In the contact center world, there are thousands of options when it comes to endpoints. What’s an “endpoint?” It’s just a fancy term for the device that’s providing your audio path – desk phones, earbuds, headsets, and their wired/cordless versions. New technology is coming out every year for audio devices and nine times out of ten, they are seen as improvements on past versions. But is the newest tech, such as Bluetooth, here to replace older systems for customer service representatives (CSRs) in the contact center space? Our customers ask us all the time what we recommend for contact center professionals on every level, because there are simply an unfathomable number of options out there.
Desk Phones
There is one thing we don’t recommend, and that is a desk phone. It’s not even on our radar. Not in the contact center. This option is clunky and inefficient. In today’s contact center, representatives need their hands free to process transactions on the computer. Trying to cradle a desk phone on their shoulder is dinosaur behavior and we have evolved beyond it.
Earbuds
Earbuds are great for those random Teams calls when you happen to be out walking the dog. There’s as earbud that we use called the Poly Voyager Free 60 UC that is designed to be used with Microsoft Teams. Great for everyday use for a non-CSR employee, but it’s a $300 unit and worthless in the contact center. While it does have Automatic Noise Cancellation (ANC) and does a great job with wind, contact centers aren’t windy. In our opinion, not worth the investment for supplying a full contact center.
Traditional Headsets
In a professional contact center, you would think that only the top end, expensive headsets would pass muster. However, for $40 you can have the USB corded Logitech H390, which is binaural, loud, and clear. Its price point and technical simplicity make it easy to justify swapping it out if there’s a problem. You don’t fix these, you replace them. Our customers use a lot of these and can buy them from their vendor of choice. They’re also perfect for work-from-home scenarios for many of the same reasons. They’re not flimsy like many fine headsets.
Bluetooth Headsets
We’re not crazy about Bluetooth for contact center representatives. There is little to justify the cost with more things to configure and break.
The only exception we would make is for managers and supervisors who need more mobility. We prefer the Poly Savi 8200 series. It’s loaded with features and long talk time, plus, the range is incredible. This is because it uses DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) instead of Bluetooth.
Many in our organization have come to rely on this headset as their go-to endpoint. It’s so ingrained into their day-to-day that it’s easy to take things like this headset’s range for granted. One employee forgot to charge their SAVI and was forced to use a spare Bluetooth headset. Getting a drink during an important meeting became a nightmare, as the Bluetooth range couldn’t handle half the distance of the SAVI DECT range. After hearing multiple stories similar to that one, we only recommend DECT headsets for wireless users.
These are just a few of our favorite endpoint audio solutions. We live and breathe inside the contact center world and have plenty of insights into how to make your contact center a well-oiled machine. If you’d like to discuss further, do not hesitate to contact us here.