Let’s be honest, the holiday season is one of the busiest times of the year for all. On one side, it brings infinite joy, happiness, and celebrations, but on the other side, the picture is different. For businesses and call centers, the holiday season is quite different.
Most businesses rely on efficient call center services to make the holiday season stress-free for themselves. As a result, call centers face a heavy workload, not only to deal with customer queries but also to manage daily routine tasks.
There’s no need to worry; we are going to share five ways call centers can easily manage high call volumes and other matters.
Ways to Make the Holiday Season Stress-Free
Planning, the right strategy, and execution help call centers deliver quality service. We know the holiday season comes with bigger challenges, but it doesn’t block your way to effective customer support.
Here are 5 useful ways through call centers deliver an exceptional customer service.
1. Implement Flexible Scheduling and Adequate Staffing
Flexible scheduling and adequate staffing are the best ways to make the holiday season successful. You can’t just expect your holiday staff will magically handle the holiday rush; it’s impossible. Look at the previous years' data and do flexible scheduling accordingly.
Once you know peak times, you can easily make flexible scheduling. Additionally, adequate staffing is also a must; try to hire staff in October, so you have enough time to train them well. If you were to hire them in November, it might be difficult for you to train them.
2. Leverage Technology and Self-Service Options
Customer queries consist of different types, and some will be handled through chatbots and technology. Most holiday inquiries are related to:
- Where's my order?
- What's your return policy?
- Are you open on Christmas?
These types of queries can be easily handled through chatbots. What other things can you do to streamline the whole process?
- Update your IVR system with holiday-specific options.
- Add an FAQ section on your website that actually answers the questions customers normally ask
- Integrate callback technology to request a callback rather they waiting too long and wasting their time.
- Support omnichannel access and spread the volume across different channels.
3. Provide Agent Support and Wellness Programs
If you want your agents to stay positive and productive, you need to take care of them. Your agents are going to be dealing with stressed and angry customers, which can make them unproductive. Proper agent support and wellness programs are a must.
Give them breaks so they can decompress and take a relaxing breath. There must be one room in a call center where they lie down, take tea, and sleep to refuel for more calls. We don’t say you have to go fancy, but at least give them some time with space where they can relax during the holiday rush.
4. Streamline Processes and Empower Agents
During the holiday time period, phones ring constantly, and there’s not enough time to ask for a supervisor’s help. In such a time, agent empowerment is the best solution to streamline processes without waiting for someone else’s confirmation.
Train your team before the holiday season starts. It would be best for your team and customers as well because it’s enough to solve customer queries timely manner during the holiday season instead of letting them wait for a long time.
5. Set Realistic Customer Expectations
Most probably, holiday stress comes from unrealistic customer expectations. Customers usually expect miracles with less wait time, and when you fail to deliver them quality service, they get upset.
How to combat this issue? By being genuine. Disclose some things in front of them, like wait times and shipping cutoff dates. Train your agents on two things, i.e., underpromise and overdeliver. Lastly, do not forget to add a dedicated FAQ section.
In a Nutshell!
Christmas is almost near, which means your call center is likely to face a surge in customer calls. Simultaneously, your sales and call center agents may be confused or surprised due to decreased efficiency and longer wait times.
Fear not, Kolaxo Contact Center Services will help you face these seasonal challenges, enhance efficiency, and make the holiday season stress-free. Hopefully, we guided you with ways how call centers help brands during holiday spikes.