How to Become a Customer Service Representative

A customer service representative handles incoming calls from a company's customers, and finds answers to their specific questions. When you become a customer service representative, you will be expected to handle customer complaints, answer specific questions about your company's products and services. Most importantly, connect them with the proper resources if you are unable to find a specific solution for them. Read on to learn more.

Things You'll Need

• Computer skills
• Phone line

Instructions

Become a Customer Service Representative

1. Determine if you have the right skills to be an effective customer service representative, such as a friendly and helpful phone manner and the ability to handle repetitive, yet potentially stressful, work. Customer service representatives should not take complaints or even verbal abuse personally, and should feel satisfaction at being able to troubleshoot and solve problems for customers.

2. Become comfortable with using most computer operating systems, such as Microsoft Windows. Being able to retrieve information quickly from a software-driven database is the most useful tool of the modern customer service representative.

3. Decide which type of customer service representative work you would like to do, and for which type of company. Choosing to represent products or services that are familiar with may help you to seem more informative and helpful to the customer.

4. Plan a career path, if you are so inclined, using the customer service representative position as a starting point. Customer service representatives have replaced the old-fashioned mail room clerk as the most common entry-level position in most companies, and it is possible to work your way up to more lucrative positions, since so many companies prefer to promote from within these days.

5. Find customer service representative positions using traditional methods, such as employment agencies and classified ads. Or, you can use an online job resource such as CareerBuilder or Monster to save time, since you will be able to fill out applications and send resumes electronically (see Resources below).

6. Consider finding a customer service representative position that allows you to work from home, especially if you have any type of special needs or need to stay with young children. Many companies offer this type of position, although you may have to pay for some of the equipment, including the special phone line that will be needed to hooked up to connect you to the main call center.

Tips & Warnings

• There is a great demand for customer service representatives who are bilingual, especially in Spanish. Having this skill can be quite an advantage when negotiating for pay.

Resources

• CareerBuilder for jobs
• Monster.com for jobs