National Customer Service Manager in Coralville, Iowa at WEST MUSIC CO INC

The West Music National Business Unit primarily serves elementary general music educators across the United States and internationally, as well as individual, educational, and other customers. Core product areas include Orff Schulwerk instruments and materials, world drums, recorders, classroom print materials, ukuleles, and more.

The National Customer Service Manager provides day-to-day leadership and direct supervision for Customer Service Associates (CSA) and Customer Service Representatives (CSR), with responsibility for coaching, development, performance, and accountability.

As a key leader within the National Business Unit, this role supports a consistent and exceptional customer experience by providing expertise and guidance on customer service practices, processes, and complex customer situations and helping strengthen how the business unit works together to serve its customers.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to the following. Other duties may be assigned as business needs dictate:

Team Leadership & Associate Development

• Directly supervise CSA and CSR associates, providing clear expectations, regular one-on-one meetings, coaching, feedback, and accountability.
• Develop associates’ customer service, communication, problem-solving, organizational, and professional skills and support onboarding and ongoing training.
• Partner with the Director of Customer Service on staffing, performance, training, and associate development needs.
• Foster a team environment centered on accountability, collaboration, continuous learning, and exceptional service.

Customer Service Operations & Service Quality

• Oversee West Music’s frontline digital customer service intake and triage function, ensuring inquiries are effectively handled or routed for timely follow-up.
• Coordinate Customer Service staffing schedules and designated service and order-processing assignments, including shared National Business Unit responsibilities such as chat and purchase order processing.
• Oversee customer service channels and workflows to support timely, accurate, professional, and consistent customer interactions and follow-up.
• Serve as an escalation resource for complex or sensitive National customer concerns, taking ownership as appropriate and engaging additional resources when needed.
• Provide hands-on customer service and order-processing support as business needs require.

Performance, Processes & Continuous Improvement

• Partner with the Director of Customer Service to maintain and use relevant performance measures and KPIs to evaluate performance and identify opportunities for improvement.
• Maintain procedures, training resources, service guidelines, and other documentation supporting effective customer service.
• Support effective use and improvement of the company’s CRM and related customer service tools, workflows, templates, and reporting.
• Identify and help implement service process and workflow improvements that increase efficiency, consistency, accuracy, and customer satisfaction.

Cross-Functional & Specialized Customer Support

• Collaborate with Bids, Sales, Accounts Receivable, Fulfillment, and other teams to resolve customer needs and support effective service processes.
• Support international customers with claims, returns, and shipping discrepancies.
• Coordinate carrier claims and related follow-up, including proof-of-delivery requests and denied or unpaid claims.

National Business Unit Leadership

• Participate as an active member of the National Business Unit Leadership Team, contributing to annual and quarterly planning, weekly L10 meetings, business unit priorities, and Rocks.
• Bring customer experience, service trends, and operational insights to business unit decision-making and serve as a resource on customer service practices, processes, and complex customer situations.
• Collaborate with National Business Unit leaders to strengthen processes and how the business works together to serve its customers.

• Associate or bachelor’s degree in business, education, communications, music, or a related field preferred; equivalent relevant experience considered.
• Customer service experience, preferably within West Music’s National Business Unit or a comparable educational, institutional, retail, or B2B environment.
• Demonstrated ability to coach, train, and lead others; direct people-management experience preferred.
• Strong communication, organization, problem-solving, and customer service skills, including the ability to manage multiple priorities and complex customer situations.
• Proficiency with CRM, order-management, communication, and reporting systems.
• Knowledge of elementary general music products and customers, or the ability to develop strong product and customer knowledge.

Key Competencies

• People leadership and associate development
• Customer service and communication
• Problem solving and sound judgment
• Operational organization and prioritization
• Cross-functional collaboration
• Data-informed decision making and continuous improvement

What Success Looks Like in the First 12 Months

Within the first year, the National Customer Service Manager will establish strong leadership of the CSA and CSR teams while becoming an effective leader and resource within the broader National Business Unit. Indicators of success include:

Building a strong and accountable team
Establish clear expectations and consistent coaching and development that strengthen associate performance, confidence, judgment, and capability.

Delivering consistent and responsive customer service
Effectively manage service workflows, coverage, and escalations so customer needs are handled or routed accurately, professionally, and in a timely manner.

Strengthening operational effectiveness
Use performance information and frontline experience to improve service processes, workflows, training, documentation, and tools.

Contributing as a National Business Unit leader
Contribute effectively to National Business Unit strategy and execution and help strengthen how the business unit works together to serve its customers.

Physical Demands –

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functions.

While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to sit, talk or hear; use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools or controls; and reach with hands and arms. The employee is occasionally required to stand and walk.? The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 30 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

West Music is an equal opportunity; equal access employer committed to a diverse workforce. The above information has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this job.