The role and responsibilities of customer service workers vary according to the services provided by the firm. From banks to computer software, the role of these workers is an invaluable part of the companies’ service policies and aftermarket support. Filling the need of consumers is the backbone of businesses. These workers represent their companies and deal with all sorts of calls or emails from complaints to upgrading their services and subscription.
Customer service jobs offer an important relationship between firms and consumers who buy their products and use their services. They are responsible for addressing inquiries and taking steps to resolve any issues customers have as quickly as possible. Some would think that customer service representatives work in a call center environment and they could be right. Some customer service representatives also confer with customers face to face and replying to emails, mail or by facsimile and there might be calls that are simple and brief. The customer service representative also receives calls pertaining to a change of address, service status, and other inquiries. Some customer service representatives have to deal with verbally abusive customers and if it happens, the agent might resolve the issue at hand or seek the help of a supervisor. Customer service agents with the best track record, problem solving skills and excellent phone manners have the option to be promoted.
Some customer service jobs include the quality assurance officer who screens the call and gives evaluations of the performance of the agent. The quality control officer also checks for the validation of the customer’s complaint or screening the call to make sure that the agent receives the call and resolves the problem according to the company protocol. Another type of job is a retail sale persons that helps customers filling in the information about the products and help customers choose items and introduce new items and interest customers in buying their product or services. Customer service agents use telephones, internet, and faxes most of the time. The agent may access the company database to retrieve the information about a customer either to track purchases or change the information. If the agent encounters technical or difficult questions she or he may seek assistance from the tech support for technical problems.
Many customer service jobs are in call centers. They spend the whole shift calling or receiving phone calls from customers. Training agents and retraining them assures efficient delivery of spiels and mastery of some common inquiries. The agents also keep up with the call volumes as per requirement and agents also must solve issues the best and as fast as they can. Quality assurance or supervisors listen to recorded calls and evaluate them to make sure the agents handle that call the way they should have and customers on the other hand get quality service. Reward points are given to top agents and the best problem solver of the month.
Most customer service jobs require a minimal education background. A high school diploma is often required by customer service representative’s applicants. Some applicants with prior experience get top seats. Newbie applicants are subjected to extensive product training and customer service training. If an applicant wishes to work as tech support, a bachelor’s degree in information technology is required. A master’s degree is required for entry level database managers. If the agent has enough experience, he or she may be promoted to a supervisory or quality assurance officer capacity. Some companies especially in high tech manufacturing, medical sales, pharmaceutical, and computer software should have at least a degree in biology, information technology, management, mathematics, and telecommunications.
The average annual income of customer service representatives ranges from $35,000 to $45,000 plus the usual benefits like paid vacations, life and health insurance and incentives. The top paying industries are high tech, medical devices, and biotechnology, including pharmaceuticals and software companies.
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