Black Friday kicks off the all-important holiday shopping season. Approximately 89 million shoppers flocked to stores during Black Friday weekend last year, with nearly half finishing all or most of their shopping, according to the National Retail Federation. This season shoppers are expected to spend $421 on gifts alone, a 9 percent jump over 2012, finds a Deloitte Survey. However, to tap into those sales, you’ll need to provide top customer service to crowds who are likely exhausted and stressed. “Black Friday weekend is tough because shoppers frequently are at their worst,” says Bob Phibbs, a retail consultant and speaker on retail-related issues based in Coxsackie, NY. To help your staff prepare, our experts have put together solutions for the most common problem customers you’ll encounter.

The “didn’t know it was Black Friday” shopper. While walking in with lots of questions for those on the sales floor is totally acceptable, customers who don’t realize it’s the busiest shopping day of the year may feel let down when it’s impossible for you to spend as much time catering to their requests, says Mike Wittenstein, founder of Storyminers, an Atlanta-based customer experience and service design consultancy. To prepare, “add staff till it hurts, and follow up with customers you can't fully serve,” he says. Rather than rush through customer interactions, he suggests keeping a notebook handy and taking customers’ contact information or simply adding it into the computer system to give them more personal attention after the rush. Follow through is essential, and make sure to loop back to share suggestions about a potential product or a new arrival.

The betrayed-by-promises shopper. Many shoppers come through the door expecting rock bottom prices on the day after Thanksgiving, but may leave disappointed when those expectations are unfulfilled, even if your store’s advertisements were correct. To prevent this, plan promotions carefully and make sure the special deals are described clearly and don’t take shortcuts in email or social media. For example, fine print at the bottom of an email means that customers are unlikely to read it on a mobile phone. Promising a free gift with purchase without having enough of the item in stock can be misleading. On Black Friday, customers “aren't browsing per se for the newest and best as much as [finding] the deal,” says Phibbs.

If one of your Black Friday promotions is unclear, stay away from proving your point, adds Micah Solomon, a customer service expert and author of High Tech, High Touch Customer Service. Avoid beginning sentences with “you need to” or “like I said” which can infuriate customers, he says. And if a customer misunderstood one of your promotions, it’s best to honor the price.