Christmas comes early every year at AO in the shape of Black Friday.
We spoke to Gemma – one of our Contact Centre Managers – to find out how AO’s Customer Services team handles the busiest time of year.
“When we did our first ever Black Friday, I was actually working in Sales, and I remember it was a real shock,” she recalls.
“The day started like any other, but when the phone lines came on, the queue was 100s of calls deep.
“We thought there had been an error, but nope, it was proof that the Black Friday phenomenon overseas had properly arrived in the UK.
“That day every team stayed until midnight, but it was such a buzz!”
Black Friday doesn’t leave me fried anymore
These days, Black Friday is less of a shock to the system and planning now starts in the new year.
After settling on a theme (it was ‘circus’ last time), the Task Force (our Contact Centre’s in-house event team) comes up with some weird and wonderful ideas of how they can keep everyone upbeat and happy on one of our busiest days of the year.
“Throughout the month of November, there’s a big build-up with email teasers, games, and incentives to keep people excited,” Gemma adds.
“The day itself is a huge event that everyone looks forward to.
“We dress up, fill everyone with food and sweets, and there’s loads of prizes to be won.”
Best bit of Black Friday
We closed our chat by asking Gemma what’s her favourite part of Black Friday.
“For me, the best part of Black Friday is just how much people get involved with the day,” she says.
“There is this feeling of community that we know it’s going to be tough, but if we all pull together, it will be a fun and enjoyable experience.”