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The differences between customer service representatives and customer relations 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 representative and a customer relations representative. Additionally, a customer relations representative has an average salary of $38,632, 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 a customer relations representative are customer relations, customer complaints, and team-oriented environment.
| Customer Service Representative | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $32,260 | $38,632 |
| Hourly rate | $15.51 | $18.57 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 209,515 | 235,295 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 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.
A customer relations representative is responsible for providing the highest customer service by interacting with customers to respond to their inquiries and concerns, process their requests, and resolve their complaints. Customer relations representatives assist the customers with their needs by offering products and services according to their requirements and budget limitations. They may also sell newly launched products to the customers, discuss features and usability, and generate payments and delivery details. A customer relations representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills to maintain healthy business relationships with the customers to achieve the company's long-term goals and objectives.
Customer service representatives and customer relations representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Representative | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Average salary | $32,260 | $38,632 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $41,000 | Between $29,000 And $50,000 |
| Highest paying City | Des Moines, WA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Oracle | Cook Children's Medical Center |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer service representative and a customer relations representative in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Representative | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer service representatives' and customer relations representatives' demographics:
| Customer Service Representative | Customer Relations Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% | Male, 29.8% Female, 70.2% |
| 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, 11.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.3% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |