The pandemic has thrown everyone for a loop.

Ah, the start of a new year.

As a business owner, it feels like there is never time for downtime. And when the holiday season rolls around, you feel an even bigger pull in the tug-of-war battle between work and family. Throughout Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and even New Year’s, there’s often a rush in business—right when you’re ready to spend time with family and friends. 

Whether you’re calling on the phone or using an online chat, finding the help you need from a brand can sometimes be difficult. For some, the idea of customer service can conjure up memories of frustration rather than convenience. 

The phone is ringing off the hook. That’s great, but who’s going to get it this time? You and all your employees are busy, but you know customer service is important. You have so much work, you feel as though the days are getting shorter and shorter (and it’s not just because of daylight savings). You’ve already decided you need help. An outsourced call center, perhaps? 

As a business, customer service calls are inevitable. Knowing the types of callers to expect and how to deal with each one as an individual is the key to providing excellent customer service. Businesses reportedly lose billions of dollars per year due to callers feeling they've received poor customer service. 

The idea of better customer service dates back to the 1760s, where customer support teams emerged as a result of the industrial revolution. 

In order to keep a business running smoothly, there are all sorts of mundane, redundant-feeling administrative tasks that need to be taken care of. On top of those tasks, you also need to make sure you have top-notch customer service available 24/7. 

With a global pandemic upon us, more people are expected to get their holiday shopping done online. They will likely feel safer shopping from the comfort of their own homes. Despite COVID-19, there will still be people visiting brick-and-mortar shops to see items in-person. 

A common problem that business owners see when growing their business is an influx of customer service calls coming in without the bandwidth to handle them. The two most prominent options that are typically considered to resolve this problem is by outsourcing a call center or hiring an in-house team of reps.