It seems to happen earlier and earlier every year: Christmas decorations start showing up in the stores. Before too long, retailers are just going to start leaving them up year 'round. After all, why take all that merchandise down in January if it's just going to go back on display in a couple of months?

We at Commercials On Hold prefer to confine the holiday season to the month of December. To us, that makes it more special than having the wreaths and stockings hanging months in advance. However, our clients do often see "Happy holidays" appearing on their scripts in October, or September or even March. Sometimes we get the question, "which holiday are you guys referring to? Memorial Day? It's only April, after all."

We are, in fact, referring to the holidays celebrated during the month of December. If you see holiday greetings appearing on a script we send you earlier in the year, it just means you'll be getting your holiday remix along with that production. The holiday remix is your regular script with holiday greeting tags added to a couple of the messages, and holiday music in the background. It's a complimentary production we provide for our clients, because we feel that wishing people happy holidays while they're holding is a great way to build rapport with customers. All you have to do is flip the cassette, change the CD track or load the mp3 or wav labeled as your holiday production, and you'll be spreading holiday cheer to your callers.

Sometimes, our clients request that we change the greetings from generic to specific, saying "Merry Christmas" rather than "happy holidays." That's fine, too. Just let us know if that is your preference before your script approval deadline.

If you're not yet a Commercials On Hold client, why not sign on with us now so you can have a holiday production to play for your callers this December? Just click here for a free customized demo, e-mail our sales department, or call 1-800-832-4653.