Associate Manager, Retail Customer Experience

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NYBG Job Description

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Title

Reports to

Associate Manager, Retail Customer Experience

Director, Retail, NYBG Shop

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Position Summary:

The Associate Manager, Retail Customer Experience supports and continuously improves the Shop's visitor experienceby enhancing the customer journey, establishing and delivering on service standards and behaviors that support business objectives, and the visitor-facing education and engagement programming that brings the Shop's assortment to life. Working under the direction of the Director of retail, The role is the Shop's liason to NYBG's broader visitor-facing functions and the primary driver of training for customer-facing staff.

The Associate Manager works along side other Associate Managers leading Operations and Merchandising.

Specific Duties & Responsibilities:

• Assume responsibility for the Shop's visitor journey — entry, browsing, checkout, and post-purchase — identifying friction points and leading improvements across all touchpoints.
• Monitor customer feedback across all channels, identify trends, and translate them into concrete service improvements and staff coaching.
• Set and drive the customer-service behaviors and standards that support the business's goals.
• Maintain and refine the Shop's service recovery approach — how staff handle complaints and escalations across in-person and email channels — and serve as the escalation point for complaints requiring managerial judgment.
• With the support and oversight of the Director, design and deliver training and onboarding for customer-facing staff shop-wide, building product and service confidence through curricula, new-hire onboarding, coaching, and floor walks.
• Serve as the Shop's liaison to NYBG's visitor-facing functions (Membership, Admissions, Guest Services, Education/Public Programs), ensuring the Shop experience is integrated with the Garden-wide visitor journey.
• With the support and oversight of the Director, develop and lead visitor-facing education and engagement programming — care guides, in store tips, workshops, seasonal events — partnering with subject-matter staff for technical accuracy on plant and horticultural content.
• Model NYBG's customer service standards as a visible, engaged floor leader, and provide day-to-day coaching and functional guidance to the team.
• Other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• 4+ years of retail experience, including at least 1–2 years in a supervisory, lead, or management role.
• Proven ability to lead a team and manage a retail floor in a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated experience coaching, training, and developing team members, including in areas outside one's own initial expertise.