increase in extent or intensity; "The Allies escalated the bombing"

The process of handing a call to a supervisor when the enquiry is outside the agent's delegation, when the enquiry/situation is too complex for the agent to deal with or when the customer asks to speak with someone more senior. (See refer and transfer.)

To “Escalate” is to bring an issue to the attention of a Supervisor, Manager, or General Manager.

v. To take a disputed matter to a higher managerial authority for resolution (otherwise known as "kicking it upstairs."). Sometimes used by IBMers as a threat to force consensus between disputing parties (as in: "If we can't agree on this issue, I'll have to escalate it to ...").

to forward a call to a higher level of support; usually done when the technician does not have sufficient expertise to resolve the incident