Do I Need a Phone System to Play On-Hold Messages on My Phones?

Typically, businesses can have telephone on-hold messages playing by hooking up an audio source to their KSU or PBX-type phone system. Since all of the office phones are controlled by a central “brain” (the phone system), any time a call is placed on-hold, the caller hears the recording.

But what if your business doesn’t have one of these “phone systems,” but instead has a simple two to four line phone which was purchased at your local office supply store? Good news – with the use of a special adapter, you can still sound like the big boys and have an on-hold recording.

An on-hold adapter hooks up to one of your phones, regardless of how many phones you have in your office, and an audio source (CD or digital player) hooks into the adapter, and voila – you’ve got on-hold messages. You will of course need a custom on-hold recording professionally produced – that will cost you around $300, or you can get a package of several recordings, allowing you to update the content several times throughout the year for maximum effectiveness.

There are several on-hold adapters available, some being compatible with certain model phones, and others being universal. There’s usually a catch with using the universal ones, though – you may have to press the “star” button on your phones to place calls on-hold, or you may need other devices that hook into your phones’ receivers, so make sure you do your research (or call Watt Media) before purchasing one of these.

The price of on-hold adapters ranges from around $225 to $325. These are typically sold only through qualified dealers, and your best bet is to go through an on-hold company like Watt Media who can provide you with the adapter and the professionally produced on-hold messages.