Convenient is not a word that’s commonly associated with the holidays—that is, until Chris Hohenstein set out to innovate the Christmas tree buying experience.
In 2009, Chris founded City Tree Delivery, which delivers and assembles trees in Chicago homes and recycles them after the holiday season. City Tree’s commitment to sustainability and exceptional customer care has earned the company a 4.9-star rating on Yelp and reviews from loyal customers like Ojus P.
“At first, I thought I was a Christmas company, but I realized quickly that it’s more of a convenience company,” Chris said. “We want to offer a quality product and a seamless customer experience from start to finish.”
Want to learn how to turn your brand into a convenience company? Below, Chris and Ojus tips and insights from both ends of the customer experience.
1. Use technology to streamline the experience
Although City Tree Delivery is a seasonal business, Chris puts in effort year-round to improve the customer experience online and in person.
Chris: “ We try to simplify our website so it’s a seamless experience for customers: They pick a product, they can get educated on it, and if they have questions, we have a text-to-chat option—or they can always pick up the phone and call.
“ We also do follow-ups now. We have an application that allows us to text the customer after their experience for feedback, and that’s really helped get feedback and also follow up [with] tree care tips. We also ask the employees to always talk to the customer, try to understand [their needs], and get any kind of feedback during that time.”
Ojus: “We [loved that we] could go on a website, we can order a tree—a real tree—have that tree be delivered to our place in this kind of low friction, easy way. The things that they did that we didn’t expect that were nice, delightful moments were at the service level, where they came and were very thoughtful about [cleanliness] in our home.”
2. Maintain clear communication at all times
No matter your industry, time is valuable. Making sure customers know when to expect a product or service can alleviate frustrations and set the tone for a seamless experience.
Chris: “At checkout, [customers] pick a delivery date and a time window. Regardless, we’re going to give the customer a three-hour window. Then on the day of, we call to notify the customer and say: ‘We’re three houses away. We’ll be there within the hour.’
“[It doesn’t matter] if you’re earlier or if you’re late—what’s important is communicating, so the customer can [use that extra time] go to the run of the grocery store, walk their dog, or pick up their kid. That’s what we really aim for: communication the entire time.”
Ojus: “This isn’t a trivial purchase, so the fact that we could go online, order it, see exactly what we were buying, and get that confirmation receipt [was so important]. It’s something you don’t even think about when it’s done right.”
3. Set expectations early to help educate customers
Setting clear expectations is one of the easiest ways to get ahead of customer complaints—and critical reviews.
Chris: “We always want to make sure customer expectations are aligned with reality. A lot of the time with our smaller trees, people are expecting something much bigger, so we try to set expectations by putting a silhouette next to a sample tree [on our website] to set expectations.
“Once the tree is delivered, we educate the customer. We have information where they can scan a QR code and learn about what tree care tips they need. Our delivery guys always want to educate the customer as well. We just aim for a clear and consistent process the entire time.”
Ojus: “[The delivery team] warned us, ‘This looks sad now, but it’ll open up.’ Setting that expectation and then telling us how often you should water the tree to keep it alive [reassured us that it would be] okay.”
4. Minimize waste for the customer and the planet
Prioritizing convenience doesn’t mean creating waste. Chris takes extra steps to promote sustainability, from recycling the trees to renting Christmas lights.
Chris: “We try to do zero waste and use everything we sell. I’ll take the branches and the clippings we use and make wreaths and garland out of it. We’ll compost the tree cuttings, or I take them home and put them in my backyard and we use them in our firepit at the end of the year.
“I’d rather rent [tree lights then sell them], especially if customers don’t even know they’re going to have a tree the following year, and make it easy and convenient, instead of ‘Let me throw it away and I’ll buy another one when I need it.’ I wanted to provide a solution to the disposable society.”
Ojus: “ That was a surprise too, that not only would they supply the tree, but also the lights to decorate the tree. I wasn’t sure if this is a thing we want to keep doing, so the ability for us to rent it and give it back, and let somebody else use it down the road, was really nice convenience for us.
“Just as a human in 2024, the world is not an ideal place from a climate perspective… We wanted to make a purchase in a way that honored our family traditions, while doing it kind of mindfully about the environmental impact.”
These lessons come from an episode of Behind the Review, Yelp & Entrepreneur Media’s weekly podcast. Listen below to hear from Chris and Ojus, or visit the show homepage to learn about the show and find more episodes.
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