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The differences between customer representatives and 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 representative and a service representative. Additionally, a customer representative has an average salary of $37,351, which is higher than the $33,692 average annual salary of a service representative.
The top three skills for a customer representative include phone calls, windows and technical support. The most important skills for a service representative are customer service, client service, and patients.
| Customer Representative | Service Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $37,351 | $33,692 |
| Hourly rate | $17.96 | $16.20 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 220,778 | 210,671 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| 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.
Service representatives handle customer inquiries, requests, complaints, and other general feedback. They are usually the first point of contact with the company's customers. Service representatives are expected to be familiar with all of the company's products so that they can answer all inquiries made by the customers. They should also be familiar with company policies and guidelines on sales and customer handling so that they can address concerns and feedback. They are usually the ones who try to resolve customer complaints by sending issues to applicable departments and ensuring that customers are satisfied with the company's products and services.
Customer representatives and service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Representative | Service Representative | |
| Average salary | $37,351 | $33,692 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $55,000 | Between $24,000 And $45,000 |
| Highest paying City | Urban Honolulu, HI | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New York |
| Best paying company | IBM | Northern Trust |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Government |
There are a few differences between a customer representative and a service representative in terms of educational background:
| Customer Representative | Service 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 service representatives' demographics:
| Customer Representative | Service Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.7% Female, 63.3% | Male, 39.6% Female, 60.4% |
| 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, 11.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |