Cover Story: The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

5 Tips for Preparing Your Customer Service Team for the Holidays

Setting your customer service team up for success this holiday season with thoughtful planning and clear, consistent and knowledgeable communications should be a priority.

First, consider this recent observation from STELLAService agents attempting to contact Walmart.com via live chat. The retailer's help page had the following information:

Chat hours are listed below.

Monday - Thursday: Closed

Friday: 1 am - 1:01 am CDT

Saturday - Sunday: Closed

You read that correctly. According to the site, chat is only available at 1 a.m. on Friday, and for one minute only.

Hey, typos happen, but with a potentially big holiday season for online retailers on the horizon, now is the time to make sure your site and customer service team are fully prepped. Here are five tips to help you with that process:

1. Re-examine contact channel touches. Take inventory of how each channel greets customers normally, and where improvements can be made during the holiday season. Also, make sure any email auto acknowledgement realistically manages customers’ expectations. Don't just say, "A representative will reply within 24 hours."

For social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, be prepared for high-volume traffic. Ignoring these channels could invite public criticism, so make sure your social team is trained and staffed appropriately. We've talked to retailers like 1-800-Flowers.com, which devotes as many as 30 agents to social media during the busiest days of the year.

2. Ensure your policy information is consistent. It's not uncommon for STELLAService analysts to discover packing slips with inconsistent information. For example, a major apparel retailer's packing slip mentioned a $5 restocking fee that wasn't listed on the company's website. Make sure all of your communications, everything from your website to confirmation emails to your in-order materials, contain the same information. If a customer is confused, they'll either leave or require additional help from your team.

3. Set your CSRs up for success. Uninformed agents can lead to inefficiency, creating lengthy call queues and frustration on both sides of an interaction. Make sure your agents are proficient in both product and policy knowledge, and that they're up to date on any marketing efforts. Are you having any special promotions? Are they consistent for both online and in-store shoppers? Has usability for a particular section of your site changed? Educate your agents and arm them with complete responses to all possible scenarios.

4. Know your business. Forecasting how many customers you plan to serve at one time is crucial. Estimate contact-center volume by considering historical data, current operational forecast and any potential usability issues that could slow down your operation.

Also, know your contact rate by channel. Consider your total number of contacts vs. total orders shipped. This magic number can help anticipate future trends. Pull historical order volume for the past few years and sync with your warehouses to make sure they're prepared.

5. Expect the worst, hope for the best. Now is the time to tighten the bolts of your operation. Contingency planning is a must. Prepare any call recordings you may need to play when phones go down. Expect your site to fail. Prepare agents on how to handle those worst-case scenarios.

Chris Vodola is a client development manager at STELLAService, which measures and rates the customer service performance of online retailers. Chris can be reached at chris@stellaservice.com.