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The differences between retention specialists 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 retention specialist and a customer service specialist. Additionally, a retention specialist has an average salary of $37,175, which is higher than the $33,238 average annual salary of a customer service specialist.
The top three skills for a retention specialist include customer service, outbound calls and powerpoint. The most important skills for a customer service specialist are customer service, strong customer service, and cleanliness.
| Retention Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $37,175 | $33,238 |
| Hourly rate | $17.87 | $15.98 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 199,631 | 223,323 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A retention specialist is responsible for devising strategies to maintain a healthy relationship with clients. They are primarily in charge of negotiating and securing contract renewals, handling issues and corrective measures for customer satisfaction, utilizing feedback to improve services, and maintaining a healthy rapport to strengthen the client base. Furthermore, as a retention specialist, it is essential to perform calls and correspondence, keep records of all transactions, and coordinate with work-staff.
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.
Retention specialists and customer service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Retention Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $37,175 | $33,238 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $48,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Adobe | Dell |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a retention specialist and a customer service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Retention Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between retention specialists' and customer service specialists' demographics:
| Retention Specialist | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.0% Female, 63.0% | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 6.0% White, 55.9% 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% |