The Customer Service Excellence, (previously the "Charter Mark") is an accreditation for organisations and an independent validation of achievement.

History

The Charter Mark was an award demonstrating the achievement of national standard for excellence in customer service in United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 public sector

Public sector

The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...

 organisations. Introduced in 1991, it was replaced in 2008 by Customer Service Excellence standard, with the last issued Charter Marks expiring in 2011. The Charter Mark was one of the consequences of a political initiative, the Citizen's Charter

Citizen's Charter

The Citizen's Charter was a British political initiative launched by the then Prime Minister, John Major, on 22 July 1991, less than a year into his premiership.It aimed to improve public services in the UK by:...

, by Prime Minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

 John Major

John Major

Sir John Major, is a British Conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990–1997...

 in 1991, to improve the face of government.

In 2005, the system was reviewed, and it was recommended the scheme be replaced. Accordingly, the Customer Service Excellence standard was launched, and a phased transfer was initiated. Applications for Charter Marks were officially closed on 30 June 2008, with the official final validity date becoming 30 June 2011.

Recipients

The scope of public sector organisations includes departments of local councils, voluntary organisations having more than 10% public funding, and also private subcontractors on public contracts. It also includes public transport operators and the gas, electricity and water utilities. A number of Park and Ride bus schemes

Park and ride bus services in the United Kingdom

Park and ride bus services in the United Kingdom are bus services designed to provide intermodal passenger journeys between a private mode of transport and a shared mode bus. The common model of bus based park and ride model is transfer from a private car to a public transport bus, although schemes...

 gained Charter Marks, displaying the mark on their bus

Bus

A bus is a road vehicle designed to carry passengers. Buses can have a capacity as high as 300 passengers. The most common type of bus is the single-decker bus, with larger loads carried by double-decker buses and articulated buses, and smaller loads carried by midibuses and minibuses; coaches are...

es.

Assessment

Assessment for the award, made by one of four certification bodies, is on achievement of goals to:

1. Set standards and perform well
2. Actively engage with customers, partners and staff
3. Be fair and accessible to everyone and promote choice
4. Continuously develop and improve
5. Use resources effectively and imaginatively
6. Contribute to improving opportunities and quality of life in the communities served

On receipt, an award was valid for three years, after which the organisation must re-apply.