T[Life] Melbourne with the enormous LCD display.
Telstra has thrown the covers off three new stores in Melbourne including the company's largest retail outlet.
Telstra today opened three new T[Life] retail outlets located in Chadstone, Doncaster and Melbourne's CBD. The CBD store, located on the corner of Bourke and Swanston Streets, is apparently the "largest interactive telecommunications store in Australia", according to Telstra. Adding to the store's grandeur is a 22x2.5-metre LCD display located above the entrance to the store.
The enormous new T[Life] store covers nearly 1,900 square metres with much of the floor space of the store dedicated to interactive customer experience displays showcasing a range of communications and business technology. Telstra invites its customers to use the products on display with the assistance of 80 Telstra staff employed at the CBD store.
Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo spoke at the store's opening and referred to the new T[Life] as a "one stop shop" for telecommunications with a focus on customer experience.
"Australians told us that they want a store where the display mobiles work so they can play before they buy," said Trujillo.
In keeping with the "play before you buy" philosophy, the CBD location features a 50-seat auditorium where customer training sessions are scheduled daily. Customer service areas are also set up to field technical questions about telecommunications technology, similar to Apple Store's "Genius Bar". For more difficult technical assistance, two qualified service staff are available to attempt to fix faulty equipment.
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rwm72
26/06/2008 04:58 PM
Sounds like a lamer version of the Apple Store. Still, at least people will get to play with a new phone, then go to another provider where they can get a cheaper plan and better service.
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man.dovvn
27/06/2008 04:21 AM
hahaha, yea Telstra are a rip.
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LFCmelbourne
27/06/2008 11:51 AM
telstra dont compete on price, where as the others have to discount there products and services. Telstra doesnt need to go into price wars as there business model doesnt fall into that department, there are about customer experience and offering the best product on the market to there customers. This is coming from a loyal optus customer who is thinking about switching over.
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rwm72
27/06/2008 01:01 PM
Fair enough LFC, but make sure before going to Telstra you check what you get in terms of value for money. Check out 3 for comparison among a number of others and find out who all your friends are with as this helps with various plans. Telstras business plan is not price war based as you say, but neither is Apples, and Apple are way ahead of everyone when it comes to customer experience and quality products, despite premium prices. Telstra are trying to imitate Apple but have a long long way to go, and do not have enough respect from the average consumer and end user which Apple has. If Telstra get there great for everyone, but in the meantime, a little slack for the consumer on better priced plans will speed things along.
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testonetwo
27/06/2008 06:27 PM
so let me help you all out here from a PC to MAC convert. i love apples and when it comes to phones i have telstra phones. why? because they work in more places than just cities. i'm in tasmania - no service here for 3 at all. No 3G for Optus or Telstra. So i'm waiting for the Next G iPhone because unless you're in melbourne or sydney with the other carriers your 3G capabilities will be useless in most other places. Next g covers 100 times more of australia than any other - so when you want to be mobile you get what you pay for.
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dan_rox77
27/06/2008 09:34 PM
Maybe convert your Capital enthusiasm (MAC, anyone) and capitalize Apple...instead looks like you're saying you like apples (the fruit) Btw, what's with all the Telstra fanatics? And you think all the Apple freaks are weird?? Anyone who goes for Telstra must be absolutely crrrazy.
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Daniel
28/06/2008 08:22 PM
I went there today and let me say, it was PACKED! Not full of customers though, I'm talking about employees, there was at least 2 employees for 1 customer there :D Admittedly it was only 10.30~ but still... And yes I did get to play with many new phones and the best thing is that they all had free internet access, phone call access so I spent a while on Facebook etc while waiting to meet a friend on a delayed train. I wonder how long that will last till the phones fall to pieces and they get sick of paying for the bandwidth... However, as my favourite quote is 'Telstra is Evil' as they are holding back Australia in Telecommunication services imo, I'm totally biased but I gotta admit it felt/looked like a cheap copy of the Apple Store in Sydney... Oh and they had they a heavy focus on QR Code barcodes but had no phones that could read the barcodes that where placed around the place... I had my Japanese 904T and was able to read them and go to the address but I thought that was odd... funny though, she was going on about it like it was new technology but it's been around in Japan for over a decade... :P One word, lame
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Dan
30/06/2008 04:56 PM
T-Life? - More like T-Bag! It's as weak as home brand tea.
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Happy
30/06/2008 05:14 PM
I think this is a great idea, at least they have more than 1 mobile to show (like the apple store)
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Tinybob
29/07/2008 09:48 AM
I would like to see some other carriers attempt greatness like what we see in Tlife. All you people who call yourself "Australian" and yet dont support an all Australian company are lame. Stop sending our $$ overseas. That is so un-Australian
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Early Grayce
21/08/2008 06:50 PM
I would like to see some other carriers attempt to rip off people like what we see in Telstra. All you people who call yourself "Smart Consumers" and yet sell your soul, and your firstborn child, to Telstra are lame. Stop spending your $$ on overpriced crap. That is so un-Australian.
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