Do you want the best headset? 
Choosing the best wireless headset for your Call Center is very important.
When searching for new wireless office headsets, you probably start out by having more questions than answers.
This blog is intended to help filter out some of the headset noise, and help narrow things down so you can make a wise buying decision for you, your staff and ultimately, your company.
Where or how do you begin?
First off, when you’re searching for the best wireless office headset, the term “best” can mean many things to many people and it can be very subjective.
For example;
- Are you looking for the best sound quality?
- Maybe you’re looking for the headset that’s most comfortable?
- Some might be looking for a wireless office headset with the best features.
- Best could also involve how good and how long the warranty is.
- Many might defer to online reviews to determine the best wireless office headset - Fast delivery and great return policy might be a consideration as well
Though this list could include additional things, you get the idea. There are many elements you could consider that help to determine the best wireless headset for a call center phone or Softphone.
A good starting place is to give thought to what things are most important to you. You’ll want to make a list which can be used later to measure your choices against that list. This will help to make narrowing down your choices to the one(s) that make the most sense for you and your situation.
So, step 1 is to determine what things are most important to you, and then make note of them.
At Headset Advisor, we’ve interacted with individuals, Buyers and Business Owners for nearly three decades. Over that span of time, and across all those interactions, we saw a pattern as to the criteria most people use in making their decision for an office wireless headset for their Call Center.
The most important things were:
- Comfort - They wanted a headset that was comfortable
- Sound Quality - They wanted a headset with very good sound quality - Price - They wanted a headset that was priced fair & reasonable - Ways to lower cost - Options that can help lower the cost
- Warranty - They wanted a decent warranty that wasn’t complicated - Reputable vendor - a company to contract with that’s responsive and reputable
Much to our surprise, pricing wasn’t top of the list. Though pricing was important to everyone, it wasn’t the main thing used to form a buying decision.
Clearly there were exceptions to this. Some had unique budget restrictions which caused pricing to rank higher on their buy criteria list. Unique situations aside, we saw price give way to other key decision points.
Reputable Vendor
This ranked high on the buy criteria list for most people. They want to purchase from a vendor that specializes in headsets and have done so for a long time. Companies who dabble in professional headsets or are new to it, represent greater risk to a potential buyer. This risk is magnified to those institutional Buyers who are making a buy decision for an enterprise.
Many Buyers will read online reviews, comb over a vendor website, and oftentimes check the Better Business Bureau, in order to obtain information about a given company.
You want to contract with a company that’s honest, professional and responsive with a good, solid track record.
Comfort
Assuming that you know the general wearing style you’re looking for (over the head mono, over the head duo or an over the ear style), you want comfort.
Believe it or not, not all headsets are comfortable. There are differences between makes and models which can in turn make a big difference how the headset feels when worn, especially a wireless headset for call center phones or Softphones.
Call Centers are known to be high call volume environments with Agents being required to be on the phone for a full 8 hours. If you select a headset that’s marginally comfortable, the discomforts will only be magnified in a Call Center. Having your Agents as comfortable as possible throughout the day is not only good for the Agent, but it has a positive impact on worker productivity.
Sound Quality
What good is having a great vendor who provides a very comfortable wireless headset for call center phones or Softphones if it sounds bad? The short answer is it’s bad, very bad.
Sound quality matters. In fact, sound quality matters a lot. When using a wireless office headset, what do you think your valued customers are thinking if your headset;
- Has a lot of static
- Cuts in and out
- Is too loud
- Is too quiet
- Allows them to hear all the background noise and coworker conversations - Doesn’t allow the Agent to hear you well
Customers are people, and people form quick opinions and first impressions. If your conversations include anything on the list above, you’re behind before even getting started. What do you think might be going through their mind?
- The company doesn’t provide their employees with proper equipment - They’re cheap
- Cutting corners
- Technologically not up to date
- The company is maybe having financial problems
Whatever’s going through their mind, it’s not good. This means that having a headset that sounds good is important from a customer impression standpoint, and an employee performance and satisfaction point of view as well.
How can you know how it sounds by looking at pictures?
Like with many products, you can read reviews, and while that’s helpful, you’re counting on other people’s own perspectives to meet yours. Is there a better way? Absolutely!
Request free product demo
If you’re working with a reputable authorized reseller, simply request a free demo of the product you’re most interested in.
Explain what you’ll be connecting it to, such as to an office desk phone or Softphone for example. This will give you a personalized perspective on sound quality and what you can expect, but also how comfortable it is.
Knowing these two things up front through a live product demo puts you well down the path towards making a buy decision for your next wireless headset for Call Center phones or Softphones.
I can’t overstate the value of having a live product demo. It’s well worth the time it takes to go through this process and can help to eliminate time consuming returns and exchanges too.
Warranty
All warranties are all pretty much the same, right? The short answer to this question is, no, they’re not all the same.
- How long is the warranty?
- What's the warranty process? Do you have to jump through a bunch of hoops that makes your life miserable, or is it nice and easy? This is important to know.
For example, when ordering from a source like Amazon, if you need help you'll get pointed to the manufacture. Depending on the brand you order from, you may be dissapointed in the service.
Take the time to know the details of your warranty. This way, you’ll be an informed buyer and you won’t have to experience any unexpected surprises when it comes time to use your wireless office headset warranty.
Ways to lower your cost for new headsets
If you work with a big box company or one that doesn’t specialize in headsets, it’s very likely you won’t be offered any special programs designed to help lower your costs. That’s one of the ways a specialist, vs. generalist can be of supreme value to you, the Buyer.
For example, what if you have a big box of headsets gathering dust in an IT storeroom? What will you eventually do with them?
- Throw them into the garbage? No, you wouldn’t want to do that. That wouldn’t be very eco-friendly.
- Leave them where they are? Nope, that’s just taking up valuable space. - Donate them? That’s a better choice, but they’re likely not working and the receiver might not know how to connect, adjust or use them.
- Pay to responsibly recycle them? Ouch, more money out the door.
There is a better way. Ask your vendor if they have a Trade-In program. You’ll be able to turn that clutter into cold hard cash or credit. This can help to lower your out of pocket costs for obtaining new wireless headsets for call center phone or Softphone.
Here’s an example of a Trade-In program
Make sure the vendor you work with pays for shipping. If not, that can lower your net credit amount.
Lease vs. Buy
The other thing you could consider is renting headsets rather than buying them. This is helpful for those who have budget challenges or have a need that’s more temporary or short term.
It can also be very valuable for those who anticipate change in the near future. In this case, you wouldn’t need to buy replacement headsets once the change takes place which could save you a lot of money.
If your vendor offers a headset rental plan, make sure it’s month-to-month in the form of an agreement rather than over a term under a contract.
You’ll want the flexibility to make changes when you like while not being tied to specific equipment for a specific period of time.
You should have the ability to upgrade, downgrade, make model changes or cancel at any time. This will give you complete flexibility which is what a rental plan should be.
Conclusion:
There is no best wireless headset for call center.
What’s best for you wouldn’t be what’s best for the next person. In order for you to find the best wireless headset for call center phone or Softphone, you need to decide what key elements are most important to you. Only then can you narrow down your product and vendor search, and in the end, come away with a headset solution that’s perfect for you.
If you want help navigating the rough waters of making the right headset decision, feel free to contact us today.
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