Customer Service Excellence Standard

The Customer Service Excellence quality mark aims to make a tangible difference to service users by encouraging organisations to focus on their individual needs and preferences.

In order for your organisation to be recognised as achieving Customer Service Excellence you must be successfully assessed against the criteria of the standard by one of our licensed certification bodies. The five criteria of Customer Service Excellence are outlined below. The detailed criteria, and their relevant elements, can be found in the Customer Service Excellence standard which is available to download from this website.

Customer Services Excellence Standard

Customer Insight

Effectively identifying your customers, consulting them in a meaningful way and efficiently measuring the outcomes of your service are a vital part of this approach. It's not just about being able to collect information; it's about having the ability to use that information.

The Culture of the Organisation

It is challenging for an organisation to build and foster a truly customer focused culture. To cultivate and embed this there must be a commitment to it throughout an organisation, from the strategic leader to the front-line staff.

Information and Access

Customers value accurate and comprehensive information that is delivered or available through the most appropriate channel for them. Putting your customer first can be an important step towards providing effective communications.

Delivery

How you achieve your business aims, the outcomes for your customers and how problems are managed can determine your organisation's success. Listening to your customers' views about the service provided can be just as important as achieving key performance targets. Comments, complaints and other feedback from customers can help you to make vital adjustments to the way your organisation operates which in turn can support better delivery.

Timeliness and Quality of Service

The promptness of initial contact and keeping to agreed timescales is crucial to your customers satisfaction. However speed can be achieved at the expense of quality, therefore the issue of timeliness has to be combined with quality of service to ensure the best possible result for customers.