Safaricom has finally opened its remodeled flagship store along Nairobi’s popular Moi avenue, having undergone a four months renovation period. The colorful ceremony was graced by some of Kenya’s finest celebrities such as Eric Omondi and attended by the Chief Executive officer himself, Mr. Peter Ndegwa alongside the firm’s Chief customer Officer, Sylvia Mulinge. The shop will feature some of the best in technology including interactive display panels as the mobile service provider embark on a journey towards a customer focused approach.
Customer care has been a major thorn to many businesses in Kenya who are unable to cope with demand in the country, more firms dealing in the technology sector. Safaricom like many other companies has faced criticism in a manner they’ve been handling customers, where despite running the most popular mobile money service in the country, customers have had to hold online for several minutes before they are actually attended to.
But when it comes to retail stores across the country, Safaricom has one of the best shops with a vast availability network compared to other mobile service providers. The retail outlets handle most customer issues and also offers devices for customers to purchase. Just recently, Safaricom teamed up with Google to introduce Lipa Mdogo Mdogo initiative, aimed at bringing more customers to their 4G network from older 2G and 3G.
The remodeled shop has a unique video tunnel at the entrance with interactive display panels, device display screens for various handsets as well as accessories on sale. It’s also the largest shop from the mobile service provider, spanning 10,000sq feet and is expected to handle more customers from the current 1,000 it’s been handling per day.
Speaking on the development, Safaricom’s Chief Executive Officer Peter Ndegwa said the shop intents to offer personalized services to its customers for whichever need they may have. Ndegwa also acknowledged the move had been necessitated by a growing demand fueled by customer’s need for digital services. He concluded by saying the firm will strategize to drive digital inclusion.
Moi Avenue Safaricom shop sections;
The store will have various sections targeting different customer needs, such as a training section that’ll be dealing with availing relevant information on a variety of products to customers including information regarding home fiber, enterprise and digifarm. Additionally, there will be a tech zone, dedicated to offering same day after sales services, down from previous seven days.
The store will also have a training section to provide information on a variety of products and services such as Home Fibre, Enterprise and Digifarm. There will also be a Tech Zone that will offer same day after sales service for devices, down from the previous 7 days.
Other features in the shop include Jitambulishe booths to offer silent voice biometrics enrolment environment, and a bulk Mpesa transacting booth, it’ll be the first of its nature to offer services to customers who need it.
A gaming section is also full-on display, its unclear what exactly customers will be doing in this section, but it’ll be interesting to actually see it in action.