Customer service assistants or advisers deal with customer enquiries and complaints.
What does a customer service assistant do?
This role may include:
- answering customer enquiries or passing them on to another department
- giving information, and helping to solve problems
- selling products or taking orders
- arranging services for customers, such as booking tickets or setting up insurance policies
- handling complaints and passing them on to a manager if required
- entering customer information onto a computer database
- taking payment for goods or services
- giving refunds
What do I need to do to become a customer service assistant?
To work as a customer services assistant, your people skills will be just as important as your formal qualifications. Employers will look for a good general standard of education but excellent communication skills, a friendly personality and some IT skills will also be useful.
Previous experience of working with people in a face-to-face setting, or over the telephone and by email could also be helpful.
You could take a college course to gain some of the skills and knowledge needed to work in customer service. Courses are widely available and include:
- Level 1 Award for Introduction to Customer Service
- Level 1 Award/Certificate in Principles of Customer Service
- Level 2 Award/Certificate in Customer Service
- Level 2 Certificate in Contact Centre Operations
Where to find out more
Where could I be working?
You could work in all kinds of employment sectors, including retail, finance, travel, manufacturing, health, telecommunications and local authorities.