A Customer Service Specialist is a person who represents a company while communicating with its customers, whether face-to-face, over the telephone, over the Internet or through another method. Also referred to as a customer service representative, this person might perform a broad range of tasks to meet the need of the company's clients. For example, he or she might provide support for the company's products and services, take order requests, answer questions, resolve complaints or even make sales. Customers often view customer service representatives as the eyes, ears, faces and voices of the company.

Tasks:

1. Handle complaints, explain the company's policies and provide information about products and services
2. Serve as liaison between customer support team, management and customer to improve customer service and business productivity
3. Analyze customer complaints and provide appropriate corrective actions
4. Assist directly or route customers to the appropriate personnel for assistance
5. Ensure customer satisfaction by meeting customer needs in courteous and timely manner
6. Prepare documentation and reports on routine customer correspondence for future reference purpose
7. Assist in training peers on improving customer support service
8. Develop and maintain in-depth product knowledge
9. Conduct customer surveys about the company’s service so as to obtain feedback
10. Communicate customer feedback to technical and marketing teams in order to develop processes for better serving customers

Key skills for Customer Service Specialist:

• Excellent communications skills
• Willingness to learn
• Sound judgment in stressful situations
• Good organizational skills
• Multi-tasking
• Strong work ethic

Average salary (2013):

The United Kingdom: £19,409 per year
The United States of America: $33,370 per year
Australia: AU$48,149 per year

Qualifications and training required:

Most positions do not require an education above a high school diploma or its equivalent. However, many companies prefer customer service specialists to have college or university experience, making a bachelor's degree in business administration an appealing option. Aside from these degrees, many companies require industry-specific in-house training. Training is often required to guarantee the accuracy of the information given. Additionally, companies often provide telephone and etiquette training prior to a hire beginning his duties. Training may last from few days to 2 months. At some companies customer service specialists must periodically attend short training courses about new services or products.