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Customer Service Representatives

Interact with customers to provide basic or scripted information in response to routine inquiries about products and services. May handle and resolve general complaints. Excludes individuals whose duties are primarily installation, sales, repair, and technical support.

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    Work Activities

    Work Activities

    • Compare disputed merchandise with original requisitions and information from invoices and prepare invoices for returned goods.
    • Determine charges for services requested, collect deposits or payments, or arrange for billing.
    • Complete contract forms, prepare change of address records, or issue service discontinuance orders, using computers.
    • Solicit sales of new or additional services or products.
    • 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.
    • Determine charges for services requested, collect deposits or payments, or arrange for billing.
    • Check to ensure that appropriate changes were made to resolve customers' problems.
    • Refer unresolved customer grievances to designated departments for further investigation.
    • Recommend improvements in products, packaging, shipping, service, or billing methods and procedures to prevent future problems.
    • Compare disputed merchandise with original requisitions and information from invoices and prepare invoices for returned goods.
    • Resolve customers' service or billing complaints by performing activities such as exchanging merchandise, refunding money, or adjusting bills.
    • 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.
    • Keep records of customer interactions or transactions, recording details of inquiries, complaints, or comments, as well as actions taken.
    • Resolve customers' service or billing complaints by performing activities such as exchanging merchandise, refunding money, or adjusting bills.
    • 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.

    Skills

    • Systems Analysis

      Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

    • Critical Thinking

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

    • Operations Analysis

      Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

    • Operations Monitoring

      Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

    • Installation

      Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

    • Management of Personnel Resources

      Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

    • Management of Financial Resources

      Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

    • Time Management

      Managing your time and the time of other people.

    • Negotiation

      Bringing people together to solve differences.

    • Service Orientation

      Looking for ways to help people.

    • Persuasion

      Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

    • Quality Control Analysis

      Testing how well a product or service works.

    • Equipment Selection

      Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

    • Coordination

      Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

    • Active Learning

      Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

    • Monitoring

      Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

    • Social Perceptiveness

      Understanding people's reactions.

    • Equipment Maintenance

      Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

    • Instructing

      Teaching people how to do something.

    • Learning Strategies

      Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

    • Technology Design

      Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

    • Management of Material Resources

      Managing equipment and materials.

    • Active Listening

      Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

    • Speaking

      Talking to others.

    • Writing

      Writing things for co-workers or customers.

    • Reading Comprehension

      Reading work-related information.

    • Complex Problem Solving

      Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

    • Repairing

      Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

    • Systems Evaluation

      Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

    • Troubleshooting

      Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

    • Judgment and Decision Making

      Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

    • Operation and Control

      Using equipment or systems.

    • Programming

      Writing computer programs.

    • Science

      Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

    • Mathematics

      Using math to solve problems.

    WorkKeys®

    Applied Math
    4
    Workplace Documents
    4
    Graphic Literacy
    4

    Abilities

    • Manual Dexterity

      Holding or moving items with your hands.

    • Arm-Hand Steadiness

      Keeping your arm or hand steady.

    • Dynamic Flexibility

      Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Deductive Reasoning

      Using rules to solve problems.

    • Oral Expression

      Communicating by speaking.

    • Written Expression

      Communicating by writing.

    • Mathematical Reasoning

      Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

    • Auditory Attention

      Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

    • Memorization

      Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

    • Near Vision

      Seeing details up close.

    • Far Vision

      Seeing details that are far away.

    • Spatial Orientation

      Knowing where things are around you.

    • Finger Dexterity

      Putting together small parts with your fingers.

    • Explosive Strength

      Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

    • Dynamic Strength

      Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

    • Inductive Reasoning

      Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

    • Oral Comprehension

      Listening and understanding what people say.

    • Multilimb Coordination

      Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

    • Rate Control

      Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

    • Reaction Time

      Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

    • Wrist-Finger Speed

      Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

    • Speech Recognition

      Recognizing spoken words.

    • Speed of Closure

      Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

    • Speed of Limb Movement

      Quickly moving your arms and legs.

    • Perceptual Speed

      Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

    • Gross Body Equilibrium

      Keeping your balance or staying upright.

    • Flexibility of Closure

      Seeing hidden patterns.

    • Glare Sensitivity

      Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

    • Category Flexibility

      Grouping things in different ways.

    • Written Comprehension

      Reading and understanding what is written.

    • Selective Attention

      Paying attention to something without being distracted.

    • Visual Color Discrimination

      Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

    • Peripheral Vision

      Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

    • Depth Perception

      Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

    • Gross Body Coordination

      Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

    • Extent Flexibility

      Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

    • Control Precision

      Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

    • Fluency of Ideas

      Coming up with lots of ideas.

    • Problem Sensitivity

      Noticing when problems happen.

    • Speech Clarity

      Speaking clearly.

    • Time Sharing

      Doing two or more things at the same time.

    • Sound Localization

      Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

    • Trunk Strength

      Using your lower back and stomach.

    • Originality

      Creating new and original ideas.

    • Night Vision

      Seeing at night or under low light.

    • Response Orientation

      Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

    • Visualization

      Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

    • Static Strength

      Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

    • Stamina

      Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

    • Information Ordering

      Ordering or arranging things.

    • Number Facility

      Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

    • Hearing Sensitivity

      Telling the difference between sounds.

    Knowledge

    • Design

      Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

    • Mathematics

      Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

    • Production and Processing

      Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

    • History and Archeology

      Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

    • Engineering and Technology

      Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

    • Medicine and Dentistry

      Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

    • Food Production

      Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

    • Mechanical

      Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

    • Geography

      Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

    • Foreign Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

    • Biology

      Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

    • Customer and Personal Service

      Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

    • Fine Arts

      Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

    • Therapy and Counseling

      Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

    • Transportation

      Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

    • English Language

      Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

    • Physics

      Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

    • Administration and Management

      Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

    • Psychology

      Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

    • Economics and Accounting

      Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

    • Education and Training

      Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

    • Personnel and Human Resources

      Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

    • Public Safety and Security

      Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

    • Law and Government

      Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

    • Building and Construction

      Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

    • Philosophy and Theology

      Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

    • Sales and Marketing

      Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

    • Sociology and Anthropology

      Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

    • Computers and Electronics

      Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

    • Telecommunications

      Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

    • Communications and Media

      Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

    • Chemistry

      Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

    • Administrative

      Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

    Career Video

    Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

    Pay

    • Ohio Annual Salary 39880/yr
    • Typical Salary
    • Ohio Hourly Wage 19.17/hr
    • Typical Hourly Wage

    Ohio Employment Trends

    • Currently Employed 97,690
    • Yearly Projected Openings 12880

    Typical Education

    Personality

    Conventional: People interested in this work like activities that include data, detail, and regular routines.They do well at jobs that need:
    • Dependability
    • Attention to Detail
    • Self Control
    • Stress Tolerance
    • Integrity
    • Adaptability/Flexibility

    Tools

    • Autodialers
    • Automated attendant systems
    • Automatic call distributor ACD
    • Cash registers
    • Desktop computers
    • Digital telephones
    • Global positioning system GPS receiver
    • Music or message on hold player
    • Personal digital assistant PDAs or organizers
    • Phone headsets
    • Scanners
    • Special purpose telephones
    • Standalone telephone caller identification

    Technology

    • Access software
    • Accounting software
    • Backup or archival software
    • Business intelligence and data analysis software
    • Cloud-based data access and sharing software
    • Communications server software
    • Computer based training software
    • Contact center software
    • Customer relationship management CRM software
    • Data base reporting software
    • Data base user interface and query software
    • Desktop communications software
    • Desktop publishing software
    • Document management software
    • Electronic mail software
    • Enterprise resource planning ERP software
    • Enterprise system management software
    • Fax software
    • Financial analysis software
    • Graphics or photo imaging software
    • Helpdesk or call center software
    • Human resources software
    • Information retrieval or search software
    • Instant messaging software
    • Internet browser software
    • Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
    • Materials requirements planning logistics and supply chain software
    • Medical software
    • Mobile messaging service software
    • Multi-media educational software
    • Network conferencing software
    • Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software
    • Office suite software
    • Operating system software
    • Point of sale POS software
    • Presentation software
    • Project management software
    • Spreadsheet software
    • Time accounting software
    • Transaction security and virus protection software
    • Video conferencing software
    • Video creation and editing software
    • Voice recognition software
    • Web page creation and editing software
    • Word processing software

    Tags

    • InDemand occupations are considered a priority by the state of Ohio.
    • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.

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