What Is CSAT?
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) is the most widely used measure of how happy customers are with a specific interaction.
Key Takeaways
- CSAT measures satisfaction with a single interaction, not the overall relationship.
- Scores are typically collected via a short post-interaction survey on a 1–5 scale.
- A CSAT above 80% is generally considered healthy for most support teams.
- Low CSAT scores are most valuable when linked to specific agents, channels, or issue types.
What CSAT measures
Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT) captures how satisfied a customer was with a specific support interaction — a ticket resolved, a chat concluded, or a call ended. It is usually collected via a one-question survey sent immediately after the interaction: 'How satisfied were you with the support you received?' Customers respond on a scale (typically 1–5 or 1–10), and the CSAT score is the percentage of respondents who selected the top one or two options. It is a leading indicator of whether individual interactions are landing well, not a measure of overall brand loyalty.
How to calculate it
CSAT (%) = (Number of satisfied responses ÷ Total responses) × 100. If you define 'satisfied' as a 4 or 5 on a 5-point scale, and 80 out of 100 respondents rated you 4 or 5, your CSAT is 80%. Response rate matters: a 10% response rate with 90% satisfaction may be less meaningful than a 40% response rate with 80% satisfaction. Aim to achieve at least a 20–25% survey response rate before drawing firm conclusions from your CSAT data.
What drives CSAT up and down
CSAT is most sensitive to resolution quality and speed. Customers who receive a correct, complete answer quickly almost always score highly. Scores drop when agents provide partial answers, when customers are transferred multiple times, or when the tone of the interaction feels impersonal or dismissive. Analysing low-CSAT tickets by agent, channel, and issue category reveals the specific failure points — whether that is training gaps, process problems, or a product issue generating repeat contacts.
CSAT limitations and what to pair it with
CSAT reflects one moment in time and one type of customer — those motivated to respond. Silent unhappy customers (who simply leave) will not appear in your CSAT data. Pair CSAT with Net Promoter Score (NPS) for relationship-level sentiment, Customer Effort Score (CES) for ease of resolution, and churn data to understand whether support quality is influencing retention decisions. Used together, these metrics give a more complete picture than any single score.