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The differences between customer relations associates and customer service supervisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a customer relations associate, becoming a customer service supervisor takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a customer service supervisor has an average salary of $38,792, which is higher than the $35,656 average annual salary of a customer relations associate.
The top three skills for a customer relations associate include customer relations, processing orders and problem resolution. The most important skills for a customer service supervisor are strong customer service, customer care, and customer support.
| Customer Relations Associate | Customer Service Supervisor | |
| Yearly salary | $35,656 | $38,792 |
| Hourly rate | $17.14 | $18.65 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 187,813 | 233,004 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 6 |
A Customer Relations Associate is primarily in charge of assisting clients by answering inquiries, troubleshooting problems, and promptly and efficiently resolving issues to ensure client satisfaction. They typically communicate with clients through calls, correspondence, or even through appointments. There are also instances where they may refer them to other specialists, offer products and services, discuss product specifications, arrange payment plans, and negotiate contracts, building positive relationships along the way. Moreover, a customer relations associate maintains records of all transactions, reporting to managers regularly.
A customer service supervisor is responsible for directing the staff in providing the best services to the customers. Customer service supervisors' duties include evaluating the performance of the service staff, implementing strategic procedures to improve operations, developing promotional offers and products to increase the business' revenues, keeping documents of operation records, and assisting with customer's inquiries and complaints. A customer service supervisor must have exceptional leadership and decision-making skills to lead the service staff with daily operations.
Customer relations associates and customer service supervisors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Relations Associate | Customer Service Supervisor | |
| Average salary | $35,656 | $38,792 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $47,000 | Between $27,000 And $53,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | Maryland |
| Best paying company | - | Schneider Electric Industrial Services |
| Best paying industry | - | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer relations associate and a customer service supervisor in terms of educational background:
| Customer Relations Associate | Customer Service Supervisor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between customer relations associates' and customer service supervisors' demographics:
| Customer Relations Associate | Customer Service Supervisor | |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6% | Male, 34.9% Female, 65.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 7.8% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.0% Asian, 5.3% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 8% |