Customer Service Checklist — Practical, Measurable, Ready to Deploy

Executive summary

This checklist distills a decade of frontline and managerial experience into an operational playbook you can implement in 30–90 days. Designed for B2C and B2B teams of 5–500 agents, it focuses on measurable targets (response times, First Contact Resolution (FCR), Net Promoter Score (NPS), Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)), governance, and vendor choices that reduce time-to-value. Expect to see service-level improvements within 60 days when you apply the prioritized items below.

Benchmarks embedded in this document are practical targets used by high-performing teams in 2022–2024: CSAT 80–90%, FCR 70–85%, average handle time (AHT) optimized to product complexity (2–6 minutes for simple inquiries, 12–20 minutes for technical support). Use these as starting points and calibrate to your industry: retail tends toward faster AHT; enterprise software toward longer resolution windows.

Operational checklist (implement in 4 phases)

Below is a prioritized checklist you should follow in sequence. Each item includes the what, why, and an initial numeric target so you can measure implementation. Phase 1 is safety and staffing; Phase 2 is consistency; Phase 3 is optimization; Phase 4 is continuous improvement and analytics.

• Define channels & SLAs: List active channels (phone, email, chat, social, SMS). Set SLAs: phone answer <60s, chat response <120s, email initial reply <4 hours or <24 hours depending on tier, social urgent <60–120 minutes. Publish SLAs on your contact page.
• Staffing & shifts: Create a shift schedule using Erlang-C modeling for volume peaks. Maintain a forecast accuracy of >85% and schedule 10–15% overstaffing at peak holiday periods (Nov–Dec for retail).
• Ticketing hierarchy & routing: Implement 3-tier routing: Tier 1 (triage), Tier 2 (product experts), Tier 3 (engineering escalation). Target FCR for Tier 1 at 60–75%.
• Knowledge base & playbooks: Build 250+ searchable KB articles in the first 90 days for common issues. Aim for KB containment of 20–35% of inbound volume via self-service.
• Quality assurance program: Score 60–80 interactions per 1000 tickets monthly with a rubric covering accuracy, tone, and policy compliance. Target QA pass rate improvement of +10 percentage points in 90 days.
• Customer feedback loop: Trigger CSAT survey after ticket close (1–3 questions). Target response rate 10–20% for email surveys, CSAT benchmark 80%+.
• Escalation & SLA monitoring: Implement automated alerts when SLA breaches exceed 5% in a rolling 30-day window; assign an executive on-call for persistent breaches.
• Data & reporting cadence: Daily volume & SLA dashboard, weekly QA and training insights, monthly strategic review including NPS, churn impact, and operational costs.

Execute items in two-week sprints, assigning an owner to each checklist line. Use a RACI matrix to ensure the responsibilities are clear: Responsible (team lead), Accountable (head of service), Consulted (product/engineering), Informed (sales/marketing).

Training and staffing

Recruit to competency, not just experience. For entry-level reps expect 30–45 days of onboarding including shadowing and 1:1 coaching; for product specialists expect 60–90 days. Typical US average salary ranges in 2023: entry-level support $32,000–$45,000, experienced specialist $50,000–$75,000. Budget training at $800–$2,500 per rep annually for certifications, role-play, and external courses.

Create role-based training modules: Product, CRM, Compliance (GDPR/CCPA if applicable), and Soft Skills. Each module should include measurable proficiency checks: simulated calls (score ≥85%), KB contribution (1 article in first 90 days), and shadow-to-live ratio (10 observed:1 live in early weeks).

Technology, integrations, and recommended vendors

Choose one core ticketing platform to be the system of record. Required integrations: telephony (SIP/PSTN), single sign-on (SAML/OAuth), CRM (customer history), and analytics (BI connector). Prioritize platforms with APIs and prebuilt connectors to reduce integration time to 2–6 weeks.

Budget and procurement: expect implementation costs from $5,000–$50,000 one-time plus per-seat licensing $15–$150 per agent/month depending on functionality (basic ticketing vs. omnichannel + AI-assisted routing). Allocate professional services 10–30% of software cost for complex workflows.

• Recommended vendors (examples): Zendesk (https://www.zendesk.com), Salesforce Service Cloud (https://www.salesforce.com), Freshdesk (https://www.freshworks.com/freshdesk), and Talkdesk (https://www.talkdesk.com) for cloud telephony. Evaluate trial implementations for 30 days with 5–10 pilot users.

Metrics, reporting, and targets

Track a compact set of KPIs daily: volume by channel, SLA adherence, AHT, FCR, CSAT (post-interaction), and backlog age. Weekly & monthly, include NPS, cost per contact, and churn attributable to support. Use thresholds: escalate when SLA adherence <95% for 7 days, FCR <65% for 30 days, or CSAT drops >5 points month-over-month.

Report structure: dashboard for ops (real-time), leadership pack (weekly trends, 5 KPIs), and deep-dive (monthly root cause analysis). Example target table: CSAT 85%+, FCR 75%+, AHT 4–12 min, Cost per contact $3–$25 (varies by channel and geography).

Quality assurance, compliance, and continuous improvement

QA should be both automated (speech analytics, sentiment scoring) and human (calibrated scoring). Calibrate QA monthly with cross-evaluator sessions to maintain score reliability >0.8 Cronbach alpha. Use QA findings to create micro-training (5–15 minute modules) deployed weekly; aim to reduce repeat issues by 20% in 90 days.

Compliance checklist: data retention policy, consent capture, secure call recording notices, and access control review every 90 days. If you operate in the EU or California, include GDPR and CCPA controls; perform annual audits and keep logs for 24 months as a standard practice.

Implementation timeline & budget snapshot

Sample timeline for a 50-agent rollout: Weeks 1–2 discovery and SLA definition, Weeks 3–6 platform configuration and KB seeding (100+ articles), Weeks 7–10 onboarding & pilot, Weeks 11–12 full launch. Budget range: $60,000–$250,000 first year including salaries, software, integrations, and training depending on scope and geography.

Start with a 30/60/90 day plan with measurable milestones. Review outcomes at each checkpoint and pivot resources from low-impact activities to high-value optimizations (e.g., improving KB content that reduces ticket volume by 10–30%). For vendor demos or pilot contacts, use vendor websites above to request trials and pricing.

What are the 7 Cs of customer service?

The 7 Cs include Customer, Cost, Convenience, Communication, Credibility, Connection and Co–creation. They provide an understanding a customer needs to improve their relationships.

What is the customer service standard checklist?

The checklist typically includes a range of criteria, such as promptness, clarity, courtesy, and empathy. These criteria are used to evaluate the quality of customer service provided by employees, and to identify areas where improvements can be made.

What are the 3 F’s of customer service?

What is the 3 F’s method in customer service? The “Feel, Felt, Found” approach is believed to have originated in the sales industry, where it is used to connect with customers, build rapport, and overcome customer objections.

What are the 7 essentials to excellent customer service?

7 essentials of exceptional customer service

• (1) Know and understand your clients.
• (2) Be prepared to wear many hats.
• (3) Solve problems quickly.
• (4) Take responsibility and ownership.
• (5) Be a generalist and always keep learning.
• (6) Meet them face-to-face.
• (7) Become an expert navigator!

What are the 7 principles of customer service?

identifying customer needs • designing and delivering service to meet those needs • seeking to meet and exceed customer expectations • seeking feedback from customers • acting on feedback to continually improve service • communicating with customers • having plans in place to deal with service problems.

What are the 5 C’s of customer service?

We’ll dig into some specific challenges behind providing an excellent customer experience, and some advice on how to improve those practices. I call these the 5 “Cs” – Communication, Consistency, Collaboration, Company-Wide Adoption, and Efficiency (I realize this last one is cheating).