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The differences between service writers and service dispatchers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a service writer, becoming a service dispatcher takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a service writer has an average salary of $39,016, which is higher than the $33,663 average annual salary of a service dispatcher.
The top three skills for a service writer include customer service, repair orders and warranty claims. The most important skills for a service dispatcher are HVAC, data entry, and phone calls.
| Service Writer | Service Dispatcher | |
| Yearly salary | $39,016 | $33,663 |
| Hourly rate | $18.76 | $16.18 |
| Growth rate | -4% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 163,441 | 74,936 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Average age | 40 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
A service writer is an employee who acts as an informative middleman between a business owner and its customers in the automotive sector. To develop this relationship, service writers must provide successful management of product or service delivery to their customers. Service writers must correctly manage their scheduled appointments to avoid overwhelming their mechanics with incoming vehicular repairs while monitoring the service progress to avoid delivery delays. They must also know how to encode customer profile information into the computer system.
Service dispatchers are professionals who are responsible for answering the calls of customers while creating dispatch tickets for each service call. These dispatchers must gather detailed address information from their customers and acquire a basic overview of their service issues. They must dispatch service crews to their scheduled appointments and emergency situations while using maps and GPS programs to plan routes for their destination. Service dispatchers must also use digital filing systems to add customer information and log into their files when scheduling service calls.
Service writers and service dispatchers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Writer | Service Dispatcher | |
| Average salary | $39,016 | $33,663 |
| Salary range | Between $24,000 And $61,000 | Between $26,000 And $42,000 |
| Highest paying City | College Park, MD | Kent, WA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Washington |
| Best paying company | American Institute of Physics | Basin Electric Power Cooperative |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Government |
There are a few differences between a service writer and a service dispatcher in terms of educational background:
| Service Writer | Service Dispatcher | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 33% | High School Diploma, 30% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between service writers' and service dispatchers' demographics:
| Service Writer | Service Dispatcher | |
| Average age | 40 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.7% Female, 37.3% | Male, 33.6% Female, 66.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 5.8% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.5% Asian, 3.8% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |