Customer Service Representatives at BookRenter.com in San Mateo, CA

About Us:

BookRenter.com, Inc. , the leading textbook platform, launched in 2008 with a mission to make education more affordable by allowing students to rent textbooks for up to 80% off the retail price.  BookRenter helps students find the best price, highest quality books, and most flexible rental experience through their college store or online at www.bookrenter.com.  Offering more than 5.5 million titles and serving millions of students on over 5,000 campuses, BookRenter has saved students more than $130 million dollars on their textbooks.  And every time a student rents from us, BookRenter makes a donation to First Book to put new books in the hands of children in need.  With offices in San Mateo, California, BookRenter is a private company that is funded by prominent Silicon Valley venture capital firms.

Position Summary:

What are we looking for?  At BookRenter.com, our customers are our #1 priority.  We are seeking individuals who are upbeat, able to maintain a sense of humor and a positive communication style with our customers at all times.  We are looking for several call-center representatives with at least 6 months customer service experience.  You will handle a large volume of telephone calls, chats and emails, as well as projects on a need basis.  You will demonstrate personal drive, commitment & positive energy.   Upon completion of your training, you will be empowered to solve problems independently in a results driven environment.

 Primary Responsibilities:

• Communicating effectively with customers via email, live chat, and telephone
• Handling customers’ inquiries
• Researching, resolving, and following up on customer issues
• Maintaining and updating our customer service database
• Handling a large volume of phone calls, chat and emails
• Assisting customer with order placing
• Diligently following up with customers about their existing and previous orders
• Appropriately documenting all transactions and pertinent interactions
• Working with our distributors and other partners on behalf of our customers

Minimum Requirements:

Communication Abilities

• Ability to communicate (verbally & written) professionally and clearly with all customers
• Excellent documentation skills
• Good comprehension skills-- ability to clearly understand and state the issues the customer presents
• Ability to concentrate – follow customers’ issues without distraction to resolution
• Good composition skills - ability to compose a grammatically correct, concise, and accurate written response
• Work successfully in a team environment as well as independently

Customer Focus

• Excellent customer service skills, including maintaining focus on the customer issue amidst a bustling, fast-paced environment
• Ability to empathize with and prioritize customer needs
• Demonstrable interpersonal skills with a diverse customer base
• Ability to quickly, pleasantly, and professionally work with customers to answer questions, deescalate problems, and determine an agreeable resolution to a customer’s problem and follow through to ensure a level of service that presents  an overwhelming positive customer service experience
• Takes ownership to resolve challenging customer issues, only escalating when absolutely necessary

Problem Solving Skills

• Demonstrable ability to use judgment and logic to determine issue resolution
• Demonstrable ability to research complex issues using multiple systems
• Effective problem solving skills including decision making, time management & immediate prioritization of tasks as assigned
• Ability to approach problems logically & rationally
• Action oriented and self-disciplined
• Organized and detail oriented
• Ability to quickly & effectively prioritize work time in various departments to meet business need

Work Habits

• Maintain regular and reliable attendance, including daily schedule as assigned
• Flexible with working schedule; including working weekends, holidays/events as dictated by business need; most often occurring in the weeks surrounding our busiest seasons.  Overtime is often required and mandatory during our peak seasons
• Maintain a positive attitude; a smile that can be heard through the telephone and in your written communication
• Maintain a calm, professional demeanor when faced with high demand, high volume workloads

This is a temporary, full time, non-exempt position with the potential to be converted to a fulltime regular position depending on performance.