Cellular phone company gets makeover

Big changes are coming to a local cellular phone store.

Customers will see an expanded retail area, live handset display models and a contemporary upscale look on their next visit to Simply Wireless, 1602 S. Main St.

They’ll also see a new name on the building because the store has been selected as one of 75 T-Mobile dealers across the country to operate under the name T- Mobile Limited.

“It’s really quite an honor to be selected,” Kathy Gretencord, owner, said. “Our customers will be the first to get the latest technology and when some glitzy new phone hits the market they’ll be the first to see it and try it out.”

The five Simply Wireless stores owned by Gretencord, all in Kansas, have been required to adopt a corporate store look and feel before they can operate under the T-Mobile Limited moniker. The Ottawa location is the fourth store to be remodeled.

“I think our customers will be pleased with the new look and expanded product selections,” she said. “We’ll have eight live handsets available at the store so they’ll be able to try it before they buy it. I think they’re really going to like that aspect.”

Gretencord’s stores were selected from more than 12,000 T-Mobile stores nationwide.

“We have always been one of their best health-index retailers because we’ve always held ourselves to a higher standard,” she said. “This is our reward for years of doing things the way they were supposed to be done. They know we won’t disappoint them.”

Gretencord opened her first Simply Wireless store in Lawrence in 1997. Her Ottawa location opened on Main Street in 1999. She expects the local remodeling project to be completed by mid-June.