MaxRoam at Maplins - a disappointing start

    Originally uploaded by EirePreneur

Pat Phelan informed us yesterday that MaxRoam has gone on sale at Maplins in Limerick so I popped in today to see what the display unit was like.

When I asked an attendant about it he had to open the package and quickly read the instructions to bluff his way through a spiel about the product's capabilities. I suppose the fact that it's just after arriving in store might excuse that to some degree but it was nevertheless disappointing that staff weren't more informed.

Secondly, as you can see from the photo, the SIM package is placed rather modestly on the new products shelf. I guess this is a temporary resting place before making it over to the communications cabinet but regardless I think the presentation could do with some jazzing up. I don't know much about retailing but as it is stands now this is an item most people are likely to pass by unless they're specifically visiting to buy one (in which case they'd surely do so via the website instead). It just doesn't grab the attention. Pity, because it's one hell of a product.

Comments

[Alan]

Hi James
Please tell you were being sarcastic.
You expected staff at a retail store to have been briefed on a brand new product, one that the whole mobile industry doesn't know what to make of yet.

It's not just a new product, its a new TYPE of product.

Best of luck to MaxRoam, I reckon we'll all get one, once we work out what it is and how good it is.

[Michele]

Retail placement depends on incentives and a lot of other factors.
You may know what the product does, but unless the retailer is getting a decent incentive they're not going to go out of their way to place it strategically.

[Paul Walsh]

It's a product that will soon revolutionise the entire mobile industry. Forget the packaging - everyone will know what it does in the near future.