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The differences between sales associate and customer services 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 sales associate and customer service and a customer service specialist. Additionally, a customer service specialist has an average salary of $33,238, which is higher than the $28,654 average annual salary of a sales associate and customer service.
The top three skills for a sales associate and customer service include customer service, plumbing and sales associates. The most important skills for a customer service specialist are customer service, strong customer service, and cleanliness.
| Sales Associate And Customer Service | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $28,654 | $33,238 |
| Hourly rate | $13.78 | $15.98 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 298,588 | 223,323 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Sales and customer service associates are employees who are responsible for closing out sales deals and attending to customer needs. They are in charge of selling company goods and services to potential clients, often citing the common needs of prospective clients to ensure sales. They also handle customer inquiries and complaints and try their best to mitigate any problems that would arise. They are expected to be experts on company products to ensure that they can provide the best service to customers. Sales and customer service associates should have strong interpersonal skills, customer service skills, and communication skills.
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.
Sales associate and customer services and customer service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Associate And Customer Service | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $28,654 | $33,238 |
| Salary range | Between $21,000 And $38,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bellevue, WA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | GEICO | Dell |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between a sales associate and customer service and a customer service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Sales Associate And Customer Service | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 34% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between sales associate and customer services' and customer service specialists' demographics:
| Sales Associate And Customer Service | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2% | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 22.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 54.5% 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% |