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Customer Service Representative What They Do

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What They Do

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What Does A Customer Service Representative Do?

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.

Here are the duties and responsibilities that customer service representatives across different industries are likely to perform in their roles.

  • Answer calls of customer who want there comcast services back on such as cable, internet, phone.
  • Assure that safety and security measures are adhere to as set forth by the FAA, TSA, and CBP.
  • Work in customer service department entering information into customer relationship management (CRM).
  • Polish, professional customer service rep offering customer support in busy inbound/outbound call center environment for medicare and AARP.
  • Perform customer service duties in a professional and courteous manner assisting customers with arrival/departure information, check-in and bag claims.
  • Work with Linux and windows base systems.
  • Facilitate and deliver effective product and system training to incoming TSR's.
  • Book appointments for workers to come to the customers' homes to place fencing, windows, and roofing
  • Act as a product expert by promoting, recommending, and selling the value of Comcast's products and services.
  • Show excellent flexibility when having to change schedules from day to day while administering upgrade training to season CCR's.
Customer Service Representative Traits
Computer skills
Computer skills involves understanding how to operate a computer, as well as computer programs and applications.
Communication skills
Communication skills shows that you are able to relay your thoughts, opinions and ideas clearly to those around you.
Listening skills
Listening is an important part of the communication process as it allows you to understand information.

Customer Service Representative Overview

Compared to other jobs, customer service representatives have a growth rate described as "decline" at -2% between the years of 2018 - 2028 according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In fact, the number of customer service representative opportunities that are predicted to open up by 2028 is -51,600.

On average, customer service representatives earn $28,827 per year, which translates to $13.86 an hour. Generally speaking, customer service representatives earn anywhere from $22,000 to $36,000 a year, which means that the top-earning customer service representatives make a whopping $14,000 more than the ones at the lower end of the spectrum.

Let's say you're interested in learning about careers that are similar to customer service representatives just so you can understand the differences in skills, salaries and education. Well, you've come to the right place. We've compiled information regarding all of that for becoming a customer agent, client representative, customer service advisor, and call center representative. The information on how these careers compare to the job description of a customer service representative will come later.

Customer Service Representative Resume Examples

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Customer Service Representative Skills and Personality Traits

We calculated that 15% of Customer Service Representatives are proficient in Communication, Customer Service, and Sales Floor. They’re also known for soft skills such as Computer skills, Communication skills, and Listening skills.

We break down the percentage of Customer Service Representatives that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Communication, 15%

    Revised international communication emails and improved readability.

  • Customer Service, 7%

    Worked as a Customer Service Representative for Rogers Canada handling customer phone enquirers related to Rogers wireless products and services.

  • Sales Floor, 5%

    Replenished and relocated store products on the sales floor and ensured stockroom kept organized following proper procedures including inventory.

  • POS, 5%

    Examined customer account to answer product and service questions, anticipating customer needs, proposing recommendations, when necessary.

  • Data Entry, 4%

    Demonstrated proficiency in managing patient insurance eligibility, verifying co pays and levels of coverage and data entry and billing.

  • CSR, 4%

    Developed and implemented cause marketing and corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives through both traditional marketing communications and social media.

Communication, customer service, and sales floor aren't the only skills customer service representatives have. In fact, there's a whole list of personality traits that are commonly seen among them, including:

  • The most important (and we mean most important) skill for a customer service representative to have in this position is this: computer skills. Customer service representatives must be adept at using computers. Computer skills can be used by a customer service representative in order to provided superior customer care service while maintaining company objectives, researched and updated computerized accounts.

  • Yet, another important trait for a is communication skills. Customer service representatives must be able to provide clear information in writing, by phone, or in person. Here's an example of how customer service representatives are able to utilize communication skills: "utilized effective communication skills; provided personalized customer care, resulting in service excellence and retention of quest customers."

  • Customer service representatives are also known for listening skills, which can be critical when it comes to performing their duties. Representatives must listen carefully to ensure that they understand customers in order to assist them. An example of how this skill is put to the test is, "communicated effectively with customers to provide for continuity of customer care."

  • It's essential that a customer service representative have interpersonal skills. Representatives should be able to create positive interactions with customers. Interpersonal skills is extremely important for customer service representatives to have. As an example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies: "used product knowledge and strong interpersonal skills to successfully perform sales duties."

  • Here's a big one: a customer service representative must demonstrate patience. Representatives should be patient and polite, especially when interacting with dissatisfied customers. An example of this is shown by a customer service representative who stated that they "verified insurance information and medicaid status ( with patience and empathy; explained co- payments responsibilities)"

  • While problem-solving skills is listed last, don't underestimate its importance. Representatives must determine solutions to customers’ problems Here's an example of how this is utilized: "resolved with precision customer care issues that was related to account information up/down grade on products."

    • See the full list of customer service representative skills.

    In order to accomplish your goal of becoming a customer service representative, we've found that over half, 24.9% to be exact, of customer service representatives have a bachelor's degree. The good news is that it doesn't seem like more schooling than that is necessary with only 2.9% having master's degrees. While it's true that some customer service representatives have a college degree, it's generally possible to become one with only a high school degree. In fact, one out of every three customer service representatives did not spend the extra money to attend college.

    Those customer service representatives who do attend college, typically earn either business degrees or health care administration degrees. Less commonly earned degrees for customer service representatives include medical assisting services degrees or criminal justice degrees.

    Once you've obtained the level of education you're comfortable with, you're prepared to start applying to become a customer service representative. We've found that typically customer service representatives are mostly employed at Domino's Pizza, Dollar Tree, and Speedway LLC. Of recent, Domino's Pizza had 10,139 positions open for customer service representatives. Meanwhile, there are 3,755 job openings at Dollar Tree and 3,002 at Speedway LLC.

    Since salary is super important to some, it's good to note that customer service representatives are figured to earn the highest salaries at Leidos, Medtronic, and The Home Depot. If you were to take a closer look at Leidos, you'd find that the average customer service representative salary is $59,157. Then, onto Medtronic, customer service representatives receive an average salary of $50,567, while the salary at The Home Depot is $49,955. Now, we need to figure out how difficult it will be to earn a spot with these companies. Currently, Leidos has 1 jobs listed for customer service representatives. Additionally, Medtronic and The Home Depot only have 2 and 8 job openings.

    View more details on customer service representative salaries across the United States.

    The most distinguished customer service representatives are known to work for Verizon, Convergys, and AT&T. In order to figure this out, we assessed which schools customer service representatives earned their degrees, and then looked into the companies that hired customer service representatives from the top 100 U.S. educational institutions.

    In general, customer service representatives fulfill roles in the retail and finance industries. While employment numbers are high in those industries, the salaries for customer service representatives are the highest in the retail industry with $34,852 as the average salary. Meanwhile, the manufacturing and telecommunication industries only pay $29,235 and $28,635 respectively. This means that customer service representatives who are employed in the retail industry make a whopping 32.5% more than customer service representatives who work in the professional Industry.

    The three companies that hire the most prestigious customer service representatives are:

      What Customer Agents Do

      A customer agent provides friendly service to external and internal customers. Customer agents talk to customers on behalf of businesses and companies. They help customers with their queries and complaints. It is their job to give customers a better understanding of the products. They answer questions with regards to their reservations. Sometimes, they also have sales roles. Oftentimes, they answer questions, process sales, provide information, and resolve problems.

      Up to bat, or first to compare, is customer agent. Looking at the salary aspect, customer agents earn a $2,137 higher salary than customer service representatives annually.

      While their salaries may differ, one common ground between customer service representatives and customer agents are their skills. In both careers, employees bring forth skills such as communication, customer service, and data entry.

      As far as similarities go, this is where it ends because a customer service representative also must be experienced in skills such as sales floor, pos, csr, and process orders. Whereas a customer agent is skilled in email, multiple systems, us customs, and troubleshoot. So if you're looking for what truly separates the two careers, you've found it.

      Customer agents receive the highest salaries in the technology industry coming in with an average yearly salary of $32,948. But customer service representatives are paid more in the retail industry with an average salary of $34,852. The differences don't stop there. Next stop, education.

      The education of customer agents is a bit different than the education of customer service representatives in that they tend to reach similar levels of education. Customer agents are 3.4% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than a customer service representative. Additionally, they're 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

      What Are The Duties Of a Client Representative?

      Client Representatives are professionals who work on behalf of their clients. They coordinate with external parties with which their clients are involved. They represent their clients during meetings and appointments when their clients are not available. Client Representatives should have a background related to the business that their clients are involved in. This would help them catch up with conversations. They are expected to act as if they are the client themselves. They must act within the client's best interest at all times. As such, they should be familiar with their clients' interests and needs.

      Now we'll compare client representatives, which averages a higher salary of $19,096 higher than customer service representatives a year.

      While the salary may be different for these job positions, there is one similarity and that's the skills they need. Both customer service representatives and client representatives are known to have skills such as communication, customer service, and data entry.

      In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences that are worth noting. For example, a customer service representative is more likely to have skills in sales floor, pos, csr, and process orders, while a typical client representative is skilled in areas such as client accounts, external clients, high volume, and client relationships. These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

      While we already know that client representatives earn higher, we took a step further to see what industry these workers typically make the most. Interestingly, client representatives earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $69,342. Whereas, customer service representatives have higher paychecks in the retail industry where they earn an average of $34,852.

      So you need to know how much education you're going to need. As it turns out client representatives study at higher levels of education than customer service representatives. They're 8.7% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.2% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

      How a Customer Service Advisor Compares

      A customer service advisor is responsible for providing the best customer service by responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns regarding the goods and services offered by the organization. Customer service advisors assist customers with their needs by recommending product selection, offering new products and services, and informing the customers of promotional offers to generate revenues and increase profitability. They also resolve customers' issues, escalating high-level complaints to a customer service lead or supervisor for immediate resolution.

      Coming in at the third comparison is customer service advisors. On an average scale, these workers bring in higher dough than customer service representatives with a higher pay of $2,133 per year.

      Both customer service representatives and customer service advisors utilize similar skills, such as communication, customer service, and sales floor, but beyond that the careers look very different.

      As mentioned, these two careers differ between other skills that are required for performing the work exceedingly well. For starters, customer service representatives are more likely to have skills like data entry, csr, process orders, and rep. But a customer service advisor will probably be skilled in manufacturer recommendations, oil changes, automotive services, and csa. This shows just how different these careers can be.

      Interestingly, customer service advisors earn the most pay in the manufacturing industry, where they command an average salary of $31,916. As mentioned previously, customer service representatives rake in the most money in the retail industry with an average salary of $$34,852.

      When it comes down to education, customer service advisors tend to reach similar levels than customer service representatives. Especially since they're 1.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

      Description Of a Call Center Representative

      Call center representatives are employees who take customer calls in the company's contact center. They answer incoming calls related to their account. Call center representatives are trained on the company's products, policies, and guidelines. They are expected to know the ins and outs of every company product under their account before they are assigned to the operations floor. Once they are deemed efficient enough to handle calls, they begin to take customer inquiries and try to resolve them during the call. Call center representatives are expected to follow company policies and procedures and to meet the goals set by the company.

      Last, but not least, are the call center representatives who typically earn lower pay than customer service representatives, with a difference of $1,076 per year.

      Both professions of customer service representatives and call center representatives use skills such as communication, customer service, and data entry within their day-to-day roles.

      Even though their skill sets overlap, there are some key differences that are important to note. For one, a customer service representative tends to have more use for skills like sales floor, pos, csr, and process orders. Meanwhile, a typical call center representative makes use out of skills like troubleshoot, quality standards, available resources, and customer product complaints. The difference in skills between the two professions really shows how different the two are.

      In general, call center representatives make a higher salary in the health care industry with an average of $42,750.

      On the topic of education, the two careers have some notable differences. Call center representatives reach similar levels of education than customer service representatives with the likelihood of them earning a Master's Degree being 0.5% less. Plus, they're 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

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      Updated October 2, 2020