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The differences between customer representatives and customer relations 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 representative and a customer relations representative. Additionally, a customer relations representative has an average salary of $38,632, which is higher than the $37,351 average annual salary of a customer representative.
The top three skills for a customer representative include phone calls, windows and technical support. The most important skills for a customer relations representative are customer relations, customer complaints, and team-oriented environment.
| Customer Representative | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $37,351 | $38,632 |
| Hourly rate | $17.96 | $18.57 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 220,778 | 235,295 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A customer service representative is an individual person who establishes communication between customers and the organization by answering questions, resolve complaints, and address emergency issues about the products and services he/she sells. He/She must possess an approachable personality, a passion for customer service, and work with his/her fellow workmates. The minimum educational requirement for a customer service representative is a high school diploma; however, a candidate must complete on-the-job training. A Customer Service Representative should also possess excellent communication and problem-solving skills.
A customer relations representative is responsible for providing the highest customer service by interacting with customers to respond to their inquiries and concerns, process their requests, and resolve their complaints. Customer relations representatives assist the customers with their needs by offering products and services according to their requirements and budget limitations. They may also sell newly launched products to the customers, discuss features and usability, and generate payments and delivery details. A customer relations representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills to maintain healthy business relationships with the customers to achieve the company's long-term goals and objectives.
Customer representatives and customer relations representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Representative | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Average salary | $37,351 | $38,632 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $55,000 | Between $29,000 And $50,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | IBM | Cook Children's Medical Center |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer representative and a customer relations representative in terms of educational background:
| Customer Representative | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer representatives' and customer relations representatives' demographics:
| Customer Representative | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3% | Male, 29.8% Female, 70.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 22.8% Asian, 7.4% White, 52.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |