Escalation Tax Calculator

Estimate how much escalations cost monthly—and how much you save by reducing them.

Preset

Use a preset to start quickly, then tweak inputs below.

Core Inputs

Monthly ticket volume Escalation rate (15%) Tier 1 cost per ticket ($) Escalated ticket cost ($)

Heads up: Escalated cost should be greater than Tier 1 cost.

Advanced (optional)

Avg Tier 1 handle time (min) Avg escalated handle time (min) # engineers per escalation Engineer hourly cost ($) Deep-work penalty factor (×) CSAT impact per escalation (pts) Target escalation rate (%)

Set your post-improvement target (e.g., 15% → 10%).

Results

Escalation rate looks unusually high—double check your input.

Support Flow Scenario

Target escalation rate: 10%

$0

Your monthly escalation tax

Benchmarks: Escalation rate 5–30%; escalated cost typically 3–5× Tier-1 cost; mid-market SaaS Tier-1 cost $5–$15; service desk avg ~$15.56.

Core Inputs

Monthly ticket volume Escalation rate (15%)

Typical: 5–30% (healthy targets often ≤10%).

Tier 1 cost per ticket ($)

SaaS (mid-market) $5–$15; service desk avg ~$15.56.

Escalated ticket cost ($)

Escalated cost should be greater than Tier-1 cost.

Often 3–5× Tier-1; SME/engineering involvement may run $100–$250+.

Target escalation rate (post-improvement)

e.g., 15% → 10% after improvements.

Avg Tier-1 handle time (min)

Typical: 10–30 min.

Avg escalated handle time (min)

Often 3–5× Tier-1 (e.g., 45–180 min).

# engineers per escalation

Common: 1–3 SMEs.

Engineer hourly cost ($)

Typical burdened: $80–$250+.

Deep-work penalty (×)

Context switch tax: 1.2–2.0×.

CSAT impact per escalation (pts)

Observed: −0.3 to −1.5 pts per escalation.

Avg cost per ticket

$0.00

Benchmarks: SaaS $5–$15; service desk avg ~$15.56.

Avg handle time (min)

0.0

Escalations often 3–5× Tier-1 time.

Monthly savings (target)

$0

Depends on volume, rate delta, & cost gap (C2−C1).

Annual savings (target)

$0

12× monthly savings.

Escalations avoided

0

= Tickets × (current rate − target rate).

Enter your work email to reveal personalized savings.

CSAT drag (pts)

0.0

Uses your ΔCSAT per escalation (default −0.8 pts).

Total monthly cost (current)

$0

= Tier-1 cost + escalated cost for current rates.