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The differences between service center 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 service center representative and a customer service specialist. Additionally, a service center representative has an average salary of $33,420, which is higher than the $33,238 average annual salary of a customer service specialist.
The top three skills for a service center representative include patients, HR and customer calls. The most important skills for a customer service specialist are customer service, strong customer service, and cleanliness.
| Service Center Representative | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $33,420 | $33,238 |
| Hourly rate | $16.07 | $15.98 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 196,101 | 223,323 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
A service center representative is responsible for providing the highest customer satisfaction by responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints. Service center representatives may also sell products and services to the customers according to their needs and specifications. They also handle orders and payments, process replacements, and issue refunds as necessary. A service center representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in utilizing various computer applications to log customer information and create resolution reports for reference.
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 center representatives and customer service specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Center Representative | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average salary | $33,420 | $33,238 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $41,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | Alameda, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | California | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Cisco | Dell |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a service center representative and a customer service specialist in terms of educational background:
| Service Center Representative | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 56% | Bachelor's Degree, 43% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between service center representatives' and customer service specialists' demographics:
| Service Center Representative | Customer Service Specialist | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4% | Male, 32.0% Female, 68.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.1% Asian, 6.5% White, 56.7% 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% |