What is Customer Satisfaction Score?

Converge Converge Team
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A metric measuring customer satisfaction with a specific interaction or experience

What is Customer Satisfaction Score?

Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) measures how satisfied a customer is with a specific support interaction. Typically collected through a post-conversation survey asking "How satisfied were you with your experience?" on a 1-5 scale, the score is calculated as the percentage of positive responses (4 and 5) divided by total responses.

CSAT differs from NPS (which measures overall loyalty) in that it captures satisfaction with a single interaction. This makes it actionable—you can identify which conversations, agents, or issue types produce low scores and address them specifically. Most teams trigger CSAT surveys automatically when a conversation is closed.

Why Customer Satisfaction Score Matters

CSAT is the most direct measure of whether your support is working. Industry average sits around 75%, with scores above 80% considered good and above 90% considered excellent. A dropping CSAT score is an early warning that something is wrong—longer wait times, undertrained agents, or product issues generating more complaints.

CSAT also correlates with retention. Customers who rate interactions 4-5 are significantly more likely to repurchase and recommend your product. Tracking CSAT by channel reveals where your team excels and where they struggle—many teams score higher on live chat than email because the real-time interaction feels more personal.

Customer Satisfaction Score in Practice

A SaaS company noticed their overall CSAT was 78%, but when they broke it down by channel, live chat scored 88% while email scored 64%. Investigation revealed that email responses were template-heavy and impersonal. By rewriting email templates to sound more conversational, adding the agent's first name, and including proactive suggestions, email CSAT improved to 79% within a month.

Related Terms

CSATsatisfaction surveyNPS

Related Reading

→ Complete CSAT Improvement Guide → Customer Retention Guide → Auto-Reply Configuration → Free CSAT Calculator

Frequently Asked Questions

Count the number of positive responses (typically 4 and 5 on a 5-point scale), divide by total responses, and multiply by 100. For example: 80 positive responses out of 100 total = 80% CSAT. Only count completed surveys, not sent surveys.
Typical response rates are 10-30% for email surveys and 20-40% for in-chat surveys. Higher response rates give more reliable data. To increase rates, keep surveys to a single question, send them immediately after resolution, and make the response mechanism one-click (star rating or thumbs up/down).
CSAT is more actionable for support because it measures specific interactions. NPS measures overall brand loyalty, which is influenced by many factors beyond support. Use CSAT for day-to-day performance management and NPS for quarterly strategic reviews.

More Metrics Terms

First Response Time →Average Handle Time →Resolution Time →First Contact Resolution →Net Promoter Score →Customer Effort Score →