Customer service representatives

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. The role reports a median annual salary of $42,830 in the US and is projected to decline by 6% over the next decade. Entry typically requires a High school diploma or equivalent, and shows high AI exposure (0.77 on a 0-1 scale) — significant portions of core tasks are already being automated. The most in-demand skills for the role include relationship marketing, knowledge base, public relations, corporate social responsibility, business communication.

Pay in India (occupation group)

Average monthly earnings of salaried employees in the occupation group “Clerical support workers” in India, from the Government of India's Periodic Labour Force Survey (January–December 2025). It covers everyone in this group, not only Customer service representatives, and it is not US pay converted to rupees.

Source: MoSPI (Government of India), Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, Table 51 — average wage/salary earnings of regular wage/salaried employees, NCO-2015 division 4. Official India data gives one average per occupation group: there are no official India figures for single careers, experience levels or cities. Read the report

Top skills

Knowledge you'll build

• Customer and Personal Service
• English Language
• Administration and Management
• Sales and Marketing
• Mathematics
• Administrative
• Computers and Electronics
• Economics and Accounting

A day in the life

You start your shift by logging into the phone and ticket system and reading updates on any service problems affecting customers today. The first call comes in quickly: a customer is confused by a charge on their bill, so you explain it, correct an error and note the details in their account. Through the morning you handle a stream of calls, chats and emails, answering questions about products, taking orders and changing addresses. A customer's complaint needs more investigation, so you pass it to the right department and promise to follow up. After lunch you call back customers whose issues are now resolved and check that the changes were made correctly. You also set up a new service contract and cancel another. Dealing with angry or frustrated people and repeating the same answers can be draining. But when you turn around an upset customer and they thank you for your patience, it makes the day feel worthwhile.

Illustrative: one typical day, written from the O*NET task statements for this occupation. Real days vary by employer and seniority.

What you'd actually do

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

Tools & technology you'd use

Frequently asked questions