It has become evident that effective customer service is required in order for a business to be profitable. People are no longer willing to accept companies that can not and will not handle customers’ concerns and questions. Many company owners have better things to do then to sit around all day seeing to customers. Instead, they employ customer service representatives who take care of any needs the customer may have. Now however, when a customer calls for customer service they may be talking to someone who is handling their concerns from the comfort of their home. The growing trend throughout North America is focused on handling customer care inquires from their homes.

Work at home customer service opportunities are on the rise. This is not only offers benefits for agents in having work flexibility but companies also get advantages. For instance, they save money on office rent unities, and they can tap into a diverse pool of proficient workers who wouldn’t or aren’t able to work in traditional call centers. This has resulted in improved customer service for many companies including retail, banks, airlines and others. What’s more work at home customer care agents earn more. Traditional call center agents earn about $8-$9 an hour while work at home agents earn $13-$14 an hour.

Are you qualified?
In order to land a job as a virtual customer service agent, where you would handle general calls and provide technical support, you must have a computer, high speed Internet access, and a landline telephone. You will also need basic computer skills, excellent people skills, and a high school education. The key to succeeding as a work at home agent is entrepreneurial skills. You can not be the type of person who needs someone to tell you what to do and when to do it. You have to be self motivated and be able to create your own structure. Prior sales or customer service experience is not required but it is a distinct advantage. Having a second language is also a plus.

Companies may ask applicants to successfully complete a customer service training course and submit to a background check, credit check, and drug testing. Hiring is usually handled on the phone or online.

Business model

Customer service agents work as either an employee or an independent contractor. The main difference between these two business models is that as an independent contractor, it is your responsibility to handle start up costs and taxes:

Alpine Access (www.alpineaccess.com) hires virtual agents as employees.

LiveOps (www.liveops.com), and VIPdesk (www.vipdesk.com), among others, hire agents as independent contractors.

Payment structure

Ask in advanced how the company pays its agents. Tory Johnson, CEO of Women for Hire says that, “some pay hourly from when you clock in to when you clock out. For others, the meter runs only while you’re on an actual call; you’re not paid for downtime between calls.” Research the companies you want to work for and find out how they pay, how much and the work load volume.

With more companies understanding the role customer service plays in their success it can be certain that more companies will be hiring work at home customer care agents to fill this need.

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