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The differences between customer support associates and customer service associates 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 support associate and a customer service associate. Additionally, a customer support associate has an average salary of $34,878, which is higher than the $31,709 average annual salary of a customer service associate.
The top three skills for a customer support associate include data entry, strong customer service and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a customer service associate are patients, sales floor, and plumbing.
| Customer Support Associate | Customer Service Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $34,878 | $31,709 |
| Hourly rate | $16.77 | $15.24 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 242,521 | 380,943 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A customer support associate's responsibilities revolve around assisting walk-in customers by answering inquiries, offering recommendations, issuing refunds, addressing complaints, and resolving it promptly and professionally. They may also provide support to clients through calls and correspondence, offering them products or services when necessary. There are also instances when they must perform follow-up calls, troubleshoot problems, and arrange appointments. Furthermore, as a customer support associate, it is essential to interact with clients in a friendly and efficient manner, ensuring customer satisfaction and quality service.
Customer service associates are representatives of the company who are responsible for solving customer concerns. They provide exceptional service to clients to ensure that their problems are solved and that the relationship between the client and the company remains strong. Customer service associates are in-charge of processing transactions, maintaining a good working relationship between the client and the company, ensuring that the client remains loyal to the company, and working on the requests of the client. Through all of this, customer service associates must keep any information they may encounter confidential. They should also have time management skills, problem-solving skills, and customer service skills.
Customer support associates and customer service associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Associate | Customer Service Associate | |
| Average salary | $34,878 | $31,709 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $48,000 | Between $24,000 And $40,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Richmond, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Adobe | Fidelity Investments |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a customer support associate and a customer service associate in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Associate | Customer Service Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 35% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer support associates' and customer service associates' demographics:
| Customer Support Associate | Customer Service Associate | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9% | Male, 38.4% Female, 61.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 12.4% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 7.4% White, 52.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 19.5% Asian, 6.6% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |