Waterloo, Canada – BlackBerry executive chairman and CEO John Chen slammed T-Mobile for launching a promotion urging BlackBerry users to switch to a competing smartphone.
In a blog post, Chen expressed outrage, saying the promotion was “clearly inappropriate and ill-conceived.” He also had a warning for T-Mobile. “I would like to remind you that our long-standing partnership was once productive and profitable for both BlackBerry and T-Mobile. I hope we can find a way forward that allows us to serve our shared customers once again. Notwithstanding the current challenge, we remain very excited about BlackBerry’s future.”
Chen also contended the promotion was not well-received by BlackBerry users. “By expressing your outrage directly to T-Mobile through tweets, calls and comments in the media and on blog posts, you sent a powerful message that T-Mobile could not ignore. Your partnership with our brand is appreciated by all of us at BlackBerry and draws a sharp contrast.”
He added, “Your passion motivates us every day as we navigate our turnaround. And for our loyal customers on the T-Mobile network, know that we have an offer in the works designed especially for you.”
