Any ideas on how my staff and I can help customers keep their cool - and stay calm ourselves? Offer coffee or cocoa and cookies, and encourage shoppers to take a refreshment break. If you have room, provide an easy chair or two so customers can sit and review their shopping lists. Tuck a coupon for a future shopping trip into each bag, a note thanking customers for their purchases, or even a small giveaway like a candy cane or tree ornament. Remember that customers may be just as stressed when they start making returns or looking for bargains at post-holiday sales, so don't stop all the niceties when the holiday rush is over.