Just in Time for Black Friday, C3/CustomerContactChannels Offers Tips for Reducing Holiday Shopping Stress

PLANTATION, Fla., Nov. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Even before the Thanksgiving leftovers are gone, stores have begun their famous holiday sales.  Black Friday may kick off the holiday shopping season, but it's only the opening ceremony of the annual gift hunt.

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Holiday shopping season means crowds, bargains, and a constant lack of parking.  The stress can damper anyone's holiday season.  C3/CustomerContactChannels, a global customer management company, provides these five insider customer service tips to help consumers survive the holiday shopping season stress-free. 

Do your homework and ask questions.  Learn the store's return and exchange policies before you buy something; know which coupons a store will accept and ask about promotional deals before you get to payment.  Read product reviews to maximize the valuable time you have with a busy employee.

Be prepared.  Lines may be a mile long, so be courteous to other shoppers.  The cash register is not the place to realize you don't have your wallet.  If you're buying over the phone, be prepared with the recipient's shipping information and your payment details. 

Communicate clearly. If you have a problem or complaint, get to the root of the situation immediately and state what went wrong without raising your voice.  Tell a salesperson what you expect to be resolved and what you'd like them to do.  Bring up your brand loyalty as appropriate, but don't overstate your store experience.

Be solution oriented.  Focus on what can be done to resolve a situation.  If a product is out of stock, find out when the store will receive new inventory.  Find productive solutions and recognize that the ideal resolution may not be possible in all cases.  Customer service is a two-way street.

Take a deep breath. Take a moment to think clearly before you escalate a situation. Don't use profanity at other shoppers or customer service agents.  Be the type of person you would want your grandma to speak with – anger and frustration will get you nowhere. 

There's no solution for the crowds, but keeping these five tips in mind will help you have a stress-free holiday season.

C3/CustomerContactChannels is a customer management company with the knowledge and expertise to handle a variety of customer care solutions.  From sales to service, customer service training and performance optimization, reputation management and customer interaction solutions, C3 positively engages consumers from locations that span the globe.  C3's executive team pioneered the field of customer service, making them one of the most experienced customer management teams in the marketplace. 

Happy Shopping!

About C3

C3/CustomerContactChannels is a global provider of customer management services unlike any other in the market today.  Services include Sales, Service, Performance Optimization, Reputation Management and complete customer interaction management via traditional, web, and emerging communication channels.  C3 is there to positively engage and promote our clients' brand with every contact we make with their customers from locations that span the globe.  With a team that is thousands of employees strong, the Company is headquartered in Plantation, FL. More information can be found at www.c3connect.com.

SOURCE C3/CustomerContactChannels