Customer Service VA

1. Reliability & availability

We expect that you:

• are available for Customer Service for at least 1 hour every day;
• are reachable on Slack during your agreed availability;
• are unreachable for no more than roughly 1 hour between 09:00 and 21:00 while you are on;
• reply to internal messages within 1 hour where possible;
• pick up customer tickets within 12 hours where possible;
• communicate proactively when something does not work out.

You do not need fixed working hours. We work flexibly and align the schedule with the other CS agents.

What this means in practice

• Busy day and you can only work in the evening? No problem.
• Not available for a day? Also fine, as long as you flag it in time.
• Cannot finish something? We expect you to say so yourself, rather than wait until someone asks.

2. Flexibility

You get a lot of freedom in when and where you work. In return, we expect you to be flexible when Mystershirt needs it.

During busy periods such as:

• Black Friday;
• Christmas;
• Q4;
• major campaigns and offers;

ticket volume can rise sharply. In those periods we expect you to put in some extra time or extra availability when needed. There are no fixed extra hours, but we do expect you to think along with the team.

For example: if there is an exceptional spike in tickets, it is fine to work a bit longer that day so everything is followed up properly.

3. Absence & time off

For longer absences we always align with the other CS agents.

Unexpected absence

If you fall ill unexpectedly or cannot work for another reason, let us know immediately on Slack. We have several CS agents, so someone else can take over your open tickets. You do not need to find a replacement yourself.

The key point: we mainly expect timely communication.

4. Ownership: take responsibility

If you open a ticket, you own that ticket until the problem is solved. That means:

• you first try to find a solution yourself;
• you follow up with the customer when needed;
• you do not leave a ticket sitting;
• you reach out to another department yourself when that is required;
• you keep the customer informed;
• you flag it internally when something goes wrong.

Cannot solve something? That is fine. Ask the CS team or the right department for help. We like it when people ask questions - we only expect you to think it through first and try to work out what the best solution would be.

What we would rather not see

> "I don't know, so I'll wait."
>

Better

> "I don't know. I've already checked this and I think this might be the solution. Can you confirm whether that's right?"
>

5. Communicate proactively

Hiding problems or waiting too long is worse than making a mistake.

• Made a mistake? Report it.
• Not sure about something? Ask.
• Falling behind? Let us know.
• Cannot keep a commitment? Communicate it.
• See something going wrong? Flag it.

We expect you to give proactive updates, without anyone having to chase you for them.

6. Customer Service = customer satisfaction

Our communication with customers is:

• friendly;
• engaged;
• personal;
• informal;
• helpful.

We address customers informally (in Dutch: *je/jij*).

We do not want Customer Service to feel like a helpdesk that only sends out canned replies. The goal is simple: the customer should be happy with the solution.

That does not mean the customer is automatically right, or that we give away everything that is asked for. It does mean we always look for a solution.

Speed vs. quality

Responding fast matters, but customer satisfaction matters more. Better to let a customer wait a little longer for a correct, useful answer than to reply instantly with something that does not help them. At the same time, we expect you to work efficiently and not let things sit unnecessarily.

7. Work independently, but as a team

Everyone mainly works their own tickets. If you open a ticket, you follow it up yourself. That said:

• we help each other out;
• we take over tickets when needed;
• we ask each other for help;
• we align before taking something over;
• we do not leave each other stuck with problems.

Quiet day and you see a colleague with a lot of open tickets? Feel free to offer help.

8. Communication on Slack

Slack is our main internal communication channel. We expect you to be reachable on Slack during the moments you are available.

When you are available, we aim to answer internal questions within about 1 hour. You do not need to sit behind your computer non-stop, but we want to avoid messages going unanswered for hours while someone is available.

Cannot respond for a while? No problem - just communicate it when it is relevant.

9. Busy periods

In normal periods the work is easy to plan. During Q4, Black Friday, Christmas and major offers, the workload can increase sharply. In those periods we expect:

• extra flexibility;
• some extra hours if needed;
• willingness to absorb the pressure together as a team;
• timely communication about planned absences.

10. What we look for in a CS agent

Someone who is:

• Responsible - you do what you say and keep your commitments.
• Flexible - you understand that workload can change unexpectedly.
• Independent - you try to find a solution yourself first.
• Proactive - you do not wait for someone to ask for a status.
• Customer-focused - you think from the customer's perspective and look for a good solution.
• Reliable - if you say you are available, you are reachable.

11. What is not a good fit at Mystershirt

• being unreachable often;
• not keeping commitments;
• last-minute absence without proper communication;
• not communicating proactively;
• leaving problems unresolved;
• waiting for someone else to take action;
• brushing customers off;
• passing responsibility on to others;
• showing little flexibility when things get busy.

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Get things done. Take ownership. Keep the customer happy.