Surviving a Holiday Season Technology Crash

‘Tis the season! For many companies, this specifically means gearing up for the busy end-of year retail season. In that flurry of activity, one thing that can spell disaster during a critical time is a technology failure. The last thing any business wants is a slow website or a breakdown of online purchasing capabilities.

While on-hold messages can’t fix a website, this would be a great time to use it as a courtesy resource to help keep customers informed during a less-than-ideal experience. Not only will your customers appreciate the communication during this time but so will your customer service team responding to the influx of frustrated callers.

Here are a few ways that using your on-hold messages to mention the technology glitch can help salvage the holiday shopping season until systems are up and running again.

• With an online system down, customers may panic that the problem is their credit card or computer. Keeping them informed will eliminate any panic and let them know it’s a universal problem affecting all customers.
• By assuring customers that the customer service team would be happy to assist with placing phone orders during this time, an alternative shopping option is provided and decreases chances that the customer will go elsewhere.
• Forewarning callers that wait times to speak with a representative are longer due to the technology glitch is a great way to keep teams internally cool as they field calls from customers.

While no one is immune to technology issues, an up-front communication approach shows that your team is working to address the problem in a timely manner and upholds your business’ credibility.

Did you know that we can create an on-hold message campaign for you to put in place in the event of systems issues? Have a backup plan ready; contact us to maintain the high level of service your customers expect.