Customer Care glossary.
Customer care has its own shorthand. Here are the fifteen terms you’ll hear most — tap any to see what it means. Reading at least five will unlock your stamp.
Customer care
Looking after customers so they stay happy and loyal.
SLA
Service Level Agreement - the standards and response times a customer can expect.
Empathy
Understanding and acknowledging how someone feels.
Complaint
When a customer says something's gone wrong - a chance to put it right.
Escalation
Passing an issue to someone more senior when you can't resolve it.
First-time fix
Solving the customer's problem on the first visit or contact.
Aftercare
Support given to a customer after the job is complete.
CRM
Customer Relationship Management - the system that stores customer info and history.
Response time
How quickly you get back to a customer.
Resolution
Actually solving the customer's problem.
Feedback
What customers tell you about their experience, good or bad.
Retention
Keeping existing customers - usually cheaper than winning new ones.
Tone of voice
How something is said - warmth, clarity, calm - not just the words.
Query
A customer question or request for information.
Goodwill gesture
A small extra - a discount, a callback - to rebuild trust after a problem.
Got the lay of the land?
Expand at least five terms to enable Mark complete — you don’t need to memorise them all now. This stays here as a reference, so come back whenever an acronym shows up on site that you don’t recognise.
Five expanded — you’re good to go.