Wiser Solutions is a software company that provides a retail analytics platform to help clients make more informed decisions regarding their products’ instore merchandising. When their Boston office recently moved to a converted warehouse space in the city’s downtown area, employees immediately noticed that speech distraction and privacy concerns were an issue in the new space. “When we signed this lease, we noticed immediately that the space was right for us, but the sound was overwhelming for the people sitting in or around or near the different conference rooms,” says Chris Angell, Wiser’s VP of marketing.
SOLUTION
Angell and CFO Mathieu Gagne had heard that sound masking, the process of adding a lowlevel, unobtrusive background sound to an environment to cover up excess speech noise, might help mitigate the office’s sound issues. Sound masking is similar to the sound of airflow, but specifically engineered to cover up human speech, making affected environments more comfortable, private, and free of excess noise distractions. Wiser called its local telecom services provider and asked for a free consultation and quote. Satisfied with the demo, Wiser moved forward with installing sound masking in the new space.
Wiser’s vendor installed Cambridge QtPro sound masking from Biamp throughout the open office, private office, and conference room spaces. Small, barely visible Qt Emitters (loudspeakers) were mounted in the office’s open ceiling. The emitters were connected by cables to a Qt 300 control module residing in the server room. The system allows for different masking volume levels across multiple zones, providing Wiser with the ability to address noise distractions more aggressively in open office areas. Automatic ramping was also programmed into the system, enabling the masking noise to be slightly louder at times when the office is at its busiest.
CONCLUSION
The new Wiser Office is now more functional, productive, and acoustically comfortable, and employees are pleased with the office’s transformation. “When we decided to implement sound masking… the office changed, and it changed in the sense that people could concentrate on their work,” says Gagne. "Other companies I’ve worked in, we’d consider sound masking because we had open environments and never quite pulled the trigger. Now having worked in this environment, I would recommend it to anybody-it really makes a difference!"
A graduate of DeVry Institute of Technology, Doug has been in the Technology industry since 1976 and actively oversees Fearing’s daily operations. Along with his wife, Lois, and three others, Doug started Fearing’s in a 600 square-foot facility in Portage, Wisconsin. In the 25 years since, the company has grown to over 30 employees with offices in Madison and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Doug likes to say he’s a “TV Technician with a dream� going back to his history with the family’s original business-Fearing’s TV and Appliance.
Doug values time with family, watersports, hiking, snowshoeing and skiing. In addition to being a devoted member of his church, Doug serves as Board President for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County, Board member of Schools for Haiti and Scripture Chair of the Gideons-Portage camp.
A graduate of MATC, Lois oversees Fearing’s daily book keeping along with various HR responsibilities.
Along with Doug, Lois is deeply connected to community outreach, serving as a Board member and Fundraising Committee Chairperson for Kinship Mentoring of Columbia County. She also serves on the Schools for Haiti Fundraising committee. In addition, Lois’ ongoing passion and commitment to provide care for the elderly comes from her 10-year history of working in a Reedsburg, Wisconsin Nursing home.
Lois enjoys singing, hiking, sunny days on the pontoon, and spending time with her 4 grandchildren.
Ehren drives Fearing’s technology by continually seeking out trends to enhance capabilities while supporting Sales, Engineering and Installation teams. Throughout his years with Fearing’s, Ehren’s talent and vision have joined forces to create a wide variety of projects and strategic solutions that exceed expectation.
Ehren loves music, family time, movies, nature, sustainability efforts and electric vehicles.
With 10 years with Fearing’s and over twice that long in the industry, Ben continues to lead, coordinate, and develop the Commercial AV team.
By consistently delivering an outstanding experience and outcome, Ben contributes to the Fearing’s legacy of long-lasting partnerships that truly make a difference. Whatever the Commercial AV need may be, Ben and team deliver at the highest level.
Ben is an avid fisherman and photographer. He enjoys coaching his sons and other youth.
Chris has been with Fearing’s for 20 years and in the industry for over 2 decades. As a Certified leader in Sales Acceleration and trained in EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating Systems), Chris successfully utilizes his skills to lead the Fearing’s Salesforce. Chris and team are motivated and driven to develop new client partnerships while continuing to reinforce loyal long-term relationships with ongoing Service excellence.
Married for 19 years with 3 children, Chris enjoys skiing, hiking, fishing, boating, hunting, camping and golf. He’s also been actively involved as a Youth Football and Softball coach for his family and others.
