mily time, Donate Your Data, which allows users to donate unused data to kids who don’t have internet access, and Call Translate, which allows users to communicate with someone who speaks a foreign language on the phone.  “It’s about reshaping the conversation around the needs and the wants of our customers, whether they’re a business or a family, and doing something far more meaningful than just providing a pipe,” Maurice McCarthy, managing director of customer success at Optus, told Inside Retail.  The telco has also embedded this new way of thinking into its latest retail concept, Alive, which was unveiled at the national Optus flagship store on Queen Street in Brisbane last November.  The store includes 11 unique zones across two storeys, from a Kids zone with augmented and mixed reality experiences, to a Connected Home zone, through to a Working Home Office zone for small business customers and CBD workers who need solutions to work more flexibly. There is also a state-of-the-art gaming centre, where Oputs can demonstrate its new feature to reduce lag, Game Path, and where the professional eSports team that it sponsors, The Chiefs, can play and stream games to their followers. “We’re not just showcasing beautiful Apple, Samsung, and Google devices. It’s so much more about what those devices can do when they’re linked to the Optus network,” McCarthy said. “What better way to celebrate that than a retail store?” Digital screens, personalised service The Queen Street store has a strong focus on digital, with multiple digital screens enabling Optus to tailor its messaging to the local area. It is also the first store in Optus’ network to use mmWave 5G, the fastest form of 5G.  At the same time, the customer service offering is highly personalised.  “When you walk in, the first thing you’re met with is the concierge, who will [say] their name and then ask you for your name. It’s a framework that we put together to [be] more welcoming and create that experience that it’s all about you,” McCarthy said.  “Then you’re transferred over to one of our experts for the next part of the journey. What we tried to do is really understand how you utilise your device. [That] allows me to shape the conversation and make the right [product] recommendation,” he said.  For instance, if a customer is in the market for a new pair of headphones, a staff member might ask them what their favourite song is, so they can listen to it while they try on different pairs of headphones.  Rather than using desktop terminals to process transactions, staff members are equipped with tablets, so they can roam around the shop floor, easily share product information with customers, and access their service histories to better understand their needs.  This also gives Optus more floor space to display products and offer unique experiences.  Broader rollout Optus is now in the process of determining which aspects of the Alive concept to implement in each store across its network of over 300 locations.  Larger stores, which are typically around 400 square metres, will be modeled closely on the Queen Street store in Brisbane, while smaller stores, between 60 and 80 square metres, will get a more simplified version of the concept. Those in the middle, around 120 square metres, will get some but not all of the elements in the Queen Street store.  “In some cases, we will reduce the size of the displays and the showcases that we do,” McCarthy explained. However, digital screens and tablets will be rolled out to every Optus store in Australia.  “In the next two years, we’ll completely remove desktop terminals from stores, freeing up real estate, and we’ll continue to iterate in terms of the components — whether it’s for the business segment, the family segment, or the gaming segment,” he said. People first Beyond these physical changes, the rollout of the new retail concept will involve training Optus store staff to embrace a more personalised approach to customer service. For McCarthy, this is the key to becoming the most loved everyday brand in Australia.  “We could have all the technology, the Living Network, Optus Pause, gaming, and everything else, but if we don’t have thousands of people across the retail network who actually have the capability to understand what this means for our customer, we’re wasting our time,” he said.