MANILA, Philippines - Globe Telecom is set to change the way people shop for communication products and services with the unveiling of the first full-service telecom store in the Philippines.
Company officials said the store promises a unique and rewarding experience for the customers through top-of-the-line gadgets and accessories as well as superior services and after-sales support.
“We want the store to be interactive and not just a passive store where our customers just go there to pay their bills,” Globe consumer sales and after-sales head Ferdinand dela Cruz said. He noted that for Globe’s flagship store alone, the firm has already poured in millions of pesos for its construction.
The cutting-edge design was created by award-winning Australian architectural firm Public Design Group which also handled the stores of Globe’s affiliates – SingTel of Singapore and Optus of Australia.
Globe also invested in top-of-the-line gadgets and accessories displayed in the store, the new IT systems that were provided by Novare Technologies, and the lengthy training conducted for the store staff.
The revolutionary Globe flagship Store in Greenbelt 4, Makati showcases the “blueprint for the future” as it veers away from the traditional utilitarian concept towards a digital lifestyle that places the needs of customers above everything else.
Globe has 133 service centers nationwide, of which a third are located in SM Malls and the rest inside Ayala Malls and stand-alone shops.
Dela Cruz said the new store design is patterned after Apple Shops and AT&T shops in the United States, Vodafone shops in Europe and Singtel service centers in Singapore. According to Dela Cruz, the sales rate of the Greenbelt store has more than doubled since its opening two weeks ago, with traffic reaching 400 visitors a day.
“There is definitely an opportunity to sell more,” he said, adding that Globe has shifted from being a utility company into one that is customer-centric and service-oriented.
The new store which measures 200 square meters boasts of the latest cellphones and accessories, and invites customers to explore the various products and services of Globe by giving them access to live cellphones and laptops.
“Globe is revolutionizing the way we do business. We’re now shifting from being a utility company into one that is customer-centric and service-oriented. We know that more than just transactional services, customers are ready to see something else from Globe.
So we are raising the bar in delivering new and exciting innovations to show how our customers’ lifestyle can be digitally-enhanced by Globe.
We want them to stay connected through our services by providing them with a one-stop shopping experience,” Globe head of stores Maridol Ylanan explained.
She said the new store was benchmarked against international companies and their stores to understand the logic of the business and the critical factors that must be in place for it to succeed.
“Of course, we still had to anchor this on what the Filipino customers really want.
With all the exciting ideas and insights that we derived overseas, we also knew that we had to bring these home to the tastes and preferences of the Filipino consumers,” she said.
The newly redesigned store caters to all kinds of customers – those searching for new gadgets; seeking the latest accessories; looking for landline, mobile or broadband solutions; or simply browsing around.
There are also on-site store specialists who can provide consultations and solutions to the customers. “We want to develop a highly-engaged stores organization for the ultimate customer experience. In this flagship store, we have a wide array of live demos that our customers can feel, touch and test. We also carry the best assortment of accessories,” Ylanan said.