I visited the new "UniverCell Sync" mobile store located in Nungambakkam over this weekend. It was an event organized through Indiblogger.in. I was not much sure of what exactly this event is all about. I just picked up my camera and cruised through the city traffic with whole lot of questions in mind. When I finally reached the destination, there was a red carpet and I saw few people wearing brand T-Shirts that read "UniverCell Sync" if I remember right. I was welcomed by a gentleman Himanshu. The brand "UniverCell", as I know it, is famous for selling cellphones like any other multi-brand mobile shops in town. But, to my surprise, this particular store with the name "UniverCell Sync" seemed to be very different from the conventional mobile shops.
Himanshu introduced me and few other bloggers to the one, Mr. Abimanyu. He started shedding some light over the whole concept. He began with how the business was established and the course of various improvements made. UniverCell is a pioneer in dealing mobile phones and one of the earliest dealers in the city. With all the online shopping stores active today, UniverCell has come up with a challenging concept to make sure the Customers visit their showroom. Now speaking of the concept, "UniverCell Sync" is a new type of showroom from UniverCell that majorly focuses on giving Customers the options to choose a phone purely based on their requirements. The word "Sync" from the name suggests that the phone they help the Customers to choose will be in sync with their daily needs, both personal and professional. The store, unlike the usual jeweler setup, has zones based on the focus area of the Customers' requirements. There are three different zones - Point and Shoot, Music and Work and Play. Each zone has a specific check list for helping Customers to make sure the phone they choose has everything to meet their requirements.
Point and Shoot - zone for people looking for phones that are excellent for taking pictures and shooting videos. They have a setup with professional lights to test the camera of the phones the Customer selects. The Customer can have hands-on experience by clicking pictures and print it to test the quality. Not only the phones, this zone has all accessories that are essential for those who take pictures and shoot videos on the go. Accessories like memory cards, additional battery pack, portable printers and much more.
Music - Pretty much straight forward. Zone for people with never ending frenzy for Music. Coolest thing about this zone is that they not only help you choose the right phone but also provide you with the right gear for a great music listening experience. We can test the quality of the accessory and make sure it is compatible with our phone before paying for it. The representative from this zone boldly says, "you will never regret after buying an accessory since you are already sure that it works well with your new phone". When it comes to buying online, we can only go by the description and can't be sure whether it will work 100%.
Work and Play - Anyone who needs seamless access to e-mails, presentations from work, office documents and gaming on the go, can find the right phone in this zone. Apart from business compatible phones, they have gadgets like portable scanners, portable drives, etc.
These three zones are not the last of it. They have something called as "Fast-Moving Table". It is literally a table with phones that are generic to all three zones and are fast-moving. The phones are mostly flag-ship models from various manufacturers. Customers looking to spare no expense in buying the best phone can readily pick one from this table.
When someone asked a question about people who are not sure of what they really expect from a mobile phone and simply want to buy one, they gave a ready answer - "The Bazaar Area". The customers who are on a specific budget than a specific requirement can find the right phone from this area. There are also a number of accessories that are available.
UniverCell Sync also offers some value added services. While speaking of the usual theft insurance, extended warranty and stuff, the one that caught my attention was the "Sync Squad". If the customer is not able to use the phone to the fullest and need to know more about its features, they can call the Sync Squad and they will provide assistance at the customer's doorstep. It is indeed a paid service. It was really an exciting experience walking around and laying hands on some of the latest mobile gadgets available. It certainly encourages the Customer to buy before stepping out of the showroom. I must say that it's an impressive attempt to retain business in the competitive world filled with customers who get things done by a click or touch of a button.
