Customer service assistant

Entry Requirements:

You can get into this job through:

• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• applying directly

Entry requirements:

College

You can take a college course before applying for a job.

Courses are widely available and include a Level 1 Certificate in Customer Service or a Level 2 Certificate in Contact Centre Operations.

Entry requirements:

• 2 or fewer GCSEs at grades 3 to 1 (D to G), or equivalent, for a level 1 course
• 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course

Apprenticeship

You can do a customer service intermediate apprenticeship or a customer service specialist advanced apprenticeship.

Entry requirements:

• some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, or equivalent, for an intermediate apprenticeship
• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

DirectApplication

You can apply for jobs if you have customer service experience, for example from working in a shop, hotel or contact centre.

Employers might want you to have:

• some GCSEs or equal qualifications
• good communication skills
• a friendly personality

Required Skills:

Digital skills : to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

Skills:

• customer service skills
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• the ability to work well with others
• sensitivity and understanding
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• excellent verbal communication skills
• active listening skills
• administration skills
• knowledge of English language
• knowledge of computer operating systems, hardware and software
• a desire to help people
• the ability to read English
• thinking and reasoning skills
• the ability to think clearly using logic and reasoning
• maths knowledge
• persuading skills
• concentration skills
• knowledge of media production and communication
• the ability to work well with your hands

What you'll do:

Customer service assistants deal with customer questions, purchases and complaints.

In this role you could:

• answer customer questions by phone, email, webchat, social media or in person
• give quotations and check product availability
• sell products or services and take payments
• handle complaints or pass them to a supervisor
• add customer information onto a computer
• track orders and arrange deliveries

Location : You could work in an office, in a contact centre or at a store.
Uniform : You may need to wear a uniform.

Salary:

Starter : £17,000
Experienced : £25,000

These figures are a guide

Working hours:

37 - 40 hours a week

Working Pattern is evenings / weekends / bank holidays on shifts

Career Path:

Customer service skills transfer across lots of different jobs and industries.

With experience you could:

• work in other industries like transport, delivery and storage or digital
• become a team leader, training officer  or customer services manager
• move into areas of a business like sales or account handling