A customer service representative is employed by a company to handle their customers’ complaints, inquiries for information and assistance, as well as providing general guidance when needed. In a standard company organization, customers are normally directed to the customer service representatives as a first level of support, and if the problem escalates to demand a higher entity, usually the customer service manager is summoned. A customer service representative work with their clients either in person, or by phone, depending on the type of company and the scale of its operations.
There are no educational requirements for working as a customer service representative, and the job is actually quite accessible and a popular choice among low-skilled positions. Personal traits are usually more important for getting employed as a customer service representative, and companies usually seek candidates with a friendly personality, helpful manners and good knowledge of the product/service the company deals with. Additionally, some basic computer skills may be required when the job is done over the phone.
As a customer service representative, the outlooks for gainful employment aren’t really high, as most annual salaries range between $26,000 – $35,000. The job is additionally highly demanding on employees, especially in cases when the company is experiencing a major issue with their products and customer service representatives are tasked with dealing with a large number of customers at once. In these cases though, companies usually provide some additional compensation for the employees’ extra effort, although it’s not a universal rule by any means.