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[JOIN IN] Hang Out with Hot Chocolate: Managing Customer Service During the Holidays ☕

  • 1 December 2021
  • 79 replies
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[JOIN IN] Hang Out with Hot Chocolate: Managing Customer Service During the Holidays ☕
akshara.sruthi
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Our next Coffee Chat session is happening on Tuesday, 7, December at 11 AM EST.


In keeping with the season, we’re calling our discussion Hang Out with Hot Chocolate and we’ll be discussing a topic in line with the season as well: managing Customer Service During the Holidays. 


Grab a cup and join us as we talk about five key segments:

  1. How far ahead should customer service teams and leads begin planning for the holiday rush?

  2. How has your team prepped to meet the changes in demands around customer expectations during this time?

  3. How can customer service managers prevent and address increased stress/burnout among their teams during this time?

  4. What are some lessons and insights from previous years that have helped customer service teams perform better during the holiday season? 

  5. What is key towards managing both customer and employee satisfaction during the holidays?

  6. Lastly, how can teams/individuals best take advantage of a holiday “lull” - the proverbial calm before the storm. (Tag, @manns when you answer this particular question, he’s looking forward to your responses)

79 replies

manns
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I’m looking forward to this :)

Cheers, Stephen || https://ITSM.tools
alyssia.correa
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such a useful topic during this season! Really looking forward to hearing and learning from our members about their experiences that helped them power through!

Alyssia, Freshworks Community
finn
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I cannot wait until Tuesday 🙂 This will be one of the most helpful events of coffee talks because the holiday rush is the most stressful period of the year. Hope I’ll find useful tips :)  

vijay_2am
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I am waiting………….!

Regards | Vijay
manns
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@akshara.sruthi I wonder if it’s also worth asking about how best to take advantage of a holiday “lull” - the proverbial calm before the storm :)

Cheers, Stephen || https://ITSM.tools
Aimee12
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Can this session please be recorded? As I am in Australia and 11:00am EST is 3:00am in Australia however I would love to watch the session! 

 

Thank you! 

akshara.sruthi
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@akshara.sruthi I wonder if it’s also worth asking about how best to take advantage of a holiday “lull” - the proverbial calm before the storm :)

Of course, @manns! I’ll add this to the list of questions. I’m always open to discuss what our community members want to hear.   

akshara.sruthi
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Can this session please be recorded? As I am in Australia and 11:00am EST is 3:00am in Australia however I would love to watch the session! 

 

Thank you! 

Hey @Aimee12, the discussion will be saved here in this thread. You can read it whenever. Additionally, feel free to share your learnings. You can answer these questions prior to the event or whenever you have the time. I leave this thread open so discussions can continue.

And, I’m really sorry about the session not being friendly to where to you live. I’ll try my best to host one that works for ANZ. Have a great weekend :) 

At work
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I am new to this topic.

 

Alice
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Hello @here, this session is it supposed to be a chat or a call ? Please guide me

 

annapoorna.venketaraman
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Hey Alice, the session will be text based and will happen here on this thread in a few hours at 11:00 AM EST!

 

You can ask your questions and also share your thoughts around delivering customer delight during the super busy holiday season. 

 

We’ll look forward to seeing you here in a few hours!

 

Cheers,

Anna

Head of Community
akshara.sruthi
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Hey everyone! we have 15 minutes to go and I’ll start the coffee-chat. 

Who all are joining. Roll call time? :heart_eyes:

L
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@akshara.sruthi  This is my first time joining.  What do I need to do?

akshara.sruthi
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This is my first time joining.  What do I need to do?

Hi Lea, as I prompt each question you can answer it. You can also engage with others who post their answers to keep the conversation flowing. 

Welcome to our coffee chat. Super excited to have you onboard. 

L
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Awesome, thanks!  Very excited to learn!

akshara.sruthi
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Hey everyone!
 
Six important things to know before we get started on our coffee chat :coffee:

  1. To answer a question, tag the answer with the corresponding number. For example, if you are answering the first question Q1, start your answer with A1 and use the Quote option 

  2. If you cannot make it at 11:00 am EST or even if you’re past time, you can still post your answer to a particular question.

  3. You can reply to each others threads/posts to keep the conversation going.

  4. Be polite and respectful of other people’s opinions.

  5. Most importantly, have a great time here!

  6. Lastly, I will make sure to engage with all of you to make this interesting! 

akshara.sruthi
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Hey everyone! Welcome to our coffee chat: Managing Customer Service During the Holidays. 

First question for today is here below. To answer a question, tag the answer with the corresponding number. For example, if you are answering this question Q1, start your answer with A1 and use the quote the option
 

Q1 How far ahead should customer service teams and leads begin planning for the holiday rush?

L
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Hey everyone! Welcome to our coffee chat: Managing Customer Service During the Holidays. 

First question for today is here below. To answer a question, tag the answer with the corresponding number. For example, if you are answering this question Q1, start your answer with A1 and use the quote the option
 

Q1 How far ahead should customer service teams and leads begin planning for the holiday rush?

A1:  I am guessing here….but 1 month ahead?

akshara.sruthi
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Hey everyone! Welcome to our coffee chat: Managing Customer Service During the Holidays. 

First question for today is here below. To answer a question, tag the answer with the corresponding number. For example, if you are answering this question Q1, start your answer with A1 and use the quote the option
 

Q1 How far ahead should customer service teams and leads begin planning for the holiday rush?



A1: As someone who has been on the frontline of customer service especially during the holidays, I would say a good few weeks are needed to plan, re-plan, and execute it. Planning ahead helps you spot gaps in your current training or format of support and gives you enough time to build or crowdsource resources needed for your support team. It also gives you ample time to organize a library of content for your team’s new and existing support reps to use.  

S
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A1: We started in October this year.

Hey everyone! Welcome to our coffee chat: Managing Customer Service During the Holidays. 

First question for today is here below. To answer a question, tag the answer with the corresponding number. For example, if you are answering this question Q1, start your answer with A1 and use the quote the option
 

Q1 How far ahead should customer service teams and leads begin planning for the holiday rush?

A1:  I am guessing here….but 1 month ahead?

A1: We started in October this year.

 

BrendaM
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Hey everyone! Welcome to our coffee chat: Managing Customer Service During the Holidays. 

First question for today is here below. To answer a question, tag the answer with the corresponding number. For example, if you are answering this question Q1, start your answer with A1 and use the quote the option
 

Q1 How far ahead should customer service teams and leads begin planning for the holiday rush?

A1:  I am guessing here….but 1 month ahead?

A1: Depends if you anticipate the need to hire additional staff.

akshara.sruthi
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@manns, @foxcubmama, @Alice, @JulieR , @Bex ,@gfecteau, and @finn   - Looking forward to hearing your thoughts on this :D   

n.winslow
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Hey everyone! Welcome to our coffee chat: Managing Customer Service During the Holidays. 

First question for today is here below. To answer a question, tag the answer with the corresponding number. For example, if you are answering this question Q1, start your answer with A1 and use the quote the option
 

Q1 How far ahead should customer service teams and leads begin planning for the holiday rush?

A1:  I am guessing here….but 1 month ahead?

A1: I think 3 months out review training so everyone is up to speed.  1 month out ensure schedule has sufficient coverage and backup options.  But I am an overplanner! 

T
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A1 As we are currently in the 2021 Holiday Season, we should be observing things that work, and things that need to be re-worked to improve for 2022. Tracking, training, communications should happen throughout the year and throughout the company.

akshara.sruthi
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Hey everyone! Welcome to our coffee chat: Managing Customer Service During the Holidays. 

First question for today is here below. To answer a question, tag the answer with the corresponding number. For example, if you are answering this question Q1, start your answer with A1 and use the quote the option
 

Q1 How far ahead should customer service teams and leads begin planning for the holiday rush?

A1:  I am guessing here….but 1 month ahead?

Yep! A good four weeks should suffice if you have a plan in place :) 

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