Customer Relations Associate, Inbound
Graduate School USA
Washington, DC

The Customer Relations Associate, Inbound (CRA) serves the nationwide classroom training programs of Graduate School USA by providing accurate and responsive service to all customers interested in training solutions to meet their individual or organizational learning needs. The CRA will respond to a wide range of phone calls, faxes, emails, online chats, and correspondence from customers regarding class scheduling, certificate information, course content, class selection, registrations, payment/billing inquiries, location information, and the School's policies and procedures. The CRA will work to maintain accurate data entry, record keeping, and any follow-ups to ensure high data quality standards and registration integrity for all customers, in addition to providing consistently high-quality customer service. The incumbent will learn all aspects of the Customer Relations Center. The CRC Call Center is also responsible for assisting with staffing as needed for the second floor reception area.

Responsibilities:

• Interact with customers through telephone, email and chat to provide information about GSUSA services or products, assist with registrations and class cancellations, and receive any information about customer concerns.
• Record details of inquiries, comments or concerns, transactions or interactions, and respond within Customer Relations Center guidelines.
• Ensure that required changes are made to resolve customer queries.
• Refer unresolved and pending customer grievances to the appropriate departments for further investigation.
• Contact clients to notify them regarding investigation results, respond to inquiries, or any adjustments in services.
• Resolve issues related to billing or customer service by carrying out activities such as refunding money, exchanging classes, or adjusting bills.
• Review policies and terms to ensure they resolve the issues as per the regulations.
• Acquire and analyze all relevant information to evaluate validity of customer concerns and identify the possible causes.
• Process student enrollments, transfers and withdrawals; contract inquiries; billings, and feedback.
• Respond accurately to customers inquiries and ensure customer satisfaction.
• Secure possible customer leads.
• Enter and maintain data into a database of existing and/or potential customers.
• Manage records and database of telephonic communications, interactions, accounts, orders, and payments.

• Greet external and internal customers in person and over the phone
• Provide instructor assistance
• Support of internal business customers and processes, and ongoing process improvements.
• Resolve registration and billing issues.
• Field inbound calls, emails, mail, and/or faxes from all School constituents (students, faculty, government agencies, the general public, et al.).

• Analyze requests or questions; gather appropriate data and information; determine appropriate responses and/or hand-off to an appropriate School employee; follow up to ensure that requests have been fulfilled and closed out.
• Process enrollments, cancellations/transfers, contract requests, complaints, scheduling inquiries, and programs and services inquiries.
• Convey basic information about the School's course offerings based on the callers' learning objectives.
• Monitor any customer complaints and provide the most effective response by working with or escalating the complaints to a Supervisor.
• Support of goals and initiative of the Graduate School, its various academic and training programs, and the Customer Relations Center.

• Work with moderate latitude but routinely operate under established guidelines and policies; confer with the supervisor on non-routine requests and about how to interpret guidelines and policies.
• Reliable schedule adherence.
• Special projects and duties, as assigned.

Requirements:

• High school diploma is required. Associate degree or higher is preferred. The equivalent of education and experience is also preferred.
• Minimum 3 years of experience handling telephone inquiries in a call center or customer service environment.
• Ability to conduct research via use of system databases, the School's website, and/or the Internet in order to resolve issues and answer inquiries to the satisfaction of the customers.
• Ability to multitask and maintain a positive work ethic and attitude.
• Interest in working with and developing expertise in educational products and the federal government.
• Experience in a college, university, or other educational/training organization is preferred.
• Must have strong computer skills and proficiency with MS Office applications, particularly Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to multitask, adjust priorities, meet deadlines, and successfully operate in a fast-paced work environment.
• Ability to follow through and successfully execute tasks while adhering to specified quality standards.
• Excellent analysis, troubleshooting, problem-solving, and decision-making skills.
• Strong organizational/analytical skills, and attention to detail.
• Project management and project planning skills are a plus but not required.
• Ability to build rapport while providing superior customer service and maintaining positive relationships with internal teams and client contacts.
• Ability to work well independently and as a team member.
• Must have excellent interpersonal, verbal, and written communication skills in order to effectively interact with diverse sets of internal and external customers.
• Must have the ability to learn and understand the School's programs and service offerings.
• Must have good research skills.
• Must have the ability to listen effectively and to probe for the proper questions in order to gain a full understanding of the requestors' issues.
• Must have excellent communication skills and the ability to professionally communicate with people at all levels.

About Us:

Located in Washington, DC, Graduate School USA is a leading provider of professional development and training courses for the federal government, serving organizations and individuals with programs designed to support organizational missions, career and occupational development, and the personal ambitions of adult learners. GSUSA's courses and programs are delivered by instructors with real-world government experience, including customized training solutions, distance education, and leadership training.

Graduate School USA is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are dedicated to supporting and encouraging diversity in the workplace. We commit that all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, or protected veteran status and will not be discriminated against on the basis of disability.

Colorado, California, Washington and NYC Pay Transparency Statement

If you are a resident of Colorado, California, Washington or New York City and this role is available remotely, you may be eligible to receive additional information about the compensation and benefits for this role, which we will provide upon request. Please send an email to