{"id":30841,"date":"2012-11-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2012-11-28T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/five-customer-service-tips-to-prepare-for-holiday-rush\/"},"modified":"2024-01-18T20:55:47","modified_gmt":"2024-01-18T20:55:47","slug":"five-customer-service-tips-prepare-holiday-rush","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hyken.com\/customer-experience\/five-customer-service-tips-prepare-holiday-rush\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Customer Service Tips to Prepare for Holiday Rush"},"content":{"rendered":"

Customer Service Tips to Prepare for Holiday Rush<\/h3>\r\nI\u2019m writing this the day after Thanksgiving, also known in the retail world as Black Friday. This is one of the busiest, if not the<\/em> busiest, shopping days of the year.\u00a0 I observed a number of salespeople and customers in the stores at a very busy shopping mall. Here\u2019s what I noticed.\r\n\r\nBy the way, even if you\u2019re not a retailer, there are still some lessons here.\u00a0 Every business will have busier times than others. It doesn\u2019t have to be because of a holiday rush.\u00a0 It can be after a trade show or seasonal.\u00a0 Now, back to Black Friday.\r\n\r\nCustomers were divided. Some were enjoying the experience of looking for sale items for themselves or for holiday gifts for friends and loved ones.\u00a0 Others seemed to be anything but casually shopping.\u00a0 They appeared to be on a mission.\u00a0 It was either for a particular item or store, or it was to get the best deals they could get on Black Friday.\u00a0 All of the customers had one thing in common: they were going to encounter busy stores, long lines and overworked salespeople.\r\n\r\nThe salespeople were busy \u2013 very busy.\u00a0 In some cases, they are almost too busy.\r\n\r\nSome stores were busier than others, and of course, the check-out lines were longer than usual.\u00a0 This was testing the patience of some of the customers.\r\n\r\nAs a business, we must be prepared for these busier times. If we work hard to create a customer-focused brand, we can\u2019t let the holiday rush, the extended hours and the demanding customers erode what we\u2019ve worked for.\u00a0 No, if anything, we need to up our game and deliver an even better level of service. First for our existing customers and second because new customers will find their way into our stores, and if you want them back, then the customer service experience had better be amazing. So, how can we do it?\r\n

Five Strategies to Prepare for Holiday Rush<\/h3>\r\n
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  1. Make sure you are staffed well.\u00a0 Wait times for the customer shouldn\u2019t be too different than other busy times.\u00a0 Salespeople must be available.\u00a0 If the customer feels they are waiting too long, or they see a long line, they may get frustrated and leave.<\/li>\r\n \t
  2. Train the staff for the busy times.\u00a0 Prepare them.\u00a0 Give them some tips on how to deal with more than one customer at a time.\u00a0 Expect it will be busy.<\/li>\r\n \t
  3. Motivate them. If ever there was a time for a team meeting before you opened every day, this is the time. Get employees excited about the prospect of breaking sales numbers but delivering great service along the way.\u00a0 Talk about what happened the day before and plan to repeat the good and avoid the bad.<\/li>\r\n \t
  4. Have a contest of some kind.\u00a0 Make the day fun.<\/li>\r\n \t
  5. Model the right behavior. Treat the employees the way you want your customers treated, and expect everyone else to do the same.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\nOkay, it\u2019s holiday time<\/a>!\u00a0 Let\u2019s get to work \u2013 and have an amazing holiday!\r\n