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The differences between customer service agents and customer care 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 a customer care representative. Additionally, a customer care representative has an average salary of $32,912, 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 a customer care representative are customer care, customer service, and work ethic.
| Customer Service Agent | Customer Care Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $29,598 | $32,912 |
| Hourly rate | $14.23 | $15.82 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 219,115 | 214,835 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 37% |
| 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.
A customer care representative is responsible for providing resolution with the customer's concerns, following the business' procedures and strategic processes. Customer care representatives must have exceptional customer service skills to address their clients' concerns efficiently and accurately, as well as having extensive knowledge of the products and services their company offer. Duties of a customer care representative also include managing client's complaints, offering alternative products and refunds as needed, calculating fees for special requests, updating customer's account information, documenting actions taken, and escalating special case concerns to the supervisor.
Customer service agents and customer care representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Agent | Customer Care Representative | |
| Average salary | $29,598 | $32,912 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $37,000 | Between $26,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Uline | Philadelphia Corporation for Aging |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a customer service agent and a customer care representative in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Agent | Customer Care Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 37% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer service agents' and customer care representatives' demographics:
| Customer Service Agent | Customer Care Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.5% Female, 64.5% | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% |
| 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, 11.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 6.5% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |