TSE CEN/TS 16880

TSE CEN/TS 16880 is a Technical Specification focused on service excellence as a way to create outstanding customer experiences, exceed customer expectations and move beyond satisfaction toward customer delight. Rather than describing routine customer service tasks, it provides guidance on how an organization can shape service delivery so that the experience becomes more consistent, responsive and positively memorable.

What service excellence means in practice

In general technical terms, service excellence is not just about avoiding errors. It combines reliability, responsiveness, accessibility, empathy, consistency and the overall quality of interactions across the customer journey. The idea is that the experience is shaped by the whole service system: processes, people, culture and the way touchpoints are designed and managed. In that sense, service excellence is broader than a single transaction and more strategic than basic service provision.

Where this Technical Specification applies

The document applies to all organizations delivering services, including commercial organizations, public services and not-for-profit organizations. Its focus is not on the basic customer service arrangements organizations are expected to already have in place, but on guidance for achieving a more distinctive and higher-value experience. That makes it relevant to organizations looking for a common framework for service design, service consistency, customer perception and expectation management.

• It concentrates on experience quality beyond basic customer service.
• It aims at exceeding expectations and fostering customer delight.
• It is intended as general guidance for any service-delivering organization.