Introduction

Customer service (CS) is far from the easiest job in the world. Whether dealing with large numbers of tickets, being called upon to provide detailed technical expertise, or trying to deal politely and professionally with uncooperative clients, this career path usually isn’t a walk in the park.

Because customer service can be so demanding, it’s of utmost importance that CS agents can communicate clearly and effectively in high-stress situations. This is where acronyms come in handy. Acronyms are words formed from the first letters of other words or expressions—and CS uses plenty of them. (Indeed, “CS” itself is a good example of an acronym!)

Whether they refer to KPIs or other aspects of the job, acronyms simplify and speed up communication, making those difficult days all the easier to manage. With that, here’s 24 of the most common acronyms used in customer service.

1. AHT (Average Handle Time) 

The average time it takes for a customer service agent to handle a customer interaction from start to finish. AHT is one of the most common customer service acronyms, and for good reason—it’s a KPI that reveals how quickly and efficiently you handle your Calls in Queue, and therefore is one of the vital indicators of your customer satisfaction.

2. ASA (Average Speed of Answer) 

The average time it takes for a customer service agent to answer an incoming call. ASA is a KPI that overlaps Average Call Duration, Lead Response Time, and First Response Time.

3. ART (Average Resolution Time) 

The average time it takes to resolve a customer issue. Standards vary significantly for ART across channels—for example, the standard for phone calls is about five minutes, for live and social media chats it’s 10 minutes, and for email it’s a full 24 hours. Having a sufficiently large and trained support staff—and outsourcing simpler queries to an AI chatbot—will go a long way in keeping your ART sufficiently low.

4. CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) 

A measure of how satisfied customers are with a company's products, services, or interactions, CSAT is expressed as a percentage of satisfied customers from the total. While it indicates general satisfaction, it is found by taking multiple discrete data points and interactions into account. This differs from NPS, which indicates how likely customers are to recommend your product or service to others. CSAT is measured on a 1-10  (or 1-5) scale, with “satisfied” customers considered those who rate their experience at least an 8 (or 4).

5. CX (Customer Experience) 

The overall perception customers have of a company based on their interactions with it. CX is formed from a range of factors and interactions—from the moment of initial contact, all the way to post-purchase support. Every customer with a positive CX is more apt to develop a longstanding, loyal relationship with your company, creating a reputational boost and ultimately generating more revenue.

6. ESAT (Employee Satisfaction Score) 

ESAT measures of how satisfied employees are with their jobs and the company. It is found by distributing a survey to employees that asks about various aspects of their employment—job satisfaction, work-life balance, company culture, and opportunities for growth. 

7. FCR (First Contact Resolution) 

FCR measures the percentage of customer issues resolved on the first interaction. A similar KPI to this is First Response Time—and a KPI that is the “opposite” to FCR is Escalation Rate, or the percentage of tickets that ascend to higher support tiers.

8. FRT (First Response Time) 

FRT is the mean length of time it takes for a customer service agent to make the first response to a customer inquiry. This KPI is a particularly important one because it directly reflects the quality and effectiveness of your company’s customer support system. Because FRT can vary significantly by season, having good knowledge of where you stand on this metric is essential for keeping your support team adequately staffed and your customers content.

9. IVR (Interactive Voice Response) 

IVR is an automated system that interacts with callers and gathers information by presenting them with a set of options.

10. KPI (Key Performance Indicator) 

A measurable value that demonstrates how effectively a company is achieving key business objectives. KPIs are usually quantitative (or numbers-based), and are frequently displayed as widgets on data dashboards for the benefit of teams and management. Plecto has a KPI library, listing several dozen of the most commonly-used KPIs that can be displayed with its dashboard software.

11. NPS (Net Promoter Score) 

A metric that measures your customers’ loyalty to your company, NPS indicates how likely your customers are to recommend your product or service to others. It is measured on a scale of 0-10: 9 and 10 are considered promoters, 7 and 8 are passives, and 0 through 6 detractors. Subtract the percentage of detractors from promoters to obtain a score of -100 to +100. Any score higher than +1 is considered “good,” but of course you should try to aim much higher than this! Bear in mind that NPS measures likelihood of promotion, rather than satisfaction based on individual points on the customer journey.

12. QA (Quality Assurance) 

QA is the process of ensuring that customer service interactions meet certain quality standards.

13. RT (Resolution Time) 

The total time it takes to resolve a customer issue, RT can be subdivided into several KPIs, among them Average Resolution Time (ART), Average Call Duration, and Average Reply Time.

14. SLA (Service Level Agreement) 

An SLA is a contract between a service provider and a customer that defines the level of service expected. Use of SLAs are common practice in the home service industry.

15. TAT (Turnaround Time) 

TAT indicates the time taken to complete a process or fulfill a request. It’s the same principle as AHT (Average Handle Time), but applies to all modes of communication and service, not just phone calls.

16. TOS (Terms of Service) 

A TOS is a legal agreement between a service provider and a person wanting to use that service. TOS are common practice in various industries such as telecom, real estate, and insurance.

17. TSAT (Transactional Satisfaction) 

A measure of how satisfied customers are with individual transactions or interactions. TSAT is closely related to CSAT, but is collected after a specific customer-facing interaction—for example, a request to rate the quality of service received during a phone call.

18. VOC (Voice of the Customer)

The process of capturing customer feedback and using it to improve products and services. VOC is less a specific entity and more a general idea based on the question, “What do our customers want?” VOC is collected across an array of methods—surveys, interviews, social media listening, customer reviews, and feedback forms.

19. WFM (Workforce Management) 

WFM refers to the tools and processes used by companies to maximize and streamline their employees’ productivity. In the home service field, for example, WFMs include platforms such as ServiceTitan, Jobber, and Housecall Pro. These platforms cover all needs related to scheduling, performance, timesheets, labor compliance, and more. ServiceTitan can also be integrated with Plecto, allowing home service firms to harness the power of both Plecto data dashboard solutions and ServiceTitan’s WFM capabilities.

20. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) 

Software for managing a company's interactions with current and potential customers. HubSpot, Salesforce, and Pipedrive are all well-known and widely-used CRM systems that integrate with Plecto.

21. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) 

A list of common questions and answers about a company's products or services, FAQs are commonly found on a dedicated page of a company or organization’s website.

22. KB (Knowledge Base) 

A centralized repository of information about a company's products or services. KBs are used to easily obtain access to important information and provide fast, accurate answers to common questions that frontline CS employees face.

23. OMC (Omnichannel)

OMC refers to a CS approach that provides a seamless experience across multiple channels—phone, email, live chat, and social media.

24. SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) 

A set of step-by-step instructions for performing a specific task. Here’s an example of an SOP about handling inbound calls:

• Greet the customer professionally.
• Verify the customer’s information.
• Actively listen to understand the customer’s issue or request.
• Provide clear and concise responses.
• Resolve or escalate the issue if necessary.
• Summarize and close the call, and thank the customer.

The bottom line

Customer service acronyms and abbreviations are a highly effective way to communicate ideas and information as fast as possible. When everyone is cued in on the meaning of these acronyms, your CS workflow can improve by leaps and bounds. 

Best yet, the KPIs that many of these acronyms identify can be easily displayed on Plecto dashboards for the benefit of your whole team and management alike. 

Sign up here for a free 14-day Plecto trial, and see how using these acronyms alongside your dashboards can boost your success at reaching KPIs in real time!