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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.
The Daily Work of Customer Service Representatives Perform?
The core tasks performed by customer service representatives cover:
- 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.
Key Skills and Knowledge
Successful customer service representatives combine a mix of skills and domain knowledge.
Key Skills
The abilities most important for this role, rated on an importance scale of 0 to 5:
Core Knowledge
Other Customer Service Representatives Job Titles
Common job titles for this role include:
- Account Adjuster
- Account Representative
- Adjustment Clerk
- Automotive Service Advisor
- Automotive Service Writer
- Bill Adjuster
- Call Center Representative
- Claims Customer Service Representative (Claims CSR)
How Many Customer Service Representatives Are There?
The U.S. employs around 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.
How Much Do Customer Service Representatives Make in Different U.S. States?
| 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 |
Top-Paying U.S. Regions
Pay for customer service representatives vary by region. The following regions pay the most:
| 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 |
Which Industries Hire Customer Service Representatives
Most customer service representatives are concentrated in the following sectors:
| 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:
Tools and Technology
- 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)
What the Workplace Is Like
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
How to Become Customer Service Representatives
Entry-level customer service representatives positions require a high school diploma or equivalent as the typical entry-level education. This occupation sits in Some Preparation Needed (Job Zone 2), indicating the level of preparation typically expected.
Similar Occupations
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)
About the Data
This profile draws on 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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