Workforce Management Community
  • Home
  • latest content   
    • Featured Articles
    • Latest News
  • Resources   
    • E-Book: The Benefits of Workforce Management Explained to My Boss
    • Infographic: The Convenience, Cost Savings And Customer Service Benefits of Cloud-based Workforce Management
    • Infographic: Forecasting Trends In The Contact Center
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feeds
  • Home
  • Featured Articles
  • Latest News
  • Resources   
    • E-Book: The Benefits of Workforce Management Explained to My Boss
    • Infographic: The Convenience, Cost Savings And Customer Service Benefits of Cloud-based Workforce Management
    • Infographic: Forecasting Trends In The Contact Center
  • Contact Us
  • RSS Feeds

Workforce Management Featured Article

December 16, 2021

Retailer Rules for Meeting Customer Service Challenges this Holiday Shopping Season


By Laura Stotler, Workforce Management Contributing Editor

A trip to the mall with my teenager and his friends last weekend made it clear to me the retail sector is booming this holiday season, while also facing a variety of challenges. Demand is massive, and retailers are struggling to keep items in stock while employing enough workers to handle customers' needs.


Whether shopping is done online or in person, retailers need to step up their customer service games to remain competitive this holiday shopping season. That means handling an influx of customer queries and demands as efficiently as possible. Thankfully, there are a few basic rules businesses can follow to ensure they handle operational and customer service challenges in a timely and graceful manner.

Embracing technology offers measurable returns for any retailer. That includes beefing up investments in automation, artificial intelligence (AI) and self-service to ease the burden on customer service representatives. Not all queries and issues can be handled automatically, of course, but many common problems can be dealt with through automation, chatbots and self-service. Not only does technology ease the load on busy human workers, it gives customers the tools to help themselves and solve their own issues in a timely manner. Ultimately that means happier and more satisfied customers who will likely remember the positive experience and return for future business.

Businesses should also be more proactive about communicating with their customers. That means keeping customers informed about shortages, delays or other complications throughout every step of their journey. Customers also have very specific preferences when it comes to communicating, so an omnichannel approach to customer service is critical. Technology is an excellent tool to achieve this, providing customers with a variety of ways to interact and stay in touch with retailers.

Finally, retailers must ensure their operations are running as seamlessly as possible. That means  front, middle, and back-office teams must maintain good communications and share important data. This will prevent issues that impact customer service and when there are problems, they may be addressed more quickly and efficiently with the available information. A happy, well-connected operations team is the backbone for a successful company and will directly reflect on customer relations. It will also help retailers retain employees, a critically important factor in ensuring the holiday shopping season runs smoothly.




Edited by Luke Bellos



SHARE THIS ARTICLE

Tweet
Share


HOME

CALL FOR CONTENT




Cloud vs. Premise vs. Hosted: Differences, IT Costs and Benefits

The Ultimate Guide to Contact Center Shrinkage

Contact Center Forecasting and Scheduling Best Practices

7 Tips for More Effective Contact Center Scheduling


Case Studies

  •  Success Story: The Human Services Agency of San Francisco
  •   Success Story: Club Med
  •  Success Story: GECU Credit Union

DEMOS

  • How to monitor schedule adherence in real-time with Monet WFM
  • More accurate forecasting of call volumes and agent workloads with Monet WFM
  • How to create more efficient call center schedules with Monet WFM

Follow Us

QUICK LINKS

  • HOME
  • FEATURED ARTICLES
  • LATEST NEWS
  • CONTACT US
  • CALL CENTER MANAGEMENT
  • CALL CENTER SCHEDULING

WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT

Cloud-based Workforce Management (WFM) software from Monet Software helps call centers streamline forecasting, scheduling and agent adherence, resulting in improved service levels and better cost management.

Powered By Technology Marketing Corp. © 2025 Copyright. Ph: (800)-243-6002 (203)-852-6800 | Contact TMC