Why Terminology Matters
Customer support has its own language. New agents, cross-functional partners, and leadership all benefit from a shared vocabulary. This glossary covers every term you will encounter.
Core Metrics
- CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) — post-interaction happiness rating, typically 1-5 scale
- NPS (Net Promoter Score) — likelihood to recommend, scale of -100 to 100
- CES (Customer Effort Score) — ease of resolution, typically 1-7 scale
- FRT (First Response Time) — time from ticket creation to first agent reply
- FCR (First Contact Resolution) — percentage of issues resolved in one interaction
- AHT (Average Handle Time) — total time spent on a ticket from start to resolution
- TTR (Time to Resolution) — calendar time from ticket creation to close
Operational Terms
- SLA (Service Level Agreement) — committed response and resolution times
- Ticket — a tracked customer inquiry or issue
- Queue — the pool of unassigned or pending tickets
- Escalation — moving a ticket to a higher-skill agent or team
- Triage — the process of categorizing and prioritizing incoming tickets
- Backlog — accumulated unresolved tickets
- Deflection — preventing a ticket through self-service or automation
Technology Terms
- Unified inbox — single interface for all support channels
- Knowledge base — searchable library of help articles
- Chatbot — automated conversational interface for customer queries
- IVR (Interactive Voice Response) — phone menu system
- Omnichannel — seamless support across all channels with shared context
- AI agent assist — AI that helps agents draft and send responses
- Self-service — tools that let customers find answers independently
Business Terms
- Churn — customers who cancel or stop using your product
- Retention — keeping customers over time
- CLV/LTV (Customer Lifetime Value) — total revenue from a customer over their lifetime
- CAC (Customer Acquisition Cost) — cost to acquire one new customer
- Support cost ratio — support costs as a percentage of revenue
