Customer Service Apprentice

Cheshire College - South & West; Chester; On-site; GBP 11,000 - 18,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Structured training programme

Level 2 Apprenticeship

Office in Chester city centre

Job summary

Funktion Leisure Ltd is offering a Customer Service Apprentice role based in Chester. You will handle enquiries, send quotes, and manage bookings from enquiry through event day, gaining hands-on experience across our brands.

You will train on the job and study for the Level 2 Customer Service Practitioner apprenticeship, with 38h45m weekly hours and shifts including Saturdays. Requires 18+ and commuting to Chester city centre.

Qualifications

• GCSE Maths at grade 4/C (or equivalent) required.
• GCSE English at grade 4/C (or equivalent) required.
• Level 2 Apprenticeship in Customer Service on offer; training provided.

Responsibilities

• Handle enquiries by phone and email and send quotes.
• Manage bookings from enquiry to event day with accuracy.
• Update and maintain the booking system.
• Coordinate with suppliers to confirm hotel, activities and dining details.
• Provide timely responses to customers and suppliers.

Skills

Microsoft

Microsoft Excel

Organised multitasker

Professionalism

Positive work ethic

Positive attitude

Telephone manners

Education

GCSE Maths (grade 4/C)

GCSE English (grade 4/C)

Level 2 Functional Skills (if needed)

Tools

MS Office

Booking system

Job description

Help hen, stag and group customers enjoy a stress-free event. You'll take enquiries, send quotes, confirm bookings with suppliers and keep our booking system up to date, with full training and a Level 2 apprenticeship.

Hours You will be working 5 days a week, between Monday and Saturday. Your working hours will be between 8.30am and 7pm. However, during initial training, you will work 8.30am to 5.00pm. Each shift is up to 8 hours. 38 hours 45 minutes a week

Friday 1 January 2027

Duration
1 year 3 months

Work

Most of your apprenticeship is spent working. You'll learn on the job by getting hands-on experience.

What you'll do at work

• You'll report to our Operations Manager and work closely with the rest of the team.
• Take new enquiries by phone and email and send quotes, so you learn how the whole business works.
• Look after customers from booking to event day, giving friendly, accurate and prompt service where nothing is too much trouble.
• Reply to customer calls and emails promptly.
• Help with customer orders and queries across our other brands too, including MakeHampers, Dodgy Clobba, GoHen and StagWeb.
• For each new booking, check and confirm every part in writing with our suppliers. This can include hotels, daytime activities and evening events.
• Speak to customers by phone and email to confirm final details nearer their event, such as group size and restaurant and bar choices, and collect their balance.
• Build each group's event itinerary in our booking system.
• Request and check invoices from our suppliers.
• Collect customer feedback, pass it to our marketing team and help sort out any customer or supplier issues.
• Enter information accurately in our booking system. Attention to detail and confidence with computers are a must.
• Make sure every event runs smoothly, so customers don't have to worry about a thing.
• Learn our range of activities and packages, so you know exactly what your customers are booking.
• Join our quarterly team outings to try our suppliers' activities first hand, all expenses paid.
• Get involved in other projects across the business, from marketing to sales, so you're never stuck doing one thing. Our business is seasonal, so these often pick up in quieter months.

Where you'll work

10 St. John Street
Chester
CH1 1DA

Training

Apprenticeships include time away from working for specialist training. You'll study to gain professional knowledge and skills.

• Use a range of questioning skills, including listening and responding in a way that builds rapport, determines customer needs and expectations and achievespositive engagement and delivery.
• Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills, along with summarising language during face-to-face communications; and/or
• Depending on your job role and work environment: Use appropriate communication skills, along with reinforcement techniques (to confirm understanding) during non-facing customerinteractions.
• Depending on your job role and work environment: Use an appropriate 'tone of voice' in all communications, including written and digital, that reflect the organisation's brand.
• Provide clear explanations and offer options in order to help customers make choices that are mutually beneficial to both the customer and your organisation.
• Be able to organise yourself, prioritise your own workload/activity and work to meet deadlines.
• Demonstrate patience and calmness.
• Show you understand the customer’s point of view.
• Use appropriate sign-posting or resolution to meet your customers needs and manage expectations.

In-house training, plus the Level 2 Customer Service Practitioner apprenticeship, structured and delivered by Cheshire College - South & West. If you don't have GCSE English and maths at grade 4 (C) or above, or equivalent, you'll also complete Level 2 Functional Skills in the relevant subject.

Requirements

GCSE in:

• Maths (grade 4/C)

Any (grade 4/C)

Share if you have other relevant qualifications and industry experience. The apprenticeship can be adjusted to reflect what you already know.

Skills

• Good knowledge of Microsoft
• Confident using the internet
• Able to juggle several tasks
• Professionalism
• Positive work ethic
• Positive attitude and energy
• Good telephone manner

Other requirements

• This is a busy, customer-facing role that includes regular Saturday working and some shifts finishing at 7pm. You'll need to be able to get to our office in Chester city centre.
• All applicants need to be 18+ due to the nature of some of the events.

About this employer

Funktion Leisure Ltd is an ABTA-approved tour operator and events company, established in 2007. Our brands include Funktion Events, GoHen, StagWeb and Groupia Golf, organising hen parties, stag dos, golf trips, group travel and team building across the UK and Europe. We also run gift hamper specialist MakeHampers and party clothing brand Dodgy Clobba. Together we've arranged thousands of events and are known for great customer service and a wide choice of activities.
We have a close, skilled team who enjoy passing on what they know, and several of them started with us as apprentices.
Continually focused on offering high-quality training, the Managing Director has won the Small Business Apprenticeship Ambassador of the Year Award with Cheshire College.
We're growing fast and bringing our brands together, and we're looking for a Customer Service Apprentice to look after our customers and suppliers, keep bookings up to date and help with day-to-day admin, all through a structured training programme.
You'll also get to experience some of the popular events we organise for our customers.

Company benefits

• We work hard during the day and you go home on time. We don't expect you to work extra hours.
• A future permanent role within the company may be available but not guaranteed.

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

CHESHIRE COLLEGE - SOUTH & WEST

[e-mail]

The reference code for this apprenticeship isVAC2000063645.