Customer support glossary
Plain-language definitions of the support terms, metrics, and workflows small teams run into — written because clear answers were harder to find than they should be.
Metrics
- BacklogA support backlog is the accumulation of unresolved tickets that have not yet been answered or closed.
- CES (Customer Effort Score)CES (Customer Effort Score) measures how easy it was for a customer to get their issue resolved, usually as an agree/disagree rating where a higher score means less effort.
- CSAT (Customer satisfaction score)CSAT (customer satisfaction score) is the percentage of customers who rate a support interaction as satisfactory.
- First contact resolution (FCR)First contact resolution (FCR) is the percentage of support requests resolved in a single interaction, without the customer needing to follow up.
- First response time (FRT)First response time (FRT) is how long a customer waits between sending a message and getting the first human reply.
- NPS (Net Promoter Score)NPS (Net Promoter Score) is a measure of customer loyalty based on a single question: how likely is a customer to recommend your product or service?
- Resolution rateResolution rate is the percentage of incoming support tickets that are fully resolved within a given period.
- SLA (Service level agreement)An SLA (service level agreement) is a commitment to respond to or resolve customer issues within a defined timeframe.
- SLA breachAn SLA breach occurs when a support ticket is not responded to or resolved within the time limit set by the team's service level agreement.
- Ticket deflectionTicket deflection is the practice of answering customer questions through self-service resources so that a support ticket never needs to be created.
- Ticket volumeTicket volume is the total count of support requests received in a given period, used to track demand on the support team.
- Time to resolution (TTR)Time to resolution (TTR) is the total time from when a customer first contacts support to when their issue is fully resolved.
Workflow
- Auto-replyAn auto-reply is an automated message sent immediately when a ticket is received, typically to acknowledge receipt and set expectations about response time.
- Business hoursBusiness hours are the scheduled times during which a support team is staffed and actively responding to tickets.
- EscalationEscalation is the process of transferring a customer issue to a more senior agent, specialist, or different team when the original responder cannot fully resolve it.
- Help deskA help desk is a centralized system for receiving, tracking, and resolving customer support requests.
- Macro (Canned response)A macro (or canned response) is a saved, reusable reply a support agent can insert into a conversation instead of typing the same answer again.
- Omnichannel supportOmnichannel support means handling customer contacts from multiple channels — email, chat, phone, social media — in a unified workspace so agents have full context regardless of how a customer reached out.
- QueueA support queue is the ordered list of open tickets waiting for a response or action from the support team.
- Saved replyA saved reply is a pre-written response template stored in a support tool so agents can insert it into a reply with a single action.
- Self-service supportSelf-service support lets customers find answers and resolve issues on their own — through a knowledge base, FAQ, chatbot, or community forum — without contacting a support agent.
- Shared inboxA shared inbox is a single mailbox several teammates work from together, so customer emails are handled as a team instead of in one person's inbox.
- Support ticketA support ticket is a record of a single customer issue or request, tracked from the moment it is opened until it is resolved.
- Support tiersSupport tiers are numbered levels of support — typically Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3 — that reflect increasing specialization and authority.
- Ticket taggingTicket tagging is the practice of adding labels or categories to support tickets so they can be filtered, routed, and reported on.
- TriageTriage is the process of reviewing incoming support tickets to assign priority, route them to the right team, and decide what needs attention first.
Channels & tools
- AI-assisted supportAI-assisted support uses artificial intelligence to help support agents write replies, categorize tickets, or suggest answers — with a human reviewing and sending each response.
- Knowledge base (KB)A knowledge base (KB) is a searchable collection of help articles, guides, and FAQs that customers can use to resolve issues without contacting support.
- Live chatLive chat is a real-time text-based support channel embedded on a website or in an app that lets customers message an agent immediately.
- Ticketing systemA ticketing system is software that converts incoming customer requests into structured tickets, tracks their status, and manages them through to resolution.