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The differences between customer service specialists and service 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 service specialist. Additionally, a service specialist has an average salary of $44,150, 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 service specialist are patients, social work, and criminal justice.
| Customer Service Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,238 | $44,150 |
| Hourly rate | $15.98 | $21.23 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 223,323 | 207,020 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| 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 service specialist is responsible for assisting customers with their inquiries and concerns about the services offered by the organization. Service specialists' duties include responding to customers' requests, updating customers of promotional offers and new services, escalating high-level concerns to the appropriate department, and keeping accurate records of clients' issues and resolutions. Service specialists are also in charge of preparing customer surveys to rate their satisfaction and identifying opportunities for service improvement. A service specialist must display excellent customer service and communication skills to address clients' concerns efficiently and accurately.
Customer service specialists and service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Service Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,238 | $44,150 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $42,000 | Between $27,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Dell | Ropes & Gray |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a customer service specialist and a service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Service Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer service specialists' and service specialists' demographics:
| Customer Service Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% | Male, 40.1% Female, 59.9% |
| 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, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 54.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |