Navigate this site

How to Maintain Customer Service Levels Post-Christmas

Press Release

By: Zendor
19 December 2006

As retailers spend months gearing up for Christmas, many could be forgiven for thinking that the worst is over come December 25th. However, post-Christmas can prove just as challenging, particularly when it comes to ensuring good customer service. The sheer volume of orders placed throughout November and December will ramp up both returns and enquiries during January. Zendor, the distance shopping expert, provides the following advice to retailers on how to ensure high levels of customer service are maintained following the Christmas peak:

• Assess Christmas forecasting – As a rule, retailers expect a certain percentage of items sold to be returned, and this figure can vary greatly depending on sector. Post-Christmas returns are always notably higher, so if your pre-Christmas sales forecasts are accurate you can anticipate the volume of post-Christmas returns and deal with them quickly and efficiently. An obvious way to do this is to use last year’s figures as a guideline.
• Provide extended return times - It is not unusual for Christmas presents to be purchased in November but not given to the intended recipient until December 25th. Therefore, retailers need to be flexible with their returns policies. Instead of applying stringent 14-day policies you need to accept returns on a more flexible basis.
• Be flexible with resources - As many retailers will be aware pre-Christmas forecasts are very rarely 100% accurate, which can impact on managing activity. It is vital that you always leave yourself with the ability to move resources around accordingly - dependant on which area of your business requires the most support at which time.
• Downscale staff gradually - All retailers extend their workforce pre-Christmas with a wave of temporary staff. Reducing these staffing levels can prove particularly tricky following the Christmas period. Do not be too hasty to get rid of your Christmas staff come the New Year - you must ensure that you have enough quality staff to carry on providing the very best service. Reduce numbers gradually to ensure the minimum impact on your customers.
• Be sensitive to enquiries - Due to the nature of enquiries received post-Christmas, you need to be particularly sensitive to individual customer needs. Giving a child a present on Christmas day that does not work, for example, could cause your customer great distress. You, therefore, should be willing to offer a flexible returns procedure in certain circumstances. For example, instead of simply asking the customer to post back the faulty item you could reserve a replacement at a local store and arrange for them to go in and make the exchange - ensuring the child receives their present as soon as possible.

Increased returns and enquiries at this time of year are unavoidable, particularly for fashion retailers where up to a third of all items are returned. How you deal with these enquiries from a customer service point of view will have a significant impact on whether a consumer chooses to buy with you again next Christmas. As competition between online retailers increases, set yourself apart from competitors by ensuring you provide the very best service.