JOHN VICTOR KARUGU
Nyeri
Summary
Experienced Customer service manager bringing 8+ years of quality performance in customer support supervisory roles. Skilled in mentoring team members to deliver exceptional service and building team morale through effective communication and positive performance feedback. Accustomed to defusing customer dissatisfaction and managing competing priorities with superior results.
Overview
11
11
years of professional experience
Work History
Customer Support manager
Stihl East Africa
03.2022 - Current
- Participating in cross-functional meetings to resolve and review recurring customer issues while developing and deploying dashboards to collect data-backed insights on potential areas of growth, optimization, and improvements
- Working cross-departmentally on data-driven strategies to improve customer support processes and decision-making while interpreting customer pain points, processes, change, needs and assessing the impact of those changes
- Providing daily, weekly, monthly, and annual forecasts and resource planning to support the customer service performance objectives, avoiding out of stock situations while organizing air freight for urgent materials
- Evaluating and managing employee performance, coaching staff on customer service ideals and best practices while ensuring that the team is serving the customers at the highest level of customer service and delivering on the company promise
- Ensuring the supply of goods is done consistently and efficiently, trying to optimize on our landing costs
- Liaising with transporters and suppliers across east Africa to make sure the business relationship the company is having with them is optimal ensuring high customer satisfaction while reducing churn
- Leading customer support, Dispatch service, goods returns and billing while ensuring product stock is adequate for all distribution channels and can cover direct demand from customers
- Developing and implementing customer service processes ensuring they are built to catalyze and enhance maximum customer satisfaction with optimal resolution times
- Resolving product and performance issues HANDS ON with customers / dealers and communicating with top management on appropriate issues and solutions, including Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to ensure alignment of processes
- Providing marketing support to ensure product optimization via customer clinics, assists with demonstrations and attends shows and expositions
- Advise product and engineering teams on product enhancements that drive automation and increase speed in delivering superior customer support
- Needs to ensure alignment of processes
- Administering company product warranty / Product Improvement Program (PIP) policies and resolving other reimbursement issues while tracking customer satisfaction scores and communicating them with the team
- Providing technical, marketing and general support to ensure product optimization via customer clinics, assists with demonstrations and attends shows and expositions
- Advise product and engineering teams on product enhancements that drive automation and increase speed in delivering superior customer support needs to ensure alignment of processes
- Administering company product warranty / Product Improvement Program (PIP) policies and resolving other reimbursement issues while tracking customer satisfaction scores and communicating them with the sales manager and team.
Customer Support manager
Stihl East Africa
03.2022 - Current
- Participating in cross-functional meetings to resolve and review recurring customer issues while developing and deploying dashboards to collect data-backed insights on potential areas of growth, optimization, and improvements
- Working cross-departmentally on data-driven strategies to improve customer support processes and decision-making while interpreting customer pain points, processes, change, needs and assessing the impact of those changes
- Providing daily, weekly, monthly, and annual forecasts and resource planning to support the customer service performance objectives, avoiding out of stock situations while organizing air freight for urgent materials
- Evaluating and managing employee performance, coaching staff on customer service ideals and best practices while ensuring that the team is serving the customers at the highest level of customer service and delivering on the company promise
- Ensuring the supply of goods is done consistently and efficiently, trying to optimize on our landing costs
- Liaising with transporters and suppliers across east Africa to make sure the business relationship the company is having with them is optimal ensuring high customer satisfaction while reducing churn
- Leading customer support, Dispatch service, goods returns and billing while ensuring product stock is adequate for all distribution channels and can cover direct demand from customers
- Developing and implementing customer service processes ensuring they are built to catalyze and enhance maximum customer satisfaction with optimal resolution times
- Resolving product and performance issues HANDS ON with customers / dealers and communicating with top management on appropriate issues and solutions, including Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) and CRM (Customer Relationship Management) to ensure alignment of processes
- Providing marketing support to ensure product optimization via customer clinics, assists with demonstrations and attends shows and expositions
- Advise product and engineering teams on product enhancements that drive automation and increase speed in delivering superior customer support
- Needs to ensure alignment of processes
- Administering company product warranty / Product Improvement Program (PIP) policies and resolving other reimbursement issues while tracking customer satisfaction scores and communicating them with the team
- Providing technical, marketing and general support to ensure product optimization via customer clinics, assists with demonstrations and attends shows and expositions
- Advise product and engineering teams on product enhancements that drive automation and increase speed in delivering superior customer support needs to ensure alignment of processes
- Administering company product warranty / Product Improvement Program (PIP) policies and resolving other reimbursement issues while tracking customer satisfaction scores and communicating them with the sales manager and team.
Call center manager
OPM Gaming limited
06.2021 - 03.2022
- Hired and trained staff on customer service across the business to create a customer focused culture where all teams understood the defined customer service and practice
- Provided input into the development of the Customer Service strategy, to support the realization of the client business strategy
- Developed metrics for measuring the impact of the Call Centre initiatives in the achievement of the customer satisfaction index to ensured alignment with the company strategy
- Lead meetings, monitored random calls while asking questions to better understand calls the agents are receiving to improve quality, minimize errors and track operative performance
- Prepared reports and analyzed call center data to improve processes ensuring resources were properly allocated and maximized efficiency as well as customer satisfaction
- Ensured staff members were archiving desired service levels as per the set KPIs and took corrective action where needed facilitating continuous skill development
- Managed 3 supervisors and 30 agents, creating conducive work shifts, approved leave requests while ensuring a safe, secure and legal work environment
- Identified trends and customer service gaps and established call center goals and objectives improving quality of service and customer experience
- Developed and implemented a reporting structure and produced timely, weekly and monthly data driven reports to senior management
- Ensured smooth running of call center operations and minimized downtime through effective monitoring and escalation of issues to appropriate departments for resolution
- Established and implemented a customer complaint and feedback monitoring mechanism to ensure complaints were addressed in a timely manner.
Call Center supervisor
Betika
04.2018 - 06.2021
- Managed a team of 20 assigned customer care representatives and ensured they comply with company guidelines particularly related to quality of service
- Monitored and reviewed floor service or other correspondence between representatives and customers
- Ensured that representatives were informed about changes to company products and services
- Collected data and prepared reports on customer complaints and inquiries
- Prepared monthly reports summarizing the assigned customer service team’s performance
- Prepared knowledge-based documents such as summarizing responses to frequently asked questions
- Identifying opportunities to update or improve customer service procedures and making recommendations to the Senior Customer Service Manager or other appropriate staff
- Assisted with budget preparation for the Customer Service department
- Performed one on one coaching with agents to review KPIs and areas of improvement.
Customer service agent
Betika
03.2016 - 04.2018
- Submitted timely reports to management outlining calls received, calls made, queries received and uploaded tickets into the service cloud system
- Managed social media content and engaged with brand followers and fans on social channels
- Resolved customer issues by researching issues in the system and asking open ended questions and determining the root cause of the error
- Received customer payment information and implementing it carefully into the system to alleviate errors
- Marketing additional services and products complementing customer’s current offerings and adding value
- Escalated critical customer issues to the supervisor to avoid lost revenue and cancelled policies
- Delivered extensive customer service by leveraging extensive knowledge of products and services and creating welcoming positive experiences
- Assisted over 200 clients in a 12-hour shift by answering questions, responding to enquiries and handling telephone requests with an average handling time of 3 minutes per client
- Maintained high levels of customer satisfaction and retention by applying strong communication and motivation, strong work ethic, ability to work within a team, leadership ability and experience handling responsibility
- Described product and service details to customers to provide information on benefits and advantages
- Enhanced productivity by staying on top of call scripts and maintaining control over direction of conversations
- Explained online self-help options to customers to promote additional support choices
- Provided company information and policies to customers upon inquiry and answering calls
- Engaged in training and continuous learning seminars to improve on performance and customer satisfaction.
Customer service debt collection agent
Roamtech Solutions Limited
01.2015 - 02.2016
- Answered customer questions regarding problems with their accounts
- Arranged for debt repayment and established repayment schedules, based on customers' financial situations
- Advised customers on necessary actions and strategies for debt repayment
- Located and notified customers of delinquent accounts by mail, telephone, or personal visits to solicit payment
- Conferred with customers by telephone or in person to determine reasons for overdue payments and to review the terms of sales, service, or credit contracts
- Located and monitored overdue accounts, using computers and a variety of automated systems
- Liaised with external debt collection agencies and police to trace delinquent customers to new addresses by inquiring at post offices, telephone companies, credit bureaus, or through the questioning of neighbors
- Performed various administrative functions for assigned accounts, such as recording address changes and purging the records of deceased customers
- Sorted and filed correspondence and perform miscellaneous clerical duties, such as answering correspondence and writing reports
- Notified credit departments, order merchandise repossession or service disconnection, and turn over account records to attorneys when customers fail to respond to collection attempts
- Maintained and distributed information regarding product registration approvals, discontinuation, and cancellations.
DEBT COLLECTOR
ECLOF KENYA MICROFINANCE.
06.2013 - 12.2014
- Monitored assigned accounts to identify outstanding debts
- Planned and implemented a course of action to recover outstanding payments
- Finding, locating, and contacting debtors to make inquiries on their payment status
- Negotiated pay for deadlines
- Overseeing, handling, and answering questions or complaints
- Strictly adhering by requirements when legal action is inevitable
- Negotiated for a settlement in which the customer pays a percentage of the debt to clear it from collections
- Kept and maintained collection records with the use of relevant materials or software such as MS Office while providing weekly data backed reports
- Tracked and located debtors through the necessary means to begin the recovery process
- Attended educational programs for professional growth and skill development.
Education
Bachelor of Science - Microfinance
Kenya Methodist University
Nairobi, Nairobi Province, Kenya07.2015
Skills
- Empathy and patience
- Client Relationship Building
- Customer Relations
- Training and mentoring
Languages
English, Kiswahili
Native language
Timeline
Customer Support manager
Stihl East Africa
03.2022 - Current
Customer Support manager
Stihl East Africa
03.2022 - Current
Call center manager
OPM Gaming limited
06.2021 - 03.2022
Call Center supervisor
Betika
04.2018 - 06.2021
Customer service agent
Betika
03.2016 - 04.2018
Customer service debt collection agent
Roamtech Solutions Limited
01.2015 - 02.2016
DEBT COLLECTOR
ECLOF KENYA MICROFINANCE.
06.2013 - 12.2014
Bachelor of Science - Microfinance
Kenya Methodist University
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