Halifax businesses gaining "big-business" technology and telecom advantages from new consulting business store

New business consulting model eclipses old 'figure-it-out-yourself' approach

HALIFAX, April 16, 2013 /CNW/ - On April 18^th, TELUS and Advantage Wireless of Dartmouth will officially open Atlantic Canada's first TELUS Business Store, a new concept in bringing affordable "big business" technology and telecommunications consulting, sales, service and training to small to medium-sized businesses in the Halifax-Dartmouth region.

Small to medium-sized business customers will discover a completely different experience from the moment they walk into the store. Instead of choosing their devices or plans from the other side of a counter, they will be invited to discuss their needs with a dedicated TELUS Business Specialist.

The joint TELUS-Advantage Wireless venture is already helping businesses understand and take advantage of new, powerful, affordable technologies and services to help them save time, reduce stress, save and make more money. Offerings include Google Apps for Business; Moneris POS and mobile payment systems; digital IP phone systems; web/mobile site development, management and hosting; computers, smart phones, and tablets; and airtime.

Blomidon Nurseries General Manager Andrew Palmer knew that cash register lineups at his Wolfville, Nova Scotia operation hurt sales, especially on busy summer weekends.

"We'd wince as people walked away rather than wait in line at the cash," said Palmer. "Now our sales staff have iPhones with mobile payment systems so they can help customers find what they need, load merchandise into their trunks, and complete credit and debit card transactions in the parking lot. Everyone loves the benefits our new technologies bring - speed, convenience, reliability, intelligence, and a serious cool factor."

Backing up Blomidon's e-commerce-enabled iPhones is Google Apps, a cloud-based suite of tools that includes email, calendar, documents and online storage that allows the company to connect with everyone, work faster, and stay organized.

With the zeal of the newly converted, Palmer added, "Now we have more time to spend with customers, less cash to handle, fewer errors, accounts are updated automatically, reduced software or hardware costs, and everything's networked and generating data to help us better understand and serve our market. And it was easier than I imagined."

"Small business owners don't have time to become tech experts," said Carl Launt, president, Advantage Wireless. "So it's rewarding to help liberate them from the limitations and headaches of their old clunkers so they can harness new technologies to take their businesses to the next level in an accessible, cost-effective way."

TELUS chose to partner with Advantage Wireless in creating this store because of their outstanding track record and reputation with businesses in the Atlantic region. "Our two organizations have been working together for more than a decade, so we know each other well," said Walter Andri, vice president, small & medium business, TELUS. "The new store combines the power and depth of TELUS with the local knowledge, understanding and expertise of Advantage Wireless to offer businesses in this part of the country an unparalleled choice of solutions and services."

The TELUS Business Store, powered by Advantage Wireless, is located at 202 Brownlow Avenue in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

About Advantage Wireless
Advantage Wireless is Atlantic Canada's premier provider of wireless solutions for business. Founded in 2000 by industry veteran Carl Launt, the company has become the go-to source for thousands of regional businesses of all sizes who depend on Advantage to help them grow revenues, better serve customers, and drive new efficiencies. Built on exceptional customer service, flexible pricing and constant innovation, Advantage Wireless consistently ranks as one of the region's top-performing TELUS dealers, and boasts some of the highest customer satisfaction rates in the country.  For more information on Advantage Wireless, please visit www.advantagewireless.ca or call 1-866-444-7484.

About TELUS
TELUS (TSX: T, NYSE: TU) is a leading national telecommunications company in Canada, with $10.9 billion of annual revenue and more than 13.1 million customer connections, including 7.7 million wireless subscribers, 3.4 million wireline network access lines, 1.4 million Internet subscribers and 678,000 TELUS TV customers. Led since 2000 by President and CEO, Darren Entwistle, TELUS provides a wide range of communications products and services, including wireless, data, Internet protocol (IP), voice, television, entertainment and video.

In support of our philosophy to give where we live, TELUS, our team members and retirees have contributed more than $300 million to charitable and not-for-profit organizations and volunteered 4.8 million hours of service to local communities since 2000. Fourteen TELUS Community Boards lead TELUS' local philanthropic initiatives. TELUS was honoured to be named the most outstanding philanthropic corporation globally for 2010 by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, becoming the first Canadian company to receive this prestigious international recognition.

For more information about TELUS, please visit telus.com.

SOURCE: TELUS Corporation

Michael Dunn
902-422-6014 W, 902-229-5378 M
[email protected]