CUSTOMER SERVICES
EXPLORE A CAREER IN CUSTOMER SERVICES
For most organisations, including merchants and their suppliers, customer services are responsible for:
- Making sales
- Serving customers with the best customer service
- Providing information about products and services
- Solving problems
- Administrative duties
- Keeping an eye on stock levels and ensuring that stock is replenished
- Keeping the customer service space clean and tidy to please customers.
Dependent on experience and training there is plenty of opportunities for career progression in customer services.If you start as a customer service assistant a career path for you can be:
- Customer Service Assistant
- Customer Service Advisor
- Customer Service Team Leader
- Customer Service Manager
To find out how to start your career and where a career in Customer Services can take you click the tabs below.
CUSTOMER SERVICE ASSISTANT
Customer service assistants deal with customers' queries, purchases and complaints.
Average salary (a year) - £12,500 to £23,000
Typical hours (a week) - 37 to 40
How to become a customer service assistant?
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
College
You can take a college course before applying for a job. Courses are widely available and include:
- Level 1 Certificate in Customer Service
- Level 2 Certificate in Contact Centre Operations
There are no set entry requirements for this route.
Apprenticeships
You can do an intermediate or advanced apprenticeship in customer service. You'll usually need:
- some GCSEs, usually including English and maths, for an intermediate apprenticeship
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), usually including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
To view apprenticeship vacancies click here.Direct application
You can apply for jobs if you have customer service experience. Employers may expect you to have some GCSEs, or equivalent qualifications, but also good communication skills and a friendly personality
You'll need:
- 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
- You will be expected to use a computer confidently as part of this job.
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Your day-to-day tasks may include:
- answering customers' questions by phone, email, webchat or face-to-face
- giving quotations and checking product availability
- selling and taking payment
- handling complaints or passing them to a manager
- entering customer information onto a computer database
- tracking orders and giving refunds
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You could work at a store, in a contact centre or in an office. You may need to wear a uniform.
Career Progression / Related Careers
- Team Leader
- Customer Services Manager
- Customers Advisor
In Job Training
With experience, you could progress to team leader or customer services manager.You could also move into sales or account handling.To help you progress, you can access training courses such as:
- Excellence in Customer Service
- Essential sales skills
- Increasing sales on the phone
Download our Training Road Map
CUSTOMER SERVICE MANAGER
Customer service manager, Customer service advisor
Customer services managers develop service standards, deal with customer enquiries and manage customer service teams.
Average salary (a year) - £20,500 to £70,000
Typical hours (a week) - 38 to 40
How to become a Customer Service manager?
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- a university course
- an apprenticeship
- working towards this role
- training with a professional body
College
There is no set entry route to become a customer service manager but it could be useful to do a relevant qualification, like a Level 3 or 4 Diploma in Customer Services.Entry requirements for this course vary dependant on chosen college.
University
You could do a foundation degree, higher national diploma or degree and then apply for a place on a graduate management trainee scheme. The subject you take will depend on the industry you want to work in, for example:
- business management
- retail management
Entry requirements
You'll usually need:
- 1 or 2 A levels for a foundation degree or higher national diploma
- 2 to 3 A levels for a degree
Apprenticeships
You could do a customer services advanced apprenticeship. After finishing, you could take further training to become a manager.You may be able to do a more specific higher or degree apprenticeship to become a manager, depending on your industry. Examples include:
- marketing
- retail
- transport
Entry requirementsYou'll usually need:
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), usually including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship
- 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C) and college qualifications like A levels for a higher or a degree apprenticeship To view apprenticeship vacancies click here
Work
You could start as a customer service adviser and with training, move up to become a team supervisor, team leader then manager.There are many customer service training courses, and your employer would suggest the ones most relevant to the industry you work in.
Ideally you'll need knowledge or experience in the following:
- customer service skills
- administration skills
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- the ability to work well with others
- the ability to use your initiative
- You will be expected to use a computer confidently as part of this job.
Your day-to-day tasks may include:
- developing customer service policies and procedures
- leading a team of customer services staff
- handling enquiries and complaints
- authorising refunds
- making sure accurate records are kept
- helping to recruit, train and assess new staff
- keeping up to date with customer service developments
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You could work in an office or in a shop.You may need to wear a uniform.
Career Progression / Related Careers
- Division Manager
- Customer Service Director
In Job Training
You could move into a more senior position, be responsible for customer service across a region, or become a customer service director for a whole organisation. To help you progress, you can access training courses such as,
- People management skills
- Managing for success
- Proactive Sales Management
Download our Training Road Map
MADGA'S STORY
“ Lots of businesses say that we are a people business. I don’t think I would of stayed in the industry for 9 years if I didn’t believe that. I get a sense of achievement getting up every morning and realising I get to help people, people who want to move, build homes and improve the quality of living they have.”
FIND YOUR NEXT CAREER
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- It is good fun! It is a friendly environment where everyone you meet, whether it is colleagues customers, are full of banter. There is a lot to learn and you won’t be bored. It is the perfect job for those who don’t want to sit behind a desk all day.
- A strong customer service ethic is the main skill you will need. You will also require communication skills to help you with effectively communicating with colleagues and customers.
- If you see yourself working in a shop you could work in Builders Merchants or show room. But there are also job opportunities working on the telephones answering customer queries for both the suppliers and larger merchants
- Not at all! A lot of people already in the industry start their customer service career by chance, a lot of them starting at a young age as a part time assistant or as weekend worker. You can get on the job training, and if you wish to progress in this role, there are plenty of opportunities to take qualifications alongside your job role.
TAKE THE NEXT STEP TO YOUR NEW START
