Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between customer service assistants and customer service leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a customer service assistant, becoming a customer service leader takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a customer service assistant has an average salary of $33,862, which is higher than the $33,791 average annual salary of a customer service leader.
The top three skills for a customer service assistant include front end, customer service and service calls. The most important skills for a customer service leader are POS, sales floor, and store management.
| Customer Service Assistant | Customer Service Leader | |
| Yearly salary | $33,862 | $33,791 |
| Hourly rate | $16.28 | $16.25 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 220,286 | 301,338 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 6 |
A Customer Service Assistant is responsible for providing customer support by responding to inquiries and correspondence or transferring them to a particular department when necessary. The duties of a Customer Service Assistant will vary according to an assigned setting. However, it mostly revolves around answering calls, providing troubleshooting options, helping a customer navigate systems or applications, and filling out details. Furthermore, there are instances when a Customer Service Assistant must fulfill orders, process payments or refunds, and even sell services or products. All efforts are focused on attaining customer satisfaction.
A customer service leader is responsible for managing a group of customer service staff to provide the best customer service for the company's clients, ensuring immediate action and resolution for all their inquiries and concerns. Customer service leaders regularly offer coaching opportunities for the team, identify their challenges, and provide strategic procedures to improve their interaction with the customers. They also help senior management search for business opportunities that would drive more revenue for the company and achieve profitability goals.
Customer service assistants and customer service leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Assistant | Customer Service Leader | |
| Average salary | $33,862 | $33,791 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $42,000 | Between $27,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Helena, MT | Tacoma, WA |
| Highest paying state | Montana | Washington |
| Best paying company | Fidelity Investments | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Government | Transportation |
There are a few differences between a customer service assistant and a customer service leader in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Assistant | Customer Service Leader | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 39% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | California State University - Bakersfield |
Here are the differences between customer service assistants' and customer service leaders' demographics:
| Customer Service Assistant | Customer Service Leader | |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.7% Female, 70.3% | Male, 32.9% Female, 67.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 22.8% Asian, 6.5% White, 52.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 8% |