Customer Care Representative (JHB) Fixed Term

We seek a proactive, customer-focused and highly organised Customer Care Representative to join our team on a fixed term contract up to 8 months.

The successful candidate will be the link between the Company and our customers, ensuring that customers understand our services, receive excellent support, and have the information and tools they need to use the Company effectively.

This is a hands-on role in a fast-paced refrigerated transport environment. The ideal candidate will have excellent communication and administrative skills, a strong customer-service mindset, attention to detail and an interest in developing sales and account-management skills.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Customer Service & Relationship Management

• Answer telephone calls and assist customers with enquiries relating to refrigerated transport services.
• Develop a strong understanding of all Company routes, running days, service schedules and temperature requirements.
• Ensure customers understand our services, operating requirements and service expectations.
• Maintain regular contact with customers according to their customer category:
• A Clients: Minimum 4 customer touches per year
• B Clients: Minimum 3 customer touches per year
• C & D Clients: Minimum 2 customer touches per year
• A customer birthday message may be counted as a customer touch.
• Capture customer birthdays on CTIMS.
• Maintain and provide customers with the correct the Company contact list, ensuring they know who to contact for different queries.
• Ensure the correct customer contacts receive rate adjustments, invoices, statements and PODs.

Understanding Customer Requirements

Build and maintain a detailed understanding of each customer's operational requirements, including:

• Customer volumes and delivery frequencies.
• Specific running days required.
• Customer time constraints and receiving windows.
• Vehicle sizes that customer premises can accommodate.
• Loading bays and receiving/dispatch arrangements.
• Availability of pallet jacks and forklifts.
• Customer product types and temperature requirements.
• Product value and sensitivity.
• GRV, AOD and other documentation requirements.
• Pallet requirements and customer-specific constraints.
• Potential growth opportunities and new developments in the customer's market, such as new products, customers or routes.
• Customer competitors and market activity.
• Whether customer spend is increasing or decreasing, and understanding why.

The Company Portal

• Activate customers on the Company Customer Portal.
• Provide Portal training to CBL, cash and term customers.
• Issue the Portal welcome letter and manual.
• Ensure customers understand the benefits of the Portal, including online access to:
• Invoices
• Statements
• PODs
• Customer account information
• Explain how customer reference numbers, such as GRV/AOD numbers, can be matched to the corresponding Company POD number on the invoicing page.
• Assist customers with Portal-related queries and ensure the Portal manual remains up to date.

Issue Reporting & Claims

Manage and coordinate customer queries relating to transport issues, including:

• Shortages.
• Damages.
• Product returns.
• Temperature deterioration.
• Other service-related issues.

Assist with GIT claims relating to damages and temperature deterioration and ensure the appropriate information and documentation is obtained and submitted.

New Customer & Account Administration

Assist with converting prospects into customers by:

• Calling new prospects and identifying their refrigerated transport requirements.
• Following up on sales leads and assisting with prospect conversion.
• Obtaining and processing:
• CBL Forms
• Credit Applications and Terms & Conditions
• POPI reference forms
• Bank letters
• Tax Clearance Certificates
• Other required account documentation
• Opening new customer accounts.
• Starting the CRM process until the customer code is received from CC Cape Town/Xero.
• Preparing and sending customer welcome communications.
• Supporting the onboarding process and ensuring customers understand LMC Express procedures.

Accounts & Customer Queries

• Liaise with the Accounts Department / CC Cape Town regarding customer queries and account-related matters.
• Assist with customer queries relating to invoices, statements and payments.
• Mark CBL payments daily when deposits are received from Accounts.
• Assist with cash and term customer administration.
• Complete rates for existing customers with client codes.
• Update cash customer rates on the Master Rate file when rates increase or decrease.
• Ensure customers receive rate adjustments and understand changes where required.

Pallet & Receiving/Dispatch Requirements

• Ensure customers understand the Company pallet specification.
• Assist with training Warehouse Managers and receiving/dispatch personnel on pallet specifications and requirements.
• Identify customer-specific constraints that may affect collections or deliveries.
• Ensure operational requirements are communicated clearly to the relevant Company departments.

Depot & Operational Support

• Monitor depot storage reports to identify customer product requiring collection or action.
• Assist with clearing returned product from depots and ensure applicable storage fees are identified and charged.
• Assist Admin, Fleet and Operations with ad-hoc duties when required.
• Manage and monitor the Company WhatsApp phones used by the various depots.
• Assist with Mini Business / business update reports.
• Assist with updating customer information and records.

Sales & Account Development

This position has an important sales-support and account-development component.

The successful candidate will:

• Reactivate dormant customers.
• Identify opportunities to increase customer spend.
• Assist in converting smaller spenders, particularly customers spending R10,000 or less per month.
• Identify potential new routes, products and business opportunities.
• Conduct basic market research.
• Arrange appointments and meetings for Sales Representatives.
• Share and maintain Sales Representative diaries where required.
• Assist Sales Representatives with administrative and customer-support requirements needed to secure new business.
• Nurture existing customers and identify opportunities for growth.

Customer & Market Intelligence

Maintain useful customer information and provide feedback to management and Sales, including:

• Customer growth potential.
• New products or markets.
• Potential new routes.
• Competitor activity.
• Changes in customer volumes.
• Changes in customer spend.
• Reasons for declining or increasing business.
• Customer service concerns or opportunities.
• Operational constraints that may affect service delivery.

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The ideal candidate will have:

• Previous experience in customer service, customer care, sales support, administration or account management.
• Experience in transport, logistics, FMCG, warehousing or a related environment will be advantageous.
• Excellent telephone and written communication skills.
• Strong customer relationship-building skills.
• Good administrative and organisational ability.
• High attention to detail.
• The ability to work under pressure in a fast-paced environment.
• Good computer literacy and the ability to learn and use systems such as CRM, CTIMS, Xero and customer portals.
• Strong problem-solving skills.
• The confidence to communicate with customers, warehouse managers, operational teams and internal departments.
• A professional, friendly and solutions-focused approach.
• The ability to work independently while also being a strong team player.
• A willingness to learn and develop sales skills.
• Reliable transport to work and good attendance record.

EMPLOYMENT EQUITY

The company is committed to Employment Equity, diversity and inclusion an