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The differences between customer service specialists and customer relations specialists 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 specialist and a customer relations specialist. Additionally, a customer relations specialist has an average salary of $37,827, which is higher than the $33,238 average annual salary of a customer service specialist.
The top three skills for a customer service specialist include customer service, strong customer service and cleanliness. The most important skills for a customer relations specialist are customer relations, data entry, and work ethic.
| Customer Service Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,238 | $37,827 |
| Hourly rate | $15.98 | $18.19 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 223,323 | 215,862 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Customer service specialists are employees who are responsible for providing the best customer experience to customers, usually for after-sales transactions. They attend to customers' inquiries and provide answers to their questions on products or services that the company offers. They also address customer complaints and help mitigate the concerns by offering solutions such as instructions on how to fix defects, or processing replacements or refunds. Customer service specialists also listen to customer feedback and ensure that these are logged properly so that proper departments will be able to receive them.
A customer relations specialist is responsible for providing high-quality services for customers by responding to their inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints about the company's goods and services. Customer relations specialists update customer accounts on the database, recording their transactions accurately, and posting their payments timely. They may also sell new products and services to the clients, demonstrating features and usability, processing orders, and confirming delivery details. A customer relations specialist must have excellent communication and organizational skills to ensure customer satisfaction and maintain healthy business relationships with the customers.
Customer service specialists and customer relations specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,238 | $37,827 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $42,000 | Between $27,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Columbia, MD |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Dell | Deloitte |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a customer service specialist and a customer relations specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer service specialists' and customer relations specialists' demographics:
| Customer Service Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% | Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.0% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.7% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |