Customer Experience Specialist | GASTRO

ABOUT ALBERT USTER IMPORTS

Albert Uster Imports, Inc. (“AUI”) is a privately held gourmet food company headquartered in the Washington, DC area (Gaithersburg, MD) with warehouse locations in Kansas City, Las Vegas, Miami, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Gurnee and Gaithersburg. AUI falls under the Vestar Capital Partners portfolio with affiliate organization, Roland Foods, LLC.

Founded in 1968, the company offers over 1,400 products from around the world. We serve leading hotels, restaurants, casinos, cruise lines, airlines, and manufacturers with innovative, high quality products and solutions to their most demanding culinary challenges. We operate a network of distribution centers across the U.S. and serve select international markets as well. AUI has a national direct selling organization of over 60 sales professionals and a staff of culinary experts (chefs and food scientists) adept at custom product solutions.

 

ABOUT THE ROLE

The Customer Experience Specialist | GASTRO provides additional administrative, operational, and analytical support to the Customer Experience Gastro Team as well as general support for inbound customers.

This role reports to the Customer Experience Manager and partners closely with them to provide operational and administrative support to the CE Associate team as directed by the CE Manager.   

The CE Gastro Specialist will be assigned specific tasks related to specialized operational needs within the CE Gastro team. These tasks may include but are not limited to management of special orders, handling resolution of highly escalated customer issues, and management of supervisor overrides for emergency shipping situations etc.

The ideal candidate must be able to multi-task and prioritize multiple projects across varying segments in a busy environment accurately, efficiently, and with a high level of attention to detail. They must be able to balance and satisfy competing deadlines while maintaining professionalism under pressure and in sensitive and difficult situations.

As a response to the pandemic, Albert Uster Imports office employees have transitioned to a hybrid working schedule, requiring employees to report in-person Monday through Wednesday, with the option to telework on Thursday and Friday each week. Due to the collaborative, cross-functional nature of the organization, employees at the Gaithersburg office are required to work in-person for the abovementioned days, outside of any People & Culture-approved disability accommodation request.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Provide operational support to the Gastro Territory Manager team by timely and accurately entering and updating customer orders, quotes, and sales activities in the CRM platform
• Process orders. Communicate and follow up on all aspects of order entry including item availability, pricing, shipping timelines, special requirements, labeling, and delivery changes/charges
• Ensure data integrity within the CRM platform by routinely reviewing and updating customer profiles
• Provide support for communication between Territory Managers and their respective customer base, including inquiries related to orders, deliveries, logistics, sampling, pricing, and products
• Proactively identify customer issues and communicate with internal teams (Distribution, Purchasing, Quality, Finance, etc.) and the assigned Territory Manager to resolve any order discrepancies or delays
• Responsible for timely invoice uploading on customer platforms, including Coupa, Sodexo, SPS Commerce
• Manage logistics and shipping exceptions, including filing and resolving claims related to damaged or lost shipments
• Assist with order entry for iFi Gourmet Provisions website
• Act as point of escalation, review, and decision making for Associates, including but not limited to override requests for overnight shipping, price adjustments, and high-cost orders (over $2,000.00), ensuring accuracy and timely processing
• Independently manage and resolve escalated customer issues to successful resolution
• Provide real-time coaching and mentorship to Associates on call handling and customer interactions, taking the lead on training for current and new team members
• Additional ad-hoc responsibilities as requested

 

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS

Required

• 3-5 years’ experience in cu