£28,000–£31,000 per year + sales commission
At a glance
- Additional earning potential through sales commission
- Office-based in Wolverhampton
- Customer service across telephone, email, WhatsApp and online channels
- Take ownership of customer cases from initial contact through to resolution
- Investigate problems rather than simply passing them on
- Previous customer service experience isn't essential
- Excellent spoken and written English is essential
- Company pension
- Career progression opportunities
- More than just answering customer enquiries
The Big Phone Store has been established since 1999 and is one of the UK's leading refurbished mobile phone and technology businesses.
We're looking for an articulate, proactive and commercially minded Customer Service Advisor to join our Wolverhampton team.
This isn't a role where you'll simply answer emails using standard responses.
Our Customer Service team deals with customers throughout their journey with us. You'll answer questions, investigate problems, explain sometimes complicated situations in straightforward language and take ownership of customer cases through to resolution.
As we continue to invest in AI and automation, many of the simple, repetitive customer-service tasks can increasingly be handled automatically.
That makes the human side of customer service even more important.
We're looking for people who can think, investigate, communicate and make sensible decisions when an enquiry needs a human being rather than an automated response.
What you'll be doing
You'll communicate with customers across a range of channels, including telephone, email, WhatsApp, our own customer-service ticketing system and online marketplaces.
Your responsibilities will include:
- Answering customer enquiries by telephone and digital channels
- Calling customers when a conversation is the quickest or best way to resolve an issue
- Helping customers with orders, deliveries, returns and product enquiries
- Managing customer cases from initial contact through to resolution
- Investigating problems rather than simply passing them to somebody else
- Supporting warranty and aftersales enquiries
- Explaining warranty processes clearly
- Dealing with returns and replacement enquiries
- Investigating missing, delayed or damaged deliveries
- Working with couriers and delivery partners to resolve problems
- Gathering and presenting information relating to suspected fraud or unusual transactions
- Working with our warehouse, dispatch, technical and repair teams
- Keeping customers informed while an issue is being investigated
- Maintaining accurate customer records and case notes
- Using our internal ticketing and customer-management systems
- Communicating with customers through online marketplaces where required
- Helping manage customer feedback and review-related enquiries, including Trustpilot
- Identifying recurring problems and raising them internally
- Suggesting improvements to our customer journey and internal processes
Taking ownership
We don't want customers being unnecessarily passed from person to person.
If you're dealing with a case, we expect you to understand what has happened, investigate it properly and take ownership of progressing it.
There will be guidelines and processes to follow, and some decisions will require management approval.
The important thing is recognising the difference.
We want people who can deal confidently with situations within their authority but also recognise when something unusual needs to be escalated.
When you do elevate something, we expect you to have investigated it properly and be able to explain the situation coherently so that a decision can be made quickly.
Customer service with commercial awareness
Providing excellent service comes first, but there will also be opportunities to help customers purchase products and services that genuinely suit their needs.
For example, a customer might benefit from:
- An extended warranty
- A battery upgrade
- Another suitable product or service
Where appropriate, you'll be encouraged to identify those opportunities.
A commission scheme will allow you to earn additional income from qualifying sales, upgrades and cross-sales.
This isn't a hard-sell environment. We don't want customers being pushed into products they don't need.
Good commercial customer service means understanding what the customer needs and recognising when we can genuinely offer them something useful.
This doesn't have to remain a Customer Service Advisor position.
As you learn the business and demonstrate your ability, there will be opportunities to progress into roles such as:
- Supervisory and management positions
- Other departments within The Big Phone Store
We're interested in people who want to develop their skills, understand more of the business and take on greater responsibility over time.
Salary and benefits
- Additional earning potential through sales commission
- Office-based in Wolverhampton
- Company pension
- Career progression opportunities
- Opportunities to develop skills across different areas of the business
Consumer rights and explaining complicated issues simply
An important part of the position will be dealing with aftersales enquiries and understanding how consumer rights apply to different situations. You don't need to arrive as an expert in consumer law. You will, however, need to learn the relevant policies, processes and consumer-rights principles that apply to our customers. More importantly, you'll need to be able to explain them in plain English. Customers don't want legal jargon or complicated internal terminology. They want to understand what's happening, why it's happening and what happens next. You'll need the judgement to communicate that clearly and professionally. Excellent English and communication skills are essential. This role requires an excellent standard of spoken and written English. You'll be communicating directly with customers on behalf of The Big Phone Store, so spelling, grammar, clarity and accuracy matter. You'll need to be able to:
- Write clear, professional and grammatically accurate responses
- Speak confidently and professionally on the telephone
- Listen carefully and understand what a customer is actually asking
- Explain technical information in straightforward language
- Explain policies and consumer-rights issues clearly
- Ask the right questions to establish what has happened
- Adapt how you communicate depending on the customer and situation
- Remain calm and articulate when dealing with an unhappy customer
- Summarise complicated situations accurately
- Communicate effectively with colleagues and managers
- Raise concerns when something doesn't look right
- Provide feedback and suggest improvements without waiting to be asked
If you know something is wrong, we expect you to speak up. If you're seeing the same customer problem repeatedly, we want you to tell us. If you believe something could be done better, we want to hear why. Excellent communication isn't simply desirable for this position. It's an essential part of the job and will be assessed during recruitment.
Telephone, email, WhatsApp and more
Different situations require different forms of communication. Sometimes an email is appropriate. Sometimes WhatsApp is easier. Sometimes the quickest way to resolve a problem is simply to pick up the telephone and speak to the customer. You need to be comfortable with all of them. We don't want someone who avoids telephone conversations because sending another email feels easier. The objective is to resolve the customer's enquiry effectively, using the communication method most appropriate for the situation.
Problem-solving and investigation
The straightforward questions are increasingly the easiest ones to automate. The value you bring is when something requires thought. A customer might tell you their parcel hasn't arrived. Your job isn't simply to apologise. You may need to check tracking information, understand what the courier is reporting, establish what information we already hold, communicate with another department, determine the appropriate next step and keep the customer informed. We're therefore looking for someone who is naturally inquisitive and wants to understand why something has happened.
Previous experience isn't essential
You don't need years of customer-service experience to apply. In some cases, we'd rather recruit someone with the right ability and attitude and teach them our business than recruit somebody who has spent years developing poor habits elsewhere. We're looking for someone who is:
- Articulate
- Empathetic
- Resilient
- Inquisitive
- Accountable
- Commercially sensible
- Confident communicating with people
- Calm under pressure
- Comfortable dealing with complaints
- Accurate and attentive to detail
- Comfortable using computers and technology
- Able to manage several cases and priorities
- Willing to learn
- Prepared to take ownership
- Confident enough to speak up when necessary
Most importantly, we want people who care about getting things resolved.
What success looks like
Success isn't simply answering as many tickets as possible. We want customers to receive accurate information, problems to be properly investigated and cases to be resolved efficiently. That means balancing:
- Customer satisfaction
- Quality and accuracy
- Response and resolution times
- Ownership of cases
- Commercial awareness
- Clear communication
- Appropriate escalation
- Customer feedback and reviews
We'd rather you properly understand and resolve a problem than send a quick but useless response simply to close a ticket.
Recruitment process
We recruit based on ability, attitude and potential, not simply formal qualifications or previous job titles. As part of the recruitment process, shortlisted applicants should expect practical exercises designed to assess the skills actually required for the position. These may include responding to a customer in writing, dealing with a customer scenario, investigating a problem and explaining how you would handle a telephone conversation. We'll be looking at your communication, spelling and grammar, judgement, problem‑solving, attention to detail and how you approach an unhappy or confused customer. You don't need to know everything about mobile phones or consumer rights when you arrive. You do need to demonstrate that you can communicate exceptionally well, think for yourself, learn quickly and take responsibility for solving problems.
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