Trial by retail
Despite predicting on 10 February that it would open trial stores in Eltham and Bishop's Stortford within a fortnight, it was only today that Everything Everywhere officially opened them.
Just to recap: Everything Everywhere is the hyperbolic name for the joint venture between Orange and T-Mobile in the UK, created because they were third and fourth respectively behind Vodafone and O2 in the UK before the move.
The initial effect of the JV has been to enable Orange and T-Mobile customers to switch between networks, depending on which provides the better service at a given location. Ultimately they plan to merge the networks, but in the meantime EE is trying out some new retail concepts, which showcase both Orange and T-Mobile offerings.
The first one (pictured below) opened in Altrincham last month, and the next two opened today, a week or so later than originally intended. The emphasis seems to be on letting punters play with the mobile devices, which seems like a good idea. Here's what the respective store managers had to say, we're asked to believe.
Ajay Bhudia, Eltham store manager, said: "We're delighted that Eltham has been chosen to trial the store. We wanted go (sic) give local residents the chance to try something new and this store will offer greater choice than ever before, enabling them to enjoy a wider range of products and services in a fun, interactive environment. We've been training for the last few weeks and now we can't wait to open the doors."
Giulio Giorgio, Bishops Stortford store manager, said: "We're delighted that Bishops Stortford has been chosen to trial the store. We wanted go (sic) give local residents the chance to try something new and this store will offer greater choice than ever before, enabling them to enjoy a wider range of products and services in a fun, interactive environment. We've been training for the last few weeks and now we can't wait to open the doors."
They've clearly got a couple of maverick loose-cannons on their hands there; we love the fact that they even made the same typos. The trials will last six months and shortly include Lowestoft and Evesham, which used to be known for PCs...
Update - 14:15, 4 March 2011: We mistakenly quoted the Eltham store manager commenting on the Bishop's Stortford store. This has now been corrected, but hopefully you can see what an easy mistake that was to make ;-)
