Customer service adviser
Help customers with their enquiries and tasks. Be friendly, helpful and patient so people get a good impression of the company you work for.
Also known as: customer service assistant, customer assistant
About the job
A day in the life – Customer service adviser
What it's like
You'd help customers with their enquiries and tasks. You’d answer their enquiry or put them in touch with the right department.
You’d often be a person’s first point of contact with the company you work so you’d need to be friendly, helpful and patient.
You could deal with customers face-to-face, or you might help them over the phone or by email.
Your tasks might include:
answering customer enquiries or putting them in touch with the right department
giving information and helping to solve problems
selling products or taking orders
arranging services for customers, such as booking tickets or setting up insurance policies
handling complaints
entering customer information onto a computer database
taking payments and giving refunds
Hours
In a full-time job you'd usually work between 35 to 40 hours a week. Shift work including evenings and weekends is common in the retail, leisure and contact centre industries. Part-time work is very common.
Environment
Depending on your employer you could work from an office or a customer service desk. In office jobs you'd spend a lot of your time on the telephone and using a computer. The working environment can be very busy. You may need to wear a uniform, particularly if you deal with customers face-to-face.
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Related industries
Many jobs can be done in lots of different industries. We've highlighted the ones we think are most important for this job.
Top skills
Skills are things you're good at. Whether you know what yours are or not, everyone has them!
It's useful to learn which ones are important in a job so you know the areas you need to brush up on. It can also help you work out if you're suited to a career.
Top specialised skills
These are the top specialised skills that have been found in job vacancies across Scotland. From March 2024 to March 2025.
- merchandising
- inbound calls
- call center experience
- food safety and sanitation
- baking
- outbound calls
- customer inquiries
- cash handling
- restocking shelves
- meal service
Meta skills
Here are some of the meta skills you'll need to do this job.
- attention to detail
- respecting
- empathising
- problem solving
- verbal communication
- listening
- cooperating
- building relationships
- positive attitude
Things you should know
The team from Royal London chat about some of the skills that are important for working in customer service.
Your skills are important
Our unique skillsets are what make us stand out from the crowd. Learn about each skill in depth and discover what employers look for in your applications and interviews.
Getting in
Explore each section to find more information about getting into this career.
Colleges and universities will list subjects you'll need for entry to a course. Some useful subjects include:
Administration and Information Technology
Business
English
English and Communication
There are no formal qualification to get into this job but most employers will value a good general education with English and Maths. Some employers will ask for qualifications at SCQF level 4/5.
Qualifications and experience that demonstrate customer service skills, keyboard skills and good telephone manner such as Skills for Work: Financial Services (SCQF level 5).
You can gain relevant work-based qualifications such as Scottish Vocational Qualifications in Contact Centre Operations (SVQ level 2/3) or Customer Services (SVQ level 2/3).
You may need experience or qualifications in a particular field, for example insurance or mortgages advice, for some jobs.
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