Customer Care Representative Job Description, Skills, and Salary
Get to know about the duties, responsibilities, qualifications, and skills requirements of a customer care representative. Feel free to use our job description template to produce your own. We also provide you with information about the salary you can earn as a customer care representative.
Who is a Customer Care Representative?
Without any doubt, the customer service unit or department is one of the factors that separate a successful organization from a not-too-successful one. Customer service has evolved to become an essential component of business and the day-to-day running of a company or enterprise. When a customer is satisfied and happy with an organization’s customer service, they might write ravishing reviews about the organization. In contrast, customers who are dissatisfied with the customer service representative can write damaging reviews about the company’s brand, products, and services. This explains why employers and businesses pay close attention to their customer service units; with growing competition in all sectors and industries, it is important to keep your customers satisfied and contented.
Also called a customer service representative, a customer service advisor, or a customer service associate, a customer care representative facilitates and expedites the relationship between organizations or businesses with their customers. The representative answer, responds to, and addresses clients’ or customers’ concerns, questions, and complaints; though, the scope of their responsibilities may vary depending on the firm they work for or represent. A customer care representative can work from several places ranging from a call center, a home office, or on-site in the enterprise or business vicinity.
Importantly, a customer care representative must have the knowledge and awareness of when to refer advanced cases to a higher authority. Though he/she is assigned or delegated to respond, resolve or proffer solutions to customers’ problems and worries, some complaints may require the input of management or more senior members of the organization. When such a scenario arises, the customer care representative should politely refer the issue to the appropriate body. For example, a customer might be dissatisfied with an item they purchased from a retail shop and would want a return. The customer care representative has to calm the customer down and subsequently take the matter to a senior manager since he/she may not have the clearance to perform such a return.
As a customer care representative, you are expected to interact with customers, process their orders, and disseminate information about a firm’s products or services. It is important to note that a customer care representative must have the skills and tact to receive requests from customers and the general public as well. They can provide and receive information through the phone, emails, live chats, social media, or face-to-face. Most organizations have a distinct area in the office space designated for customer service.
Since they are the first port of call for customers and clients, the role or position of a customer care representative is one of the most important roles in the firm. Remember, some customers prefer to speak to the customer care representative first before buying a product, requesting a service, or when encountering difficulties when using a particular product. In addition, a customer care representative is the individual(s) that stands in the gap and provides vital information to customers on new products, expansion, or adjustment of services on behalf of the enterprise. They make sure that the customers are satisfied by following up to ensure that complaints and concerns are adequately handled and resolved.
Relatively, the customer care representative must provide the company with feedback; this is aimed at improving services, customers’ experience, and organizational growth. The feedback enables the enterprise to take necessary steps to mitigate the observed mistakes as well as to develop new strategies and techniques to improve the business. In other words, a customer service representative is a salesperson; they persuade and clear the customers’ doubts about a service or product and enhance positive decision-making. They can handle emergencies by being innovative, thinking critically, and being problem solvers.
In conjunction with resolving complaints, the customer care representative provides digital support to clients and customers; they inundate and inform clients on prices, specifications, and available options. They are expected to maintain positivity and professionalism when addressing clients by email, phone, or in person. Customer care services entail maintaining and preserving customer loyalty; therefore, the customer care representative must put all hands on deck to keep customers satisfied by providing discounts, free products, and other incentives when necessary. They are mandated to ensure excellent service standards. Whilst working under supervision, the customer care representative relies on pre-established guidelines, procedures, and instructions from a manager and supervisor to carry out their duties; they aren’t required to rely on independent judgment.
Customer Care Representative Job Description
Below are the customer care representative job description examples you can use to develop your resume or write a job description for your employee. The employer can use it to sieve out job seekers when choosing candidates for interviews.
- Recruit prospective clients and recommend products, services, and goods to them.
- Show potential customers how goods and services are of benefit to them.
- Respond to customers’ questions on the available products and services.
- Create new customer accounts.
- Record data and account information digitally or on written forms.
- Pay attention to the customer’s complaint and concern to identify the cause of the problem.
- Work quickly to resolve the client’s issues and complaints by selecting appropriate responses.
- Provide background information when referring advanced cases to a manager or supervisor for resolution.
- Use computer software programs to update and maintain the Unit’s financial account information.
- Follow up with previous or current customers to anticipate their needs.
- Maintain an emphatic, positive, and professional attitude toward the customer at all times.
- Respond promptly and quickly to customers’ requests or inquiries.
- Communicate with customers through different channels like phone calls, emails, and social media platforms.
- Know the firm’s products and services well to answer customers’ questions.
- Process orders, applications, requests, and forms.
- Keep records of clients’ transactions, interactions, complaints, reviews, and comments.
- Coordinate and communicate with coworkers and team members effectively.
- Provide feedback on the efficacy of the customer service procedure.
- Manage and lead a team of junior customer care representatives or analysts.
- Promote client satisfaction and provide professional customer assistance when necessary.
- Fare with bulky incoming phone calls and emails.
- Generate sales leads.
- Adopt open interactive communication to build sustainable relationships and trust with customer accounts.
- Use the right methods and tools to provide correct, complete, and valid information.
- Meet personal and customer service team sales target and call handling quotas.
- Monitor communication processes, strategies, and policies.
- Take the extra mile to engage clients.
- Identify and determine the quickest and most effective way of responding to a customer’s inquiry.
- Troubleshoot common issues with a service or product.
- Welcome customers warmly and determine their reason for reaching out.
- Take relevant information such as phone numbers and addresses when taking payment details.
- Respond to inquiries on the organization’s warranty policy and terms of sale.
- Try to politely coax customers to rescind cancellation orders.
- Enlighten the clients on promotions, bonuses, and deals.
- Represent the firm or business as a gatekeeper.
- Deal with alterations to policies and renewals.
Qualifications
Customer care representatives need education, on-the-job training, and several soft skills and experience to succeed.
Education: Unlike most professions that require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, a customer care representative can be hired with a high school diploma, a GED, or a secondary school leaving certificate. The secondary school certificate provides professionals who work in customer care service with the basic skills, knowledge, and expertise they need to work and succeed in this industry. Similarly, secondary education imbibes discipline, patience, and all the needed virtues to handle customers in the potential customer care representative.
Training: Most firms and enterprises require and mandate candidates to complete and undergo on-the-job training if successful. However, the training program varies from business to business and company to company. Generally, on-the-job training for customer care representatives encompasses teaching employees how to install and use computer software, CRM applications, and learn basic customer service skills and techniques. The training program also allows the customer service representative to learn how to document interactions with customers, how to deal with furious customers, as well as the firm’s workflow. In some companies, training and orientations are aided by temporary professionals who are skilled and have a vast knowledge of customer service.
Certifications: Many customer care representatives pursue additional certifications to boost their skills even though it is not a prerequisite for the job. Individuals who are interested in career advancement often enroll for customer service courses online and onsite; this increases their earning potential in the long term. Examples of some of the most common customer services certifications include certified customer experienced professionals and certified customer service professionals.
Experience: Firms and businesses tend to favor or prefer candidates with call center or customer service experience. They also accept individuals with 0-3 years of work experience in a retail firm or other related sectors where customer service is practiced.
Essential Skills and Expertise
Since a customer care representative persuades customers to subscribe to a firm’s services and clear their doubts about a product or goods, certain skills are needed to foster and enhance excellent decision-making. In addition to being quality-focused and enthusiastic, they must have excellent knowledge of the market and be organized and people-oriented. Thus, a good customer care representative should possess the following skills;
Team management: Normally, a customer care representative works with team members and colleagues in other departments of the company to get updates on information, services, and products. With team management skills, they can efficiently understand the working principle of the system and easily communicate that to clients and customers.
Self-control: As a customer service representative, you are bound to speak with and encounter angry and worried customers who might be disappointed with services rendered or a product. Thus, you need to imbibe and practice self-control; indulging the customers in a tense way or turning the conversation into a rumble of insults puts the firm in jeopardy or a black hole. The concept of self-control involves the ability to show respect to clients, have a well-mannered conversation, and the ability to abstain from rudeness. Remember, customers have proven to be excellent sales outlays; they need to be treated with utmost care. Your ability to exercise self-control in every situation will determine how satisfied or not a customer is with the enterprise.
Computer skills: A customer care representative often retrieves information from the firm’s database; to achieve this, they need to be knowledgeable in computer science and application. Also, they should be able to work with simple and basic computer packages like Microsoft word and excel.
Attention to details: Explicitly, a customer care representative can only understand a client’s needs or concerns by paying attention to subtle things.
Dependability: Customers reach out to customer service with the hope of getting their problems solved. Such customers should feel comfortable talking with customer care representatives; this will make them rely more on you and loosen up during a conversation. As an added value, you give each customer the feel-good factor by being dependable.
Empathy: This is the skill and ability to place oneself in the customer’s shoes to fully understand the magnitude of the concerns or needs. This makes the client feel truly cared for. The customer enjoys the sentiment that someone understands them when something goes wrong; this is the first port of satisfaction for every client.
Persuasive skills: Simply, a customer care representative must be persuasive; they should ensure that the benefits and advantages of a product and service are fully relayed and disseminated to the customers before they place an order. They should convince clients that a particular service will be worth their resources and time.
Stress tolerance: A customer care representative is expected to attend to customers’ demands and inquiries whenever they reach out; this will require much work, time, and energy. Therefore, it is important to manage your time effectively so that you can offer the best service possible. At times, you may be asked to work between shifts; hence, the need for stress tolerance skills.
Other skills include problem-solving, effective communication, interpersonal skills, documentation skills, conflict resolution skills, analytical skills, adaptability skills, negotiation skills, ability to multitask, and phone skills.
How to Become a Customer Care Representative
Consider the four steps below to get a job as a customer care representative in an organization, business, or enterprise;
Complete your secondary or high school: Firstly, enroll for and complete your secondary or high school education. Whilst in school, try and master mathematics, quantitative and qualitative reasoning, and foundation language.
Develop your skills: To be a top candidate for customer service positions, research and cultivate the aforementioned skills which are essential for every customer care representative. You can harness those skills on your own or by learning from others in the field.
Consider a professional certification: Think about getting a professional certificate in customer service to showcase your skills and distinguish yourself as a highly qualified candidate.
Search for customer care representative positions: Finally, research companies, businesses, and firms for openings in customer care. You can search online or from newspapers and publications.
Where to Work
Customer care representatives typically work in call centers or retail stores. In retail, they often work at desks and speak directly to the client. At call centers, they generally work at computers in open-layout offices where they communicate with clients over the phone, via email, and through online chats. Similarly, some customer care representatives might work from home where they use computers to call, email, and chat with clients.
Customer Care Representative Salary Scale
A customer care representative’s salary covers health benefits, transportation, housing, and other related benefits. Depending on the location, skills, and experience, a customer care representative earns between 66,700 NGN and 196, 000 NGN respectively per month.
