Smart to transform all stores into new generation cafes

MANILA, Philippines - Smart Communications Inc., the wireless arm of dominant carrier Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), is converting all its traditional stores into new generation and café-type stores to serve its millions of subscribers better.

Charles Lim, executive vice president and head of the wireless consumer business at Smart and Sun Cellular, said in a press conference that the company has so far transformed 18 traditional stores into new generation stores. 

“As early as 2013 we have been transforming our smart stores from being a traditional store with transactional environment to a more personalized café-type of environment,” he said.

Smart vice president and head of retail support Maloo Agoncillo said a total of 78 traditional telco hubs would be transformed into a venue where people could discover and get a feel of what is described as today’s digital lifestyle or the “Smart Life” by end 2015.

“Unlike traditional transaction counters, this design conceptualized and executed by a world-class, all-Filipino team encourages a more personal interaction between customers and frontliners. We won’t just be selling to customers. We want to get to know them better, learn more about their needs and lifestyles, so we could recommend the products and services that are best for them,” Agoncillo said. 

The New Generation Smart Stores also feature customer service innovations like the Digital Profiler – a touch-screen that enables visitors to learn more about the features of devices and plans so they could better decide which offers suit their needs – and the iQueue, an automated queuing system. 

iQueue allows customers to roam around the mall and attend to other needs while waiting for their turn to be served at the Smart Store. The system sends a text message to inform them once their turn comes. 

She pointed out that Smart Stores are straightforward, functional areas where people apply for a postpaid plan or have their aftersales concerns attended to. 

“The experience used to be quite impersonal. While customers can still complete these transactions in Smart Stores, they will experience so much more in the coming months,” she added.

Last Friday, Smart launched lifestyle nooks featuring digital services that enable Filipinos to enjoy their passions more - the Music Hub, Reading Nook, Digital Mall, and Games Station. 

The nooks were also unveiled at Smart Stores in Robinsons Magnolia in Quezon City and at SM Aura in Taguig City.  At the Music Hub, visitors could use the Spinnr and Deezer mobile applications to download and stream music on devices. 

At the Reading Nook, which looks like a personal library, customers could enjoy the Buqo app enabling them to access their favorite books and magazines on their mobile device, and pay for these via load deductions or postpaid bill charging.  

On the other hand, gaming aficionados would have a blast at the Games Station where they would be introduced to GameX, an online portal that allows them to buy game credits without leaving their seats. 

Furthermore, fashionistas would surely enjoy the Digital Mall section featuring the convenient online shopping services provided by Zalora.

 Meanwhile, Smart has started offering iPad Air 2 with Wi-Fi + Cellular and iPad mini 3 with Wi-Fi + Cellular with a range of attractive data plans that would allow customers to connect to its ultrafast long term evolution (LTE) with speeds up to 42 Mbps.

The iPad Air 2 and iPad mini 3 will both be available starting at Plan 1499, which already comes with 85 hours of Internet surfing every month. An initial cash-out of P7,200 for the iPad Air 2 and P2,700 for the iPad mini 3 would apply upon subscription.