It was a really, really long line as I approached the 12,389 foot summit of Mount Fuji, in Japan. After hiking for a few hours, on top of a mountain, a long line was the last thing I expected. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people were in front of me. As I looked up at the majestic peak, I pondered the unspoiled beauty of the snow cap and the crisp cold air around me.
That’s when I heard the first cell phone ring — one of many it turned out. That reminded me. I had my mobile phone buried in my pack, too. So I dug it out to call my wife home in the U.S. My call to her didn’t go through, but just after I hung up, a call from one of my best clients managed to get through for a few seconds. It went something like this:
Me: “Hello. HELLO!”
Client: “TJ!”
Me: “Hey, I am on Mt. Fuji in Japan.”
Pause.
Client: “You are WHERE?”
Dead silence as the call dropped.
Well, it was Mt. Fuji, so what can you expect. The reception was terrible. I never was able to get through to my wife from the summit, but text messaging worked, and my wife received the message about a week later!
And for years afterward whenever I spoke with that client, we always started with a little replay of, “You are WHERE?”
That’s the strangest place I’ve ever taken a business call — what about you?
You may not be on Mt Fuji, but when an important call comes in you want to answer on a high quality phone or a hands-free headset. You definitely don’t want your clients asking, “what did you say?” or “where are you, anyway?”
In the early days of Bluetooth headsets, people would often ask me if I was talking to them from a cave, or worse, the bathroom. Thankfully, the technology has advanced incredibly and you can talk in noisy environments, but it sounds like you are in an executive office.
The best headsets today are voice-activated; no buttons to click to answer a call. Most high end models have two microphones to minimize the wind and other background noise. One of my favorite things is that you can use these headsets to listen to music you have stored on your smartphone and get directions from your navigation system/app.
Enter the Sweepstakes
Plantronics is running a sweepstakes to support Small Business Saturday, and to support small businesses throughout this holiday season. To enter, you just share your story about the craziest spot you’ve ever taken a business call. Your name will be entered into a sweepstakes of the Marque 2™ Bluetooth® headset.
The sweepstakes takes place from now through Dec. 12, 2012. To share your story for a chance to win, go here: http://soundingboard.plantronics.com/community/small-medium-business.
Ti Roberts
Oh, this is great! I love it. I’d be happy to see the places and who wins! 🙂
Ti