Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between customer relations associates and lead customer service representatives 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 relations associate and a lead customer service representative. Additionally, a lead customer service representative has an average salary of $36,097, 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 lead customer service representative are cleanliness, cash handling, and inventory control.
| Customer Relations Associate | Lead Customer Service Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $35,656 | $36,097 |
| Hourly rate | $17.14 | $17.35 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 187,813 | 192,052 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
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 lead customer service representative is responsible for managing a group of customer service staff to assist in daily operations and help with customer issues. Lead customer service representatives manage high-level customer complaints and provide immediate resolution and disputes. They implement strategies to ensure customer satisfaction, increase productivity, and achieve profitability goals. A lead customer service representative handles escalation and evaluates team member's performance. A lead customer service representative must have excellent communication and leadership skills to supervise the team and support the business' improvement plans.
Customer relations associates and lead customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Relations Associate | Lead Customer Service Representative | |
| Average salary | $35,656 | $36,097 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $47,000 | Between $22,000 And $58,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Goldsboro, NC |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | IBM |
| Best paying industry | - | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a customer relations associate and a lead customer service representative in terms of educational background:
| Customer Relations Associate | Lead Customer Service Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer relations associates' and lead customer service representatives' demographics:
| Customer Relations Associate | Lead Customer Service Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6% | Male, 32.1% Female, 67.9% |
| 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, 11.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 6.3% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |