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The differences between customer support 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 support specialist and a service specialist. Additionally, a service specialist has an average salary of $44,150, which is higher than the $39,470 average annual salary of a customer support specialist.
The top three skills for a customer support specialist include customer support, phone calls and compassion. The most important skills for a service specialist are patients, social work, and criminal justice.
| Customer Support Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $39,470 | $44,150 |
| Hourly rate | $18.98 | $21.23 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 259,592 | 207,020 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| 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 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 support specialists and service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Customer Support Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $39,470 | $44,150 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $55,000 | Between $27,000 And $71,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Micron Technology | Ropes & Gray |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a customer support specialist and a service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Customer Support Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 53% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between customer support specialists' and service specialists' demographics:
| Customer Support Specialist | Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.4% Female, 62.6% | Male, 40.1% Female, 59.9% |
| 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, 11.2% 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% |