Top 5 Customer Support Questions We Received Over the Holidays

It’s the start of 2020! And that means it’s time to bring the past into focus. Wait. What? That’s right, we’re talking about analyzing the top questions our support team were asked during the 2019 holiday season. Why would we do this? Great question. As we prepare our customer support team for the new year, we spend time analyzing data from last year’s support requests to find out more about gaps that may exist in how we’re educating customers about the self-service tools we offer, or just simply how our answering service operates over the holiday season.

By analyzing our customer service requests, we’re working towards a better, friendlier customer experience to help drive customer delight throughout the year! Here are the top 5 questions our Support Team received and how we answered them!

#1. Will my calls still be answered?

The #1 question we get from customers each holiday season is if we will still be available to answer their calls while their business is closed. Of course, our answer is always a resounding “yes!” Specialty Answering Service is a 24/7 answering service. That means we’re available all day, every day – even holidays. While you were enjoying quality time with your friends and family, sipping on eggnog and kissing under the mistletoe, our operators were hard at work making sure each of your customers were greeted with a warm, friendly voice.

#2. How do I let my customers know I’m closed?

December office schedules are always variable. Between closing early for holiday parties, or even being closed for days or weeks leading up to and after the holidays, business owners need a quick way to let their customers know they’re unavailable – or an easy way to let the operators know they should be following a holiday or after-hours schedule. With SAS, there are many ways to go about doing this and it really depends on the customer’s preference on how they want to proceed. Below is a list of things we can do to an account:

• Add a temporary recorded greeting on the line which lists the holiday hours.
• Update the script by adding a Date/Time Function that will automatically direct the operator to the temporary call handling.
• Add a Status Update or Special to the account which will expire after the designated date and time.

#3. Can I add a temporary greeting to my line?

Adding a temporary recorded greeting to your line is a great way to alert your customers right away of your holiday hours and is much less time consuming than making edits to your actual scripting protocol. In addition, it can help cut down on your call volume as customers who are just calling to hear your business hours will get their answer before reaching an operator.

Just send us a shout and our in-house recording artist will record your temporary greeting, and we attach it right to your line. Then, after the holidays are over, get in touch with us again to remove the temporary greeting and apply your old greeting.

#4. Can I update my script temporarily?

For customers who want the operators to relay a different message or follow a different protocol during a specific time frame over the holidays, we can implement a programming feature called a Date/Time Function. Once programmed in, this feature will automatically direct the operator down a different path depending on the date and/or time of the call. Then, after the the specified time frame is over, the script will automatically revert back to normal.

For customers wanting to implement this type of programming update, we always suggest that they submit changes at least a week before they want the change to go into effect.

#5. I forgot to submit my changes before the holiday. How can I update my account in a jiffy?

We always recommend sending updates to our support staff during business hours and at least 2 days in advance. However, customers can still make on the go updates right from their portal or mobile app whenever they’re in a bind by adding a Status Update. A Status Update is a temporary note that appears in red on the first screen of your script for the operators to see.

Since Status Updates are just temporary notes and not an actual script adjustment, we usually don’t recommend adding these in lieu of a programming update. However, if a customer forgot to reach out to our Support staff in time for the change to go into effect, they are able to add a Special themselves by either calling into their own line and having an operator do it, or logging into their portal.