At various agencies and corporations, customer-service clerks usually work for one or several business executives. Their primary duties include entering the executive schedules, answering phone calls, drafting correspondence, making travel arrangements, and contacting clients for meetings. They also filter clients in and out of their supervisors’ offices, usually having them wait until the executive is free to meet them. As per the executive’s instructions, they may also perform research and accompany the executive to company meetings. These jobs require heavy multi-tasking since the clerk usually interacts with customers both in-person and on the telephone while doing administrative work.
Besides working at corporations, customer service clerks take up hotel administration jobs. Such people mainly work in hotel lobbies, where they greet customers, book rooms, and check customers in and out of the hotel. They also work at call centers where they handle both incoming and outgoing phone calls. At the front desk, they assist customers with questions and update hotel managers on noteworthy developments.
Hotel customer service jobs can be stressful during busy times of the year, especially when the hotel is fully booked. Hotel clerks, or receptionists, must be able to handle high-stress surroundings while performing data-entry on computers and interacting with customers (which they often do simultaneously). They must also be capable of handling customer complaints and do everything in their power to satisfy customers. The hotel industry is extremely competitive, with many hotels often clustered. Because these hotels often offer the same luxurious features, their success rate hinges a great deal on their customer service. In turn, this customer service largely falls to receptionists, who are the primary interface for customers.
Hotel administration includes senior-level jobs such as supervisors and managers. These managers keep their hotel running as smoothly as possible. To accomplish this objective, they thoroughly investigate customer complaints, hire and fire staff members, and keep a close eye on budgets. Most hotels have departmental managers, including reservation managers, kitchen managers, room managers, and facility managers. Hotels also have general managers, to whom all lower-level managers report. Especially large hotels have a director to whom the general manager reports.
Arts administration jobs follow the same structure as hotel admin jobs. These jobs are located at arts institutions such as museums, theaters, concert halls, and other cultural centers. Again, customer service clerks are the first point of contact for customers. At performances and exhibitions, clerks sell tickets to the customers and usher them to their seats. They also write reports related to their institution and send out donation inquiries. Moreover, they routinely do spreadsheets, data-entry, website updates, and press releases. They usually work alongside their institution’s office managers.
Arts administration managers oversee the functions of their institution. For instance, museums have exhibition administrators who design current and future exhibits. They communicate with other parties for loaned-out exhibition items and arrange insurance coverage for those highly valuable items. They arrange special travel arrangements for these items with international art-transport companies and communicate with customs agents. Moreover, they supervise press kits, gallery catalogs, website updates, exhibition-label design, and grant writing. They usually delegate these jobs to interns or administrative assistants, but give the final approval for each job.
More than ever, both hotel and arts administration jobs require postgraduate education. Hotel managers usually have Master of Business Administration degrees (MBAs) in hospitality management, while arts administrators have Master of Arts in Arts Administration degrees. While earning these advanced degrees, they complete internships, work entry-level arts admin jobs, and network with professionals. They cap off their studies by learning one or more foreign languages due to the worldwide clientele.
Hotel and arts administration careers only represent a small span of customer service admin jobs. Customer service clerks are likewise found in industries such as construction, interior design, software, and car agencies. In most cases, these clerks perform routine clerical work while administrative managers hold professional degrees and technical experience in their field.
Because these jobs are so variegated, it is difficult to calculate an average income level for customer service clerks. Those working at entry-level admin jobs, such as administrative assistants, make about $13.00 per hour for the first four years of work. Those who continue jobs for over ten years make about $15.00 per hour. Nonetheless, most administrative assistants decide to advance to mid-level or senior-level jobs, such as managers and even directors. Hotel managers make about $40,000 for the first four years of work, advancing to about $80,000 per year after perhaps twenty years of service. Moreover, arts administrators make about $40,000 after the first four years of service, with a potential salary jump to $90,000 after ten years or more. Arts administrator salaries, however, widely vary depending on being a profit or non-profit institution.
Lastly, directors in both the hotel and arts administration fields usually make over $100,000, though these positions are keenly competitive.
Customer service job requirements are difficult to pin down because requirements vary from industry to industry. That is, entry-level administrative positions usually do not demand a college education, while entry-level arts administrative assistant positions require at least a bachelor’s degree. The requirements largely depend on whether the job seekers wish to advance in their field or prefer to stay put at the entry-level, doing mainly clerical work.
