Customer Service Representatives: Job Description
Interact with customers to provide basic or scripted information in response to routine inquiries about products and services. May handle and resolve general complaints. Excludes individuals whose duties are primarily installation, sales, repair, and technical support.
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The Daily Work of Customer Service Representatives Do?
The day-to-day responsibilities of customer service representatives span:
- Confer with customers by telephone or in person to provide information about products or services, take or enter orders, cancel accounts, or obtain details of complaints.
- Keep records of customer interactions or transactions, recording details of inquiries, complaints, or comments, as well as actions taken.
- Check to ensure that appropriate changes were made to resolve customers' problems.
- Contact customers to respond to inquiries or to notify them of claim investigation results or any planned adjustments.
- Determine charges for services requested, collect deposits or payments, or arrange for billing.
- Complete contract forms, prepare change of address records, or issue service discontinuance orders, using computers.
- Refer unresolved customer grievances to designated departments for further investigation.
What Customer Service Representatives Need to Know
Successful customer service representatives combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Most Important Skills
These are the skills most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Types of Customer Service Representatives Jobs
This career also goes by job titles like:
- Account Adjuster
- Account Representative
- Adjustment Clerk
- Automotive Service Advisor
- Automotive Service Writer
- Bill Adjuster
- Call Center Representative
- Claims Customer Service Representative (Claims CSR)
Job Outlook
There are about 1,970,663 customer service representatives working in the United States today. This occupation is expected to grow by +9.4% over the projection horizon.
Salary for Customer Service Representatives
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Annual median | $62,906 |
| Hourly median | $30.24 |
| 10th percentile | $40,415 |
| 25th percentile | $51,661 |
| 75th percentile | $74,152 |
| 90th percentile | $85,397 |
Compensation varies based on experience, location, and industry.
Pay by State
| State | Annual median salary |
|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $49,210 |
| Washington | $49,150 |
| Massachusetts | $48,060 |
| New York | $47,840 |
| California | $47,790 |
| Minnesota | $47,470 |
| Connecticut | $47,260 |
| New Hampshire | $46,960 |
| New Jersey | $46,740 |
| Rhode Island | $46,490 |
| Delaware | $46,300 |
| Oregon | $46,280 |
| Vermont | $46,190 |
| Colorado | $46,020 |
| Wisconsin | $45,980 |
| Maine | $45,240 |
| Iowa | $44,990 |
| Illinois | $44,910 |
| Alaska | $44,760 |
| Montana | $43,820 |
| Ohio | $43,510 |
| Arizona | $43,440 |
| North Dakota | $43,160 |
| Pennsylvania | $43,080 |
| Michigan | $42,560 |
| Missouri | $41,850 |
| Indiana | $41,600 |
| Nebraska | $40,790 |
| Hawaii | $40,630 |
| Maryland | $40,310 |
| Utah | $40,150 |
| Tennessee | $40,130 |
| South Dakota | $39,760 |
| North Carolina | $39,530 |
| Idaho | $39,420 |
| Wyoming | $39,360 |
| Virginia | $39,210 |
| Texas | $39,100 |
| Georgia | $39,030 |
| Nevada | $38,950 |
| Florida | $38,890 |
| Kansas | $38,330 |
| New Mexico | $38,060 |
| South Carolina | $37,940 |
| Alabama | $37,730 |
| West Virginia | $37,610 |
| Kentucky | $37,580 |
| Oklahoma | $37,570 |
| Arkansas | $37,490 |
| Louisiana | $35,890 |
| Virgin Islands | $35,750 |
| Mississippi | $35,580 |
| Guam | $29,320 |
| Puerto Rico | $25,580 |
Where Customer Service Representatives Earn the Most
Pay for customer service representatives differ across the country. These regions lead on median pay:
| Region | Median annual wage | Share of U.S. jobs | Location quotient |
|---|---|---|---|
| New England | $47,394 | 4.2% | 0.88 |
| Far Western US | $46,762 | 10.6% | 0.66 |
| Middle Atlantic | $45,483 | 13.4% | 0.88 |
| Great Lakes | $43,864 | 13.6% | 0.96 |
| Plains States | $43,245 | 7.5% | 1.10 |
| Rocky Mountains | $42,289 | 4.6% | 1.28 |
| Southwest | $39,770 | 17.2% | 1.37 |
| Southeast | $38,686 | 28.3% | 1.18 |
Top Metro Areas
| Metro area | State | Median annual wage | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA | CA | $60,830 | 9,750 |
| San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA | CA | $56,400 | 21,690 |
| Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | WA | $51,090 | 30,370 |
| Napa, CA | CA | $50,910 | 690 |
| Midland, MI | MI | $49,930 | 690 |
| Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH | MA | $49,060 | 41,150 |
| New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | NY | $48,890 | 132,090 |
| Manchester-Nashua, NH | NH | $48,620 | 4,620 |
Top Industries Employing Customer Service Representatives
The largest employers of customer service representatives work in these industries:
| Industry | Employment | Median annual wage |
|---|---|---|
| Finance and Insurance | 487,850 | $46,660 |
| Retail Trade | 472,080 | $36,390 |
| Administrative and Support and Waste Management and Remediation Services | 405,860 | $37,550 |
| Professional, Scientific, and Technical Services | 195,800 | $44,610 |
| Wholesale Trade | 172,500 | $47,530 |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 164,740 | $42,380 |
| Manufacturing | 132,160 | $49,330 |
| Management of Companies and Enterprises | 116,740 | $47,170 |
Below are examples of industries where customer service representatives work:
Software Customer Service Representatives Use
- Document management software: Adobe Acrobat (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Creative Cloud software (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Illustrator (hot technology)
- Graphics or photo imaging software: Adobe Photoshop (hot technology)
- Operating system software: Apple macOS (hot technology)
- Web page creation and editing software: Facebook (hot technology)
- Word processing software: Google Docs (hot technology)
- Accounting software: Intuit QuickBooks (hot technology)
- Time accounting software: Kronos Workforce Timekeeper (hot technology)
- Medical software: MEDITECH software (hot technology)
- Data base user interface and query software: Microsoft Access (hot technology)
- Spreadsheet software: Microsoft Excel (hot technology)
Work Environment
The work environment for customer service representatives reflects the following characteristics:
- Telephone Conversations
- Contact With Others
- Indoors, Environmentally Controlled
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General
- Time Pressure
Education and Training
Most customer service representatives positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. The role falls in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), signaling the level of preparation typically expected.
Other Careers to Consider
Similar Occupations
- Management Analysts (Supplemental)
- First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers (Supplemental)
- Cashiers (Supplemental)
- Counter and Rental Clerks (Supplemental)
- Insurance Sales Agents (Supplemental)
- Sales Representatives of Services, Except Advertising, Insurance, Financial Services, and Travel (Primary-Short)
- Telemarketers (Primary-Short)
- First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers (Supplemental)
Degree Programs
Students preparing for customer service representatives commonly pursue programs in:
Business, Management, Marketing, and Related Support Services
2 programs across 1 majors
References
Statistics shown above are sourced from the following authoritative sources:
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics — Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) for employment and wage data by state and industry.
- BLS Employment Projections for total employment and growth forecasts.
- O*NET (Occupational Information Network) for skills, knowledge, tasks, work activities, work context, technology, and education-zone data.
SOC code: 43-4051.00 (Customer Service Representatives).
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