Is Customer Service a Good Career? Experts Weigh In

Gladly Team

Read Time

4 minute read

After a tumultuous few years marred by a pandemic and economic upheaval, many people are considering new career paths. As you’ve explored what you want your next professional move to be, you may have wondered: “Is customer service a good career?”

The customer service revolution is a byproduct of the loyalty economy, which Gladly defines as the reprioritization of winning and retaining customers in order to achieve the most sustainable revenue streams. This new landscape includes enormous opportunities (and, admittedly, challenges) for careers in customer service, as these roles become more dynamic.

Here’s where support centers stand today, and the pros and cons of working in this modern workplace.

A Modern Career in Customer Service

Four years ago, working in customer service was less complex. Even just a decade prior, the only expectation customers had from brands was that a rep would pick up the phone when they called or contact them back if they left a voicemail.

But today, shoppers want to be able to reach the brands they shop from on a variety of channels, from SMS to chat, and they want an immediate solution to their issues. In Gladly’s own 2022 Customer Expectations Report, we found that many customers would leave a brand altogether after just two bad experiences.

In this new economy, loyalty is the ultimate currency, with personalized relationship-driven service paving the way for brands to drive customer lifetime value (LTV). Creating loyalty through service has never been harder, nor a richer opportunity for both brands and prospective employees looking to build their careers.

[Read more: 3 Key Reasons Great Service Drives Higher LTV]

Customer Service Can Be a Good Career

Working in customer service puts you in a vital position to help a company grow while receiving the opportunities to advance within that company. This makes it a good career for those who enjoy reaping the rewards of helping others.

Here are a few of the benefits and disadvantages of pursuing a career in an ecommerce support center in 2023.

Benefits of Working in Customer Service

A career in customer service comes with the benefits of greater investment from brand leaders, internal opportunities, and the freedom to work remotely.

1. Brands are investing in customer service: Instead of putting resources behind attracting new customers, ecommerce brands are wisely allocating budget to their support teams to drive LTV and loyalty. That means customer service agents are likely to have access to benefits, internal support, and state-of-the-art support tech.

2. Internal growth opportunities: Support reps do more now than ever before, from solving issues, to becoming brand experts, to even creating new sales opportunities through close shopper relationships. If you’re looking to expand your toolbelt, service is now the place to do it.

3. Ability to work anywhere: Accelerated by the pandemic, remote work in customer service is now commonplace. With technology making conversation routing even easier, your commute could be as simple as rolling out of bed and throwing on a headset.

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Disadvantages of Working in Customer Service

Customer service isn’t all fun and games. Some of the common difficulties include the high expectations brand leaders place on service as well as the emotional burden of customer frustrations.

1. High brand expectations: A downside to benefit No. 1 is that as brands put more money into support, they’re also going to expect higher performance from agents than in previous eras of service. More nuanced modern metrics now measure each aspect of an agent’s service capabilities for greater visibility into who’s meeting standards.

2. High customer frustrations: Customers are raising their expectations as well. This means that, if you lack the essential soft skills and means to provide a personalized experience, you’re going to feel the pressure (and potentially even the wrath) from these more demanding shoppers.

Working For the Right Support Center

As you ask yourself “is customer service a good career choice?” and weigh these pros and cons, make sure to also consider what kind of support center you could see yourself working at. Good companies will not only invest in service, but will also allow agents more control over their day-to-day tasks as well as their overall career trajectories.

Platforms like Gladly put more power in the hands of support reps and give them unprecedented autonomy when dealing with customers and driving revenue growth through upselling and cross-selling opportunities. These tools help agents prove their value to a brand and climb the ranks within their companies.

When you look for your next place to work, consider a support center that takes care of its employees like one that uses Gladly.

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