Customer service QA scorecard: 20 checks you can copy

A good customer service scorecard has somewhere between 10 and 20 lines. Fewer, and you miss things that matter. More, and reviewers start skimming. Every line should describe something you can point at in the conversation.

Below are 20 checks support teams use, grouped by what they protect. Copy the ones that fit, change the details to match your policies, and leave out anything you wouldn’t act on. Each is written so two reviewers, or an automatic check, would reach the same answer.

Protecting the customer

These are the checks where a miss can cause real harm or a complaint. Treat them as critical.

1. Identity confirmed. Before discussing the account, the agent confirms at least two security details.
2. No account details shared early. The agent does not reveal balances, addresses or order details before identity is confirmed.
3. Vulnerability noticed. Warning: the customer mentions illness, bereavement, money worries or anything else that suggests they may need extra care.
4. Vulnerability acted on. When the customer mentions a vulnerability, the agent offers extra support or explains what help is available.
5. Complaint acknowledged. When the customer complains, the agent says the complaint has been logged and when they will hear back.
6. Customer asks for a manager. Warning: the customer asks to speak to a manager or someone senior.

Protecting the business

These stop costly promises and keep you on the right side of your own policies.

7. Refunds approved. When a refund over your limit is offered, the agent says it has been approved by a supervisor.
8. No unconfirmed promises. The agent does not promise a refund, credit, delivery date or outcome they haven’t confirmed.
9. Prices stated in full. When a change to price or plan is agreed, the agent states the full price, including any fees, before the customer agrees.
10. Cancellation terms explained. When the customer cancels or changes a contract, the agent explains any notice period or fee.
11. Call recording disclosed. On calls, the agent tells the customer the call is recorded near the start.
12. Personal data not requested by message. The agent does not ask for full card numbers or passwords in chat or email.

Resolving the problem

These measure whether the customer left with what they came for.

13. Problem restated. The agent restates the customer’s problem in their own words before trying to solve it.
14. Question answered. By the end, the customer’s original question has been answered or a clear follow-up has been agreed.
15. Correct process followed. When the issue needs another team, the agent explains who will handle it and how long it will take.
16. Next steps summarised. Before ending, the agent summarises what happens next and when.
17. Customer confirmed understanding. The agent checks the customer is happy with the outcome or has no other questions.

The conversation itself

Useful for coaching, and usually lower severity.

18. Name and company given. The agent says their name and the company name in their first message.
19. Problem acknowledged before the fix. The agent acknowledges the customer’s problem before offering a solution.
20. Hold explained. When the customer is put on hold or the conversation pauses, the agent says why and roughly how long it will take.

Requirements and warnings

Lines 3 and 6 are marked Warning. They don’t fail the agent, because the customer said them, not the agent. They flag the conversation for a person to look at. Every other line is a requirement: it fails when it is missing.

Keeping the two apart matters. If “customer asks for a manager” counted as a fail, agents would be marked down for their customers’ moods.

Add conditions where a line doesn’t always apply

Lines 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 15 and 20 only apply in some conversations. The “when” at the start of each one is its condition. Without it, a refund rule would fail on every call where no refund came up.

How to roll it out

1. Pick the 5 to 8 lines that matter most to your team right now. Start with the ones that protect the customer.
2. Test them on 20 conversations your team has already reviewed, and rewrite any line that causes disagreement.
3. Add the rest once those are working.
4. Review the list every quarter. Drop lines nobody acts on.

For more on wording, see How to write a QA scorecard that can be checked automatically.

Where Assay fits

Each of these checks can be added to Assay as a rule in plain English, with a condition and a severity. Many are already there as examples to start from when you add a rule. Every conversation is then checked against them, and each result points at the line in the conversation that decided it.