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The differences between customer assistants and customer sales associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-12 months to become both a customer assistant and a customer sales associate. Additionally, a customer sales associate has an average salary of $37,024, which is higher than the $31,331 average annual salary of a customer assistant.
The top three skills for a customer assistant include reservations, customer assistance and customer service. The most important skills for a customer sales associate are sales floor, customer satisfaction, and customer service.
| Customer Assistant | Customer Sales Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $31,331 | $37,024 |
| Hourly rate | $15.06 | $17.80 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 177,008 | 415,981 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A customer assistant is responsible for providing the best customer service, handling customer inquiries, managing complaints, and processing requests depending on the clients' needs. Customer assistants must have exceptional communication skills and the knowledge of the goods and services the company offers to accommodate customers on their concerns. A customer assistant should also have a good grasp on marketing processes to sell products, take orders, and develop sales pitches to potential customers to drive revenues, increase profitability, and maintain good customer feedback.
A customer sales associate specializes in handling and communicating with customers to secure sales in a retail store. Their primary responsibilities revolve around greeting clients, responding to inquiries, providing assistance, and even offering suggestions when necessary. Aside from ensuring customer satisfaction, it is also their responsibility to maintain the cleanliness and order on the sales floor by re-stocking shelves and arranging them to look presentable. Furthermore, a customer sales associate must coordinate with other sales floor members and report to a manager or supervisor.
Customer assistants and customer sales associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Assistant | Customer Sales Associate | |
| Average salary | $31,331 | $37,024 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $38,000 | Between $27,000 And $49,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Odenton, MD |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Maryland |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Johnson Controls |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Real Estate |
There are a few differences between a customer assistant and a customer sales associate in terms of educational background:
| Customer Assistant | Customer Sales Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | Bachelor's Degree, 41% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer assistants' and customer sales associates' demographics:
| Customer Assistant | Customer Sales Associate | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 43.3% Female, 56.7% | Male, 50.6% Female, 49.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 7.2% White, 53.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 20.5% Asian, 7.0% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |