Evaluating service quality and customer satisfaction in a telecom Literature review

Evaluating service quality and customer satisfaction in a telecom company - Literature review Example Does the company follow a strategy in terms of customers’ satisfaction and what are the expectations of the users? Telecommunication service providers contribute considerably to the development initiatives in both developing and developed nations. Owing to the fact that there is stiff competition between different telecommunication providers situated all over the world, the function of customer care has come to be regarded as being one of the factors that determines the level of success enjoyed by telecommunication companies. In addition, many clients of telecommunication providers have knowledge regarding what real quality service is and so their demands have increased. Telecommunication service providers all over the world provide different goods and services for clients in various markets. Business rivalry between different telecommunication firms ensures that there is the best possible customer satisfaction in the provision of the necessary goods and services. According to Yaacob (2010), to continuously supply the best quality service, telecommunication establishments have to look into the extents of customers’ expectations with regard to service quality in different markets. Such information allows telecommunication companies to then tactically plan on how to integrate service quality processes and objectives into the market. Service quality basically refers to the factors that drive customer expectations and define competence along the lines of quality dimensions. According to Yaacob (2010), there are ten factors that customers use to define or grade service quality in most industries. These are tangibles, reliability, communication, responsiveness, security, credibility, courtesy, competence, accessibility and understanding the needs of consumers. Wong, Kong, Liang and Chua (2009) have mentioned a scale that was formed by experts to measure service quality known as SERVQUAL. This is a broad instrument that has been widely used in assessing consumer preferences and satisfaction in past marketing studies. The greatest performance level in top quality service is usually determined by customer expectations. Service quality is deemed to be low when the firm’s performance is below expectation. The SERVQUAL structure is a common analytical instrument used to assess perceived service as well as customer service. Dependability refers to the servicing firm’s capacity to ensure that it meets all its commitments to consumers satisfactorily and on time (Wong, Kong, Liang and Chua 2009). Responsiveness is descriptive of the level to which consumers feel that their service provider is prepared to offer assistance whenever it is required. Assurance has to do with how customers are treated by the workers in the service provider company. It also deals with the service provider personnel’s ability to engender trust in the firm’s clientele. Empathy has to do with the care given to individual customers by the s ervice provider; as well as the extent to which detailed consumer needs and inclinations can be understood and expressed. Tangibility has to do with the evidence of employees, facilities, and communication resources used by the corporation while supplying customers with services. According to Quinn (2012), the idea of meeting and surpassing

Broadcasting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Broadcasting - Essay Example Do they view the audience as a mere mass of individuals anonymous to other people or they treat them as having some common interests and overlapping relationships Do they treat them as mere spectators who go home after the show or potential long term clients who can bring in benefits such as profits By knowing which of these holds true can we know what and how we broadcast. The Encyclopedia Britannica (Online) defines broadcasting as the electronic transmission of radio and television signals that are intended for general public reception, as distinguished from private signals that are directed to specific receivers. In its most common form, broadcasting may be described as the systematic dissemination of entertainment, information, educational programming, and other features for simultaneous viewing. Without doubt, we are broadcasting because we are trying to capture attention of the general public, the mass media or what we would call the audience Understanding them is imperative because they are the very reason why we are broadcasting. We want them to watch, hear, talk, buy from us and even feel us. We broadcast because we want them to listen to whatever we are saying whether we are reporting, selling, acting or chatting with other people like those in talk shows. However, the way we want to gain their attention still depends on the way we view them. The term audience used to denote a congregation of people gathered in a certain space listening or viewing someone. In the days of the Romans and the Greeks, they were those who were watching and applauding orators and actors. They were those who watched the theatrical plays of Shakespeare and musical performances of Beethoven. The audience was simply regarded as people coming together a certain show. Today, there are different ways of viewing audiences and the two most prominent views are that of the audience as a 'market' and as a 'public/group'. The Audience as a Market In the view of audience as a market, the individuals composing the audience are considered as consumers. As such, we broadcast because we are trying to sell a product or service to the audience. In this type of view, effective communication as well as quality of audience experience takes the backstage. The priority is that people will be enticed to buy whatever we are selling. We are concerned with people who can buy the product and as such, we address them in a way that will appeal to their socioeconomic criteria. We are not concerned whether it is inappropriate to those in the lower echelons of society so long as it persuades those in the higher ups to prefer us. In this view, we then concern ourselves whether what we broadcast could capture the imagination of the people we are trying to persuade. We heighten the hype and creativity. We resort to gimmicks and other activities that may sometimes be unusual but is a sure attention grabber. This is actually a commonplace practice especially in corporate media where shows are filled with gimmicks design to keep the audience glued on the television so that ratings are high. The Audience as a Public/Group There exists an atomistic view of the audience- one which considers people as being too different from others and having large social distance to the broadcaster. The result of this view was a depersonalized way of broadcasting. Broadcasters