Customer Experience Specialist at Northwest Center in Seattle, WA

A key customer and corporate partner of Northwest Center, the Amazon partnership started in 2003. Amazon opened Seattle’s first Community Banana stand in late 2015 as a public service.  The Customer Experience Specialist (Banista) are seen as a healthy, fully compostable, and affordable snack. Northwest Center supports this operation by staffing Amazon’s community banana stands with “Banista's.”
 
The Customer Experience Specialist (Banista) role is a dynamic, community-facing position based at our Banana Stands—many of which operate outdoors. In this role, you’ll help create a welcoming, upbeat environment while delivering consistently high-quality customer service.
 
The Customer Experience Specialist (Banista) greets and assists visitors, keep stands clean, organized, and well-stocked, track daily metrics, and promptly communicate any issues that need attention. You’ll also play an important part in shaping a fun, friendly atmosphere that encourages positive community interaction.

Shifts will take place at one or multiple stand locations, typically between 7:15 AM and 3:45 PM, Monday through Friday. The stands are also open on the first and third Saturdays of each month from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with occasional additional evening or offsite event opportunities. Banistas may also take on special projects and other assignments as needed.

Learn more about the Amazon Banana Stand:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bObPwETly8E

Location: Seattle (South Lake Union) and Bellevue, WA
Schedule: Part-Time between 24-29 hrs per week | Monday - Friday between 7:15am-3:45pm & Saturdays between 8AM - 4PM
Starting Wage: $22.45 per hour | Full Wage Range: $22.45 - $26.72 per hour
What we can offer: 

• 17 Accrued Paid Time Off Days Annually (hours prorated for part-time) 
• 10 Annual Floating Holidays (prorated), Parental Leave, and Paid Compassion Leave 
• Retirement 401(K) with a company match 
• Company-Provided Orca Pass – Unlimited use 
• Employment Assistance Program (EAP) via SupportLinc including three free therapy sessions per year 
• Opportunity for career development with our NWC Mentorship Match program 
• Pet Insurance Discount Program  

What You Will Do

•  Arrive to the banana stand ready to work at scheduled time in provided Banista uniform.
• Assist with daily set-up and/or tear down of stand, ensuring all banana stand related items are placed in appropriate locations.
• Greet and engage every visitor to the stand in a friendly, warm, professional and courteous manner. Banista's are required to provide a 5-star impression at all times.
• Select work appropriate music to play during operating hours.
• Unload bananas from boxes into banana stand crates while separating bananas into individual pieces.
• Remove plastic or other material from the banana bunches.
• Keep the banana stand crates full and plentiful for the duration of operating hours.
• Sort any bruised or damaged bananas out and place them in the compost bin.
• Ensure the banana stand is organized and clean at all times.
• Monitor the compost bin and facilitate emptying when full.
• Track daily metrics in tracking software on distribution, compost, carry-over cases, and additional areas as specified by leadership.
• Track all comments, general inquiries, and public response to identify common themes and emergency situations needing attention.
• Contribute to monthly inventory counts on trailer/stand assets
• Support Banana Stand openings, as needed
• Support the redistribution bananas across stands, as needed
• Suggest operational improvements to leadership, as needed
• Attend trainings on new process roll outs
• Learn FAQ’s and banana facts to share with visitors.
• Decorate the stand for holidays and/or special events with approved designs.
• Communicate issues needing supervisor attention immediately, i.e. unexpected media on scene, etc. 
• Follow structured timelines and accommodate unexpected requests.
• Interact with the public and discern security issues if they arrive, ability to follow security escalation requirements.
• Ability to work at various banana stand locations (including some offsite locations) between 7:15am and 3:45pm Monday through Friday, including occasional after hours requests and weekends.
• Perform other duties as assigned for needed duration.

Who You Are

• GED or high school diploma required.
• Minimum 1 year customer service experience.
• Commitment to Northwest Center’s mission of inclusion and ability to successfully work in a diverse environment
• Ability to work in a variety of environments, including outdoors.
• Ability to perform subtraction, multiplication and division for equations up to 3 digits. 
• Ability to remember training content and recall daily trends in banana distribution.
• Must be proficient with MS Windows, Excel, and Outlook e-mail.
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate with leadership, co-workers, and visitors.
• Ability to understand, interpret and follow Northwest Center (NWC) and client Policies and Procedures. 
• Strong conflict resolution and problem solving skills.
• Responds calmly and professionally to emergencies, angry customers, or other stressful situations in the workplace.
• Attention to detail and accuracy
• Exercises good judgment in areas of responsibility. Identifies or assists in identifying alternative solutions to problems or situations.
• Employs imagination and creativity in the application of duties and responsibilities. Is not averse to change.

Working Conditions & Physical Demands

• Must be able to lift bananas and stack boxes up to 50 lbs. repetitively.
• Must be able to work in conditions below 40 degrees for up to 3 hours or up to 90 degrees. 
• May need to carry supplies to other buildings. 
• Ability to walk consistently within a 1.5 radius is required. 
• Ability to read, write, speak and comprehend the English language 
• Ability to see both distance and details at close range, within a few feet of the observer (with or without corrective lenses). 
• Ability to identify and understand the speech of another person (with or without a personal auditory hearing device). 
• This is a dog friendly environment with over 1000 dogs on campus. Individuals with dog allergies or those who do not particularly care for dogs may not be the best fit. 
• Must be able to handle bananas and/or various food products without allergic reaction. 
• Must be able to work in conditions below 40 degrees for up to 3 hours or up to 90 degrees.

Northwest Center is committed to offering reasonable accommodations to applicants with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation is needed to participate in the job application or interview process, perform essential job functions, and/or receive other benefits and privileges of employment, please contact us at jobs@nwcenter.org. 

At Northwest Center, we do not just accept diversity and inclusion — we celebrate it, support it, live it, and flourish in it to benefit our employees, the community, and our clientele. We believe that our strength lies within our diversity and the forward motion toward a day when people of all abilities can learn and work together.

We believe that curiosity and critical thinking are essential to the dialogue and improving decision-making, planning, resource allocation, and how we treat others. Our goal is to create and implement more equitable practices, policies, and culture. To be equitable means to value and respect individuals from all cultural backgrounds, genders, races, identities, and abilities. Northwest Center is proud to be an equal opportunity employer, including disability and veterans’ status.

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