Job Overview:

The Customer Ops Specialist divides time between solving issues, coordinating with specialized support teams, and communicating with Account Managers and customers.  They coordinate support for service / quality issues, pricing discrepancies, and other misc. support problems to provide customers with excellent support and timely resolution.  The Customer Ops Specialists work with relevant teams to support common issues (e.g., price changes, new item creation) and facilitate communication of status through case mgmt. in MyBiz.  In addition, this role follows up on delayed, incorrect, or shorted purchase orders (POs) while handling complaints and ensure timely resolution with adequate comms.

Job Responsibilities:

Partnership & Coordination with Account Managers

• Conduct weekly pulse check: Align with AM on key priorities and outstanding issues at beginning of the week to plan time allocation.

• Prioritize time & evaluate support inquiries: Identify top priority tasks, managing customer expectations and AM input, to best allocate time to important issues, evaluating based on urgency of issue, impact to account, and alignment with strategic priorities.

• Update on resolution status: Keep AM informed of issue status and resolution processes, leveraging case management tools in MyBiz.

• Discuss root causes: Intermittently connect with AM to identify consistent or complex problems to inform long-term issue solving.

Issue Resolution

• Evaluate customer inquiries: Assess and prioritize customer inquiries to provide swift and accurate resolutions.

• Input issues into MyBiz: Update case management In MyBiz to ensure accurate recording and tracking of issues.

• Handle simple customer complaints: Efficiently address and resolve simple customer complaints to maintain high satisfaction levels.

• Support order & quality issues: Follow up on delayed or incorrect POs and address any product quality issues to ensure timely and accurate deliveries.

Operational Coordination

• Coordinate with specialized support teams: Work closely with relevant teams (e.g, Merch, A/R, Analytics) and other departments to manager specialized tasks (e.g, pricing changes, new item creation) to facilitate seamless operations.

• Prioritize allocation of issue delegation to manage resources: Allocate issues to misc. teams effectively based on current priorities and operational needs, offloading most important issues to be served first. Deprioritize lower strategic value support inquiries.

• Handle communications between AM's, customers, and support teams: Ensure effective communication across departments to support order management and issue resolution, serving as centralized resource using CRM system and effective communications.

Proactive Outreach

• Reach out to customers: Proactively engage with customers to gather insights and ensure their needs are being met.

• Communicate with sales leadership: Maintain proactive lines of communication with leadership to inform long-term decision-making and strategic planning, aligning overall business strategy with support capabilities.

• Enhance strategy on difficult issues to resolve: Create and implement strategies to enhance customer support and streamline operations, leveraging successes and pain points in current processes for improvement.

• Integrate feedback: Gather feedback from leadership, customers, and AM's to incorporate into process improvements and strategy.

• Performs other duties as assigned.

Job Requirements:

Education/ Certifications:

• 2-year degree or equivalent experience.

Experience:

• 4-6 years retail and/or supply chain experience with solid understanding of sales, operations and systems.

Knowledge/Skills/ Abilities:

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills.

• Strong analytical skills to identify and resolve issues.

• Effective teamwork with cross-functional teams.

• Deep understanding of UNFI teams, systems, and key process to resolve issues.

• Ability to document issues and status within reasonable time frame.

• Solid skills to manage multiple stakeholders through resolution phase.

Work Environment:

Remote Role:

• This position is classified as remote where the associate will perform remote work from their primary residence. Remote associates are welcome to work from the office but are not required to do so. While remote associates are not required to work from an office on a regular basis, they may be required to come to the office or other UNFI locations for necessary business reasons or if directed to do so by their manager.

Physical Environment/Demands:

Office Roles:

• Most work is performed in a temperature-controlled office environment.

• Incumbent may sit for long periods of time at a desk or computer terminal.

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit; use hands to finger, handle, or feel; reach with hands and arms; and talk or hear.

• Incumbent may use calculators, keyboards, telephones, and other office equipment in the course of a normal workday.

• Stooping, bending, twisting, and reaching may be required in the completion of job duties.