For those interested in finding out more about customer service positions you’ve come to the right place. In this article we will take a look at the customer service job description and also job salary figures along with job growth outlook information for this career.
Customer Service Representative Job Overview
Customer service representatives are responsible for maintaining the relationship between a company that produces a good or service and those interested in buying those products/services or who have already purchased products and services. Customer service representatives solve problems, answer customer questions, and generally are responsible for making peoples experience pleasant. While most customer service work is done via the telephone, representatives may also communicate with customers using scanners, email, computers, fax and even face-to-face.
Customer Service Representative Job Description
A majority of customer inquiries are simple requests and questions which can be handled with standard scripts and processes. For example, a customer may want to change a shipping address, find out when a product will arrive, how much time is left on the warranty and other similar issues. However, there are instances where the issues may be more involved and in these cases a customer service representative will need to know how to farm out the issue to someone else in the organization who can solve it.
While many inquiries are routine and pleasant interactions there will always be a certain percentage of customer complaints a representative must deal with. representatives are usually trained to handle complaints by making suggestions to remedy the issue; this may include discounting a product, allowing the customer a return, or shipping a new item out. Customer service representatives may have the ability to reverse certain fees, and/or charges, and act as gatekeepers to ensure customer complaints are valid before offering refunds, discounts or replacement products/services.
In some organizations customer service representatives may also play a limited role in the sales of products and services. In these cases representatives usually offer suggestions, and if the customer is ready to buy they take the order; in this regard they are different from sales representatives who are actively prospecting and pursuing new business.
Customer service representatives mainly utilize computers to assist them with their work nowadays. Representatives are able to access customer files when they call in order to see all the account details. Having access to customer account details helps customer service representatives to solve problems, or issues. With their computers representatives also have access to documentation which provides answers to the most commonly experienced customer problems, and issues. In the case a customer service representative is not experienced enough to help, a supervisor or manager is often asked to assist.
Work Environment
Customer service representatives generally work in call centers with many other customer service representatives. These representatives spend a majority of their day on the telephone solving customer service issues in various ways. The companies representatives work for generally keep statistics on how much time it takes a representative to solve and issue and how many cases they are able to close each day. These type of statistics help companies to gauge how effective their products/services and customer service representatives are. The last thing a company wants is to have dissatisfied customers; which can result from long phone hold times and poor customer service.
Just about every industry nowadays employs customer service representatives. Depending on the organization the job may be exclusively a customer service job, or it may be a hybrid type position. An example of a hybrid job would be one where a person acts as a cashier, but also assists customers in finding products in a physical store location; generally these types of positions are found in retail stores and shops.
Customer service representatives working in call centers can usually expect comfortable, well lit, clean office environments. Representatives will have their own cubicle or workspace equipped with a computer and telephone, along with a headset in order to keep their hands free. Call centers are generally staffed around the clock and this can mean working late nights, early mornings, weekends and holidays. In this line of work it is also possible to work part-time; as many workers are able to work split shifts in order to accommodate their schedules.
Work in this field can be repetitious, which can lead to stress. Long periods of time on the phone and computer can lead to eye strain, back pain, headaches, and carpal tunnel injuries. Dealing with complaining and irate customers can also lead to job stress.
Customer service representatives working in retail locations may have to spend many hours on their feet moving around the store. There may also be additional challenges in having to deal with customers face-to-face rather than over a telephone or computer.
Customer Service Representative Educational Requirements And Training
Most jobs in this line of work require a high school diploma or the equivalent. Many employers will provide training for those individuals they believe have the skills to excel at this type of work.
Some customer service jobs may require a 2 or 4 year college degree if they are more technical in nature. In either case the most desirable candidates for employers will have attained a 2 or 4 year degree.
Training for this work varies from company to company. However, most representatives will be given some sort of basic training before actually interacting with customers. Much of what makes a good customer service representative is learned on the job and through many years of experience.
Those looking to pursue jobs in this field of work should have good interpersonal & communication skills; be familiar with computers, fax machines, copiers, scanners and phone systems. Representatives also need to be level headed and able to keep their “cool” in extremely volatile interactions with customers.
Customer Service Representative Job Outlook
According to the Unites States Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs in this field of work are expected to grow roughly 18% between the years of 2008 to 2018. This job growth percentage is faster than the average expected for all other jobs across the Unites States. For those looking to pursue a career in this field this is very good news.
Job growth in this industry will be due to companies placing an increased importance on customer satisfaction along with new businesses entering all industries in future years. This 18% increase will be responsible for generating roughly 400k of new job opportunities in the United States.
In years past it became popular to offshore customer service representative jobs; however newer trends have been to keep these jobs Stateside. While off-shoring these jobs helped companies cut costs, it also resulted in hiring workers who did not have the same outlook and cultural sensitivity as the customers they were trying to help.
Job advancement in this field of work usually comes in the form of being moved to supervisor and/or manager positions. Customer service representative may also transition into other customer facing positions such as sales. Representatives familiarity with products can also translate to job advancement in product improvement positions as well.
Customer Service Representative Salary Figures And Information
In May 2010 the median customer service salary was estimated to be around $30,460 annually according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The median 50% of workers earned between $24,150 to $38,750; while the top 10% earned over $49,320 per year.
States with the highest level of employment:
1. Texas
2. California
3. Florida
4. New York
5. Pennsylvania
Top paying states:
1. Washington D.C.
2. Delaware
3. California
4. Connecticut
5. Massachusetts
Additional customer service salary figures as of March 2012:
| Position/Experience | Annual Median Salary |
|---|---|
| Account I (0-3 years of experience) | $30k |
| Account II (2-5 years of experience) | $36k |
| Account III (5+ years of experience) | $42k |
We hope that you’ve found this customer service job description, salary and job outlook page detailed and informational. For more business careers please visit some of our other web pages.
