european journal of commerce and management research [ejcmr] special issue 1… 2015/ejcmr... ·...

European Journal of Commerce and Management Research [EJCMR] Special Issue 1, 2015

EJCMR SPECIAL ISSUE 1, 2015 | www.ejcmr.org 327

A STUDY ON CUSTOMER PERCEPTION

AND SATISFACTION TOWARDS

SERVICE QUALITY AMONG POSTPAID

BROADBAND USERS IN COIMBATORE

DISTRICT

P.Revathi

Assistant Professor in Commerce, Pioneer College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu, India

INTRODUCTION

Measuring Service Quality seems to pose difficulties for service providers because of the unique characteristics of service:

intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability and perishabllity. Conceptually, service quality is defined as global judgement or attitude

relating to the overall excellence or superiority of the service (Parasuraman et. al;1988). It involves a comparison of customer

expectations with customer perceptions of actual service performance.

The Service Management Model reveals the various elements and steps to be followed to enhance their quality of service

(Exhibit 1). Measuring service quality seems to pose difficulties for service providers because of the unique characteristics of service:

intangibility, heterogeneity, inseparability and perish ability.

Service Quality is a critical component of customer perceptions about the service. Customer perceives services in terms of it s

quality and how satisfied they are overall with their experiences. As thus, service quality is defined as customers’ perception of how well

a service meets or exceeds their expectations. In this context, perception of service encounters accumulate over time and a customer’s

relationship with an organisation are a continuation of exchanges or interactions both past and present. Customers are satisfied when the

perceived service meets or exceeds their expectations. They are dissatisfied when they feel the service falls below their expectations.

TELECOM INDUSTRY IN INDIA

The telecom industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India. India has nearly 200 million telephone lines making it the

third largest network in the world after China and USA. With a growth rate of 45%, Indian telecom industry has the highest growth

rate in the world.

The Key players in the Telecom Market in India

Cellular Service provider:

1. BSNL



2. Airtel

3. Vodafone

4. Idea

5. Reliance

6. Tata indicom

7. Aircel

8. MTS

9. Spice, MTNL, etc.

SERVICE QUALITY

Service quality is considered as a vehicle to increase value for the consumer and ensure customer satisfaction (Sivadas) . It

also helps positioning in a competitive environment (Mehta et.al). Based on this view, perceived Service Quality is a component of

customer satisfaction. Service quality is a forced evaluation that reflects the customers’ perception of elements of the service such as

interaction quality, physical environment quality and overcome quality.

Dr.M.Nandhini and D.Sivasakthi, (2014), Broadband is the new oxygen. It opens up a large box of information with a single click of

a button. Get ready to surf the world in the WWW with a high speed connection. Access mails faster, download music, share

multimedia instantly, video chat with friends and play games with someone at the other end of the globe. When broadband was first

introduced as a method to connect to the web, many companies confidently expected it to capture the majority of the market share,

and with good reason. Broadband tends to be faster, more efficient, and less problem-laden than other access methods such as dial-

up. As the purchasing power of the people increases, requirements move towards convenience, though the expectations are towards

quality, quantity and less price which leads to consumer satisfaction. Challenges are faced by domestic and international market

players in investing the money to satisfy the customer. Market research is essential on a timely basis as there can be an att itude

change from individual to individual from time to time.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study is a maiden attempt by the researcher to findout the existing service providers in Coimbatore city. This study is

conducted to findout the drawbacks of the existing service providers such as service quality, pricing, types of plans, customization of

usage and other issues, etc. Based on these issues the researcher attempted to findout actual situation in the market and so this forms

the problem statement. Based on these issues, the survey is conducted to findout how far these negatives, impact on the players in

market providing broadband services.

NEED FOR THE STUDY

This study helps the service providers to adopt scientific strategies to operate in a given market scenario. A study is often

commissioned to get an in depth analysis of a specific problem or opportunities. The need and significance of the study is to

understand and obtain a clear perspective on the broadband usage pattern of customers in the market engaged with different

occupation, age, income, etc. A few reasons that prove the importance and need for the study discussed below.

To meet unfulfilled demands and helps to solve problems, To enhance goodwill, Helping service providers in analyzing the degree of

awareness, To rectify weakness and develop strength, Quality of services provided by the service providers can be in hearts of the

people.



OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

To ascertain the level of satisfaction with regard to usage of Broadband in Coimbatore.

To find out the reasons for choosing the current service provider and their level of satisfaction towards service quality.

To analyse and evaluate the influence of various dimensions of the service quality of the broadband service provider.

To perceive the problems faced by the respondents.

To identify the most frequently usage of broadband and type of plan they are currently using.

To contribute suggestions for the growth of the service providers.

METHODOLOGY

Descriptive research was undertaken in the later stages of the project for conducting a survey and recording the information

Sample size used for the study is 240 respondents from the population of postpaid users in the market. The population for this project

is, individuals which include different people engaged in private employment, public sector, businessmen and others in Coimbatore

District, Tamil Nadu. The sampling method used in the research is probability sampling. In this method of sampling the technique

used is systematic random sampling. The relevant primary data required for this study were collected from a sample size of 240. The

secondary data was gathered from the journals, magazines and web sites. The data collected was tabulated, analyzed and interpreted

using simple percentage method, One-Way Anova and Chi-Square Test.

LIMITATIONS

Certain respondents couldn’t give the required information caused a limitation to the study. The respondents were traders in

the market so as to collect information from them are time consuming as well as costly.



Table No.1 : Demographics and Overall Perception towards all dimensions

Sl.

No. Demographics

Overall Perception towards all

dimensions Total

High:41 Moderate:172 Low:27

1. Gender

Male 21 118 22 161

13.04 73.29 13.66 100.00

Female 20 54 5 79

25.32 68.35 6.33 100.00

2. Age

Less than 20 years 7 27 7 41

17.07 65.85 17.07 100.00

20 to 30 years 10 60 10 80

12.50 75.00 12.50 100.00

30 to 40 years 15 44 6 65

23.08 67.69 9.23 100.00

40 to 50 years 2 28 3 33

6.06 84.85 9.09 100.00

Above 50 years 7 13 1 21

33.33 61.90 4.76 100.00

3. Educational Qualification

Post Graduates 14 66 13 93

15.05 70.97 13.98 100.00

2 Other (High School, Hr. Sec., etc.) 7 21 3 31

22.58 67.74 9.68 100.00

3 Graduates 20 85 11 116

17.24 73.28 9.48 100.00

Occupation

1 Government 11 28 2 41

26.83 68.29 4.88 100.00



2 Private 5 69 8 82

6.10 84.15 9.76 100.00

3 Business 19 54 12 85

22.35 63.53 14.12 100.00

4 Others 6 21 5 32

18.75 65.63 15.63 100.00

Monthly Income

1 Less than Rs.20000 6 24 1 31

19.35 77.42 3.23 100.00

2 Rs.20000 to 30000 19 67 21 107

17.76 62.62 19.63 100.00

3 Rs.30000 to 40000 1 20 1 22

4.55 90.91 4.55 100.00

4 Rs.40000 to 50000 2 27 2 31

6.45 87.10 6.45 100.00

5 More than Rs.50000 13 34 2 49

26.53 69.39 4.08 100.00

Sl.

No. Demographics


dimensions Total


Years of association

1 Less than 1 year 23 78 18 119

19.33 65.55 15.13 100.00

2 1 to 3 years 13 42 2 57

22.81 73.68 3.51 100.00

3 3 to 5 years 1 30 5 36

2.78 83.33 13.89 100.00

4 More than 5 years 4 22 2 28

14.29 78.57 7.14 100.00

Location of Residence



1 Urban 23 80 20 123

18.70 65.04 16.26 100.00

2 Semi-Urban 5 47 5 57

8.77 82.46 8.77 100.00

3 Rural 13 45 2 60

21.67 75.00 3.33 100.00

Service Provider

1 BSNL 9 44 8 61

14.75 72.13 13.11 100.00

2 Airtel 5 35 3 43

11.63 81.40 6.98 100.00

3 Reliance 7 23 2 32

21.88 71.88 6.25 100.00

4 Aircel 4 20 1 25

16.00 80.00 4.00 100.00

5 Vodaphone 2 11 3 16

12.50 68.75 18.75 100.00

6 MTS 9 21 8 38

23.68 55.26 21.05 100.00

7 Others (Docomo, Idea, etc.) 5 18 2 25

20.00 72.00 8.00 100.00

Usage of broadband

1 Mobile 15 85 12 112

13.39 75.89 10.71 100.00

2 Laptop 19 50 7 76

25.00 65.79 9.21 100.00

3 Others (Tablet / Desktop, etc.) 7 37 8 52

13.46 71.15 15.38 100.00



Sl.

No. Demographics


dimensions Total


Type of service

1 Only Wi-Fi 20 111 21 152

13.16 73.03 13.82 100.00

2 Wi-Fi and Cable 21 61 6 88

23.86 69.32 6.82 100.00

Monthly Expenses

1 Less than Rs.1000 12 38 7 57

21.05 66.67 12.28 100.00

2 Rs.1000 to 1500 18 46 9 73

24.66 63.01 12.33 100.00

3 Rs.1500 to 2000 0 48 5 53

0.00 90.57 9.43 100.00

4 Above Rs.2000 11 40 6 57

19.30 70.18 10.53 100.00

Total 41 172 27 240

17.08 71.67 11.25 100.00

There is significant relationship between the demographics namely, Gender, χ2=7.388,, df=2,, Table Value=5.991, Sig.0.025,

Occupation, χ2=15.110,, df=6,, Table Value=12.592,, Sig.0.019, Monthly Income, χ

2=22.524,, df=8,, Table Value=15.508,, Sig.0.004,

years of association, χ2=12.677,, df=6,, Table Value=12.592,, Sig.0.048, Location of Residence, χ

2=11.401,, df=4,, Table

Value=9.488,, Sig.0.022, Type of service, χ2=6.272,, df=2,, Table Value=5.991,, Sig.0.043, and finally, Monthly Broadband

Expenses, χ2=16.127, df=6, Table Value=12.592,, Sig.0.013 and Overall Perception towards all dimensions which shows there is a

significant influence among the stated demographics at 5% level. Hence, the result rejects the null hypothesis.

There is no significant relationship between the demographics namely, Service Provider, χ2=11.985,, df=12,, Table

Value=21.052,, Sig.0.447, Opinion about usage of broadband, χ2=5.827,, df=4,, Table Value=9.488,, Sig.0.212, Age, χ

2=11.989,,

df=8,, Table Value=15.508,, Sig.0.152 and finally, Educational Qualification, χ2=1.895,, df=4,, Table Value=9.488,, Sig.0.755 and

Overall Perception towards all dimensions which shows there is no significant influence among the stated demographics at 5% level.

Hence, the result accepts the null hypothesis.



ONEWAY ANOVA

Table No.2: Monthly Income of the Respondents and the Measurement of Service Quality with various dimensions

Factors

Sum of

Squares df Mean Square F Sig.

Tangibility

Between Groups 115.047 4 28.762

1.790 .132 Within Groups 3776.949 235 16.072

Total 3891.996 239

Reliability


.806 .523 Within Groups 2617.597 235 11.139

Total 2653.496 239

Responsiveness


3.944** .004 Within Groups 2149.640 235 9.147

Total 2293.962 239

Assurance


.547 .701 Within Groups 2520.813 235 10.727

Total 2544.296 239

Empathy


2.041 .089 Within Groups 4344.958 235 18.489

Total 4495.933 239

Technical Quality


2.075 .085 Within Groups 2060.684 235 8.769

Total 2133.462 239

Satisfaction


.384 .820 Within Groups 2480.428 235 10.555

Total 2496.650 239

** Significant at 1% Level There is no significant association between the monthly income of the respondents using broadband

services and various service quality dimensions namely Tangibility, Reliability, Assurance, Empathy, Technical Quality and Service

Satisfaction, hence, the null hypothesis is accepted. There is significant association between monthly income of the respondents and

responsiveness towards service quality of the broadband service providers (F=3.944) is found to be significant at 1% level, hence, the

null hypothesis is rejected.



Table No.3: Association with the Company and the Measurement of Service Quality with various dimensions

Factors

Sum of


Tangibility


.970 .407 Within Groups 3844.571 236 16.291

Total 3891.996 239

Reliability


2.218* .087 Within Groups 2580.717 236 10.935

Total 2653.496 239

Responsiveness


.909 .438 Within Groups 2267.771 236 9.609

Total 2293.963 239

Assurance


2.055 .107 Within Groups 2479.530 236 10.506

Total 2544.296 239

Empathy


1.322 .268 Within Groups 4421.601 236 18.736

Total 4495.933 239

Technical Quality


.336 .799 Within Groups 2124.384 236 9.002

Total 2133.463 239

Satisfaction


3.698*** .012 Within Groups 2384.559 236 10.104

Total 2496.650 239

*** Significant at 1% Level * Significant at 10% Level

There is no significant association between the experience of the respondents with the broadband service provider and

various service quality dimensions namely Tangibility, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy and Technical Quality, hence, the null

hypothesis is accepted. There is significant association between the experience of the respondents with the broadband service

provider and Reliability (F=2.218) towards service quality of the broadband service providers is found to be significant at 10% level,

there is also significant association between the experience of the respondents with the broadband service provider and service

satisfaction (F=3.698) towards service quality of the broadband service provider is found to be significant at 1% hence, the null

hypothesis is rejected.



Table No.4: Monthly Expenses using Broadband Services and the Measurement of Service Quality with various dimensions

Factors

Sum of


Tangibility


1.569 .198 Within Groups 3815.901 236 16.169

Total 3891.996 239

Reliability


2.547* .050 Within Groups 2570.266 236 10.891

Total 2653.496 239

Responsiveness


1.294 .277 Within Groups 2256.841 236 9.563

Total 2293.962 239

Assurance


.842 .472 Within Groups 2517.341 236 10.667

Total 2544.296 239

Empathy


1.549 .203 Within Groups 4409.133 236 18.683

Total 4495.933 239

Technical Quality


.451 .717 Within Groups 2121.295 236 8.989

Total 2133.463 239

Satisfaction


1.313 .271 Within Groups 2455.670 236 10.405

Total 2496.650 239

* Significant at 5% Level

There is no significant relationship association the monthly expenses of the respondents using broadband services and

various service quality dimensions namely Tangibility, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy, Technical Quality and Service Quality

hence, the null hypothesis is accepted. There is significant association between monthly expenses of the respondents using

broadband services and Reliability (F=2.547) towards service quality of the broadband service providers is found to be significant at

5% level, hence, the null hypothesis is rejected.



Table No.5 : Service Provider opted by the respondents and Overall satisfaction towards broadband penetration

Service Provider

Overall satisfaction

Total Highly

Satisfied Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied

Highly

Dissatisfied

BSNL 23 15 15 4 4 61

37.7% 24.6% 24.6% 6.6% 6.6% 100.0%

Airtel 16 9 11 1 6 43

37.2% 20.9% 25.6% 2.3% 14.0% 100.0%

Reliance 9 4 12 3 4 32

28.1% 12.5% 37.5% 9.4% 12.5% 100.0%

Aircel 9 5 8 0 3 25

36.0% 20.0% 32.0% .0% 12.0% 100.0%

Vodaphone 5 4 6 1 0 16

31.3% 25.0% 37.5% 6.3% .0% 100.0%

MTS 9 13 12 3 1 38

23.7% 34.2% 31.6% 7.9% 2.6% 100.0%

Others (Docomo, Idea,

etc.)

3 8 7 7 0 25

12.0% 32.0% 28.0% 28.0% .0% 100.0%

Total 74 58 71 19 18 240

30.8% 24.2% 29.6% 7.9% 7.5% 100.0%

The result of the chi-square test reveals that the calculated chi-square value (36.760) is less than the table chi-square value

(35.14) at 5% level of significance and therefore, the relationship between Service Provider opted by the respondents and Overall

satisfaction towards broadband penetration is significant. Thus the hypothesis is that the relationship between the two factors holds

good. Hence the null hypothesis is rejected.

FINDINGS, SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSION

There is significant relationship between the demographics namely, Gender, χ2=7.388,, df=2,, Table Value=5.991, Sig.0.025, Occupation,

χ2=15.110,, df=6,, Table Value=12.592,, Sig.0.019, Monthly Income, χ2=22.524,, df=8,, Table Value=15.508,, Sig.0.004, years of

association, χ2=12.677,, df=6,, Table Value=12.592,, Sig.0.048, Location of Residence, χ2=11.401,, df=4,, Table Value=9.488,,

Sig.0.022, Type of service, χ2=6.272,, df=2,, Table Value=5.991,, Sig.0.043, and finally, Monthly Broadband Expenses, χ2=16.127,



df=6, Table Value=12.592,, Sig.0.013 and Overall Perception towards all dimensions which shows there is a significant influence

among the stated demographics at 5% level. Hence, the result rejects the null hypothesis.

There is no significant relationship between the demographics namely, Service Provider, χ2=11.985,, df=12,, Table Value=21.052,,

Sig.0.447, Opinion about usage of broadband, χ2=5.827,, df=4,, Table Value=9.488,, Sig.0.212, Age, χ2=11.989,, df=8,, Table

Value=15.508,, Sig.0.152 and finally, Educational Qualification, χ2=1.895,, df=4,, Table Value=9.488,, Sig.0.755 and Overall

Perception towards all dimensions which shows there is no significant influence among the stated demographics at 5% level. Hence,

the result accepts the null hypothesis.

It is found that there is significant association between monthly income of the respondents and responsiveness towards service quality of

the broadband service providers (F=3.944) is found to be significant at 1% level, hence, the null hypothesis is rejected.

It is found that there is significant association between the experience of the respondents with the broadband service provider and

Reliability (F=2.218) towards service quality of the broadband service providers is found to be significant at 10% level, there is also

significant association between the experience of the respondents with the broadband service provider and service satisfaction

(F=3.698) towards service quality of the broadband service provider is found to be significant at 1% hence, the null hypothesis is

rejected.

It is found that the relationship between Service Provider opted by the respondents and Overall satisfaction towards broadband penetration

is significant. Thus the null hypothesis is rejected.

SUGGESTIONS

On the basis of the analysis conducted, the following Suggestions have been drawn. The major concern of the study was to

assess the level of satisfaction of broadband users in Coimbatore. To achieve the stipulated objectives, the study used data collected

through self administered questionnaire from 240 respondents

Coimbatore is a well cultured city and more trading is taking place and the business growth seems to be in a high at all times.

Eventhough, the overall corporate segment face recessional periods they strive to grow against these phase and overcome the

situation. Thus, indirectly make an impact of Awareness about Broadband services, service providers and types, quality and varieties

of services existing in the market. A comparison survey made to find out the awareness of other service providers BSNL is on top

showing the respondents are opting for this network towards broadband services. Based on this the researcher suggests more

promotional activities, door to door canvassing, market drive, etc. is a must to establish themselves and create 100% awareness among

all the segments.

The service provider shall take initiatives to conduct a thorough market survey to understand the pulse of the customers and

customize their services as per the requirements. By doing so, the customer will never search for other service providers at any point

of time.

Respondents Hours of Internet Usage is increasing day by day. There is a need to provide customers some discounts and offers

on the usage and the timings. This will inturn keep the customer happy and also they will promote through word of mouth.

Some of the reasons for Changing the Service Provider are

High cost

Low performance

Poor service response

More cost for value added services



Few of the respondents feel that the billing by service

provider is exorbitant and they may intend to change the

service provider in future. This information was revealed by

the respondents during the survey.

CONCLUSION

A comparison made to find out the broadband users

in Coimbatore is increased due to service availability and the

aspects due to stiff competition from other broadband service

providers in the market. The ability of an enterprise to

management knowledge as an asset is to survive in a global

business environment market Research, a systematic

gathering, recording and analyzing of data about any

(problems) activity to relating of goods and services. And act

as one of the pillars of knowledge management. Few of the

respondents feel that the billing by the service provider is

exorbitant and they may intend to change the service provider

in future. This information was revealed by the respondents

during the survey. The study concludes that when taking the

overall survey into consideration the respondents are happy

and liked the services provided by their service provider

which shall be maintained to keep their customers satisfied to

achieve greater heights in the years to come.

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