Microphones and Telephone Paging in UK Grocery/Hypermarts

[RLSbutton]

Hello friends in the UK.

I am doing research on service desks in the UK for design, and I notice most of the retailers such as Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Morrison's utilize a single microphone for store announcements.

What are the technical and operational reasons that UK retailers do not utilize the paging output features on the IP Office/BCM and other telephone systems? In the USA, Australia and Canada, overhead paging is mainly utilized by the telephone systems, so you don't have to run two different sets of wires.

Grocery stores here in North America have extensive Cisco, Nortel, Avaya, Mitel systems that allow you to park and page, and the service desk usually has a phone with a KEM attached. Registers have digital or IP phones with feature buttons, something else not common in UK grocery stores.

Cultural Differences?

Joseph Sus Jr. Nortel Emetrotel Consultant

http://www.joetheucxguy.com

 

[RLSbutton]

It looks like Waitrose stores might be the exception, they appear to use Cisco and no microphone is present at the service desk.

Joseph Sus Jr. Nortel Emetrotel Consultant

http://www.joetheucxguy.com

 

[sbcsu]

One issue that might not be initially apparent is that end users who make the paging call will hang up the handset in a clumsy way making a corresponding noise out over the PA system.

 

[sbcsu]

Another issue would be customers might see the code being dialled from phones and use that same code at a quiet wall handset 'at the back of the store' to call out over the PA !