LESSON 3:

CALL CENTER TERMINOLOGIES

Abandoned Call/Contact - a call or type of contact that has been offered into a communication network or telephone
system, but is terminated by the person originating the contact before any conversation happens.
ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) – A specialized phone system used for handling many incoming calls. The ACD will
recognize the and answer an incoming call; will look in its database for call routing instructions
ACS (Automatic Call Sequencer) – A device for handling incoming calls. Typically it answers an incoming call. Gives the
caller a message and puts them on hold, signaling agents a call is waiting.
Activity Codes – Codes entered by agents to indicate the type of contact handled. Also called wrap-up codes, these
codes allow reporting by contact type.
ACW (After Call Work) – Work immediately following an inbound call or transaction.
Agent Group, Split or Gate – A group of agents handling a specific type or group of calls or contacts.
ATB (All Trunks Busy) – A state in which all trunks in a specific trunk group are busy.
Area Code – A three-digit number identifying geographic areas of the United States and Canada. It permits direct
distance dialing on the telephone system. Also known as NPA (Numbering Plan Area)
ASA (Average Speed of Answer) – The average wait in queue experienced by all callers to an ACD group during a
specified period. It includes both calls delayed and those answered immediately in calculation.
Automated Attendant – A device that answers callers with a recording, and allows callers to route themselves by
dialing digits associated with menu choices.
Automated Greetings – The capability of an ACD or add-on system to allow an agent to record a greeting that
automatically plays when call is answered. Also called voice-saver system.
Automatic Call Back – A feature of a telephone system that permits a caller to hang up and instruct the system to call
back as soon as a busy station or trunk is free.
Auxiliary Work State – A work state other than actively handling calls.
Available Time – The period of time spent waiting to accept and/or busy on inbound or outbound contact.
Average Delay of Delayed Callers – Average wait in queue experienced only by those callers who are delayed.
Average Delay to Abandon – Average time callers are held in queue before disconnecting (prior to agent answer)
Average Handle Time (AHT) – The amount of time it takes on average to handle a contact to completion, including talk
time plus after-contact work time.
Base Staff – The minimum number of agents needed to provide service in a given period of time. Also called “bodies in
seats”.
Beep Tone – A tone heard before a call arrives, also called a zip tone. It sometimes used to announce that a call is
being monitored.
Benchmarking - The process of measuring performance against some set standard. In the contact center industry, it
refers to company demographics, processes, and service with other organizations to identify strengths, weaknesses,
and improvement opportunities in one’s own organization.
Blocked Call – A call that cannot be completed because of a busy condition.
Business to Business – A term used in contact centers to represent the type of contact that is primarily to/from other
business.
Call Center Schedule Adherence – it is a metric used in order to determine whether or not agents are working the
amount of time they have been asked or required to.
Call/Contact Blending – The process of combining the flow of inbound/outbound calls and other contacts such as email
or web transactions to a set of agents capable of handling them.
Callback Messaging – A feature in which callers on hold can leave an oral message or their telephone numbers using
the keys of a touchtone telephone pad for later call back from an agent instead of remaining on hold.
Call Routing – this is the process designed to ensure that each call is routed to the right agent with proper skills, and
has prior knowledge regarding the customer’s issue. Call routing often includes identifying high-value callers and
routing them to a shorter queue, or to the most proficient agents.
Call Recording/ Call Logging – it is a technology that enables call centers to capture and record all customer and agent
telephony interactions. The caller has to be informed before the call is being recorded.
Caller ID – A telephone network feature of the local telephone company by which the telephone number of the caller is
passed to the called party.
Completed Call/Contact – A contact that is handled to completion by an agent, or in an outbound dialing scenario, a
contact that has been through maximum recycle attempts.
Contact Management – Software applications and system that keep track of all the customer contacts for subsequent
contacts and as an audit trail.
Cross Selling- The technique used by telephone representatives to sell an additional product or service while engaged
in a customer contact.
Database – Collection of data structured and organized in a disciplined fashion for quick and easy access to information
of interest.
Dead Air- long period of silence on the other line.
Delay Announcements – Recorded announcements played to holding callers containing information and requesting
their patience in waiting for an agent.
Expected Wait Time – In a call center, EWT is the expected time that the customers are told to wait before they can
speak to an agent. It is one of the best practices to measure average expected time.
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) – it asks the customer to press the buttons on their telephone keypad to select which
service they want. Thereafter, the IVR routes the call to the most appropriate agent.
First Call Resolution (FCR) - it is a way to identify the customer’s issue, the first time they contact a call center agent. It
is a metric that monitors the quality of service that customers are receiving, by counting the number of times their
issues got resolved on the first point of contact. Providing an ideal caller experience will ensure the customer keeps
coming back to engage with your business.
Wrap Time –This describes the time taken by an agent to complete any transactions or work for a customer after the
call has ended.
Y Jack – a splitter, a device used to split a single jack into two.

LESSON 4:

ABBREVIATION & PHONETIC ALPHABET

TITLES

Dr. - Doctor Esq. - Esquire Lt. - Lieutenant

Mr. - Mister Messrs. - Masseurs Corp. - Corporal
Mrs. - Misses Msgr. - Monsignor Gov. - Governor
Ms. - Miss Rev. - Reverend Rt. Hon. - Retired Honorable
Jr. - Junior St. - Saint Capt. - Captain
Sr. - Senior MD - Medical Doctor Col. - Colonel
Mmes. - Madame RN - Registered Nurse Gen. - General
Prof. – Professor Hon. - Honorable

Use Ms. when referring to a woman unless a preference for Mrs. has been indicated. Although not an abbreviation, Ms.
is written with a period, by analogy with Mr. and Mrs. Note that Miss is not an abbreviation and does not take a period.
Do not use Mr., Mrs., Ms., Dr. or Esq. with any other abbreviated title or with an abbreviation denoting an academic
degree or honour:

Dr. Roberta Bondar or Roberta Bondar, MD NOT Ms. or Dr. Roberta Bondar, MD
Mr. Paul Kelly or Paul Kelly, Esq. NOT Mr. Paul Kelly, Esq.

Do NOT use the abbreviation Dr. and Rev. Dr. before the names of individuals who hold only honorary doctorates.

• Saint is written out for names of persons revered as holy, but may be abbreviated in informal contexts and in
lists and tables:

Saint Catherine Saint Francis of Assisi Saint Peter Saint Theresa

St. and SS. (plural) are the abbreviations used.
• Abbreviate professional and official titles only when they are used with surnames preceded by first names or
initials:
Gen. Lewis MacKenzie but General MacKenzie
Dr. Irene Taguchi but Doctor Taguchi

Prof. A. N. Chomsky but Professor Chomsky

Note: that there are spaces between each period and the following initial or name.
• Even when used to address someone in correspondence, Rt. Hon., Hon. and Rev. must be preceded by the:
The Rt. Hon. Jean Chrétien, Prime Minister of Canada
The Hon. Alfonso Gagliano, Minister of Public Works and Government Services
The Rev. John Smith

PLACES

Postal Terms

Abbr. Place Abbr. Place Abbr. Place Abbr. Place

Apt. Apartment Dept. Department Hwy. Highway Sq. Square
Ave. Avenue Dr. Drive Is. Island Stn. Station
Aly. Alley Est. Estate Jct. Junction St. Street
Bch Beach Expy. Expressway Lk. Lake Ste. Suite
Blvd. Boulevard Ext. Extension Ln. Lane Smt. Summit
Br. Branch Fld. Field Mt. Mountain Un. Union
Cyn. Canyon Flt. Flat Pl. Place Uppr. Upper
Ctr. Center Flr. Floor Plz. Plaza Vly. Valley
Cor. Corner Hbr. Harbor Rd. Road View Vw
Ct. Court Hts. Heights Rm. Room Vlg. Village
Cv. Cove Hls. Hills Shr. Shore Vi. Ville
Directions
N –North S – South E – East W – West