FLOW opens SVG’s first fully digital store

Telecommunication provider, FLOW on Monday re-opened its retail store on Halifax Street, Kingstown proclaiming it “a revolutionary change in the way we do retail at FLOW”.

Acting Country Manager of FLOW, Andrea Liverpool, told a ceremony on the FLOW Promenade that her company was unveiling the first-ever fully digital store in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

She said the store is “a complete game changer” for the FLOW brand.

“Our new store is built to deliver a superior digital experience using state-of-the-art technology and first-class customer service,” Liverpool said.

She said the new store was constructed at a cost of EC$675,000 and is “a living example of those benefits with additional investment already in the pipeline for the upcoming months in this financial year…

“This historic new customer experience centre in St. Vincent is aligned to our strategy to fundamentally transform the customer experience from the retail touch point,” the acting chief executive said.

“The essence of the new FLOW brand is to put our customers at the centre of our business, as we work together towards our common objective of Connecting Communities…. Transforming Lives.”

She told the gathering of invited guests that a critical part of FLOW’s corporate social responsibility is to invest, innovate and help to empower persons to fully utilise the digital world.

“To remain at the forefront, we have to demonstrate leadership not only in terms of our products and services, but also in thinking about our responsibilities more broadly and lifting the technology game in the community in which we operate.”

Liverpool said the features at the new store include it being paperless, adding, that her company intends to operate the store without paper “as we build on our goal to have all citizens connected electronically”.

The store includes digital signage, digital store check-in and queue system. There is also a live home entertainment suite with full 65-inch television display and gaming system.

In the store, customers will also find live handset display with the ability to fully interact with all display products, free 100 megabytes Wi-Fi connection, a charge-up station with the ability to charge up to 18 customer phones and four tablets free of cost.

There are also personalised “Help & Advice” offices, international standard and best-in-class furniture and fixtures for the comfort of customers and staff, Liverpool said.

She said a tech expert is now available in store to address customers’ technology needs and two electronic bill payment machines, meaning that there is no need to queue up.

“FLOW invested in this store to create an environment for which I can say that we as Vincentian can be proud that such a store can come to our shores,” she said.

Speaking at the event, Minister of Industry and Information, Camillo Gonsalves noted the impact of liberalisation of telecommunications has had on improving consumers’ experience in SVG.

“This facility indicates to me that FLOW … is learning some of the important lessons of the past. And one of those lessons is to provide the people of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and their consumers with a first-class, indeed, a world-class, customer service experience.”

He said that the building was overwhelmed by customer volume of customers after the merger from which FLOW resulted.

“Many times, I walked into this building myself and just turned around and walked back out because of the number of people, the controlled, almost, chaos of the facility was not welcoming to the consumer and the customer. And I am heartened that they recognise this and that they have spent over 600,000 dollars in their attempt to address it and to move forward,” Gonsalves said.

“Because, what is going to differentiate competitors in this small space more and more will be a customer service experience of people who are spending their good money for the services offered by this body,” Gonsalves said.