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What does a service specialist do?

Updated January 8, 2025
8 min read
Quoted expert
Dr. Lynann “Annie” Butler
What does a service specialist do

A service specialist is responsible for assisting customers with their inquiries and concerns about the services offered by the organization. Service specialists' duties include responding to customers' requests, updating customers of promotional offers and new services, escalating high-level concerns to the appropriate department, and keeping accurate records of clients' issues and resolutions. Service specialists are also in charge of preparing customer surveys to rate their satisfaction and identifying opportunities for service improvement. A service specialist must display excellent customer service and communication skills to address clients' concerns efficiently and accurately.

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Service specialist responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real service specialist resumes:

  • Achieve personal sales and referral goals by identifying, marketing and cross-selling banking products and services beneficial to customer needs.
  • Educate veterans and the college community on veteran's benefits and academic requirements need to accomplish academic goals.
  • Provide notary service as requested.
  • Respond to medical emergencies, including first aid and CPR.
  • Organize the transition of file transfers of major TRS/NAS clients from FTP to MessageWay.
  • Follow all rules set by FDCPA and state agencies - pass all annual tests.
  • Assist club members, perform administrative duties, maintain retail inventory, work kids club.
  • Provide monthly mileage reports in GSA database as well as routine maintenance on all vehicles.
  • Provide orientation regarding HMO, POS and PPO benefits, eligibility and enrollment policies and procedures.
  • Transport patients via stretchers, beds, wheelchairs, and specialty chairs to various sections of hospital
  • Offer communication skills, basic life skills, math and reading skills, and a diverse environment.
  • Deliver individual tutoring to boost below average and special needs students' scores in math and language arts.
  • Check kids into kids club, plan activities and the calendar for each month, play games etc.
  • Upload files from hard drives for in and out of house clients via Aspera and FTP (Filezilla).
  • Possess strong skills in the areas of cross-selling, soliciting new accounts, account retention, and sales presentations.

Service specialist skills and personality traits

We calculated that 12% of Service Specialists are proficient in Patients, Social Work, and Criminal Justice. They’re also known for soft skills such as Communication skills, Computer skills, and Interpersonal skills.

We break down the percentage of Service Specialists that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 12%

    Perform office cost analyses with surgical patients based on individual insurance for scheduled procedure in accordance with government policies and guidelines.

  • Social Work, 10%

    Assisted providers in identifying needs and provided appropriate technical assistance and referrals to needed resources Skills Used Social Work and Public Administration

  • Criminal Justice, 4%

    Provide prevention about child abuse along with informational presentations about criminal justice process and their role in child abuse investigations.

  • Rehabilitation, 4%

    Used extensively McKesson InterQual criteria for outpatient therapy, skilled nursing facility and inpatient rehabilitation utilization review.

  • Excellent Interpersonal, 4%

    Provide excellent interpersonal and customer service skills with the ability to resolve conflicts and generate solutions quickly.

  • Product Knowledge, 3%

    Provided critical communications with customers; responsible for analyzing customer needs applying product knowledge and assessing sales opportunities.

Common skills that a service specialist uses to do their job include "patients," "social work," and "criminal justice." You can find details on the most important service specialist responsibilities below.

Communication skills. The most essential soft skill for a service specialist to carry out their responsibilities is communication skills. This skill is important for the role because "customer service representatives must be able to provide clear information in writing, by phone, or in person." Additionally, a service specialist resume shows how their duties depend on communication skills: "managed telephone, radio, and written communications regarding criminal justice, public safety, and security issues on campus. "

Interpersonal skills. service specialists are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to service specialist responsibilities, because "representatives should be able to create positive interactions with customers." A service specialist resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "develop trust and rapport with internal and external customers through excellent interpersonal, communications, and follow up skills. "

Patience. A big part of what service specialists do relies on "patience." You can see how essential it is to service specialist responsibilities because "representatives should be patient and polite, especially when interacting with dissatisfied customers." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical service specialist tasks: "handle outbound calls for senior customers with patience and understanding. "

Customer-service skills. A commonly-found skill in service specialist job descriptions, "customer-service skills" is essential to what service specialists do. Service specialist responsibilities rely on this skill because "representatives help companies retain customers by professionally answering questions and helping to resolve complaints." You can also see how service specialist duties rely on customer-service skills in this resume example: "provide an outstanding customer experience when responding to customer requests and inquiries and processing transactions within assigned authority. "

Listening skills. Lastly, "listening skills" is an important element of what a service specialist does. Service specialist responsibilities require this skill because "representatives must listen carefully to ensure that they understand customers in order to assist them." This resume example highlights how service specialist duties rely on this skill: "required excellent organizational, communication (verbal and written), problem solving, listening and inter-personal skills. "

See the full list of service specialist skills

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Compare different service specialists

Service specialist vs. Client service associate

Client service associates are professionals who offer their services to their clients, including financial advisors. They perform various tasks, including communicating with clients through written correspondence, telephone or electronic means, update and maintain client accounts, documents, and transactions, and resolving customer complaints. They may perform some administrative tasks such as organizing meetings, booking conference rooms, and preparing reports. They are also expected to notify clients about the latest products or services and ensure compliance with regulatory rules.

The annual salary of client service associates is $2,724 higher than the average salary of service specialists.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between service specialists and client service associates are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like patients, excellent interpersonal, and data entry.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a service specialist are more likely to require skills like "social work," "criminal justice," "strong problem-solving," and "rehabilitation." On the other hand, a job as a client service associate requires skills like "client service," "client relationships," "cash management," and "securities." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

Client service associates earn the highest salaries when working in the finance industry, with an average yearly salary of $56,728. On the other hand, service specialists are paid more in the technology industry with an average salary of $56,045.On average, client service associates reach similar levels of education than service specialists. Client service associates are 0.1% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Service specialist vs. Customer service liaison

Customer service liaisons are professionals who facilitate a working relationship between clients and an organization by providing excellent customer service. These liaisons must coordinate with the proper personnel to provide accurate answers for customers with concerns or questions. They must handle outgoing and incoming calls to provide positive client relations and ensure satisfaction. Customer service liaisons must also implement internal procedures and supervise technology updates to ensure all information records are organized for proper networking among employees and customers.

On average, customer service liaisons earn a $8,007 lower salary than service specialists a year.A few skills overlap for service specialists and customer service liaisons. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "patients," "excellent interpersonal," and "data entry. "

In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, service specialist responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "social work," "criminal justice," "strong problem-solving," and "rehabilitation." Meanwhile, a customer service liaison has duties that require skills in areas such as "phone calls," "telephone calls," "regulatory agencies," and "care organizations." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.

On average, customer service liaisons earn a lower salary than service specialists. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, customer service liaisons earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $40,134. Whereas service specialists have higher pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $56,045.customer service liaisons earn similar levels of education than service specialists in general. They're 1.2% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

What technology do you think will become more important and prevalent for service specialists in the next 3-5 years?

Dr. Lynann “Annie” ButlerDr. Lynann “Annie” Butler LinkedIn profile

Chair and Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Finally, it seems that skills in all things telehealth will be invaluable for students moving forward.

Service specialist vs. Client relations specialist

A client relations specialist is primarily in charge of building positive relationships with clients by providing optimal services. Although the extent of their responsibilities depends on their company of employment, it typically includes handling customer calls and correspondence, offering products or services, discussing promotions or product specifications, answering inquiries, arranging appointments, resolving issues and concerns, and processing payments or refunds. Moreover, a client relations specialist conducts market research and analysis to identify the current trends and practices, aiming for client satisfaction.

On average, client relations specialists earn lower salaries than service specialists, with a $4,248 difference per year.By looking over several service specialists and client relations specialists resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "data entry," "powerpoint," and "hr." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, service specialists are more likely to have skills like "patients," "social work," "criminal justice," and "strong problem-solving." But a client relations specialist is more likely to have skills like "client relations," "client facing," "client support," and "customer support."

Client relations specialists earn the highest salary when working in the real estate industry, where they receive an average salary of $49,327. Comparatively, service specialists have the highest earning potential in the technology industry, with an average salary of $56,045.Most client relations specialists achieve a similar degree level compared to service specialists. For example, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Service specialist vs. Customer engagement specialist

A client engagement specialist is in charge of devising strategies to build positive relationships with clients that will translate to sales. Their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify client needs, finding new sales leads and opportunities, and coordinating with team members. They must also reach out to clients through calls, correspondence, or face-to-face interaction to offer products and services, discuss specifications, secure sales, process payments, and perform follow-up calls. Moreover, a client engagement specialist must answer inquiries and address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and efficiently.

Customer engagement specialists tend to earn a lower pay than service specialists by an average of $3,136 per year.While their salaries may vary, service specialists and customer engagement specialists both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "patients," "product knowledge," and "quality customer service. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "social work," "criminal justice," "strong problem-solving," and "rehabilitation" are skills that commonly show up on service specialist resumes. On the other hand, customer engagement specialists use skills like brand awareness, appeals, wine, and phone calls on their resumes.customer engagement specialists enjoy the best pay in the health care industry, with an average salary of $48,710. For comparison, service specialists earn the highest salary in the technology industry.The average resume of customer engagement specialists showed that they earn similar levels of education compared to service specialists. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 1.2% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.2%.

Types of service specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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