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The differences between customer service agents and associate 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 service agent and an associate customer service representative. Additionally, an associate customer service representative has an average salary of $35,215, which is higher than the $29,598 average annual salary of a customer service agent.
The top three skills for a customer service agent include check-in, reservations and inbound calls. The most important skills for an associate customer service representative are patients, outbound calls, and customer inquiries.
| Customer Service Agent | Associate Customer Service Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $29,598 | $35,215 |
| Hourly rate | $14.23 | $16.93 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 219,115 | 199,751 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Customer service agents are employees assigned to answer incoming calls to their company's service hotline. They are equipped with proper training on company products and policies so that they can assist customers. Agents answer customer's inquiries, guide them through steps that they may need to take, and take note of customer complaints. For unsatisfied customers, agents try their best to resolve the concerns or transfer the complaints to related departments. They also try to mitigate any problems that may arise. Customer service agents should be patient, and should also have good communication and problem-solving skills.
An associate customer service representative is responsible for providing high customer service by assisting customers on their inquiries and concerns, as well as resolving and escalating high-level complaints to the supervisor or tenured customer service representative. Associate customer service representatives also process orders and payments from the customers, replacing defective items, and issuing refunds as needed. They must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on handling data processing procedures to the database for reference to customer concerns.
Customer service agents and associate customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Agent | Associate Customer Service Representative | |
| Average salary | $29,598 | $35,215 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $37,000 | Between $26,000 And $46,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Uline | Deutsche Bank |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer service agent and an associate customer service representative in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Agent | Associate Customer Service Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer service agents' and associate customer service representatives' demographics:
| Customer Service Agent | Associate Customer Service Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.5% Female, 64.5% | Male, 35.1% Female, 64.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 54.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 21.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |