Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

October 28, 2008

Plantronics Improves Call Clarity for Contact Centers

By Stefania Viscusi


In the contact center, where agent retention and customer satisfaction are key, it is important to have technologies that support agents. Keeping this need in mind, Plantronics (News - Alert) is announcing the launch of a new VistaPlus AP15 digital audio processor and EncorePro wideband headset for contact centers.
 
With Plantronics VistaPlus AP15, contact centers are able to achieve improved call quality as well as eliminate echo and filter out background noise.
 
The processor is available for a MSRP of $150and featuring AudioIQ technology. The processor also works to improve calls made from mobile and cordless phones which may have degraded audio quality. And, to protect users hearing, the volume can be automatically adjusted to the users preferred level.
 
"Productivity and intelligibility are even more important for contact center management as self-service technology such as interactive voice response (IVR) becomes more common," said Drew Kraus, Research Vice President at Gartner (News - Alert). "Calls that do go through to agents in these environments will likely require a higher level of service. Agent clarity, productivity and retention become increasingly critical for a contact center's performance in this setting."
 
According to the company, initial tests conducted at a contact center for a financial services firm were successful and showed agents reduced customer call time and were able to serve more customers.
 
Plantronics new EncorePro headset also helps to improve agent retention and improve productivity with clear voice transmissions so callers can have an intelligible conversation and do not have to repeat information over again. The headsets are built to offer wearing comfort and include lightweight nylon composed plush leatherette ear pads that spread over the ear for extended wearing. It also features a noise canceling microphone and is available in both monaural and binaural versions for an MSRP of $137 and $160 respectively.
 
Used together, both the new offerings ensure that conversations are intelligible on both ends of the call – further reducing errors are ensuring that customer satisfaction is achieved.
 
"Plantronics understands the influence contact center agents have on the customer experience," said Nick Eisner, director of Contact Center Product Management at Plantronics. "Intelligibility is critical for both customer satisfaction and agent productivity. VistaPlus AP15 and EncorePro improve audio signals to provide clear and accurate conversations, reducing the potential for data entry errors and improving first-call resolution metrics."
 
Agents taking part in an informal survey from Plantronics also said the headset was more stylish, comfortable and transmitted better sound.
 
Back in September, Plantronics made headlines with the introduction of Unified communications (UC) headsets optimized for Microsoft (News - Alert) office communicator.
 
The new headsets, a wideband .Audio 630 M USB binaural headset and an .Audio 615M USB monaural headset, offer improved business communications during PC-based audio and video calls.
 
 
Earlier that month, they also introduced the Voyager 835 Bluetooth headset for consumers. The headset features three advanced noise cancelling technologies and is designed to defeat wind and other background noise in a variety of real-world environments, such as a busy city street, crowded restaurant or car with the air conditioning blowing.

Stefania Viscusi is an assignment editor for TMCnet, covering VoIP, CRM, call center and wireless technologies. To read more of Stefania’s articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Stefania Viscusi


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