Retail Customer Service Agent

Retail Customer Service Agent

Lightology is North America's original and largest contemporary lighting showroom, home to an Award-Winning Team of Certified Lighting Consultants. Our goal is to educate our customers on the intricacies of lighting design. With this knowledge, our customers come to appreciate the significant impact that great lighting design can have on their home, office, store, or restaurant.

We are looking for positive, ambitious, outgoing individuals with impeccable people skills to be part of our showroom team! This is a hybrid role that pairs front-of-house customer service and reception with hands-on sales support.

Job Location: 215 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL 60654

Job Type: Full-Time In Person

Pay Rate: $17.00 - $22.00 An hour

Job Description

The Showroom Sales & Service Assistant is a highly motivated individual who provides exceptional service to showroom customers while supporting a dedicated Sales Consultant with all aspects of quoting and point of sale. The role blends first-touch customer serviceanswering questions via phone, email, and chat, welcoming visitors, and keeping orders on trackwith sales support such as pricing, product research, and order entry. The ideal candidate has a friendly demeanor, the ability to learn new computer programs, and can multitask and complete projects in a timely manner.

• Welcome customers, maintain customer appointments, and prepare the Showroom for visitors.
• Answer customer service calls, questions, and complaints in a prompt manner across phone, email, and chat.
• Communicate with clients about order status, proactively verify due dates, provide shipment tracking, and complete the daily back-order report to keep clients informed of delivery updates.
• Offer suitable stock substitutions for back-ordered or non-stock items and occasionally assist clients with lighting selections.
• Perform opening and closing duties, potentially including unlocking/locking doors, turning on light fixtures, preparing the Showroom for customers, and checking in contractors.
• Provide technical information and pricing as needed to customers to help determine the best products for the particular application utilizing vendor catalogs, vendor websites, and vendor technical specialists.
• Assist in quoting commercial, industrial and residential jobs, including price and availability information.
• Prepare time-sensitive proposals for large commercial projects and interact with both vendors and customers via email and telephone.
• Enter orders in the most cost-effective and profitable way, such as drop ship, customer pick up, or UPS carrier instead of our truck.
• Manage open customer orderstake appropriate actions and communicate appropriately to satisfy the customer.
• Purchase specialty items for customers such as non-stock items for direct shipment.
• Assist purchasing, sales, and/or inventory management with checking on the availability of product, delivery, or cost, and work with purchasing to ensure that orders ship in a timely manner.
• Coordinate efforts with Customer Service, such as entry mistakes, picking mistakes, delivery issues and return requests in a quick efficient method.
• Support and promote specified vendors (i.e., Affiliated Distributors) and product promotions, and help develop and maintain vendor relationships.
• Participate in all training, including but not limited to on-site and web-based courses in order to keep up to date on the most current product technology.
• Interact with customers and vendors at Lightology events.
• Utilize Microsoft Office software, such as Word, Excel, and the Internet to obtain any pertinent information regarding customer requests.
• Performs other duties assigned.

Requirements

**** Must have availability on Saturdays - From 10:00 am to 5:00 pm CST ****

• High school diploma or GED certification required; college degree preferred.
• Passion for art or design preferred
• A natural passion for connecting with people
• Minimum two years work experience in a high-volume customer service function in a retail, design or manufacturing environment.
• 1-2 years of Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and Outlook.
• Good organizational skills and communication skills.
• Must move equipment, products, or displays up to 50 pounds.
• Knowledge of lighting or electrical products would be helpful, but not required.

Benefits

• Health, Dental, and Vision Insurance enrollment on the 1st of the month after 30 days of employment.
• 401(k) Retirement plan after 6 months of employment.
• Up to 80 hours of accrued Vacation Paid Leave, prorated your first year.
• State and locally-regulated Paid Sick Time.
• Paid Company Holidays, after 30 days.
• Short Term, Long Term Disability, Life, and AD&D optional Insurance benefits the 1st of the month after 30 days of employment.
• Company-sponsored Life with AD&D Insurance Coverage.
• Optional Enrollment in Health Care and Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account (FSA).