DALLAS, TX -- Financial, telecommunications, and computer service related companies are offering strong compensation packages for top customer service professionals. In some cases up to $300,000 in base salary to attract experienced customer service executives, according to a new survey conducted by The Broadmoor Group, a Dallas-based international executive search consultancy.

According to Jim Leverette, senior vice president of The Broadmoor Group, the survey suggests a fundamental shift in the way corporations view the customer service function. "Traditionally, customer service has been thought of as a cost center, with all the negative connotations that term implies, " Leverette notes. "Now, many companies are seeing the direct or indirect impact that customer service has on the bottom line. Salaries for seasoned executives with customer-oriented business experience are reflecting the realization that custom service matters."

The survey indicates that base salaries for heads of customer service and strategic call center operations range from $150,000 to $300,000 in the financial services sector, with bonuses running between 40% and 70% of the base. The average combined salary and bonus package for top customer service executives in the financial sector was $350,000.

By contrast, average base salaries for heads of customer service in the telecommunications/computer sector range from $123, 800 to $210,500, according to the survey, with bonuses running between 30% and 100% of the base. The average combined salary and bonus package for top customer service executives in the telecommunications/computer sector was $240,624.

According to Leverette, corporations are seeking executives who know how to get closer to the customer through coordination of the call center, the Internet and the marketing department. Their role is to identify new customers and to create seamless relations with existing ones, by knowing their habits and responding to their needs. "All things being equal," Leverette observes, "customer service can be the difference maker in a slow or a fast economy. "

Survey data was compiled during executive search assignments The Broadmoor Group conducted for top customer service executives during the last 24 months. For a free copy of the survey, contact Randall James Monroe, Inc. at 972-392-3200.

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