Glossary
26 calling and customer service terms, explained plainly, with formulas where they help.
A
Abandon rate
The share of calls that end before the person on the line reaches an agent, tracked for inbound queues and for predictive outbound campaigns.
ACD (automatic call distribution)
An ACD places incoming calls in a queue and offers each one to the next suitable agent, following a rule such as round robin or longest idle.
Answering-machine detection (AMD)
Answering-machine detection analyzes the first seconds of an answered outbound call to tell a live person from a voicemail greeting.
Average handle time (AHT)
Average handle time is the mean time an agent spends on one call, from answer to the end of wrap-up: talk time plus hold time plus after-call work.
B
Barge
Barge lets a supervisor join a live call so that both the agent and the customer hear them, turning the call into a three-way conversation.
Blended contact center
A blended contact center uses the same agents for inbound and outbound calls, moving them between the two as inbound volume rises and falls.
C
Call disposition
A call disposition is the outcome code recorded at the end of a call, such as sale, callback, not interested or wrong number.
Callback from queue
Callback from queue lets a caller waiting for an agent hang up and be called back later, instead of holding on the line.
Caller ID (CLI)
Caller ID, or CLI, is the phone number shown to the person you call. In Europe it generally must be a number you hold or are authorized to use.
Caller ID reputation
Caller ID reputation is how carriers and call-screening apps rate a phone number. A poor score can get your calls labeled as spam or blocked.
Connect rate
Connect rate is the share of outbound dial attempts that reach a live person, the main measure of how productive a calling list and dialer are.
D
Dial ratio
The dial ratio is how many lines a predictive dialer calls at once for each available agent, set to balance agent idle time against dropped calls.
DID number
A DID number is a phone number delivered over a VoIP connection that routes straight to a user, queue or IVR, without a dedicated physical line.
Do-not-call list (DNC)
A do-not-call list holds phone numbers that must not receive sales calls, either from a national opt-out register or from a company's own list.
P
Per-second billing
Per-second billing charges a call for the exact seconds it lasted, instead of rounding each call up to the next full minute or block.
Predictive dialer
A predictive dialer calls several numbers per available agent and connects agents only to calls a person answers, cutting time lost to rings and voicemail.
Preview dialing
In preview dialing, the agent sees the contact record before the call and decides when to dial, trading call volume for preparation.
S
Service level
Service level is the percentage of inbound calls answered within a target time, such as 80% within 20 seconds; it is the main speed measure of a queue.
SIP trunk
A SIP trunk is a virtual phone line over an IP network that connects a phone system or contact center platform to the public telephone network.
W
Whisper coaching
Whisper coaching lets a supervisor speak to an agent during a live call without the customer hearing, to guide the agent in the moment.
Wrap-up time
Wrap-up time, or after-call work, is the time an agent spends after a call on notes, dispositions and follow-up before taking the next call.
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