Customer service agents used to just communicate with customers through phone conversations. Now, with the advancement of other technologies being incorporated into daily life, customer service agents use email as well. We all at one point have called customer service before and know how frustrating it can be. Sometimes, however, they answered our questions and made us feel good we asked our questions.
Customer service agents handle more of the customer questions and complaints. They also might be involved with sales, to a degree, offering other goods and services to the customers. Handling routine paperwork is very common, as is opening and closing customer accounts, explaining to customers various details of their plans or programs they are involved with, and transferring calls to those who can thoroughly answer the customers’ questions better.
The educational requirement for a customer service agent is typically a high school diploma. Many employers are seeking those with excellent communication skills, so a degree in communications or English would be highly beneficial. Many companies are frequently updating their technology, so continual training using their systems is also a common occurrence. Ideal customer service agents should be able to multi-task efficiently, have fast typing skills with limited mistakes, and also be friendly in manner. Many customers might get very upset at times, and good customer agents will handle the situation calmly. Being patient is a key characteristic of any customer service agent.
Customer service agent positions are expected to increase greatly over the next decade for numerous reasons, such as more emphasize on good customer relations. With the economy in difficult times, retaining what customers companies have is critical for staying afloat in the market place. Contrastingly, many companies have outsourced their customer service agents to other countries to be more cost effective. Automated response systems have also hindered the demand for additional customer service agents. Even with outsourcing and automated systems, the need for real-life customer service agents will always be needed because many people want and need to talk with real people and not robots. Agents who speak multiple languages will have great opportunities.
Wages will vary depending on experience, education, the industry with which one is involved, and location. On average, a customer service agent can make from $10 to $15 an hour, up to $23 per hour. A forty-hour week is standard, but because many companies have customer service twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, working nights and weekends is also an option. A customer service agent may not seem like a career path many of us would take, but with good pay and a flexible work schedule it is something to look at.
Advancements opportunities are also possible with many customer service agents becoming managers, supervisors, and salesmen. Whether becoming a customer service agent is a goal or a starting point to a more desirable career path, one can’t go wrong either way.
