THE CALL CENTER ENVIRONMENT
Sound QualitySound quality is of primary importance in evaluating a headset. If users have trouble hearing customers, they must ask them to repeat themselves, increasing average call length and, subsequently, cost per call, as well as potentially turning away customers. In a call center environment seconds saved can amount to millions of dollars per year. Further, poor sound can result in incorrect orders, translating to increased shipping costs and, worse, both user and customer dissatisfaction. Finally, as voice recognition applications become more prevalent in the call center, the quality of the headset will directly impact the recognition errors you can expect.
There are several ways to evaluate the sound quality of one headset as compared to another. The first measurement is "Frequency Response, " or the percentage of the telephone voice signal and headset can deliver. Using the carrier's transmission standards as a benchmark, some headsets can deliver as high as 96% of the bandwidth available; others as low as 41%. Make sure the speakers in the headsets you choose offer wide-bandwidth capability, thus ensuring their ability to receive a wide vocal range, and transmit a natural and clear conversation. Speakers with a narrow bandwidth provide a distorted version of a person's voice, which sacrifices clarity, power, volume and overall sound quality. Headset suppliers often publish this information; if you do not have the facilities available to test headset samples, request transmit and receive test data from your headset supplier.
Because headsets are worn on the body, they are constantly moving, and with that motion, static electricity is generated. Noise on the line becomes a common headset problem. Accordingly, it's important to look for headsets with static-resistant components. Quality quick -disconnect connections and contacts, cords and the wire used within the headset must be engineered to resist and eliminate static. If not properly designed and manufactured, your headset will develop static over time due to the handling and treatment to which all headsets are subjected.
