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The differences between call agents and customer service representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a call agent and a customer service representative. Additionally, a customer service representative has an average salary of $32,260, which is higher than the $28,192 average annual salary of a call agent.
The top three skills for a call agent include customer service, inbound calls and telephone calls. The most important skills for a customer service representative are cleanliness, POS, and data entry.
| Call Agent | Customer Service Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $28,192 | $32,260 |
| Hourly rate | $13.55 | $15.51 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 208,872 | 209,515 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 38% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A call agent works at call centers where they are primarily in charge of handling inbound and outbound calls. They are usually responsible for offering products and services to clients, answering questions, discussing product specifications, arranging payment plans, and negotiating contracts, building positive relationships in the process. They may also handle complaints, troubleshoot issues, provide step-by-step instructions, and refer them to other services when necessary. Moreover, a call agent maintains records of all transactions and produces detailed reports, coordinating with managers regularly.
Customer service representatives are the first point of contact of the customers, acting as the frontiers of the company and help in driving customer loyalty and retention by leaving a great impression and resolving all of their concerns. They accommodate customer queries by providing useful and comprehensive information about any products or services. Some would use that as an opportunity to market and promote more sales. The most challenging issues they use to handle are customer complaints and processing of refunds and returns. They also assist in basic troubleshooting or accounts and payment setup with the use of specific guidelines or step by step procedures. At most, they help and solve customer issues on their own, but sometimes they would need support from supervisors or other departments.
Call agents and customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Call Agent | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average salary | $28,192 | $32,260 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $35,000 | Between $25,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Des Moines, WA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | Chewy | Oracle |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a call agent and a customer service representative in terms of educational background:
| Call Agent | Customer Service Representative | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 38% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between call agents' and customer service representatives' demographics:
| Call Agent | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.4% Female, 66.6% | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.4% Asian, 6.7% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |