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Online Customer Service Jobs

Online Customer Service Jobs

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Description

Want to get into customer service, but unable to commute to an office? Take a look at these online customer service jobs from home!

Online Customer Service Jobs from Home

Introduction

In the US and many other countries around the world, the service sector has been expanding for years. And relative to that growth is the need for employees with customer service skills.

Thanks to the rapid and continual development of the internet, computers, and related software over the past 20 years, home-based job opportunities have become not only more popular, but more available too. Companies have started recognizing the potential of hiring remote workers in addition to, or in lieu of, filling cubicles in an office block.

The same is especially true for customer service. Not only are there more positions available, but there are also more types of customer service jobs that are embracing the realm of work-from-home employment.

Who Hires Customer Service People?

Growth has been happening at a rapid pace, but that doesn't mean all customer service positions have become available for working remotely. In fact, the majority of positions remain office-based, for largely practical reasons.

However, there are 5 types of customer service jobs that are available for those who want or need to be able to work from home. And there are a few companies that hire for those positions.

Let's introduce you to them.

Home Call Center Agents

The most obvious, perhaps, is the position of home call center agents. You'll be doing exactly the same work as an office-bound call center agent, except you'll get to do it from the comfort of your own home.

Here's a list of call centers that hire home-based agents:

Accolade Support Call Center Services

Accolade Support Call Center Services offers both part-time and full-time positions. Payment is calculated on a per-call-minute basis, with a maximum of $10 an hour.

AdviseTech

AdviseTech is ideal for those looking for part-time work that only requires 2 to 6 hours a week, at $10 an hour.

Amazon.com

Amazon.com only hires from specific locations in the US and pays $10 to $12 an hour. Most of the positions are seasonal, however.

American Airlines

Applicants need to live no further than 75 miles from Fort Worth, Texas, due to the 10-week onsite training. Wages start at $10 to $11 an hour, but as full-time American Airlines employee, you'll also receive certain benefits.

Apple at Home

Apple at Home, part of the AppleCare department, hires students and non-students alike. However, students need to be enrolled in specific colleges, from which Apple regularly recruits.

Carenet Healthcare Services

Carenet Healthcare Services offers full-time employment, including overnight work, for registered nurses at $25 an hour.

Enterprises

Enterprise hires full-time online customer service agents for their various car rental agencies. Pay starts at $12.50, though French- and Spanish-speaking applicants will be offered a higher salary.

Hilton Hotels

Whether you're looking for full-time or part-time work, Hilton Hotels offers employment opportunities via their Dallas and Tampa offices. New employees receive extensive training on the brand, including technical training and support.

Staples and Staples Canada

Staples, as well as Staples Canada, offers work-from-home customer support positions based in Louisiana and across Canada.

Starwood Hotels

Starwood Hotels offers full-time employment for those living within Austin, Texas's 512 area code (due to the 4-week training program). Pay is $9 an hour plus benefits and incentives.

XACT Telesolutions

XACT Telesolutions hires English and bilingual Spanish online call center agents for both inbound and outbound calls. Pay is $8 to $13 an hour.

Looking for more opportunities? Try the following:

Online Chat Agent

If there's a fair amount of noise and/or other distractions in your home environment, you'll need to look for a non-phone online customer service jobs.

Thankfully, that's not an impossibility. You can become an online chat agent instead.

Online chat agents can perform a variety of tasks, such as answering billing questions, selling products, and/or tech support.

Here are some of our favorite companies offering work-from-home online chat agent positions.

Apple at Home

Apple at Home shows the truth that many online chat jobs can be found at call center jobs. While the hiring process can be lengthy, pay is determined by experience level, so there's opportunity for growth.

Convergys Home Agent Program

Convergys Home Agent Program similarly hires online chat support agents in addition to their call center remote opportunities.

Alorica

Alorica, previously known as Expert Global Solutions, is yet another call center agency that also has remote online chat agent positions available. This is a full-time job, which comes with a full benefits package.

ModSquad

Somewhat different to most of the other online chat support agent opportunities we'll be featuring, ModSquad actually pairs their employees with specific clients to provide social media moderation services.

Support.com

Support.com pays $9 an hour during their training period and $10.50 an hour thereafter for entry-level positions as an online chat support agent. While many of these positions are for technical support, the company also has opportunities for sales and work-at-home management.

Talk 2 Rep

Talk 2 Rep is used by recognizable brands such as Sears, Lowe's, AT&T, Comcast, and Procter & Gamble. While most of their positions are for in-office support agent work, they do occasionally hire remote workers too. Skill and experience requirements vary depending on the client Talk 2 Rep wishes to pair you with.

teleNetwork

teleNetwork provides both telephonic and chat support services for billing, online security, tech support, general support, desktop support, and more. However, the 2 types of online support work are separate, so you can choose to apply for an online chat position without having to worry about needing to use a phone.

Virtual Assistant

Virtual assistants provide a more specialized level of online support, in that instead of primarily dealing with customers, you'll be working as the assistant for a single client. The work is almost identical to that of an in-office assistant (formerly known as a secretary), except that you'll be able to work from home.

Becoming a virtual assistant does require you to take on more responsibilities than most other online support agents. You'll have to assist with emails, calender management, research, bookings, phone calls, and more.

If you think you're up for the task, take a look at the following companies that hire virtual assistants.

Belay Solutions

Belay Solutions, formerly known as eaHelp, requires that applicants have at least 5 years' experience in project management or administration and submit to a series of interviews before they'll accept your application. Depending on the client they pair you up with, you could receive $13 to $19 an hour and work between 10 and 40+ hours a week.

Coalition Technologies

Coalition Technologies offers a wide-range of opportunities to work from home, including virtual assistant positions. Work is full-time, 40 hours a week, but your salary will be between $25,000 and $58,000 a year depending on company profits (Coalition Technologies shares 50% of their profits among all workers).

Delegate Solutions

Delegate Solutions hires virtual assistants via FlexJobs – which does mean you'll need to pay a membership fee in order to view and respond to job postings. Hours and pay will be included in those postings.

Equivity

Equivity operates in a similar manner to Belay Solutions (above). However, you'll need a Bachelor's degree and at least 5 years experience as an assistant (in-office or virtual) in order to qualify. Hours are typically 20 to 40 hours per week, at $16.50 an hour.

Gabbyville

Gabbyville offers virtual assistant positions that are primarily focused on performing call center-like duties using a T1 VoIP phone line. You'll need to be able to type at a speed of 50 words per minute and have at least 2 years' experience to apply. Pay is on the lower-end at $9 to $10 an hour.

Profit Factory

Profit Factory assists virtual assistants with finding clients, so requirements for the position will vary. Some of the opportunities also require on-the-job training. Pay rates range from $17 to $20 per hour for part-time positions and $38,000 to $42,000 a year full-time, though these are sometimes only the starting salaries.

Red Butler

Red Butler is a company that specializes very nearly entirely on virtual assistant positions (the only other job type available are for in-house Dedicated Assistant positions). You'll need to pay a membership fee, but you can set your own hourly rates at $5, $10, $20, or $40 per hour.

Travel Agent

Travel agents, as the title suggests, assist clients in booking their flights and other travel arrangements. Most available positions do require prior experience and/or certification, though.

If that fits your resume, take a look at the following opportunities:

ADTRAV Travel Management

ADTRAV Travel Management is the second-largest government travel provider, hiring from a variety of cities in the US.

American Express

American Express is open to applicants from Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US. You do need previous experience to be considered.

BCD Travel

BCD Travel is a global company with over 12,000 professional employees, including a vast number of remote workers.

CCRA Travel Solutions

CCRA Travel Solutions assists in booking corporate travel arrangements for major businesses. You'll need to be based in Denver, Colorado to apply for a part-time position.

Looking for more opportunities? Take a look at:

Technical Support

Most of the previously covered online support agent types include a focus on technical support. However, if you're wanting to specialize solely in providing this type of work, take a look at the following list of companies in particular:

What Does an Online Customer Service Rep Do?

Online customer service representatives perform the same vital tasks as their in-person counterparts: assisting companies in establishing and maintaining their reputation. You'll be the voice of the company that hires you, saddled with a host of tasks that revolve around handling requests and inquiries from customers.

Depending on which of the above types of online customer service jobs you're hired for, you'll either be doing so via phone or electronic communication. The latter can refer to emails and/or online chat software.

In terms of providing telephonic customer services, you may be asked to handle in-bound or out-bound calls.

How Much Can You Earn?

This depends heavily on whether you find temporary, part-time, or full-time work as a home-based online customer service representative.

However, here are some ballpark figures to consider, courtesy of Salary.com:

  • Income typically starts at around $29,215 a year
  • High-end income typically caps at about $41,189 a year
  • As of February 2019, the average income for online customer service reps is $34,464 a year

Important Skills Needed

While you may think being an online customer service representative is an easy job, it actually requires a number of important skills. Unlike office-based jobs, as a work-from-home customer service representative, you won't be able to rely on in-house training (though some companies do provide training for home-based employees too).

This means you'll want to build up as many of the following skills as you can:

  • Customer service skills
  • Product knowledge
  • Market knowledge
  • Quality focus
  • Documentation skills
  • Phone, email, and/or online chat skills
  • Listening skills
  • Conflict resolution
  • Multitasking
  • Negotiation skills
  • Positivity
  • Analysis
  • Problem solving
  • Attention to detail
  • Adaptability
  • Ability to work under pressure
  • People skills
  • Organizational skills

Conclusion

Finding opportunities to work from home has never been easier. With the resources we've listed, you'll easily be able to make a success of your endeavors as an online customer service agent!

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