Taking the mystery out of music-on-hold

So we’ve all been put on hold at one point or another in our lives.  Maybe it was when we called the bank to figure out a weird charge, when we called a friend at work, or maybe when we called our dentist office to schedule an appointment.  Being on hold is not something that I generally enjoy – but there are definitely some experiences that are better than others.

Think back to the last time that you were placed on hold. Which of the following did you experience?

1.       Beep-Beep… [silence, silence, silence] Beep-Beep… [silence, silence, silence] Beep-Beep, etc. 

2.       ---------------------  DEAD SILENCE ------------------

3.       Beeeeeeeeeeep… Beeeeeeeeeeeep… Beeeeeeeeep

4.       (or my favorite) “Hold on,” followed by phone hitting desk, followed by “HEY TERRY, THERE’S SOMEONE ON THE PHONE FOR YOU. ARE YOU AVAILABLE?”… “I’m sorry he’s out of the office at the moment, can I take a message?”  Ugh…..

Don’t you think that hold time could’ve been a lot better if you were listening to some good music, maybe some jazz, sounds of the ocean, top 40s, or pretty much anything other than beeping, yelling, or nothing at all?  We sure do.

Wait, but how does one get this magical, elusive “music-on-hold”?  You start asking: Do I need to get a new phone system? Do I need to pay the phone company a ton of money to somehow install it? Once it’s installed – how the heck do I select, change, or even shut off the music?

Truth – It’s simple.  All it takes is a small electronic device, like the OHP 6000 (OHP stands for “On-Hold Plus”) shown below, which plugs right into your phone.  You can get one of these from Phoneworx (including installation) for about $299 – no joke! It’s that easy! Even better? You can use it for pre-recorded on-hold messages to market your products or services if you so desire.  

Do you have to get the phone company involved? No. How do you get the music on there? You can use a CD player or an mp3 player – meaning you can change it up as often (or infrequently) as you choose.

By investing in this simple solution, you can create a better experience for your customers and differentiate yourself from the competition.  Clients will not only be more likely to hold the line, they’ll be impressed at the polished image on-hold custom messages and music present.

Moral of the story – not everything to do with phones is complicated.  Furthermore, if you want something and don’t know how to get it, don’t assume it is some crazy mystery.  Any other phone issues got you puzzled? Let me know. I’ve got access to some amazing technicians who can “speak phone” if you know what I mean.

Until next time,

Megan