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Top Customer Support Quality Assurance (QA) Tools: Comparison

Automation13 MIN READJan 20, 2024

Customer Service Quality Assurance (QA) Software Guide

Since increasingly more customers expect exceptional, immediate, and personalized support, the need for customer service quality assurance software has grown. 

To help you find the right solution, we’ve compared the best customer service QA tools.

💡 Full disclosure: We might be slightly biased since we’re all about #TeamKlaus, but we aimed to take a balanced view so you can compare the can and cannots of each solution (based on customer reviews, competitor websites, and product research). 

What is customer support quality assurance software?

Customer support quality assurance software allows you to monitor the quality of customer interactions, train and onboard agents, and improve your support operations.

Customer support QA software is also referred to as customer service quality assurance software, conversation review tools, or customer support quality management tools. But no matter what you call them, their main job is making sure you provide quality support, and all your customer interactions are top-notch.

Should you invest in customer service QA tools?

Trying to decide whether you should review conversations in spreadsheets, or invest in a dedicated customer service quality assurance tool? Consider this:

  • Spreadsheets are usually enough for small teams with low conversation volumes, as long as the maintenance of the document doesn’t take up the largest part of the time dedicated to internal feedback.
  • As the team and number of conversations grow, manual copy-pasting and reporting can become a bottleneck in your customer service QA. For large or growing teams, data management can eat away more than 70% of the review time, which is why they often opt for dedicated customer service QA tools.
Spreadsheets might work for a small (<10 support agents) team, but the moment your team grows beyond that I would absolutely recommend switching to dedicated customer service QA software. For one, you’ll not have to reinvent the wheel when it comes to calculations and data visualization. It’ll also help with just keeping track of things and if the tool is AI-based, it will also reduce the workload for your CSQA Specialist.
Ines van Dijk
Ines van Dijk
Quality in Support

Increasingly more customer service teams are adopting support QA software because it:

  • Automatically brings in conversations from support tools, saving manual effort,
  • Allows custom filtering to quickly identify interactions needing attention,
  • Notifies agents about received feedback,
  • Generates relevant reports and calculates the Internal Quality Score (IQS),
  • Leverages AI-driven features for data insights, speeding up the QA process. 

In short, using customer service QA tools enhances your support quality assurance efforts, making tasks from coaching teams to finding conversations to review much easier.

Worry not: Even if you start using customer support QA software, manual reviews will still play a crucial role in your QA program. The human element — like your QA specialist — is crucial for interpreting complex situations, offering detailed feedback, and realizing the full potential of customer service quality assurance tools. Because of that, automation and manual efforts aren’t mutually exclusive.

Sentiment Filter in Klaus.

What are the best customer service quality assurance tools? 

  1. Klaus
  2. MaestroQA
  3. Playvox 
  4. EvaluAgent 
  5. Scorebuddy

Customer support quality assurance software and their features compared in a table.

Klaus

Klaus is a customer support quality assurance software that helps companies drive revenue through excellent customer service. It uses AI to pinpoint where your agents are falling short and resources are going to waste — and helps you fix what isn’t working. 

Klaus' website - screenshot.

Easy to set up and use — there’s no need for a long onboarding process and no implementation fee. It’s the only true plug-and-play solution, with a wide selection of integrations available (including well-known solutions like Zendesk, Intercom, Aircall, and Freshdesk).

Instant access to AI magic & insights — 100% coverage, automatic conversation discovery, and custom-tailored conversation sampling with AutoQA are at your disposal. 

Browser extension — Klaus’s browser extension allows you to securely review customer conversations wherever they are happening.

Fast, customer-centric development and quick feature deployments — check how many product updates Klaus has shipped recently

VoiceQA technology — Klaus is equipped with speech-to-text capabilities and automatically generates call summaries to customer support quality assurance easier, regardless of the support channels used.

Limited agent training capabilities — Klaus organizes performance data with smart AI features and helps you understand where your agents are excelling, and where they are falling behind. There’s no in-app Learning Management Solution just yet, though. 

⛔ Reporting dashboards focus on support quality & customer experience metrics you can track with Klaus — like Internal Quality Score (IQS), Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT), and Customer Effort Score (CES). 

Don’t just take our word for it. Check customer stories and try Klaus for free!

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MaestroQA

MaestroQA is customer support QA software that helps teams improve customer experience. The platform allows you to score customer interactions, gather data and customer feedback, and track agent performance over time.

MaestroQA's website - screenshot.

Customizable dashboards, reporting & analytics — among other reporting features, MaestroQA allows for scheduling automated reports to customer service team leads and management.

✅ Screen capture — everything that your agents do when handling support tickets is recorded and accessible via MaestroQA. 

Grader QA —  evaluate the accuracy of your QA graders with the “Grade the Grader” workflow. 

✅ Call center QA — accurate transcriptions and diarized conversations for call center quality monitoring purposes

Wide range of integrations — MaestroQA offers integrations with popular helpdesk solutions, phone systems, learning management platforms, and data warehouses. 

Complex user interface — with plenty of features available, users report that setting up and navigating the platform takes some time and effort.  

⛔ Lack of AI-based scoring — despite automated quality management capabilities, there’s no possibility of autoscoring support conversations.  

Check how Maestro QA compares with Klaus → 

Playvox

Playvox is a comprehensive quality and workforce management software that lets you evaluate and improve the quality of customer interactions across multiple channels. 

Playvox's website - screenshot.

Customizable KPI tracking and dashboards — robust reporting that shows key performance indicators and support trends. 

Advanced agent coaching — with Playvox Coaching, you can see how each agent is doing, check goals they’ve hit, and track their performance over time. 

Workforce management tool — planning, forecasting, and employee scheduling are less complicated and time-consuming. 

Popular integrations available out-of-the-box — Playvox integrates with popular customer service tools and offers a customizable API. 

⛔ Feature stack is not integrated into one platform — Quality Management and Workforce Management are separate tools.  

⛔ Autoscoring is limited to customer sentiment analysis — AutoQA from Playvox revolves around automated sentiment analysis scoring. 

Check how Playvox compares with Klaus →

EvaluAgent

EvaluAgent is a customer service quality assurance software designed specifically for contact centers. It offers a range of features to help you manage, monitor, and improve the performance of your customer service teams.

EvaluAgent's website - screenshot.

Customizable dashboards & reporting — EvaluAgent offers detailed filtering and pulls reports based on individual QA scorecards, customer support teams, and agents. Monthly reports can be sent out automatically to senior managers. 

Multiple scorecards available in one place — the platform lets you take advantage of all added scorecards, no matter the workspace and support interaction.

Conversation transcripts — EvaluAgent’s SmartScore can transcribe any conversation and provide a summary for a high-level view of what happened during the interaction.

Multiple integrations available — EvaluAgent integrates with ticketing & helpdesk, call recording, and WFM solutions (among other tools). 

✅ Call center QA reviews. Automatic transcriptions and call summaries for a more efficient call center quality assurance process.

⛔ Pricing starts for a minimum of 30+ seats — smaller support teams won’t find EvaluAgent suitable for their needs. 

⛔ No live chat support for EvaluAgent customers — if needed, getting immediate support might be challenging. 

Check how EvaluAgent compares with Klaus →

Scorebuddy

Scorebuddy is a customer support quality control software that helps you evaluate customer interactions across multiple channels, including phone, email, and live chat support. 

Scorebuddy's website - screenshot.

Powerful Learning Management System — Scorebuddy integrates with a Learning Management System (LMS) that allows uploading and creating dedicated training content.

Easily customizable scorecards — the customer service QA tool makes setting up different scorecards easy, no matter the support channel, workspace, or type of interaction. 

Various survey types available — NPS, CSAT, and multiple choice survey questions can be branded and sent out to customers. 

Popular integrations at hand — Scorebuddy integrates with popular tools like Salesforce, Zendesk, and Intercom.

✅ Text analytics. Analyze why customers are calling, identify conversation trends, and speed up sentiment analysis.

⛔ Limited filtering options — while Scorebuddy has all the data and reporting dashboards, its filtering capabilities aren’t the best. Insights can be confusing to navigate, and exporting the raw numbers takes time. 

⛔ Training materials need some improvements — Scorebuddy offers training videos, but their quality (of the sound, in particular) could be improved to offer a better learning experience.  

Check how Scorebuddy compares with Klaus →

An illustration of Klaus with the necessary tools.

How to choose the best customer service QA software for your needs?

If you’re deciding between several customer support QA tools, think about these factors:

  1. Integrations with your current tech stack: Choose customer service QA software that smoothly integrates with your help desk and existing tools. This way, you can view all data in one place without constant switching.
  2. Key features to look for:
    • Customizable scorecards: Pick a support QA tool that allows you to create different scorecards matching your quality standards and service goals.
    • Grading calibration: Look for consistent conversation reviews with a calibration feature ensuring uniform grading.
    • Dashboards and reporting: Opt for organized data presentation for insights into agent performance and customer service metrics.
    • Automation & AI: Choose features like sentiment analysis and AutoQA to save time.
  3. User-friendly interface: Test usability with a free trial. Avoid complex interfaces that may hinder your support QA program.
  4. Reliability and compliance: Confirm security and compliance features, including controls, policies, training, and certifications.
  5. Pricing: Find a customer service QA tool within your budget. 
  6. Scalability: Choose customer service QA software capable of handling growth. Check case studies for performance with similar companies.
  7. Support: Check review sites like G2 for unbiased feedback on support responsiveness and overall user experience.

Considering these factors will help you find customer service quality control software that’s aligned with your business needs.

An illustration summing up questions to ask before picking a support quality management platform.

Making the switch from one customer support quality assurance tool to another?

Understand what it is that makes some tools work for people in your customer support team. There’ll always be some amount of compromising between different preferences because these are all subjective. If you pick something that meets the needs of the largest number of people, then adoption will happen organically.
Nouran Smogluk
Nouran Smogluk
Director, User & Partner Success, komoot

Plan ahead

New customer support QA software onboarding doesn’t start the day you introduce your team to quality assurance reviews and dedicated QA tools. The roll-out plan should be created weeks or months ahead.

Set a target roll-out date and build your plan around this. Make sure to leave enough time for data exporting and importing, employee training, and some wiggle room for issues that may arise.

Find your champion

Getting the management on board is essential, but consider finding a customer service quality control “champion” to help you roll out the customer service QA software for the rest of the team. Champions are users who are:

  • Open to change
  • Tech-savvy
  • Social
  • Respected within the team

Train them first, then make them active participants in the roll-out. The less you make your changeover seem like a top-down dictate, the more receptive the team will likely be.

An illustration of Klaus working along his colleagues.

Evaluate regularly

After the roll-out, keep the lines of communication open and make regular evaluations a part of your process. Evaluate the success of your changeover immediately after your roll-out and down the line. 

Check in with employees in the next few months. Do you see the benefits you expected? Are employees feeling comfortable with the new customer service QA tool? If not, what can you do to improve outcomes over the long term? 

Think through these considerations, as well as any unique challenges your team will face. With time and proper planning, you can make the changeover process as simple and as painless as possible. Make sure to listen to employee feedback and do your best to resolve actual issues.

Still not sure how to pick the best customer support QA software for your needs? Check out our Buyer’s Guide →

Originally published in January 2020, last updated in January 2024. 

Written by

Berenika Teter - Headshot.
Berenika Teter
Berenika is actively trying to bridge the gap between cat and dog people. So fur, she’s been more successful at managing SEO content at Klaus.

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