Resolution Friction Index (RFI)

When a customer contacts support, the goal is simple: solve the problem. But how hard that process is can make or break the experience. Resolution Friction Index (RFI) measures exactly that — the cumulative difficulty a customer encounters before their issue is resolved.

It’s not just about if you resolved the issue, but how painful it was to get there.

What is RFI?

Resolution Friction Index is a composite metric that scores the total effort required by a customer to reach resolution. It blends several contributing factors:

Number of transfers
Whether the issue required an escalation
Time to resolution (TTR)
Whether the customer had to contact support again for the same issue
Signals of confusion or repetition in the conversation (e.g., “I already explained this…”)

RFI provides a single friction score that can be tracked over time and across teams. A low RFI means the customer’s path to resolution was clean and efficient. A high RFI means the system made them work for it.

Why It Matters

Too many teams optimize for resolution rate alone — but getting to resolution after three transfers and two follow-ups isn’t a win. RFI forces teams to measure the experience of getting help, not just the outcome.

High RFI is a red flag. It means customers are being bounced around, left hanging, or repeating themselves. That’s what drives frustration, churn, and negative CSAT.

RFI also exposes internal breakdowns — siloed teams, weak handoffs, poor triage, or missing knowledge. By tracking it, you don’t just know that something went wrong — you know where friction builds up.

How to Calculate RFI

RFI isn’t a raw count. It’s a weighted score combining key friction factors. Here’s a simple formula to start:

RFI = (Transfers × 1.0) + (Escalation × 1.5) + (Repeat Contacts × 2.0) + (TTR Weight) + (Frictional Language Signals × 1.0)

Where:

Transfers = Number of times a call was transferred
Escalation = 1 if escalated, 0 if not
Repeat Contacts = Number of times the customer reached out again within 72 hours
TTR Weight = Score based on time buckets (e.g. <5min = 0, 5–15min = 1, >15min = 2)
Frictional Language Signals = Number of times a customer expressed confusion, repetition, or dissatisfaction

You can calibrate weights based on your environment, but the goal is consistency — not perfection.

What “Good” Looks Like

There’s no global benchmark for RFI. The key is relative comparison:

Track RFI over time to see if your operations are improving
Segment by team, queue, or topic to pinpoint friction hotspots
Tie RFI to outcomes like CSAT, NPS, and retention to prove its impact

Low RFI = fast, smooth, one-and-done resolutions High RFI = clunky, slow, multi-touch, frustrating experiences

Bring RFI into the Flow

RFI shouldn’t sit on a retro dashboard. It should trigger action:

Flag high-RFI conversations for review or coaching
Auto-prioritize repeat-contact customers for senior agents
Feed it into real-time alerts for when a customer is getting bounced too much

If a customer is contacting you for the third time in two days and being transferred again — that’s not a coaching opportunity. That’s a systems failure. RFI helps you catch it before the customer walks.

Learn More

Bottom line: First contact resolution is the outcome. Resolution Friction Index tells you what it cost the customer to get there.