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The differences between service representatives and customer service representatives 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 representative and a customer service representative. Additionally, a service representative has an average salary of $33,692, which is higher than the $32,260 average annual salary of a customer service representative.
The top three skills for a service representative include customer service, client service and patients. The most important skills for a customer service representative are cleanliness, POS, and data entry.
| Service Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $33,692 | $32,260 |
| Hourly rate | $16.20 | $15.51 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 210,671 | 209,515 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 12 |
Service representatives handle customer inquiries, requests, complaints, and other general feedback. They are usually the first point of contact with the company's customers. Service representatives are expected to be familiar with all of the company's products so that they can answer all inquiries made by the customers. They should also be familiar with company policies and guidelines on sales and customer handling so that they can address concerns and feedback. They are usually the ones who try to resolve customer complaints by sending issues to applicable departments and ensuring that customers are satisfied with the company's products and services.
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 representatives and customer service representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average salary | $33,692 | $32,260 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $45,000 | Between $25,000 And $41,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Des Moines, WA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | Northern Trust | Oracle |
| Best paying industry | Government | Insurance |
There are a few differences between a service representative and a customer service representative in terms of educational background:
| Service Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | High School Diploma, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between service representatives' and customer service representatives' demographics:
| Service Representative | Customer Service Representative | |
| Average age | 40 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 39.6% Female, 60.4% | Male, 30.5% Female, 69.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 20.6% Asian, 6.8% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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 | 7% | 7% |