What does a counter associate do?
A counter associate is often the first to greet and communicate with customers in stores or food service establishments. They usually take orders, answer inquiries, explain product or services, recommend products, and complete orders. They may also keep records of transactions, process payments, balance cash drawers, maintain the quality of product at shelves, and report to managers should there be any issues or concerns. Additionally, a counter associate may also participate in overseeing product inventories, ordering supplies, and maintaining the sales floor.
Counter associate responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real counter associate resumes:
- Assist walk-in and call-in customers and contractors with plumbing and electrical equipment and materials ensuring a high level of customer service.
- Follow exceptional standards for food preparation and facility cleanliness.
- Clean fryers and dispose trash.
- General knowledge of ADP operating system.
- Cashier, clean lobby and bathrooms, drive-thru service
- sell hvac parts and equipment to phone and walk in customers
- Bag all groceries and items and greet every customers with respect.
- Cashier and order taker for the customers who come through the drive-thru.
- Track labor and material for service for accurate invoice and billing purposes.
- Fill in a couple of times at the Honda bui8lding when short hand.
- Operate meat and cheese slicers, cutting tools, scale and other deli equipment.
- Assist with creating shipping labels for the customer and cash out sales on the POS systems
- Operate cash register, computer and paper cataloging systems and processing daily paperwork and forms.
- Invoice all clothing that is dropped off by customers and put them in the adequate containers to be dry clean.
- Maintain cleanliness of assign departments.
Counter associate skills and personality traits
We calculated that 32% of Counter Associates are proficient in Sales Floor, Bank Deposits, and Customer Service. They’re also known for soft skills such as Dexterity, Near vision, and Patience.
We break down the percentage of Counter Associates that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Sales Floor, 32%
Executed and resumed projects- Audit sales floor inventory- Organized and promoted products
- Bank Deposits, 23%
Handle currency and credit transactions quickly and accurately including running end of day cash report and making bank deposits.
- Customer Service, 9%
Maintain organization of completed customer orders in order to apply fast-paced customer service upon pickup.
- Phone Calls, 7%
Assist supervisor by doing clerical work such as managing and routing telephone calls, sorting letters, and filing.
- Parts Counter, 5%
Performed Office Assistant duties until promoted to Parts Counter Associate.
- Cash Drawers, 4%
Use cash received to fill cash drawers for ATM machines.
"sales floor," "bank deposits," and "customer service" are among the most common skills that counter associates use at work. You can find even more counter associate responsibilities below, including:
Dexterity. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a counter associate to have is dexterity. Their role and responsibilities require that "cashiers use their hands to operate registers and scan purchases." Counter associates often use dexterity in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "conduct sales projection and shift scheduling, hands-on approach in inventory control and record keeping. "
Near vision. Another essential skill to perform counter associate duties is near vision. Counter associates responsibilities require that "cashiers need to see well enough to scan items and process transactions accurately." Counter associates also use near vision in their role according to a real resume snippet: "processed clothing/item order processing, seasonal inventory control, with minimal supervision/ management. "
Patience. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of counter associates is patience. This skill is critical to many everyday counter associate duties, as "cashiers must be able to remain calm when interacting with customers." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "gained skills: customer service, patience, planning, problem-solving, time management, and communication. "
Communication skills. counter associate responsibilities often require "communication skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "cashiers must pay attention to customers’ questions and explain pricing." This resume example shows what counter associates do with communication skills on a typical day: "exceed guests expectations emphasized teamwork and communication maintained cleanliness and safety while using time management skills ability to work independently"
Customer-service skills. Another common skill required for counter associate responsibilities is "customer-service skills." This skill comes up in the duties of counter associates all the time, as "cashiers must be courteous and friendly when helping customers." An excerpt from a real counter associate resume shows how this skill is central to what a counter associate does: "opened and closed the store, which included counting cash drawers and securing of customer center. "
Physical stamina. Another skill commonly found on counter associate job descriptions is "physical stamina." It can come up quite often in counter associate duties, since "cashiers stand for long periods." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day counter associate responsibilities: "maintained organization data entry and physical, cleanliness and quality customer service. "
The three companies that hire the most counter associates are:
- Asbury Automotive Group33 counter associates jobs
- Citarella, Inc
28 counter associates jobs
- UPS18 counter associates jobs
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Compare different counter associates
Counter associate vs. Cashier
A cashier is one of the most visible positions in the retail industry. Cashiers are the last direct point of contact with customers and play a key role in service, retail, and wholesale establishments. They leave a long-lasting impression, which helps encourage the customers to go back. The most common tasks for cashiers are to scan items, conduct price checks, and collect payments. They may deal with a great amount of money on a daily basis, so this position requires them to be honest, reliable, and trustworthy employees. They also need to have great skills in customer service as they may handle customer complaints from time to time, assist in answering questions, and process refunds or exchanges.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, counter associate responsibilities require skills like "keeping track," "phone calls," "parts counter," and "work ethic." Meanwhile a typical cashier has skills in areas such as "front end," "cash handling," "customer transactions," and "stock shelves." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Cashiers earn the highest salaries when working in the retail industry, with an average yearly salary of $28,822. On the other hand, counter associates are paid more in the transportation industry with an average salary of $37,037.On average, cashiers reach similar levels of education than counter associates. Cashiers are 1.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Counter associate vs. Services clerk
The main role of service clerks is to provide excellent service to customers. They are responsible for varied tasks, which include handling complaints from customers, processing register transactions, and promoting the company's services and products. It is also their job to take orders, maintain an organized and clean cash register, and scan information about bills and payments. To be qualified for this position, one should have a high school diploma, excellent communication, interpersonal and customer service skills, and attention to detail.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real counter associate resumes. While counter associate responsibilities can utilize skills like "keeping track," "bank deposits," "phone calls," and "parts counter," services clerks use skills like "patients," "slicers," "display cases," and "cross-selling."
Services clerks earn a lower average salary than counter associates. But services clerks earn the highest pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $29,778. Additionally, counter associates earn the highest salaries in the transportation with average pay of $37,037 annually.services clerks earn similar levels of education than counter associates in general. They're 0.6% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Counter associate vs. Fleet service clerk
Advanced repair agents are skilled professionals who are responsible for creating a supportive environment for customers by offering technology-related and solution-based recommendations to solve their repair needs. These agents are required to ask their customers the right questions and listen to them carefully while taking detailed noted about their software and hardware issues. They must collaborate with other team members to diagnose technology issues by performing troubleshooting activities and using their specialty software. Advanced repair agents must also answer phone calls to assist customers in solving simple technology problems.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, counter associates are more likely to have skills like "keeping track," "sales floor," "bank deposits," and "customer service." But a fleet service clerk is more likely to have skills like "service aircraft," "de-icing," "hand tools," and "safety procedures."
Fleet service clerks make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $32,231. On the other hand, counter associates are paid the highest salary in the transportation industry, with average annual pay of $37,037.When it comes to education, fleet service clerks tend to earn similar degree levels compared to counter associates. In fact, they're 0.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Counter associate vs. Advanced repair agent
Types of counter associate
Updated January 8, 2025
