Job Summary
Sleister Music is seeking an enthusiastic, friendly, and detail-oriented Retail Associate / Receptionist to join our team. This role is an important front-line position in our school band music store, supporting customers, students, parents, band directors, and our internal team with professionalism and care.
The position includes a mix of customer service, retail support, clerical work, invoicing follow-up, and general administrative tasks. A strong candidate will be well-organized, comfortable communicating by phone and email, accurate with data entry, and willing to help wherever needed.
This is not an accounting or bookkeeping position. Our bookkeeper and accountant handle the accounting side of the business. This role supports the customer-facing and administrative side of billing by sending invoices, tracking follow-up, helping customers resolve payment questions, and keeping information organized in our systems.
About Sleister Music
Sleister Music supports the joy of music for students and educators with world-class instruments, exacting repairs, and friendly service. We provide school band instrument rentals, sales, repairs, accessories, and support for families and school music programs across Central Iowa.
We are working to become the most trusted supplier of school-band instruments and repair services in Central Iowa. Every role on our team contributes to that mission.
We expect our team members to perform their work in line with our core values:
High Performance — Taking initiative, inviting feedback, staying organized, and looking for ways to do the job better and better.
Collaboration — Helping wherever needed to support the team, the customer, and the company as a whole.
Treat People Right — Making sure people leave interactions with us feeling respected, heard, and treated with honesty and friendliness.
Specific duties may include:
- Answering incoming phone calls, texts, and emails from customers, parents, students, and school staff.
- Greeting and assisting customers in the store with instrument rentals, sales, accessories, repair check-ins, repair pickups, and general questions.
- Sending invoices to customers and school accounts for goods and services provided.
- Following up on unpaid invoices and failed payments by phone, email, text, and mail according to documented processes.
- Helping customers update billing information or resolve simple payment questions.
- Tracking invoice follow-up clearly and accurately so the team knows what has been sent, what has been paid, and what still needs attention.
- Entering new rental contracts, instrument sales, rental returns, and related customer information.
- Supporting repair intake and pickup processes, including communicating customer requests to repair staff.
- Assisting with inventory tasks, including seasonal inventory counts for instruments, books, cases, accessories, and maintenance kits.
- Entering incoming shipments of accessories, books, cases, maintenance kits, and related items.
- Helping unbox, organize, and prepare stock instruments and retail items.
- Placing orders for general supplies, resale items, and repair department needs as directed.
- Maintaining a clean, organized, and welcoming retail area.
- Using Google Sheets, Google Workspace, Zapier-supported processes, and payment processor tools to complete clerical and customer support tasks.
- Attending regular administrative team meetings and contributing ideas for improving the department and business.
- Building professional relationships with customers, coworkers, and school partners.
Experience and Qualifications
A strong candidate will have:
- Friendly, professional communication skills in person, by phone, and in writing.
- Excellent phone etiquette and a genuine desire to help customers.
- Strong attention to detail and accuracy with data entry.
- Comfort using Google Sheets, Gmail, Google Drive, and other Google Workspace tools.
- Ability to follow documented processes and keep work organized.
- Confidence following up with customers about unpaid invoices or failed payments in a respectful and professional way.
- Good judgment when handling customer questions, billing concerns, and service issues.
- Flexibility and willingness to help with a variety of retail, clerical, and customer service tasks.
- A positive attitude and a team-first mindset.
Previous experience in retail, receptionist work, customer service, administrative support, billing support, or a music-related environment is helpful but not required.
This position does not require accounting, bookkeeping, ERP, GAAP, SOX, journal entry, or formal accounts receivable experience.
Schedule and Location
This position is based at Sleister Music’s Ankeny location:
2201 W 1st St
Ankeny, IA
The role is expected to average approximately 10 hours per week. Scheduling has some flexibility, but hours will fall within normal business hours, generally between 9 AM and 6 PM.
How Sleister Music Supports This Role
Sleister Music provides:
- Documented processes for clerical tasks, billing follow-up, customer interactions, and common questions.
- Technology and systems to help the work get done efficiently.
- Training for customer service, retail support, rentals, repairs, invoicing follow-up, and internal processes.
- Routine check-ins with the direct manager.
- A supportive team environment where questions, feedback, and continuous improvement are encouraged.
Why Join Sleister Music?
This is a great opportunity for someone who enjoys helping people, staying organized, and being part of a business that supports music education. The work is practical and important: helping customers get what they need, keeping communication clear, and making sure our operations run smoothly.
If you are friendly, detail-oriented, dependable, and comfortable balancing customer service with clerical follow-through, we would be glad to hear from you.
Pay: $15.00 - $20.00 per hour
Application Question(s):
- What experience do you have with school band instruments, such as brass or woodwind, for example your own participation in a school band setting?
Work Location: In person
