How to Improve Call Center Customer Service: 12 Tips & Best Practices

Call centers today are running hot.

A customer’s been on hold for 12 minutes. When they finally get through, they’re already frustrated. The agent does their best, but they’re juggling three systems: the call script feels rigid, and empathy wears thin under pressure.

By the end of the call, the issue may be technically resolved, but no one’s walking away happy.

Multiply that by a hundred calls a day, and it’s no surprise your CSAT is slipping, your agents are burning out, and your QA scores feel stuck. But fixing it doesn’t mean throwing everything out and starting over.

It starts with small changes — tweaks to process, tone, tools, and training — that make each conversation smoother, faster, and more human.

In this guide, we break down 12 proven ways to make that shift, so your agents can thrive and your customers can feel the difference.

Table of Contents

• Why Call Center Etiquette Matters
• 12 Simple Tips to Improve Call Center Customer Service
  • 1. Greet with intent and warmth
  • 2. Work on active listening
  • 3. Personalize your interactions
  • 4. Respect the customer’s time
  • 5. Keep hold times transparent
  • 6. Use AI and automation
  • 7. Choose the right software
  • 8. Use a cheat sheet for tricky scenarios
  • 9. Go the extra mile when needed
  • 10. Be empathetic and proactive
  • 11. Ask for quick feedback at the end
  • 12. Prepare after-call summaries
• Best Practices for Call Center Customer Service
  • 1. Virtual queues & callback options
  • 2. Build a centralized knowledge base
  • 3. Implement omnichannel support
  • 4. Invest in call center agent training
• How to Measure Call Center Efficiency
  • 1️⃣ First Response Time (FRT)
  • 2️⃣ Call Resolution Time
  • 3️⃣ CSAT & NPS
  • 4️⃣ Repeat Call Rate
  • 5️⃣ Quality Assurance Scores
• Improve Customer Experience with Better Call Center Service
• Frequently asked questions
  • 1. What makes great customer service in contact centers?
  • 2. How can I improve call center agent performance?
  • 3. How can I improve call center performance?
  • 4. What are some call handling best practices?

Why Call Center Etiquette Matters

Your call center agent isn’t just solving problems—they are your brand to most customers.

Think about it: customers aren’t visiting your store or meeting your CEO. They’re dialing in (often already annoyed) and hoping the voice on the other end can help. Every word, pause, and tone choice shapes how they feel about your entire company.

CX expert and Chief Amazement Officer at Shepard Presentations, Shep Hyken believes that agents should ask themselves one key question when interacting with customers:

”Ask yourself: Is what I’m doing right now going to get this customer to come back next time? When you focus on the next time, the next time becomes every time.”

That’s the power of etiquette. It goes beyond being polite and creates trust that lasts beyond the call.

12 Simple Tips to Improve Call Center Customer Service

Good customer service in a call center is all about getting the basics right and meeting customer expectations, consistently. Here are 12 tips that are simple, but powerful, when put into daily practice.

1. Greet with intent and warmth

This may seem obvious, but it’s often overlooked, especially during a long work shift when energy levels are low. The way a call starts sets the tone for everything that follows. Instead of mumbling a rushed “Thanks for calling,” train agents take an extra second to breathe, smile, and say:

A warm start puts the caller at ease and reminds them they’re talking to a real person, not a machine.

2. Work on active listening

It’s easy to fall into “fix-it” mode and jump to solutions before the customer’s even finished talking. 

But that rush can make them feel like they’re not being heard or they aren’t being taken seriously. 

Encourage agents to pause briefly, about 1 to 2 seconds after the customer finishes. It’s a small habit that makes a big difference. Pair it with empathetic phrases that reflect what the customer is feeling, like:

People don’t always need instant answers. They need to feel like they’re being understood. That feeling reduces defensiveness and makes the rest of the conversation smoother.

In fact, here’s a leaf from our own playbook on how we handle active listening at Hiver:

3. Personalize your interactions

People can tell when they’re being treated like just another ticket in a queue. A little personalization goes a long way. Use their name, reference a past conversation if it’s available, or respond in a way that shows you’re paying attention.

4. Respect the customer’s time

Every caller’s energy is different. Some are in a rush and just want the issue fixed. Others want you to explain every detail. This means agents need to read the room. 

If callers sound anxious, keep the tone calm and steady. If they’re chatty, match it with a bit of warmth and ease. This subtle mirroring builds trust quickly, and makes the call feel more human.

Cut down on back-and-forth by double-checking details and confirming next steps before you wrap up. Close the loop with a simple line like:

5. Keep hold times transparent

One of the biggest points of frustration? Being put on hold with no explanation, no time estimate, and no update. Instead, encourage agents to be upfront and set expectations clearly:

Even better: if the hold goes longer, have agents pop back in and give a quick update. Customers don’t mind waiting as much when they know why they’re waiting and for how long.

6. Use AI and automation

AI isn’t here to replace good customer service; it’s here to augment it. Think smart call routing, summarizing customer history before the call, or helping agents find relevant info without digging through a dozen tabs. 

Agents can spend more time solving the issue and less time tracking it down.

7. Choose the right software

You can have the most empathetic agents in the world, but if they’re stuck toggling between five apps to find one customer’s history, it’s a recipe for disaster. 

Speed and clarity come from having the right customer support tools. Make sure agents can pull up customer history, contact details, and conversation context without switching tabs.

8. Use a cheat sheet for tricky scenarios

Every team has those moments that spike anxiety: angry callers, refund requests, unclear outages. 

Don’t leave agents to wing it. Keep a “tough calls” cheat sheet handy with go-to phrases and response prompts. When agents sound confident, customers are more likely to stay calm, and issues get resolved faster.

Let your support reps help build the cheat sheets. They usually have tried and tested ways of handling tricky situations which can be scaled to others on the team.

9. Go the extra mile when needed

You don’t have to roll out red carpets; just do the small things that show you care. Maybe it’s staying on the line while the customer tries something on their end. 

Maybe it’s following up with a quick “just checking in” email the next day. Even forwarding customer feedback to a relevant team can go a long way in building customer loyalty.

10. Be empathetic and proactive

Don’t just thank customers for calling, reassure them. Let them know you’re actually glad to have helped. It sounds small, but it ends things on a high note with reassurance.

Instead of: “Thanks for calling.” Try: “I’m really glad we could get this sorted. And if anything else pops up, don’t hesitate to reach out.”

If you know there’s an upcoming update or fix related to their issue, mention it. That kind of heads-up builds trust and shows you’re thinking ahead.

11. Ask for quick feedback at the end

Formal surveys have their place, but nothing beats a quick, human moment of reflection.

Right before wrapping up, ask, “How did I do today?” Customers appreciate being asked. And agents get real-time insights to improve.

12. Prepare after-call summaries

After-call work often gets rushed, especially during busy periods. But taking 30 seconds to document what happened prevents confusion later and improves handoffs between agents.

Good summaries help with follow-ups, make escalations smoother, and give your team valuable insights into what’s working or breaking down.

Best Practices for Call Center Customer Service

Strong call center performance is all about setting your team up to succeed consistently. These best practices go beyond the basics, helping your team work smarter, not harder.

1. Virtual queues & callback options

Virtual queues and callback options cut down frustration fast. Instead of making customers wait on hold, let them hang up and get a call when it’s their turn.

Add queue position updates (“You’re third in line”) or estimated wait times. These small cues reduce anxiety and build trust, even before the call begins.

2. Build a centralized knowledge base

Every second an agent spends digging for answers is a second the customer spends waiting.

Create a centralized knowledge base, and keep it clean, current, and searchable. Include product FAQs, policy updates, refund policies, and internal processes.

3. Implement omnichannel support

When a customer reaches out via email, chat, or social, they don’t want to repeat themselves.

Set your team up with an omnichannel platform that pulls all touchpoints into one place. That way, agents get full context and customers get faster resolutions.

4. Invest in call center agent training

Skip the one-size-fits-all training decks. Focus on live scenarios: angry callers, confusing refund requests, outage updates. 

Train regularly on the soft skills that drive real impact—empathy, active listening, and problem-solving under pressure.

Kel Krugi, the Director of Developer Support at Zapier, emphasizes the importance of improving soft skills:

Train your teams on soft skills—because when things go really wrong, a chatbot won’t give you the empathy you need.

Focus on regular, targeted training in areas like tone calibration, de-escalation techniques, summarizing, and efficient use of internal tools.

How to Measure Call Center Efficiency

When it comes to customer service, efficiency is about consistency, speed, accuracy, and how customers feel when the call ends. 

The right call center metrics help you spot what’s working, what’s lagging, and where your team needs support.

Here are five core metrics every call center should be tracking:

1️⃣ First Response Time (FRT)

First impressions matter. First Response Time measures how quickly your team responds to a customer after they reach out, whether that’s picking up a call, replying to a chat, or answering an email. 

Even if the full solution takes a little longer, a quick acknowledgment sets a positive tone right away.

2️⃣ Call Resolution Time

Long resolution times can lead to frustration. However, going too fast and skipping steps can result in callbacks and rework. The goal is to strike a smart balance.

This metric tracks the average resolution time to fully resolve a customer’s issue from the moment they first contact us. Use after-call summaries and internal notes to minimize back-and-forth communication and keep everyone aligned on the next steps.

3️⃣ CSAT & NPS

Customer Satisfaction (CSAT) scores and Net Promoter Scores (NPS) help you understand how customers feel about your service and not just what got resolved.

These customer survey scores offer a direct line into the customer experience. High scores show you’re building trust; lower scores are a chance to dig in and fix what’s broken.  A simple “How did I do today?” at the end of a call, followed by a one-click survey, can feel a lot more natural than an impersonal form.

4️⃣ Repeat Call Rate

If customers have to call more than once to get the same problem resolved, it means something in the process broke down. A high repeat call rate usually points to one of three issues:

• Incomplete answers,
• Poor follow-through, or
• Unclear communication

All of these can be improved with better documentation and internal handoffs.

5️⃣ Quality Assurance Scores

Quality Assurance scores evaluate the how, not just the what. These are typically based on internal checklists, such as whether the agent greets the customer properly, uses the right tone, follows the script when needed, and handles sensitive issues respectfully.

High QA scores reflect strong agent performance and consistent service standards. They also surface coaching opportunities and training gaps. Use real call recordings (with permission) for QA reviews and training sessions. Real examples help agents learn faster and more effectively.

Improve Customer Experience with Better Call Center Service

Great customer experiences come from the little things, such as friendly greetings, quick follow-ups, and solving issues without making people wait. When support feels smooth, customers remember it.

Hiver brings all your support channels together in one simple dashboard, so your team isn’t wasting time jumping between tools. They can stay focused, respond faster, and create more meaningful moments with every call.

It’s a better way to work for agents, and a better experience for your customers.

Try Hiver today and see how small changes can lead to stronger customer relationships.

Frequently asked questions

1. What makes great customer service in contact centers?

Greeting callers warmly, listening actively, resolving issues quickly, personalizing each interaction, following up reliably, and demonstrating genuine care and respect. That approach builds trust and encourages customers to return repeatedly.

2. How can I improve call center agent performance?

Set clear goals, offer coaching and real-time feedback, track performance metrics, provide efficient tools and training, encourage empathy in interactions, and recognize successes to boost motivation and consistency among agents.

3. How can I improve call center performance?

Streamline workflows by automating routine tasks, integrating support channels into one interface, monitoring key metrics, empowering agents with relevant customer data, promoting teamwork, and refining processes to reduce wait times.

4. What are some call handling best practices?

Answer calls within three rings, use concise scripts flexibly, confirm caller needs, personalize the conversation, log notes accurately, minimize transfers, follow up as promised, and invite feedback to improve service.