm…Oh well, I got a 1-yr contract for the Storm, so I’ll probably stick it out for another yr.
PS: The storms touch screen is clean and bright, good touch response. BB, just clean up the software ASAP!
I got the storm on the first day. This phone is amazing in my opinion. I love it. The data transfer is quick so i have fast internet. I have updated to .76 and it is so much better than .65 and much better than .75. The phone has barely been out for a month and has already been updated enough to make it worth loving….THE IPHONE TOOK A YEAR TO ESTABLISH ITSELF AND MY FRIEND RUNNING 2.2 STILL HAS SOME BUGS…Nothing is Perfect Deal With It….Overall the combination between a Touchscreen+Blackberry=A happy Ryan…Personally the screen click feels awsome. The phone is a love it or hate it device so try it out, update it and see for yourself!
Seems like a case of “beggars not being choosey”? You’ve got Verizon subs who have long since been unsatisfied with VZW’s lineup, purchased the Storm after buying into the marketing hype and have no recourse because there’s nothing else worth while offered by VZW.
Most reviews I’ve read, including BGR’s I believe, said the phone wasn’t all that great, but still the best VZW has to offer….
I returned mine for the curve. Hated it.
I’ve had the phone since it launched, and after the activation hiccup I had, I haven’t had a problem with it. I love this phone, and while I do agree that there is room for improvement (accelerometer I’m looking at you) I feel that this is a great device. With each OS update it’s become a much better phone. Give it time, and it will seriously kick ass
I owned the Storm for 4 days, I like some of the consumer features. But if you are a power user, one that relies on being connected via email or messenger, then the Storm just doesnt cut it. For me the keyboard was painful. Thanks, but no thanks
Owned it for 3 weeks after getting it at launch. Pretty heavy email user; not as heavy as some, but this is a phone I used extensively for work.
Returned it and went with the Bold. I have several complaints about the device, but the biggest is the actual hardware. For those of us who are fast typers, the ‘click’ screen is awful. You end up having to wait for the screen to pop up before you can press the next letter. Not surprised at the high return numbers and I think RIM really dropped the ball on this one.
@dingoberry
Just what I was thinking. BG always talking smack about the storm. Since day one. I like my storm, and its barely been out for a couple a weeks. Lay off the stupid post about the return rate, and get a rate of how many times your little predictions about releases fail. Ha!!!!!!
Honestly I wanted to like this phone. I consider myself to be a phone connoisseur. Any phone worth having I buy. This is the first time I felt like returning a device. The storm looks and feels great. But if everyone is honest it is a complete cluster fuc|<. More than likely I going to have to return it and hope to find a better replacement. I was even considering the ugly G1. Yes the iphone is better but I had hoped the storm would give it a run for its money. I have the blackberry bold, iphone and the storm currently. Out of all three devices the STORM comes in last place hands down. Oh well at least the camera is better than the iphone and the bold.
I was so disappointed with the Storm. I had waited for a half decent 3G smart phone on Verizon. I love the network and was as die hard as any. After using it for a few days I switched to an iPhone.
Returned after 1 week. I will show the patience for a Niagara. (This was after i tried the Omnia for a week to remind myself how bad WMPRO is. This is the best they have to offer?)
I can wait till may, it’ll be worth it. Wait, May comes after January right?
I purchased the Storm on it’s release date.
I used it for only 5 days and returned it.
PROS: The Screen is AMAZING!
CONS: People buy BB for the full Qwerty keyboard convenience. I can’t drive and unlock my phone as easily. I can’t drive and type/operate my phone as easily as I can with my BB 8830.
I am back to my BB 8830 World Phone. It’s like a rock! Wish it had a camera phone sometimes.
I am waiting for some new phones for Verizon from BB.
I remember pointing out the high rate of returns and disappointed users in the comments here and was attacked by BB FANBOYS (you know who you are). I notice many of them are absent now!!!!
I tried the Storm as a pre-release (I work in the industry) and was unimpressed and recently tried it in a Verizon Store and did not like it (MY OPINION). It left me very unimpressed and I stayed with my VZ BB Curve.
Since much hype was that the Storm was a so-called iPhone killer. This makes it impossible NOT to compare it to the iPhone as it was RIMs attempt to copy and compete with Apple. Apple changed the game and RIM was playing catch up with them. This has lead to big expectations creating a huge bubble that has now burst! It is NOT an iPhone killer, it is not even a BB killer. That is why I call it the “iStorm.”
Before you are ready to send me your version of a convoluted spec sheet, lets remember most users do not care. What they see in the iPhone is a WiFi enabled device, a slicker UI, a better keyboard (sorry I hate the Storm keyboard as many others have also said), better music/video player and App Store with 12,619 iPhone apps that are fun, useful, and add more choice to the device. Even if some of the apps are useless or stupid!
VZW has spent big advertising money on this device why neutering WiFi and locking the GPS. Make little sense to a power user or gadget person, which are good demographics for this type of device. So most of the sales will be to VZ BB owners, not existing or future iPhone owners. My opinion the BB Bold is the one to own.
Now before you go ahead and attack the messenger again, I am not saying it is NOT a decent phone or device! But even the FANBOYS will have to admit (maybe not publicly) that the rollout was terrible, the device is very buggy, and the hype of a so-called sell out was ridiculous! Many VZ stores had only 25 “iStorms” on launch day on Nov 21. They STILL have none!
This rollout made Apple’s iPhone 3G launch problems look small! In the end the reported sold numbers will be disappointing I bet.
Had it for a week with new OS update and it’s running great. It is hard to learn at first but like anything new you have to practice to become accustomed to it. People who return them has the attention span of a mouse and didn’t take their time with new technology.
I’ve owned one since the day they came out. Not planning on returning it. I love the phone minus a few moments of frustration here and there. I really think the phone with software that just wasnt ready.
Hey BGR, can you get a poll up? Seeing the graphics on how your readers are voting (love vs. hate, or kept vs. returned) would be awesome. like your posts usually are. cheers
Had one for 3 weeks now. Ordered a replacement due to loose keys (beneath the display) but the replacement was worse so I kept the original unit. Works fine for me. I paid the ETF with an iPhone 3G to make this move. It was worth it.
I bought the Storm and returned it for an iPhone 3G. Best thing I ever did! I did not like the Storm for much. GPS was locked and lack of decent apps was part of the reason. The navigation was terrible, I hated the stupid click screen as it is nothing but a gimmick that slowed down my typing.I am totally happy with the iPhone 3G, best phone I ever owned.
Obviously, even some sort of an idiot would know that Blackberry storm does not have the lowest rate of returns…
Very poor choice of words, verizon.
To BGR’s question-
No, I did not return any storm because I never bought one. I played with storm at verizon store, and got frustrated after 3 mintues.
Got one online post-launch and waited two weeks to get it. Didn’t like it much at first vs my 8700, but after 20+ hours of fiddling and poking and reading online tips/tricks, I at this point think I will keep it. I’ve had blackberries since the first big screen model, and I’m getting used to the touchscreen keyboard. Scale of 1-10 I give it a 7 now, with later sware upgrades should improve. I do still have iPhone (mainly AppStore) envy, but family plan, VZ network, and CDMA’s superiority precludes a switch.
got the storm a few days ago… and love it. I had a little difficulty at first with typing, but after a day i was able to type ust as fast as i could on my samsung alias, if not faster. i don’t think the return rate is as high as 50%. i have a few friends who have the storm now, and are without major issuses post OS update. I can confidently say i now have a crackberry addiction!
some numbers to help you understand…and some insight
The storm is not even close to the highest returned phone in my region of the country(Midwest) that covers 8-9 states. the highest returned devices were dumb phones, just simple feature phones that people didn’t like. the storm was the higher return by number in the region, however the numbers are high because they sold 10x the number other smart phones did. by percentage it is very small, like 15% in my region. the feature phone return rate is like 19-22% on average.
now, that all being said, managers now have their quarterly bonus tied to return rates. there is a new pressure on sales reps to actually qualify customers. I know while visiting stores in the midwest there were customers coming in wanting storms, and no idea why….they would have returned them, but were asked why they wanted them.
it really just boils down to sales reps doing their jobs, and managers actually training their reps instead of letting them be order takers. Informing customers who blindly go into buy gadgets because they read about them really does generate a positive flow of money, and less loss due to returns.
I love Blackberry’s, I had the Pearl for a little over a year. Verizon’s phone selection is less than impressive, so I jumped on the Storm like a kid in a candy store and I am very pleased with the phone. LOVE IT.
What Verizon actually said (and I’m not trying to hate) is taht less of this phone has been returned than any of our other PDA phones as of now. Well that BS because you have sold signigifcanty less of this phone than any other phone so even if everyone returned their storms it might not compareto say the number of returns of say the 8800 series phone because much more of those have been shipped bough and probally returned. BS double talk, if they meant what they are trying to imply and were proud they would say it. I’m a lawyer I know double talk when i see it and i know how to read through it; I do it for a living.