T-Mobile Apologizes, Offers $200 Trade-In Credit To BlackBerry Users

T-Mobile tells its BlackBerry users to buy iPhones, then apologizes

T-Mobile CEO John Legere — Image used with permission by copyright holder

T-Mobile’s brash marketing tactics have landed it in hot water with BlackBerry this week, and now it’s paying up in the form of a $200 trade-in credit for anyone who wants to buy a BB.

The spat between T-Mobile and BlackBerry began when T-Mobile emailed its BlackBerry customers to suggest they switch to an iPhone 5S. Somebody at BlackBerry got the email and BB ‘s head honcho, John Chen, took to his company’s blog to denounce T-Mobile’s marketing tactic, calling it “inappropriate and ill-conceived.”

Feeling the heat from this backlash, Mike Sievert, T-Mobile’s Chief Marketing Officer, acknowledged that the company heard Chen, and plenty others, loud and clear. “The passion we’ve seen from the BlackBerry Loyal over the past couple days has been amazing,” wrote Sievert. “I want you to know we’ve heard you.”

In a 633-word blog post, Sievert outlined T-Mobile’s plan to make sure the BlackBerry faithful are content. If you want to upgrade to any phone sold by T-Mobile, you can trade-in your BlackBerry in exchange for $200 credit toward any manufacturer’s phone. If, on the other hand, you want to upgrade to a BlackBerry Q10 or Z10, an additional $50 in credit is tacked on.

This offer applies for T-Mobile stores, but if you can’t find the BlackBerry device you want in-store, the company offers free expedited shipping for that device.

T-Mobile CEO John Legere joined his Chief Marketing Officer in trying to change the company’s tune towards BlackBerry, saying that T-Mobile is focused on “choice and freedom.” In the process though, Legere managed to sneak in a toasty burn:

Was going to engage John Chen on Twitter, but turns out he’s not here. I’ll check MySpace. Don’t worry @BlackBerry Something in the works!

— John Legere (@JohnLegere) February 19, 2014

Ouch.

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