Customer Service Team Member

River Valley Co-op; Northampton (MA); On-site; USD 23,000 - 32,000; Part time

Job summary

River Valley Co-op Northampton, MA is seeking a part-time Customer Service Team Member to join our community‑minded store. You’ll greet shoppers, process purchases both in person and online, and help maintain a friendly, efficient checkout experience.

Open availability including evenings and weekends is required. You’ll work under the Customer Service Assistant Manager, with duties that emphasize hospitality, accuracy, and the cooperative spirit that drives our mission to nourish the community.

Qualifications

• Experience serving the public.
• Familiarity with natural foods.
• Accuracy, attention to detail.
• Ability to handle multiple demands.
• Ability to stay calm under pressure.
• Ability to project an outgoing, friendly personality.
• Ability to stand for long periods.
• Ability to lift 50 lbs.
• Regular, predictable attendance.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain a feeling of welcoming friendliness for all shoppers and community members when they visit our stores.
• Process shopper purchases at our registers and on the web cart accurately and efficiently, including applying the appropriate discounts, coupons, and tenders.
• Memorize PLU numbers and learn the correct department for every product category.
• Handle payment tenders with accuracy and meet cash drawer standards.
• Package customer purchases with care, ensuring special handling for delicate items.
• Offer carry-out service and maintain lot safety and order during busy times.
• Shop customers’ web cart orders efficiently and accurately.
• Answer external calls promptly and take responsibility until needs are met.
• Accept and process Buying Club orders as needed.
• Be familiar with co-op products and policies to answer questions and guide owners.

Skills

Experience serving the public

Familiarity with natural foods

Accuracy, attention to detail

Ability to handle multiple demands

Ability to stay calm under pressure

Ability to project an outgoing, friend

Ability to stand for long periods

Ability to lift 50 lbs

Regular, predictable attendance

Job description

Job Details

Job Location: River Valley Co-op Northampton - Northampton, MA 01060

Position Type: Part-time

Salary Range: $20.00 Hourly

Job Shift: Open Availability

River Valley Co-op Our Mission: River Valley Co-op staff members are all empowered ambassadors for our cooperative’s mission of creating a just marketplace that nourishes the community. Cooperative values and the larger cooperative movement inspire us to work together for a more sustainable and just future. As a team, we work to leverage our grocery retail's economic impact for positive social change in the food system, our environment, and our community. We are committed to social justice and developing our anti-racism and multicultural skills throughout our organization.

Our cooperatively-owned business values working together in partnership with our local food producers, other vendors and service providers, community organizations, employees, and our customers to serve our community food needs in ways that sustainably support our mutual needs and aspirations. We prioritize building and sustaining our business operations capacity to generate positive impacts for our employees, business partners, customers, local economy, the common good of our community, and the environment.

Our friendly store operations specializing in fresh, local, organically grown, and natural foods, builds community resilience and grows our local economy. We work hard and have fun doing it, act with honesty, kindness, and respect, and strive to improve every day.

Position: CUSTOMER SERVICE TEAM MEMBER

Requires open availability, including evenings and weekends.

Status: Reports to the Customer Service Assistant Manager

Pay Level: II, non-exempt.

Purpose: Our Customer Service team is responsible for welcoming shoppers into our physical and virtual stores and processing their orders efficiently and accurately. Everyone on the team’s essential contribution is to meet people where they are and do their very best to make every shopper feel welcome and appreciative.

Responsibilities

• Create and maintain a feeling of welcoming friendliness for all shoppers and community members when they visit our stores.


• Process shopper purchases at our registers and on the web cart accurately and efficiently, including applying the appropriate discounts, coupons, and tenders.


• Memorize Produce item Prices Look Up (PLU’s) numbers, and learn the correct physical and financial home department for every product category.


• Handle payment tenders with accuracy and meet department standards for cash drawer accuracy.


• Package customer purchases with care, with special attention to the placement of delicate items, food safety, and customer requests.


• Offer carry-out service to shoppers. When in our parking lot, maintain personal safety through awareness of others and adherence to right-of-way rules, and maintain lot safety through collecting carts and picking up discarded items.


• Shop customers’ web cart orders efficiently and accurately.


• Answer external calls promptly and take responsibility for the call until the caller’s needs are met.


• Accept and process Buying Club orders as needed.


• Be familiar with Co-op products and policies so that you may answer customer questions. Refer unresolved questions to the appropriate co-worker, doing your best to make sure the customer doesn’t have to repeat themselves.


• Be familiar with the benefits of co-op ownership, and provide helpful information about it to customers who are not owners, and process owner payments.


• Participate in ownership drives.


• Be informed about co-op specials and events, and communicate the details to shoppers.


• Make effective use of downtime, including bagging for co-workers, stocking and packaging products, maintaining full stock levels in product departments, assisting on service counters, and participating in projects across the store as assigned.


• Maintain a clean, tidy, and safe work environment.


• Maintain a cool head under pressure and embrace busy times as a sign of success.

ALL STAFF DUTIES

• Attend and participate in team and store meetings.


• Perform other tasks assigned by the Customer Service Assistant Manager.

Qualifications

• Experience serving the public.


• Familiarity with natural foods.


• Accuracy, attention to detail.


• Ability to handle multiple demands.


• Ability to stay calm under pressure.


• Ability to project an outgoing, friendly personality.


• Ability to stand for long periods.


• Ability to lift 50 lbs.


• Regular, predictable attendance.

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential functional job duties.

River Valley Co-op is an equal opportunity employer encouraging excellence through diversity.