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First response time

What is a first response time?

First Response Time (FRT) is the amount of time taken by your company’s agents to respond to the customer for the very first time. The First Response Time is the reflection of your commitment to providing customer care; this gives the customer a sense whether their feedback is being acknowledged. A low FRT indicates that your consumer is satisfied with your service.

FRT is important for two very important reasons. First, it’s a measure of how efficient your team is to customer feedback. Secondly, it gives you a visible picture if your team requires a quick reshuffle or reform.

FAQ

What is first response time?

First Response Time (FRT) is the time elapsed from the client's request to the first response. Many organizations have a basic First Response Time which means they have to respond to customers within a certain time frame. It is a very significant measure as it goes hand in hand with customer satisfaction with service. Therefore, a quick response from the agent is highly anticipated by the client.

How to measure first response time?

The first response time is calculated using the following formula: sum of first response times divided by the number of submissions. First response time is usually reported in minutes, hours and days. Some organizations calculate it on the basis of the median rather than the mean, which allows avoiding outliers and distorting data. Calculations should not take into account automatic responses (chatbots and virtual assistants).

How to improve first response time?

You can shorten the first response time due to several factors. First of all, don't be afraid to invest in coaching and training for your employees. Find out what can slow down your employees and teach them how to act to do it more effectively.Adding additional communication channels can also reduce the time of the first response. Live chat is best for this as it allows you to chat with the client right away. The third suggestion is simply planning. If you see that you receive more calls at any time or in a specific period, you can think about the duty hours, thanks to which more employees will work.

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