About the Engagement
Smithey Ironware is a privately owned American cookware company making heirloom-quality cast iron and carbon steel. Our customers buy pieces they intend to pass down for generations, and our customer service is held to that same standard.
This engagement covers seasonal customer support from October through January, when customer volume rises sharply through the holidays. Smithey is contracting for experienced support capacity that can step in quickly, work independently, and requires no ramp-up or training.
Smithey's brand standard is that every email, text, and phone call is answered by a person who reads carefully and responds by hand. Automated or AI-generated customer replies do not meet the standard.
This is a 1099 contract engagement rather than employment. The contractor supplies their own computer, headset, and internet connection, sets their own hours within agreed coverage windows, invoices Smithey for hours worked, and is free to take on other clients during the term.
Scope of Services
Customer Contact
- Respond to customer inquiries by phone, email, and SMS.
- Resolve product questions, order concerns, returns, tracking requests, and exchanges.
- Produce written replies that are clear, warm, and personal, composed for each customer rather than generated or templated.
Systems and Records
- Work in Smithey's Shopify, help desk, returns, and phone platforms to manage tickets and orders.
- Maintain accurate records of customer interactions in those systems.
Coverage
- Commit to weekly coverage volume and coverage windows agreed with Smithey at the start of the engagement, including elevated coverage in the weeks around Thanksgiving and the December holidays.
- Determine your own working hours and daily schedule within those agreed windows.
What Success Looks Like
- Customers get fast, accurate, human answers, and response time targets are met through peak weeks.
- Tickets are resolved rather than deferred, and order and return records are accurate.
- Agreed coverage windows are staffed without day-to-day oversight from Smithey.
Required Skills & Abilities
- Prior customer service experience in a direct-to-consumer or ecommerce environment. This is the most important qualification.
- Hands-on experience with help desk or ticketing systems (Zendesk, Gorgias, Re:amaze, or similar) and comfort working across several tools at once.
- Familiarity with Shopify.
- Excellent written communication, and confidence composing clear, kind, helpful replies from scratch.
- Comfortable and professional on the phone.
- Self-directed and reliable, able to work independently in a remote setting with minimal oversight.
- Available for the full October through January term.