When December arrives, most in-house teams begin to wind down. Staff take well-earned holidays, offices close earlier and rotas shrink. But your customers still expect answers. Calls continue, issues arise and service demands often increase.
For many businesses, this creates a perfect storm that can quickly overwhelm even the most organised team.
If you do not prepare early, the Christmas and New Year period can lead to missed calls, frustrated customers and avoidable service failures. That is where outsourced call centre support becomes essential rather than optional.
Outsourced call centre services allow you to partner with a trusted provider like Lemon Contact Centre to handle customer communications before seasonal pressure hits. Calls, messages and queries are received by trained professionals who act as an extension of your team.
You maintain service quality at the very moment your customers need you the most.
Typical services include:
• Business call answering during working hours
• Out of hours call answering for 24/7 coverage
• Professional switchboard services
• Helpdesk fault handling
• Message taking, order processing and customer support escalation
The Challenge: Seasonal Staffing Shortages
Every December, businesses face the same issues:
• Fewer internal staff available to handle essential customer calls
• Higher call volumes driven by holiday demand and year end activity
• Increased waiting times and missed calls that directly impact customer trust
Without a plan, these pressures stack up fast. The festive period delivers some of the highest service expectations of the year and customers are less tolerant of delays. A single missed call can easily become a missed sale or an unresolved issue that escalates.
The Solution: Lemon’s Bureau Shared Agent Model
Lemon Contact Centre is built to remove this pressure before it reaches your team. Our bureau shared agent model gives you fast, reliable and flexible coverage during the busiest periods of the year.
Instead of scrambling to recruit temporary staff or stretching your existing team, you gain immediate access to Lemon agents who deliver your business call answering and out of hours call answering exactly as your team would.
Key advantages include:
• Instant scalability when demand spikes
• No recruitment delays or last minute training
• Guaranteed 24/7 availability during the entire holiday period
• A consistent and professional experience for every caller
When your internal team is unavailable, Lemon ensures your customers are never left waiting.
Preparing for the Holiday Season
The businesses that avoid festive disruption are the ones that plan ahead. Here is what to action now:
1. Review Last Year’s Call Volumes Immediately
Peak days repeat year after year. Identify the pressure points early and schedule cover before they arrive.
2. Finalise Internal Holiday Schedules
Staffing gaps become bigger than expected once holidays are confirmed. Address them before December begins.
3. Prepare Clear Handover Instructions
Provide your outsourced team with escalation contacts, FAQs and seasonal updates to avoid bottlenecks.
4. Secure Your Outsourced Partner Early
The closer you get to December, the harder it becomes to onboard smoothly. Early setup avoids last minute risk.
5. Test All Systems Before Staff Leave
Forwarding, scripts and CRM access need to be checked ahead of time so coverage works from day one.
Keep Your Customers Happy When It Matters Most
With Lemon’s business call answering and out of hours call answering services, your customers will always reach a real, professional person. Whether it is Christmas Eve, New Year’s Day or the days in between, every call is answered and every message is captured.
Your customers experience no drop in service. Your team enjoys their break without worry. Your reputation remains protected.
Plan Ahead This Holiday Season
Seasonal staffing gaps cause real disruption if you leave them too late. December is approaching and setup slots fill quickly.
Get in touch with Lemon Contact Centre today to secure your holiday cover and keep your business running smoothly no matter the time of year.
