Virtual Santa company puts ModSquad’s jolly customer support on their “Nice” list.

Virtual visits with Santa: It’s the perfect image to cap off a socially distanced 2020. But the idea for such a business came to Santa’s Club Founder and CEO William Evelsizer a few years back during a Christmas shopping trip at a local mall. He saw a line of tired, impatient kids and their parents lined up for more than an hour just for a few minutes with Santa. “The things we do for our kids,” Evelsizer thought. When an elf announced that Santa was going on lunch break, the light bulb went on. He came up with a better way to make things easier for kids and parents — a modern solution to an age-old tradition.

Launched this past holiday season, Santa’s Club is a way for children to virtually visit Santa Claus at his North Pole home. Given the state of the world last year, the concept was perfectly timed, and was expected to draw in many eager customers. A successful launch would require substantial customer support during a condensed window of opportunity. This support would need to quickly ramp up and then end services immediately at the end of the pre-holiday season. Fortunately, Evelsizer brought in ModSquad to cover the expected deluge of support queries. He explains why that was the right call.

Tell us about Santa’s Club.

We built a platform that allows a parent to view Santa’s calendar and pick a time and a date. The parent has the opportunity to input pertinent details about each child, which allows Santa to make the visit very personalized. Imagine Santa knowing a child’s best friend’s name, what they got last year for Christmas, or what their favorite TV show is. That information helps Santa grab a child’s attention and make them believe in the magic. Then you just open your laptop while you’re gathered around your Christmas tree. The kids are in their pajamas, you’re sipping hot cocoa, and you get to see Santa from the North Pole.

What attracted you to ModSquad?

It was very clear that ModSquad loved the idea, bought into it, and wanted to do their very best to join us on this journey. They had the same conviction and belief in our product as we did.

What services has ModSquad provided for Santa’s Club?

The versatility that ModSquad offers is exceptional; we needed different types of support, and the Mods always delivered, doing everything from responding to pre-sales inquiries to technical support.

Prior to launch, ModSquad provided Tier 1 customer support, answering questions and helping callers reserve sessions and use coupon codes. As the service went live, the Mods were handling more technical questions, like helping people be able to see Santa on their call.

None of the support is automated. The Mods provide a human touch. I think more and more these days, everybody appreciates the companies that let you talk to a real human, rather than a bot.

You clearly needed to work with a provider that could scale support to match your demand.

Yes, being a seasonal business, we needed a provider that could quickly scale up to a pretty high level and then back down after the Christmas season.

On November 14, when we started hosting live video calls, the Mods were inundated with technical questions. ModSquad was able to ramp up quickly, adding Mods and working into the wee hours. Then we quickly brought it to a close once Christmas came. ModSquad is experienced supporting seasonal businesses, and I appreciate that I’m not locked into a set number of hours for a set period of time. I tell them exactly what I need, and that’s what ModSquad provides.

What would you tell other companies considering working with ModSquad?

Overall, it was a great experience. If you want a partner that’s going to treat your business as if it were their own and is willing to go the extra mile, I’d tell them, “Absolutely, you want to go with ModSquad.”

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