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The differences between customer service leaders and senior customer service specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a customer service leader, becoming a senior customer service specialist takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a senior customer service specialist has an average salary of $35,466, which is higher than the $33,791 average annual salary of a customer service leader.
The top three skills for a customer service leader include POS, sales floor and store management. The most important skills for a senior customer service specialist are client facing, customer support, and inbound calls.
| Customer Service Leader | Senior Customer Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,791 | $35,466 |
| Hourly rate | $16.25 | $17.05 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 301,338 | 219,308 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
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.
Senior Customer Service Specialists perform directly around customers in a company. They are typically needed to answer customers' requests, respond to an inquiry, and resolve issues and complaints. Their duties may include data entry, file keeping, and general paperwork. Also, they supervise some representatives, monitor their progress, and serve as their mentors. Candidates for the position must have strong communication skills, analytical, and computer savvy. Additionally, they must possess relevant experience as a junior customer service representative and have excellent leadership skills.
Customer service leaders and senior customer service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Leader | Senior Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,791 | $35,466 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $41,000 | Between $29,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Tacoma, WA | - |
| Highest paying state | Washington | - |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | - |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | - |
There are a few differences between a customer service leader and a senior customer service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Leader | Senior Customer Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 39% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | - |
Here are the differences between customer service leaders' and senior customer service specialists' demographics:
| Customer Service Leader | Senior Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.9% Female, 67.1% | Male, 30.7% Female, 69.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.8% Asian, 7.6% White, 55.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 7% |