Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between customer service associates and customer service retail associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a customer service associate has an average salary of $31,709, which is higher than the $30,002 average annual salary of a customer service retail associate.
The top three skills for a customer service associate include patients, sales floor and plumbing. The most important skills for a customer service retail associate are POS, customer service, and customer orders.
| Customer Service Associate | Customer Service Retail Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $31,709 | $30,002 |
| Hourly rate | $15.24 | $14.42 |
| Growth rate | -4% | - |
| Number of jobs | 380,943 | 580,336 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 12 | - |
Customer service associates are representatives of the company who are responsible for solving customer concerns. They provide exceptional service to clients to ensure that their problems are solved and that the relationship between the client and the company remains strong. Customer service associates are in-charge of processing transactions, maintaining a good working relationship between the client and the company, ensuring that the client remains loyal to the company, and working on the requests of the client. Through all of this, customer service associates must keep any information they may encounter confidential. They should also have time management skills, problem-solving skills, and customer service skills.
A customer service retail associate is responsible for providing the highest customer service for the store's customers by responding to their inquiries and concerns and recommending them goods and services that would fit their needs. Customer service retail associates support the marketing campaigns and promotional strategies of the store by offering and demonstrating products to the customers, as well as arranging stock displays, and monitoring the adequacy of inventories. They also escalate high-level complaints to management for immediate resolution and assist with product replacement and issuing refunds as needed.
Customer service associates and customer service retail associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Associate | Customer Service Retail Associate | |
| Average salary | $31,709 | $30,002 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $40,000 | Between $23,000 And $37,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | Bellevue, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Fidelity Investments | Tractor Supply |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer service associate and a customer service retail associate in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Associate | Customer Service Retail Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 35% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer service associates' and customer service retail associates' demographics:
| Customer Service Associate | Customer Service Retail Associate | |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% | Male, 33.3% Female, 66.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 21.7% Asian, 6.5% White, 56.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |