11 Experts Share Tips for Superb Customer Service this Holiday Season

Lisa
Chu
Black N Bianco

AJ
Saleem
Suprex Tutors

“In order to prepare my customer service department for the holidays, I usually hire virtual assistants to help out on paperwork. This allows my core employees to serve customers better and more effectively.”

AJ Saleem is the director of Suprex Tutors, a private tutoring and test prep company based in Houston.

Gene
Caballero
GreenPal

“When it comes to hiring holiday staff, referrals are the best way to go. Referrals from your ideal employees will allow you to vet the work history, work ethic, and cultural fit a lot faster than your standard off-the-street hire.”

Gene Caballero is the co-founder of GreenPal, the Uber for lawn care.

Bob
Ellis
Bavarian Clockworks

Steven
Macdonald
SuperOffice

Max
Robinson
WeSwap

I’ll usually create a ‘Holidays FAQ’ for my staff to refer to, so they can learn how to deal with customers appropriately during the holidays and help them with the various scenarios that only arise during certain times of the year.”

Max Robinson is the marketing executive at WeSwap, a peer-to-peer currency exchange platform.

Lee
Fisher
Wooden Blinds Direct

We have an excellent back-end web team who have set up an automation system which passes online orders straight through to the production floor. The manufacturing department must keep customer service informed of any backorders, which can happen when certain types of wood become unavailable. They must also follow up if any of the information from the “special requests” section of the website is unclear, inhibiting their ability create the product to the customer’s exact specifications. And, we pride ourselves on being a next-day blind business; however, over Christmas, this may need to change to next working day due to the demand for our products. The customer service department must communicate these issues to the customer accurately, yet positively, so customers don’t cancel their orders.”

Lee Fisher is the senior manager at Wooden Blinds Direct, a supplier of custom-designed window coverings.

Chip
Bell
Chip Bell Group

Tom
Daube
Washington Diamond

The best advice I can provide is: don’t settle for low-quality temporary hires to fill the gap on high-consideration consumer purchases. We pride ourselves on being “Where Service Shines,” and that should matter as much on December 24th as it does on any other day of the year.”

Tom Daube is a diamond expert at Washington Diamond.

Daniela
Arango
TonerBit

Brandon
Figueroa
Chargebacks911

I think one of the best ways to prepare for an influx of customer engagements is to spread out the interactions as much as possible. Do what you can to create a more evenly distributed experience. For us, that means reaching out to each of our clients and prospects individually to see if there is anything we can do to help them prepare for potential issues now. We help them create a proactive approach to their risk mitigation and chargeback management instead of just functioning in reactive mode.

For retail though, merchants might consider trying to space out their sales. By offering promotions and discounts earlier in the season and having the offers continue throughout the remainder of the year, the business can move away from a heavy concentration of sales on just a couple of days to a slightly more manageable situation.”

Brandon Figueroa is an account executive at Chargebacks911®.