THE EFFECT OF SERVICE QUALITY AND CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

CASE STUDY: WARID TELECOM

BY

BIIRA GLORIA

08/U/5865/EXT

SUPERVISED
BY:
MR TURYAKIRA NAZARIUS

A RESEARCH DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO MAKERERE UNIVERSITY IN

PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE AWARD OF A
BACHELORS DEGREE OF COMMERCE OF MAKERERE UNIVERSITY

JULY 2012

DECLARATION
I Biira Gloria hereby sincerely declare that this is entirely my own work and it has not been
submitted before to any other university or institution of higher learning for award of a degree.
Where the work of other authors has been used or cited, due acknowledgement has been made.

Signature......

Date.
BIIRA GLORIA

APPROVAL
This research report has been under my supervision and is now ready for submission to the
examination board for evaluation.

Signature..

Date.

MR. TURYAKIRA NAZARIUS.

SUPERVISOR.

ii

DEDICATION
This noble work is dedicated to my dear parents, Mr. Bwambale Bartholomew and Mr
Ntawigomwa Ancilla for sowing the eloquence seed in me. Thank you for your prayers, support
and for your everlasting love. God bless you.

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
First and foremost, I thank the Almighty God for giving me the strength and health to do this
research work and for the grace and unfailing love. I would not have managed without God on
my side.
My special thanks go to Mr. Turyakira Nazarius my supervisor who has diligently guided and
instructed me to success. Thank you for sparing time to guide me through this process. I am
enormously grateful.
I further appreciate the Warid Telecom customers for the help extended to me despite the
difficult timing.
I would also like to thank my family members. Eddy, Timothy, Emmanuel, Annet, Daniella, and
well wishers for their support and mentors for the indomitable information.
With honesty, I thank Rutaremwa Amos, Ritah Ahumuza, Lilian Muhindo, Allen Asaasira,
Sandra Tumuhaire and Kihumuro Dan for the love, encouragement and support, and above all
for praying for me to succeed in all my endeavours.
Special thanks to my excellent friends and group members for being there for me even in
difficult times.
May GOD bless you all!!

iv

TABLE OF CONTENT

DECLARATION ............................................................................................................................. i
APPROVAL ................................................................................................................................... ii
DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ............................................................................................................. iv
TABLE OF CONTENT .................................................................................................................. v
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................................... ix
ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... x
CHAPTER ONE: .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Background ............................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 Problem statement ..................................................................................................................... 2
1.3 Purpose of the study .................................................................................................................. 2
1.4 Objectives of the study.............................................................................................................. 2
1.5 Research questions .................................................................................................................... 3
1.6 Scope of the study ..................................................................................................................... 3
1.6.1 Subject scope ......................................................................................................................... 3
1.6.2 Geographical scope ................................................................................................................ 3
1.6.3 Time scope ............................................................................................................................. 3
1.7 Significance of the study........................................................................................................... 3
CHAPTER TWO: ......................................................................................................................... 4
LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................... 4
2.0 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Service....................................................................................................................................... 4
2.1.1 Quality.................................................................................................................................... 4
2.1.2 Service quality ....................................................................................................................... 5
v

2.1.3 Attributes of service quality ................................................................................................... 5

2.1.4 Nature of service quality. ....................................................................................................... 6
2.2 Customer satisfaction .............................................................................................................. 10
2.2.1 Attributes of customer satisfaction ...................................................................................... 10
2.2.2 Expectations of customers ................................................................................................... 12
2.3 Relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction ............................................ 15
2.4 Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 16
CHAPTER THREE .................................................................................................................... 18
METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................................................... 18
3.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 18
3.1 Research design ...................................................................................................................... 18
3.2 Population of study ................................................................................................................. 18
3.3 Sample size ............................................................................................................................. 18
3.4 Sampling design ...................................................................................................................... 18
3.5.0 Source of data ...................................................................................................................... 18
3.5.1 Primary data source.............................................................................................................. 19
3.5.2 Secondary data source.......................................................................................................... 19
3.6.0 Tools of data collection ........................................................................................................ 19
3.6.1 Questionnaires...................................................................................................................... 19
3.6.2 Interview guides ................................................................................................................... 19
3.7.0 Methods of data collection ................................................................................................... 19
3.7.1 Observation .......................................................................................................................... 19
3.8.0 Data processing, Analysis and Presentation ........................................................................ 19
3.8.1 Data processing .................................................................................................................... 19
3.8.2 Data presentation ................................................................................................................. 20
vi

3.8.3 Data analysis ........................................................................................................................ 20

3.9.0 Problems met and solutions. .............................................................................................. 20
CHAPTER FOUR ....................................................................................................................... 21
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSION OF
FINDINGS. ................................................................................................................................... 21
4.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 21
4.2 Demographic characteristics of respondents .......................................................................... 21
4.2.1 Findings on gender of respondents ...................................................................................... 21
4.2.2 Findings on the age bracket of respondents. ........................................................................ 21
4.2.3 Findings on the marital status of the respondents ................................................................ 22
4.2.4 Findings on the level of of education attained by respondents. ........................................... 22
4.2.5 Findings on the services received by warid telecom customers .......................................... 23
4.3 Findings on the quality of services offered by warid telecom limited. .................................. 23
4.4 Findings on the level of customer satisfaction ........................................................................ 27
4.5 Findings on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction ................... 31
4.6 Relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction ............................................ 33
CHAPTER FIVE ........................................................................................................................ 34
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................... 34
5.0 Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 34
5.1 Summary of findings............................................................................................................... 34
5.1.1 Findings on the quality of services offered by warid ........................................................... 34
5.1.2 Findings on the level of customer satisfaction in warid telecom ......................................... 34
5.1.3 Findings on the relationship between the quality of services and customer satisfaction in
warid Telecom. ............................................................................................................................. 34
5.2 Conclusions ............................................................................................................................. 35
5.2.1 Conclusion on the Quality of services offered by warid telecom limited............................ 35
vii

5.2.2 Conclusion on the level of customer satisfaction in warid telecom limited. ....................... 35
5.2.3 Conclusion on the relationship between quality of service and customer satisfaction. ....... 35
5.3 Recommendations ................................................................................................................... 35
5.4 Suggestions for further study .................................................................................................. 36
REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................. 37
APPENDIX I: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE ........................................................................ 39
RESEARCH BUDGET.41

viii

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Gender of the respondents .............................................................................................. 21

Table 2: Age category of the respondents..................................................................................... 21
Table 3: Showing Marital Status of respondents .......................................................................... 22
Table 4: Education level of the respondents ................................................................................. 22
Table 5: Service received from warid telecom ............................................................................. 23
Table 6: Warid telecom provides accurate bills. ........................................................................... 23
Table 7: Warid telecom ensures timely delivery of services ........................................................ 24
Table 8: Showing whether the employees are polite when attending to customers ..................... 24
Table 9: Warid telecom keeps accurate records ........................................................................... 25
Table 10: Warid telecom employees are knowledgeable about the fixed network operation ...... 25
Table 11: Warid telecom staff provides individualized attention to customers............................ 26
Table 12: Warid telecom customers are impressed by the appearance of physical facilities. ...... 26
Table 13: Warid provides value for money services .................................................................... 27
Table 14: Warid telecom ensures that customers needs and expectations are met ..................... 27
Table 15: Warid telecom staff cares for the customers................................................................. 28
Table 16: Warid telecom staff gives individualized attention to customers ................................. 28
Table 17: Warid telecom staff endeavors to keep old and attract new customers ........................ 29
Table 18: Information about warids products and services is available ...................................... 30
Table 19: I would recommend someone to join the warid network ............................................. 30
Table 20: I feel satisfied when I get prompt service ..................................................................... 31
Table 21: I feel satisfied when a confident staff attends to me. .................................................... 31
Table 22: I always feel special when I am given individualized attention ................................... 32
Table 23: I am satisfied with the convenience of warid telecom premises .................................. 32
Table 24: I feel satisfied when I pay accurate bill ........................................................................ 33
Table 25: Showing the correlation between service quality and customer satisfaction ............... 33

ix

ABSTRACT
The study was about the effects of service quality and on customer satisfaction in warid Telecom
limited. The objectives of the study were to establish the quality of services offered by warid
Telecom, establish the level of customer satisfaction and establish the relationship between the
quality of services and customer satisfaction in warid Telecom limited.

The study design was cross sectional. Data collected was based on the study objectives and
questionnaires were used to collect data from a sample of 30 respondents. The data collected was
both qualitative and quantitative using frequency tables, and SPSS was used to analyze data and
the relationship between two variables.
Findings on quality of services were that warid keeps accurate records, staff is polite and well
knowledgeable about the products and the appearance of physical facilities is impressive. The
findings on customer satisfaction were that warid provides value for money. The findings on the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction showed a significant positive
relationship of r=0.763 Pearson correlation coefficient.

Recommendations on service quality were that warid Telecom should ensure constant training of
the staff in customer service, constant monitoring of the competitors activities through market
intelligence. Recommendations on customer satisfaction were that warid should create a toll free
line where customers can send messages from time to time and employ more staff to ensure that
clients are given individualized attention since the findings revealed that they are dissatisfied
because of that.

CHAPTER ONE:
1.1 Background
Service quality refers to the gap between the customers expectations and perceptions, that is, the
quality of a service will be rated high when a service delivered exceeds the customers
expectations and will be rated poor when it doesnt meet them (Kotler,1999).
The main determinants of service quality are reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and
tangibles. Therefore, whether or not the service or offer delivers these effects, the
consumers/customers satisfaction and re-purchase behavior (Parasuraman, Zeithmal and Berry
1985).
Customer satisfaction is the extent to which a products perceived performance matches a
buyers expectations (Kotler, 1999). Customer satisfaction is associated with value and hence
dependent on price while on the other hand service quality is not generally considered to be
independent on price. Highly satisfied customers produce several benefits for the company.
Satisfied customers are not price sensitive, remain customers for a long period of time and talk
favorably to others about the company and its products.

For any business or activity to be really successful, the very crucial ingredient is customer
satisfaction. Management has to make perfectly sure that each person in the organization is
aware of that fact. Each one should do their job having in mind the question: how does this
particular operation contribute to customer satisfaction? This is true even in a one person
operation. In the same way, the company may be able to find a number of non-value-added
activities that do not mean any advantage to the customer (Robert Walakira, 2001).

Warid telecom ltd is one of the leading telecommunications companies operating in Uganda.
Since its inception, it has transformed for offering mobile telephones and landline into a modern
and innovative ICT company with many products which combine both WorldsTelecommunication and Information Technology. Some of the services offered by Warid
Telecom Ltd include landline, mobile, internet options, ICT options and data services.

This being a service oriented business, Warid Telecom is required to provide quality service to
its customers and hence customer satisfaction is paramount (Telecom Newsletter, December
2000).

1.2 Problem statement

Service quality and customer satisfaction have long been recognized as playing a crucial role for
success and survival in todays competitive market. This is because the two concepts have been
linked to customer behavioral intentions like purchase and loyalty intention, willingness to
spread positive word of mouth, referral and complaint intention by many researchers
(Olsen,2002;Kang,Nobuyuki and Herbert,2004;Soderlund and Ohman,2005).

Warid Telecom being a service oriented industry has tried to provide quality service to its
customers like keeping records correctly, caring and individualized attention to customers for
example recognizing a regular customer. According to the Managing Directors communication
for 2011, he assures customers for best services, thus; we need to ensure that Warid Telecom
customers have from the time of initial contact, during purchase and throughout the life of our
products, focus on complete customer satisfaction (www.waridtel.co.ug).

Despite the above efforts, Warid Telecom has continued to register increasing numbers of
dissatisfied customers in respect to wrong billing, poor network and low levels of responsiveness
to customers complaints. This has in most cases resulted into loss of business opportunities by
the customers (Telecom Newsletter, December 2008).
1.3 Purpose of the study
The purpose of the study was to establish the relationship between service quality and customer
satisfaction.
1.4 Objectives of the study
i.

To establish the quality of services offered by Warid Telecom Ltd.

ii.

To establish the level of customer satisfaction in Warid Telecom ltd.

iii.

To establish the relationship between the quality of services and customer satisfaction in
2

1.5 Research questions

i. What is the quality of services offered by Warid Telecom Ltd?
ii. What is the level of customer satisfaction in Warid Telecom ltd?
iii. What is the relationship between the quality of services and customer satisfaction in
...Warid Telecom?
1.6 Scope of the study
1.6.1 Subject scope
The study mainly focused on service quality in relation to customer satisfaction.
1.6.2 Geographical scope
The geographical area of study was limited to Kampala town where there is fixed network only.
1.6.3 Time scope
The study focused on the facts relating to the period from 2011-2012.
1.7 Significance of the study

The study will help the management of Warid Telecom Ltd, to make policies that will aim
at providing quality services to customers for example employee empowerment.

The study will help Warid Telecom employees to focus on quality timely services to
customers.

To other researchers, the study will help in carrying out further research on customer
satisfaction.

To related companies, the study will help to always provide better quality services since its
directly related to customer satisfaction.

The study will help the researcher as a partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

award of the degree of Bachelor of Commerce of Makerere University.

To the Government, the study will help in making policies that are aimed at providing

quality services in the Government owned enterprises.

CHAPTER TWO:
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 INTRODUCTION
This chapter reviews the existing literature on service quality in relation to customer satisfaction
on global and national perspective.
Due to global changes such as increase in customers awareness about goods and services, the
relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction has received a great deal of
attention.
2.1 Service
Service according to Phillip Kotler is any activity or benefit that is essentially intangible and
does not result in ownership of anything. The production of a service may or may not be tied to a
physical product. Service is defined as those activities that are separately identifiable and can
provide satisfaction and are not necessarily tied to the sale of a product or another service
(Cowell, 1984).
2.1.1 Quality
According to the American society for quality control, quality is the totality of features and
characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or implied needs.
Hence quality is an integral part of business.

Ian Smith (1997) in his study of Malcom Baldridge National Quality Award reports in US1987
defines Quality as listening to customers and delivering what they expect.

Quality according to Professor Bill Evans asked. A hundred definitions could be elaborated, but
the only one right answer is: Quality is what the customer says it is. If we want any business or
activity to be really successfully, the very crucial ingredient is customer satisfaction. We have to
make perfectly sure that each person in the organization is aware of that vital fact. Each one
should do their job having in mind this question: How does this particular operation contribute to
customer satisfaction?

2.1.2 Service quality

Service quality is defined as the gap between the consumers expectations and perceptions, that
is, the quality of a service will be rated high when the service delivered exceeds the consumers
expectations and will be rated low when it falls short of customers expectations. If the
performance exceeds expectations, the customer is highly satisfied (Kotler 1999).

One of the major ways to differentiate a service firm is to consistently deliver higher quality
service than competitors (Kotler 1999). The key target is to meet or exceed customers quality
expectations. Their expectations are formed by their past experience, word of mouth and service
firm advertising. The customers choose providers on this basis, after receiving the service; they
compare the perceived with the expected service.

Various studies of excellently managed service companies show that they share a number of
common practices with respect to service quality. These include: A history of top management to
quality, the setting of high standards, systems for monitoring service performance, and satisfying
the employees as well as customers (Ntaayi 1998).
2.1.3 Attributes of service quality
Originally there were five proposed determinants of service quality. These include;

Reliability:
This is the ability to perform the promised service dependably and accurately for example
accuracy in billing, record keeping correctly and performing the service in the designated time.

Assurance:
This is the knowledge and courtesy of employees and their ability to convey trust and
confidence.

Empathy:
It is the caring and individualized attention that the firm provides to its customers, for example
recognizing a regular customer by offering a discount.

Responsiveness
This is the willingness to help the customer and provide prompt service, for example, having the
knowledge and skill of the contact and operational support personnel.

Tangibles
Which is the appearance of physical facilities, equipment, personnel, and communication
materials used to provide the service (Paraguayan, Zeithaml and Berry 1985).
2.1.4 Nature of service quality.
A service firms ability to hang onto its customers depends on how consistently it delivers
quality to them. Like product marketers, service providers need to identify the expectations of
target customers concerning service quality. The marketing literature is therefore emphasized in
understanding the structure and psychological processes underlying customers perceptions of
service quality. Greater service quality results in greater customer satisfaction (Ntaayi 1998).
In todays fast paced and increasing competitive market, the bottom line of a firms marketing
strategies and tactics is to make profits and contribute to the growth of the company, customer
satisfaction, quality and retention are global issues that affect all organizations, be it large or
small, profit or non-profit, global or local. Many companies are interested in studying, evaluating
and implementing marketing strategies that aim at improving customer retention and maximizing
share of customers in view of the beneficial effects on the financial performance for the firm.

There has been a strong advocacy for the adoption of customer retention as one of the key
performance indicators (Kaplan and Norton, 2001). For instance a study by Reichheld and Sasser
1990) reported a high correlation between customer retention and profitability in a range of
industries. However, the fragmentation of media choices and the dynamic nature of the market,
coupled with an increased number of more demanding and affluent consumers, brought greater
challenges to marketing practitioners in retaining their customers.

Service Quality and customer satisfaction have long been recognized as playing a crucial role for
success and survival in todays competitive market. Not surprisingly, considerably research has
been conducted on these two concepts. Notably ,the quality and satisfaction concepts have been
6

linked to customer behavioral intentions like purchase and loyalty intention, willingness to
spread positive word of mouth, referral, and complaint intention by many researchers(Olsen,
2002;Kang, Nobuyuki and Herbert,2004;Soderlund and Ohman,2005).

The most commonly found studies were related to the moderating, mediating and behavioral
consequences relationships among these variables-customer service quality, perceived value and
behavioral intentions. However, there have been mixed results produced. As many industry
sectors mature, competitive advantage through high quality service is an increasingly important
weapon in business survival. The restaurant industry has certainly not been exempted from
increased competition or rising consumer expectations of quality.

This is true even in one person operation. In this same way, we may be able to find a number of
non-value-added activities that do not mean any advantages to the customer. That is, in many
cases we are doing something for our product or service that our customer is not willing to pay
for. One the other hand, there may be some improvements that we can implement that will add
real value (the kind of value the customer is willing to pay for).

When each element in our organization is focused on this purpose, a good number of good ideas
come out to improve and make our product or service superior to our competitors. When we are
in charge of a department or internal operation within a company or greater organization, our
focus not necessarily is the final buyer of the finished products. In those cases more likely our
customer is the department our service is being delivered to. Such is the case of maintenance or
administrative services. We are there to please that immediate customer.
Its therefore important to note that today, Quality is not a department; it is an assignment of us.
We are or should be aware that it is our task to put in the process quality that is expected. It is no
gracious to produce quality; it is the only way we are expected to performance.

Most service companies have research programs designed to measure quality, and customer
satisfaction, or relationship quality. Such programs are designed to allow management to manage
service provision and relationship building initiatives. They provide essential information to
7

guide efforts to reduce variability in service quality and to provide customers with the service
that will help ensure their continued patronage. While there is little direct evidence as to the link
between service quality and better company performance, company-level data suggests a link
between higher quality, market share and improved profitability (Buzzell and Gale 1987; Buzzell
et al. 1975; Rust and Zahorik 1993).

Furthermore, customer service operations are being subjected to rapid, technology-driven

change. The sophistication of new information technologies such as the internet have
fundamentally changed, and continue to change, how organizations interact with their customers,
yet it has become less crucial to firm performance (Zeithaml,&Malhotra,2002 Piccoli, Brohman,
Watson,& Parasuraman,2004). While telephone and fax have become common in the customer
service role, new communication media like e-mail and instant messaging, are being deployed at
the a frenetic pace and are in a great demand.

As of 2005, it has been projected that 45% of all contact companies have with their customers,
occur over the telephone, 45% happen via online means (Website, e-mail, etc), just 5% occur
face to face and the remaining 5% via other means (Anton and Phelps). This movement away
from face to face contact toward online and technology-mediated methods has implications both
for selecting technologies and for managing personnel who provide customer service in these
high-tech environments.

With the introduction of new communication media and expanded customer touch points, the
characteristics of an effective customer service process are experiencing significant change. As
this operational evolution progresses, the characteristics of the most effective service employees
become less obvious, with so far little empirical investigation of the linkage between information
technologies and customer service. As Ray et al. (2005) states, while a number of case studies
do highlight the critical role of IT in customer service (Elam and Morrison, 1993; El Sawy and
Bowles, 1997), empirical research examining the link between IT and customer service
performance has been lacking.

While business people have had centuries to learn how to interact with customers face-to-face
and decades to discover the best way to provide customer service over the telephone, internetbased media have been in use for only a short while. Despite evidence that different work
environments may require different types of employees (Schneider, 2002) many managers with
whom we have spoken assume that providing Internet-based customer service requires similar
personal attributes as in a telephone environment.

There is, as of yet, no empirical research evidence to support such an assumption. In contrast,
differences in features and channels (Griffith and Northcraft, 1994) among the various
communication technologies, and findings from virtual team research (e.g., Martins, Gilson, and
Maynard, 2004) and related areas suggest that different customer service representative (CSR)
characteristics may be desirable depending upon the richness of the medium being used.

Managing both the technologies and the personnel needed for both providing high quality, multi
channel customer support creates a complex and persistent operational challenge. Adding to this
difficulty, it is still unclear how service personnel and these new communication technologies
interact to influence the customers perceptions of the service being provided. Motivated by both
practical importance and inconsistent findings in the academic literature, this exploratory
research examines the interaction of media richness, represented by three different technology
contexts (telephone, e-mail, and online chat), with six customer service representative (CSR)
characteristics and their influences on customer satisfaction. Using large-sample customer survey
data set, the article develops a multi-group structural equation model to analyze these
interactions.

Results suggest that CSR characteristics influence customer service satisfaction similarly across
all three technology-mediated contexts. Of the three characteristics studied, service
representatives contribute to customer satisfaction more when they exhibit the characteristics of
thoroughness, knowledgeable, and preparedness, regardless of the richness of the medium used.
Surprisingly, while three other CSR characteristics studied (courtesy, professionalism, and
attentiveness) are traditionally believed to be important in face to face encounters, they had no

significant impact on customer satisfaction in the technology - mediated contexts studied.

Implications for both practitioners and researchers are drawn.
2.2 Customer satisfaction
The ultimate goal of total quality is to improve customer value; therefore an organizations
quality concept should evolve into one of total customer satisfaction.As such a company will
gain an edge over competitors by consistently and profitably meeting customers needs and
preferences of quality (Kotler & Armstrong).
Improving customer satisfaction is a worthwhile goal for companies. It is observed that a
satisfied customer tells three people the good experience and the positive results of the
companys products and services but dissatisfied grips to eleven people (Kotler, 1997).
Customer satisfaction has been a central theme of managerial decision making worldwide over
the last 20 years and it is remarkably that the popular business excellence tools, such as the
Malcom Baldridge Award and the European Foundation of quality management put considerable
emphasis on the significance of both assessing customer satisfaction and using sound assessment
methodologies for such task. Customer satisfaction has also gained popularity via the National
Customer Satisfaction Indices originally inspired by the works of the Andersen et al (1994),
which have become part of continuous reporting and development in countries such as Sweden,
USA, and Denmark. Over that time period, the focus on customer satisfaction has progressed
from being a simple
measurement issue to a strategic imperative that affects firm competitiveness, (Scheneider and
Bowen 1999a, 1999b).
2.2.1 Attributes of customer satisfaction
These include;
Technical information
The telecommunications industry has invested heavily on customer satisfaction by both
designing large-scale measurement systems and initiating customer satisfaction improvement
projects (Lawton, 1988). This was driven partly by the de regulation wave that took place in this
industry in the late 1980s and partly by the increased competition that emerged in the markets
that were former state monopolies.
Therefore the ability of telecommunications operators to focus successfully on the customer has
proven to be one of the most competitive issues towards the end of the 20th century. The services
10

management literature is short of theoretical and empirical studies on customer satisfaction

measurement in the telecommunications industry. This, however, is contrary to the industry
practice since almost all major telecommunications companies around the world gather
information about the quality of their services. Our research focuses on the customer satisfaction
function of residential customers of a major European telecommunications company. Customer
satisfaction is seen as the overall performance of the telecommunications company stemming
from adequate service provision, value for money loyalty and relationship management. The
antecedents of the performance of the organization are obtained from the contact points between
the customers and the service points of the telecommunications company (Chase, 1981 and
Soteriou and Chase, 1998).

The case of customer satisfaction in telecommunications has gained increased industrial

popularity beyond the individual firm level, with the emergence of strong national regulatory
bodies, which have shown vast interest in customer satisfaction measurements. Notable, for
instance, is the case of OFTEL (2001) in the UK that has installed a system of qualitative
performance indicators about all telecom operators in the country generating comparative results
freely accessible to the public.
Customer satisfaction in telecommunications is relatively scattered and primarily concerned with
mobile telecommunications customers (Woo and Fock, 1999; Lee et al., 2001). In particular,
Woo and Fock (1999) examined the behavior of mobile telecommunication customers in Hong
Kong. Transmission quality and network coverage were found to be the most important factors
driving customer satisfaction in their study giving, therefore, high priority to product
functionality in assessing the satisfaction of individual customers. In a similar vein, Lee et al.
(2001) have examined the interaction between customer satisfaction, switching costs and loyalty
behavior in the mobile telecommunications in France.

Delivery system:
The interaction between customers and the delivery system is effected via alternative contact
points, each of them will be investigated for its impact on the overall customer satisfaction. That
is, the service delivery system can be decomposed into alternative customer contact points that
shape customers overall judgment about the organization. Each contact point main retain a
11

relative independence concerning critical of customer satisfaction such as personnel, speed,

reliability and pricing. The contact point driven satisfaction, increase the measurement accuracy,
as customers express their views on the basis of specific interactions with the telecomm provider
which they can better relate. In an organization where customer interactions can be categorized
into more than six generic groups, it is very difficult for a customer to express a generic
satisfaction indicator with the employees of the organization when they interact with different
employees at different contact points (Taylor, 1992; Teas, 1993; Parasuraman et al., 1994).

Quality and flexibility

The operations management literature promotes a more unified approach to customer satisfaction
that according to Harvey (1998), involves the following: quality of results and quality of process,
reality vs. perception, customer satisfaction and technical quality.
Besides the definition and measurement issues, the operations management perspective of
customer satisfaction is more action led, since it focuses on customer satisfaction improvement
rather than measurement per se (Rosen and Karwan, 1994; Soteriou and Hadjinicola, 1999;
Soteriou and Zenios, 1999; Athanassopoulos, 2000). The contribution of Heskett et al (1994,
1997) is a first-class demonstration through the service profit chain framework, which offers a
practical method to integrate the effects of people satisfaction, customer satisfaction, customer
loyalty achievement and customer profitability. Equally notable is the research by Rust et
al(1994, 2000) and Ittner and Larcker (1998) that brought forward the cost accountability of
customer satisfaction measurement and the subsequent measurement is promoted in the current
research as an appropriate vehicle for measuring customer satisfaction in situations with multiple
contact service points between the customer and the service providers.
Performance quality can be improved by using different methods including quality function
deployment, line of visibility, conformance quality, and mystery shopping.
2.2.2 Expectations of customers
Customer satisfaction is an important theoretical as well as practical issue for most marketers and
consumer researchers (Churchill and Superenant, 1982; Mountinho and Goode, 1995; Naser et
al., 1999; Piercy, 1994).Customer satisfaction is a major outcome of marketing activity whereby
it serves as a link with various stages of consumer buying behavior. For instance, if customers

12

are satisfied with a particular service offering after its use, then they are likely to engage in
repeat purchase and try line extensions(East,1997).
Customer satisfaction can be considered as the essence of success in todays highly competitive
world of business. Customer is increasingly becoming a corporate goal as more and more
companies strive for quality for their products and services (Bitner and hubbert, 1994).In this
context, an understanding of determinant of customer satisfaction (Churchill and Suprenant,
1982; Levesque and McDougall, 1996) is of great significance to marketers. The current paper
reports findings from a recently conducted study which looks into the significance and
importance of various determinants of customer satisfaction in retail banking in an Asian
country- Pakistan.

Customer satisfaction is generally described as the full meeting of ones expectation. Customer
satisfaction is the feeling or attitude of a customer towards a product or service after it has been
used. A review of the existing literature indicates that there can be potentially many antecedents
of customer satisfaction, as the dimensions underlying satisfaction judgments are global rather
than specific (Taylor and Baker, 1994; Patterson and Johnson, 1993; Rust and Oliver 1994).The
customer satisfaction literature has paid a great deal of attention to the confirmation paradigm,
which concerns the comparison of product or service performance expectations and evaluations
(Goode and Moutinho,1995).

Customer expectations are many and varied. Acronyms can be used on some dimensions of those
expectations from the word customer itself.
C-confidence=the ability to perform the desired service dependably, accurately, consistently and
reliably. For example customers come to the post office expecting that services will be provided
promptly and accurately. Let them have this confidence.

U-unfailing lines=the employees knowledge, courtesy and ability to convey trust. For example
customer comes to the NGO trusting that they will get the necessary help that they require. Dont
fail them.

13

S-secrecy=the ability to keep the secrets. Customers dont expect you to divulge information
about their dealings. For example talking to a customer face to face when everyone is hearing
can make them lose confidence in the organization.

T-tangibles=this refers to the physical facilities and equipment and appearance of officers, dirt
and old facilities, poor working conditions and shabby serving staff dont go down well with
customers.

O-obedience=the business adage that customers are reigns like is respected and obeyed, so
should a customer. Many sole proprietor businesses overlook this.

M-memory=the ability to memorize. Reference to a customer by name whether o phone or face

to face conservation, say by secretary, plays the magic word of making the customer feel wanted
and respected. Therefore, memorizing names of customers is necessary.
E-empathy=everybody would like to be treated as well as hence the phrase do unto others what
would like them do to you the provision of caring and individualized attention to existing and
potential customers should be a major preoccupation for any business.

R-responsiveness=ability and willingness to provide prompt services. For example the phone
rings only twice and is picked. Customers hate it when their time is wasted (procurement news
February28th march6th, 2005 P.15).

The confirmation model treats satisfaction as a meeting of customer expectations (East, 1997;
Oliver 1989) and is generally related to habitual usage of products (east 1997). However,
research on customer satisfaction has moved towards the disconfirmation paradigm which views
satisfaction with products and brands as a result of two cognitive variables: pre-purchase
expectations and disconfirmation (Churchill and Surprenant, 1982; peter and Olson, 1996).
According to Peter and Olson (1996), pre-purchase expectations are beliefs about anticipated
performance of the product; disconfirmation refers to the differences between pre-purchase
expectations and post-purchase perceptions (p.509).In an earlier study, Churchill and
14

Surprenant (1982) reported that disconfirmation positively affected satisfaction. That is, when
subjects perceived the product performing better than expected, they were more satisfied
(Churchill and Surprenant, 1982).

Further empirical research supports the notion that satisfaction is caused by expectations and
requires considerable cognitive effort on the part of customers (Bearden and teel, 1983;
Mountinho and Goode, 1995; Cadotte et al., 1987).
2.3 Relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction
Haksik Lee, Yongki Lee and Dongkeum Yoo (2000)demonstrated that service quality is an
antecedent of customer satisfaction and that customer satisfaction exerts a strong influence on
product performance and purchase intention while not affecting customers perception of service
quality(Cronin and Taylor, 1992), because its more cost effective to retain customers than attract
new ones (Fornell and Wernerfelt,1987).
Strong emphasis is placed on the importance of service quality perceptions and the relationship
between customer satisfaction and service quality (for example Bitner and Hubbert, 1994;
Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Taylor and Baker,1994; Rust and Oliver,1994).Service quality has
been described as a form of attitude that results from the comparison of expectations with the
performance (Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Parasuraman et al., 1985).Gronroos (1982) argued that
customers ,while evaluating the quality of a service, compare the service they expect with the
perceptions of the services they actually receive. It has been argued that quality of a service is
not a unidimensional contract rather, service quality is incorporates various dimensions that
relate to both core and augmented service offerings (Bitran and Lojo, 1993; Gronroos, 1984;
Lewis, 1993).
It is generally accepted that customer satisfaction often depends on the quality of product or
service offering (Anderson and Sullivan, 1993; Levesque and McDougall, 1996).
For this reason, research on customer satisfaction is closely associated with the measurement of
quality (East, 1997). Thus both service quality and customer satisfaction share a close
relationship, though they are normally conceptualized as unique (or separate) constructs (Bitner
and Hubbert, 1994); Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Patterson and Johnson, 1993; Taylor and Baker,
1994).There is some empirical evidence suggesting that service quality is a casual antecedent of
customer satisfaction (see for example, Cronin and Taylor, 1992; Woodside et al., 1989).
15

However, there is very little empirical research demonstrating the importance of service quality
dimensions in determining customer satisfaction (Fisk et al., 1993; Levesque and McDougall,
1996). In a recent study, Levesque and McDougall, (1996) found that the performance of the
service provider on core and relational dimensions of service was an important driver for
customer satisfaction in retail banking in the UK. However, in a non-Western context, the link
between core and relational dimensions of service and customer satisfaction is yet to be
established empirically. The current paper aims at filling this gap in the literature.
Moreover, the literature dealing with services outlines some major characteristics of service that
make them unique and different from physical l products (Bitran and Lojo, 1993; Leblanc and
Nguyen, 1988; Parasuraman et al., 1985; Zeithaml and Bitner, 1996). Services are often
characterized by their intangibility, inseparability, heterogeneity, and perishabilty. The
implications of these characteristics are that it is difficult for customers to evaluate services at
pre-consumption stages of the consumer decision making (Legg and Baker, 1996). Because of
the intangible nature of services, it becomes difficult for an organization to understand how its
customers perceive and evaluate the quality of its services (Parasuraman et al., 1985; Zeithaml,
1981).
Customers however make inferences about the service quality on the basis of intangibles (the
buildings, the physical layout etc) that surround the service environment. Support for this
argument comes from empirical evidence suggesting that the intangible, physical surroundings of
the service environment can have a significant impact on the customers affective responses and
their behavior intentions (Wakefield and Blodgett, 1999). Dabholkar et al. (1996) reported
similar findings that the intangible aspects of the department stores do influence customers
perceptions of service quality. Hence, there are reasonable grounds to assume that customer
satisfaction is also related to customers evaluation of physical surroundings of the service
environment.
Customer satisfaction and service features related to service offerings are also related to
customer satisfaction (Levesque and McDougall, 1996).
2.4 Conclusion
Service quality is an important factor in the determination of the level of customer satisfaction in
organizations like Warid Telecom Ltd since it is through service quality that an organization can
meet customer needs among other factors. However, though many researchers have made efforts
16

to research about customer satisfaction, little has been done on the relationship between service
quality and customer satisfaction in Warid Telecom Ltd, on fixed Networks only and in Kampala
city hence the research gap that this study aims at filling.

17

CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY
3.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the methodological techniques that were used in collection and analysis of
data during the research study. It consisted of the research design, population study, study area,
sampling design, sample size, source of data, tools of data collection, methods of data collection
and data processing, analysis and presentation.
3.1 Research design
Cross sectional research design was used to study the variables because data was collected on the
events of service quality; however it was imperative to note that the research study employed
both qualitative and quantitative methods of data collection.
3.2 Population of study
The study comprised of corporate, business and residential kinds of customers of Warid Telecom
in Kampala city, operating fixed network only. The total population consisted of 100 people.
These were expected to provide relevant information about the research topic under study.
3.3 Sample size
The study took a sample size of 30 respondents. This was because this number was manageable
within the study time scope and random sampling was used to select respondents to avoid bias
while carrying out the research.
3.4 Sampling design
Stratified random sampling method was used. This was because it separated the population into
groups and then a sample from each group was selected using simple random sampling.
Convenient sampling was also used. Customers that were easy to identify and locate were
selected according to convenience of both the researcher and the respondent and they were
interviewed about the research topic.
3.5.0 Source of data
Two sources of data collection were used, which included primary data and secondary data.

18

3.5.1 Primary data source

This consisted of first hand data from the field that was obtained directly from the particular
study. Primary data was obtained from corporate, business and residential kinds of customers
through the responses provided in face to face interviews and filled questionnaires among others.
3.5.2 Secondary data source
This consisted of data obtained from already existing literatures such as text books, journals,
annual reports, news papers, magazines and internet search among others. Only relevant
information was considered for the research study.
3.6.0 Tools of data collection
This consisted of questionnaires and interview guides as explained below;
3.6.1 Questionnaires
A carefully structured questionnaire was administered to the respondents in which they were
subjected to a set of questions so as to solicit answers from them. The questionnaires contained
both closed ended questions that required short answers and open ended questions that allowed
them to give broader views. These questions were formulated from the study objectives.
3.6.2 Interview guides
This research instrument was used to collect qualitative data (narrative data) from the
respondents and it involved face to face interview with the respondents. This helped in getting
some hidden information on the research topic since it allowed the researcher to probe for more
data.
3.7.0 Methods of data collection
The methods of data collection included the following;
3.7.1 Observation
Direct observation consisted of the use of naked eyes of the researcher. The body and facial
expressions of clients helped in soliciting information from respondents.
3.8.0 Data processing, Analysis and Presentation
3.8.1 Data processing
Completed questionnaires were collected from the respondents. The information got from the
filled in questionnaires were then sorted and edited to ensure completeness and accuracy.
19

3.8.2 Data presentation

Data was presented using frequency tables. Tables helped to summarize the data using
descriptive statistics such as percentages.
3.8.3 Data analysis
Data was analyzed using SPSS (statistical package for social sciences) computer package and
Microsoft excel. This helped to summarize the data into tables and also showed the relationship
between the variables.
3.9.0 Problems met and solutions.
Respondents expected favors for their responses and this somehow jeopardized the work making
it difficult to obtain data. Efforts were made to explain the purpose of the research as being
purely academic and the objectives of the study were properly explained.
Financial constraints were an obstacle to the success of the study. This was because facilitation
was from a limited source of income. Never the less, work was done under all the hard
conditions to ensure that it was completed successfully.

20

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION, ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSION OF
FINDINGS.
4.1 Introduction
This chapter presents the study findings, data analysis and interpretation of findings using SPSS.
The findings were obtained from both primary and secondary sources. The findings discussed
here are in close relationship with the effects of quality of services offered by warid telecom, the
level of customer satsfaction in warid telecom and the relationship between the quality of
services and customer satsfaction as generated in chapter one. They are presented in tables
showing frequencies and percentages.
4.2 Demographic characteristics of respondents
4.2.1 Findings on gender of respondents
The respondents were asked about their gender and their responses are shown below:
Table 1: Gender of the respondents
Gender
Male
Female
Total
Source: primary data

Frequency
10
20
30

Percentage
33.3
66.7
100

From table 1 above 66.7% of the respondents were females and 33.3% were males. This means
that female respondents were more willing to answer the questinnares and were easily
approcheable than males and this doesnot affect the findings of the study.
4.2.2 Findings on the age bracket of respondents.
The study revealed the following about the age brackets to which the respondents belonged:
Table 2: Age category of the respondents
Age
18 25 years
26 - 30 years
31 40 years
Above 40
Total
Source: primary data

Frequency
15
10
3
2
30

Percentage
50.0
33.3
10.0
6.7
100

21

From table 2 above, 50.0% of the respondents were within the age bracket of 18 25 years,
33.3% were within the age bracket of 26 30 years, 10.0% were within the age bracket of 31
40 years and 6.7% were above 40 years of age. This indicates that the respondents are mature
and able to make reliable decisions.
4.2.3 Findings on the marital status of the respondents
The study revealed the following about the marital status of the respondents.
Table 3: Showing Marital Status of respondents
Marital status

Frequency

Percentage

Single

10

33.3

Married

18

60.0

Divorced

6.7

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

Table 3 above shows that 60.0% of the respondents were married, 33.3% were single and 6.7%
had divorced. This implies that there were more married than single and divorced respondents
and this does not affect the findings of the study.
4.2.4 Findings on the level of of education attained by respondents.
The respondents were asked to provide information pertaining their highest level of education
and these were their responses;

Table 4: Education level of the respondents

Level of education

Frequency

Percentage

University

21

70

Tertiary

30

Total

30

100

Source:primary data

22

From table 3 above, the researcher found out that 70% of the respondents were graduates from
the Universitiy and 30% were from different tertiary institutions. This means that most customers
were in position to give reliable information relating to the study.
4.2.5 Findings on the services received by warid telecom customers
Table 5: Service received from warid telecom
Service

Frequency

Percentage

Fixed telephone

21

70.0

Mobile telephone

23.3

Internet

6.7

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From the above table, 70.0% of the respondents were receiving fixed telephone service, 23.3%
were receiving mobile telephone and 6.7% were for internet. This indicates that most of the
customers were receiving fixed telephone.

4.3 Findings on the quality of services offered by warid telecom limited.

To know the quality of services offered by warid telecom,respondents were asked questions in
section B of the questionnaire and the responses were as follows;

Table 6: Warid telecom provides accurate bills.

Response

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

13.3

Agree

17

56.7

Notsure

6.7

Disagree

16.7

Strongly disagree

6.7

Total

30

100

Source:primary data

23

From table 6 above it is seen that of the respondents,56.7% agreed that warid telecom provides
accurate bills,16.7% disagreed,13.3% strongly agreed, 6.7% were not sure and 6.7% strongly
disagreed. This shows that there is an ongoing effort to provide acccurate bills to avoid
dissatisfaction of customers.

Table 7: Warid telecom ensures timely delivery of services

Response

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

30.0

Agree

11

36.7

Notsure

13.3

Disagree

20.0

Strongly disagree

Total

30

100

Source:primary data

From table 7 above 36.7% of the respondents agreed that warid telecom ensures timely delivery
of services,30.0% strongly agreed,20.0% disagreed, 13.3% were not sure while none strongly
disagreed.This means that warid telecom ensures timely delivery of services hence most
customers are not complaining.

Table 8: Showing whether the employees are polite when attending to customers
Response

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

23.3

Agree

19

63.3

Notsure

13.3

Disagree

Strongly disagree

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

24

From the above table, 63.3% of the respondents agreed that warid telecom employees are polite
while attending to clients, 23.3% strongly agreed, 13.3% were not sure, none strongly disagreed
and none disagreed. This implies that most of the employees are polite while serving customers.

Table 9: Warid telecom keeps accurate records

Response

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

30.0

Agree

15

50.0

Notsure

13.3

Disagree

6.7

Strongly disagree

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From table 9 above, 50.0% of the respondents agreed that warid telecom keeps accurate records,
30.0% strongly agreed, 13.3% were not sure, 6.7% disagreed and none strongly disagreed. This
means that individuals responsible for record keeping in warid telecom are careful and hence
maintain proper and accurate records.

Table 10: Warid telecom employees are knowledgeable about the fixed network operation
Response

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

3.3

Agree

6.7

Notsure

11

36.7

Disagree

12

40.0

Strongly disagree

13.3

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From table 10 above, 40.0% of the respondents disagreed that warid telecom employees have
knowledge about the fixed network operation, 36.7% were not sure, 13.3% strongly disagreed,
25

6.7% agreed while 3.3% strongly agreed. This implies that employees do not focus much on
knowing about the stability of the network.

Table 11: Warid telecom staff provides individualized attention to customers

Responses

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

6.7

Agree

6.7

Notsure

10.0

Disagree

15

50.0

Strongly disagree

26.7

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From the above table, 50.0% respondents disagreed with the provision of individualized attention
to customers, 26.7% strongly disagreed, 10.0% were not sure, 6.7% strongly agreed and 6.7%
agreed. This shows that employees dont provide or hardly provide individualized attention to
customers discouraging workers.

Table 12: Warid telecom customers are impressed by the appearance of physical facilities.
Response

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

20.0

Agree

18

60.0

Notsure

10.0

Disagree

6.7

Strongly disagree

3.3

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From the above table, 60.0% of the respondents agreed that they are impressed by the
appearance of physical facilities, 20.0% strongly agreed, 10.0% were not sure, 6.7% disagreed

26

while 3.3% strongly disagreed. This means that individuals in charge of designing the product
are doing well since most of the customers agreed with the statement.
4.4 Findings on the level of customer satisfaction
In order to know the level of satisfaction of customers, respondents were asked questions in
section C of the questionnaire to which they responded as follows.

Table 13: Warid provides value for money services

Response

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

10.0

Agree

14

46.7

Notsure

0.0

Disagree

30.0

Strongly disagree

13.3

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From table 13 above, 46.6% agreed that warid telecom provides value for money services, 30.0%
disagreed, 13.3% strongly disagreed, 10.0% agreed and none not sure. This implies that there is
provision of value for money services in warid telecom hence customers are satisfied.
Table 14: Warid telecom ensures that customers needs and expectations are met
Responses

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

15

50.0

Agree

10

33.3

Notsure

6.6

Disagree

10.0

Strongly disagree

0.0

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

27

From table 14 above, 50.0% strongly agreed that customers needs and expectations are met,
33.3% agreed, 10.0% disagreed, 6.6% were not sure and none strongly disagreed. This shows
that there is an ongoing relentless effort to meet customers needs and expectations.

Table 15: Warid telecom staff cares for the customers

Responses

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

20.0

Agree

23.3

Notsure

13.3

Disagree

11

36.7

Strongly disagree

6.7

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From table 15 above, 36.7% of the respondents disagreed with the care which the staff gives
customers, 23.3% agreed, 20.0% strongly agreed, 13.3% were not sure and 6.7% strongly
disagreed. This indicates that customers are not very well cared for by the staff and this would
definitely lead to loss of customers.

Table 16: Warid telecom staff gives individualized attention to customers

Responses

Frequency

Percentages

Strongly agree

13.3

Agree

26.7

Notsure

6.7

Disagree

13

43.3

Strongly disagree

10.0

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From the table above, 43.3% of the respondents disagreed with the individualized attention given
to customers, 26.7% agreed, 13.3% strongly agreed, 10.0% strongly disagreed while 6.7% were
28

not sure. This implies that the customers are not satisfied with the staff because they do not give
them individualized attention hence this discourages the corporate customers.

Table 17: Warid telecom staff endeavors to keep old and attract new customers
Response

Frequency

Percentages

Strongly agree

20.0

Agree

20.0

Notsure

6.7

Disagree

10

33.3

Strongly disagree

20.0

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From the above table, 33.3% disagreed that warid telecom endeavors to keep old and attract new
customers, 20.0% strongly agreed, 20.0% agreed, 20.0% strongly disagreed and 6.7% were not
sure. This means that warid telecom to a small extent, tries to attract new and maintain old
customers.

Table 18: Warid provides reliable network

Responses

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

13.3

Agree

10.0

Notsure

10.0

Disagree

13

43.3

Strongly disagree

23.3

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From table 18 above, it is clearly indicated that 43.3% of the respondents disagreed with the
reliability of network, 23.3% strongly disagreed, 13.3% strongly agree, 10.0% agreed, 10.0%
were not sure. This shows that in some places the network is not reliable.
29

Table 18: Information about Warids products and services is available

Responses

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

20.0

Agree

30.0

Notsure

6.7

Disagree

26.7

Strongly disagree

16.7

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From table 19 above, 30.0% of the respondents agreed with the availability of information about
products and services of warid, 26.7% disagreed, 20.0% strongly agreed 16.7% strongly
disagreed and 6.7% were not sure. This shows that warid tries its best to make its products
available to its customers.

Table 19: I would recommend someone to join the warid network

Responses

Frequency

Percentages

Strongly agree

30.0

Agree

15

50.0

Notsure

13.3

Disagree

6.7

Strongly disagree

0.0

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From the above table, 50.0% of the respondents agreed to recommend someone to join warid
telecom, 30.0% strongly agreed, 13.3% were not sure, 6.7% disagreed, and none strongly
disagreed. This means that customers are satisfied with warid network since half of them would
recommend someone to join it.

30

4.5 Findings on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction
In order to ascertain the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction, the
respondents were asked questions in section D of the questionnaire and the responses were as
follows:

Table 20: I feel satisfied when I get prompt service

Response

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

18

60.0

Agree

20.0

Notsure

13.3

Disagree

3.3

Strongly disagree

3.3

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From the above table, 60.0% of the respondents agreed that they feel satisfied when they get
prompt service, 20.0% agreed, 13.3% were not sure, 3.3% disagreed, and 3.3% strongly
disagreed. This indicates a high level of satisfaction of customers with prompt service.

Table 21: I feel satisfied when a confident staff attends to me.

Response

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

23.3

Agree

19

63.3

Notsure

0.0

Disagree

13.3

Strongly disagree

0.0

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From the above table, 63.3% of the respondents agreed that they feel satisfied when they are
handled by a confident staff, 23.3% strongly agreed, 13.3% disagreed, 0.0% were not sure and
31

0.0% strongly disagreed. This means that customers are satisfied when they are handled by a
confident staff.

Table 22: I always feel special when I am given individualized attention

Response

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

12

40.0

Agree

13

43.3

Notsure

3.3

Disagree

10.0

Strongly disagree

3.3

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From the above table, 43.3% agreed that they feel special when given indvidualised attention,
40.0% strongly agreed, 10.0% disagreed, 3.3% were not sure, and 3.3% strongly disagreed. This
implies that customers feel satisfied when they are given individualized attention.

Table 23: I am satisfied with the convenience of warid telecom premises

Responses

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

13.3

Agree

18

60.0

Notsure

3.3

Disagree

16.7

Strongly disagree

6.7

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From the above table, 60.0% of the respondents agreed with the convenience of warid telecom
premises, 16.7% disagreed, 13.3% strongly agreed, 6.7% strongly disagreed and 3.3% were not
sure. This implies that warid telecom premises are conveniently located to the satisfaction of the
customers.
32

Table 24: I feel satisfied when I pay accurate bill

Responses

Frequency

Percentage

Strongly agree

20

Agree

10

33.3

Notsure

13.3

Disagree

23.3

Strongly disagree

10

Total

30

100

Source: primary data

From table 25 above 53.3% of the respondents supported the statement that they feel satisfied
when they pay accurate bills, 13.3% were not sure and 33.3% never supported the statement. The
above analysis means that customers feel satisfied when they pay accurate bills.

4.6 Relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction

Table 25: Showing the correlation between service quality and customer satisfaction
Service quality
Service quality

Pearsons correlation

1.000

Sig.(2-tailed)

Customer satisfaction
.763**
.000

30

30
1.000

Customer

Pearsons correlation

.763

satisfaction

Sig. (2-tailed)

.000

30

30

**.Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

When SPSS was used to analyze the collected data from the respondents, the results showed that
Pearson correlation coefficient r = 0.763 as in table 25 above, revealed that there is a significant
positive relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. This implies that
customer satisfaction is greatly affected by service quality.

33

CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS

5.0 Introduction
This section presents the summary of findings, recommendation and conclusions of findings and
areas of further study.
The proceeding four chapters have laid down a basis on which the report can be wound up.
This chapter focuses on the findings as compared to the purpose and objectives that the study is
intended to achieve. Presented in this chapter is the summery of the objectives of the study,
conclusions and recommendations to be undertaken in order to improve the quality of services
offered by warid Telecom.
5.1 Summary of findings
5.1.1 Findings on the quality of services offered by warid
The findings revealed that warid Telecom has tried to keep accurate records of their customers,
maintain politeness by the staff members, ensuring the provision of accurate bills and keeping
the appearance of their physical facilities impressive. However a lot is desired in order to, ensure
timely delivery of services, providing individualized attention to customers and having
knowledge about the fixed network operation as a service provided by warid telecom to its
customers.
5.1.2 Findings on the level of customer satisfaction in warid telecom
The findings revealed that customers are satisfied and warid telecom as a company tries to
provide value for money and ensuring that customers needs and expectations are met. It was
however discovered that customers are dissatisfied with the reliability of the network, lack of
individualized attention, and hence putting less effort in keeping old customers and attracting
new ones.
5.1.3 Findings on the relationship between the quality of services and customer satisfaction
in warid Telecom.
Findings on the relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction showed that r =
0.763 which means that there is a positive relationship between the two variables.

34

5.2 Conclusions
5.2.1 Conclusion on the Quality of services offered by warid telecom limited.
It was made known from findings that the Quality of services offered by warid telecom are poor
due to a bigger proportion of warid telecoms customers who disagreed that; warid telecom
employees have knowledge about the fixed network operation, and provision of individualized
attention to customers.
5.2.2 Conclusion on the level of customer satisfaction in warid telecom limited.
It was established that customers are satisfied that warid telecom provides value for money
services, customers needs and expectations are met, and information about products and services,
It was however established that customers are dissatisfied because the staff does not give them
individualized attention, which has also made it impossible for Uganda Telecom to keep old
customers and attract new ones.
5.2.3 Conclusion on the relationship between quality of service and customer satisfaction.
It was observed that there was a very strong positive relationship between service quality and
customer satisfaction.
5.3 Recommendations
5.3.1 Recommendations on the quality of services offered by warid telecom limited.

Constant training of staff and management development in customer service since it is the
core of business.
Constant monitoring of the competitors activities through market intelligence in relation to
service quality to avoid being out competed, since the telecommunications industry is
becoming highly competitive.

5.3.2 Recommendation on the level of customer satisfaction.

Warid telecom should create a toll free line with which clients can send messages from time
to time. This will help the company to identify customers needs and expectations from time
to time.

35

5.3.3 Recommendation on the relationship between service quality and customer

satisfaction
Warid telecom should also employ more staff to ensure individualized attention to
customers.
5.4 Suggestions for further study
Further research studies should be carried out on;

i.

ii.

The effect of staff training and service delivery in the telecommunications industry.

The effect of customer satisfaction on profitability in the telecommunications industry.

36

REFERENCES
Balunywa (1992); A Handbook in business management. The business publishing group,
Kampala.
Hutchins., D. (1990). In Persuit of Quality, Pitman Publishers, London.
Jones., O Thomas Jr., Sasser Jr., Earl W. (1995). Why satisfied customers defect: Harvard
Business Review. Nov 1995.
Kakuru Julius (2001). Finance Decisions and the Business. (2nd Edition). The Business
publishing group, Kampala.
Kothari C.R. (2001) Research Methodology; 2nd Edition.

Nguyen, N., and LeBlanc, G., (2002). International Journal of service industry Management.
Vol. 13 No 6 2001 pp. 303-311.

Ntayi M. Joseph (April 1999); Marketing theory, Problem Solving and Decision making
Approach.
Pandey L.M (2003) Financial Management (Financial Management (8th Edition)
Parasuraman, A., Zeithaml, V.A and Berry, L.L (1988), SERVQUAL, a multiple item scale of
Measuring customer perceptions of service quality A Journal of Retailing, Vol. 64, Spring, pp
12-40

Parasuraman., A. Berry, L, L.: & Zeithaml, A.V. (1991). Understanding customer expectation
of a service. Sloan Management Review, Spring, Vol. 32 No 3 pp 40-50.
Phillip Kotler (1999); Marketing Management 6th Edition.
Phillip Kotler, Gary Armstrong (1999); Principles of Marketing, 8th Edition (Prentice Hall of
India)

37

Wesner., J. W; J. M. Hiatt and D.C Trimble (1995). Winning with Quality: applying quality
principles in Quality Development, by A.T & T

Yonggul Wang and Hing-Po Lo, 2002. Service Quality, Customer satisfaction and Behavioral
Intentions. Evidence from Chinas Telecom Industry: Vol. 4 No. 6 2002, pp 50-60.

38

APPENDIX I: RESEARCH QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear respondent,
I am a student of Makerere University doing a Bachelors Degree of Commerce and carrying out
a research study on the effect of service quality on customer satisfaction. Therefore, you are
kindly requested to spare some of your time to answer these questions aimed at obtaining
responses about how satisfied/not satisfied warid Telecom customers are, with the quality of
services offered to them. This information required will only be used for academic purposes and
will be treated with utmost confidentiality. Your positive attitude will be highly appreciated.
Thank you and God Bless.

SECTION A: Personal Information

Please tick appropriately
1. Gender
a) Male

b) Female

2. Age category
a) 18-25years

b) 26-30years

c) 31-40 years

d) Above 40 years

3. Marital Status
a) Married

b) Single

c) Widow

d) Divorced

4. Education level
a) Primary

b) Secondary

c) Tertially

d) University

e) Others (specify).
5. Which service do you receive form warid telecom?
a) Fixed telephone

b) Mobile telephone

d) Others (specify)

39

c) Internet

SECTION B:
Please indicate the level to which you agree/disagree with the following statement in regard to
service quality basing on the following scale? (Please tick the appropriate box).
Strongly agree

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

SA

NS

SD

SA A

NS D

SD

1.Warid telecom provides accurate bills

2.Ensures timely delivery of services
3.The staff is polite when attending to customers
4.Keeps accurate records
5.Employees are knowledgeable about the fixed network operation
6.The staff provides individualized attention to customers
7.The appearance of physical facilities is impressive

SECTION C:
Please indicate the level to which you agree or disagree with the following statements about
customer satisfaction during your encounter with Warid Telecom employees basing on the
following scale. (Please tick the appropriate box)
Strongly agree

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

SA

NS

SD

SA A
1.Warid provides value for money services
2.Ensures that customers needs and expectations are met
3.The staff cares for the customers
4.The staff gives individualized attention to customers
5. The staff endeavors to keep old and attract new customers.

40

NS

SD

6. Warid provides reliable network.

7. Information about Warids products and services is available.
8. I would recommend someone to join the Warid network.

SECTION D:
Please indicate the level of agreement or disagreement with the following statements basing on
the following scale. Please tick the appropriate box
Strongly agree

Agree

Not Sure

Disagree

Strongly Disagree

SA

NS

SD

SA A

NS D

1.I feel satisfied when I get prompt service

2.I feel satisfied when a confident staff attends to me
3.I always feel special when I am given individualized attention
4.I am satisfied with the convenience of Warid telecom premises
5.I feel satisfied when I pay an accurate bill
Research Budget:
The research project is estimated to cost UGX 455,000 shillings.
NO.

ITEM

AMOUNT(shillings)

1.

Typing

100,000

2.

Printing

35,000

3.

Transport

30,000

4.

Meals

30,000

5.

Refreshments

10,000

6.

Binding final copy

200,000

7.

Miscellaneous

50,000

8.

TOTAL

455,000

41

SD