Customer Service Specialist

Sea-Land is an employee-owned specialty chemical distributor in Cleveland, Ohio. For more than 60 years, Sea-Land has provided agile, comprehensive, and technology-driven solutions for our customers’ chemical supply, inventory requirements, and product development needs.

The Customer Service Specialist is critical to supporting Sea-Land’s customer relationships. The Specialist works closely with our sales team, manages customer orders, supports assigned customers, and develops and maintains positive relationships with customers through excellent communication and responsiveness. As the primary point of contact for designated customers, this position supports the commercial organization and enables Account Managers to focus on strategic sales activities while ensuring a consistent customer experience.

The ideal Customer Service Specialist is highly organized, solves problems, enjoys learning, makes good decisions, and can stay calm under pressure to support our customers. This position offers strong training and development to build company knowledge and serves as a potential pathway to additional opportunities within the company. This position works a hybrid schedule in our Cleveland office.

Essential Functions and Duties

• Processes customer sales orders accurately and in a timely manner in accordance with established procedures.
• Takes ownership of customer orders from receipt through fulfillment, collaborating cross-functionally to ensure prompt delivery.
• Maintains required documentation, including onboarding forms, tank truck requirements, terms of sale, and special instructions.
• Coordinates with external partners (suppliers, carriers, warehouses) to ensure a seamless customer experience.
• Maintains detailed order and account notes in ERP/CRM systems to support a team-based service model.
• Manages customer returns and coordinates with Supply Chain on supplier purchase orders for direct shipments and freight requirements.
• Provides customer support for assigned sales accounts.
• Replies to customer inquiries and complaints promptly and courteously with detailed information.

Critical Competencies

Analytical Thinking: Able to improve processes and solve problems and complex tasks by analyzing information, breaking it down into smaller parts, and weighing alternatives.

Building Collaborative Relationships: Builds partnerships and works collaboratively with internal and external colleagues to meet shared objectives.

Communication Skills: Communicates using email, chat, and other tools to deliver information that conveys a clear understanding of the unique needs of different audiences.

Customer Focus: Builds strong customer relationships and delivers customer-centric solutions.

Drive for Results: Works in a manner that demonstrates ownership of each customer order, including following established guidelines, and working with internal and external colleagues to gather required information to process orders to completion.

Priority Setting: Concentrates efforts on what is most important and maintains a high level of completed work.

Thoroughness: Completes work carefully to ensure accuracy and attention to details.

Basic Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Business, Chemistry, or related field
• 2–4 years of experience in customer service, sales support, inside sales, or a related role
• Demonstrated interest in learning and development

Required Skills

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Strong organizational and multitasking capabilities
• Problem-solving and critical thinking skills
• Excellent team player
• Attention to detail, commitment to data accuracy, and follow-through skills
• Ability to work effectively in a fast-paced, cross-functional environment
• Proficiency in Microsoft Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, and PowerPoint
• Experience working with ERP and CRM systems; strong technical acumen