I’ve recently noticed that so many companies are beginning to use WiFi VoIP phones in locations that would normally have 2-way radios. This is something that I’d have never thought of, until it made sense to me in a major warehouse-club store.

I had to go to my local warehouse club to exchange a pair of shoes that were too small. As I was standing at the returns desk, waiting in line behind others that were either returning or exchanging purchases, three customer service employees were wearing 2-way radios. All of their radios were, as many of you have witnessed before, had their volume turned up to 11. They also had several more radios sitting on a desk behind them, also turned on and turned up. Every time any of the employees in the store had something to say over the radio, whether is was meant for customers to hear or not, came blaring over each and every radio in stereophonic surround sound. I thought, has no one from corporate management ever been to any of their stores and heard what was being said ‘loud, proud and publicly’ over their 2-way radios?

Now, I don’t want to speak out of school here but, in the 15 minutes I was standing in line, I heard enough information that everyone around the store agreed, wasn’t meant for customer’s ears. In fact, they announced sales and information over their intercom system that sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher — why not just announce it over the 2-ways?? At least there were more of them around the floor than intercom speakers.

So, why switch to WiFi VoIP phones instead of using 2-way radios? Besides the privacy issue, there’s also voice channels. While watching the staff drag around their heavy 2-ways, there were employees that needed to ask questions, either for themselves or a customer. The staff would yell a person’s name into the radio, hope they could hear them, and wait for an answer. If there was chatter on the radio, the staff member would wait… and wait… and wait… for the chatter to end, and proceed to call out the name of the person they needed to contact. With current WiFi VoIP phone technology, these issue would be a thing of the past.

For those of us that know how WiFi VoIP phones are used in an office or home, the reason for warehouse use became abundantly clear. The amazing thing was that not only would each staff member have the ability to hear audio that was only meant for them, but they could dial the extension of the person they needed to contact instead of:
‘Sal — Sal — Come In Sal’
‘This is Sal, who’s this’
‘This is Jim at the receiving dock’
‘Yeah Jim’
‘The truck from A&A is here and 2 pallets of flat screens are smashed. What should I do?’
‘Hold on, I’ll be there in a minute’

Nice conversation to broadcast across the building to every staff member and all your customers.

So, besides privacy, no talk over, no waiting to talk with unlimited talk channels, cleaner clearer sound, direct-dial instant employee locating, instant customer service to a customer, no 2-way licensing fees, no scanner eavesdropping, and on a larger scale the ability to call another employee or location direct and at no cost (extension to extension worldwide), and probably so many more reasons than I can’t think of… Why not switch???

In fact, the warehouse club I was in, as most stores do, already had WiFi set up store-wide for their inventory scanners. Most grocery stores have free WiFi set up for customers, yet still use 2-way radios.

The future is now (add your own echo)… Another great use for VoIP WiFi phones.