(12 September 2011)
Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) has become the first governmental organization within Abu Dhabi emirate to achieve the much sought-after International Customer Service Standard (TICSS) 2010 accreditation to international benchmark level for all its services.
The TICSS certification was presented to HH Sheikh Sultan Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, ADTA’s Chairman by the British Ambassador HE Dominic Jermey following a British Standards Institute audit of the authority to confirm its TICSS adherence.
“We now have in place, and have third party certification of, a set of practical customer service guidelines, based on global best practice, which should further enhance our ability to deliver service quality excellence to all our business touch points – whether suppliers, stakeholders or customers,” said Sheikh Sultan.
ADTA has spent 19 months working on TICSS implementation, which included customer service guidelines, process mapping, mystery-shopping and satisfaction surveys, to enhance and improve service standards, making the necessary adjustments to processes and training its staff.
Certification of The International Customer Service Institute, established by Philip Forrest in the UK six years ago, TICSS calls on applicants to attain the ultimate goal of setting global customer service standards in a diverse and always changing international environment. The standard is based on the 5Ps service model following a research programme at London’s Brunel University and places strong emphasis on performance measurement.
“The accreditation works on a global platform in line with ADTA’s international mandate now delivered by our on-the-ground representation across a seven-nation network,”explained Sheikh Sultan. “In essence we are delivering a promise to all our suppliers, partners, stakeholders and customers that whichever ADTA office they deal with they will receive the same high level of service."