{"id":27,"date":"2020-10-28T23:25:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-28T23:25:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/44.239.16.63\/2021\/03\/14\/prepare-your-customer-service-team-for-the-holidays\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T21:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T21:04:16","slug":"prepare-your-customer-service-team-for-the-holidays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.powerfront.com\/blog\/prepare-your-customer-service-team-for-the-holidays\/","title":{"rendered":"Prepare Your Customer Service Team for the Holidays"},"content":{"rendered":"

The season between Cyber Monday through New Year’s Day has always been a bustling, hectic time for retailers. With a global health crisis limiting in-store shopping abilities, it’s more vital than ever to ensure your online store is ready to handle an influx of traffic, orders, and customer service inquiries.<\/p>\n

Supplement Your Staff<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Customer service query volume is going to be running at an all-time high starting right around… now. If you plan on hiring temporary employees to assist with the holiday shopping cycle, do so now to ensure they’re fully trained and ready to hit the ground running. Contact your Client Relations Specialist to secure more temporary licenses; and of course, opt for a solution that will allow your employees to continue safely working from home.<\/p>\n

Read more: Check the Staples case study to see how INSIDE\u2122 by Powerfront can deliver results<\/a><\/p>\n

Enable Virtual Assistant<\/strong><\/h3>\n

If you don’t have the resources to hire a temporary crew to assist with the holiday rush, consider deploying a chatbot like Powerfront’s Virtual Assistant<\/u><\/a> who can handle the more routine inquiries and allow your human agents to focus on upselling, adding on, and providing personal, high-touch customer experiences for your online customer. This technology is equally effective as a chatbot for universities<\/a> to manage student enrollments and deliver fast, authentic answers in real time.<\/p>\n

Perfect Your Pick-up<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For the first year ever, the USPS has announced a holiday surcharge for packages shipped between October 18th and December 27th, 2020. Enable seamless curbside pick-up, or reduce the need for multiple shipments, with a video feature<\/u><\/a> that allows customers to chat to in-store employees and get virtual product demos, view true-to-life colors and sizes, and ensure that the items they’re seeking meet their expectations, preventing the need to waste valuable time returning or exchanging.<\/p>\n

Customize Your Operating Hours<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Business hours may be 9-5 but those are aren’t necessarily your target customer’s shopping hours. Depending on your business demographic, your company’s peak chat times may vary. Ask your Client Relations Specialist about reports that contain peak chat times from previous years to see when customers are most likely to chat, and adjust your customer service hours accordingly. You can also use a Virtual Assistant or offline messages to broaden live customer support hours.<\/p>\n

Offer Asynchronous Messaging<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Don’t make customers struggle to find the help they need, whether it’s before or after a transaction. Make it easy for them to reach your brand through their preferred channel, by offering them multiple touchpoints<\/a> that allow them to engage when it’s convenient for them, and not the other way around. Asynchronous messaging allows customer service agents to handle a higher volume, lifting concurrency and lowering cost to serve.<\/p>\n

<\/figure>\n

Interested in more tips on How to Ace Cyber Monday? Read our white paper<\/u><\/a> or contact your Customer Relations Specialist.<\/p>\n

Learn how to turn your data into actionable insights with AI in customer service.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The season between Cyber Monday through New Year\u2019s Day has always been a bustling, hectic time for retailers. 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