Banista (Banana Cart Attendant) - Amazon

About the role

The Amazon partnership with Northwest Center began in 2003. Amazon opened Seattle's first Community Banana Stand in late 2015 as a public service, offering a healthy, fully compostable, and affordable snack. Northwest Center staffs these stands with "Banistas" – community-facing positions working at outdoor locations. Banistas provide professional 5-star customer service, proactively greet visitors, restock inventory, track daily metrics, and communicate issues needing immediate attention. The role requires engaging the community with a warm, friendly interaction.

Responsibilities

• Arrive to the banana stand ready to work at scheduled time in provided Banista uniform
• Assist with daily set-up and/or tear down of stand, ensuring all banana stand related items are placed in appropriate locations
• Greet and engage every visitor to the stand in a friendly, warm, professional and courteous manner – provide a 5-star impression at all times
• Select work appropriate music to play during operating hours
• Unload bananas from boxes into banana stand crates while separating bananas into individual pieces
• Remove plastic or other material from the banana bunches
• Keep the banana stand crates full and plentiful for the duration of operating hours
• Sort any bruised or damaged bananas out and place them in the compost bin
• Ensure the banana stand is organized and clean at all times
• Monitor the compost bin and facilitate emptying when full
• Track daily metrics in tracking software on distribution, compost, carry-over cases, and additional areas as specified by leadership
• Track all comments, general inquiries, and public response to identify common themes and emergency situations needing attention
• Contribute to monthly inventory counts on trailer/stand assets
• Support Banana Stand openings, as needed
• Support the redistribution bananas across stands, as needed
• Suggest operational improvements to leadership, as needed
• Attend trainings on new process roll outs
• Learn FAQ's and banana facts to share with visitors
• Decorate the stand for holidays and/or special events with approved designs
• Communicate issues needing supervisor attention immediately, i.e. unexpected media on scene, etc.
• Follow structured timelines and accommodate unexpected requests
• Interact with the public and discern security issues if they arrive, ability to follow security escalation requirements
• Ability to work at various banana stand locations (including some offsite locations) between 7:15am and 3:45pm Monday through Friday, including occasional after hours requests and weekends
• Perform other duties as assigned for needed duration

Requirements

• GED or high school diploma required
• Minimum 1 year customer service experience
• Commitment to Northwest Center's mission of inclusion and ability to successfully work in a diverse environment
• Ability to work in a variety of environments, including outdoors
• Ability to perform subtraction, multiplication and division for equations up to 3 digits
• Ability to remember training content and recall daily trends in banana distribution
• Must be proficient with MS Windows, Excel, and Outlook e-mail
• Ability to work independently with limited supervision
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to communicate with leadership, co-workers, and visitors
• Ability to understand, interpret and follow Northwest Center (NWC) and client Policies and Procedures
• Strong conflict resolution and problem solving skills
• Responds calmly and professionally to emergencies, angry customers, or other stressful situations in the workplace
• Attention to detail and accuracy
• Exercises good judgment in areas of responsibility
• Identifies or assists in identifying alternative solutions to problems or situations
• Employs imagination and creativity in the application of duties and responsibilities
• Is not averse to change

Working Conditions & Physical Demands

• Must be able to lift bananas and stack boxes up to 50 lbs. repetitively
• Must be able to work in conditions below 40 degrees for up to 3 hours or up to 90 degrees
• May need to carry supplies to other buildings
• Ability to walk consistently within a 1.5 radius is required
• Ability to read, write, speak and comprehend the English language
• Ability to see both distance and details at close range, within a few feet of the observer (with or without corrective lenses)
• Ability to identify and understand the speech of another person (with or without a personal auditory hearing device)
• This is a dog friendly environment with over 1000 dogs on campus – individuals with dog allergies or those who do not particularly care for dogs may not be the best fit
• Must be able to handle bananas and/or various food products without allergic reaction
• Must be able to work in conditions below 40 degrees for up to 3 hours or up to 90 degrees

Schedule

• Location: Seattle (South Lake Union) and Bellevue, WA
• Part-Time between 24-29 hrs per week
• Monday – Friday between 7:15am-3:45pm & Saturdays between 8AM – 4PM
• Position may require working at any or all banana stand locations as needed between the hours of 7:15AM and 3:45PM Monday through Friday, with occasional weekend, evening or offsite events

Pay

• Starting Wage: $22.45 per hour

Benefits

• 17 Accrued Paid Time Off Days Annually (hours prorated for part-time)
• 10 Annual Floating Holidays (prorated)
• Parental Leave and Paid Compassion Leave
• Retirement 401(K) with a company match
• Company-Provided Orca Pass – Unlimited use
• Employment Assistance Program (EAP) via SupportLinc including three free therapy sessions per year
• Opportunity for career development with our NWC Mentorship Match program
• Pet Insurance Discount Program