seema jakhar

7/28/2019 Seema Jakhar

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THE STUDY OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

IN AIRTEL

Project report submitted to:

MAHARSHI DAYANAND UNIVERSITY, ROHTAKin partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of

MASTER IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Submitted BY:

Manju Khokhar

MBA-Hons.

Rollno:2166

Under the Supervision of:

Prof. Daleep Singh

INSTITUE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH

M.D. UNIVERSITY, ROHTAK, HARYANA [INDIA]

APRIL, 2010.


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THE STUDY OF CUSTOMER SATISFACTION

IN AIRTEL

Project report submitted to:

MAHARSHI DAYANAND UNIVERSITY, ROHTAK

For the Degree of

MASTER IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Submitted BY:

Manju Khokhar

MBA-Hons.

Rollno:2166

Under the Supervision of:

Prof. Daleep Singh

INSTITUE OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES & RESEARCH

M.D. UNIVERSITY, ROHTAK, HARYANA [INDIA]

APRIL, 2010.


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CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

Preface

Acknowledgement

Student Declaration

CHAPTERS

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Significance of the Problem

Review of Existing Literature

Conceptualization

Focus of the Study

Objectives of the Study

Limitations of the Study

Organization of the Study

CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY & STATISTICAL TOOLS APPLIED

Research Design

Universe of the Study

Sample of the Study

Collection of Information

Content Analysis

Analysis Pattern

Statistical Tools Used

CHAPTER 3: DATA ANALYSIS

CHAPTER 5:SUMMARY

Major Findings

Suggestions and Recommendations


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APPENDICES

Questionnaire/Schedule

Analysis Pattern (Raw Data) Glossary of Terms

Bibliography


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PREFACE

Practical knowledge is an important suffix to theoretical knowledge. One cannot

merely depend upon the theoretical knowledge. Classroom lectures make the

fundamental concepts of management clear. They also facilitate the learning of

practical things. However to develop healthy managerial and administrative skills

potential managers, it is necessary that they combine their classroom learning with

real life, research project plays a significant role in the curriculum of Business

Management Courses.

Any science without its practical application or knowledge is considered to be

unsystematic. Since management is a developing science, the students of Management

Degree courses are required to undergo a project in the course.

Thus for the fulfillment of the above requirement a project was undertaken by me on

the topic The Study of customer satisfaction of Airtel service users. The project was

a good experience and helped me in widening my knowledge and sharpening mymanagerial skills.

Manju


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ACKNOLEDGEMENT

I take this opportunity to express my appreciation to all those, with whom I worked,

interacted and whose insides and thoughts help me in furthering my knowledge and

completion of my project report. First of all I wish to express my thanks and sense of

reverence of Supervisor and guide Dr.DALEEP SINGH for taking pains and also

giving his creative suggestions for improvement.

A project of this nature is the product of the ideas and experiences of several persons.So, an undertaking of a work like this is never the outcome of efforts of a single

person, rather it bears the imprints of a number of persons who are behind the curtain.

Though, I am enabling to mention all of them individually. Yet my debt of gratitude to

them is no less.

I wish to thanks my family members, relatives and my friends without their help, it

would not have been possible to complete this project. It gives me great satisfaction to

record deep sense of appreciation of excellent and help provided to me.

Manju


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STUDENT DECLARATION

9813163621

I hereby declare that the project report entitled The Study of customer satisfaction of

Airtel mobile service users submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the

degree of Master of Business Administration (Hons.) toMaharshi Dayanand

University, Rohtak .

It is my original work and not submitted for the award of any other degree, diploma,

fellowship or any other similar title or prizes.

Manju


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CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION


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Mobile phones have become an essential and important device for communication in

the modern days. Mobile phone communication is a part of telecommunications,

which comes in the form of oral communication. Mobile devices are growing in

popularity with reduction in prices and improved functionality. Consumers prefer the

flexibility and versatility of mobile phone devices. Mobile phone facilitates easy and

faster means of communication and one can communicate with family and friends and

transact the business anywhere, anytime at a reasonable cost.

MOBILE PHONE USAGE IN INDIA:-

In India, people from all walks of life nowadays use mobile phones. The decrease in

the price of mobile phone sets and the tariff has paved the way for the increased usage

of mobile phones among Indians. The service providers are depending not only on the

urban areas but are extending their services even to the semi urban and rural areas and

this has resulted in the considerable increase in the utilization of mobile phones in

these parts of the country. As the market is almost in the saturation stage in the metro

cities, the service providers are aiming at other cities and rural areas to extend their

services.

The Indian telecommunications network is the fifth largest in the world and is the

second largest among the emerging economies of Asia. Today it is the fastest growing

market in the world. Private operators have made mobile telephony the fastest

growing (over164% p.a.) in India. With more than 33 million users (both CDMA and

GSM) Wireless is the principal growth engine of the Indian telecom industry. Intense

competition between the four main private groups- bharti (AIRTEL), HUTCH, TATA

and RELIANCE and with the state sector incumbents BSNL and MTNL has brought

about a significant drop in tariffs. The government has played a key enabling role by

deregulating and liberalizing the industry, ushering in competition and paving the way

for growth.


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The telecom sector has witnessed the presence of many leading foreign companies

including us companies: AT&T, Motorola, Nynex, US West, Hughes, Harris,

Qualcomm, Sprint, Telstra, NTT, Singapore Telecom, Philippine Telecom, Bezeq,

Siemens, Ericsson, Nokia Fujitsu, Alcatel, and Bell Canada among others.

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.

History of Indian Telecommunications started in 1851 when the first operational land

lines were laid by the government near Calcutta (seat of British power). Telephone

services were introduced in India in 1881. In 1883 telephone services were merged

with the postal system. Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT) was formed in 1923.

After independence in 1947, all the foreign telecommunication companies were

nationalized to form the Posts, Telephone and Telegraph (PTT), a monopoly run by

the government's Ministry of Communications. Telecom sector was considered as a

strategic service and the government considered it best to bring under state's

control.The first wind of reforms in telecommunications sector began to flow in 1980s

when the private sector was allowed in telecommunications equipment manufacturing.

In 1985, Department of Telecommunications (DOT) was established. It was an

exclusive provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own

regulator (separate from the postal system). In 1986, two wholly government-owned

companies were created: the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international

telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) for service in

metropolitan areas.In 1990s, telecommunications sector benefited from the general

opening up of the economy. Also, examples of telecom revolution in many other

countries, which resulted in better quality of service and lower tariffs, led Indian

policy makers to initiate a change process finally resulting in opening up of telecom

services sector for the private sector. National Telecom Policy (NTP) 1994 was the

first attempt to give a comprehensive roadmap for the Indian telecommunications

sector. In 1997, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was created. TRAI


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was formed to act as a regulator to facilitate the growth of the telecom sector. New

National Telecom Policy was adopted in 1999 and cellular services were also

launched in the same year.

Telecommunication sector in India can be divided into two segments: Fixed Service

Provider (FSPs), and Cellular Services. Fixed line services consist of basic services,

national or domestic long distance and international long distance services. The state

operators (BSNL and MTNL), account for almost 90 per cent of revenues from basic

services. Private sector services are presently available in selective urban areas, and

collectively account for less than 5 per cent of subscriptions. However, private

services focus on the business/corporate sector, and offer reliable, high- end services,

such as leased lines, ISDN, closed user group and videoconferencing.

Cellular services can be further divided into two categories: Global System for Mobile

Communications (GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). The GSM

sector is dominated by Airtel, Vodfone-Hutch, and Idea Cellular, while the CDMA

sector is dominated by Reliance and Tata Indicom. Opening up of international and

domestic long distance telephony services are the major growth drivers for cellular

industry. Cellular operators get substantial revenue from these services, and

compensate them for reduction in tariffs on airtime, which along with rental was the

main source of revenue. The reduction in tariffs for airtime, national long distance,

international long distance, and handset prices has driven demand.

The telecom sector is also afflicted by a number of restraints. These include:

Sluggish pace of reform process.

Lack of infrastructure in semi-rural and rural areas, which makes it difficult to

make inroads into this market segment as service providers have to incur a

huge initial fixed cost.

Limited spectrum availability.

But notwithstanding these constraints, telecom sector has undergone a revolution in

the past decade and has played a major part in bridging the rural-urban divide.


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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROBLEM

Despite of giving their best possible services, mobile companies are not able to retain

their customers with them. The study would try to through some light on the broader

face of this area. Sometimes the strategies of mobile companies to lure the customers

are based on partially tested postulates & facts. The study would try to testify few of

such postulates to provide an fresh insight to service providers on this context As

markets shrink, companies are scrambling to boost customer satisfaction and keep

their current customers rather than devoting additional resources to chase potential

new customers. The claim that it costs five to eight times as much to get newcustomers than to hold on to old ones is key to understanding the drive toward

benchmarking and tracking customer satisfaction. Companies now recognize that

the new global economy has changed things forever. Increased competition, crowded

markets with little product differentiation and years of continual sales growth

followed by two decades of flattened sales curves have indicated to today's sharp

competitors that their focus must change.Competitors that are prospering in the new

global economy recognize that measuring customer satisfaction is the key. Only by

doing so can they hold on to the customers they have and understand how to better

attract new customers. A Satisfied customer talks favorably about the company and its

products, less attractive to competitive brands. The competitors who will be successful

recognize that customer satisfaction is a critical strategic weapon that can bring

increased market share and increased profits.

Why Airtel?

- Most widespread presence

- Easy to setup. Plug & Play

- Dedicated customer support

- Superior internet browsing on Airtel Edge network

- Attractive device prices & tariff plans


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Review of Existing Literature

The services of Airtel (Tamil Nadu circle-excepting Chennai) have been rated highest

among the private cellular operators for the quality of service and customer

satisfaction for the period October-December 2003. The rating has come from the

most comprehensive survey by TRAI and IMRB, a release from P. Swaminathan,

CEO and Director Mobility-Southern Region, Bharti Cellular, said. The survey took

into account the factors such as fault clearance within 24 hours, call drop rate,

percentage of connections with good voice quality and billing complaints. Airtel had

scored the highest in both the objective as well as the subjective quality of service

assessment making Airtel, a benchmark in the private cellular service industry in the

rest of Tamil Nadu, the release claimed.


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CONCEPTUALISATION:

A customer, also called client, buyer, orpurchaser, is usually used to refer to a

current or potential buyer or user of theproducts of an individual ororganization,

called the supplier, seller, orvendor. This is typically throughpurchasing orrenting

goods orservices. However, in certain contexts, the term customeralso includes by

extension anyone who uses or experiences the services of another. A customer may

also be a viewer of the product or service that is being sold despite deciding to not buy

them.

The word derives from "custom," meaning "habit"; a customer was someone who

frequented a particular shop, who made it a habit to purchase goods of the sort the

shop sold their rather than elsewhere, and with whom the shopkeeper had to maintain

a relationship to keep his or her "custom," meaning expected purchases in the

future.The slogans "the customer is king" or "the customer is god" or "the customer is

always right" indicate the importance of customers to businesses - although the lastexpression is sometimes used ironically.

However, "customer" also has a more generalized meaning as in customer service and

a less commercialized meaning in not-for-profit areas. To avoid unwanted

implications in some areas such as government services, community services, and

education, the term "customer" is sometimes substituted by words such as

"constituent" or "stakeholder". This is done to address concerns that the word"customer" implies a narrowly commercial relationship involving the purchase of

products and services. However, some managers in this environment, in which the

emphasis is on being helpful to the people one is dealing with rather than on

commercial sales, comfortably use the word "customer" to both internal and external

customers Customer satisfaction depends on the expectations of the buyers.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rentinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_(business)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organizationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supplierhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sellerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vendorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Purchasinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rentinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Service_(economics)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_service


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Satisfaction is a persons feeling of pleasure or disappointment resulting from

comparing a products perceived performance or outcomes in relation to his or her

expectations. If performance falls short of expectations, the customer is dissatisfied. If

the performance is matches the expectations, the customer is satisfied. If the

performance exceeds expectations, the customer is highly satisfied or delighted.

Customer satisfaction is the state of mind that customers have about a company

when their expectations have been met or exceeded over the lifetime of the product or

service. The achievement of customer satisfaction leads to company loyalty and

product repurchase. There are some important implications of this definition:

Because customer satisfaction is a subjective, no quantitative state,

measurement won't be exact and will require sampling and statistical analysis.

Customer satisfaction measurement must be undertaken with an understanding

of the gap between customer expectations and attribute performance

perceptions.

There is a connection between customer satisfaction measurement and bottom-

line results.

"Satisfaction" itself can refer to a number of different facts of the relationship with a

customer. For example, it can refer to any or all of the following:

Satisfaction with the quality of a particular product or service

Satisfaction with an ongoing business relationship

Satisfaction with the price-performance ratio of a product or service

Satisfaction because a product/service met or exceeded the customer's

expectations

Each industry could add to this list according to the nature of the business and the

specific relationship with the customer. Customer satisfaction measurement variables

will differ depending on what type of satisfaction is being researched. For example,

manufacturers typically desire on-time delivery and adherence to specifications, so

measures of satisfaction taken by suppliers should include these critical variables.


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Clearly defining and understanding customer satisfaction can help any company

identify opportunities for product and service innovation and serve as the basis for

performance appraisal and reward systems. It can also serve as the basis for a

customer satisfaction survey program that can ensure that quality improvement efforts

are properly focused on issues that are most important to the customer.

Dimensions of customer satisfaction:

Here are a few of the possible dimensions that could be measure:

1. Quality of Service :

Satisfaction also depends on product/service quality. What exactly is quality?

Various experts have defined it as fitness for use, conformance to

requirements, freedom from variation, and so on. We will use the American

Society for Quality Controls definition: Quality is the totality of features and

characteristics of a product or service that bear on its ability to satisfy stated or

implied needs. This is clearly a customer-centered definition. We can say that

seller has delivery quality whenever the sellers product or service meets or

exceeds the customers expectations. A company that satisfies most of its

customers needs most of time is called a quality company. Product/service

quality, customer satisfaction and company profitability are intimately

connected. Higher levels of quality result in higher levels of customer

satisfaction, which support higher prices and low costs.

2. Speed of service :

Here the speed of service refers to speed in delivery, network connection,

internet access etc.


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3. Pricing :

Traditionally price has been the major determinant of a buyers choice.

Although, non price factors has become quit important in the last few decades,

price still remains an important factor in determining sales and profitability. If

customer gets equal value to the money they spent, then they will be more

satisfied.

4. Delivery system : Timely availability of products or services attracts and retain

more customers, they will less switch over to other products or services.

5. Complaints or problems: If the complains and problems are solved quickly,

they will fell loyal and satisfied to the companys services.

6. Trust in employees: If customers have trust in the employees then customers

will increase the goodwill of the company. So the employees should welcome

and handle the customers in a well manner.

7. The closeness of the relationship with contacts in the firm

8. Types of other services needed

9. Companys positioning in clients' minds

10. Value added services

GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications: It is the most popular standard

formobile telephony systems in the world. The GSM Association, its promoting

industry trade organization of mobile phone carriers and manufacturers, estimates that

80% of the global mobile market uses the standard. GSM is used by over 3 billion

people across more than 212 countries and territories. Its ubiquity enables

international roaming arrangements between mobile phone operators, providing

subscribers the use of their phones in many parts of the world. GSM differs from its

predecessor technologies in that both signaling and speech channels are digital, and

thus GSM is considered asecond generation (2G) mobile phone system. This also

facilitates the wide-spread implementation of data communication applications into

the system.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_telephonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000000000_(number)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaminghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_operatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2Ghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_telephonyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GSM_Associationhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1000000000_(number)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roaminghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mobile_phone_operatorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digitalhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2G


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The ubiquity of implementation of the GSM standard has been an advantage to both

consumers, who may benefit from the ability to roam and switch carriers without

replacing phones, and also to network operators, who can choose equipment from

many GSM equipment vendors. GSM also pioneered low-cost implementation of the

short message service (SMS), also called text messaging, which has since been

supported on other mobile phone standards as well. The standard includes a

worldwide emergency telephone numberfeature

Subscriber Identity Module (SIM)

One of the key features of GSM is the Subscriber Identity Module, commonly known

as a SIM card. The SIM is a detachable smart card containing the user's subscription

information and phone book. This allows the user to retain his or her information after

switching handsets. Alternatively, the user can also change operators while retaining

the handset simply by changing the SIM. Some operators will block this by allowing

the phone to use only a single SIM, or only a SIM issued by them; this practice is

known as SIM locking and is illegal in some countries.

Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a channel access method utilized by

various radio communication technologies. It should not be confused with the mobile

phone standards called CDMA One and CDMA2000 (which are often referred to as

simply "CDMA"), which use CDMA as an underlying channel access method.

One of the basic concepts in data communication is the idea of allowing several

transmitters to send information simultaneously over a single communication channel.

This allows several users to share abandwidth of different frequencies. This concept

is called multiplexing. CDMA employs spread-spectrum technology and a special

coding scheme (where each transmitter is assigned a code) to allow multiple users to

be multiplexed over the same physical channel. By contrast, time division multiple

access (TDMA) divides access by time, while frequency-division multiple access

(FDMA) divides it by frequency. CDMA is a form of"spread-spectrum" signaling,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_message_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subscriber_Identity_Modulehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_cardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM_lockhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_access_methodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_phone_standardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_phone_standardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IS-95http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDMA2000http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_access_methodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth_(signal_processing)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplexinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread-spectrumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_division_multiple_accesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_division_multiple_accesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency-division_multiple_accesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread_spectrumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_message_servicehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergency_telephone_numberhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subscriber_Identity_Modulehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smart_cardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SIM_lockhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_access_methodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_phone_standardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mobile_phone_standardshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IS-95http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDMA2000http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Channel_access_methodhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth_(signal_processing)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplexinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread-spectrumhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_division_multiple_accesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_division_multiple_accesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency-division_multiple_accesshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spread_spectrum


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since the modulated coded signal has a much higherdata bandwidth than the data

being communicated.

An analogy to the problem of multiple access is a room (channel) in which people

wish to communicate with each other. To avoid confusion, people could take turns

speaking (time division), speak at different pitches (frequency division), or speak in

different languages (code division). CDMA is analogous to the last example where

people speaking the same language can understand each other, but not other people.

Similarly, in radio CDMA, each group of users is given a shared code. Many codes

occupy the same channel, but only users associated with a particular code can

understand each other.

Service characteristics

Services can be paraphrased in terms of their generic key characteristics.

1. Intangibility

Services are intangible andinsubstantial: they cannot be touched, gripped, handled,looked at, smelled, tasted or heard. Thus, there is neither potential nor need for

transport, storage or stocking of services. Furthermore, a service cannot be (re)sol

owned d or by somebody, neither can it be turned over from the service provider to

the service consumer nor returned from the service consumer to the service provider.

Solely, the service delivery can be commissioned to a service provider who must

generate and render the service at the distinct request of an authorized service

consumer.

2. Parishability: Services are perishable in two regards

The service relevant resources, processes and systems are assigned for service

delivery during a definite period in time. If the designated or scheduled service

consumer does not request and consume the service during this period, the

service cannot be performed for him. From the perspective of the serviceprovider, this is a lostbusiness opportunity as he cannot charge any service
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth_(computing)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intangible_assethttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Insubstantial&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Insubstantial&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warehousehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_opportunityhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandwidth_(computing)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intangible_assethttp://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Insubstantial&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warehousehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_opportunity


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delivery; potentially, he can assign the resources, processes and systems to

another service consumer who requests a service. Examples: The hair dresser

serves another client when the scheduled starting time or time slot is over. An

empty seat on a plane never can be utilized and charged after departure.

When the service has been completely rendered to the requesting service

consumer, this particular service irreversibly vanishes as it has been consumed

by the service consumer. Example: the passenger has been transported to the

destination and cannot be transported again to this location at this point in time.

3. Inseparability

The service provider is indispensable for service delivery as he must promptly

generate and render the service to the requesting service consumer. In many cases the

service delivery is executed automatically but the service provider must preparatorily

assign resources and systems and actively keep up appropriate service delivery

readiness and capabilities. Additionally, the service consumer is inseparable from

service delivery because he is involved in it from requesting it up to consuming the

rendered benefits. Examples: The service consumer must sit in the hair dresser's shop

& chair or in the plane & seat; correspondingly, the hair dresser or the pilot must be in

the same shop or plane, respectively, for delivering the service.

4. Simultaneity

Services are rendered and consumed during the same period of time. As soon as the

service consumer has requested the service (delivery), the particular service must be

generated from scratch without any delay and friction and the service consumer

instantaneously consumes the rendered benefits for executing his upcoming activity or

task.

5. Variability

Each service is unique. It is one-time generated, rendered and consumed and can

never be exactly repeated as the point in time, location, circumstances, conditions,


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current configurations and/or assigned resources are different for the next delivery,

even if the same service consumer requests the same service. Many services are

regarded as heterogeneous or lacking homogeneity and are typically modified for each

service consumeror each new situation (consumerised). Example: The taxi service

which transports the service consumer from his home to the opera is different from the

taxi service which transports the same service consumer from the opera to his home -

another point in time, the other direction, maybe another route, probably another taxi

driver and cab.
http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Service_consumer&action=edit&redlink=1http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Service_consumer&action=edit&redlink=1


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Focus on the Study:

Bharti Airtel Limited, a group company of Bharti Enterprises, is among Asias

leading integrated telecom services providers with operations in India, Sri Lanka and

Bangladesh. In South Asia, the company had an aggregate of over 134 million

customers as of end February 2010, including 124.6 million mobile customers in

India. Bharti Airtel has been ranked among the six best performing technology

companies in the world by Business Week. Airtel adds 2 million new subscribers

added every month. Bharti Airtel is structured as four strategic business units -

Mobile, Telemedia, Enterprise and Digital TV. The mobile business offers services in

India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The Telemedia business provides broadband, IPTV

and telephone services in 95 Indian cities. The Enterprise business provides end-to-

end telecom solutions to corporate customers and national and international long

distance services to carriers. The Digital TV business provides DTH services across

India. All these services are provided under the Airtel brand. Airtels national high-

speed optic fiber network currently spans over 118,337 Rkms across India. Airtel's

international network infrastructure includes ownership of the i2i submarine cable

system and consortium ownership in five global undersea cable systems, SEA-ME-

WE 4, EIG, I-ME-WE, AAG and UNITY.

Bharti Airtel belongs to the Bharti Group. Bharti group is renowned for its pioneering

efforts in Indian telecom industry and it deserves a lot of credit for spreading usage of

mobiles in India. A well diversified company with operations in several otherindustries like retail, insurance and fresh ago products export. Bharti Airtel is Indias

largest private telecom service provider and has presence in all the 23 telecom circles.

Its operations are based upon GSM technology and it has also forayed into broadband

and fixed line telephone services.


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Airtel provides various products and services in postpaid, prepaid and other related

arenas. Attractive features of Airtel Postpaid Connection include, easy billing, strong

network coverage, easy payment options, GPRS Roaming, satisfactory credit limit,

long distance calling facility, widest roaming (National and International) and many

others. Bharti also offers customers an e-billing option which helps in saving precious

time of company as well as customers.

Advantages associated with Airtel prepaid services are; total cost control, prepaid

roaming, pre activated STD/ISD without any rental or deposits, instant balance and

validity enquiry and strong network coverage etc. Users can also recharge according

to their needs and electronic recharge facility is a great help for many of the

customers. To make things easy for customers, customers have also been given option

of recharging from ATMs and by using internet banking facilities.

Bharti in association with Nokia has also started offering bundled packages where

new customers can have low priced Nokia 1200 and 1209 handsets with Airtel mobile

connection. iPhone 3G is also available on Airtel. Other new services being offered by

Airtel are, data services (accessing e-mails), operator services, LMTS services (quite

helpful in case of stolen handsets), phone back up options, call management services

etc. international calling cards, Airtel call home cards and world calling cards are

other useful offers for customers.

SERVICES:

Easy Payment Options. Anytime Anywhere

You can choose from a host of convenient payment options only with Airtel.

Walk into any Airtel relationship centre and make your payments by cash or

credit card. Drop a cheque at any of the drop boxes for making payments or

simply log on to My Airtel section and pay instantly through your credit card.


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You can also opt for easy payment options like: Standing Instructions you can

give us standing instructions to debit your credit card account for your monthly

Airtel bills. All you have to do is fill the Standing Instruction Form and mail, fax

it to us or drop it any of our relationship centers. Electronic Clearing System Fill

an ECS form and mail fax it to us or drop it any of our relationship centers to

directly debit your bank account for your monthly Airtel bill. Pay while roaming

Airtel has introduced 'Anywhere payment' that offers you the convenience of

making payments while you roam. Walk in to any Airtel Relationship Centre in

the country, make payments by cash or credit card and enjoy uninterrupted Airtel

Services.Credit limit

Your pre-set credit limit mentioned on your monthly bill helps you keep your

mobile charges in control, keeps track of your usage and ensures that your mobile

phone is not misused. Should you exceed your credit limit, you will be informed via

a voice or a non-voice message to make an interim payment and reduce your

account balance below your credit limit. You may also choose to pay us an

additional refundable deposit to enhance your credit limit or opt for our convenient

payment method of Credit Card Standing instruction .You can also make use of ECS

facility.

Aisi azadi aur kahaan?

Airtel Prepaid, the Ready Cellular Card from Airtel comes to you from Bharti

Enterprises, Indias leading integrated telecom service provider.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH REDEFINED

Going mobile with Airtel Prepaid is a new way of life.

COMPLETE CONTROL

With a host of great features, also simple to use, Airtel Prepaid

Make everything that you dreamt and believed, possible.

Some of the many advantages that you enjoy with Airtel Pre-Paid


25/46

Total Cost Control

Enjoy the liberty of total cost control with your Airtel Pre-Paid. Re-charge as much as

you feel the need to. Now thats what we call complete freedom.

No Rentals

Buy an Airtel prepaid card without having to pay any rentals.

No Deposits

Your Airtel prepaid card comes without you having to pay heafty deposits.

STD/ISD facility till the last rupee

Now experience complete freedom like never before with Airtel. Our STD/ISD

facility allows you to make long distance calls in India and overseas from your

cellular phone.

Instant Balance Inquiry

Check your talk-time instantly by calling our toll-free number.

60 second pulse

Airtel provides you with a 60-second pulse rate. Freedom for you to experience like

never before.

Instant Recharge

Avail of instant recharge on your Airtel prepaid card with just a few simple steps.

24-hour recharge facility

With our round-the-clock recharge facility, recharge your Airtel prepaid card anytime,

anywhere.

Caller Line Identification

Call Line identification gives you the power to know the phone number of the calling

party even before you answer the call, thus giving you the choice to either reject or

take the call. It provides the added advantages of saving the incoming number directly

in the Handset Phone Book. So that the next time you want to call the same person,

you dont need to retype his number, simply use your phone book.


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Call Divert, Call Hold and Call Wait

Avail of special services like call waiting, call hold and call divert-all with your Airtel

prepaid card.

Short Messaging Services (SMS)

With Airtels Short Messaging Services (SMS), send messages and jokes to your

friends and colleagues, anytime, anywhere.

SMS based Information Services

With Airtels SMS based Information Services, you can get upto-the-minute cricket

scores, order flowers as well as couriers or check your daily horoscope.

Voice Mail Service

Voice Mail lets you receive messages even when your Handset is switched off or

when you are outside the coverage area. You can listen to your messages whenever

you feel like, from anywhere in the world. Voice Mail can store up to 15 messages of

1 minute duration.

Experience complete freedom

Airtel welcomes you to a vibrant world of unlimited opportunities. More exciting,

innovative yet simple new ways to communicate, just when you want to, not just

through words but ideas, reach out to your special people in your special way.

As an Airtel Post-paid customer you can enjoy the following facilities-

Easy Billing

Now enjoy the luxury of viewing details of your last 3 billing cycles and the

convenience of paying your Airtel bill Online. Experience complete freedom with

Airtel.

Call Divert, Call Hold and Call Wait

Avail of special services like call waiting, call hold and call divert- all with your Airtel

postpaid connection.

Short Messaging Service (SMS)

With Airtels Short Messaging Services (SMS), send unlimited messages and jokes to

your friends and colleagues, anytime anywhere.

Caller identification


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Call Identification gives you a power to know the phone number of the calling party

even before you answer the call, thus giving you the choice to either reject or take the

call. It provides the added advantage of saving the incoming number directly in the

Handset Phone Book. So that the next time you want to call the same person, you

dont need to retype his number, simply use your phone book.

Voice Mail

Voice Mail lets you receive messages even when your Handset is switched off or

when you are outside the coverage area. You can listen to your messages whenever

you feel like, from anywhere in the world. Voice Mail can store up to 15 messages of

1 minute duration.

STD/ISD facility

Now experience complete freedom like never before with Airtel. Our STD/ISD

facility allows you to make long distance calls in India and overseas from your

cellular phone.

Roaming (National and International)

Airtels Roaming service allows you to use mobile phone to make or receive calls

from almost in anywhere in India and abroad! Enjoy roaming within the country as

well as across international destinations!


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Objectives of the Study

To experience how researches and surveys are conducted and how they help in

decision making.

To find the satisfaction level of consumer of Airtel mobile service users.

To know the reasons of dissatisfaction level of consumer of mobile service

users.

To gain feedback from customers about products, services, and/or support,outside of what customers provide the sales force.

To know the reason behind the purchasing of the Airtel services.

To obtain information on product/service developments, priorities, and

requirements of customers.

To know customers attitude towards services of Airtel.

To obtain input on new products or services.

To understanding the expectations and requirements of customers.

To know the factors that led a customer to select a plan


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LIMITATION OF THE STUDY:

As every study has some limitations, this study is not an exception too regarding

limitations. Although I have tried my best in collecting the relevant information, there

are always present some limitations under which researcher has to work.

Limited area

The study covered only a few areas, many areas remained untouched. I could not get

exact information, as I was unable to have more exposure of different parts of India

because of time and cost constraints, as I was only taking care of ROHTAK City.

SAMPLE DESIGN

The sample size analyzed was limited and small which may not be fully representative

of the universe. A large sample size could not be taken due to time and cost

constraints.

TIME CONSTRAINT

I had a limited time for conducting this analysis report. So some shortfalls may be

present.

COST CONSTRAINT

The money available with the researcher also imposed a limitation on the

comprehensive of this research. The availability of limited funds was a constraint in

the study.

LACK OF EXPERIENCE

The lack of experience may have caused some errors in administration of research. I

have not undertaken any other project before. So, it was my first experience to do a

project due to which I may have committed some mistakes while analyzing the data or

in interpretations.

BIASNESS ON THE PART OF RESPONDENTS

Although all the attempts were made to make it an objective study, biasness on the

part of respondents might have resulted in subjectiveness.

RELUCATANCE OF RESPONDENTS


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Some customers are not willing to give any information due to many reasons like lack

of time or they do not want to disclose their opinion or thinking.

CHAPTER 2

METHODOLOGY & STATISTICAL TOOLS APPLIED


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RESEARCH METHODOLOGY:

Research Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problem. I have

conducted this research taking into consideration only services provided by Bharti

Airtel Limited. On the basis of study of few areas of Rohtak city, I have drawn

conclusions for the whole company. The information for the project of The Study of

customer satisfaction of Airtel mobile service users has been collected from both

primary as well as secondary sources.

In case of primary sources the information was retrieved directly from the concerned

people who are using Airtel mobile services. I have conducted this research mainly

with the help of the invaluable inputs provided by the consumers of mobile services of

the Airtel company in the form of a questionnaire drafted by me with the help of my

friends . The questionnaire method was used as it is more versatile than any other

method and further a questionnaire is pre planned and thus less time is wasted since a

planned set of questions are available. I have taken a sample size of 40 people that

includes students, households, shopkeepers, and other persons. My analysis is

completely based on the responses given to me by the respondents and the result for

the same has been presented in the form of pie charts, graphs and tables. Since

secondary data are information published by others was easily available and not much

effort was being made in obtaining the information.

A) RESEARCH DESIGN

A research design is the specification of method and procedure for

acquiring the information needed. It is the framework, which determines the course of

action towards the collection and analysis of required data. This framework is to

ensure that the relevant data are collected and it also implies that it is collected

accurately in an economical manner. The study is Descriptive in nature as it

describes the characteristics of customers and services provided by the Bharti

Airtel.


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UNIVERSE OF THE STUDY:

Universe refers to the total of the items or units in any field of

inquiry. Universe of my study is ROHTAK city.

POPULATION OF THE STUDY:

Population refers to total of items about which information is desired.

SAMPLE OF THE STUDY:

Sample is parts of total population that have the same characteristics as of universe

have. It represents the whole universe. By using non- probability sampling

technique I took a sample of 40 people. In non- probability sampling technique a

sample is taken deliberately.

COLLECTION OF DATA:

Primary Data:

Keeping in view the nature of this study, questionnaire method was found to be most

effective to collect primary data. The questionnaire is structured i.e. it is presented

having from question in sequence, and non-disguised i.e. objective of the study is

clear to the respondents.

Secondary Data:

To collect secondary data I used the following sources

Books

Magazines.

Internet sites.

ANALYSIS PATTERN:

The data was collected, tabulated, and interpreted and analyzed with a view to get

some useful information In order to make the study more comprehensive responses

have been presented with the help of various tables. Some diagrams have also been

aided in order to make the study clear and easily understandable.


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STATISTICAL TOOLS USED:

For the analysis and presentation of data and results I used the following statistical

tools:

Simple Average

Percentage

Tabulation

Bar Diagrams

Pie Charts

In brief research design is as follows: -

Universe : Rohtak City

Sample size : 40

Sampling Unit : Airtel Mobile Service Usera

Sample Element : Houses, Offices, Shops, Colleges.

Sampling Technique : Non-Probability Sampling Technique

Method of Data Collection: Questionnaire for primary data


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CHAPTER 4

DATA ANALYSIS


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Sex

Sex Frequency Percentage

Male 36 72

Female 14 28

Total 50 100

INTERPRETATION:

Males are using more services of Airtel as

compare to females.It may be because of high

prices .

Age

Age Frequency Percentage

less than 20 4 8

20-30 26 52

30-40 15 30

more than 40 5 10

Total 50 100

profession Frequency Percent


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Student 22 44

Serviceman 17 34

Businessman 9 18

Agriculture 2 4

Total 50 100

TABLE SHOWING SATISFACTION OF RESPONDENTS

(IN %) IN RELATION TO DIFFERENT ATTRIBUTES OF SERVICES

S.n.Attributes of services

NO OF

RESPONDEN

TS

1 Quality 92.82 Price 85.2

3 Network Range 95.6

4 Local call rates 87.2

5 STD call rates 68

6 ISD call rates 74.1

7 Roaming charges 75.6

8 SMS charges 84.4

9 Plan Option (Schemes) 81.6

10 Usage experience 80.4

11 After purchase service (customer

care service, etc.)

93.2


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TABLE SHOWING THE FACTOR AFFECTING WHILE CHOSING A

TELECOM SERVICE PROVIDER

RANK WISE

RANK 1 RANK 2 RANK 3 RANK 4 TOTAL

CALL

RATES

15 12 10 13 50

ROAMING 10 20 15 0 50

SMS

PACKAGES

5 8 10 27 50

NETWORK 20 10 15 5 50

TOTAL 50 50 50 50


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Major Findings

Most off the respondents are using services of Airtel from 1 to 3 years.

Respondents are less satisfied from ISD, STD and Roaming charges.

96.1 % of respondents are satisfied from over all services.

Respondents are less satisfied from customer care services. They provide

less information.

92.4% of respondents are less loyal to the company and if other company

would provide them better services they will switch over.

Value added services are costly.

Airtel services are mostly used by professionals and businessmen.


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SUGGESTIONS & RECCMMENDATION

1. Roaming facilities should be made cheaper. As in one circle roaming is

made free but still out of state or circle, roaming rates are heavy. So this

is suggested to make these roaming charges less so that business man

people will be more attracted and more customer base.

2. Still in villages there is no network so net work should be made better.

3. Now days people are not satisfied with the land line service, one reason

for this is daily problems in wire, no service given. This is prime reason

of decrease in market share of MTNL. So effort should be made in this

direction.

4. Conflicts between these sector companies should be removed so that its

adverse effect on public could be removed. Although TRAI is being

established but after that are disputes still exist.

5. There should be improvement in the post paid plans because people are

less users of this facility.6. The company outlet should be increased so that customer can get

product at the door easily and redress his grievance.

7. There should be more promotional schemes, network coverage and

value added services.

8. Effort should be made be more customer friendly because in the

research it sis seen that dissatisfaction level is because of new schemes

and disputes related to billing and customer care services.

Airtel must pay attention towards the un- informed charge cuttings.

4.Instead of irritating promotional calls the companies should use promotional sms

with less frequency.

5. Company should concentrate on improving the customer care as customers

satisfaction should be at the priorities of the companies.


40/46

APPENDICES


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QUESTIONNAIRE

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am conducting a survey to measure the customer satisfaction of

Airtel. I like to include your opinion in this survey. Please take a few moments tocomplete this questionnaire. Your responses will help me in the completion of my

research project. Your responses will be kept confidential. I request you to answers

the following questions.

NAME________________________________

SEX a) Male

b) Female

AGE a) Less than 20 b) 20-30

c) 30-40 d) more than 40HIGHEST COMPLETED LEVEL OF EDUCATION

a) up to metric b) intermediate

c) Graduate d) post graduate and others

OCCUPATION: -----------------------------------

1. How long are you using the services of Airtel?

o Less than 6 months

o More than 6 months but less than 1 year

o 1-3 years

o Over 3 years2. How satisfied are you with the following characteristics of the services of

Airtel?

Please Click.


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3. Overall, how satisfied were you with the services of Airtel?

o Very satisfiedo Somewhat satisfied

o Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

o Somewhat dissatisfied

o Very dissatisfied

4. What do you like about the services of Airtel?

5. What do you dislike about the services of Airtel?

6. Thinking of your most recent experience with the services of Airtel, how much do

you agree with the following statements? Please click.

S.

n.

Strongl

y agree

Some

what

agree

Neither

agree

nor

Some

what

disagre

Strongl

y

disagree

S.n.Attributes of services

Very

satisfie

d

Some

what

satisfied

Neither

satisfied

nor

dissatisfied

Some

what

dissatisfie

d

Very

dissatisfie

d

1 Quality2 Price

3 Network Range

4 Local call rates

5 STD call rates

6 ISD call rates

7 Roaming charges

8 SMS charges

9 Internet Facility

10 Plan Option

(Schemes)

11 Usage experience

12 After purchase service

(customer care

service, etc.)


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disagree e

1 Services are worth the purchase price

2 Services does what it claims

3 Services does what I need

4 Services are easy to use

5 Services are competitively priced

6 Value Added Services Like Internet,

Hello Tunes Are Costly

7 Activation Formalities Are

Complicated8 Promotional Calls And Messages Are

Quite Frequent And Often Disturbing

9 I have to wait for long when I call to

customer care

10 Customer Care Executives are willing

and enthusiastic to respond to

customer request

11 Customer Care Executives Provide

Complete Information

12 Customer Care Executives Provide

Personal Attention To The Customer

13 There Are Sufficient Customer Care

Shops Of Airtel

14 Airtel Provide Services At PromiseTime (e.g. Activation Of GPRS Etc.)

15 Sometimes Extra Charges Are Cut

Without Information15 Sim Cards And Recharge Coupons

Are Easily Available

16 If Other Company Comes With A

New And Cheaper Scheme, I Will

Switch Over

7. Thinking of similar services available, how would you compare the services of

Airtel offered?

o Much better

o Somewhat better


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o About the same

o Somewhat worse

o Much worse

o Dont know

8. Would you purchase the services of Airtel again?o Definitely

o Probably

o Not sure

o Probably not

o Definitely not

9. Would you recommend the services of Airtel to colleagues or contacts with

you?

o Definitely

o Probably

o Not sure

o Probably not

o Definitely not

10. Which one is most important factor that you consider while buying a

connection? Give rank.

11. What suggestions do you have to improve the services of Airtel?

THANK YOU.

Call rates

Roaming charges

SMS packages

Net work area


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Bibliography

BOOKS:

Kotler, Philip, Marketing Management, 12th edition, Pearson Prentice

Hall, 2007, P.121 to124. Kotler, Philip, op. Cit., PP.340 to 344. (Previous Reference)

WEBSITES:

http://us.asiancorrespondent.com/Indianomics/2009/03/28/10-risks-for-indian-

telecom-sector-in-2009-ey-report

http://www.alacrastore.com/research/fitch-ratings-

India_Telecom_Sector_Outlook_2009-424738_report_frame

http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/crosscuttings/customer_satisfaction.ht

ml

http://business.mapsofindia.com/communications-industry/companies/airtel.html

http://www.bharti.com/48.html?

&tx_ttnews[pS]=1227633038&tx_ttnews[tt_news]=98&tx_ttnews[backPid]=38&cHa

sh=e7b8936c35

http://www.airtel.in/partnerworld/Ombudsman_Policy&Process.html

http://teck.in/airtel-special-5-low-rates-for-airtel-prepaid-and-postpaid-numbers.html

seema jakhar

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