Cut call handle time without hurting customer experience
Diagnoses what drives long calls and gives script, training, and tooling fixes that shorten them without lowering quality.
The prompt
Help me reduce average handle time (AHT) on my support phone team without hurting customer satisfaction or resolution.
Team: [SIZE, shifts, in-house or outsourced]
Current metrics: [AHT broken into talk, hold, and after-call work; first-contact resolution; CSAT; transfer rate; repeat-call rate]
Longest call types: [TOP CONTACT REASONS with volumes and handle times]
Customer feedback themes: [PASTE or summarize]
Tools: [phone system, CRM, knowledge base, scripts]
Known pain points: [e.g. "agents search three systems", "long identity verification"]
Give me:
1. Diagnosis: which component (talk, hold, after-call work) and which call types drive most of the excess time, and what the likely causes are. Use only my data; mark gaps [ADD DATA].
2. Quick wins (under 2 weeks): call-opening and verification streamlining, hold-reduction tactics, note templates, and macros.
3. Script improvements for the top 3 call reasons: a tighter flow with the key questions to ask early.
4. Training: targeted coaching for agents with the widest variance, call-listening sessions, and knowledge gaps to close.
5. Tool and process fixes: knowledge base gaps, system integration, callbacks, and self-service or deflection for simple repeat contacts.
6. Guardrails: metrics to watch alongside AHT (FCR, repeat calls, CSAT, escalations) so we don't push agents to rush customers off the phone.
7. A weekly report layout: metrics, trends by call type, outliers, and actions.
Do not recommend individual AHT targets that penalize agents for complex calls; suggest how to set fair targets by call type.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Customer Support prompts
What to fill in
- SIZE, shifts, in-house or outsourced
- TOP CONTACT REASONS with volumes and handle times
- PASTE or summarize
- phone system, CRM, knowledge base, scripts
- ADD DATA
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the RTF structure (Role, Task, Format). RTF tells the model who to be, what to do and what shape the answer should take. It is the quickest structure that still gives noticeably better results than a bare request.
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