- Inbound Call
- A call initiated by a customer and received by the support center, as opposed to an outbound call placed by an agent.
- First Call Resolution (FCR)
- A KPI measuring the percentage of customer issues resolved during the initial call without requiring escalation or a callback.
- Average Handle Time (AHT)
- The average total time an agent spends on a call, including talk time, hold time, and after-call work — typically expressed in seconds or minutes.
- Escalation
- The process of transferring an unresolved customer issue to a higher-tier agent, supervisor, or specialist with greater authority or technical knowledge.
- Ticketing System
- Software used to log, track, and resolve customer support requests, such as Zendesk, Freshdesk, or ServiceNow.
- Service Level Agreement (SLA)
- A commitment between a service provider and customer defining response time, resolution time, and quality standards for support interactions.
- CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score)
- A survey-based metric collected after a support interaction, measuring the customer's satisfaction on a defined scale — typically 1 to 5.
- Knowledge Base
- A searchable internal or external repository of articles, FAQs, and troubleshooting guides that agents use to resolve issues consistently.
- At-Will Employment
- Employment that either party may end at any time for any lawful reason, without advance notice — the default in most US states.
- KPI (Key Performance Indicator)
- A measurable target used to evaluate an employee's performance — in a call center context, typically FCR rate, AHT, CSAT score, and call volume.