Customer Service Metrics - Don't Buy Into The Single Statistic Fallacy

How much do you weigh?service quality in a call center environment. At present,
Are you happy with that number?there is too much reliance on too few statistics that
That particular figure may or may not have muchmean little, by themselves.
bearing on your physical figure, on your shape or yourFor instance, what is commonly referred to as the
overall fitness level."service level" pertains to how quickly called are
For instance, I weigh over 200 pounds.answered. If 80% of calls get through within say, 20
Is that good or bad?seconds or 40 or whatever the standard is that has
It depends on other things.been established, then operations folks pat themselves
Okay, let's add one more statistic, my height. I'm 6-2, soon the back.
that weight is distributed over a fairly large frame.But this stat says nothing about the quality of the
But whether I am an "overweight" 200-poundercommunicator that answers the calls.
depends on yet more variables. Chief among them isLikewise, average call length is another significant
my muscle-to-fat ratio. If my overall body fat is lessmetric. Do calls last, on average five minutes instead of
than 15%, I'm a much "fitter" individual than if my bodyten?
fat level is say, 30%.Shorter calls are desirable, but not if the price to be
Why stop there? If my leanness is due to the ingestionpaid is delivery of truncated or rudely transmitted
of steroids, than I'm a time-bomb, ready to implode.information.
Does my muscle come from less aerobic activity, suchWe're after shorter, yet better calls.
as power-lifting, or from karate?Make sure that you measure all of the pertinent
If I, or anyone else for that matter, such as my healthvariables that constitute overall call quality. Refer to my
insurance carrier, look only at my weight as a chiefTEAMeasures scales, (Telephone Effectiveness
indicator of health, or as a predictor of disease, it wouldAssessment Measures) to see how 24-25 variables
be foolish.can come into play.
I know this is a long way to go to say the same thingThen, you can make an intelligent determination of your
applies to customer service, especially to measuringcall center's "fitness" level!