Empower yourself with the language of insiders. We decipher the arcane terms, epigrammatic abbreviations, and weird words used in the customer service call centers industry.

ACD

Automatic Call Distribution. Automatically routes calls to the appropriate call center reps by matching customer phone numbers with a database. You specify which agents should take certain calls based on the customer’s products, geography, or any other parameter.

AHT

Average handle time. The mean time customer service call center reps spend with clients on the phone plus the amount of work they spend on the account after the call.

ANI

Automatic Number Identifier. Shows you the phone numbers of incoming calls, similar to caller ID for home telephone service. Call center reps use it to immediately pull the callers’ details up on screen for a call.

ASP

Application Service Provider. Off-site hosting option allowing you to access your customer service call centers running on a third-party provider’s network.

Autodialing

A software feature that automatically dials phone numbers and provides a pre-recorded message that prompts the listener to press the phone keypad to respond. Autodialing also keeps track of call times, length of call, and the call results. Also known as Auto Dialer.

Call accounting

Application that captures and archives call data from your phone system and then organizes it into reports. Call accounting helps you keep costs under control and allocate expenses throughout the call center.

Call blending

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Allows customer service call center agents to handle both inbound and outbound calls depending on call volume.

Call center

Handles customer inquiries from web forms, email, and phone calls and routes them to available agents. Can be an internal department or an outsourced service. Customer service call centers offer services for help desk, customer service, directory assistance, emergency response, answering services, telemarketing, and more.

Concurrent users

Total number of people that can use a call center function simultaneously.

Conditional routing

Changes call center routing based on situations that you define. Conditional routing uses “if-then” programming to let your call center software know what it should do. (Example: If you receive more than five calls at once, additional calls should be routed to an available agent.)

Contact Centers

Another term for customer service call centers.

CRM

Customer Relationship Management. Focuses on compiling information about customers from multiple sources and acting on that data. Also known as ERM (Electronic Relationship Management).

CTI

Computer Telephony Integration. Combines the functionality of computers and telephones using software, hardware, and programming to improve the customer experience. Customer service call centers use CTI to allow you to view customer information on screen while on the phone to save time.

DNIS

Dialed Number Identification Service. Indicates what number the customer called from. Call center routes inquires to appropriate agents based on user-defined information.

Database call handling

Processes phone calls according to information in the call center database.

Handled calls

Number of calls that come in to a customer service call center and are handled by agents or computers.

Handling time

Amount of time a call center agent spends talking to a client, or the length of time it takes to process transactions.

Help desk

Customer service call centers focused on answering customers' questions about computer hardware and software, specifically product installation, usage, and problems.

Hold time

Length of time a caller waits before a customer service call center rep takes the call.

IVR

Interactive Voice Response. Allows customers to access information using speech recognition or by pressing buttons on their phone keypads. Helps limit the time call center agents spend on the phone answering simple customer questions.

Internal response time

Time it takes call center agents that support other groups in an organization to respond to customer inquiries.

Least cost routing

A black box that you purchase from your phone company containing software that allows you to see which dedicated lines are available for you to dial out. Least cost routing then selects the least expensive option.

Multimedia handling

Uses call center agents’ downtime from taking customer phone calls to take care of inquiries by other forms of media such as email, fax, web, and chat. All questions and orders are tracked the same for other media as they would be for standard phone calls.

Offshore call center

A customer service call center provider located outside the U.S. to save businesses money.

PBX

Private Branch Exchange. In-house telephone switching system that connects all phone extensions to each other and to an external network. PBX can include various functions for customer service call centers including least cost routing, call forwarding, and call accounting.

Predictive dialing

Automatically places calls and only connects them to agents when a live person answers. The system uses previous averages of talk time to predict when agents will be done with calls and will be available to take new ones. Predictive dialing helps minimize downtime and improve call center efficiency. Also known as Predictive Dialer.

Preview dialer

Allows customer service call center agents to view the contact information of the caller before making or taking phone calls.

Prompts

Menu selections in an IVR system that give callers multiple options for information they would like to get or a representative they want to speak to.

Queue

Customers on hold waiting for available call center agents to take their calls. Allows reps to take calls based on account priority or who called first. You can let callers know how long they have been waiting and how much time before their calls are answered.

RDBMS

Relational Database Management System. Links files together by comparing data to create single files. Allows you to cross-reference information, such as customer names and account numbers, to run queries related to all sets of data.

Real time data

Customer service call center information that is constantly updated to show how many calls are in queue and the average wait time.

Remote access

Ability to access a call center’s central database from any location using an Internet connection and a laptop.

Reporting

Real-time information on current call center performance, or overall performance over a specific time period.

Skill-based routing

Allows you to list each call center agent's strong points - sales, specific products, or technical skills - and have callers distributed to them based on those skills.

Soft phone functionality

Using computers to control phone calls for customer service call centers.

Screen pop

Displays customer information on call center agents’ screens at the same time they answer a call.

Speech recognition

System that automatically converts speech into text that customer service call center reps can view on their computer screens. Also known as IVR.

Time-per-call average

The length of time a call center rep spends on the phone with a customer.

UCD

Uniform call distributor. Allocates calls to customer service call center agents and provides some reporting functions. Less sophisticated version of automatic call distributors (ACD).

VRU

Voice Response Unit. Automated system that responds to a caller’s speech or phone keystrokes without immediate need for an operator. Also known as IVR.

VoIP

Voice Over Internet Protocol. Technology that allows you to make phone calls through your PC. Most customer service call centers support VoIP, which allows you to save money vs. standard phone systems.

Workforce management

Various options that facilitate customer service call center processes including real-time call monitoring, recording, scripting, and call forecasting.

Wrap-up codes

Helps identify the types of calls that customer service call center agents work with.

There's more to learn about call center services than just vocabulary! Read our Call Center Services Buyer's Guide for detailed advice that takes you through every stage of the purchasing process. Or, instantly learn what different call center companies can offer your business by comparing their services side-by-side.