Customer Service of Etisalat
Introduction
Etisalat is a multinational telecommunications company headquartered in the UAE providing telecommunication services in 158 countries in Africa, Middle East and Asia (Cole, 2013). The company ranks 17th globally among network operators having customers exceeding 150 million (Cole, 2013).
Research Problem
Just like any other organization, retention of current customers is important for Etisalat. Understanding the needs of present customers helps in targeting new ones. It can be achieved through feedback. With Etisalat’s planned expansion, there is a need for the company to collect information in order to ensure that its strategy is consistent with the needs and wants of its customers (Oliver, 2014). The interaction between the company’s employees and customers plays a crucial role in ensuring customer satisfaction. However, organizations seldom manage or measure aspects that go beyond fundamental satisfaction, which is a common mistake that companies make including Etisalat. In the globalized marketplace, customers have an access to a wide range of quality telecommunication services (Sánchez‐García, Pieters, Zeelenberg, & Bigné, 2012). Customers of telecommunication services tend to emphasize not only on the quality of service but also on their interaction with the employees of the company when making queries about issues associated with service outages and low connection speeds among others. Because of the fact that Etisalat is facing competition from other global telecommunications service companies, such as Vodafone and MTN among others, the nature of interaction with its customers is important and Etisalat must strive to ensure that its services exceed the expectations of its customers (Cole, 2013).
Objective of the Study
The main purpose of this study is to explore the views and needs of Etisalat’s customers with respect to the company’s service. Based on this information, the study also seeks to make recommendations to Etisalat regarding the actions that the company can undertake in order to increase the levels of customer satisfaction with their services. It is important for Etisalat to gauge how customers perceive its services, and thus customer survey is a fundamental step in the process of evaluating customers’ reaction.
Scope and Importance of the Study
Besides targeting new customers, retention of existing customers is an important goal for many organizations. In this respect, organizations are supposed to be informed of the extent to which their products or services are meeting or exceeding customers’ expectations (Sánchez‐García, Pieters, Zeelenberg, & Bigné, 2012). In fact, customer satisfaction has been identified as a key performance indicator for organizations. In the present day, business environment whereby organizations are in fierce competition for customers, customer satisfaction provides an opportunity for a company to differentiate itself and incorporate it into its overall business strategy. As a result, evaluating customer satisfaction is an indicator of the level of organizational success with respect to the provision of services in the market. In this respect, this study is important to Etisalat since it provides crucial information to the company regarding the customers’ needs and their appraisal of the company’s services (Cole, 2013). In addition, this study offers important information related to the expectations and wants of the Etisalat’s customers, which will help Etisalat to make the most of customer retention and satisfaction. It is worth noting that this study will provide valuable information to Etisalat needed to adopt appropriate strategies to make sure that its acquired customers stick with the company. The scope of this study is limited to the customers of Etisalat; therefore, this study will not include the customers of other telecommunication companies (Williams & Naumann, 2011). To this end, this study does not attempt to compare the customer satisfaction level of Etisalat to the customers of another telecommunications services provider. Instead, the sole emphasis is placed on exploring and understanding the views and needs of Etisalat customers with respect to its customer service.
Methodology
The chosen research methodology depends on the nature of the research being undertaken. Current study adopted a quantitative research methodology because of the descriptive nature of this study (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2007). Quantitative research places emphasis on collecting and analyzing statistical data, which is best suited for descriptive studies. Most past researchers have relied on quantitative approaches in exploring the views and needs of customers regarding the service that they are getting. Qualitative research is advantageous in the sense that it yields reliable information that can be generalized to the whole population (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2007).
Data Collection
The population for this study comprises of the 150 million Etisalat customers globally. The sampling approach used in the study was random sampling, which is a probabilistic form of sampling characterized by each entity in the population having the same probability of being selected to take part in the survey. Before the study, the research sought for the permission of Etisalat to allow the company to provide contact information of its customers strictly for the purpose of this research. For ethical reasons, only telephone numbers and e-mails were provided. Names and other identifying information, such as place of residence, were not provided to guarantee confidentiality and anonymity. About 100 participants were selected randomly. The response rate was 80 percent.
The survey strategy was used in gathering data from participants. The specific survey tool that was used in collecting primary data was telephone survey. Telephone survey is cost effective, and provides the research with high control in terms of sample and interviewer standards (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2007). In addition, telephone survey makes it easy for respondents to rate through the use of simple scales. Another advantage associated with telephone survey is that it facilitates the completion of the research quickly (Saunders, Lewis, & Thornhill, 2007). Telephone survey is used in the majority of business surveys. Nevertheless, a number of limitations were encountered with the use of this tool. For instance, it was difficult to access some consumers through the telephone; as a result, to achieve the required sample size of 80, the researcher had to call about 100 consumers. In addition, telephone interviews do not provide an opportunity to incorporate explanatory visuals.
The following aspects were captured in the telephone survey, which focused on the quality of service received, staff and the price of Etisalat’s services.