In Which I Write a Letter To RIM Which Will Never Be Read (By Anyone At RIM)

(Photo via thesmythgroup.com)

Dear RIM and Board of Directors,

I've held out on writing this letter for quite a long time. Amid speculations of a takeover, the Playbook's poor performance, the disastrous 3rd quarter revenue announcement and parade of broken promises, I didn't post one negative word. Here we are now, as the BES/BIS service is back online where some customers were without service for 3 days...we all witnessed a fall from grace that is not slowing down. Stock value is shaky at best and RIM is becoming even more faceless thanks to a lack of solid customer service and communication. You've found yet another way to embarrass yourself. But, more importantly, you've embarrassed me.

I'm a heavy Blackberry user. My Torch can be found by my side at all times with my Playbook. I've pitched your smartphones to people on the ledge as they decide to go with either a Blackberry or iPhone. I demo the shit out of the Playbook to anyone interested to the point where I sound like a salesman. My commission? Getting folks to buy a solid product that I enjoy. I do get razzed by Mac heads every time there is negative news about RIM and it's family of products. I take it because I don't care. Toy vs tool right? Communication multitasking smartphone vs a glorified portable video game arcade. PC vs Mac. Unfortunately it has become joke vs juggernaut. I don't have the will to defend it anymore. I will continue using your products til the company dies. I'm too embarrassed to switch to another handset since I've championed yours for so long.

The BES/BIS issue has put a critical dent in your armor. And your timing for this outage (and cryptic communications) could not be anymore detrimental. RIM's Chief Information Officer released a statement days after the issue hit overseas and offered little to no information. She claimed that services were up and running in certain parts of the world (but the discussion boards said otherwise). On top of all of this, Apple's slick iOS 5 was released on the same day that your service outage spread from Europe to North American shores. Only Apple could've planned this poetic attack on RIM's bread and butter (which they didn't, but it would be epic if they did). With iOS 5 comes the Apple iMessage service that will take a bite out of RIM's game. They are chipping away at the heart of your product. No big deal right?

I bought my Torch earlier this year, which was a needed change from the original Storm. The idea of the Storm was great but poorly executed. It was poor because you stopped supporting it once the Storm 2 was released. This is a common theme among all of your handsets: you have a need to release devices to improve your sales and leave older generations out to dry. Where is the support? Where is the customer service? In both cases, nowhere to be found. Here's my first tip for you (and something you should've recognized a few years ago): focus on three handsets. A business device with a full keyboard (no touchscreen), an entertainment device focused on fun complete with tons of apps and a hybrid work/play handset. Keep that focus on the laser and the people will rejoice. Keep releasing new generations of the aforementioned devices to keep it fresh. Just don't forget the support. I was absolutely livid when I couldn't upgrade my Torch to OS 7. Brand new contract and stuck with an unsupported phone for the next 3 years.

With all of that said, the moment of truth reveals itself. You need me as a consumer, but you don't understand my needs. Here's your chance to make a difference...give me a seat on your Board of Directors. You have lost touch with the real world. You need focus. Your current state is in shambles, with (I'm assuming) too many projects on the go. You probably have teams of people working on all of these different operating systems for all of the different generations of handsets. Getting QNX on your phone needs to be priority number one. Being transparent is key to serving your customers. Don't make promises you can't keep i.e. native email email on the Playbook 90 days after launch. Segment your company into enterprise and consumer. Keep your infrastructure tight including your data servers. The media will eat you alive when you stumble. Consumer confidence will dwindle into Nortelville. Tighten up your PR and ad campaigns. I can go on for days.

There is a future for RIM. You need an injection of foresight and positivity. You need to understand what both segments of your consumer base need. Super serve them until they are sick of you. DO NOT give up on the Playbook. You need a face for your product. You need to contact me asap.

-Paqman