The Human Touch @ UniverCell Sync

Let me start my post with a confession. I am online shopper who has come up with quite some posts regarding online shopping experience. This is my first post regarding my experience in gadget store.
Unlike me, my son loves to feel, hold and check out the products he intends to buy (or not). His favorite pastime is visiting stores or malls for window shopping. I used to be his companion, before I started winning vouchers for online shopping. Now, that changed everything. I completely stopped visiting stores even for groceries, relying completely on my internet for shopping. From past 3-4 years, I haven’t bought any gadget from store, since I found online shopping more convenient. Not to mention I have won most of the devices from contests online.
In my busy schedule, I had no inclination to be a part UniverCell Sync Bloggers Contest as I did not see any reason why I should visit a store when I can buy gadgets online from the comfort of my home. But Rayyan (my son) persuaded me to go and have a look before being judgmental. Finally, I gave in and went to UniverCell Sync store located in Indiranagar Bangalore, which is quite some distance from my home. I warned my son, it better be a good experience, or else he is going to pay for it. He did not pay for it.

Farheena checking out if keyboards are necessary for tablets

What I found most attractive about being in a store was the Human Touch. A website can never do that, no matter how advanced it is or what kind of discount you get there. My feelings were further solidified when I bounced into two friendly UniverCell representatives, who had no clue what was blogging all about or what was going on in their store. We had a small chit chat and I explained them about basics of blogging. I also showed them my blog and the benefits I got from blogging. They were immediately on the bloggers website, checking out the options. They were very much interested in starting a blog about latest gadgets and gizmos hitting the market. In return, they shared their Gyaan with me about what they observe about customers. One of them was very sure that when two women walk in the store, they never buy any phone; because, they can never make up their mind between themselves . They also fixed up Farheena’s smartphone which was not recognizing the SIM. The funny little chitchat lifted up my spirits, and my son was safe now. He could see that his mom was having good time in the store.

We also talked about our HTC phones, which were the tough ones. I told them I was waiting for my HTC to start giving me problems so that I will have excuse to buy a new one, when the representative showed me his own HTC phone which had cracked screen but still worked fine with the touch screen giving no problem even in the cracked area. He said, my wait would be useless. We had a good laugh over this. This is the human touch I am talking about. There is something special when you talk to people and learn from them and also share something you have in common. You feel connected. Google may have all the information of this world, but it can never give you the human touch.
Soon I joined the group of bloggers who were being shown around by Soumya Menon, Vice President, Brand Strategy of UniverCell.  I introduced myself and joined the group. What caught me completely by surprise was the depth of knowledge she had about the customers/consumers and their needs. It was consumer psychology on full swing when she asked a fellow blogger to show her his phone, then went to tell us what he would prefer in mobile, what range in price he is looking at and also why he chose the previous phone. She scored perfect 10 with each of those predictions. I was quite impressed and so were all the other gaping bloggers. She also explained how UniverCell had put efforts to make the tech experience unique and memorable for their customers. There was so much of effort put behind even the aroma that welcomed me when I entered the store. The music was soothing which made people feel relax when they were spending bucks on the latest gadgets. No wonder people go to stores to purchase gadgets instead of buying it online.

We were shown around the UniverCell store and I realized that there were different zones earmarked for consumers with different needs and tastes. WOW! That was cool. As soon as we entered the store, the latest gadgets stared back at us immediately. They held the most coveted zone of all. Then we had zones of photography lovers, music lovers, multi-task lovers, gamers, travelers and many more. There is nothing online that can match the actual experience of holding the device and using it. I got introduced to many devices which I had not known earlier.

One amazing small gadget which caught all my attention was the tiny LG pocket photo printer of which the UniverCell Staff gave a demonstration of for us bloggers. How wonderful it is to have the photos instantly transferred from your mobile to paper. Add the advantage of not running short of ink ever; since the gadget does not use Ink Cartridges. Here are two photos from the demo session.

All the time I kept thinking about students who had to rush here and there to get printouts for their school projects. This would be a blessing to such students and parents as well. Now, I have been surfing internet and checking out latest gadgets for past few years, but I would have chanced upon this gadget because I never searched for it. Visiting a store means, you get to check out products that you are not looking for as well as those you came in search of. Having a experienced person guiding you through the products and helping you understand them is quite helpful as well.
The store caters to the requirement of customers from every strata of our society. It matches the changing speed of the tech geeks but does not ignore or forget those who need mobile phones for their basic needs of making a call (if those speicies of humans still exists). Apart from the tablets and phones, the store has lined up amazing accessories, apps and solutions for technical glitches as well.

The Sync stores have new format which ensembles under one roof everything a mobile user needs like

• Latest phones
• Best phones available in the market
• Tablets of different sizes
• Low budget phones
• Accessories  
• Services 
• Insurance, safety and security

My experience was not just of watching and checking out latest gizmos or gadgets. I could touch the products, feel them, use them, interact with experts regarding the specifications, and actually live the experience of using the gadget before moving ahead with the purchase. The new age, trendy technology gave a personalized touch to the shopping experience. The store with great visual informative media not just showcases the gadgets but also gives out details about their functionality and other specifications through firsthand experience and expert advice. After being through the store, I am very sure that I would not regret any purchase made, because my decision would be well informed.

Shockingly I realized that our smart phones have become something else in recent years. Standing in the UniverCell SYNC store and looking around I realized that phones are now our music devices, business aides, computers, maps, educational support, cameras, videocams, phones and many more. I don't see any other gadget taking such a huge leap in the last decade.

Finally Rayyan started taking video of the store for making a short movie regarding his experience in UniverCell Sync and I discussed gaming options and latest games with their representative Sanjay, who offered to give me some paid games for free. He completely understood my craze for games, being a gamer himself. I could see the human touch was back at work here again. When two people share something in common, be a HTC phone of passion for playing games, there is some magic created which can never be replaced by any technology.
UniverCell was a amazing place where "We went, We saw and  We Were Conquered". That is the reason I have plans with my son to go Window Shopping for at least two hours on Monday.

Thank you Indiblogger. Off course we had a great time experiencing UniverCell Sync!