Is Your Customer Service Department Ready for the Holidays?
When Customer Service teams head into the winter holiday season, the volume of calls and emails can jump overnight. The best way to keep things calm is to prepare with a modern, resilient network and the right customer-service tools layered on top.
Start with Redundant, High-Capacity Connectivity. Dual internet circuits from different carriers, 5G connectivity, combined with SD-WAN, let traffic automatically reroute if one connection falters. Quality of Service (QoS) settings ensure voice and video traffic get priority, so calls stay clear even when online shopping and internal systems are hitting the network hard.
Next, Update Core Network Hardware. Business-grade firewalls with intrusion prevention, modern switches, and Wi-Fi 6/6E access points help avoid bottlenecks when more staff are on site, more devices are connected, and more customers are reaching out. This also strengthens security at a time when phishing and fraud attempts spike.
On top of that infrastructure, the right Contact Center Platform (often cloud-based / UCaaS) is critical for handling holiday surges with key capabilities, including:
Intelligent call and email routing based on skills and priority.
Omnichannel support (voice, email, chat, SMS, social) in one interface.
Integrated IVR with self-service options for common holiday questions (order status, shipping times, return policies).
Call-back features so customers don’t wait on hold.
Tie this directly into your CRM and ticketing system so when a call or email arrives, agents see order history, recent interactions, and open cases instantly. That cuts handle time and reduces repeat contacts—exactly what you need when queues are long.
Finally, put strong monitoring and analytics in place before the holidays. Real-time dashboards for call volumes and wait times, alerts for network congestion or outages, and historical reporting to plan staffing are essential. Pair this with updated headsets, softphones, and secure remote-access tools so agents can work effectively from anywhere if needed (for storms, illness, or extended holiday hours).
With a modern network, Cloud Contact Center, integrated data, and proactive monitoring, Customer Service teams go into the holiday rush confident resulting in more contacts, better experiences, and fewer crises.
Contact team GCG if you are unprepared this holiday season, so you can be ready for the next!