Sales and Merchandise Associate/Warehouse

Southern States Cooperative•Flemingsburg, KY

19h•Onsite

About The Position

Provides friendly, efficient, and professional sales support to customers at Southern States Cooperative, Inc. locations. Uses product knowledge and training to help customers select merchandise, recommend additional products, services, and equipment for their projects, and maintain effective merchandising and a safe, welcoming shopping environment. Job functions and their complexity may vary by location and grade level. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform essential job functions. The role combines customer service and sales with merchandise presentation, housekeeping, store security, and support for warehouse and other facility operations. Depending on location, duties may include inventory support, loading customer vehicles, cashiering, maintenance, and merchandise delivery. The position requires safe work practices, use of required personal protective equipment, and compliance with company policies, OSHA regulations, and Southern States Environmental Health and Safety standards. The position is primarily performed indoors in a climate-controlled environment, with occasional work outdoors and in a non-climate-controlled warehouse. Employees may encounter weather-related conditions, wet floors, sharp-edged merchandise and tools, hazardous materials and chemicals, dust, odors, fumes, moving machinery and vehicles, vibrations, electric current, and noise. Schedules vary by location; extended hours or alternate work schedules may be required, as well as reporting on time in adverse weather conditions.

Requirements

High school diploma or GED.
At least one year of work experience in a retail sales environment providing high-quality customer service.
Ability to demonstrate customer-focused interpersonal skills, communicate positively and professionally, and resolve customer concerns effectively.
Effective knowledge of one or more specialized areas, including equine, livestock, pet, home, farm, and/or lawn and garden.
Ability to learn and consistently follow facility guidelines and standard operating procedures.
Ability to learn and apply knowledge of a wide variety of merchandise to answer customer questions of varying complexity and make recommendations.
Ability to add, subtract, multiply, divide, and calculate percentages using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals.
Attention to detail.
Proficiency speaking, reading, and writing in English.
Ability to work extended hours to meet business demands.
Ability to report to work on time and in adverse weather conditions.
Ability to communicate with coworkers and customers about operations and safety; hear customer-service phone calls, handheld radios, and equipment and vehicle sounds.
Required vision abilities include close, distance, color, and peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to adjust focus.
Physical ability to continuously bend, stoop, use manual dexterity and repetitive hand motions, reach, stand, walk, coordinate eyes and hands, twist the back and neck, and pull, push, lift, and carry up to 50 pounds.
Physical ability to frequently climb, crouch, stack, and sweep, and pull, push, lift, and carry 50–80 pounds, potentially with assistance.
Physical ability to occasionally balance, kneel, and shovel, and pull, push, lift, and carry 80–100 pounds, potentially with assistance.

Nice To Haves

Additional college coursework or an associate degree in agriculture, plant science, animal science, or a related field.
Experience in agriculture, livestock or pet care, horticulture, or a related industry.
Previous Southern States work experience.

Responsibilities

Greet customers proactively and provide welcoming, professional, customer-focused service, including helping customers while assisting multiple patrons and thanking them for their business.
Discuss customer merchandise needs, locate products, explain product features and usage, and offer advice based on expertise, experience, and training.
Understand the scope of customer projects and recommend useful companion products, equipment, and services; identify appropriate opportunities for additional sales.
Maintain merchandise presentation by replenishing, facing, and organizing products and updating signage, pricing, and shelf labels according to facility procedures.
Interpret diagrams and build merchandise displays, which may involve moving shelving and fixtures, and cross-stage merchandise with companion products.
Identify opportunities to assist customers, assess loading needs, resolve pricing and merchandise inquiries, ensure merchandise is accessible, and handle customer issues professionally; escalate more complex issues to store leadership.
Provide product support by telephone; answer calls courteously and share information about order status, product availability, sales, promotions, and store events.
Contact customers about orders and arrange pickup or delivery; deliver merchandise to customers where applicable.
Monitor entrances and exits to support store security and safety and reduce merchandise loss; request proof of payment according to facility procedures and escalate security concerns.
Perform daily housekeeping according to facility procedures.
Support other facility functions as needed, which may include inventory, loading customer vehicles, housekeeping, maintenance, cashiering, and customer support.
Work safely, use required personal protective equipment, operate equipment according to company policy and government regulations, and comply with OSHA regulations, company EHS standards, work rules, and policies.
Perform other job functions as assigned.