Job Description
Job Title: Customer Service Manager
Reporting to: Commercial Director
Location: This is a hybrid role and includes an opportunity to work from home however, you must be able to work from the office at least three days a week. Therefore, we are looking for someone living within 30 mins of from our Theale office (RG7 5AW).
Role Summary:
An exciting opportunity has arisen to join an award-winning speciality food and drink wholesaler to manage our customer service department. Leading this talented team, you will be able to help identify ways in which the team can continue to improve its service to our broad customer base, whilst also converting sales through initiatives provided by the sales and marketing teams.
You will also be working closely with various internal teams and our logistics partners to constantly find ways to enhance the customer experience.
Key responsibilities (but not limited to):
· Act as a customer champion, always delivering best practice for excellent customer experience and support with increasing customer satisfaction and retention.
· Ensure the team delivers against service targets including those set by the sales team relating to upselling promotions, products, and sampling opportunities.
· Work closely with the sales team on projects to win back lapsed customers and convert new customer leads.
· Build a rapport between the Customer Service team and the field sales team, ensuring timely and regular communication is made to key customers to enhance their experience of the business.
· Lead by example and positively influence and contribute to team culture.
· Motivate and coach the team, including regular one-to-one meetings to review individual and team performance.
· Provide weekly/monthly reporting on team performance, sharing insights and commentary as required to the Leadership team
· Monitoring and measuring customer satisfaction. Acting on trends to improve customer experience.
· Regularly review the quality of work delivered by the team through call recordings and assess how to help with training needs.
· Manage the department task rota and holidays to ensure sufficient capacity to support incoming customer volumes and to maintain our service levels.
· Work with the Operations team to review customer query and complaint trends and help find resolutions together, whilst also coaching team members to resolve these also.
About You:
The successful candidate will have a passion for food and drink, ideally be familiar with the speciality food and drink sector, however candidates from other sectors will absolutely be considered.
You are determined to achieve success and will understand the benefit of relationship building, customer service and sales development which together with your experience of managing a team, will mean you can develop the exciting talent within the team.
Career History & Experience:
* At least 5 years’ experience preferably in a customer service role in a sales led business
* Of which, at least 3 years line management experience as a team leader or manager
* Coaching and development of teams/individuals
* Ability to manage a large volume of accounts in an organised and structured manner.
* IT competency with experience of Microsoft Teams, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook is essential as is a good standard of numeracy and literacy.
* CRM experience would be desirable but not essential
Desirable Personal Qualities and Attributes:
* Highly motivated, self-starter and organised
* Rapport building will be second nature, and relationships will be personally important within your working life.
* Excellent oral and written communication skills with a great telephone manner
* Confident dealing with senior personnel internally and externally
* Able to shift tasks within the team as priorities change.
* Resilient, tenacious, and determined to succeed.
* Motivated by developing people
* Strong organisational skills.
* Ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment.
About Cotswold Fayre
Cotswold Fayre is an award-winning business, having won 10 awards over the past few years: including being named in 2023 as the Elite Business No. 1 SME in the UK, The Lloyds Bank Purpose Before Profit Business of the Year and most recently a coveted Grocer Gold Award.
We are a speciality & fine food wholesale distributor, leading the way by offering a consolidation service to supply retailers with premium food and drink products, both ambient and chilled, sourced from the best producers in the UK and across the globe.
We aim to inspire, delight, and make a difference to people’s lives and to the planet through our shared passion for food.
We are proud to be a certified B-Corporation! This accreditation is increasingly recognised as a label which highlights companies with exceptional environmental and social standards. Using a business as a force for good to benefit both people and planet. We are pleased to be a member of the Living Wage Foundation and since August 2019 all our business activities have been Carbon Neutral.
We are constantly seeking ways in which to minimise the impact of our supply chain on the planet and seek to encourage delivery consolidation as part of the process. We differ from other wholesalers by working in close partnership with our suppliers, many of whom we count as friends, not just suppliers! This means that customers are ‘close’ to the people making the food and drink they are selling.
We have an experienced, diverse team that collectively, provide extensive market knowledge and offer retailers an appropriate delivery solution that benefits both their business, local community, and the planet.
Interested? We offer an attractive package including:
* Competitive salary
* Generous benefits package.
We are looking for a person who, like us, believes business should be a force for good and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds and with all levels of ability. Diversity and inclusion are at the heart of what we stand for. We want our people to grow and develop their confidence and responsibilities treating our customers with kindness and care; all within an atmosphere of fun and rewarding hard work.