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The differences between customer contact specialists and customer service specialists 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 contact specialist and a customer service specialist. Additionally, a customer contact specialist has an average salary of $35,056, which is higher than the $33,238 average annual salary of a customer service specialist.
The top three skills for a customer contact specialist include outbound calls, inbound calls and powerpoint. The most important skills for a customer service specialist are customer service, strong customer service, and cleanliness.
| Customer Contact Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $35,056 | $33,238 |
| Hourly rate | $16.85 | $15.98 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 205,402 | 223,323 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A Customer Contact Specialist interacts with customers in providing information in response to product and service inquiries. They manage and provide resolution to client complaints. They respond to customer queries accurately and in time through email or phone. Part of their responsibilities is to develop corporate reputation thru excellent customer service. Customer Contact Specialist also coordinates front-desk activities like redirecting phone calls.
Customer service specialists are employees who are responsible for providing the best customer experience to customers, usually for after-sales transactions. They attend to customers' inquiries and provide answers to their questions on products or services that the company offers. They also address customer complaints and help mitigate the concerns by offering solutions such as instructions on how to fix defects, or processing replacements or refunds. Customer service specialists also listen to customer feedback and ensure that these are logged properly so that proper departments will be able to receive them.
Customer contact specialists and customer service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Contact Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $35,056 | $33,238 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $48,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Quincy, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Deloitte | Dell |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer contact specialist and a customer service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Contact Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 45% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer contact specialists' and customer service specialists' demographics:
| Customer Contact Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.0% Female, 65.0% | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.5% Asian, 6.5% White, 55.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |