Receptionist vs customer service representative

The differences between receptionists and customer service representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a receptionist, becoming a customer service representative takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a customer service representative has an average salary of $32,260, which is higher than the $30,571 average annual salary of a receptionist.

The top three skills for a receptionist include patients, phone calls and customer service. The most important skills for a customer service representative are cleanliness, POS, and data entry.

Receptionist vs customer service representative overview

	Receptionist	Customer Service Representative
Yearly salary	$30,571	$32,260
Hourly rate	$14.70	$15.51
Growth rate	-	-4%
Number of jobs	65,671	209,515
Job satisfaction	3	4
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 33%
Average age	42	40
Years of experience	2	12

What does a receptionist do?

Receptionists are employees assigned at the entrances or lobbies of offices. They welcome guests, check identification, issue visitor badges, attend to questions or inquiries, and direct guests to where they are supposed to go. They also receive general mail or packages, answer calls, and manage schedules. Receptionists perform various clerical or administrative functions as assigned by their supervisors. They should have good client relations skills.

What does a customer service representative do?

Customer service representatives are the first point of contact of the customers, acting as the frontiers of the company and help in driving customer loyalty and retention by leaving a great impression and resolving all of their concerns. They accommodate customer queries by providing useful and comprehensive information about any products or services. Some would use that as an opportunity to market and promote more sales. The most challenging issues they use to handle are customer complaints and processing of refunds and returns. They also assist in basic troubleshooting or accounts and payment setup with the use of specific guidelines or step by step procedures. At most, they help and solve customer issues on their own, but sometimes they would need support from supervisors or other departments.

Receptionist vs customer service representative salary

Receptionists and customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Receptionist	Customer Service Representative
Average salary	$30,571	$32,260
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $38,000	Between $25,000 And $41,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	Des Moines, WA
Highest paying state	Massachusetts	Washington
Best paying company	Gensler	Oracle
Best paying industry	Finance	Insurance

Differences between receptionist and customer service representative education

There are a few differences between a receptionist and a customer service representative in terms of educational background:

	Receptionist	Customer Service Representative
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 33%	High School Diploma, 33%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Receptionist vs customer service representative demographics

Here are the differences between receptionists' and customer service representatives' demographics:

	Receptionist	Customer Service Representative
Average age	42	40
Gender ratio	Male, 8.4% Female, 91.6%	Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 23.5% Asian, 6.1% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 21.2% Asian, 6.3% White, 55.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	7%

Differences between receptionist and customer service representative duties and responsibilities

Receptionist example responsibilities.

Manage invoicing with QuickBooks, taking customer calls and helping with any issues, parts and equipment delivery/pickup/ordering.
Manage multiple employee/resident databases utilizing an EMR system.
Verify insurance information and manage medical records while ensuring confidentiality according to HIPAA requirements.
Manage desk operations for the YMCA, organizing and documenting members' payments and collating operational documents
Assist office management and staff with administrative projects/responsibilities such as managing time-sensitive projects, filing, copying, and collating materials.
Bill patients for medical services provide by various doctors using ICD-9 and CPT-4 coding.

Customer service representative example responsibilities.

Manage and plan escalations; assure HIPPA guidelines are followed for confidentially and privacy.
Maintain cleanliness and safety and assist patients as necessary.
Operate POS system and maintain exceptional and consistent customer service.
Exercise proofreading and basic math skills to maintain quality control over documents process
Work in customer service department entering information into customer relationship management (CRM).
Develop highly empathetic client relationships and earn reputation for exceeding good customer service rep goals.

Receptionist vs customer service representative skills

Common receptionist skills

Patients, 17%
Phone Calls, 14%
Customer Service, 9%
Data Entry, 9%
Telephone Calls, 8%
Front Desk, 8%

Common customer service representative skills

Cleanliness, 10%
POS, 7%
Data Entry, 6%
Sales Floor, 6%
Customer Service, 5%
Home Health, 5%

Receptionist vs. similar jobs

Receptionist related careers

Receptionist related jobs

Receptionist jobs by location

Zippia Careers
Office and Administrative Industry
Receptionist
Receptionist vs Customer Service Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse office and administrative jobs