Authorizing Legislation: Executive Order 12862

Executive Order 12862
Executive Order 12862 of September 11, 1993

Setting Customer Service Standards
Putting people first means ensuring that the Federal Government provides the highest quality service
possible to the American people. Public officials must embark upon a revolution within the Federal
Government to change the way it does business. This will require continual reform of the executive branch's
management practices and operations to provide service to the public that matches or exceeds the best
service available in the private sector.
NOW, THEREFORE, to establish and implement customer service standards to guide the operations of the
executive branch, and by the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, it is hereby ordered:
Section 1. Customer Service Standards.
In order to carry out the principles of the National Performance Review, the Federal Government must be
customer-driven. The standard of quality for services provided to the public shall be: Customer service
equal to the best in business. For the purposes of this order, ‘‘customer’’ shall mean an individual or entity
who is directly served by a department or agency. ‘‘Best in business’’ shall mean the highest quality of
service delivered to customers by private organizations providing a comparable or analogous service.
All executive departments and agencies (hereinafter referred to collectively as ‘‘agency’’ or ‘‘agencies’’)
that provide significant services directly to the public shall provide those services in a manner that seeks
to meet the customer service standard established herein and shall take the following actions:
(a) identify the customers who are, or should be, served by the agency;
(b) survey customers to determine the kind and quality of services they want and their level of
satisfaction with existing services;
(c) post service standards and measure results against them;
(d) benchmark customer service performance against the best in business;
(e) survey front-line employees on barriers to, and ideas for, matching the best in business;
(f) provide customers with choices in both the sources of service and the means of delivery;
(g) make information, services, and complaint systems easily accessible; and
(h) provide means to address customer complaints.

Sec. 2. Report on Customer Service Surveys.
By March 8, 1994, each agency subject to this order shall report on its customer surveys to the President.
As information about customer satisfaction becomes available, each agency shall use that information in
judging the performance of agency management and in making resource allocations.

Sec. 3. Customer Service Plans.
By September 8, 1994, each agency subject to this order shall publish a customer service plan that can
be readily understood by its customers. The plan shall include customer service standards and describe
future plans for customer surveys. It also shall identify the private and public sector standards that the
agency used to benchmark its performance against the best in business. In connection with the plan, each
agency is encouraged to provide training resources for programs needed by employees who directly
serve customers and by managers making use of customer survey information to promote the principles
and objectives contained herein.

Sec. 4. Independent Agencies.
Independent agencies are requested to adhere to this order.

Sec. 5. Judicial Review.
This order is for the internal management of the executive branch and does not create any right or benefit,
substantive or procedural, enforceable by a party against the United States, its agencies or
instrumentalities, its officers or employees, or any other person.

WILLIAM J. CLINTON
THE WHITE HOUSE,
September 11, 1993.

[FR Doc. Filed]
Billing code 3195-01-P

Notes
See Related:

Shortcut:
WS:USEO

Presidential Memorandum of March 22, 1995 ( LINK (http://clinton6.nara.gov/1995/0
3/1995-03-22-president-memorandum-on-improving-customer-service.html) );
Presidential Memorandum of March 03, 1998 ( LINK (http://clinton6.nara.gov/1998/03/1998-03-0
3-presidential-directive-on-conversations-with-america.html) )
Executive Order 13571, April 27, 2011

This work is in the public domain in the United States because it is a work of the
United States federal government (see 17 U.S.C. 105).

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