Customer Service Apprenticeship

Summary

Do you have a customer-first attitude and are you happy to always go the extra mile to deliver a first-class? If so, Groomers and Styling Products UK are eager to support you in achieving your apprenticeship, working in a friendly and supportive team! You will experience many areas of the business, giving a great opportunity for future development.

Wage

£18,000 a year

Check minimum wage rates (opens in new tab)

You will also receive 25 days holiday per annum, pension scheme (after 3 months), free parking on site, and access to a market leading Employee Assistance Programme from BUPA.

Training course

Customer service practitioner (level 2)

Hours

08:30 – 17:00, Monday to Thursday and 08:30 – 16:00 on Friday.

37 hours 45 minutes a week

Start date

Tuesday 6 May 2025

Duration

1 year 3 months

Positions available

1

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

Key Duties & Responsibilities

CORE FUNCTIONS

Reception

First point of contact for the company, providing a positive first impression of Groomers / Styling Products UK.
Welcome and greet customers and suppliers who visit Head Office.
Provide 1st line support to customers and suppliers via email and/or telephone, providing them with the information required, or directing them to the correct department if necessary.
Ensure Reception area is clean, tidy and stocked with relevant documentation.

Customer Service

Managing day-to-day customer telephone and email enquiries, ensuring all verbal and written communication reflects our brand values, is error-free and grammatically correct.
Managing and delivering excellent product knowledge to the customer from enquiry to order processing
Assisting in the delivery of the annual Tele Sales budget
Preparing and processing customer telephone orders, offering product alternatives for OOS items.
Printing and counting daily orders; preparing by nominated courier methods for warehouse team
Supporting Customer Service Team Leader to sell through Pre-Love products
Keeping accurate customer account records capturing all transaction information
Booking in freight orders and liaising with our external freight forwarding team and internal Warehouse Teams to confirm customers of their delivery details and any amends/changes
Assisting with the day-to-day management of our Student and College accounts
Working closely with the accounts teams to ensure all customer orders are placed against a valid and commercially viable account.

TRAINING FUNCTIONS

Returns Support

Preparing, Processing and investigating all customer return queries, and advising Line Manager of any issues and trends for further analysis.
Maintaining a clean and tidy returns work area.
Supporting the Line Manager by taking a detailed summary of the customer complaint details.
Ensuring all customer correspondence is correct on the file in readiness for your Line Manager to process.

Dispatch

To carry out the efficient and accurate picking, packing, and dispatch of goods.
Follow company policies on stock control and inventory management.
Contribute to the accuracy of stock takes in line with company policy.
Ensure accurate and timely distribution of stock.
Ad hoc warehouse duties, as required.

Sales & Marketing

Supporting the Sales Team in creation of New Line Forms.
Administration of the Amazon Returns process.
Assistance in ad-hoc Customer requests.

General

Ad-hoc support to wider business where required.
Undertaking additional duties from time to time that reflect the changing needs of the business.

Where you’ll work

137 GREENHAM BUSINESS PARK
GREENHAM
THATCHAM
RG19 6HN

Training

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

College or training organisation

WEST BERKSHIRE TRAINING CONSORTIUM

Your training course

Customer service practitioner (level 2)

Equal to GCSE

Course contents

Use a range of questioning skills, including listening and responding in a way that builds rapport, determines customer needs and expectations and achieves positive 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 customer interactions.
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.
Maintain informative communication during service recovery.

Your training plan

The Apprentice would work towards the Customer Service Practitioner Standard Level 2. This would be through blended learning, live Tutor-led training sessions, both in-person and remote. 1-1 training and reviews and Functional Skills Maths and English Level 1 if required.

Requirements

Essential qualifications

GCSE or equivalent in:

English (grade 3/D)
maths (grade 3/D)

Let the company know about other relevant qualifications and industry experience you have. They can adjust the apprenticeship to reflect what you already know.

Skills

Communication skills
IT skills
Organisation skills
Customer care skills
Analytical skills
Team working
Initiative
Multi Task
Can-do Attitude

Other requirements

For those who are waiting for exam results please provide your predicted grades.

About this company

The Groomers story began in the 1990s with a dog groomer, a vet school and an idea to reduce dry, itchy skin and hair loss in dogs. This led to the development of Evening Primrose Oil Shampoo, designed to help restore their coats and replenish their skin. Since then, we have expanded our animal bathing range considerably, and now supply an extensive range of equipment to professional groomers and a full range of pet supplies. We still manufacture our own brand bathing liquids, including that famous Evening Primrose Oil Shampoo, and are now one of the leading supply companies in the industry, doing our best to provide everything needed to groom pets with care and get amazing results in the process. We’ve recently introduced our My-Pet platform, especially for pet owners, which brings professional expertise to home grooming.

https://www.groomers-online.com/ (opens in new tab)

After this apprenticeship

This will be a fixed-term contract for the duration of the apprenticeship. The expectation is that for the right candidate there would be the possibility of a permanent role and further personal development.

Ask a question

The contact for this apprenticeship is:

WEST BERKSHIRE TRAINING CONSORTIUM

Rachel Eaves

rachel@wbtc-uk.com

07922 426414

The reference code for this apprenticeship is VAC1000312691.

Apply now

Closes in 14 days (Friday 18 April 2025 at 11:59pm)

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