Voice of the Customer glossary.
Plain definitions of the terms used in customer feedback and contact centre measurement.
Voice of the Customer · Net Promoter Score · Customer Satisfaction · Customer Effort Score · First contact resolution · Containment · Verified Resolution · Closed loop feedback · Transactional survey · Relationship survey · Post call survey · IVR survey · Review gating
- Voice of the Customer (VoC)
- A programme for collecting, analysing and acting on what customers say about their experience, through surveys, comments, reviews and conversations.
- Net Promoter Score (NPS)
- A measure of loyalty based on one question: how likely a customer is to recommend you, on a scale of 0 to 10. The score is the percentage of promoters (9 and 10) minus the percentage of detractors (0 to 6), so it runs from minus 100 to plus 100.
- Customer Satisfaction (CSAT)
- A measure of how satisfied a customer was with a specific interaction or experience, usually on a scale of 1 to 5. It is often reported as the share of customers who chose the top two answers.
- Customer Effort Score (CES)
- A measure of how easy it was for the customer to get what they needed. Lower effort is closely linked to loyalty in service interactions.
- First contact resolution (FCR)
- The share of issues resolved in the customer's first contact, with no need to call, chat or write again. Measured best by asking the customer, and checked against repeat contacts.
- Containment
- The share of conversations a bot or IVR finished without handing over to a person. It shows the conversation ended. It does not show whether the problem was solved.
- Verified Resolution
- A CX Index measure that combines whether the customer says the problem was solved with whether they contacted you again about it. It is a stricter test of automation and agents than containment alone.
- Closed loop feedback
- Following up with a customer after they give feedback, especially a poor score, and fixing the cause. The inner loop fixes it for that customer. The outer loop fixes it for everyone.
- Transactional survey
- A short survey sent straight after a specific interaction, such as a call, chat or delivery, about that interaction.
- Relationship survey
- A periodic survey about the customer's overall relationship with the company, sent on a schedule and not tied to one interaction.
- Post call survey
- A survey offered at the end of a phone call, either by transferring the caller to an IVR survey or by sending an SMS or email straight afterwards.
- IVR survey
- A voice survey the caller answers by keypad or speech in the phone system, usually straight after the call.
- Review gating
- Inviting only happy customers to leave public reviews. It is prohibited by Google and Trustpilot and conflicts with consumer law in the UK, EU and US.
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Last updated 29 September 2026
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