Being in the customer service line of fire myself, I'm always impressed when a small company manages both good products and good service.

Thanks to Arron Bourne and the BlueAnt Technical Support team. I depend on my BlueAnt Z9 Bluetooth headset almost as much as my cell phone itself (Nokia E61). It’s the best headset I have had, and I have tried several, wired and wireless. The BlueAnt pairs easily and reliably, works smoothly, has noise cancellation that makes a noticable difference, wears discretely on the ear, and stays comfortable a long time. An Australian import, BlueAnt is up there as one of the best headsets (http://www.myblueant.com/), and costs significantly less than competitors. I also like the Blue Ant car speakerphone, which I got for my daughter.

Recently, a tiny but essential part of my headset became a problem. The screw-on headpiece loosened and would not stay on securely and finally one day, it went missing. I didn’t immediately consider it a customer service matter, and instead looked to replace it. Unfortunately, the authorized parts supplier had this $10 part listed as on indefinite back-order. I gave BlueAnt’s technical support number a call.

A call center rep in Vancouver answered almost immediately. After explaining that my issue was not a normal one for tech support, the rep thought it through and said he would just send me the missing part from stock that they had just received. No charge. No pressure to “upgrade” to new model, send it in for warranty repair or other impractical, but as we all know, common responses. And I got it by mail a few days later.

Great product, and great response.

Cell phone headsets are personal and idiosyncratic choices. Having one you will use regularly is worth the time and cost. Aside from legal and safety issues, I need to keep myself from cradling phones on my neck. And the microwave radiation dangers have come back into discussion in the wake of Ted Kennedy’s brain cancer. If you are looking, check out BlueAnt (which you can buy on Amazon and elsewhere)