Customer Support Lead
Pune, Maharashtra, India (on-site) · Full-time
· Aroha Ventures LLC, registered and headquartered in California, USA
Email your resume to hiring@bazaar-buddy.com
About BazaarBuddy
BazaarBuddy is a personal shopping concierge built for Non-Resident Indians who want authentic Indian products: fashion, jewellery, handicrafts, textiles and lifestyle goods that are sourced, consolidated and shipped to their doorstep abroad. We combine sourcing agents on the ground, consolidation in Pune, and a quoting service that runs on conversation, so customers can shop India like a local without arriving with a finished shopping list. Most orders go to the US and the UK, and we ship elsewhere on request.
We are a young, US-registered startup. Aroha Ventures LLC is our customer-facing platform entity, headquartered in California, working alongside our India sourcing and fulfilment partner. We are currently in a pilot phase in two Indian cities and expanding. As we scale, we are building out a dedicated customer support function and looking for our first Customer Support Lead to own it.
About the role
Every BazaarBuddy order runs through a conversation with a human. BazaarBuddy is not a catalogue you click through. There is no "add to cart" for many of the shops in Indian markets we give our shoppers access to. An order cannot be priced until we know what goes in it, so the conversation starts before the order exists. Almost nobody buys without talking to us first, which means this role helps create orders as well as service them.
Customers ask about quotes, item availability, shipping timelines, payment options and order status, both in-app and over WhatsApp. We are hiring a Customer Support Lead to take direct ownership of this function: handling day-to-day customer conversations personally in the near term, using and evolving our existing FAQ and policy playbook, and then building a support team as order volume grows. You will be the primary voice customers hear from, from first question to delivery, and the person who tells the rest of us what customers are confused about or asking for.
The person in this seat will be asked to step outside support when it helps: picking up operations work, spotting where a customer would welcome something else we can source, and being the catch-all when something needs doing.
Key responsibilities
Day-to-day customer support
- Own resolution of customer conversations across our in-app order message threads and WhatsApp, using BazaarBuddy's existing FAQ and policy playbook as the baseline.
- Guide customers before they order: help them turn a rough idea into a list we can shop, and be straight about cost and timing before they commit.
- Handle the full range of order-related queries including quote questions, item availability, shipping timelines and tracking, payment methods (card, ACH, Zelle for approved repeat customers), and post-delivery issues.
- Escalate order-specific issues (mis-sourced items, damaged goods, shipping delays) to the appropriate sourcing agent or ops contact, and stay on the thread until resolved.
- Shape how conversations get tracked, prioritised and handled day to day across in-app threads and WhatsApp.
- Notice where a customer would welcome more than they asked for, and offer it. A saree that pairs with the outfit, sweets that ride along in space already paid for.
Playbook and process ownership
- Keep the FAQ and policy playbook current by updating it whenever a new type of question comes up that is not yet covered.
- Track response-time and resolution-time performance, and set the first response-time targets for the support function.
- Feed recurring customer confusion or complaints back to the founder as input for product and policy changes.
Build a support team, as volume grows
- Recruit, train and manage a support team, including evening-shift coverage aligned to US customer time zones.
- Set the tone and voice, and train new hires to it.
- Write the onboarding material a new hire needs to get going on the FAQ and policy playbook.
What we are looking for
- 5+ years of experience in customer support, customer success, or a similar customer-facing operating role. E-commerce or D2C experience is a strong plus.
- Able to work international hours. Our customers are in the US and the UK, so part of the working day runs on their clock, and some days shift with them.
- Flexible about scope. This is an early-stage team, so the role stretches into operations, upselling and cross-selling, and whatever else the day needs.
- Comfortable spotting a sale in a service conversation, without ever pushing a customer into something they did not want.
- Comfortable owning a function hands-on in the early stages, with the instinct to build a team and process around yourself as volume grows.
- Strong written English and a warm, clear communication style. Customers will judge BazaarBuddy by how this role writes to them.
- Organised and detail-oriented, comfortable tracking many concurrent order conversations without letting anything slip.
- Based in or willing to relocate to Pune.
- Prior experience with WhatsApp Business, live chat, or helpdesk tooling is a plus but not required.
What we offer
- Ownership of a core customer-facing function at an early-stage, US-registered startup.
- A clear path to grow into leading a full support team as the company scales.
- Range. You will not be boxed into one function, and what you build here will be visible.
- Close, direct collaboration with the founding team.
To apply, send your resume and a short note on relevant experience to hiring@bazaar-buddy.com.