Mon | Jun 5, 2023

Digicel brings state-of-the-art to downtown

Published:Tuesday | February 26, 2013 | 12:00 AM
Digicel staff and customers inside its full-service store and customer care centre in downtown Kingston. - PHOTOS BY Norman Grindley/Chief Photographer
A Digicel customer care representative captures a picture using the touch wall and e-mails it to The Gleaner.
Head of consumer sales at Digicel, Patrick King, proudly points to the largest touch wall in the Caribbean.
Digicel customer care representative Dianne Edwards.
Digicel's Twitty-Ann Thomas displays the video conference facilities.
1
2
3
4
5

THERE IS a new attraction in downtown Kingston that residents there are trying to keep secret. It's the Digicel store and customer care centre, which opened just about a month ago on the ground floor of the telecommunications firm new headquarters near the waterfront.

The state-of-the-art store is a treat for shoppers, and scores of persons go there almost daily to check their e-mail, update their Facebook pages or send a tweet, all for free.

"It has basically been a soft opening, but somehow word gets around and the crowds have been coming in particularly at lunchtime or at the end of the day," said Patrick King, head of consumer sales at Digicel.

"The good thing about this store is that it is a full-service outlet ... so any issue that you have, any information you need, you can get it here. If you want a phone to buy, you can get it in the retail outlet or any problem you can get it resolved in customer care," added King.

The fully electronic store is paperless with all the information available at the push of a button or the touch of a screen.

"In our other stores, we have what is called a descriptor card attached to the phones, but here we have an electronic descriptor card. It gives you the price, and if you press another button, it gives you the features. You can also touch the screen and compare it to other handsets and you can see a video showing you all the features," said King.

LARGEST TOUCH WALL

The store has the largest touch wall in the Caribbean and gives visitors the opportunity to take a picture and e-mail it immediately or post it to a social media site.

The touch wall features handsets with 3-dimensional views and games for those so inclined.

The customer-care segment of the store is equally impressive with 13 agents available to deal with customers.

"We tell you that the waiting time is approximately 25 minutes, but from I have been here (in the past month) we have never had someone wait for more than five minutes," said customer care representative Dianne Edwards.

Edwards noted that some business customers can be sent just one flight up to the executive briefing centre for business solutions.

"This is a sector that Digicel ventured in five years ago and it is state-of-the art technology room. Usually persons would go to the United States or Europe to see how the technology would work in their environment. They no longer have to do that as we have it here," declared Twitty-Ann Thomas as she launched a video conference.

"Digicel is trying to bring state-of-the-art technology to our customers and for them to see how it would work." added Thomas with the pride it seems the entire Digicel family has for this store.

arthur.hall@gleanerjm.com