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The differences between customer service representatives and associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an associate has an average salary of $69,556, which is higher than the $32,260 average annual salary of a customer service representative.
The top three skills for a customer service representative include cleanliness, POS and data entry. The most important skills for an associate are customer service, sales floor, and patients.
| Customer Service Representative | Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $32,260 | $69,556 |
| Hourly rate | $15.51 | $33.44 |
| Growth rate | -4% | - |
| Number of jobs | 209,515 | 569,041 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 12 | - |
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.
Associates are typically entry-level positions for employees who are taking on their first job or organizational role. They are assigned to teams or departments that are related to their skills or educational background. They usually start with smaller tasks that may not seem as impactful but are still essential to the department. Associates are trained by more tenured team members on the ins and outs of the department and the organization. As they grow with the organization, they are given more responsibilities that directly impact the results of the department's initiatives as they work towards their goals.
Customer service representatives and associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Representative | Associate | |
| Average salary | $32,260 | $69,556 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $41,000 | Between $34,000 And $140,000 |
| Highest paying City | Des Moines, WA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New York |
| Best paying company | Oracle | Simpson Thacher & Bartlett |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | - |
There are a few differences between a customer service representative and an associate in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Representative | Associate | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer service representatives' and associates' demographics:
| Customer Service Representative | Associate | |
| Average age | 40 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% | Male, 50.4% Female, 49.6% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.3% Asian, 8.3% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |