We Share 12 Essential Customer Service KPIs Every Support Team Should Monitor

Quick Summary

Customer service teams that deliver better experiences begin by consistently tracking the right KPIs. In this guide, we highlight 12 essential customer service KPIs that drive success for support teams. These metrics track performance, help identify areas for improvement, and guide strategies for delivering exceptional customer service. 

Want to Deliver Exceptional Customer Service? 

Excellent customer service requires skilled agents, efficient processes, and the right tools. But even with all that, you still need to measure how well you are doing, and that’s where Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) come in. 

KPIs are measurable values that track your support team's effectiveness. They turn performance into clear metrics, identify areas for improvement, and guide you in delivering consistently exceptional customer experiences.

In this WonderChat article, we will break down what KPIs are, why they matter, and the 12 most important KPIs that can help your support team succeed.

Why Listen to Us?

We’ve helped businesses of all sizes improve their customer service using our emotionally intelligent chatbots. For example, we helped Ko-Fi, a tech platform, boost its KPIs by deflecting up to 10,000 queries each month. This gives us insight into knowing what KPIs are more important for your customer service teams. 

What Are Customer Service KPIs?

Customer service KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) are measurable metrics that help you track how effective your customer support is. They show how well your team is meeting its goals, identify areas that need improvement, and guide you in building strategies to boost both customer satisfaction and service quality.

Why Are Customer Service KPIs Important?

• Aligns with Business Goals: Customer service KPIs connect the performance of your support team directly to the broader objectives of the company.

• Identifies Team Strengths and Weaknesses: KPIs provide clear, objective data on agent performance to identify training opportunities for those who need support.

• Optimizes Resource Allocation: Analyzing KPIs such as Average Resolution Time (ART) and Ticket Volume helps you manage staffing levels and allocate resources effectively.

• Drives Continuous Improvement: Consistently tracking performance allows you to use real data to fine-tune processes, address weak points, and boost overall efficiency.

12 Customer Service KPIs to Track For Better Support

1. Average Resolution Time

Average Resolution Time (ART) measures how long it takes your team to fully resolve a customer’s issue, from the moment a ticket is opened until it’s closed. 

For example, if a customer contacts support about exchanging a pair of shoes, ART would include the time it takes to arrange the return, place the new order, and confirm shipping. Keeping ART low is a key goal for most support teams since faster resolutions reduce frustration and boost customer satisfaction. 

Here’s the formula to calculate ART:

With Wonderchat, all chat logs and API message data come with precise timestamps, making it easy to track ART and see how efficiently your team resolves customer issues.

2. First Response Time

First Response Time (FRT) measures how long it takes your team to respond to a customer’s first inquiry. It shows how quickly customers receive acknowledgment and initial assistance after reaching out.

For example, if a customer submits a support ticket about a billing issue at 2:00 PM and receives a reply from your team at 2:10 PM, the FRT is 10 minutes. A lower FRT means that your team responds to customer queries almost immediately.

Here’s the formula to calculate FRT:

Wonderchat’s AI chatbots deliver instant replies to common questions, ensuring customers receive immediate acknowledgment. In practice, this can reduce FRT to just a few seconds for routine inquiries. 

3. First Contact Resolution 

First Contact Resolution (FCR) measures the frequency at which a customer's problem is completely resolved during their initial interaction. The goal is to resolve the issue on the spot without the customer needing to follow up or be transferred to another agent. 

For example, if a customer contacts your support team because they can’t log into their account, and the agent verifies their identity, resets the password, and confirms access within the same chat, that counts as first contact resolution. 

First Contact Resolution is a key way to know the efficiency of your support team and how good the overall customer experience is.

Here’s how to calculate FCR:

Wonderchat’s AI chatbots are trained on your knowledge sources to resolve many common queries, so customers receive instant support without needing to be transferred to a human agent. 

4. Ticket Volume

Ticket Volume simply counts the total number of customer inquiries your team receives over a specific period. 

This metric is important for understanding the workload of your support team. It helps you spot trends, like a spike in questions after a new product launch, and allows you to plan more effectively to meet customer demand. 

For example, if your team uses Zendesk, you might experience a spike in ticket volume after a product launch. Zendesk’s reporting tools would help your team spot these spikes right away, so you can adjust and handle the increased demand without delays. 

If your ticket volume is high, it might be time to engage an AI agent. A solution like WonderChat allows you to build AI-powered chatbots that can handle high ticket volume while still delivering human-like customer service.

5. Cost Per Resolution 

Cost Per Resolution is a financial metric that calculates the average cost to solve a single customer problem. 

For example, if a customer asks about their shipping status, the cost is low because it only takes a few minutes to handle. But if another customer needs help fixing a technical issue that requires an agent to spend 45 minutes troubleshooting, the cost of that resolution is much higher.

Here’s how to calculate cost per resolution:

Teams can lower CPR by using Wonderchat’s AI-powered chatbot to instantly handle common questions like order tracking, account updates, or product FAQs. Our chatbot pulls information from multiple sources such as URLs, PDFs, and internal knowledge bases to deliver accurate answers, reducing both time and cost per resolution.

6. Ticket Reopens 

Ticket Reopens tracks how often an agent has to reopen a support ticket they thought was already closed. This usually happens when the problem wasn’t fully resolved the first time, forcing the customer to get back in touch.

For example, a customer reports that their refrigerator isn’t cooling, and the support team arranges a repair. A few days later, the same customer reopens the ticket because their refrigerator still isn’t cooling as it should. That counts as a reopen. Platforms like Freshdesk allow you to filter and track reopened tickets directly, helping managers see when issues are resurfacing.

A high number of reopens is a red flag that your team may be providing incomplete solutions or closing tickets prematurely. Keeping this number low shows that your support is not just fast but also effective.

7. Self-service Success Rate 

Self-service Success Rate measures how often customers resolve their issues using online resources, such as an FAQ page, knowledge base, or chatbots. It shows the effectiveness of your self-service tools in eliminating the need for live agent support.

For example, if a customer runs into a Wi-Fi connectivity problem and solves it by following a troubleshooting guide on your website, that counts as a successful self-service. Tracking this metric helps you see which resources are working and where you need to improve.

You can increase this metric using a human-like AI chatbot, easily built with WonderChat’s no-code platform. These AI agents are trained on your knowledge base, PDFs, and URLs to deliver accurate responses. This ensures that customers receive reliable answers every time, reducing the need for live agent support.

8. Agent Utilization Rate 

The Agent Utilization Rate is a metric that shows the percentage of time your customer service agents are actively engaged in productive tasks. 

This includes responding to emails or working on tickets, compared to their total paid time. It's a useful way to see how efficiently your team is working and whether they have the right amount of workload. 

For example, if a customer support agent spends 30 minutes on active customer calls and 10 minutes on administrative tasks in a 1-hour shift, their utilization rate would be 50%. 

Here’s how to calculate it:

As you monitor this metric, you can identify areas where agents might be spending too much time on non-customer-facing tasks and optimize workflows to increase active support time.

If your Agent Utilization Rate shows your team is working at full capacity, it might be time to introduce automation. Wonderchat’s no-code chat builder lets you set up AI chatbots that can handle repetitive questions and provide instant answers to customers while human agents focus on more complex tasks.

9. Number of Replies 

The Number of Replies counts how many messages or interactions it takes for an agent to fully resolve a customer's issue. While some complex problems naturally require more back-and-forth, a consistently high number of replies on simple tickets can be a red flag. 

Let’s say a patient contacts MediCare, a healthcare provider, about a billing question. The customer agent sends a reply with initial details, but the patient needs further clarification, requiring an additional reply. By tracking the Number of Replies, MediCare can identify cases that require more back-and-forth and improve how clear their first responses are.

On Wonderchat, the number of replies is automatically calculated as the average number of messages in each chat session, available directly on the analytics dashboard.

The image above shows that most customers get their answers within just one or two messages. This shows how Wonderchat delivers concise, accurate responses without dragging out the conversation.

In contrast, companies relying only on human agents may see much longer threads for simple queries. For example, platforms like Zendesk calculate the number of replies by focusing on the number of agent replies per ticket. This shifts the perspective from the customer’s experience to the agent’s workload. 

While that helps measure team effort, it can sometimes overlook how many interactions the customer actually experienced. For instance, a ticket might show only two “agent replies,” but if the customer had to send six follow-up messages in between, the experience feels much longer and less efficient.

10. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) Score

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) measures how happy customers are with your product, service, or support interaction. It’s captured through a quick survey after an interaction, asking customers to rate their experience on a scale, often from “very dissatisfied” to “very satisfied.”

For example, a hotel chain like Marriott can send guests a survey right after checkout asking, “How satisfied were you with your stay?” If the guest gives a 9 out of 10, that score becomes part of Marriott’s overall CSAT, helping the chain see how each property is performing.

You can track CSAT through the analytics dashboard on WonderChat, showing how satisfied users are after each chatbot interaction. 

You can also embed quick satisfaction surveys at the end of every question, ensuring customers immediately share whether their issue was resolved or not. Here’s a typical example from McDonald's.

11. Customer Effort Score (CES)

Customer Effort Score (CES) measures how easy it is for customers to resolve an issue or complete a service. 

It’s gathered through a short post-interaction survey asking customers to rate the effort required to get what they want from your business on a scale of “ 1 to 5, or very easy” to “very difficult.” The lower the effort, the better the experience.

Here’s a CES survey example from Hotjar:

Hotjar uses these surveys to ask customers how easy it was to complete different tasks, like setting up a new heatmap or integrating with another tool. If a user finds the process smooth and straightforward, they’ll select “1,” showing that the platform requires minimal effort to use.

12. Ticket Backlog 

Ticket Backlog is the total number of unresolved customer issues that are still open and waiting for your team to handle. A growing backlog often signals that ticket volume is more than your team’s capacity.

For example, a home repair service like FixItNow might notice its backlog rising in Zendesk after a surge in service requests during the winter season. By tracking this metric in their support dashboard, they can know when it’s time for additional staffing or better automation.

With Wonderchat, AI agents can instantly handle routine questions, easing the load on your team. And when a query needs human attention, the chatbot automatically escalates directly to your ticketing helpdesk for a human to take over, so customers get the right answers quickly.

Improve Customer Support Experience with WonderChat

The right KPIs help you track what matters most: faster responses, higher resolution rates, and happier customers. But hitting those targets can be tough without the right support.

WonderChat makes it easier by automating routine inquiries with AI chatbots, cutting response times, and freeing your team to focus on complex issues. This means better first contact resolution, higher CSAT scores, and less pressure on your agents.

If you’re ready to level up your support performance, Try WonderChat today.