Customer Service Representative, Environmental Laboratory

The Role

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.

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.

You do not need a science background. We will teach you the testing methods, the terminology, and our laboratory information management system. What we cannot teach is judgment, follow-through, and the ability to stay calm and helpful when a client is frustrated. If you have those, we will help build the rest.

• 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 upscale 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,…