The customer service representative jobs will require the employee to be able to answer customer’s questions, to handle practically anything the customer has an issue with, and to be able to communicate with the customer whether it is by telephone, e-mail, fax, or in person. Many customer service jobs may be of a general nature while others may be a special service of a certain department. For instance, there are customer service employees who only deal with the financial aspects of a company. These employees may take care of returned checks, charge card complaints, and these types of business related problems.
Many customer service employees handle the return and exchange department while there are others that are general customer care experts. The job description will depend upon the size of the company. Whereas a large company may have several employees who handle different aspects of customer service, a smaller company may only have one or two people who take care of all matters related to customer service.
One type of customer service position may involve jobs in call center. They may be responsible for handling all the calls that come in to the business and directing them to the right extension. This is another aspect of customer service employment. The use of computers and telephones is required in certain areas of their position. They must be able to bring up information on the computer while conversing with the customer.
The multi-line system of telephones may be one of their requirements so that every call gets routed to the correct department or person. This employee might also have to handle online customer service jobs if their company has a website that is available to the public as well as a physical storefront. This employee will have a supervisor they must report to and to handle any questions or problems they may not be able to handle.
As a summary, the role of the customer service representative is varied and depends upon the type of company for which they work. Among their duties are:
- Answering the telephone.
- Routing calls to the proper location
- Answering questions about products
- Taking care of complaints
- Helping clients to fill out paperwork
- Opening accounts for customers
- Receive orders
- Updating databases
What Training Does a Customer Service Job Require?
The customer service position is not a job that requires a degree in particular although preference will be given to those who have one. They must certainly be a high school graduate and some employers look for people who have some college classes. There are some customer service positions that require an associates or bachelor’s degree. The training that one receives when starting a customer service job are normally provided by the employer who want to make sure the company’s policies are adhered to.
Most employers look for someone who gets along well with the public and has a good deal of patience and professionalism when it comes to dealing with problems. There are many skills that are important when it comes to learning how to deal with the public and listening is one that is extremely important. The ability to work independently is another plus for the customer service position. Although in the past fluent English was a requirement, today someone who is bi-lingual is considered an added benefit to the customer service profession.
The customer service job is one position that can be a step up the ladder to other positions within the company. The customer service person that has a good amount of experience can often move to at managerial or supervisory position. The field is pretty wide open depending upon what type of company for which you work.
How Much Does a Customer Service Job Pay?
Customer service earnings are varied according to the location, the skill level, the job performed, and the size of the company. The median wage for hourly customer service workers is $13.62. The fifty percent of people in the middle sector of earnings was between $10.73 and $17.40. The highest ten percent of workers earned $22.11 per hour. The lowest ten percent earned less than $8.71 per hour. The difference in earnings can be according to the company for which you work. Call centers were the lowest paid while insurance carriers earned almost $5.00 more per hour.
What is the Outlook for This Type of Job?
The job outlook for customer service positions is expected to go up about 25% from the ten years between 2006 and 2016. This is a much higher rate than average for all jobs. The customer service jobs market is projected to have one of the highest numbers of new jobs available. The number over the ten year period is expected to be 545,000 new employees. New businesses as well as the importance of customer service to the business community is likely responsible for this growth.
This appears to be a position that many would do well to check into. With the rate of growth this would not be a position that would have to deal with layoffs. The customer service industry is thriving.
