By Betsy Scheinbart
Cellular phone users from Jamaica no longer travel across Queens or into Manhattan for a full-service wireless retail center since Sprint Personal Communications Services opened a new store on Jamaica Avenue late last year, the first of its kind in the neighborhood.
The store is located at 163-23 Jamaica Ave. in Jamaica Center, near the Gertz Plaza mall and the Jamaica Mall, an area that is full of potential shoppers during the day.
Steve Bugg, Sprint’s director of marketing for the New York metropolitan region, said Sprint’s demographic research showed the need for a store in Jamaica.
“Jamaica was flagged as an area where we had a lot of customers who were scrambling to other locations,” Bugg said.
Before the new store opened, Sprint customers from southeast Queens were traveling to Forest Hills, Astoria, Flushing, and even Midtown Manhattan and Brooklyn, Bugg said.
The manager of the new store, Michael Rentas, said 30 to 40 percent of the customer at the Forest Hills store had been coming from the Jamaica area, a clear indication that a store was needed in their neighborhood.
“There is a large population in this area,” Rentas said. “There are about 9,000 potential customers in this zip code (11432), and I have several other neighboring zip codes I can take advantage of.”
After a slow start in December 2000, business has picked up by 15 to 20 percent each month and Rentas predicted that the number of wireless service activations in February would double the 400 connection his employees made in December.
In fact, the store has been so successful, some of the other Sprint stores in New York City have felt a slight decrease in traffic, Rentas said.
The only challenge Sprint has faced in Jamaica is that some area residents have less than perfect credit histories, Rentas said.
Sprint performs minor credit evaluations, but a one-year security deposit of $125 is an alternative for those without a credit history. It also offers customers a clean slate, “a chance to rebuild their credit,” Rentas said.
The store has not held its grand opening yet, because cleaning still needs to be done on the outside, but the inside is finished and fully furnished with product samples and cell phone accessories.
A circle of sales representatives and more sample cell phones fill much of the store’s interior, while a separate line forms in the back of the store for customers who have come to pay their bills.
A lit map of Sprint’s New York/New Jersey wireless coverage area brightens one side of the store, along with video kiosks offering information about long-distance and local services.
The hustle and bustle of Jamaica Avenue is visible from the inside of the floor-length glass windows and doors that line the front of the store, but it is quite easy to pass right by the store without noticing it because there is no sidewalk sign.
“I had a big sign outside the store with an arrow pointing in, but I was getting so many tickets from it, I had to take it down,” Rentas said sadly, adding that several customers told him they came in because they saw the sign.
Despite its inconspicuous exterior, Bugg said the store is attracting attention in the area.
“The community is accepting us and we are doing very well per early indications,” Bugg said.
And the store is giving back by hiring as many employees as possible from the local area, Bugg said.
About 20 customer representatives work in the store, and more will probably be hired if customer traffic continues to grow.
Nearby, along the strip of Jamaica Center, several stores advertise cell phones and some even pass out fliers, but these stores are not licensed to sell Sprint services.
Some stores offer the services of Sprint’s competitors, such as Voice Stream, AT&T, MCI Worldcom, and Nextel, but Rentas said those who offer Sprint products do so illegally.
One nearby store used Sprint’s name on its flier, but inside a clerk said Sprint services were not offered yet, but would be in a week.
Meanwhile, an even bigger business “first” is planned for downtown Jamaica in 2002: a movie theater. Jamaica has had movie theaters over the years, but they have been without one for many more.
Yvonne Reddick, the district manager of Community Board 12, which covers Jamaica, said the theater will have 15 screens and 3,200 seats.
The theater is expected to revitalize the night life of Jamaica Center, and like the new Sprint store, it will allow Jamaica residents to spend money in their own neighborhoods instead of traveling to other counties or distant corners of Queens.
Reach reporter Betsy Scheinbart by e-mail at Timesledgr@aol.com or call 229-03?00, Ext. 138.
