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The differences between service operators 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 service operator, becoming a customer service representative takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a service operator has an average salary of $36,971, which is higher than the $32,260 average annual salary of a customer service representative.
The top three skills for a service operator include customer service, food handling and emergency calls. The most important skills for a customer service representative are cleanliness, POS, and data entry.
| Service Operator | Customer Service Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $36,971 | $32,260 |
| Hourly rate | $17.77 | $15.51 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 87,078 | 209,515 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Average age | 53 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 12 |
A service operator is responsible for providing the best customer service by responding to the callers' inquiries and concerns, depending on which business they are employed. Service operators process callers' requests by directing them to specific resources or coordinate with the appropriate person to resolve callers' issues. They also keep an organized record of resolutions for the business reference, as well as for immediate callbacks as needed. A service operator must have excellent knowledge of the industry they are working for, as well as impeccable communication skills to verify and address the callers' needs.
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.
Service operators and customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Operator | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average salary | $36,971 | $32,260 |
| Salary range | Between $19,000 And $71,000 | Between $25,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | Mountain View, CA | Des Moines, WA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | Oracle | |
| Best paying industry | - | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a service operator and a customer service representative in terms of educational background:
| Service Operator | Customer Service Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 34% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between service operators' and customer service representatives' demographics:
| Service Operator | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average age | 53 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.1% Female, 49.9% | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 14.2% Unknown, 3.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 3.5% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.2% | 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 | 19% | 7% |