Customer Experience Manager at Merola Tile Distributors of America in Carteret, New Jersey

Customer Service & Experience Manager

Join Merola Tile, a leader in the ceramic tile industry. We are seeking a dynamic and self-motivated Customer Service & Experience Manager to lead and elevate our customer service teams across both coasts. This leader will inspire excellence through initiative, integrity, and accountability - building a high-performing team that delivers exceptional results. The ideal candidate will take ownership of optimizing our customer service operations, enhancing processes, and developing people to deliver a world-class customer experience. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone who thrives on improvement, drives collaboration, and brings out the best in every team member.

The Customer Experience Manager is a hands-on, build-and-stabilize leadership role responsible for creating dependable daily control across Customer Service. From day one, this person owns staffing and coverage, work assignment, quality and quantity assurance, training, coaching, documentation, accountability, and exception closure across locations and channels.

Essential Duties:

• Plan and lead daily Customer Service operations across New Jersey, California, and other assigned locations, including telephone, email, chat, orders, portals/EDI, complaints, returns, credits, and open customer commitments.
• Assign work with clear ownership, priorities, due times, quality and quantity standards, decision authority, and escalation expectations.
• Assure accurate and on-time completion by monitoring workload, backlog, aging, productivity, quality, and customer commitments; reallocate or escalate before commitments are missed.
• Inspect quality through defined audits of customer communications, orders, documentation, credits, returns, and system transactions; retain evidence and close corrective actions.
• Run a consistent operating rhythm including daily kickoff, queue and exception reviews, end-of-day closure, weekly scorecards, coaching, training, staffing, and capacity reviews.
• Manage attendance, schedules, coverage, cross-training, backup plans, and surge support within approved authority.
• Train, qualify, coach, recognize, and correct employees; maintain role standards, training records, documented coaching, and development plans.
• Own routine accountability for attendance, conduct, productivity, quality, and recurring performance gaps, escalating formal employment matters with complete documentation.
• Control customer and operational exceptions through closure and coordinate cross-functional handoffs with Sales, Warehouse, Accounting, Product, Digital Commerce, Operations, Inventory, and IT.
• Maintain Salesforce/CRM discipline and current SOPs, checklists, templates, training materials, reason codes, and escalation guides.
• Use performance data and root-cause analysis to improve service, reduce rework and aging, strengthen processes, and recommend staffing, capacity, technology, and system improvements.
• During the first year, develop Level 3.1 capability by refining KPIs, leading at least one cross-functional process improvement, developing Lead/backup coverage, and building a sustainable Customer Experience operating system.

Other Duties:

• Stay current on operational trends, compliance requirements, and best practices.
• Provide timely, fact-based reporting on results, risks, trends, open commitments, customer issues, and resource needs.
• Support recruiting, onboarding, performance evaluations, succession planning, and employee progression.
• Perform other duties and improvement work consistent with the responsibilities of the position.

Competencies:

• Project Management - Organizes work, priorities, deadlines, resources, and follow-through to achieve dependable results.
• Delegation - Assigns clear ownership, standards, authority, due times, and escalation expectations while retaining supervisory accountability.
• Analytical - Uses facts, measures, trends, and root-cause analysis to identify risks and drive corrective action.
• Managing People - Sets expectations, coaches' performance, documents outcomes, develops capability, and applies fair accountability.
• Quality Management - Builds and uses standards, audits, controls, and corrective actions to improve accuracy and consistency.

Requirements:

• Five or more years of progressive Customer Service, order management, distribution support, or closely related experience.
• At least two years of formal direct people-supervision experience, including work assignment, measurement, coaching, documentation, attendance, and performance accountability.
• Demonstrated experience building or materially improving daily operating discipline, quality controls, quantity measures, training, and accountability.
• Experience managing customer/order work across multiple channels and coordinating with Sales, Warehouse, Accounting, Product, Operations, Inventory, and IT.
• Experience with ERP, WMS, EDI/API, CRM/Salesforce, partner portals, email/chat, reporting, and order/service workflows.
• Strong written and verbal communication, organization, analytical ability, judgment, problem solving, and follow-through.
• Experience in wholesale, distribution, building materials, tile/flooring, e-commerce, marketplace, or another process-driven environment preferred.
• Associate degree or equivalent relevant experience; bachelor's degree preferred.
• Authorized to work in the United States without company sponsorship and able to travel between company locations as business needs require.

Physical Demands:

Regularly stand/sit for extended periods, operate office equipment, perform light to moderate lifting, lift/move up to 15 lbs occasionally, bend, twist, and maintain proper posture. Reasonable accommodation may be made for qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the role in accordance with applicable laws.

Work Environment:

Work is regularly performed in a warehouse and manufacturing environment where temperatures may be extreme, with exposure to dust, odors, noise, and fumes. Noise levels are typically moderate. Employees may also be exposed to chemicals and cleaning agents on a daily basis.

Benefits:

• Medical, Vision, and Dental Insurance
• 9 Annual Paid Holidays (including New Year's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving, and Christmas)
• Paid Time Off - earned and accrued from your first day with the company
• 401(k) Plan with company match (eligibility after 1 month)
• Employer-Paid Life Insurance
• Performance Reviews after 90 days and annually
• Quarterly Company Goals - opportunity to earn up to 4 weeks of additional bonus pay annually
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Employee Referral Bonus Program
• Employee Discount on tile after 6 months
• Fresh Fruit, Coffee, Hot Chocolate, and Tea provided daily
• Weekly Company Lunches
• Company Culture Events - BBQs, Ugly Sweater Day, T-shirt making, Halloween contests, and more
• Fun, Friendly, Family-Like Environment

Job Type: Full-time