GEISHA KOWLESSAR-ALONZO
Managing Director of the Excellent Group of Companies Franco Siu Chong says more can be done better to fight crime.
Speaking at the opening of Digicel’s New Experience flagship store at Excellent City Centre in downtown
Port-of-Spain on Thursday evening, Siu Chong, when asked whether he was satisfied with the authorities efforts to tackle criminal elements he said, “I must say it’s challenging and it can be better and they can do better. It’s not an easy task to keep crime down but they have keep at it.”
However, with Christmas fast approaching Siu Chong is assuring security will be beefed-up at to ensure customers feel safe while doing their shopping.
And echoing similar sentiments of crime being a concern Digicel’s T&T CEO Abraham Smith said, “It (crime) is absolutely a concern. It’s a concern for us and for our staff. But we’ve got great commitments from Excellent City, we’ve got great commitments from the city of Port-of-Spain and also our own security which we are beefing-up to make sure our staff and customers feel comfortable.”
The store was previously located at ANSA Centre Maraval Road, Port-of-Spain.
Asked about the rent Smith noted the space at Excellence is much larger however, the rent was “about the same.”
On the reason for the move Smith said it was to increase its foot traffic and make its offering more easily accessible to customers.
“This was not a cost savings initiative by any means. We saw it as the perfect opportunity to relocate to a space where it would be closer to our customers and allow us to better serve their needs. This store is a lot more accessible, especially to the travelling public, as it is now on numerous taxis routes,” he explained.
At approximately 5,000 sq ft, this is Digicel’s largest store in T&T.
With the additional space, the store has added new services such as a learning centre, The Knowledge Bar, where it will be hosting educational workshops for customers to improve their tech-savviness.
There’ also a Digicel+ experiential zone where customers can try-out and interact with home-based products.
The store also features interactive device displays of the latest mobile gadgets and phones.
“We’ve thought about the customer, simplified their experience with us, and have pushed digital a bit further with the inclusion of more self-service kiosks for bill payments, and self-service computers where customers can request assistance, troubleshoot issues and log tickets on their own,” Smith added.
