Holiday Customer Service: 8 Support Tips for a Stress-Free Season

Is your support inbox turning into a war zone during the holidays?

Holiday cheer comes with customer chaos. Inquiries pile up. Expectations boost. And your support team? They’re trying to keep up without burning out.

But this year, things can be different—with AI-native support software and a little planning, turn holiday season pressure into performance.

The holiday season is no longer just about cute gift wrapping and promos. They’re a stress test for your support team. Ticket volume surges, customers want real-time help, and your team needs to deliver—fast and with empathy.

So, how do you prep your team to handle the heat while still providing excellent customer service?

Let’s take a look at this article and figure out how to set it up strategically.

How do you get started with the holiday customer service strategy?

Your past data is your biggest advantage; you don’t need to reinvent the wheel. A quick look at last holiday time metrics, patterns, and trends can show you exactly where to focus your efforts.

Here’s how you can turn those insights into action to build loyal customers.

1. Learn from last year’s data

The best place to start your holiday customer support strategy is to look back. Analyze data from past holiday seasons—ticket volume spikes, top customer queries, and pain points that slowed your customer service team down. This gives you a clear picture of what to expect.

For example, were there certain days when your team was overwhelmed? Did you notice repeated questions that could’ve been addressed with a self-service option?

Use these patterns to plan your staffing, prep your AI agent, revisit the customer support software capabilities, and prioritize which areas to reinforce this year.

2. Audit and update the help content

When customers are rushing through gift orders or navigating return policies, they don’t want to wait. They want quick answers—and that’s where your self-service resources step in to provide good customer service.

To do this, start by analyzing last year’s support request queries, such as what type of questions your customers ask, what questions have repeated numbers, and whether the queries are related to pricing, discounts, shipping, and return policies.

Spend time reviewing and updating:

• Knowledge base articles
• Product guides
• Return/refund policy pages
• Chatbot scripts and FAQs

Ensure they reflect seasonal updates, current processes, and new product changes.

3. Prepare your AI for omnichannel support

67% of customers prefer the self-service option for further assistance over speaking to a support agent, but the holiday time sale isn’t the same. Your customers want quick, clear answers—whether it’s through live chat, email, phone line, social media, or even a comment on your product page.

But being present on every other channel isn’t always practical for your customer care team, especially during peak times.

Instead, take a data-driven approach. Look at last year’s holiday support data to identify the most-used communication channels. Prioritize those high-traffic touchpoints, and consider scaling down less-used ones. Then, train your support team and AI agent in customer service to deliver seamless, personalized support on those top channels to meet customers where they are, without stretching your team too thin.

8 tips to navigate holiday customer service like a pro

1. Know the demand and plan your team’s needs

If last year’s busy season felt chaotic, this year’s opportunity is to rewrite the entire holiday customer service experience.

Start by digging into last year’s data—what issues came up most, when ticket volumes surged, and which product features triggered the most support interactions. Don’t just look at total ticket volume—go deeper. Use support analytics layered with product usage signals to see where customers struggled the most.

Once you find the pattern, act:

• Spin up with auto-response or update help content
• Train support agents to address this specific issue
• Set up alerts and workflows so your support team will be prepared before the volume mount

Unlike legacy support software, AI-native customer service lets you work proactively. It reads product signals in real time—like a drop in checkout success or spike in error clicks, and instantly reroutes resources to where help is needed most.

As Steve Jobs, Former CEO of Apple, says, “Get closer than ever to your customers. So close that you tell them what they need well before they realize it themselves.”

2. Set the right customer expectations across all touchpoints

One of the fastest ways to drain out your customers is by making them wait, guessing. During peak season, every minute counts to offer exceptional customer service. If your support hours shrink or wait times increase, you need to tell them everywhere.

Update chat prompts, self-serve pages, and even in-app banners to reflect holiday hours, delays, and service levels.

“Customers don’t expect perfection. But they do expect transparency.”— Shep Hyken, customer experience expert.

Use automated messages to confirm receipt of inquiries and provide realistic timelines for resolutions. Customize your chatbot’s responses and messenger intro to reflect current holiday hours and availability. Empower customers to resolve simpler issues themselves with updated knowledge bases, AI chatbots, and detailed guides.

Pro tip:
Use dynamic messaging systems that adapt by region, time of day, or channel, so customers always know when help is available and how fast to expect it.

3. Put your helpdesk to use on full spin during the holiday season

Customer queries keep mounting, increasing customer anxiety during the busy time—your helpdesk should be your first line of defense, not an afterthought.

AI-driven automation is expected to allow companies to have 40 to 50% fewer agents while still handling 20 to 30% more calls. This highlights the growing role of AI in managing higher volumes of customer inquiries efficiently, even during the holiday season.

Make sure the helpdesk is fully prepared for the holiday sale war by updating your help articles with clear, updated details on holiday policies, delivery timelines, and frequently asked questions. Don’t just pile on more information—organize it efficiently so customers can quickly find what they need, reducing their frustration.

AI agents like Turing can provide instant responses, suggest answers, streamline tasks, and query the vast internal knowledge base.

4. Be a proactive, not just reactive customer care team

Stop waiting for the flood of tickets to hit. The holiday rush isn’t the time to panic and react to the surge; it’s the time to anticipate it and be proactive.

With real-time product data and AI-native insights, you can predict issues before they snowball into chaos. Whether it’s a drop in payment success during checkout or a common question spiking around a new feature, the system should respond to these moments before the customer even realizes they need help.

Pro tip:

Leverage AI-powered sentiment analysis and auto-routing to detect frustration early. With smart workflows and automation, you can escalate urgent issues and provide solutions proactively, keeping you ahead of customer needs.

5. Map complex issues to the right people seamlessly during the holiday rush

Some issues require the empathy and expertise of a human agent. Ensure complex or sensitive cases are routed to the appropriate team members promptly. Use AI to detect the sentiment or emotional tone of inquiries, then prioritize or escalate accordingly. Seamlessly handle complex cases across channels with an omnichannel chatbot.

DevRev’s PLuG ensures that handing off conversations to human agents, when needed, is seamless and contextually consistent. Customizable routing rules and a unified inbox make the handover process feel natural.

6. Enhance and optimize self-service with seasonal FAQs

When customers are racing to get an instant answer to their questions, especially during the holiday season, they don’t want to wait in long support queues or get into a time-consuming process. They want quick, accurate help—and they want it now. That’s why investing in strong self-service options becomes non-negotiable.

Strengthening your self-service options—such as comprehensive FAQs, dynamic knowledge bases, and intuitive in-product guidance—empowers customers to resolve issues independently. 71% of consumers expect companies to deliver personalized interactions, and 76% become frustrated when this doesn’t happen.

But here’s the key: Don’t just throw up a giant list of articles. Use AI-powered search and contextual recommendations so customers are guided to the right answer based on where they are in their journey.

Pro tip:

Incorporate conversational AI into your self-service platforms to guide customers through troubleshooting steps seamlessly, reducing the need for direct support interactions and improving satisfaction during peak times.

7. Keep up the team morale

Amid the hustle, don’t forget to create moments of fun and connection for your team. Supporting your customers starts with supporting your employees. The holiday time businesses can be exhausting, so it’s important to maintain a healthy work culture where your team feels valued. Use metrics to ensure workloads are distributed fairly and prevent burnout.

Short breaks, rotating shifts, and flexibility can do wonders for morale. Small check-ins, offering help, organizing holiday-themed contests, or daily gratitude sessions are small but good ways to lift spirits.

8. Analyze and optimize post-holiday business

Once the holiday rush winds down, reflect on what worked well and where improvements can be made. Data and feedback are your allies for continuous growth. Gather insights from your team and customers to refine processes.

Use the data collected during the season to refine your holiday strategy. Analyze ticket volume trends, customer feedback, and team performance metrics to identify areas of improvement. Reflect on what worked well and what didn’t. Document lessons learned and apply them to future peak periods. Use this data to enhance the accuracy and effectiveness of your AI agent for future peaks.

Get Holiday-Ready: Boost Your Customer Service for 2025

The holiday season is a nightmare for unprepared customer support teams. The stakes are high, and the pressure is on. Long queues, irate customers, and exhausted agents don’t signal a bustling business—they signal a failure in planning and strategy.

Customer service teams are at the forefront of ensuring smooth and positive experiences for your customers. It is important to plan, set clear expectations, and leverage AI-native support software to manage high demand, as things can spiral out of control quickly.

This is where DevRev’s PLuG comes in. Your agents aren’t buried in low-value tasks—AI handles the repetitive work, freeing up support agents to handle the real problems. With customized routing rules and an AI-powered interface, PLuG ensures seamless ticket transitions and context-driven responses, so your team stays focused and your customers stay happy.

Don’t let the holiday chaos be an excuse for poor service. The right tools can help you turn this hectic season into a competitive advantage. Book a demo!

Wishing you a successful and (relatively) stress-free holiday support season!