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The differences between customer specialists and customer service-call center managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a customer specialist, becoming a customer service-call center manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a customer specialist has an average salary of $38,371, which is higher than the $33,476 average annual salary of a customer service-call center manager.
The top three skills for a customer specialist include customer transactions, client facing and phone calls. The most important skills for a customer service-call center manager are inbound calls, data entry, and customer care.
| Customer Specialist | Customer Service-Call Center Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $38,371 | $33,476 |
| Hourly rate | $18.45 | $16.09 |
| Growth rate | -4% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 202,965 | 189,413 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | High School Diploma, 31% |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 6 |
A customer specialist is responsible for assisting customers with their needs and concerns about the products and services offered by the company, addressing their inquiries timely and accurately. Customer specialists evaluate the customers' issues and provide immediate solutions through remote communication. In some cases, a customer specialist may send technical staff to the customer's location for problems that cannot be resolved over the phone or e-mail. They also take orders from the customers, process their payments, and explain the features and functions of the product.
A customer service/call center manager is responsible for monitoring the operations of a call center department, ensuring that the team members provide excellent customer service to the clients by responding quickly to their inquiries and concerns and providing immediate resolutions for complaints. Customer service/call center managers keep track of the staff's performance, analyzing metrics, and developing strategies to maximize productivity. They also assist the representatives in handling difficult calls and escalated complaints, authorizing refunds, and replacing products as needed. To perform these tasks, a customer service/call center manager must have excellent leadership and communication skills.
Customer specialists and customer service-call center managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Specialist | Customer Service-Call Center Manager | |
| Average salary | $38,371 | $33,476 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $66,000 | Between $27,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Wallingford, CT |
| Highest paying state | New York | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | AbbVie | CENTER FOR SIGHT |
| Best paying industry | - | Telecommunication |
There are a few differences between a customer specialist and a customer service-call center manager in terms of educational background:
| Customer Specialist | Customer Service-Call Center Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 54% | High School Diploma, 31% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between customer specialists' and customer service-call center managers' demographics:
| Customer Specialist | Customer Service-Call Center Manager | |
| Average age | 40 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.5% Female, 57.5% | Male, 29.3% Female, 70.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 7.5% White, 55.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 10% |