Senior Customer Service Specialist

Job Overview

The Customer Service Manager is responsible for managing and continuously improving the customer service operations and external service providers in the Philippine market.

The role primarily oversees two categories of external service providers: Call Centre and Roadside Assistance . Key responsibilities include vendor operations, performance management, service quality, and commercial management. The role is also responsible for establishing and continuously improving the company’s customer satisfaction, customer complaint, Voice of Customer (VOC), and end-to-end customer issue management systems.

This is not simply a vendor management position. As a customer service management role within an automotive Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), the position requires a strong focus on customers and brand reputation, with accountability for service quality, customer experience, and the actual resolution of customer issues.

The role requires close collaboration with After-Sales, Technical, Spare Parts, Quality, Sales, Dealers, and other relevant departments. Without direct line-management authority over these teams, the Customer Service Manager must use data, processes, management mechanisms, and cross-functional coordination to drive the timely and effective resolution of customer issues.

Key Responsibilities

Call Centre and Roadside Assistance Vendor Management

• Manage the day-to-day operations and performance of external Call Centre and Roadside Assistance service providers.
• Establish, maintain, and continuously improve vendor Key Performance Indicator (KPI) and Service Level Agreement (SLA) management systems.
• Manage, but not be limited to, the following performance indicators:
• Service level
• Answer rate
• Average Speed of Answer (ASA)
• Average Handling Time (AHT)
• First Contact Resolution (FCR)
• Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
• Complaint rate
• Call abandonment rate
• Roadside Assistance response time
• Arrival time
• Service completion rate
• Service quality
• Conduct regular vendor performance reviews and business reviews.
• Analyse vendor operational data and service quality, develop corrective action plans for underperforming KPIs, and track actions through to closure.
• Monitor vendor contract compliance, service quality, operational risks, and related commercial matters.
• Identify potential operational risks associated with vendors and establish preventive measures and contingency plans.
• Continuously optimise vendor service models and operating processes in line with business development and customer needs.
• Participate in vendor tendering, evaluation, contract negotiations, service implementation, transition planning, and vendor replacement activities.

Customer Satisfaction and Customer Experience Management

• Establish and continuously improve the customer satisfaction and customer experience management framework for the Philippine market.
• Develop an appropriate set of customer experience indicators based on the stage of business development, including CSAT, Net Promoter Score (NPS), and complaint rate.
• Establish customer satisfaction survey mechanisms covering survey touchpoints, methodologies, frequency, sample management, and results analysis.
• Regularly analyse customer satisfaction and customer experience data to identify key pain points across sales, vehicle delivery, after-sales service, repairs, roadside assistance, and customer service.
• Establish a Voice of Customer (VOC) management mechanism to translate customer feedback into specific improvement initiatives.
• Drive customer experience improvement projects and continuously monitor their effectiveness.
• Identify critical issues across the entire customer lifecycle and work with relevant departments to improve processes and service delivery.

Customer Complaint Management

• Establish and continuously improve the company’s customer complaint management processes, standards, and governance mechanisms.
• Define complaint categories and severity levels, responsible departments, response time requirements, resolution deadlines, and closure criteria.
• Establish and manage a customer complaint escalation mechanism.
• Closely monitor major complaints, high-risk complaints, recurring complaints, and cases with potential brand or reputational impact.
• Drive timely responses and resolutions from relevant departments to ensure complaints are closed in accordance with established standards.
• Conduct Root Cause Analysis (RCA) for major and representative complaints.
• Conduct regular complaint reviews to identify underlying product, service, process, and management issues.
• Establish a complaint database and classification system to identify complaint trends and major root causes.
• Drive a shift from resolving individual customer complaints to addressing systemic issues.
• Regularly report complaint performance, major customer risks, key issues, and improvement progress to management.

Customer Issue Resolution and Cross-Functional Coordination

• Coordinate and drive the resolution of complex customer issues involving multiple departments.
• Establish an end-to-end customer issue management mechanism covering issue ownership, target dates, action plans, and closure.
• Closely track long-outstanding, recurring, high-impact, and high-risk customer issues.
• Coordinate with After-Sales, Technical, Spare Parts, Quality, Sales, Dealers, and other relevant stakeholders to resolve customer issues.
• Analyse customer issue trends and root causes to identify systemic problems relating to products, quality, service, processes, and vendors.
• Escalate major customer risks and issues that cannot be resolved within the agreed timeframe.
• Ensure that customer issues are actually resolved, rather than merely reassigned internally or reported as addressed by a vendor.

Data Analysis and Management Reporting

• Establish a data management framework covering customer service, vendor operations, customer satisfaction, and complaint management.
• Develop standard customer service reporting templates to provide management with clear and timely operational insights.
• Prepare regular weekly, monthly, and quarterly management reports.
• Consolidate and analyse data relating to Call Centre operations, Roadside Assistance, customer satisfaction, customer complaints, and outstanding customer issues.
• Identify trends, risks, and improvement opportunities through data analysis, and recommend specific corrective actions.
• Use data-driven insights to help management and relevant departments focus on issues that genuinely affect customer experience, rather than merely reporting KPI results.

Customer Service Process and System Development

• Continuously evaluate the effectiveness of customer service processes and their impact on customer experience.
• Establish and continuously improve Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and processes for customer service, complaint management, escalation management, and VOC management.
• Optimise key customer touchpoints, including enquiries, complaints, roadside assistance, repairs, and issue escalation.
• Drive continuous improvement in customer service standards and operating processes.
• Participate in the development and optimisation of CRM systems, Call Centre platforms, customer service systems, and related digital tools.
• Promote the adoption of digitalisation, automation, and data analytics tools in customer service operations.

Qualifications and Requirements

Essential Requirements

• At least 5 years of experience in customer service, customer experience, Call Centre operations, after-sales service, or a related management field.
• Previous work experience in the Philippines, with a good understanding of the local customer service environment and consumer service landscape.
• Automotive industry experience is preferred, particularly in an OEM, automotive dealer group, or automotive after-sales service management.
• Experience in business process outsourcing (BPO), Call Centre operations, Roadside Assistance, or other customer service vendor management.
• Strong capabilities in customer complaint management and complex customer issue resolution.
• Familiarity with customer service metrics such as CSAT, NPS, SLA, and FCR, with the ability to establish and manage KPI systems.
• Strong data analysis skills, with the ability to identify issues and develop effective improvement measures based on data.
• Excellent cross-functional coordination, communication, and stakeholder influencing skills.
• Proven ability to drive relevant teams and vendors to deliver results without direct line-management authority.
• Ability to work independently and adapt to a fast-growing business environment where organisational structures and processes are still being developed.
• Excellent spoken and written English communication skills.
• Willingness to travel when required.