What a customer service representative does
A customer service representative answers customer enquiries by phone, email, chat or in person, resolves problems with orders, accounts or services, and records each interaction in your system. The role may include processing returns, explaining policies, updating account details, booking service calls and passing complex issues to the right department. In product and distribution businesses, representatives often work closely with sales, shipping and accounts receivable to get answers for customers.
Customers remember how they were treated when something went wrong. A capable representative turns a complaint into a resolved issue and a repeat customer, while a poor one can lose an account in a single call. Finch screens for patience, clear communication and accuracy in recording details, and we look at experience with CRM, order management or ticketing systems. We also discuss your service standards so candidates understand your expectations before they interview.
Typical responsibilities
- Respond to customer enquiries by phone, email, chat or in person
- Resolve problems with orders, deliveries, billing or accounts
- Process returns, exchanges, credits and account updates
- Record every interaction accurately in the CRM or ticketing system
- Escalate complex issues and follow up until they are resolved
- Share recurring customer feedback with supervisors
Qualifications and credentials
- A high school diploma; post-secondary education is an asset for some roles
- Previous customer service experience in a phone, retail or office setting
- Clear written and spoken communication, with additional languages an asset
- Experience with CRM, order management or ticketing software
- Basic product or industry knowledge where the role is technical
Who hires a customer service representative
- Distributors, wholesalers and manufacturers
- E-commerce and retail head offices
- Insurance brokerages and financial services companies
- Utilities, telecommunications and service providers
- Property management companies
Where we recruit customer service representative candidates
We fill customer service representative roles for employers across Toronto and the GTA, including North York, Scarborough, Etobicoke, Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, Burlington, Oshawa and Pickering, and for employers across Canada. GTA employers can meet us at our North York office by appointment.
What Finch checks before you meet a candidate
- How the candidate handles an upset customer, tested with a realistic scenario
- Written communication quality for email and chat support
- Accuracy when recording account and order details
- Experience with similar systems and customer types
- Dependability and attendance record, confirmed with former supervisors
Interview questions to ask
- Tell me about a customer you could not give what they wanted. How did you keep the relationship?
- How do you make sure the notes you leave on an account help the next person who reads them?
- What would you do if you suspected a company policy was causing repeat complaints?