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The differences between customer support 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 support specialist and a customer relations specialist. Additionally, a customer support specialist has an average salary of $39,470, which is higher than the $37,827 average annual salary of a customer relations specialist.
The top three skills for a customer support specialist include customer support, phone calls and compassion. The most important skills for a customer relations specialist are customer relations, data entry, and work ethic.
| Customer Support Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $39,470 | $37,827 |
| Hourly rate | $18.98 | $18.19 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 259,592 | 215,862 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A customer support specialist is responsible for assisting a customer's inquiries and concerns regarding the goods and services the organization offers. Customer support specialists handle customer issues and resolve them promptly, escalating high-level complaints to the immediate supervisors. A support specialist will also replace products or process payment refunds as needed. Their goal is to maintain the highest customer satisfaction and keep a good reputation for the company while driving revenues and increasing profitability. A customer support specialist must have outstanding communication skills, as well as the ability to multi-task to record customer complaint cases while providing resolution.
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 support specialists and customer relations specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average salary | $39,470 | $37,827 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $55,000 | Between $27,000 And $52,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Columbia, MD |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Micron Technology | Deloitte |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a customer support specialist and a customer relations specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer support specialists' and customer relations specialists' demographics:
| Customer Support Specialist | Customer Relations Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6% | Male, 31.8% Female, 68.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 19.9% Asian, 7.2% White, 55.4% 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% |