At a Glance
- Tasks: Engage with customers, solve queries, and share your chocolate expertise.
- Company: Join Hotel Chocolat, a beloved premium chocolate brand.
- Benefits: Enjoy a competitive salary, 70% discount on products, and a supportive team.
- Other info: Fixed-term contract with potential for future opportunities.
- Why this job: Become a chocolate expert while gaining valuable experience in a dynamic environment.
- Qualifications: Great communication skills and a passion for helping others.
The predicted salary is between 18900 - 23100 £ per year.
Number of Positions: 25
Contract Type: Fixed Term Contract
Working Hours: 40
Location: Mint House
Job Category: Contact Centre
Country: UK
Region Division: Commercial
Job Introduction
Customer Experience Advisor – (Head Office) Hotel Chocolat | Mint House, Royston | Fixed-Term Contract (3–6 months)
Love chocolate? Love people? Curious about what happens behind the scenes at one of the UK's most loved premium brands? At Hotel Chocolat, we believe every conversation has the power to make someone's day a little brighter. Whether it's helping a customer choose the perfect gift, solving a problem with care or sharing your knowledge about our latest collection, every interaction is an opportunity to create a memorable experience.
We're looking for Customer Experience Advisors to join our Head Office team in Royston, Hertfordshire. This is far more than a customer service role. As the voice of Hotel Chocolat, you'll receive an immersive two-week training programme, become a genuine Hotel Chocolat Chocolate Expert, and gain a unique insight into how one of the UK's most loved premium retailers brings its products, people and customer experience together.
Based at the heart of our Head Office, you'll work alongside teams across Marketing, Retail, Supply Chain, Distribution and Operations, giving you a real understanding of how a successful multi-channel business operates. Many of our colleagues describe this as the role where they learned how the whole business works. By understanding our customers, our products and our brand, you'll develop commercially valuable skills that will stay with you throughout your career. Few entry-level roles offer this level of exposure to a premium retail brand.
From day one, you'll build commercial awareness while developing exceptional communication, analytical and problem-solving skills in a supportive and collaborative environment. These roles are offered on an initial 3–6 month fixed-term contract, supporting Hotel Chocolat through our exciting seasonal peaks. While these opportunities are fixed term, they provide an excellent chance to gain valuable Head Office experience with one of the UK's most loved premium brands. Many of our colleagues have gone on to secure extended contracts or permanent opportunities across the business, with future opportunities based on business needs and individual performance.
What you'll love about working here
- Our comprehensive two-week paid induction is unlike anything you'd expect from a customer experience role. You'll discover the fascinating story behind Hotel Chocolat, learn about cacao and chocolate production, explore our seasonal collections and bestselling products, master our systems and develop the knowledge and confidence to become the trusted expert our customers rely on.
- Experience Head Office from the inside. Because our Brand Centre sits at the heart of Head Office, you'll gain exposure to teams across Marketing, Retail, Supply Chain, Distribution and Operations, giving you a unique understanding of how every part of the business contributes to delivering an exceptional customer experience.
- Customer experience, not sales. There are no outbound calls and no sales targets. Instead, you'll focus on listening, understanding what customers need and helping them find the perfect products using your expert knowledge and genuine enthusiasm for the brand.
- Develop skills you wouldn’t expect. One of the most interesting aspects of the role is helping protect our customers and our brand. Working alongside specialist colleagues, you'll identify and investigate unusual purchasing activity, recognise buying patterns that may indicate payment fraud and help ensure every genuine customer enjoys a safe and seamless shopping experience. It's a unique opportunity to develop analytical thinking, commercial awareness and confident decision-making.
- Enjoy fantastic benefits. As well as a competitive salary, you'll receive a 70% discount for you and your guests at our beautiful Rabot Estate in Saint Lucia. The opportunity to work with passionate colleagues who genuinely love what they do.
What you'll be doing
- Every day is different. You could be:
- Speaking with customers via phone, email and live chat.
- Helping customers choose the perfect products for birthdays, celebrations and everyday moments.
- Sharing your expert product knowledge to recommend seasonal collections and thoughtful gifts.
- Resolving customer queries with empathy, confidence and care.
- Helping identify unusual purchasing activity to support our fraud prevention processes.
- Delivering outstanding customer satisfaction while meeting service level agreements.
- Maintaining our distinctive Hotel Chocolat tone of voice across every interaction.
- Supporting customer conversations across social media and review platforms when required.
- Working flexibly as part of a shift pattern, including weekends.
You'll thrive in this role if you...
- Love making people happy.
- Are naturally curious and enjoy learning new things.
- Enjoy solving problems and thinking critically.
- Have excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Enjoy working collaboratively with others.
- Have great attention to detail and enjoy finding solutions.
- Are organised, adaptable and always looking to improve.
- Experience using Microsoft Office.
- Ability to build rapport and inspire confidence through your communication.
- Experience working towards service or performance targets.
- Experience using CRM or customer experience platforms.
- Knowledge of GDPR and handling customer data securely.
- Experience supporting customers through social media.
- Confidence identifying opportunities to improve customer experience and processes.
Who are we?
Everything we do begins with cacao. For over 30 years we've challenged the ordinary, believing that chocolate should be more exciting, more ethical and, above all, more delicious. Today, Hotel Chocolat is one of the UK's most loved premium chocolate brands, with an award‑winning range of chocolates, gifts, cafés, our pioneering Velvetiser™ and over 140 stores across the UK. We're passionate about creating remarkable experiences—not just for our customers, but for our colleagues too. We believe the best ideas come from curious people, diverse perspectives and teams who genuinely care about what they do. If you're looking for a role where you'll learn, grow, become a genuine chocolate expert and represent a brand that's passionate about making people happy, we'd love to hear from you.
Customer Experience Advisor in Royston employer: Hotel Chocolat
At Hotel Chocolat, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer that values passion and customer obsession. Our vibrant work culture fosters teamwork and personal development, offering a competitive salary, generous discounts, and exciting career progression opportunities in the heart of a premium retail environment. Join us to be part of a dynamic team where your love for chocolate and commitment to excellence can truly shine.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Customer Experience Advisor in Royston
✨Get Social with Customer Support Communities
Join customer support groups on platforms like Facebook or Reddit. They often share job openings or temp opportunities. Engaging with these communities can help you learn more about the specific skills and experiences employers are looking for, plus you'll meet folks who might know about openings at companies like Hotel Chocolat.
✨Leverage Seasonal Hiring Trends
Since customer support roles can spike during busy seasons (think holidays and sales periods), keep an eye out for timelines when companies ramp up hiring. Make sure to apply early and stay active; sending a quick follow-up a week after applying can show your enthusiasm for the role.
✨Flex Your Communication Skills
In customer support, communication is key! Prepare for hypothetical scenarios that test your problem-solving and customer interaction skills. Practising answers to common role-play questions can really help you shine in interviews—trust us, it makes a difference!
✨Make the Most of Job Boards
Use industry-specific job boards like Glassdoor or Indeed to find temporary roles. Don’t forget to set up alerts for customer support positions at companies like Hotel Chocolat. The earlier you apply, the better your chances, so keep your finger on the pulse!
We think you need these skills to ace Customer Experience Advisor in Royston
Some tips for your application 🫡
Highlight Your Communication Skills:In customer support, top-notch communication is key. Make sure your CV showcases any previous experience where you’ve had to clearly convey information or resolve issues. If you’ve handled customer queries via email or chat, mention it! Let’s see those strong verbal and written skills shine through.
Showcase Problem-Solving Experience:Employers love to see how you've handled tricky situations. Include examples in your application where you’ve tackled customer concerns or had to think on your feet. It's all about proving you can keep cool under pressure and find solutions—something super important in a temporary customer support role!
Tailor Your Approach for Temporary Roles:Since this is a temporary gig, make sure your cover letter emphasises your flexibility and eagerness to dive right in. Mention that you're ready to hit the ground running and are adaptable to new tools or systems—this shows that you understand the urgency often needed in temporary positions.
Proof of Customer Satisfaction:If you’ve got any quantifiable achievements from past customer support roles, like improved customer satisfaction scores or successful project completions, make sure to include them. Numbers speak volumes! This not only shows your capability but also gives us a reason to believe you'll bring that same success to Hotel Chocolat.
How to prepare for a job interview at Hotel Chocolat
✨Master the Customer Interaction Game
In customer support, we need to showcase our people skills. Prepare for role-playing scenarios where you'll demonstrate how to handle difficult customers or resolve complaints. Think about the types of issues common in Hotel Chocolat's industry and how you can respond empathetically and effectively!
✨Know Your Products Inside Out
For a temporary role, it's crucial to familiarize yourself with the products or services Hotel Chocolat offers. Brush up on key features, common issues, and FAQs. This knowledge will enable you to respond quickly and confidently to customer queries, showing you’re ready to jump in at a moment’s notice!
✨Flexibility is Key - Emphasise Your Adaptability!
Since this is a temporary role, we're looking to convey how quickly we can adapt to new systems or processes. Be ready to share examples of how you've quickly learned new tools or adjusted to changing environments in past roles. Show them you're the go-to person when the pressure's on!
✨Prepare for Quick Conversational Q&A
You might face a rapid-fire round of questions about customer service principles or how you'd handle specific situations. To ace this, think through different customer scenarios ahead of time, and practice your responses to ensure they're concise and impactful. The aim is to demonstrate your quick thinking and problem-solving skills!