Impact of Service Quality on Customer Satisfaction of
Mobile Users A Case Study of Airtel
Abstract: Qualitative services deregulation or free competition and new technology have increased competition and widened the range of network services available throughout the world. This increase in telecommunication capabilities allows business to benefit from the information revolution in numerous ways, such as reforming their inventories, increasing productivity, and identifying new markets. But at the same time, in cellular mobile service sector, the customers switch out rate is much higher than any other service sector. To retain their customers, these companies have to enhance the quality of services so that the customer adheres to the same company for much longer. Chi square test is applied in this paper to check the authenticity of data given by the respondents. This research aims to figure out the impact of service quality on customer satisfaction of mobile users by analyzing measures taken by the Airtel and customer satisfaction level and factors that affect quality of services which will result in customer loyalty toward the operator. Keywords: Service quality, Customer satisfaction, Airtel, Tariff plans, VAS etc.
Dr. Rajesh K. Yadav Associate Professor & H.O.D. Department of Management RKDF College of Engineering, Bhopal, India
Mr. Nishant Dabhade Assistant Professor, Department of Management RKDF College of Engineering, Bhopal, India I SSN 2319-9725
May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 140
1. Introduction: The telecom services have been recognized the world-over as an important tool for socio- economic development for a nation. It is one of the prime support services needed for the rapid growth and modernization of various sectors of the economy. Economy becomes handicapped in the absence of a sound telecom network system. The postal and telecom sectors had a slow and uneasy start in India. In 1850, the first experimental electric telegraph Line was started between Calcutta and Diamond Harbor. In 1851, it was opened for the British East India Company. The Posts and Telegraphs department occupied a small corner of the Public Works Department, at that time. The Indian telecom industry is the world's fastest growing telecom industry. It is also the second largest telecommunication network in the world in terms of number of wireless connections after China. Cellular services can be divided into two categories: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodafone, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Deregulation and new technology have created increased competition and widened the range of network services available throughout the world. To retain the customers, companies have to enhance the quality of services provide so that the customer adheres to the same company for much longer. As per the ITU (International Telecommunication Union) Quality of Service is a set of quality requirements on the collective behavior of one or more objects. It is basically the level of guaranteed services to a user. Nowadays the level of guaranteed service is very important for an organization to progress and survive in this competitive market. An organization needs both to meet and exceed the expectations of the customer. The basic criterion on which a customer expects from a company is their past experiences, others past experiences (word of mouth) and the marketing strategy of the company. The quality of services provided are directly proportional to the customer satisfaction and word of mouth as each customer generally compares the tangible services with their own expectations and if the tangible one falls below their expectations, the customer generally is disappointed and that affects his loyalty towards the company.
May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 141
2. Service Quality: The definition of quality may vary from person to person and from situation to situation. The definitions of service quality vary only in wording but typically involve determining whether perceived service delivery meets, exceeds or fails to meet customer expectations. Parasuraman (1988) define service quality as the degree and direction of discrepancy between the consumers perceptions and expectations, or the extent to which a service meets or exceeds customer expectations. So the service quality is the difference between customers expectations and perceptions of services delivered by a service firm. [8, 10]
2.1. Service Quality (Servqual) Dimensions: Reliability: Providing service as promised. Dependability in handling customer service problems. Performing services right at the first time. Providing services at the promised time. Maintaining error-free records. Responsiveness: Keeping customers informed as to when services will be performed. Prompt service to customers. Willingness to help customers. Readiness to respond to customers requests. Assurance: Employees who instill confidence in customers. Making customers feel safe in their transactions. Employees who are consistently courteous. Employees who have the knowledge to answer customer questions. Empathy: Giving customers individual attention. Employees who deal with customers in a caring fashion. Having the customers best interest at heart. Employees who understand the needs of their customers. Convenient business hours. Tangibles: May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 142
Modern equipment. Visually appealing facilities. Employees who have a neat, professional appearance. Visually appealing materials associated with the service. [8, 10]
2.2. Service Quality Gap: A gap is the difference, imbalance or disparity which is determined to exist between customers perception of firm performance and their prior expectation. Service quality (SQ) perceived by customers is therefore as a result of a comparison of customers expectation (E) of services that the organization should offer versus their perception of the performance (P) delivered by the service organization. Service Quality (SQ) = Customers Perception (P) Customers Expectations (E) Management of service quality largely focuses on managing the gaps between expectations and perceptions of customer. The goal of the firm is to minimize the gap between (P) and (E). [13]
3. Customer Satisfaction: Customer satisfaction is a personal feeling of either pleasure or disappointment resulting from the evaluation of services provided by an organization to an individual in relation to expectations. Service providers frequently place a higher priority on customer satisfaction, because it has been seen as a prerequisite to customer retention. As a positive outcome of marketing activities, high customer satisfaction leads to repeat visitation to stores, repeat product purchases, and word-of-mouth promotion to friends, while low customer satisfaction has been associated with complaining behavior. A satisfied customer often stays loyal longer, and is likely to patronize the firm in future. [13] Generally, there are two general conceptualizations of satisfaction, namely, transaction specific satisfaction and cumulative satisfaction. Transaction-specific satisfaction is a customers evaluation of his or her experience and reactions to a particular service encounter while cumulative satisfaction refers to the customers overall evaluation of the consumption experience to date. [10]
May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 143
4. Relationship Between Service Quality And Customer Satisfaction: In the previous part of this research we have understood the basic meaning of service quality and customer satisfaction but here we are going to understand the relationship between both of them. There are four potential gaps (Knowledge gap, Service design and standard gap, Service performance gap, communication gap) within the service organization that may lead to a final and most serious gap: The difference between what customers expected and what they perceived was delivered. If we talk about importance of service quality for the mobile users, so we come to know that gaps at any point in service design and delivery can spoil relationship with the customers. Since services are everywhere. Even goods sector needs service to complete the process worker, specialist staff, computer operations, accountant and legal staff and so on. That's why at the time of delivering the services we should effectively and qualitatively use strategies of service marketing and try to fill the gaps of GAP model by using the appropriate techniques of service marketing when it comes to customer satisfaction. Following figure shows the factor that leads to customer satisfaction. Call Quality Call drop rate Geographical coverage Call forwarding/waiting Service Quality SMS Mobile activity New Technology Call rate Promotional offers Product range Complaint resolution Grievance redressal CRM Innovativeness Reliability Responsiveness Call Service Facility Price Customer care Service provider Communication Preference Customer Satisfaction VARIABLES DIMENSIONS ABSTRACTION BEHAVIOR Figure 1: Factor leads to customer satisfaction May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 144
5. Rational Of The Study: The various sectors of the economy like banking, finance and industry which have recently developed fields of their own have grown up considerably in the past few years due to the growth of telecom sector. The telecom sector now includes a good number of national and multinational companies. Providing varied mobile communication services to the mobile users within the country. Every day there is a significant rise in the number of mobile users from both urban and rural areas, with rural areas rapidly catching up .The companies providing mobile services have also become competitive and are ready to capture the maximum market share. The business of all such companies namely BSNL, MTNL, Bharti AIRTEL, Reliance India communication, Tata Telecom, Idea, etc is expanding very fast throughout the country while on the other hand the branded handsets of Nokia, Motorola, Samsung, Reliance, Tata Telecom and many more have established their name in the market with a wide variety of feature loaded handsets of all price ranges.. Moreover certain recent developments in the telecom sector have really increased the expectations of the customers. Some of these developments include: I. The Emergence of 3G & Broadband Wireless services II. Mobile Number Portability III. Network Expansion in Rural Areas. It is really worth mentioning that in the last five years, the number of mobile users has increased tremendously. The number of telephone subscribers in India increased from 906.93 million at the end of Sep-11 to 926.53 million at the end of Dec-11, registering a growth of 2.16% over the previous quarter as against 2.36% during the QE Sep-11. This reflects year- on-year growth of 17.69% over the same quarter of last year. The overall Tele density in India has reached 76.86 as on 31st December 2011. Subscription in Urban Areas grew from 601.72 million at the end of Sep-11 to 611.19 million at the end of Dec-11, taking the Urban Tele density from 166.01 to 167.85. Rural subscription increased from 305.51 million to 315.33 million, and the Rural Tele density increased from 36.40 to 37.48. Share of Rural areas in total subscription has increased from 33.69% at the end of Sep-11 to 34.03% at the end of Dec-11. Now with such a fast expansion of the mobile user market it is very important for the companies to be conscious about their role in providing quality services to their customers so as to generate customer satisfaction. In the present scenario, the said aspect has become very important and a comprehensive and realistic assessment needs to be done. Since satisfied customer is the core concern of any organization therefore they pay close attention May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 145
toward the factors that influence a customers decision towards brand. The main purpose of this research study is to investigate the key variables that are having strong influence on customer satisfaction in telecom sector and influence purchasing decision of customers. Factors affecting customer satisfaction are key concern for any organization, department or country because through customer satisfaction any business can establish long term profitable relationship with customer. The reason behind is once a firm loses its loyal customers it has to incur a cost of acquiring them again in addition to acquiring the new ones. Keeping up in mind the above issues the research study has been contemplated.
6. Review of Literature: The study of Siew-Phaik Loke, Ayankunle Adegbite Taiwo, Hanisah Mat Salim, and Alan G. Downe (2011) by using the SERVQUAL model, their study aimed to examine the impacts of reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangible aspects on customer satisfaction. Gap analysis was used to determine the perceived importance and satisfaction on each dimension of service quality, and regression analysis was conducted to test the relationship between service quality and levels of customer satisfaction. Results indicated that reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy significantly positively influenced customer attitudes in terms of satisfaction and loyalty. In addition, t-test results showed that there was a significant gap between the perceived satisfaction and importance (P-I) on all of the service quality dimensions. [13] The aim of the study of Hashed Ahmed Nasser, Salniza Bt Md. Salleh, Hamid mahmood Gelaidan (2012) is to find out the customers satisfaction with Yemeni Mobile service providers. This study examined the relationship between perceived quality, perceived value, customer expectation, and corporate image with customer satisfaction. The result of this study is based on data gathered online from 118 academic staff in public universities in Yemen. The study found that the relationship between perceived value, perceived quality and corporate image have a significant positive influence on customer satisfaction, whereas customer expectation has positive but without statistical significance. [5] According to Olu Ojo (2010) his study investigates the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction in the telecommunication industry with a focus on Mobile Telecommunication Network (MTN) Nigeria. A total of 230 respondents participated in the study. Research questions and objectives were set, alongside the hypotheses that were May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 146
formulated and tested. Descriptive statistics comprising the simple percentage and tables were used for data presentation and analysis. Regression analysis and Pearson product moment correlation coefficient were employed in testing our hypotheses. The study reveals that service quality has effect on customer satisfaction and that there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. The researcher concluded by recommending that organizations should focus more attention on service quality, because of its effects on customer satisfaction. To ensure that customer satisfaction level is high, organization must first of all know the expectations of the customers and how they can meet such expectations. Customer satisfaction helps in customer loyalty and retention. It has been discovered that it costs to attract new customer than to retain existing ones. It is also recommended that organizations should welcome suggestions from customers and more programmes should be designed to measure service quality and customer satisfaction. [10] According to Rajkumar Paulrajan and Harish Rajkumar (2011), a research study was conducted with an objective to understand the Indian consumers perception choice in selecting cellular mobile telecommunication service providers. Consumers perception is widely varied in accordance with the Communication quality, call service, facilities, price, customer care and service providers attributes. A structured questionnaire was developed to collect the required primary data from the consumers. Collected data were analyzed; reliability and factor analysis were carried out. The outcome of this research shows a comprehensively integrated framework to understand the relationships among several dimensions. The study shows communication and price were most influential and most preferential factors in selecting telecommunication service provider. However, product quality and availability has a significant impact on consumer perception choice in selecting cellular mobile service provider. [12] In the research of Dr. Muhammad Sabbir Rahman (2012), the purpose of this paper is to find out the determinants that are significantly influencing telecom customers perception in Bangladesh. The study surveyed 450 telecom customers in Bangladesh from Dhaka city to determine the key influential factors that significantly influence on their perception. The data analyses were conducted by exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to test the hypothesis. The results of the statistical analysis reflected that most of the telecom customers are highly concerned about service quality followed by corporate image. Few studies have explored over the years under this market regarding this research issue. Moreover, this is a relatively new issue that remains largely undiscovered by researchers under May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 147
underdeveloped countrys telecom operators perspective. It is hoped that the findings may assist the mobile phone operators in production of their services and promotion of their services. [4] According to the Ming wang and chich-jen shieh (2006), the present paper, taking Change Jung Christian University (CJCU) Library as an example, investigates the user degree of importance and the performance provided by the library. This study explores overall user satisfaction as well. A questionnaire survey is conducted to reveal user perspectives on service quality. Based on literature, service quality has five dimensions, which are tangibles, responsiveness, reliability, assurance and empathy. The result indicate that the overall service quality has a significantly positive effect on overall user satisfaction. Among these five dimensions except responsiveness, all of them have a significantly positive effect on overall user satisfaction. In addition, the top five important service quality features ranked by users are; collections, loaning and returning services, overall atmosphere, electronic database system, and online reservation and renewal. [8] According to Oyeniyi, Omotayo and Abiodun Abolaji Joachim (2008), Customer service has received considerable attention in marketing literature. This paper attempts to find the relationship between customer services on customer retention in telecommunication industry in Nigeria. If retention is not managed, customers loyalty may be lost. This study examined the potential constructs in customer retention by investigating the chain of effects of retention from customer service, satisfaction, value and behavioral intention. The hypotheses are supported except that a higher level of customer satisfaction does not lead to customer loyalty. [11] According to Ofir Turel, Alexander Serenko (2006), while customer satisfaction and loyalty regarding most physical goods and services have been well explored in academic literature, there exists little research on these factors with respect to mobile telecommunications services. Nevertheless, standardized satisfaction measures are suggested to be useful for various telecom-industry stakeholders. However, such a global standard measure of satisfaction with mobile services does not exist. This study taps into these voids and examines the antecedents of customer satisfaction and loyalty through an empirical investigation of 210 young adult cellular subscribers in Canada by adapting the American Customer Satisfaction Model. Based on this model, the satisfaction index of young adult Canadians was calculated. Overall, this study offers insights for service providers, May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 148
policymakers and subscribers; and forms the foundation for future benchmarking of the performance of wireless network operators in terms of user satisfaction and loyalty. [9]
7. Research Methodology: The study is a descriptive study. Questionnaire is designed to collect the data from various mobile users of Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Gwalior. 7.1 Objectives Of The Study: To analyze the satisfaction level of customers on the basis of Quality of Service provided by Airtel. To analyze the factors which may affect the quality of services provided to the customers by Airtel. To analyze improvements and measures which are followed up by the Airtel to enhance satisfaction level of their customer. To study the impact of service quality on customer loyalty towards Airtel.
7.2 Hypothesis: All customers using services of Airtel are highly satisfied. Factors in external environment may affect the quality of services provided to the customers by Airtel. Improvements and measures which are followed up by the Airtel to enhance satisfaction level of their customer affect the business of Airtel positively. There may be positive impact of service quality on customer loyalty towards Airtel.
7.3 Sampling Plan: Sampling Unit: Target groups (Mobile users and Airtel officials) Sample Size: 450 (400 Users from Bhopal, Indore , Jabalpur and Gwalior and 50 Airtel officials)
7.4 Research Approach: Survey (Primary data is collected through self structured questionnaire).
May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 149
8. Questionnaire: 8.1 Questionnaire For Airtel Officials: 1. Airtel enhances call / voice quality to satisfy the needs of the customer? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 25 50 2 Agree 10 20 3 Disagree 07 14 4 Strongly disagree 08 16 Total 50 100 2 =17.04 df= 3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 When asked to the Airtel officials that Airtel enhances call / voice quality to improve the service quality, majority of 50% users were strongly agree and 20% of users were agree while only 14% and 16% were disagree and strongly disagree respectively. The chi square value clearly indicates that opinion of the respondents was significantly different about the fact on calls / voice quality.
2.Airtel provide disturbance free network backed by state-of-the-art customer service setup? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 28 56 2 Agree 11 22 3 Disagree 09 18 4 Strongly disagree 02 4 Total 50 100 2 =29.2 df= 3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 When it is asked to the Airtel officials that provide disturbance free network, then majority of 56% and 22% users were strongly agree and agree respectively while only 18% and 4% were disagree and strongly disagree respectively. The chi square value radically shows that opinion of the respondents was significantly different on asking about disturbance free network.
May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 150
3. Airtel provides low international tariffs with value added plans for service quality? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 12 24 2 Agree 15 30 3 Disagree 12 24 4 Strongly disagree 11 22 Total 50 100 2 =0.72 df=3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 When it is asked to the staff members of Airtel that Airtel provides low international tariffs with value added services, 24% and 30% were strongly agree and agree respectively and said that Airtel provide this service and 24% and 22% were disagree and strongly disagree correspondingly. The chi square value completely shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly identical when it comes to low international tariffs with value added services. 4. Airtel provides Service guarantee for qualitative services? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 18 36 2 Agree 13 26 3 Disagree 11 22 4 Strongly disagree 08 16 Total 50 100 2 =4.24 df=3 , 2 (.05) = 7.81 On asking to the officials of Airtel that Is Airtel providing service guarantee for their potential customers, then group of 36% and 26% were strongly agree and agree respectively and only 22% and 16% were disagree and strongly disagree in that order. The chi square value entirely shows that the opinion of respondent was significantly similar and majority of staff is in favor that they provide service guarantee for attracting new ones.
5. Airtel enhances the geographical coverage by setting up new network tower systems? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 20 40 2 Agree 24 48 3 Disagree 04 8 4 Strongly disagree 02 4 Total 50 100 2 =29.68 df=3 , 2 (.05) = 7.81 May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 151
When it is asked to the officials of Airtel that geographical coverage is enhanced by Airtel by setting up new network tower systems, then mass of 40% and 48% were strongly agree and agree respectively and only 8% and 4% were disagree and strongly disagree correspondingly on this fact. The chi square value radically shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly different when talking about new network tower systems. 6. Airtel facilitates up-to-the-minute technology to satisfy the needs of young generation? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 15 30 2 Agree 25 50 3 Disagree 08 16 4 Strongly disagree 02 4 Total 50 100 2 =23.44 df=3 , 2 (.05) = 7.81 On asking to the employees of Airtel that Airtel satisfy the needs of young generation by providing new technology then only 30% were strongly agree and as a group of 50% were agree and said that Airtel provides up-to-the-minute technology and 16% respondents were disagree and only 4% were strongly disagree about it. The chi square value clearly indicates that the opinion of respondents was significantly different. 7. Airtel provides good number of promotional offers with affordable tariff plans? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 11 22 2 Agree 18 36 3 Disagree 15 30 4 Strongly disagree 06 12 Total 50 100 2 =6.48 df= 3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 On asking to the staff members that Airtel provides good number of promotional offers with affordable tariff plans then only 22% were strongly agree and as a group of 36% were agree and said that Airtel provides affordable tariff plans and 30% respondents were disagree and 12% were strongly disagree about it. The chi square value clearly indicates that the opinion of respondents was significantly identical on tariff plans and promotional offers.
May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 152
8. Airtel set up a grievance redressal cell for the complaint resolution of customers? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Agree 22 44 2 Dont know 15 30 3 Not sure 13 26 4 None of these 00 00 Total 50 100 2 =20.24 df= 3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 When it is asked to the respondents that Airtel establishes a grievance redressal cell for the complaint resolution of customers then 44% were agree and 30% of people dont know about that and 26% were not sure. Also the chi square value fundamentally shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly different. 9. Airtel establishes customer relationship management (CRM) cell for the interactive session with customers? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Agree 28 56 2 Dont know 08 16 3 Not sure 14 28 4 None of these 00 00 Total 50 100 2 =33.52 df= 3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 On asking to the respondents that Airtel establishes customer relationship management then 56% were agree and 16% of people dont know about that and 28% were not sure. Also the chi square value fundamentally shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly different on CRM cell. 10. Airtel provides instant feedback system to the customers? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 21 42 2 Agree 15 30 3 Disagree 09 18 4 Strongly disagree 05 10 Total 50 100 2 =11.76 df=3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 When it is asked to the staff members of Airtel that Company provides instant feedback to their customers, then 42% were strongly agree said that and 30% were agree Airtel provide May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 153
this service and 18% and 10% were disagree and strongly disagree respectively. The chi square value completely shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly different when it comes to Instant feedback system. 8.2 Questionnaire For Mobile Users: 1. Are you satisfied with Airtel services? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Partially 123 30.75 2 Fully 98 24.5 3 To some extent 179 44.75 4 None of these 00 00 Total 400 100 2 =168.04 df=3 , 2 (.05) = 7.81 When it is asked to the users of Airtel that Are you satisfied with Airtel services, 30.75% were partially satisfied and 24.5% were fully satisfied with the services and 44.75% respondents were satisfied up to some extent. Also the chi square value primarily shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly different when talking about satisfaction with Airtel services. 2. Quality of services of Airtel majorly differentiates Airtel from others? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 188 47 2 Agree 85 21.25 3 Disagree 75 18.75 4 Strongly disagree 52 13 Total 400 100 2 =108.98 df=3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 On asking to the respondents that Quality of services differentiates Airtel from others, 47% and 21.25% of them were strongly agree and agree in that order and only 18.75% were disagree and 13% were strongly disagree with the statement. Also chi square value depicts that the opinion of respondents was significantly different. 3. Are you satisfied with services at Airtel call centre? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Partially 85 21.25 2 Fully 136 34 3 To some extent 179 44.75 4 None of these 00 00 Total 400 100 May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 154
2 =177.61 df=3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 When it is asked to the users of Airtel that Are you satisfied with services at Airtel call centre, 21.25% were partially satisfied and 34% were fully satisfied with the services and 44.75% respondents were satisfied up to some extent. Also the chi square value radically shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly different when talking about satisfaction at Airtel call centre. 4. Most of the customer uses Airtel due to good network coverage? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 156 39 2 Agree 219 54.75 3 Disagree 20 5 4 Strongly disagree 05 1.25 Total 400 100 2 =327.22 df=3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 When it was asked to the users that they Airtel due to good network coverage, 39% were strongly agree and 54.75% were agree While only 5% and 1.25% were disagree and strongly disagree respectively. The chi square value completely shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly different on this fact. 5. Customer prefers Airtel services due to brand value? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 96 24 2 Agree 167 41.75 3 Disagree 99 24.75 4 Strongly disagree 38 9.5 Total 400 100 2 =45.68 df= 3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 When it was asked to the users that they Customer prefers Airtel services due to brand value, then 15.25% were strongly agree and majority of 38.5% were agree While only 29% and 17.25% were disagree and strongly disagree respectively. The chi square value completely shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly different on this fact.
May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 155
6. Customer oriented call centers and competitive service offers compels customer to use Airtel services? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 89 22.25 2 Agree 149 37.25 3 Disagree 107 26.75 4 Strongly disagree 55 13.75 Total 400 100 2 =45.96 df= 3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 On asking to the customers that Airtel provides competitive service offers, then 22.25% of respondents were strongly agree and 37.25% were agree and only 26.75% and 13.75% of respondents were disagree and strongly disagree about it respectively. The chi square value radically shows that opinion of the respondents was significantly different when it comes to choosing Airtel due to competitive service offers. 7. Airtel provides better voice quality, Accurate billing system and low call drops for customer satisfaction? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 65 16.25 2 Agree 184 46 3 Disagree 68 17 4 Strongly disagree 83 20.75 Total 400 100 2 =95.94 df= 3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 When it is asked to the users that Airtel provides better voice quality, Accurate billing system and low call drops, then 16.25% were strongly agree and 46% were agree with this service and 17% and 20.75% respondents were disagree and strongly disagree simultaneously. Also the chi square value radically shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly different when talking about better voice quality, Accurate billing system and low call drops for customer satisfaction. 8. Quick response and customer relationship management helps in enhancing customer loyalty? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 61 15.25 2 Agree 154 38.5 May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 156
3 Disagree 116 29 4 Strongly disagree 69 17.25 Total 400 100 2 =56.54 df=3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 When it was asked to the users that loyalty increases due to quick response and customer relationship management, then 15.25% were strongly agree and majority of 38.5% were agree While only 29% and 17.25% were disagree and strongly disagree respectively. The chi square value completely shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly different on this fact. 9. Airtel campaign Har ek friend jaroori hota hai helps in raising customer loyalty by connecting youth across the nation? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 114 28.5 2 Agree 197 49.25 3 Disagree 51 12.75 4 Strongly disagree 38 9.5 Total 400 100 2 =158.5 df=3, 2 (.05) = 7.81 When it was asked to the telecom users that Airtel campaign Har ek friend jaroori hota hai helps in retaining and attracting potential customers, mass of 28.5% and 49.25% were strongly agree and agree respectively and said that this is the one of the influensive campaign of Airtel for connecting youth across the nation and only 12.75% and 9.5% were disagree and strongly disagree respectively by this statement. The chi square value radically shows that the opinion of respondents was significantly different when talking about Airtel campaign. 10. Customers are loyal towards the Airtel because of brand strength, network quality and better customer care services? S.NO. OPINION NO. PERCENT (%) 1 Strongly agree 188 47 2 Agree 105 26.25 3 Disagree 65 16.25 4 Strongly disagree 42 10.5 Total 400 100 2 =47.02 df=3 , 2 (.05) = 7.81 May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 157
On asking to the respondents that they are loyal towards the Airtel because of brand strength, network quality and better customer care services, then 47% and 26.25% of them were strongly agree and agree in that order and only 16.25% were disagree and 10.5% were strongly disagree with the statement. Also chi square value depicts that the opinion of respondents was significantly different.
9. Findings: Due to wide and best network coverage in the industry, Users enjoy crystal clear voice quality from Airtel. Low call drop facility plays an important role in customer satisfaction. If the customer is satisfied then he/she automatically promotes the network and services of service provider among the people by word of mouth. In this highly competitive scenario in the telecom sector, Service quality generates fair competition among the small as well as giant player of the industry. Hence disturbance free network system satisfies the need of the customers. Airtel provides comparatively high tariff plans but still it is in the customer preference because of disturbance free network backed by state-of-the-art customer service setup. Airtel offers services with new technology for customer satisfaction but the consideration should be given on sustainability of users not only offering a new technology. Since Airtel is an older and giant player of the telecom sector and being the best in terms of customer preference, Airtel is providing service guarantee. For the qualitative and disturbance free services, Airtel pays heed on setting up new network towers for connecting people across the country and attracting potential customers. Customers are indifferent on the fact that IDEA provides low international tariff plans. Airtel provides the tariff plans which consist a lot of talk time and data rolled in it. Since customer is the king of the market so he should be satisfied with the services at affordable prices. Airtel provides better network coverage than any other operator in the market; this service continuously boosts up the sale of Airtel and contributes in the brand recognition. One of the milestones in success of Airtel is that; they set up a 24x7 Customer oriented call centers and innovative/competitive service offers for enhancing the service quality. May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 158
Airtel campaign Har ek friend jaroori hota hai is one of the finest advertisements that is liked by the youngsters especially by the college teens. It connects human needs with the mobile phone. It consist informative appeal to the mobile users. Airtel facilitates up-to-the-minute technology to satisfy the needs of young generation in fast and under developing cities. A promotional offer with affordable tariff plans enhances the customer satisfaction. Peoples are indifferent about setting up a grievance redressal cell for the complaint resolution of customers by Airtel. For enjoying the interactive session with customers, Airtel establishes customer relationship management (CRM) cell. Up to some extent, most of the customers are satisfied with Airtel services and their experience at Airtel stores.
10. Conclusion: This research study aims to figure out the Impact of Service Quality on customer satisfaction of mobile users in telecom sector and for the authentic research work we have picked up a case study of Airtel. In which we pull the attention on service quality with the special consideration given on attractive/aggressive tariff plans, innovative services, quality of service, Voice quality, low call drops and state-of-the-art customer service setup, customer relationship management cell, brand strength, network quality and better customer care services, grievance redressal cell And value added services etc. Service quality will facilitate the satisfaction of unsatisfied users. This also means operators will have to put more effort on to provide better services to retain the customers, better services mean the companies will have to set up more mobile phone towers, upgrade their equipment and provide instant rectification of problems so that the subscribers are always able to get connected, surf the internet and make full use of their mobile telephones. Since with the broad network coverage, heavy expenditure on advertisement, disturbance free network backed by state-of-the-art customer service setup, voice quality, low call drops and many more, Airtel became the utmost priority of customers. These services win the faith and sense of belongingness of the prospective customers. There are some additional factors which affect quality of services. These are customer awareness, launch of services by new operators, attractive/aggressive tariff plans, innovative May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 159
services, VAS offerings, time to resolve disputes etc., In India, several new operators are entering the market and the monthly addition of new subscriber is still very high. Also Customers play a very vital role in successful delivery of service as customers are often present at the place where service is produced (Delivered). Customers alone can influence whether the delivered service is as per customer defined specifications. Other customers who are present at the time of Service can also influence the Service positively or negatively. Hence eventually to conclude our study we can say that marketing triangle service marketing should be considered on utmost priority. We should make realistic accurate promises that reflect the service actually delivered rather than idealized version of service and Use market research to determine sources of derived customer expectation and their requirement. Apart from that hospital administration tries to educate customers to understand their role and perform better. And also the GAP model clearly determines the two different types of gaps in service marketing, namely the customer gap and the provider gaps. This model really views the services as a structured, integrated model which connects external customers to internal services between the different functions in a service organization. Operators must think on reducing the gap between the customer expectation and customer perception. Because gap deduction will help to serve better to the customers and contributes in brand image, profit maximization and footfall of customers toward them.
11. Suggestions: In this competitive scenario, Operators should conduct systematic marketing research to know the customer satisfaction for the service quality that will include customer perception and expectations both. Make senior managers interact with customers and occasionally perform customer- contact roles for service quality. Encourage upward communication from customer-contact employees. Make a blueprint of the service and standardize as many components of it as possible and institute a formal, ongoing process for setting service specifications. Eliminate perception of infeasibility on the part of senior managers and make a true commitment to improve service quality. May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 160
Invest in ongoing employee training and support employees with appropriate technology and information systems. Reduce role conflict and role ambiguity among customer-contact employees. Recognize and reward employees who deliver superior service. Facilitate effective horizontal communication across functional areas (e.g., marketing and operations) Have consistent customer-related policies and procedures across branches or departments and resist the temptation to promise more than the organization can deliver. Work systematically to remove organizational barriers that lead to poor customer service -- offline and online. Recognize that e-service quality as perceived by customers involves much more than having a state-of-the-art website and Put in place a solid behind-the-scenes infrastructure -- information systems, logistics, and human resources -- to deliver what a websites front promises. Service provider must pay heed on service quality and its five key dimensions: reliability, responsiveness, empathy, assurance, and tangibles. Customer Care is an important area and produces direct impact on customer satisfaction. Service provider should take efforts for better customer care. By improving the number of base stations, the network coverage & connectivity can be improved which may lead to lower rate of call drops. Customer stays happy with the availability of Value Added Services along with good network coverage. Airtel should also ensure that staffs are knowledgeable of customers requests and problems. Airtel staff should always listen to what your customer wants because customers don't buy products or services, they sometimes buy solutions to problems. Airtel staff should encourage and welcome suggestions on improving customer satisfaction. Airtel should offer long term loyalty benefits staggered over a period of time. In this highly competitive set-up, progressing out a special discount offer or a value added pack could help win back the subscriber. Company should try to attract customers with a service guarantee that means they should compensate their subscribers for every call drop. May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 161
They should think on offering special tariffs, free SMS, Free data pack for a period of time and other incentives to attract customers from other networks.
May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 162
References: 1. Chhabra T N, Grover S K (2009) Marketing management, Dhanpat rai and co. private. Ltd. 2. Chopra Anamica (2010) Marketing management, Galgotia publishing company, pp. 347-362. 3. Chunawalla S A (2009) Sales management, Himalya publishing house pvt. Ltd., pp. 88-90. 4. Dr. Muhammad Sabbir Rahman (2012) Service Quality, Corporate Image And Customers Satisfaction Towards Customers Perception: An Exploratory Study On Telecom Customers In Bangladesh, Business Intelligence Journal, Vol:.5 No.1, pp. 56-63. 5. Hashed Ahmed Nasser, Salniza Bt Md. Salleh, Hamid mahmood Gelaidan (2012) Factors Affecting Customer Satisfaction of Mobile Services in Yemen, American Journal of Economics, Volume: 2, Issue: 7, pp. 171-184. 6. Kothari C R (2004) Research methodology methods and techniques, new age international publishers, pp. 233-238. 7. Kotler Philip, Keller Kevin lane, Koshy Abraham, Jha Mithileshwer (2009) Marketing management, Pearson Education. 8. Ming Wang, Chich-jen shieh (2006) The relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction: The example of CJCU library, Journal of information and optimization sciences, Volume: 27, No: 1, pp:193-209. 9. Ofir Turel, Alexander Serenko (2006) Satisfaction with mobile services in Canada: An empirical investigation, Telecommunications Policy 30 (2006), pp: 314331. 10. Olu Ojo (2010) The Relationship between Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in the Telecommunication Industry: Evidence From Nigeria, BRAND (Broad Research in Accounting, Negotiation, and Distribution), Volume 1, Issue 1, pp. 88- 100. 11. Oyeniyi, Omotayo and Abiodun Abolaji Joachim (2008) Customer service in the retention of mobile phone users in Nigeria African Journal of Business Management Vol.2 (2), pp. 026-031. 12. Rajkumar Paulrajan and Harish Rajkumar (2011) Service Quality and Customers Preference of Cellular Mobile Service Providers, Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, Volume: 6, Issue: 1, pp: 38-45. May, 2013 www.ijirs.com Vol 2 Issue 5
International Journal of Innovative Research and Studies Page 163
13. Siew-Phaik Loke, Ayankunle Adegbite Taiwo, Hanisah Mat Salim, and Alan G. Downe (2011) Service Quality and Customer Satisfaction in a Telecommunication Service Provider, IPEDR, vol.11, pp. 24-29.