Occupation Profile

Customer Service Representatives

(SOC Code : 43-4051)

in California

Interact with customers to provide information in response to inquiries about products and services and to handle and resolve complaints. Exclude individuals whose duties are primarily sales or repair.

Employers usually expect an employee in this occupation to be able to do the job after Moderate-term on-the-job training (1-12 months) .

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Occupational Wages

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Area	Year	Period	Hourly Mean	Hourly by Percentile
				25th	Median	75th
California	2012	1st Qtr	$18.89	$13.80	$17.47	$22.44

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Occupational Projections of Employment (also called "Outlook" or "Demand")

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Area	Estimated Year-Projected Year	Employment		Employment Change		Annual Avg Openings
		Estimated	Projected	Number	Percent
California	2010 - 2020	197,300	233,900	36,600	18.6	9,260

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Job Openings from JobCentral National Labor Exchange

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Enter a Zip Code Find a Zip code in California

Within miles of Zip Code.

Industries Employing This Occupation (click on Industry Title to View Employers List)

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Industry Title

Number of Employers in State of California

Percent of Total
Employment for Occupation in State of California

Insurance Carriers

4,763

6.1%

Depository Credit Intermediation

9,651

4.4%

Management of Companies and Enterprises

914

4.3%

Employment Services

6,297

4.2%

Insurance Agencies, Brokerages & Support

28,682

2.5%

Office Administrative Services

2,198

2.5%

Electronic Markets and Agents/Brokers

2,823

2.1%

Management & Technical Consulting Svc

28,222

2.1%

Security & Commodity Investment Activity

1,563

1.8%

Wired Telecommunications Carriers

802

1.7%

Commercial Goods Merchant Wholesalers

7,080

1.6%

Other General Merchandise Stores

4,598

1.6%

Accounting and Bookkeeping Services

24,363

1.6%

Computer Systems Design and Rel Services

9,933

1.6%

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals

1,393

1.5%

Business Support Services

7,410

1.4%

Electronic Shopping & Mail-Order Houses

1,785

1.4%

Nondepository Credit Intermediation

14,062

1.2%

Electronics and Appliance Stores

20,134

1.2%

Offices of Physicians

62,928

1.2%

Department Stores

3,486

1.0%

Travel Arrangement & Reservation Service

6,944

1.0%

About Staffing Patterns

Training Programs (click on title for more information)

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Program Title

Customer Service Support/Call Center/Teleservice Operation (

Receptionist

About Training & Apprenticeships

About This Occupation (from O*NET - The Occupation Information Network)

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Top Tasks (Specific duties and responsibilities of this job.)

Confer with customers by telephone or in person to provide information about products or services, take or enter orders, cancel accounts, or obtain details of complaints.

Keep records of customer interactions or transactions, recording details of inquiries, complaints, or comments, as well as actions taken.

Check to ensure that appropriate changes were made to resolve customers` problems.

Determine charges for services requested, collect deposits or payments, or arrange for billing.

Refer unresolved customer grievances to designated departments for further investigation.

Review insurance policy terms to determine whether a particular loss is covered by insurance.

Contact customers to respond to inquiries or to notify them of claim investigation results or any planned adjustments.

Resolve customers` service or billing complaints by performing activities such as exchanging merchandise, refunding money, or adjusting bills.

Compare disputed merchandise with original requisitions and information from invoices and prepare invoices for returned goods.

Obtain and examine all relevant information to assess validity of complaints and to determine possible causes, such as extreme weather conditions that could increase utility bills.

More Tasks for Customer Service Representatives

Top Skills used in this Job

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others` reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others` actions.

Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.

More Skills for Customer Service Representatives

Top Abilities (Attributes of the person that influence performance in this job.)

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

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Top Work Values (Aspects of this job that create satisfaction.)

Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

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Top Interests (The types of activities someone in this job would like.)

Enterprising - Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.

Conventional - Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.

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Alternate Titles

Account Services Representatives; Call Center Representatives; Client Services Representatives; and Member Services Representatives.