O2’s Store of the future
Talk Direct's Mark Skelton was recently invited along to the O2 store in Manchester to speak with the team there about the work we have been doing with our project iCare. The plan is for us to help and support staff at the store so that they can replicate what we do across our stores and then hopefully this will see the start of our mission to help and support visually impaired people across the nation in every O2 store in the country. Up until now the project has been totally unique to Talk Direct but now we are going to be trialing our work in both Manchester and in London in O2’s Store of the future. The Manchester branch really is something you need to see to get just how fantastic this place is, and the work and design that has gone into it really is something else!
The store on Market Street is absolutely huge and some of the benefits the store has, really set it apart from any other store. In the store they have a different thing every month, and at the moment it is based on music. You can currently learn how to play a musical instrument or even have a tutorial on how to be a DJ and do live mixing right in the middle of the shop floor! In the store there is also a large hospitality area where people can come in and use the Wi-Fi and a place to sit and use the laptop etc most of the staff in the store are also O2 gurus and technical help is readily available for any technical issues or support that customers may need. Anyone who is in the Manchester area really should visit the store because you really need to see what goes off in there to get a taste of just how futuristic the store is.
Mark spent the morning in the team briefing sessions and spoke to all the staff about how he lost his sight and on what changes the company made so that they could continue to not only employee Mark but also to give him a role that could help the visually impaired community in our 14 stores. We then spoke about how O2 had chosen the Manchester and London branches and how we could help people suffering from sight loss with their help and support both in and out of the store. We then spent some time showing staff how good accessibility functions are on a smart phone and then had a look at just how fantastic some of the apps that are available. It was fantastic to see the team downloading these apps and trying them out and saying just how great they were.
Mark then spent some time on the shopfloor having a chat with the team on a one to one basis so that they could ask any questions they may have had. Each and every member of staff spent time with me and were really keen to find out more about our project and how they were determined to help me to make it work in the store. He really was overwhelmed with how good the Manchester team were and cannot wait to continue working alongside them to help the visual impaired get help and support with technology. This was the first time Mark has spoken about project iCare to any store other than our own.
Many thanks to Laura and her team for making it such a fantastic day.
"Since Mark spent time with the team they have served three visually impaired customers and managed to find them the right solution for their need. All commented on the great service- one even came back to upgrade her phone early as she felt she was given the very best service. Without Marks guidance this would not have been possible. We would like to thank Mark so much for the attention to detail he gave us during training. We were able to really listen to the customer's needs and supply the best solution for them." - Laura Mullin, General Manager - O2 Manchester Market Street (Store of the Future).
