Hello friends!
The Lunar New Year (Tet) holiday is over and it's time to get back to business. For many e-commerce sellers, this means dealing with a huge influx of customer inquiries, returns, and exchanges. Don't panic! I'm here to share some tips to help you provide awesome customer service during this busy time.
Why Post-Tet is So Hectic
After Tet, customer activity explodes. Here's why:
More orders: Many people receive "lucky money" and gifts during Tet that they use for online shopping after the holiday. Your sales will spike!
More questions: Customers have questions about orders placed before and during Tet. They need your help!
More returns: Some gifts don't fit or aren't quite right. Plus, some orders inevitably arrive late. You'll see lots of returns and exchanges.
It can be crazy! But with some preparation, you can handle the influx with no stress.
6 Tips to Provide Stellar Post-Tet Customer Service
Here are my top 6 tips for providing awesome customer service after Tet:
1. Staff up your support team
Hire some temporary agents to help with the spike in inquiries. More people means you can respond faster!
Schedule overtime for your existing agents. Having your experienced pros working extra hours is super helpful.
2. Respond quickly
Set a goal to respond to all inquiries within 24 hours or less during this peak period. Customers will be grateful for fast replies!
Prioritize urgent issues like missing packages or failed deliveries. Resolve critical problems ASAP.
3. Empower agents to make decisions
Trust your agents to make good judgement calls on returns, refunds, exchanges, etc. This avoids delays waiting for manager approvals.
Give them guidelines on what they can approve without checking with you first. This will speed up resolutions.
4. Monitor queues closely
Check support queues frequently to spot any delays or backlogs. Re-allocate agents right away to tackle issues.
Watch for spikes in certain inquiry types that may need new auto-reply templates to help agents respond efficiently.
5. Communicate order status proactively
Send shipping confirmations and delivery updates to buyers. This reduces "Where is my order?" questions.
For late packages, apologize and explain the Tet shipping delays. Customers will appreciate the transparency.
6. Go above and beyond
For very unhappy customers, offer returns/refunds even outside the normal policy as a goodwill gesture. This helps rebuild loyalty.
Follow up after resolving an issue to check on satisfaction. The extra care and attention will be remembered.
You've Got This!
Post-Tet customer service is hectic but you're prepared now! Just stay calm, stick to the plan, and remember that this surge is temporary. Maintain your high service standards and your customers will come out of Tet season happier than ever.
Let me know if you have any other tips for handling post-holiday customer service rushes. I'd love to hear what works for you! Here's to a successful (and not too crazy) post-Tet season!