The holiday shopping season is upon us and dealing with the influx of shoppers can seem challenging at times for business owners. Customer service is just as important this time of year as it is the rest of the year. Many of the customers you encounter over the holiday season could potentially become repeat customers.
- Make sure seasonal employees understand your policies and procedures. The last thing a customer wants to hear is “I don’t know” from one of your employees. From the customer’s perspective, they do not know the employee is a seasonal worker. Take the time to train season workers correctly. It can also be beneficial to assign them to work alongside or under one of your regular employees, so they can get help if they need it.
- Make waiting in line fun for your customers. Have your employees interact and talk with customers standing in long checkout lines. You could hand out candy canes or free small bottles of water to help alleviate your customers’ stress of waiting, or even try playing word games with them!
- Take advantage of an answering service to take all of your inbound calls during the holiday season. Since your store is probably going to be busy, you want to make sure to spend as much time as possible on the floor, instead of in the office on the phone. A call service will take calls according to your specifications. Plus, you do not have to worry about calls going to voice mail, as each one is picked up by a real, live person!
- Monitor online social media sites and feedback sites. Social media has become an important part of doing business. Customers are not afraid to share their experiences online. Remember to thank customers for feedback, whether it is positive or negative, and address urgent situations. Your call service could also lend help responding to online posts.
For more information about answering solutions and services for the holiday season and other times throughout the year, please feel free to contact Always Answer at 1-800-606-9898 today!
