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The differences between lead customer service representatives and customer 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 lead customer service representative and a customer service specialist. Additionally, a lead customer service representative has an average salary of $36,097, which is higher than the $33,238 average annual salary of a customer service specialist.
The top three skills for a lead customer service representative include cleanliness, cash handling and inventory control. The most important skills for a customer service specialist are customer service, strong customer service, and cleanliness.
| Lead Customer Service Representative | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $36,097 | $33,238 |
| Hourly rate | $17.35 | $15.98 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 192,052 | 223,323 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A lead customer service representative is responsible for managing a group of customer service staff to assist in daily operations and help with customer issues. Lead customer service representatives manage high-level customer complaints and provide immediate resolution and disputes. They implement strategies to ensure customer satisfaction, increase productivity, and achieve profitability goals. A lead customer service representative handles escalation and evaluates team member's performance. A lead customer service representative must have excellent communication and leadership skills to supervise the team and support the business' improvement plans.
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.
Lead customer service representatives and customer service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Customer Service Representative | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $36,097 | $33,238 |
| Salary range | Between $22,000 And $58,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Goldsboro, NC | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | IBM | Dell |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a lead customer service representative and a customer service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Lead Customer Service Representative | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between lead customer service representatives' and customer service specialists' demographics:
| Lead Customer Service Representative | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 32.1% Female, 67.9% | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 6.3% White, 54.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |