In customer experience operations, a quality score is never just a number. It is the outcome of everything that happens during an interaction: how an agent listens, how accurately they understand the customer’s need, how confidently they navigate the process, and whether the resolution ultimately delivers the experience the brand intended. That is why quality is best understood from more than one vantage point. Souvik Deb has had the opportunity to build that perspective from the ground up.

Before becoming a Quality Analyst in Kalyani, he was on the customer-facing side of the operation, handling queries and resolving concerns. As his responsibilities grew, he became an SME, supporting fresher agents on the floor and helping them improve their performance. He was later selected as an AUX Trainer, adding another dimension to his understanding of how people learn, adapt, and perform.

Today, he reviews interactions from a Quality perspective. But he does so with the experience of someone who has actually been in the interaction, supported the person handling it, and helped prepare people for the floor. That makes his journey particularly relevant to one of the most important questions in customer experience: what does quality look like when you understand both the interaction and the people behind it?

He Has Seen the Interaction from More Than One Side

Souvik’s understanding of customer experience began with handling customer interactions on the frontline. As a Customer Service Associate, his responsibility was straightforward but important: understand the concern, provide the right solution, and help create a positive experience. It meant listening carefully, verifying information, and making sure the customer left the conversation with clarity.

One interaction in particular stayed with him. An older customer was struggling to understand how to raise a return. Souvik did not simply repeat the instructions or rush toward the end of the conversation. He patiently guided her through the process until the customer understood what to do and was satisfied with the resolution.

That experience says something about the foundation he carried forward. Sometimes, quality begins with something as simple as giving someone enough time to understand and empathy.

First, There Was the Customer on the Other End

Working directly with customers taught Souvik that not every interaction can be approached in exactly the same way. A customer may be frustrated. They may need clarification. They may not immediately understand the process. What matters is being able to listen without interrupting, understand the concern, show empathy, and then provide information that is both clear and accurate.

That experience became part of how he learned to handle difficult conversations. What once felt challenging became manageable with time. More importantly, it gave him a firsthand understanding of what a customer experiences when an interaction goes well—and when it does not.

That perspective would become increasingly valuable as his responsibilities changed.

Then Came the Responsibility to Guide

As an SME, Souvik was no longer responsible only for his own interactions. He began supporting fresher agents, helping them understand the work and perform more confidently on the floor. At first, handling multiple questions at once could be difficult. With experience, however, that challenge became something he found interesting.

There was a different kind of satisfaction in helping someone else get better. He had moved from solving a customer’s immediate problem to helping another person develop the confidence and understanding to solve problems themselves. That shift quietly changed his view of performance.

What Supporting New Agents Taught Him

Supporting new agents taught Souvik that improvement is rarely achieved by simply telling someone what they did wrong. The more useful question is what they can understand from the feedback and apply the next time. That thinking is visible in the way he approaches feedback today. He believes observations should be objective and focused on what happened rather than becoming judgments about the person.

“Good feedback focuses on behavior, not character.”

For a Quality Analyst, that distinction matters. A review should identify an opportunity. Feedback should help the person understand it. And the conversation that follows should make improvement feel possible rather than personal.

It is a philosophy that connects naturally with the experience Souvik gained as an SME and trainer.

A Different View of Performance

By the time Souvik moved into Quality, he had already experienced performance from several angles. He knew what it was like to be responsible for the conversation. He knew what it meant to guide someone who was still learning. Most importantly, he had seen how the right support could influence an agent’s performance.

Quality gave him another vantage point. Now he could look at the interaction more closely, like how it began, how the agent handled the customer’s emotion, whether the conversation was controlled effectively, whether the solution was accurate, and whether the experience met the standards expected of it.

The designation changed. So did the question he was asking.

Instead of only asking, did this interaction meet the standard? He could also ask, what does this interaction tell us, and how can it be better?

Then the Perspective Changed Again

Souvik’s internal movement into Quality did not mean leaving his earlier experiences behind.  His experience as a customer-facing employee helps him understand the reality of the conversation. His time as an SME and AUX Trainer helps him understand the agent behind it. And his current role allows him to bring those perspectives together when reviewing performance.

That is why his definition of QA extends beyond scores and deductions. For Souvik, quality has to connect the standard with the experience it is designed to protect.

It is a perspective that places the customer and the agent within the same picture.

Now He Looks at the Whole Interaction

When Souvik reviews an interaction, he pays attention to what happens before the numbers tell the story. He looks at the opening. He listens to the customer’s emotions. Also, he notices the agent’s tone and the way the conversation is controlled. Those details can reveal something that a score alone cannot.

“Before I look at the numbers, I listen for the customer’s emotion, the agent’s tone, and how the conversation begins.”

It is a natural extension of what he learned earlier in his career. Having been part of those conversations himself, he understands that an interaction is not simply a series of checkpoints. It is a conversation between two people. And quality has to account for that.

The Customer Needs to Be Heard

For Souvik, the customer’s voice remains central to the quality conversation. His own experience taught him that the right solution is not always enough if the customer does not feel understood along the way. Listening carefully, clarifying the concern, showing empathy, and avoiding interruptions can shape the entire experience.

That is especially important when the customer is frustrated or unfamiliar with a process. The goal is not simply to complete the interaction. It is to make sure the person on the other end knows that their concern has been understood and addressed.

The Agent Needs to Be Supported

But Souvik’s perspective does not stop with the customer. He sees QA as having a responsibility toward the agent as well. A quality review can identify a gap, but its value ultimately depends on what happens next. The agent needs feedback that is clear enough to understand, specific enough to act on, and supportive enough to encourage improvement.

That belief comes naturally from Souvik’s earlier experience supporting freshers. He knows what it feels like to have questions. He knows that people learn differently. And he knows that guidance can make a difficult task more manageable.

For him, quality should serve both sides of the interaction.

What the Earlier Roles Still Teach Him

There are lessons that stay with you even when your designation changes.

The patience required to help a customer understand a return. The responsibility of helping a fresher find their footing. The experience of answering questions while keeping performance on track. Souvik carries those experiences into Quality. They give him context that cannot come from a scorecard alone.

His journey from Customer Service Associate to SME, AUX Trainer, and eventually Quality Analyst has given him a progressively wider view of the same work. What changed was not simply what he was responsible for. It was what he was able to notice.

A Wider View of Quality

That wider view is reflected in how Souvik defines good quality. For him, the customer should receive a solution that is accurate and efficient, while the interaction should remain true to the standards that protect the overall experience.

But standards are not simply rules to be followed. They have a purpose. They help create consistency. And they give agents a clear framework. And, ultimately, they help protect what the customer experiences. That is why Souvik sees QA as more than identifying mistakes.

It is about understanding the interaction well enough to help improve it.

Finding Balance Beyond the Conversation

Outside work, Souvik enjoys the quieter moments that help him recharge. He loves listening to music and travelling, with badminton being his go-to way to unwind and step away from the pressures of work. He prefers calm playlists, enjoys listening to Sonu Nigam’s melodies, and is more likely to reach for a cup of tea than coffee. Souvik also enjoys travelling at night, finding something peaceful in the stillness of the journey.

At the heart of it all, Souvik is driven by one simple idea: personal growth. His interests reflect the same balance he brings to his professional life—curiosity, calmness, and a willingness to keep learning.

Bringing Every Perspective Together

Souvik’s journey is a story of changing perspectives. He began by handling customer conversations, then moved into helping others handle theirs as an SME and AUX Trainer. Today, in Quality, he brings those experiences together to look at interactions from a broader perspective.

The customer taught him to listen. The SME taught him to guide. The AUX Trainer taught him to support. And Quality has given him the opportunity to connect all three perspectives.

For Souvik, seeing more does not mean making quality more complicated. It means understanding every interaction more completely and using that understanding to make both the customer experience and the people behind it better.

That is what makes his move into Quality more than a career step. It is the point where experience, learning, and perspective come together.

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