Tara Plogsted Email & Phone Number

St. Louis, Mo, Us

St. Louis, Mo, Us

St Louis, Missouri, United States

Hired to support sales and service to business clients on cell phone activations, tablet activations, and device deployment for an AT&T solution provider which helps customers procure and install various telecommunications products and services.• Manage mobility business and relationships with large business clients on a team of four, including staging. kitting, and deployment per requests; provide account support and manage accounts from orders to bill reviews.• Provide service to two corporate accounts by assisting with the processing of orders as large as 1,700 devices; communicate effectively with warehouse personnel on staging and serve as liaison between warehouse and the accounts..

United States

• Provide assistance as needed to the Owners and President on personal matters and planning corporate functions and travel.• Handled all licensing, occupancy permits, and inspections for four new Gadget Lab stores in the St. Louis area which performed cell phone repairs and buy backs / resales; closed stores within a year and transitioned into an e-commerce only model.• Originally hired to assist the CFO with bill pays and data entry into QuickBooks; expanded scope to include processing payroll through Insperity, onboarding new employees, running background checks, and setting up benefits through secondary benefit provider for a total of 75 employees at call centers in St. Louis and Wisconsin

Greater St. Louis Area

Promoted to oversee the development and activation of all operational activities at 98 locations in 11 states for a National Authorized Retailer for AT&T Wireless services, providing integrated solutions to meet customers’ lifestyle needs.• Led and directed three Operations Managers located in Illinois, Tennessee, and Nebraska who provided support to store managers to ensure goal achievement for the retail operational areas of the business.• Managed and tracked training completions and metrics, managed and communicated merchandising resets, worked with Operations Managers to inspect and communicate timeclock issues, managed and followed up on maintenance IT issues.• Oversaw administration and management of training initiatives, security and compliance audits, banking, supply orders, RQ4 POS systems testing, time & attendance results, audit preparation, inventory reconciliation, and equipment returns.• Ensured each store met quality guidelines in customer service, store appearance, maintenance & repair issues, and visual merchandising; coached and developed employees, troubleshot issues, and delivered solutions.• Maintained up-to-date knowledge in various wireless communication products, options, services and equipment.• Oversaw ordering and budgetary management of janitorial, office, and back house equipment / supplies.• Completed ledger entries of overages/shortages and TIO (bill payment services) reports in QuickBooks, transferred bank balance sheet to accounting staff.• Coordinated toner audits with IT, managed field issues with toner outages and broken printers; managed relationship with PRINTSolv on DCA issues, managed account with third part vendor, Regency, supplying software and printers.• Managed operational details for opening new locations.

Greater St. Louis Area

Selected to assist the Director of H.R. & Finance at the home office with various administrative duties.• Assisted with preparation of business taxes, filed licenses, helped track store discounts for 98 locations, and reconciled cash.• Tracked commission charge backs, ordered deposit books, reconciled commission ledgers, and set up new bank accounts.

Greater St. Louis Area

Promoted to oversee and develop retail locations to achieve all operational, financial, and customer satisfaction goals.• Oversaw the development, operations, and opening of seven stores with a total of 50 employees in the Missouri cities of Troy, Hannibal, New Town, Lake St. Louis, Bridgeton, Manchester, and Warson Woods.• Led and directed seven Store Managers to ensure the highest level of customer service by improving team capability, and leading and developing employees for future career growth opportunities.• Oversaw all aspects of the markets including driving sales metrics, executing operational initiatives, controlling expenses, handling personnel issues, implementing merchandising initiatives, and coordinating sales promotion activities.

Greater St. Louis Area

Promoted to manage all aspects of a retail store to achieve all financial, operational, and customer satisfaction goals.• Led and directed a team of eight Retail Sales Consultants at the Manchester Road location, and four Retail Sales Consultants at the Warson Road location to meet or exceed all goals in the sale of devices and wireless services, while providing a high-level of customer service and an outstanding buying experience.• Recognized for achieving top sales in home security products.• Oversaw all aspects of store operational duties including inventory, merchandising, stocking, and maintenance.• Handled confidential and personal information and records in a sensitive and timely manner.• Maintained up-to-date knowledgeable in various wireless communication products, options, services and equipment.• Assisted customers with service activation, selling accessories, and processing price plan changes and upgrades.

Greater St. Louis Area

Promoted to assist in management of stores in Arnold and High Ridge, Missouri, and Waterloo, Illinois.• Provided assistance to the Store Manager to ensure employees were trained, and customers were receiving the highest level of service, to result in achieving all sales and profitability goals.• Assisted during construction at the Waterloo store with a team of nine Retail Sales Consultants.

Greater St. Louis Area

Recruited to assist new and existing retail store customers with their unique technology needs and problem solving issues.• Provided a high-level of customer service and created an outstanding buying experience for the customer at the Watson Road store, positioning AT&T products against the competition in the wireless and wired service channels to meet individual needs.• Consistently met and exceeded monthly and yearly sales goals through acquiring new customer accounts, cultivating business & customer relationships, building integrated solutions, and maximizing revenue from existing customers’ accounts.• Assisted in maintaining store appearance, inventory counts, and merchandising standards.

Greater St. Louis Area

Handled inbound calls in a call center environment to sell AT&T wired and wireless services, and resolve any customer issues for the world leader in customer experience outsourcing through call center operations.• Listened attentively to customer needs and concerns; demonstrated empathy while maximizing opportunity to build rapport with the customer; maintained broad knowledge of products, pricing, promotions, and procedures.• Sold AT&T wireless, cable television, and internet services; used probing techniques to determine customer needs, performed in-depth research to resolve customer issues, and made offers in an effort to retain the customer’s business• Prepared complete and accurate work including appropriately notating accounts as required• Participated in activities designed to improve customer satisfaction and sales performance.