Top 10 Tips For Customer Service Staff Over The Festive Period

The festive period is fast approaching, and it’s not only consumers who will feel the pressure. Businesses up and down the country will be bracing themselves for the hectic period. Most will be prepared for the increased sales and demands on order fulfilment. Sadly, though, many will underestimate the importance of customer service throughout this period.

From integrating chatbots into websites to reducing wait times, several steps can be taken to improve your approach to customer services ahead of the festive period. Mastering this aspect of the operation will subsequently enable the business to tap into its fair share of a consumer market that spends over £85bn in just a matter of weeks. However, this will only be possible if you implement a clear and consistent strategy.

The good news is that there is still time to create chatbot systems and integrate other upgrades to supercharge your customer care services ahead of the festivities. Here are 10 top tips to empower your staff and improve the CX to make this your most profitable time of the year.

10 Tips To Manage Customer Service Demands Over The Festive Period

#1. Create Chabot Solutions

Before doing anything else, it’s imperative that you focus on integrating a chatbot into website and social media channels. An AI chatbot will revolutionize your approach to customer care, providing a better user experience while also saving you money.

In truth, the other considerations mentioned below will have a huge influence when you create chatbot systems. After all, you will need a chatbot that satisfies your functional requirements and uses a relevant source of truth. Nevertheless, integrating a chatbot into website communications will deliver many benefits, such as;

• Providing 24/7 support, which is particularly useful over the festive period when the business may be shut on certain days.
• Facilitating self-serve customer care, which is something that over 80% of consumers actively want from businesses.
• Delivering instant answers to customer queries, even utilizing the data from past interactions to do it.

Every business should want to create chatbot solutions to support their customer service staff throughout the year. Nevertheless, with an anticipated spike in queries over the coming weeks, now is the opportune moment.

#2. Forecast Expectations

We live in a data-driven world and your business is already using analytics to guide a whole host of decisions. It would be very foolish not to use data to your advantage when planning your customer service strategy ahead of the festive period.

Your help desk software or Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can provide data from previous years to highlight the trends you can expect to see in this festive period. If you have seen a sharp increase in customer tickets over the festive period in previous years, you should expect to see a similar outcome this year. You can gain deeper insights by analysing;

• The types of customer queries that are raised during this time - such as product queries, order tracking, or troubleshooting.
• Product sales expectations during this period - you can get this information from your marketing or sales teams.
• The level of growth your business has seen in the past 12 months - if the client base has doubled, you can expect double the queries.

If you enter the festive period not knowing what to expect, it is very unlikely that you’ll be ready. Conversely, when you can anticipate the traffic and customer care demands, you can enter the process with 100% confidence.

#3. Understand How The Festive Period Affects Other Teams

Your customer service team may be its own entity, but it is indirectly linked to every other department in the company. After all, customer queries could relate to virtually any aspect of the business and your staff are responsible for providing answers on behalf of that department.

The average household spends over £700 more in December than they do in other months. However, this comes at a time when many businesses perform on reduced hours due to the holidays. This does not change the fact that consumers want quick answers, especially when buying gifts that they need in time for the festivities. Customer support teams should know;

• Whether the marketing team is closing down for the holidays and needs help managing social media channels.
• If manufacturing or order fulfilment teams will shut down or operate with reduced workforces on certain days.
• Whether offices, shops, or other departments will change their hours of operation or implement changes for the festive period.

Clear communication is essential and customer service staff must boast an understanding of the entire business. If you create chatbot solutions, feeding the relevant information into the AI systems will become an essential feature too.

#4. Change Customer Service Policies To Remove Consumer Panic

You cannot alter the fact that your business will probably encounter a spike in customer queries. However, the situation will become far more stressful for your customer care staff if consumers are in a state of panic. When this happens, aggression is far more likely to surface.

Managing customer expectations is an essential ingredient in the recipe for success over the festive period. Up to 73% of consumers cite customer experiences as the number one deciding factor when choosing between brands. Speed, transparency, and feeling valued are all key features. At this time of the year, you can master the process by;

• Extending returns policies - this will help consumers buy with confidence and feel less stressed if they encounter problems.
• Keep human agents open for longer - when consumers can reach live chat agents outside of normal hours, their frustrations can be quashed quickly.
• Giving staff more autonomy - when customer service agents are able to use their initiative to find solutions, keeping customers happy becomes far easier.

Integrating chatbots into website channels will also enable you to deliver automated responses. From tracking the whereabouts of their delivery to learning about changes to your operating times, this clear and instant info can manage a lot of queries. This puts less strain on agents.

#5. Manage Your Rotas With A Versatile Approach

Even if you create chatbot solutions to provide automated customer care, your business will rely heavily on customer service staff during the festive period. Moreover, two in three expect to receive a response within five minutes. You must ensure that you have enough agents to do it.

Now is the time to address the schedule, not least because most employees will want some time off during this time. It is also worth noting that staff absences caused by illness are likely to rise over the colder months, which is why having backup staff available is advised. When managing your staff schedules, the following tips can be very useful;

• Consider introducing work-from-home and hybrid working. Employees can find this more attractive, especially when commuting over the festive period becomes hard.
• Use holiday rotations for a fair distribution of hours and allow employees to work shorter or longer shifts than normal to find a solution that suits them.
• Implement a holiday in lieu scheme as a way to avoid having too many workers on non-busy days while also having enough for peak times.

There is no escaping the fact that this is the most challenging time of the year for customer service staff, both individually and collectively. An open mind and flexible approach will give you the best chance of coming through this period unscathed.

#6. Invest In Customer Service Staff Wellness

The festive period is both hectic and stressful. Consequently, then, managers and team leaders must protect staff wellness at this time. After all, the winter weather can leave employees feeling bereft of energy and motivation even before the stress of the job takes a toll.

Happy workers are 13% more productive while they will naturally provide better customer service as their positivity will spread to clients. Similarly, when employee wellness is at a high level, the frequency of mistakes is greatly reduced, not least when they are supported by data analytics. All customer service staff should benefit from the following features;

• Regular hydration and movement breaks - even a 2% dehydration level can impact mindsets, productivity, and feelings of happiness.
• Comfortable break room facilities - interactions with customers at this time can be very stressful, which is why a chance to reset is vital.
• Mental health support - the opportunity to discuss issues with confidence and confidentiality is hugely supportive at this time.

Putting these features in place now will set you up nicely heading into 2025. Crucially, though, it will improve individual and collective output throughout this challenging period regardless of whether you have a small team or large organisation.

#7. Train Employees

At a glance, this feels like the worst time of the year to train employees as they already have a lot to do. In reality, though, a short refresher course could be the key to restoring their confidence while also promoting consistent customer care.

Staff training could include dedicated courses for customer service staff. This could cover online interactive works as well as class-based training. However, teams are most likely to benefit from routines that are tailored to help agents manage customer interactions throughout this hectic festive period. Some of the key points to cover may include;

• How to de-escalate situations, especially as many customers are short-tempered at this time of the year.
• Utilising reports and customer behaviour to deliver the best outcomes and clearest info for customers.
• How to utilise the automated responses of chatbots or other AI tools to streamline the customer care process.

Upskilling employees will ultimately improve the UX and CX for the consumer. The fact that it can allow staff members to solve problems and avoid stressful situations can only spell positive results for them too.

#8. Actively Inform Customers About Your Services

As already stated, transparency is non-negotiable for providing great customer service in the festive season. However, you shouldn’t limit this to updating policies and opening times. For the best results, you actively need to make people aware of these changes.

Website updates will provide valuable updates when consumers come to you. But sending an email, automated messaging, or social media update actively tells users about the changes. Of course, you should promote changes with in-store signage if you have an offline shop. There are many benefits to taking this proactive approach, such as

• Help consumers plan the best times to contact your customer service team or learn where to go for self-service answers.
• Highlight that you are committed to supporting them and will continue to provide a professional touch during this busy period.
• Keep your brand fresh in the consumer’s mind, helping you work towards the eight touchpoints needed to gain a conversion.

It is a simple tip that shows your professionalism and makes consumers feel more valued. The fact that you have provided key information without requiring them to spend time finding it for themselves also adds convenience. So, they may accept a slight delay in your responses.

#9. Utilise The Right Channels

Providing the right responses is one thing, but using the right methods can be one of the most effective ways to deliver better results for consumers and customer service staff alike. Your business probably uses an omnichannel approach, but you must focus on the right ones.

Using demographic data about your audience can help you determine which social media channels are most useful for your customer care teams, although you can integrate chatbots and live chat facilities across them all. Away from social media, you may also need to consider placing extra emphasis on the following;

• Live chat facilities on your website, which can extend to integrating chatbot for website interactions.
• Telephone customer services, which are best provided using VoIP telephony systems for added clarity and cost-efficiency.
• Email and SMS customer services for delivering general communication as well as responses to individual queries.

Whichever channels you use, you’ll want to update canned responses and use automated replies to keep users informed. If nothing else, it saves customer service agents from having to complete these tasks and/or repeat themselves during each interaction.

#10. Provide Customer Service Staff With Clear Protocols

Finally, you must ensure that your team is prepared for all situations. You may encounter queries that are unique to this time of the year while changes to business operations, not least with other departments, can cause added challenges.

Therefore, employees should know how to respond in all situations. While AI has changed customer services and can remove some of the pressure, problems can still surface. To maintain control of the situation, customer service staff must be equipped with the right action plan. Some issues to consider include;

• Who should an employee escalate customer queries to, especially when line managers are off duty?
• How can they keep customers calm when there is a delay in finding a solution without making promises that can’t be kept?
• What are the next steps if a department is closed, an order has been lost, or another issue can’t be solved via traditional approaches?

When dealing with multiple customer care issues, the last thing your team needs is to be burdened by delays linked to a lack of strategy. With clear protocols for all situations in place, all interactions will move in the right direction to reach fast and logical conclusions.

Integrating Chatbot Into Website Platforms With Click4Assistance

By now, you should have a clear understanding of how to upgrade your customer care game ahead of the festive period. While there are many factors to consider, there is no question that your business must create chatbot platforms to support both eCommerce and real-world consumers with their queries.

Click4Assistance can design, develop, and deliver an advanced chatbot solution to provide omnichannel care catered to new leads and existing customers alike. To learn more about how the power of AI can support your business throughout the festive period and into 2025, contact our friendly agents today.