Customer satisfaction with global system of mobile service quality (A case study of Nepal Telecom)

Abstract

Service quality and customer satisfaction are very important concepts that an organizations must understand if they are to grow business and revenues as well to remain competitive in the business environment. It is very important for companies to know how to measure these constructs from the customers’ perspective so as to understand their needs and satisfy them. Service quality is considered to be very critical to any modern business because it contributes higher customer satisfaction, profitability, reduced cost, improved customer loyalty and retention. The main purpose of this study is to assess customer satisfaction and service quality using SERVQUAL model with GSM Service of Nepal Telecom and its working environment. Other purposes include how customers perceive service quality; identify service quality dimensions that contribute to higher satisfaction, factors affecting customer satisfaction and measures to be taken to improve the level of customer satisfaction and GSM service quality of Nepal Telecom in the competitive industrial environment. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to respondents using a convenience as well as purposive sampling technique to GSM service customers of Nepal Telecom available in the different places of Kathmandu valley. The analysis done resulted that, the overall service quality perceived by customers was weak. Low level of perception regarding service quality means customers’ expectations exceeded perceptions. Among six major determining factors of GSM service quality for customer satisfaction as customer care service, service promotion information, network coverage, signal strength, tariff and availability of recharge cards or means of payment, the analysis of the respondents’ opinion revealed that Nepal Telecom’s performance was very weak in customer care and service promotion information followed by tariff, network coverage and network strength. As far as theory is concerned findings reveals that all the five dimensions and 22 items of SERVQUAL model resulted with negative gap scores in measuring service quality of GSM service quality. This study contributes to the already existing studies examining service quality in telecommunication companies using SERVQUAL model. It also provides empirical results that guide Nepal Telecom and other telecom companies on the corrective measures to enhance service quality and customer satisfaction as well as significant growth in business and revenues.