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What does a contact agent do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read

Contact agents are customer service professionals who handle emails, phone calls, and live chat messages. The agents assist customers with order inquiries, bills and payments, and support questions and complaints. These agents deal with technical support, inbound and outbound sales, and appointment bookings. They must ensure to handle an appropriate number of calls per day, resolve calls on the primary contact or refer them to the correct department, and log the call accurately against the customer's account.

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Contact agent responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real contact agent resumes:

  • Manage Facebook and patient communication programs.
  • Accept incoming calls and promote DIRECTV to prospects.
  • Provide assistance to businesses whose Comcast service are currently down.
  • Maintain patient confidentiality and abide by HIPPA laws at all times.
  • Troubleshoot directv equipment and solve the issue in a one call resolution.
  • Perform tasks to help Comcast customers fix their Internet, phone, television and email
  • Provide necessary materials to the customer s satisfaction within requisite time frames while abiding by HIPAA.
  • Answer customer questions regarding a Medicare supplement.
  • Offer emotional support for patients considering their pregnancy options.
  • Assist Medicare member and medical providers with information about enrollment plans
  • Register new patients, verify insurance eligibility, inform patients of their financial responsibility.
  • Brief passengers according to company and FAA requirements in reference to immigration and passport laws and requirements on international trips.
  • Train sales staff on process and procedure changes to increase top line growth and ensure compliance with CMS regulations.
  • Conduct teleconferences, schedule customer reservations and maintain teleconferencing database.

Contact agent skills and personality traits

We calculated that 15% of Contact Agents are proficient in Customer Service, Phone Calls, and Patients. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Customer-service skills, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Contact Agents that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Customer Service, 15%

    Maintained a professional relationship with clients based on exceptional customer service, professionalism, leadership and knowledge of conferencing processes.

  • Phone Calls, 13%

    Handle inbound phone calls persuasively and effectively in accordance with Federal regulations and department procedures and guidelines.

  • Patients, 10%

    Offered emotional support for patients considering their pregnancy options.

  • Inbound Calls, 8%

    Received inbound calls from customers concerns regarding mortgage distress and resolved by setting up and establishing repayment plans.

  • Escalate, 8%

    Verify information and input information concerning the conversation and escalate if needed.

  • Outbound Calls, 7%

    Communicate with customers via inbound/outbound calls regarding student loans.

Most contact agents use their skills in "customer service," "phone calls," and "patients" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential contact agent responsibilities here:

Customer-service skills. Many contact agent duties rely on customer-service skills. "representatives help companies retain customers by professionally answering questions and helping to resolve complaints.," so a contact agent will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways contact agent responsibilities rely on customer-service skills: "delivered game-changing contact services that help the business achieve critical customer care and sales growth objectives. "

Interpersonal skills. contact agents are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to contact agent responsibilities, because "representatives should be able to create positive interactions with customers." A contact agent resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "utilize customer service and interpersonal skills to provide the best service possible. "

Listening skills. For certain contact agent responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "listening skills." The day-to-day duties of a contact agent rely on this skill, as "representatives must listen carefully to ensure that they understand customers in order to assist them." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what contact agents do: "communicated to customers the rules and regulations in accordance with federal laws on student loans. "

Patience. Another common skill required for contact agent responsibilities is "patience." This skill comes up in the duties of contact agents all the time, as "representatives should be patient and polite, especially when interacting with dissatisfied customers." An excerpt from a real contact agent resume shows how this skill is central to what a contact agent does: "demonstrated high level of courtesy and patience when effectively helping customer to troubleshoot netflix ready devices. "

Problem-solving skills. While "problem-solving skills" is last on this skills list, don't underestimate its importance to contact agent responsibilities. Much of what a contact agent does relies on this skill, seeing as "representatives must determine solutions to customers’ problems." Here is a resume example of how this skill is used in the everyday duties of contact agents: "resolved customers' service or billing inquiries by investigating the circumstance. "

All contact agent skills

The three companies that hire the most contact agents are:

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Compare different contact agents

Contact agent vs. Customer care specialist

A customer care specialist is responsible for assisting the customers with their inquiries and concerns regarding the goods and services offered by the organization. A customer care specialist must be detail-oriented, as well as have excellent communication and time-management skills in responding to the customers' needs while documenting the processes on a specific computer program. Customer care specialists are responsible for processing payments, replacing defective items, and initiating refunds as needed. They must resolve complaints accurately and efficiently to ensure customer satisfaction to keep a good reputation for the organization.

The annual salary of customer care specialists is $4,126 higher than the average salary of contact agents.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both contact agent and customer care specialist positions are skilled in customer service, outbound calls, and data entry.

While similarities exist, there are also some differences between contact agents and customer care specialist. For instance, contact agent responsibilities require skills such as "phone calls," "patients," "inbound calls," and "escalate." Whereas a customer care specialist is skilled in "troubleshoot," "inbound phone calls," "customer support," and "quality customer service." This is part of what separates the two careers.

Customer care specialists earn the highest salaries when working in the insurance industry, with an average yearly salary of $34,400. On the other hand, contact agents are paid more in the finance industry with an average salary of $33,208.On average, customer care specialists reach similar levels of education than contact agents. Customer care specialists are 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Contact agent vs. Customer relations specialist

A customer relations specialist is responsible for providing high-quality services for customers by responding to their inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints about the company's goods and services. Customer relations specialists update customer accounts on the database, recording their transactions accurately, and posting their payments timely. They may also sell new products and services to the clients, demonstrating features and usability, processing orders, and confirming delivery details. A customer relations specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills to ensure customer satisfaction and maintain healthy business relationships with the customers.

A career as a customer relations specialist brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of a contact agent. In fact, customer relations specialists salary is $9,526 higher than the salary of contact agents per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Contact agents and customer relations specialists both require similar skills like "customer service," "outbound calls," and "data entry" to carry out their responsibilities.

While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that contact agent responsibilities requires skills like "phone calls," "patients," "inbound calls," and "escalate." But a customer relations specialist might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "customer relations," "work ethic," "strong work ethic," and "customer retention."

Customer relations specialists may earn a higher salary than contact agents, but customer relations specialists earn the most pay in the automotive industry with an average salary of $41,252. On the other hand, contact agents receive higher pay in the finance industry, where they earn an average salary of $33,208.customer relations specialists earn similar levels of education than contact agents in general. They're 1.6% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Contact agent vs. Bilingual customer service

In bilingual customer service, a representative specializes in responding to calls using English or another foreign language that the customer prefers. Among their primary responsibilities include assisting customers and addressing any inquiries, concerns, or issues that they may raise. Aside from this, a representative may also recommend or sell products, process refunds or payments, and conduct surveys or polls. Furthermore, a representative needs to build rapport with customers to secure sales or create a substantial client base.

On average scale, bilingual customer services bring in higher salaries than contact agents. In fact, they earn a $4,087 higher salary per year.Using the responsibilities included on contact agents and bilingual customer services resumes, we found that both professions have similar skill requirements, such as "customer service," "patients," and "outbound calls.rdquo;

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from contact agent resumes include skills like "phone calls," "inbound calls," "escalate," and "crm," whereas a bilingual customer service is more likely to list skills in "strong customer service," "excellent organizational," "excellent interpersonal," and "strong computer. "

Bilingual customer services earn the highest salary when working in the insurance industry, where they receive an average salary of $33,646. Comparatively, contact agents have the highest earning potential in the finance industry, with an average salary of $33,208.bilingual customer services typically earn similar educational levels compared to contact agents. Specifically, they're 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.4% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Contact agent vs. Service representative

Service representatives handle customer inquiries, requests, complaints, and other general feedback. They are usually the first point of contact with the company's customers. Service representatives are expected to be familiar with all of the company's products so that they can answer all inquiries made by the customers. They should also be familiar with company policies and guidelines on sales and customer handling so that they can address concerns and feedback. They are usually the ones who try to resolve customer complaints by sending issues to applicable departments and ensuring that customers are satisfied with the company's products and services.

Service representatives tend to earn a higher pay than contact agents by an average of $5,391 per year.According to resumes from contact agents and service representatives, some of the skills necessary to complete the responsibilities of each role are similar. These skills include "customer service," "phone calls," and "patients. "

Even though a few skill sets overlap between contact agents and service representatives, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a contact agent might have more use for skills like "escalate," "good judgment," "customer care," and "schedule appointments." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of service representatives require skills like "client service," "pet," "front desk," and "veterans. "

Service representatives enjoy the best pay in the government industry, with an average salary of $38,566. For comparison, contact agents earn the highest salary in the finance industry.In general, service representatives hold similar degree levels compared to contact agents. Service representatives are 0.8% more likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Types of contact agent

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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