Collections representative vs customer service representative

The differences between collections representatives 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 collections representative and a customer service representative. Additionally, a collections representative has an average salary of $34,015, which is higher than the $32,260 average annual salary of a customer service representative.

The top three skills for a collections representative include payment arrangements, customer service and delinquent accounts. The most important skills for a customer service representative are cleanliness, POS, and data entry.

Collections representative vs customer service representative overview

	Collections Representative	Customer Service Representative
Yearly salary	$34,015	$32,260
Hourly rate	$16.35	$15.51
Growth rate	-8%	-4%
Number of jobs	85,275	209,515
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 33%
Average age	46	40
Years of experience	12	12

What does a collections representative do?

A Collections Representative's role is to collect payment for outstanding or overdue bills through phone calls, email, mail, or sometimes personal appointments. A Collections Representative is required to have a great deal of research and communication skills in order to reach out to people and explain how to settle their debts or even negotiate a payment term or plan. Collections Representatives must also make sure that these terms are honored and met, and create reports for the creditor regarding the delinquent accounts.

What does a customer service representative do?

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.

Collections representative vs customer service representative salary

Collections representatives and customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Collections Representative	Customer Service Representative
Average salary	$34,015	$32,260
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $42,000	Between $25,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	San Ramon, CA	Des Moines, WA
Highest paying state	California	Washington
Best paying company	University of California, Berkeley	Oracle
Best paying industry	Finance	Insurance

Differences between collections representative and customer service representative education

There are a few differences between a collections representative and a customer service representative in terms of educational background:

	Collections Representative	Customer Service Representative
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Collections representative vs customer service representative demographics

Here are the differences between collections representatives' and customer service representatives' demographics:

	Collections Representative	Customer Service Representative
Average age	46	40
Gender ratio	Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4%	Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 3.4% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	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	8%	7%

Differences between collections representative and customer service representative duties and responsibilities

Collections representative example responsibilities.

Protect A/R assets by managing a portfolio of accounts to maximize gainful sales and reduce debt losses.
Maintain effective communication and utilize negotiation skills with internal and external customers to effect collections while maintaining customer good will.
Submit all reconsideration and appeals if need.
Conduct periodic data cleaning of queues balances deny with deny appeals.
Resolve valid or authorize NSF charges due to decline credit cards or ACH transactions.
Collect and count inventories, reconcile purchases and scan UPC's and inputting price information.

Customer service representative example responsibilities.

Manage and plan escalations; assure HIPPA guidelines are followed for confidentially and privacy.
Maintain cleanliness and safety and assist patients as necessary.
Operate POS system and maintain exceptional and consistent customer service.
Exercise proofreading and basic math skills to maintain quality control over documents process
Work in customer service department entering information into customer relationship management (CRM).
Develop highly empathetic client relationships and earn reputation for exceeding good customer service rep goals.

Collections representative vs customer service representative skills

Common collections representative skills

Payment Arrangements, 14%
Customer Service, 13%
Delinquent Accounts, 9%
Past Due Accounts, 6%
Customer Accounts, 4%
Debt Repayment, 4%

Common customer service representative skills

Cleanliness, 10%
POS, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Sales Floor, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Home Health, 5%

Collections Representative vs. similar jobs

Collections Representative related careers

Collections Representative related jobs

Collections Representative jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Collections Representative
Collections Representative vs Customer Service Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs