3 Customer Service Job Description Examples for 2022

Customer service is one of the most important positions within a company. A great customer service team can ensure customer loyalty, improve a company’s reputation, and accrue more followers and customers. Daily, they solve problems, foster goodwill, and communicate on the company’s behalf. Through their work, they become the face of the company and establish good relationships between the community and the company’s brand.

Customer service professionals must be excellent critical thinkers who are flexible, analytical, and reliable. The top employees uphold company standards and treat every customer with kindness, respect, and an open mind. Companies with a high-performing customer service team create loyal customers and steady revenue.

Finding and building a stellar customer service team is not easy, but BeamJobs can help. We give examples and advice for writing the best job descriptions, so companies hire the right people. 

The Employer’s Guide to Writing a Customer Service Job Description

Most folks think of customer service cover letters and resumes as the first point of contact, but job descriptions are truly the first interaction between a business and its future employees. This means they should be personal, understandable, and detailed. Instead, most job descriptions are generic, confusing, and vague. It’s easy to write something filled with excess details and overbearing language, but it’s much harder to write something applicants will actually read. 

An excellent customer service job description explains who the company is, the problems they solve, the team who works there, and how their future customer service employee will help the company. It’s more than a list of requirements—it’s a true reflection of what the job looks like daily. Customer service professionals are personable and driven team players; they genuinely want to help others and support the company. So, a customer service job description should allude to the strengths of the customer service team and the company while highlighting how the future hire will assist the company. The description should be enticing and inspiring. Job applicants can read dozens of job descriptions, so organizations that go the extra mile with their job descriptions have a higher chance of finding their ideal employee.

Improving any kind of writing usually means making it more clear and concise, and the same is true for job descriptions. Customer service professionals know how to get to the heart of any issue, so your job description should do the same. The time spent revising for clarity is well-worth it according to the Stanford Engineering STEM Style Guide. If the audience has to work to understand your meaning, they might lose interest altogether and stop reading. The article, "Simple rules for concise scientific writing," argues that concise writing actually builds goodwill with the audience (Scott Hotaling). They get what they came for without confusion and feel satisfied.

Additionally, the article "The Science of Scientific Writing" breaks down the analysis of reader comprehension further—they explain that to write comprehensively means understanding how the reader will interpret the text (Gopen and Swan). Understanding what readers see and their opinion on the piece means authors are more aware of their choices. They can then revise their work to convey the exact meaning they intended. The research on the effectiveness of clear writing extends far beyond the sources listed above, but these articles offer insight into how clear writing affects communication.

Overall, when writing a customer service job description, keep it concise but informative, personal but professional, and strong but not pushy. You should showcase your company and its needs but not at the expense of the reader’s comprehension or interest.

How to structure your customer service job description

Here’s a reliable outline that covers all the bases for all customer service job descriptions. 

Job Details: This functions as the introduction to the job. Who is your company, and what kind of customer service professional are they seeking? Why is it necessary or important that you add a customer service representative? This is an excellent place to include more of your company’s personality, but remember to keep it brief. Readers might not read this first, but this section gives them a taste of what’s to come.

What You’ll Be Doing: The title of this section can also be called “Roles,” “Responsibilities,” or “Requirements.” This should be a list, preferably in bulleted form, of what the applicant will do if they are hired. Many applicants will automatically assume some of their roles, including taking telephone calls and interacting with customers, but don’t shy away from the obvious. Your company does things differently from your competitors, so this section must be crystal clear, outlining and specifying what even the “obvious” roles of a customer service professional will be. Use active verbs and specific wordage, and avoid all jargon and filler.

Qualifications: Applicants need to know what you require from them before they apply. Many customer service jobs require similar experience, so most readers will likely skim this section. You will need to ensure this section highlights the special qualifications your company requires while being understandable even at a glance. Include education, experience, and specialization requirements. Personality words, including but not limited to “self-motivated,” “organized,” and “reliable” are also applicable, but do not overuse them. 

Benefits: You can include this section earlier if you wish, but the reader might want to know what they’ll be doing before you get to the benefits. However, most customer service jobs are similar in required roles, so adding this section earlier might help your company stand out from your competitors. It is up to you where you place this, but make sure you include it somewhere so readers get a sense of what they would gain from working with your company. Be specific.

About the company: This section is reserved for the readers who are truly interested in applying. You can move this section first, but most readers will skip it until they know more about the job itself. Here is where you can give a brief summary of the company. Customer service professionals will need to know about the company’s mission and values to adequately advocate for the company, so this section should be more focused on the company’s goals rather than its history.

Writing a first-rate customer service job description

To create a job description that brings in the applications, always start with your goal—to hire the best employee for the customer service position. It sounds obvious, but everything in the job description must be focused on what your company needs. Does your company need to proactively provide outreach and anticipate problems customers might have? Does your company need to provide information and answer questions about your products? Describe in one to two sentences how this customer service hire will help alleviate your company’s burdens. 

The next step is to write the basics. As you write, keep it limited to the bare necessities, even bullet points if needed. Start with a description. Who is your company, and what type of customer service role are they looking to hire? Then add the position’s duties and responsibilities. Also include the applicant’s required experience and employee benefits as listed in the outline above. Lastly, add in a bit about your company.

Now that you have the basics, you can add on. Add more description until you have full ideas and complete sentences. As you write, keep in mind your audience. If you’re hiring an experienced customer service representative, using jargon is encouraged, but if the job is entry-level, using technical terms will turn away potential applicants. Use plain language, and keep it simple.

Once the facts of the position are set, the harder part begins—making it engaging. As stated previously, job applicants can read dozens, if not tens of dozens, of descriptions, so making yours stand out is crucial. This is the time to really sell your company. Does your company have a good sense of humor? Add some funny quips or use colloquial language. Does this job help the less fortunate? Highlight how your company benefits the community. Above all, ask yourself why someone should be a part of your team. Emotive language and active verbs are great additions here, but take care to not go overboard. Too much emphasis on the quality or expectations can sound fake, or worse, overbearing. Subtle touches go a long way.

The penultimate step is easy and difficult all at once: cut all filler text. Filler text is anything that does not have immediate relevance to the description. Don’t use three words when one will do. Use bullet points for lists. The goal is to make the description easy to read at a glance. If applicants have to scroll through long chunks of text, they’ll either move on or miss something important. Also, look for anything that does not match the tone or message you’re intending. For example, a funny quote can keep people reading, but if it doesn’t have any relevance to the job, it will confuse readers instead of making them want to work with you.

Once the above steps have been completed, take some time away from it before you post. This ensures that when you proofread (which is the last step), you’ll be seeing all the potential mistakes and not glossing over them. It would be wise to have someone else give it one last look-over, too, though that’s not necessarily required.

The last step is proofreading. Look for any grammar or syntax errors or misspelled/misused words (affect vs. effect, for example). Then all that’s left is to post your customer service job description and wait for the applications to start rolling in.

What customer service roles does your company need to fulfill?

As stated above, every position has a series of roles they must complete for their particular job. In customer service, the employee’s main goal is communication with the customer, but that looks different across the board. Listed below are some examples of different roles to include for a customer service job description. One customer service hire might not complete all these roles, but it’s a good place to start.

Call Center 

• Customers frequently want quick solutions to problems, meaning telephone calls are to be expected. Some customer service jobs rely only on telephones, while others include other avenues of communication. Regardless, customer service professionals should know how to handle high volumes of calls about various consumer issues.
• Answer client questions and quickly solve customer complaints via telephone, including customer account issues, return/refund policies, and product inquiries. Must also transfer calls to the correct department and record all calls in the company database.
• This role will require strong verbal communication and problem-solving skills focusing on clarity and empathy with the customer. Experience with KPIs a plus. 

Technical Assistance

• One of the most common reasons a customer reaches out to a company is because of a technical problem. Customers may want a return or refund, their account might not be functioning, or they may not know how to use the company’s website. Customer service professionals must communicate solutions to technical problems quickly and kindly.
• Have a thorough working knowledge of computers and common technical issues. Must also be knowledgeable about the company’s website, account pages, and policies regarding returns, refunds, and customer accounts.
• This role will require strong technical competence, including but not limited to knowledge of computer programming, website maintenance, and keyword optimization.

Marketing

• Sometimes customers don’t have complaints or technical issues, but they do have concerns about your company’s products. Customers like to know that they have an honest advocate who will tell them the good and the bad about what they seek. Whether it’s picking between cleansers or finding the correct accelerator cable, a customer service professional should anticipate a customer’s needs and guide them to the proper solution. 
• Know all the company’s products and services, how they function, and the benefits and drawbacks of them. Proactive product recommendation is expected.
• This role will require experience in marketing and sales. Experience with HubSpot a plus.

Administration

• Customer service professionals must be great at working with people, but they also must be effective at administrative work, including keeping records, gathering data, and transferring requests to the proper departments. Organization and the ability to multitask are essential components of this role.
• Record all customer interactions in the company database, organize client information, and transfer requests to proper departments through email or telephone.
• This role will require great relational ability with managers and staff, attention to detail, strong written and verbal communication skills, and experience with Microsoft Office 365 products, including Word, Excel, and Outlook.

Team Management

• Most customer service professionals operate within a customer service team. Those in more experienced positions may be called on to manage the group. They will track successes, train new employees, and collaborate on best practices. They also may continue their previous position on the front lines with customers while also holding a managerial position.
• Recruit and train new employees, monitor and report on team’s performance, and collaborate on best customer service practices. Will also become an expert on company policies and engagement strategies to develop effective practices for customer satisfaction and retention.
• This role will require several years of experience in customer service roles—management roles preferred but not mandatory. Also requires several years’ experience in team management. Must be responsible, organized, and have strong written and verbal communication skills as well as a thorough knowledge of KPIs and social media metrics.

Advocate

• Above all, customer service professionals are advocates both for the company and the customer. A great customer service professional can create, bolster, or restore relationships between the customer and the company. 
• Ask questions, provide solutions, and establish rapport with customers through timely, empathetic feedback.
• This role will require strong interpersonal skills, including excellent listening skills and empathetic communication. Must also have excellent written and verbal communication skills. Sense of humor a plus.