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The differences between customer service agents and 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 a customer service representative. Additionally, a customer service representative has an average salary of $32,260, 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 service representative are cleanliness, POS, and data entry.
| Customer Service Agent | Customer Service Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $29,598 | $32,260 |
| Hourly rate | $14.23 | $15.51 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 219,115 | 209,515 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| 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.
Customer service representatives are the first point of contact of the customers, acting as the frontiers of the company and help in driving customer loyalty and retention by leaving a great impression and resolving all of their concerns. They accommodate customer queries by providing useful and comprehensive information about any products or services. Some would use that as an opportunity to market and promote more sales. The most challenging issues they use to handle are customer complaints and processing of refunds and returns. They also assist in basic troubleshooting or accounts and payment setup with the use of specific guidelines or step by step procedures. At most, they help and solve customer issues on their own, but sometimes they would need support from supervisors or other departments.
Customer service agents and customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Agent | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average salary | $29,598 | $32,260 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $37,000 | Between $25,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Des Moines, WA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Washington |
| Best paying company | Uline | Oracle |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a customer service agent and a customer service representative in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Agent | Customer Service Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer service agents' and customer service representatives' demographics:
| Customer Service Agent | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.5% Female, 64.5% | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% |
| 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, 11.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |