Holiday shopping can be a stressful time for many people. Customers are worried about items being in stock, finding the perfect gift and avoiding long lines when searching for help or checking out.
Given the nature of the holidays, customers may be more anxious or demanding than usual. It’s important for leaders, therefore, to properly train employees to handle the expectations of holiday shoppers to keep them happy.
To help, eight Young Entrepreneur Council members shared their best tips for customer service professionals working this holiday season.
Young Entrepreneur Council members share strategies for keeping customers happy during the holidays.
Photos courtesy of the individual members.
1. Be Sympathetic And Make Them Feel Heard
Like with “bedside manners,” you should be more sympathetic when there are issues that need resolving, and never make the customer feel like they are an inconvenience. Try to accommodate whatever needs you can, within reason, and always remind them of your appreciation for their feedback and patience. Customers want to know they have been heard and that action is being taken to fix whatever it is that needs attention. You could even try offering alternative solutions. For example, if there’s a backorder on their product shipment due to uncontrollable delays, give them a promo code for a future purchase. They will appreciate your effort and will likely be more empathetic and grateful to you as they remember you are working during the holidays. – John Rampton, Calendar
2. Treat Every Customer How You’d Like To Be Treated
This is a top tip for customer service professionals throughout the year, not just during the holidays. It should be the first thing customer service representatives learn before speaking with any customers, and it should be ingrained into your company’s culture. This tip doesn’t just apply to frontline customer service agents. Every employee who interacts with customers should understand that when you treat people the way you want to be treated, you’ll almost always get better outcomes. – Jonathan Prichard, MattressInsider.com
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3. Focus On Problem Solving
People are often harried and stressed during the holidays. While it’s supposed to be a time to celebrate, customers may be extra impatient and intolerant of problems or what they perceive as poor service. It’s important for customer service professionals to stay calm and not take things personally. This is true all year but more so during the holidays. Remember that each customer is trying to get an issue resolved, perhaps to find a gift for someone. If they are frustrated, it has nothing to do with you. Focus on how you can solve the problem without getting caught up in other people’s dramas. – Kalin Kassabov, ProTexting
4. Offer Special Holiday Surprises And Deals
We like to offer unexpected and unannounced surprises and perks to our best customers during the holidays. For example, we offered an extra 20% off to our top customers during last year’s holiday season, which increased the fourth quarter’s revenue by 15%. We provided the coupon code via email, so we could track the overall conversions. – Kristin Kimberly Marquet, Marquet Media, LLC
5. Try To Save Them Time
During the holidays, many people feel more pressed for time, trying to check off long lists for very particular recipients they want to see happy. These same folks often encounter numerous disappointments as customers throughout their day, at a far higher volume than the rest of the year. Because of this heightened exposure to time-related disappointments, one of the best strategies for customer service is making a genuine effort to save customers time and annoyance, no matter how small it may seem. A few extra minutes may seem inconsequential to us, but after the twelfth time a customer has had to wait longer than normal, they become burned out and irritated with the whole consumer process. Being mindful of this during the holidays can go a long way. – Richard Fong, AssuredStandard.com
6. Focus On ‘Warmth’
With the holidays, you want to focus on personal warmth. Give people a small way to feel that spirit of giving and happiness that the holidays mean for so many of us. Remember, even though your customer might call up because they are unhappy, you want to send them home with the most positive possible story about your business and the people who work there. I consider my customer service team so critical and so important to my business. I interact with them constantly. I’ll set the example of the warm approach I want to see taken toward customers. In the past, I’ve seen my angriest customers turn into loyal, long-term fans of my business. That’s the power of empathy and warmth both during the holidays and all year long. – Tyler Bray, TK Trailer Parts
7. Show Genuine Interest And Gratitude
Reach out to your customers in meaningful ways that demonstrate a genuine interest for their well-being and that show how thankful you are for their business. If the company shows that it has put in the effort to know what each customer’s individual preferences are, any little token of appreciation will be highly valued. Holidays are great times to show how fortunate and grateful we all are and how important our customers are to us. – Adrian Romero, Cápita Works
8. Give As Much Information As Possible
When customers make purchases for special events and holidays, they’ll be more particular than normal and are more likely to be upset if something even small goes awry. Customer service professionals can bypass customer frustration and worry by being forward with information. For example, if a customer is asking about the availability of a product, assure them that you have it in stock. Then give them even more information by letting them know how they’ll receive the item as well as an estimated time frame. Going above and beyond even a little can ease customers’ minds and create a positive impression. So, share more information, but not too much. – Blair Williams, MemberPress
