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The differences between service advisors 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 service advisor and a customer service specialist. Additionally, a service advisor has an average salary of $46,308, which is higher than the $33,238 average annual salary of a customer service specialist.
The top three skills for a service advisor include customer service, product knowledge and basic math. The most important skills for a customer service specialist are customer service, strong customer service, and cleanliness.
| Service Advisor | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $46,308 | $33,238 |
| Hourly rate | $22.26 | $15.98 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 222,424 | 223,323 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 33% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Service Advisors specialize in customer service in a car dealership or automotive shop. Acting as a front-desk representative, it is the Service Advisor's responsibility to greet clients and offer assistance, provide necessary and accurate information to customers regarding the automotive issues and needed repairs, respond to inquiries, and introduce the clients to the available mechanics. Moreover, Service Advisors must inform clients regarding the costs and warranties, keep the clients updated with the status of the repairs, coordinate with suppliers, and as well as manage the schedule of the mechanics.
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.
Service advisors and customer service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Advisor | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $46,308 | $33,238 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $79,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | BP America Inc | Dell |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a service advisor and a customer service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Service Advisor | 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 service advisors' and customer service specialists' demographics:
| Service Advisor | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6% | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.1% White, 56.0% 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% |