We noticed our customer support team is hitting their target for average ticket resolution time, but our customer churn is increasing because they are closing support tickets before the client's problem is actually solved just to keep their weekly scorecard metrics green. How do we restructure our customer support metrics to prevent this gaming behavior?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic example of tracking a speed metric without a quality counter-balance, which practically begs your team to game the system. If you only measure how fast tickets are closed, your reps will close them as quickly as possible, regardless of whether the customer is actually happy.

To fix this, you must pair your velocity metric with a quality metric on the scorecard. This creates healthy friction and ensures the team is focused on true resolution, not just hitting a number.

We recommend tracking these two metrics side-by-side:
- Average ticket resolution hours
- Ticket reopen rate within seven days

If your resolution time is low but your reopen rate is spiking, the scorecard immediately flags that the team is rushing clients off the phone.

Another excellent counter-metric is the first-contact resolution percentage. This measures how many issues are solved on the very first interaction. When the team knows they are being measured on solving the problem correctly the first time, they will stop closing tickets prematurely.

The customer support seat must own both metrics. This forces them to balance speed with quality, protecting your customer retention and keeping your scorecard honest.