Customer Relations Manager

About Realm Cellars

Realm Cellars is one of Napa Valley’s most electrifying wine brands with estate vineyards in Stags Leap District, Pritchard Hill and Coombsville. In 2012, owner Scott Becker and his partner, winemaker Benoit Touquette teamed up to revive a nearly bankrupt brand. Since then, Realm has been transformed into one of the most collected wineries in Napa Valley, with a vineyard portfolio that today exemplifies the beauty and longevity of Napa Valley. Formerly the Hartwell Estate, Realm acquired the property in 2015 and began initial construction and development phases of an endeavor that will take decades to realize. In 2022, Realm acquired Nine Suns and Houyi Vineyard in Napa Valley’s famed area, Pritchard Hill. Realm is fueled by a clear vision for the brand, innovative and creative strategic thinking and an uncompromising commitment to quality and excellence. Today, the business is driven by an industry-leading approach to Direct to Consumer with investments in experiential and trade channels to support Realm’s long-term vision of being the iconic wine of the next generation. To achieve its aspirational goals, Realm will scale in terms of both demand and volume at a pace unique to the wine industry. Realm’s portfolio of wines includes both single vineyard wines and proprietary blends, all unified by freshness, precision, focus and structure. In addition to its estate vineyard sites, Realm partners with Napa Valley’s most prestigious and iconic wine growers and vineyard sites, including Dr. Crane and To Kalon—producing some of the finest and sought-after wines in Napa Valley.

Summary

The Customer Relations Manager is responsible for upholding luxury standards of service through thoughtful and refined communication. The essential purpose of this role is to manage and further develop the high-touch customer engagement at Realm Cellars. The Customer Relations Manager leads all customer service, sales activities, and fulfillment relating to seasonal Releases and other special offerings or events. Primary responsibilities include supervising a Customer Relations Coordinator, customer correspondence through a variety of communication channels (phone, SMS, email), the planning and organization of DTC campaigns, and supporting fulfillment operations. This role also supports correspondence regarding Estate Visits and event reservations. Other duties include participation in regular system enhancement planning sessions, troubleshooting system and customer shipping issues, reporting sales and fulfillment metrics, and SOP documentation for internal and external user experiences.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Supervising

• Oversee the Customer Relations Coordinator to ensure deliverables are executed at a level of exceptional quality. Collaborate with them on revision of processes that need improvement.
• Provide support to the direct report through guidance, mentorship, and positivity.
• Build genuine relationships and trust with the direct report.
• Cultivate the Realm values and culture into real daily situations for the team to observe and engage with.
• Evaluate performance of the direct report during daily activities. Share candid feedback in informal and formal settings as needed. Conduct monthly 1:1 huddle with the direct report and share opportunities to learn and grow.
• Escalate performance concerns as needed to the Sales Operations Manager and Human Resources.
• Maintain business operations as usual when direct report takes time off by personally filling in for and/or delegating duties accordingly.

Customer Service

• Ensure all customers’ needs are met and handled in a positive, professional, and thorough manner.
• Support for all inbound phone and Estate gate calls with specific responsibility for DTC customers, shipping, reservations, and account maintenance. Respond to all inquiries promptly and skillfully while maintaining an impeccable standard of quality for written communication.
• Organize and execute outbound email and call campaigns for Releases and other purposes as needed.
• Maintain accurate data in accounts and document all customer service activities and discussions in the CRM and other applicable platforms.
• Analyze weekly and monthly reports that include member acquisition, referrals, customer service tags, etc. Report insights to the team and collaborate on ideas for improving efficiency and effectiveness of customer service.

Sales Activities

• Support all planning activities related to DTC Releases by participating in weekly Release preparation huddles, updating and maintaining Release planning documents with precision and accuracy, and completion of checklist action items in a timely manner.
• Prior to all Releases, complete system set-up and testing for path to purchase to ensure a flawless interface and seamless experience for customers.
• Assist with preparation of customer outbound call lists to ensure necessary filters are applied to achieve desired segmentation.
• Perform customer outreach during DTC Releases to build awareness and educate customers.
• Conduct weekly order audits for fraud protection and abandoned carts. Complete required customer outreach and communicate to the Realm team via open channels.
• Review and report on Introductory Offering weekly to identify participation and behavioral purchasing trends.

Fulfillment

• Work closely with fulfillment partner (M7) and the Operations Coordinator to ensure a seamless shipping experience for DTC domestic and international customers through clear communication and excellent shipping issue resolution.
• Monitor all weekly and DTC Release shipments by diligently tracking shipments until they have reached delivered status. Follow through on orders that experience exceptions or missed delivery attempts using persistent outreach efforts until desired result is achieved. Record data and effort in the shared tracking documents and CRM. Delegate segments of outreach to the Membership Coordinator during high-volume shipping seasons.
• Serve as main point of contact for ad hoc shipments from the Estates for PR, gifts, and other special requests from the Leadership team.
• Review and report on DTC fulfillment activities monthly and create ways to reduce future ancillary shipping costs.

The Team at Realm Cellars is looking for someone who:

• Values customer service as one of the most important functions of the business.
• Understands the luxury wine space, including how to create enduring connections and meaningful, personalized experiences for consumers spanning generations.
• Has exemplary verbal and written communication skills. Correspondence with customers and team members is detailed, thorough, and consistent to completion, erring on the side of overcommunicating.
• Is personable, highly professional, and cultivates productive working relationships with our team members, vendors, and other key partners.
• Is a self-motivated and goal-oriented individual who thrives in both independent and collaborative working environments.
• Manages tasks with a sense of urgency and a high level of attention to detail.
• Utilizes good instinct, judgement, creative problem solving, and skilled conflict resolution skills when overseeing guest experiences and team members.
• Is curious and seeks to continuously improve all operations that they coordinate while effectively considering short and long-term needs.
• Brings high-level perspective to assessments of new and current projects. Analyzes data and shares inferences with Management that will drive meaningful development for the business.
• Is open to new ideas and collaboration.
• Is willing to consistently engage in the feedback loop. Solicits and offers constructive criticism with trust and confidence.

Qualifications

• Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
• 5+ years of proven experience in a customer service or sales position. Wine industry experience preferred, but not required.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent work experience.
• 2+ years of proven experience in a supervisor position.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office including Excel, Word, and SharePoint.
• Proficiency in CRM databases and POS platforms, preferably with Salesforce.
• Strong understanding of, and experience utilizing effective customer service methods.
• Excellent interpersonal and cross-functional skills.

Physical Requirements & Work Environment

• Must be at least 21 years of age.
• Full body mobility: Ability to stand, walk, sit, reach, and raise hands above the head, climb stairs, kneel, or crouch, talk, hear, and accurately taste and smell.
• Must be able to safely lift 40 lbs.
• Hearing ability to effectively communicate with co-workers and customers.
• Able to work indoors and outdoors.
• This job primarily operates in a professional office environment with occasional visits to a production facility with occasional exposure to dust, gas, and/or fumes, hazardous material, and high noise levels. Must be able to work in a variety of temperature and humidity levels. Responsible for maintaining a safe, friendly, positive, and conscientious work environment.
• Ability to work a flexible work schedule with extended hours as required during peak season demand.

Benefits: We offer competitive compensation and benefits including medical (Kaiser or Blue Shield), dental, vision, FSA, 401k, paid time off, paid holidays, and educational reimbursement.

How to Apply: If this role aligns with what you are looking for and you meet the position requirements, we'd like to hear from you. Please include your current resume and a cover letter.