Key Performance Metrics for Customer Service (And the Ones You Can Ignore)
TLDR: You probably track too many metrics. The key performance metrics for customer service are: First Response Time, First Contact Resolution, CSAT, and Resolution Time. Everything else is either derived from these or noise.
I've seen support dashboards with 30+ metrics. Nobody looks at them. The team checks the first three, ignores the rest, and wonders why they're not improving.
Here's what actually matters.
The Four Metrics That Drive Decisions
After running support at Chatisto, I've narrowed it down to four key performance metrics for customer service. Everything else is secondary.
1. First Response Time (FRT)
How long customers wait before someone acknowledges them.
This is the most emotionally loaded metric. A customer reaching out is already frustrated or confused. Making them wait compounds it. A fast "we're looking into this" buys goodwill even if the actual fix takes longer. Research by the CMO Council found that quick response time is the single most significant factor leading to customer satisfaction.
What we target (based on industry benchmarks from Zendesk):
- Live chat: Under 1 minute (industry average is 47 seconds)
- Email: Under 1 hour (industry average is 12 hours)
What moved the needle for us: AI agents handling the initial response. Our FRT dropped from 5 minutes to 30 seconds. CSAT jumped 23%.
2. First Contact Resolution (FCR)
Percentage of issues solved without follow-up.
Every back-and-forth costs time - yours and theirs. High FCR means you're solving problems right, not just responding fast.
Formula:
FCR = (Issues resolved first contact / Total issues) × 100
What kills FCR:
- Agents who can't make decisions without manager approval
- Missing or outdated knowledge base
- Poor training on edge cases
Realistic targets: According to SQM Group's FCR research, the industry average is around 70%. Scores of 70-79% are considered good, while 80%+ is world-class. If you're hitting 90%+, you're either excellent or your problems are too easy.
3. Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
Direct feedback after interactions. Usually 1-5 scale, reported as percentage of 4-5 ratings.
This is the only metric that comes straight from customers. Everything else is your interpretation of what they might want.
Formula:
CSAT = (Positive ratings / Total ratings) × 100
Benchmarks: Zendesk's research indicates that 75-85% is considered good across most industries, while 90%+ is exemplary.
What we learned: Ask immediately after resolution. Wait 24 hours and response rates crater. Wait a week and you're measuring memory, not satisfaction.
Read more about customer satisfaction and measurement methods.
4. Average Resolution Time
Total time from first contact to "problem solved."
Not the same as response time. You can respond in 30 seconds but take 3 days to actually fix things. Customers notice.
Context matters: A 24-hour resolution is terrible for "reset my password" but excellent for "integrate with our custom ERP system." Segment this metric by issue complexity.
Metrics You Can Probably Ignore
I'm not saying never track these. But they shouldn't be on your main dashboard.
Ticket Volume
Knowing you got 500 tickets last week tells you nothing about quality. It's input, not output. Track it for staffing, ignore it for performance.
Average Handle Time
Optimizing for shorter calls creates perverse incentives. Agents rush customers, close tickets prematurely, and your FCR tanks. Let handle time be what it is.
Agent Utilization
Yes, you need agents working. No, 100% utilization isn't the goal. People need breaks. Pushing utilization too high burns out your team and quality suffers.
Tickets Per Agent
Another efficiency metric that creates bad incentives. The agent closing 50 tickets might be doing worse work than the one closing 30 thoughtfully.
How to Actually Use These Metrics
Weekly, Not Daily
Daily metrics create noise. Someone had a bad day, one complex ticket skewed everything, a holiday shortened response coverage. Week-over-week trends are signal. Daily numbers are noise.
Segment by Issue Type
"Our resolution time is 4 hours" means nothing. Your password reset resolution should be 10 minutes. Your technical integration questions might reasonably take 2 days. Blend them together and you have a useless average.
Connect Metrics to Actions
Every metric should have a response:
- FRT spiking? Check staffing or add automation
- FCR dropping? Review recent training, check knowledge base gaps
- CSAT falling? Read the actual feedback, don't just watch the number
A metric you can't act on is decoration.
Our Dashboard at Chatisto
Here's literally what we track on our main screen:
| Metric | View | Why |
|---|---|---|
| First Response Time | Real-time | Catches staffing problems immediately |
| CSAT | 7-day rolling | Smooths out daily variation |
| FCR | Weekly | Stable enough to not need constant monitoring |
| Resolution Time | Weekly by category | Context-aware, actionable |
That's it. Four metrics. Takes 30 seconds to check. If something's off, we dig into the details.
Getting Started
If you're just beginning to track customer service metrics, here's the sequence:
Week 1: Set up FRT and CSAT tracking. These require the least infrastructure.
Week 2: Add FCR. This requires defining what "resolved" means - do it now before you have inconsistent data.
Week 3: Add Resolution Time with basic categorization (simple/medium/complex at minimum).
Week 4: Establish baselines. What are your actual numbers today?
Month 2+: Set improvement targets. Aim for 10-15% better, not revolutionary change.
The Uncomfortable Truth
Metrics don't improve themselves. I've seen teams obsess over dashboards while ignoring obvious problems.
If your CSAT is low, reading more reports won't fix it. Reading the actual customer feedback and acting on it will.
The point of measuring is doing something different. If you're not changing anything, you're just generating charts.
Want better visibility into your support performance? Check out our analytics features to see how Chatisto tracks the metrics that matter.