Customer Support VA / Email (E-Commerce) — Part-Time

We are a fast-growing e-commerce health & wellness brand. We sell a red-light therapy device that helps women over 50 relieve hip pain caused by menopause. We are scaling fast and need a reliable, empathetic email support VA.
IMPORTANT: Our customers are GERMAN-SPEAKING. All customer emails are in German, and your replies must go out in correct, natural German. You will work with DeepL to translate and write your replies — so being comfortable and accurate with DeepL is required. (Understanding German yourself is a big bonus, but not mandatory if you can work precisely with DeepL.)
YOUR MAIN JOB
Answer customer emails and solve problems. Most of our customers are German women 50+ — so patience, warmth and clear communication matter a lot. Your goal on every ticket: find a solution that is GOOD FOR BOTH SIDES — the customer is happy AND the order is kept. This protects us from chargebacks and PayPal disputes, and keeps customers satisfied.
WHAT YOU WILL DO
- Answer customer emails (in German, via DeepL) quickly, kindly and professionally
- Turn refund/return requests into win-win solutions wherever fair and possible (NEVER by pressuring or misleading the customer)
- Act early on potential disputes BEFORE they become PayPal cases or chargebacks
- Handle defective-product cases smoothly (we replace fast)
- Use AI tools (ChatGPT / Claude) and DeepL to draft, translate and speed up replies — we provide ready-made prompts and email templates
- Keep a friendly, on-brand tone in German at all times
PERFORMANCE BONUS (this is where you can earn a lot more)
When a customer wants to return but you save the order through a fair solution, you earn a bonus on the kept order value, based on your retention rate:
- 25% bonus when your save/retention rate is high
- 10% bonus at a mid retention rate
- 5% bonus at a lower retention rate
The better you are at keeping customers happy AND keeping the order, the more you earn. Strong performers make significantly more than the base.
MUST-HAVE
- Real customer support experience (e-commerce strongly preferred)
- Excellent, fluent written English
- Confident and accurate working with DeepL to communicate in German
- A solution-finder mindset — always looking for the outcome that works for BOTH the customer and the business
- Comfortable using AI tools (ChatGPT / Claude) for drafting replies
- Calm, empathetic, patient — especially with older customers
- Reliable and consistent (this role runs daily)
NICE-TO-HAVE (BIG PLUS)
- Understanding German yourself (MASSIVE advantage)
- Experience preventing chargebacks / PayPal disputes
- Experience with health, wellness or 50+ audiences
ONBOARDING
You will be personally trained by me (short onboarding) and given AI tools, DeepL, prompts and email templates to work with.
SCHEDULE
- 2 hours per day, 5 days per week (Monday to Friday, no weekends)
- Start date: June 7th (ASAP)
HOW WE MEASURE SUCCESS
- Response time and reply quality (in correct German)
- Customer satisfaction
- Retention / save rate (orders kept)
- Number of chargebacks and PayPal disputes prevented
HOW TO APPLY (READ CAREFULLY — this is our first filter)
Applications missing any of these will be ignored:
1) A short summary of your customer support experience:
- Which brands/companies you worked with, and FOR HOW LONG
- What role you held
2) Answer in writing:
"Describe a time a customer asked for a refund and you turned it into a solution that made BOTH the customer and the business happy. What did you say?"
3) A 60-second Loom video where you introduce yourself and explain how you keep an upset customer calm while still protecting the business.
Apply by sending your experience summary, your written answer, and your Loom link.