Incensed Canadians from coast to coast are going online to express their disappointment and frustration at Rogers’ decision not to carry BlackBerry’s latest flagship, the Z30.
The carrier’s Facebook and Twitter accounts have been inundated with customers threatening to move their business elsewhere, despite the fact that Rogers has offered nearly every modern BlackBerry device, including most recently the Z10, Q10 and Q5.
A Rogers representative tweeted in response to the backlash, “We think the 3 Blackberry devices we carry meet our customers’ needs,” and company president, Rob Bruce, claimed to be perplexed at the response. Rogers will not carry the Z30 despite the outpouring of support for the product.
Rogers’ Facebook page is littered with posts, ranging from the constructive to the bizarre. One poster went so far as to accuse Rogers of single-handedly being responsible for BlackBerry’s recent financial troubles, while others are taking a more rational, if a bit too vitriolic approach.
“They need to see this first hand and feel the hurt that they are inflicting on their loyal customers that are being forced to leave in droves because of a decision that every which way you look at it does not make sense,” said Maher Boutros. Below that, poster Smok Yogi shouted, “Make it right rogers carry the z30!”
It’s not clear that this response is anything more than a gut-level reaction to BlackBerry’s down-and-out status, with competitors Bell and TELUS coming out of this mess looking like the “good guys” by merely offering a product that may be just as much of a financial liability as the Z10 turned out to be.
What’s clear, though, is that BlackBerry pride is still alive and well in Canada, and should the company live on under the Fairfax umbrella, support for the manufacturer will not be far behind. But the minority of Rogers customers claiming to be first in line for a Z30, should it be offered, will not affect BlackBerry’s balance sheet, and many of the loudest objectors — the ones that support BlackBerry 10 — have likely spent their money upgrading to one of the three BB10 devices Rogers already offers.
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