Customer Information Specialist

Summary

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Metro Transit's Customer Information Office (CIO) is hiring 1 career service Transit Customer Information Specialists to answer customer questions regarding transit routes, schedules, fares, transfer points, and other transit services from the Customer Information Office call center. This position also records, routes and responds to commendations, complaints, and service requests concerning transit and accessible services; manages the logging, tracking and answers inquiries about lost items and disposing of unclaimed lost items; sells fare media by phone and assists customers with the ORCA fare card and mobile ticketing systems.

This recruitment will be used to fill one (1) Transit Customer Information Specialists. In addition, this selection process will be used to generate an eligibility pool for future career service, special duty assignment, TLT (Term Limited Temporary) or STT (Short Term Temporary) vacancies that are expected to occur in this classification within this workgroup. The eligibility pool will be retained for 12 months from the date of posting or extended, and maybe used at the discretion of the hiring authority.

Job Duties

Applying equity and social justice principles is a daily responsibility and a foundational expectation for all King County employees. In this role, you will apply equity and social justice principles that exemplify shared values, behaviors, and practices to all aspects of the work. As a Transit Customer Information Specialist, you will also:

• Plan transit itineraries for customers using public transportation to travel in the Puget Sound area. Provide schedules for the multimodal transit services operated by Metro to meet customers' transportation needs. As well as answer questions on how to use regional transit services.

• Use a range of reference sources to find appropriate transit service and transit-related information.

• Receive, route and respond to customer requests, commendations, complaints and inquiries via telephone, voicemail, email, or through written correspondence, utilizing a cloud-based CRM platform

• Sell fare media over the phone, answer questions and help resolve customer problems with the ORCA card and the Transit GO Ticket mobile application.

• Manage found items delivered to Metro's Lost and Found Office and answer calls, follow up on voicemail, and assist customers at the walk-up window to locate found items. Dispose of unclaimed lost items upon expiration of their hold date.

• Receive calls about items lost on Metro-owned facilities and operated vehicles. Attempt to trace lost items using transit applications, resources and interdepartmental collaboration.

• Perform other special tasks as assigned.

Experience, Qualifications, Knowledge, Skills

We are looking for candidates who:

• Experience working in a customer service role demonstrating the ability to provide assistance to and positively interact with the public.

• Excellent customer service skills. This includes the ability to be courteous and patient with all customers, and to maintain professionalism while under stress and when dealing with angry or difficult customers. This also means the ability to communicate with a diverse group of individuals including seniors and persons with disabilities, in a tactful, diplomatic and sensitive manner.

• Ability to read and comprehend maps, timetables, transit schedules, fare media and other resources and have strong communication skills to provide this information to customers.

• Ability to follow oral and written instructions and to complete assigned tasks on schedule.

• Ability to multi-task in handling web-based or emailed contacts from customers, while also being available to take and respond to a steady volume of customer phone calls.

• Have demonstrated experience using computers, maneuvering between multiple applications and programs, and the ability to learn new or updated digital applications, programs and technology efficiently.

• Are able and confident solving problems. This means you are able to understand a customer's needs and will use information, resources and tools to provide them effective solutions while applying policies using good judgment.

• Ability to work independently and also as part of a team. You are able to establish effective relationships in a diverse work environment and interact cooperatively.

• Ability to demonstrate reliable and timely attendance.

• Ability to learn from directions, observations, and mistakes, and apply procedures using good judgment.

• Ability to receive instructions/feedback and coaching/counseling.

• Are passionate about serving King County's diverse population.

The most competitive candidates will have:

• Personal or working experience with a transit system.

• Experience providing excellent customer service in a high-volume call center setting.

• Experience assisting angry or challenging individuals, elderly or individuals with disabilities.

• Basic knowledge of the Puget Sound area geography, roads/streets, and points of interest.

Environmental, Physical and other Special Requirements

• A working phone is required in order to be contacted for scheduled and emergency work assignments.

• Work is generally performed at a desk using a phone and computer, in a hybrid telework and office environment with minimal exposure to health and safety hazards. You must be able to work from home when not in the office.

• Deadlines and heavy customer volume pressure are common in these positions.

• Some additional stress is involved because of the potential hostility of customers regarding transit service when handling complaint situations.

• Some shifts require the ability to lift 40 lbs. and be on your feet for the majority of your workday.

Supplemental Information

Application & Selection Process

Submit an online employment application online at https://www.kingcounty.gov/job, answer the supplemental questions and attach a cover letter. Your cover letter should include details on how you meet or exceed the knowledge, skills and abilities for this position and your experiences as it relates to the primary job functions and desired qualifications. You are encouraged to translate life experiences to show how they prepare you for this role.

Competitive applicants may be invited to participate in a testing process that may include, but not necessarily be limited to keyboarding speed; ability to respond clearly and grammatically in writing to inquiries received from the public; and ability to read and comprehend bus timetables. Following passing the testing phase, the most competitive candidates will be invited to participate in an interview(s). Final offers will be contingent on passing satisfactory reference checks.

NOTE: Please answer all applicable questions in the employment application portion, with each of your jobs listed (listing each position for each employer separately), duties explained, reasons for leaving, etc.

Training Period

New hires must successfully complete a fully paid training period lasting between 6-8 weeks from 8:00am-4:30pm Monday-Friday on-site at King Street Center. Following the classroom training period, trainees begin teleworking in various assigned weekday shifts. Start and end times for 8.5-hour or 9-hour shifts (depending on choice of 30-minute or 60-minute unpaid lunch) will fall within weekday CIO operating hours (from 5:50 AM to 6:00 PM).

To pass the training phase, trainees must demonstrate knowledge and ability to perform the duties of the position. For CISs, this includes, but is not limited to, being able to demonstrate customer service skills; knowledge of Metro's website and other self-service customer tools such as Puget Sound Trip Planner and Transit Alerts; knowledge of Metro fare structures and county address location systems; all variations of transit routes, and other transit-related information; knowledge of the ORCA fare system and products, and ability to assist customers with ORCA requests and problems; and ability to properly register, investigate, route and resolve customer comments, commendations and complaints

Work Schedule

The Customer Information Office is currently open to the public reduced weekday hours Monday through Friday from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM, except on major holidays when it is closed. Scheduled shifts start as early as 5:50 AM and run as late as 6:30 PM at this time. Business hours may be adjusted in the future to weekdays from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Employees must be able to work a future shift as late as 8 PM. This is considered an essential position and fully trained staff may be required to work additional hours if needed or report to your assigned shift during very busy times, emergency situations or inclement weather.

Employee Shifts

Shifts are generally 8½-9 hours (including a 30- or 60-minute break for lunch) and career service employees bid on shifts six months at a time, based on seniority. TLT and SDA employees will be assigned shifts determined by business needs at the time of assignment. All employees must be willing to work whichever shifts are available to them to pick, based on their seniority, or those shifts which may be assigned to them.

Union Representation/Job Code/Grade

ATU Local 587/432310/Grade 160

Work Location

The work associated with this position will be performed predominantly in a teleworking environment, except when employees select or are assigned scheduled shifts in Metro's Lost and Found office. Work in the Lost and Found Office is performed at King Street Center (201 S. Jackson Street in Seattle's historic Pioneer Square). All employees will be required to attend periodic trainings and meetings on-site at King Street Center. Employees with teleworking shifts should be prepared for a hybrid work environment that may require in-office work one day per week. When working on-site employees will have access to shared workspaces. Employees must reside in Washington state and within a reasonable distance to their King County worksite to respond to workplace reporting requirements.

Customer Information Office employees are provided with a County issued laptop and must maintain a workspace with an internet connection (access may be supplemented in some situations) where they can reliably perform work and remain available and responsive during scheduled work hours.

To Apply

If you are interested in pursuing this position, please follow the application instructions carefully. If you need this announcement in an alternate language or format, would like to request accommodation or assistance in the application or assessment process or if you have questions please contact: Manal Tirhi, mtirhi@kingcounty.gov

Forbes recently named King County as one of Washington State's best employers. Together, with leadership and our employees, we're changing the way government delivers service and winning national recognition as a model of excellence. Are you ready to make a difference? Come join the team dedicated to serving one of the nation's best places to live, work and play.

Guided by our "True North", we are making King County a welcoming community where every person can thrive. We valuediversity, inclusion and belonging in our workplace and workforce. To reach this goal we are committed to workforce equity. Equitable recruiting, support, and retention is how we will obtain the highest quality workforce in our region; a workforce that shares and will help advance our guiding principles--we are one team; we solve problems; we focus on the customer; we drive for results; we are racially just; we respect all people; we lead the way; and we are responsible stewards. We encourage people of all backgrounds and identities to apply, including Native American and people of color, immigrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+, people living with disabilities, and veterans.

King County is an Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) Employer

No person is unlawfully excluded from employment opportunities based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex (including gender identity, sexual orientation, and pregnancy), age, genetic information, disability, veteran status, or other protected class. Our EEO policy applies to all employment actions, including but not limited to recruitment, hiring, selection for training, promotion, transfer, demotion, layoff, termination, rates of pay or other forms of compensation.