Customer Service Representatives

Customer service representatives work with customers to resolve complaints, process orders, and provide information about an organization’s products and services.

Duties

Customer service representatives typically do the following:

• Listen to customers’ questions and concerns and provide answers or responses
• Provide information about products and services
• Take orders, calculate charges, and process billing or payments
• Review customer accounts and make changes, if necessary
• Handle returns or complaints
• Record details of customer contacts and actions taken
• Refer customers to supervisors or more experienced employees

Customer service representatives answer questions or requests from customers or the public. They typically provide services by phone, but some also interact with customers face to face, by email or text, via live chat, and through social media.

The specific duties of customer service representatives vary by industry. For example, representatives who work in banks may answer customers’ questions about their accounts. Representatives who work for utility and telecommunications companies may help customers with service problems, such as outages. Those who work in retail stores often handle returns, process refunds, and help customers locate items. Although selling a product or service is not their main job, representatives may help generate sales while providing information.

Customer service representatives typically use a telephone, computer, and other office equipment. For example, representatives who work in call centers answer the phone and use computers to explore solutions for customers.

Customer service representatives held about 2.8 million jobs in 2024. The largest employers of customer service representatives were as follows:

Customer service representatives are employed in nearly every industry. Representatives in offices may work in a large room alongside other employees, so the area can be noisy. Working from home is also possible in some companies. Representatives may be under pressure to answer a designated number of calls while supervisors monitor them for quality assurance. In addition, the work may be stressful when representatives must interact with dissatisfied customers

In retail stores, representatives may spend hours on their feet assisting customers in person.

Work Schedules

Although most customer service representatives work full time, some work part time. Customer service representatives often need to work during busy times, which may include evenings, weekends, and holidays.

Jobs in call centers may require representatives to work shifts early in the morning or late at night because some call centers are open 24 hours a day.

Customer service representatives typically need a high school diploma to enter the occupation and are trained on the job. They should be good at communicating and interacting with people.

The median hourly wage for customer service representatives was $20.59 in May 2024.

Employment of customer service representatives is projected to grow 5 percent from 2024 to 2034, decline.

About 341,700 openings for customer service representatives are projected each year, on average, over the decade. Many of those openings are expected to result from the need to replace workers who transfer to different occupations or exit the labor force, such as to retire.