Customer Service Representative, Environmental Laboratory

Description

Sterling Labs is hiring a Customer Service Representative to own a set of client accounts. You are the person your clients call. You answer their questions, set up their projects correctly, tell them what is happening before they have to ask, and stay on a problem until it is actually solved.

• Act as the primary contact for your dedicated accounts.
• Answer questions by phone and email on services, submissions, pricing, turnaround times, billing, project status, and reports.
• Push updates out before clients have to ask.

• Keep customer conversations moving toward resolution, de-escalating frustrated or dissatisfied clients along the way.
• Judge what you can resolve yourself and what goes to your manager or another department, and elevate with full context.
• Own delays through to resolution.
• Flag unusual or out-of-scope requests before work starts.
• Document inquiries, complaints, corrections, and actions taken.

• Enter and update client, project, and submission details in our laboratory information management system: service selections, methods, due dates, turnaround times, billing, and reporting instructions.
• Review intake documentation for accuracy and completeness before work begins.
• Chase down missing or conflicting information with clients, field staff, technical teams, billing, or management.

• Set pricing per company guidelines and get internal approvals where required.
• Confirm billing details and route account or invoice questions to accounting.

• Schedule pickups and communicate delivery, due dates, and priorities to the right departments.
• Track project and report status across active accounts.
• Maintain client records, project notes, pricing, and service documentation.
• Follow company SOPs, quality requirements, and Quality Management System standards.

New representatives are trained on our systems, our testing services, and our client base before taking accounts independently. You will learn how an accredited environmental laboratory actually runs, which is knowledge that transfers across this entire industry.

This role has a path. Strong representatives move into senior account work, and we promote from within wherever we can. Sterling is growing, which means the person doing this job well in a year is not doing the same job two years from now.

Location
:
In-office, Des Plaines, IL

Schedule
:
Full-time, 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM

FLSA Status
:
Non-exempt (overtime eligible, with approval)

Pay
:
From $21.00

Department
:
Customer Service

Reports To
:
Customer Service Manager

Start Date
:
Immediate

• High school diploma or equivalent.
• Prior customer-facing experience.
• Proven ability to handle escalated conversations calmly and professionally, with sound judgment on when to resolve and when to elevate.
• Strong phone and email communication.
• Strong computer and data-entry skills, including accuracy under time pressure.
• Ability to juggle multiple requests, work orders, and deadlines.
• A track record of owning a request start to finish, not just answering tickets.

• Experience in high-volume, high-touch work where you handled many customers and competing priorities taurant, retail, hospitality, front desk, and dispatch backgrounds all translate well here.
• Experience in a laboratory, environmental testing, scientific, industrial, manufacturing, or other regulated service environment.
• Experience using a LIMS, CRM, ticketing system, or customer and order management system.
• Experience supporting pricing, billing questions, customer records, or service documentation.

This is an in-office role requiring regular use of a computer, phone, email, our laboratory information management system, and standard office applications. You must be able to sit, type, read documents, review forms, and use a phone for extended periods. The role also involves printing reports, reviewing physical paperwork, and coordinating with laboratory and sample receiving areas.

Systems used: Clinisys Element LIMS and Microsoft 365 (Outlook, Excel, Word, Teams), plus Adobe Acrobat and our office phone system.

Sterling Labs is a DoD, NELAP, ANAB, and AIHA-accredited environmental laboratory providing high-integrity analytical data through state-of-the-art technology and validated testing methodologies. For more than 40 years, our work has supported initiatives that protect human health and the environment.

Our success is built on client partnerships and scientific excellence. We collaborate with environmental consultants, engineering firms, and government agencies to deliver reliable, timely analytical results that support regulatory compliance and environmental stewardship. From wastewater testing in the greater Chicago area to nationwide projects with Department of Defense partners, our commitment to quality and…