Clayton W. Coate


Customer Relations Manager

Customer Experience / Support Process / Complaint Resolution / Lead & Site Qualification
Root Cause Analysis / Needs Analysis / Production Management

Possess a solid track record of working to promote brand value through a focus on customer satisfaction, quality assurance, and process improvement. Resolved customer issues in a timely manner, reduced process time, and increased capacity for industry leaders, Align Technology and Hewlett-Packard.

Technical Skills: SaaS; JD Edwards; ERP/MES/CRM; Pareto Analysis; MS Office/Project/Visio; CAD; Google Docs; Trained in PV Sales & Design; Project Management; Pre-launch user interface testing

Special Skills: Hands-on champion of service culture Respected team player as well as leader Driver of customer experience enhancements Analytical trouble-shooter and problem-solver Consistently improve processes and diligently document results Build inter-departmental consensus Start-up environment experienced Highly adaptable



Selected Achievements
oBuilt customer loyalty in emerging startup leaders by resolving real-time customer support issues and managing customer expectations for both end users and internal customers.
oOrganized SaaS product customer service and billing processes for improved efficiency, documentation and reporting in startup environment.
oStudy of the Sun as a resource, site analysis, grid-tied system design, PV string sizing exercises, rate schedules, Case study to create an estimate as a solar integrator, needs analysis, site analysis, incentive and rebate programs, cost/benefit justification of solar.
oManaged technical and personnel issues of semi-custom manufacturing/delivery process, recovered on-time delivery from 66% to 100%, reduced lead-times from 40 to 8 hours.
oLed and scaled team up to 40 technicians while developing leads/trainers and fostering culture of customer first accountability to meet demand.
oRepresented and promoted revolutionary orthodontic product during commercial product launch at Align Technologys first national Orthodontic tradeshow attendance.
oInitiated project to address unresolved manufacturing defect complaints; isolating specific cause, expediting resolution with resulting process adopted by Customer Care Group.

Career Overview

Clean Power Finance, San Francisco CA, 2009 -Current

Customer Relations Manager: SaaS Support of phone and online community for solar sales proposal tools.
Developed process for tracking of customer support and billing issues for improved service.
Maintain communication between Sales and Development teams to promote customer solutions and improve product quality.

Align Technology, Santa Clara, CA, 1998-2007

Production Control Planner: Responsible for daily order scheduling for dental device manufacturer, one of a very few companies to have a successful IPO in January, 2001.
Conducted root cause analysis in response to manufacturing complaints.
Developed process for resolving customer issues, integrating result into Customer Care Group.

Manufacturing Process Engineer: Developed service processes and drove lead-time and defect-reduction programs to scale production of orthodontic appliances.
Conceptualized, test planned, and implemented process improvements for customer facing 3D online delivery application.
Coordinated with Development Team, IT and QA to identify and implement improvements to specialized production applications, continually improving delivery times.

Production Supervisor, US Clinical Manufacturing: Built and led team for production and delivery of semi-custom virtual treatment and delivery service.
Served as liaison to Customer Care Group, communicating production schedules/product improvements.
Partnered with IT Department to improve support levels necessary for highly systems-reliant production processes, minimizing production interruptions.

Hewlett-Packard Corporation, Cupertino, CA, 1995-1998

Call Coordinator, Knowledge Engineering Group: Responsible for resolving or routing incoming knowledge-base conflicts as reported by sales engineers.
Conducted KB testing for Knowledge Engineers in support of sales configuration application.
Managed incoming knowledge-base conflicts as reported by sales and support engineers.

Customer Support Coordinator, North American Call Response Center: Live end user phone support resolution and escalation, hardware/software issues.
Resolved customer issues regarding warranty and product support while setting customer expectations.
Handled product and service inquiries and complaints, escalating to next level as required.


Education / Training

BBA Management 2009, Golden Gate University San Francisco, CA
PV Sales Training Certificate, Rich Hessler Solar Sales Training
PV Sales/Design/Estimating Certificates, Solar Staffing, Oakland, CA
Yacht Design Certificate, Landing School of Boat Building and Design, Kennebunk, ME