A STUDY ON CUSTOMERS SATISFACTION TOWARDS BSNL LANDLINE SERVICES IN HYDERABAD CITY,ANDHRA PRADESH

ABSTRACT The customer satisfaction is the main goal of every business organization. In this competitive business scenario each and every activity starts and ends with the customer. In the present scenario, the telecommunication is lifeblood for every business activities. Even in this industry there prevails a stiff competition between the service providers. The objectives of the study are to study the customer satisfaction level towards BSNL landline services; the influence of demographic variables of the respondents; usage level of various BSNL schemes; the operational performance; The major purpose of descriptive research is description of state of affairs, as it exists at present. Simple random sampling method is used to collect data. The size of the sample is 200. The respondents of the study are part of population of Hyderabad city. Both primary and secondary data is used. The data has been mainly analyzed by using the Weighted Average Method, Ranking Method and Chi Square Test. most of the respondents are not much satisfied with the features of the phone provided by BSNL when compare to other private landline providers, significant weight age should be given by the BSNL. Most of the respondents are not aware of various schemes. It is identified that the service provided by BSNL is at satisfactory level to the respondents. But most of the respondents are not satisfied with the features of the phone. BSNL should focus on the promotional measures as equal to the private service providers to enhance their service activity to satisfy their customers. KEYWORDS: Telecommunication, Demographic variables, Landline services, Promotional measures and Customer satisfaction. ______________________________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION Telecommunication is recognized, world over, as a key factor in the development of social, economic, commercial and cultural activities. The development of telecommunication infrastructure is likely to play a greater role in meeting the diverse needs of people and improving their quality of life through inter-linked development of many other sectors. The term Telecommunication in ITU parlance covers a very wide variety of services such as sound & television broadcasting, space communications, aeronautical and maritime mobile communications, radio-location and radio-navigation systems, radio astronomy, meteorological aids and services, radio amateurs, etc, besides the public telecommunications services. There are large telecommunication networks belonging to railways, defence and para-military organizations, law and order services (police etc), public utility organizations like electricity grids, transport organizations, municipal services, national and international telecommunications service providers both government and private, civil aviation department and airlines, shipping & port authorities, sound and TV broadcasting organizations, meteorological department, oil exploration, processing and distribution companies, large private companies, etc. REVIEW OF LITERATURE CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Customer Satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard.In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy.There is a substantial body of empirical literature that establishes the benefits of customer satisfaction for firms.

MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION: Customer Satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a Balanced Scorecard.In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers, customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key element of business strategy. CUSTOMER SERVICE PLAN Maintaining an effective customer service program is one of the biggest challenges faced by managers in the current environment. Today, managers are faced with cutbacks in personnel, workforce reshaping, and lack of funds for adequate training. These constraints, although serious, must not be allowed to compromise customer service. Developing an effective customer service plan and instilling a commitment to it within the organization are key to the management process. Once developed and implemented, the plan helps to overcome other obstacles. Success breeds success, and in the service business there is no greater success than a satisfied customer. Therefore, managers should always consider the impact of how an effective customer service plan can help them to meet their goals. Enlightened managers fully recognize the relationship between a sense of ownership and positive results. Organizations may vary greatly in their methods to establish and maintain a customer service plan, but individual loyalty to the concept and personal effort ensure its success. This requires the enthusiastic involvement and support of top management, as well as the active solicitation and input of ideas from all members of the organization. Once in place, the plan becomes a framework to evaluate the effectiveness of the organization to meet customer needs and provides a standard for recognizing individual performance. It should be tailored to meet the goals and objectives of the organization and should identify a way to measure and evaluate results. Clearly defined objectives provide the parameters and are essential for evaluating performance. For example, measuring planned against actual accomplishments indicates whether objectives are met and provides information on the validity of the process. Feedback from customers provides a valuable tool for measuring customer satisfaction relative to the professionalism of the provider and the relevance and timeliness of the service. As with any plan, be realistic, periodically review, and make adjustments when necessary. Think of the plan as being cyclical: define, schedule, allocate, oversee, measure, and modify or change. Define objectives, schedule times, allocate resources, oversee the process, define a means to measure and evaluate, and finally, modify or change. The objective is not to achieve perfection at the outset, but to provide a framework for building and improving as you progress toward a realistic and workable plan. Starting out with a simple plan is easier to implement and allows for more flexibility; details can be added later. The validity of the plan to reach the objectives should be reviewed during various stages. Consider lessons learned, and don't hesitate to incorporate changes based on findings from milestone reviews. As a customer service plan develops, there will be to encounter challenges. We plan to succeed when outlining a strategy to implement our goals, and we must include within that strategy a plan to overcome obstacles. Lack of funds for training is a significant challenge for managers today, but most will agree that training is an integral part of performance. So a strategy to

overcome this obstacle might include looking within our own organizations for answers. There are individuals within most organizations who have a depth of institutional knowledge as well as organizational expertise. These individuals will no doubt be very familiar with the organization's goals and objectives and will be instrumental in developing the customer service plan. As these experienced individuals train and mentor less experienced members, many of the organizational training objectives are accomplished in-house. As with other objectives, the results of measuring and evaluating the training plan provide a basis to recognize and reward motivation and promote success. Implemented correctly, an effective customer service plan leads to a more effective and efficient workforce. Invaluable knowledge and skills are gained by search--problem solving is a natural result. Likewise, we gain a greater understanding of what we do and how it impacts others. Inherent in the process, we learn what others need from us and how we can support them in their efforts to improve customer service.

The ultimate reward for management is customer satisfaction provided by a skilled and committed workforce able to solve problems and understand the importance of effective customer service. NEED FOR THE STUDY The customer satisfaction is the main goal of every business organization. In this competitive business scenario each and every activity starts and ends with the customer. In the present scenario, the telecommunication is lifeblood for every business activities. Even in this industry there prevails a stiff competition between the service providers. In spite of a wellestablished network and infrastructure supporting, certain service providers werent able to root their footsteps in the market due to lack in customer service and satisfaction. Due to this their promotional initiatives havent yielded fruitful results. Since there is a marginal difference between the services rendered, there is more possibility for the subscriber to switch from one service provider to another based on their satisfaction. So it is very essential for the service provider to understand the influence of various demographic variables that influence the satisfaction level to win the hearts of the customers. This study could aid the BSNL with respect to their enhancement. OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY To study the customer satisfaction level towards landline service provided by BSNL. To study the influence of demographic variables of the respondents. To find out usage level of various schemes provided by BSNL. To identify the operational performance of BSNL. To identify the satisfaction level of customer services provided by BSNL. To identify the customers opinion about BSNL

LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

The area of study is limited to Hyderabad city only; hence the results may not be true for other geographical areas.

Validity & Reliability of the data are obtained depends on the responses from the customer. Structured questionnaire are base for collecting the data, it may have disadvantages of not being to probe deep into the respondents thoughts. The time at the disposal of the researcher is limited.
The size of the sample comparing to the population is very less and hence it will not

represent the whole population.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY Methodology is a way to systematically solve the research problems. It explains the various steps that are generally adopted by a researcher in studying the research problem with logic behind them. RESEARCH DESIGN The research design is the basic framework or a plan for a study that guides the collection of data and analysis of data. In this market survey the design used is useddescriptive research design. It includes surveys and fact-finding enquiries of different kinds. The major purpose of descriptive research is description of state of affairs, as it exists at present.The information are collected from the individuals and analyzed with the help of different statistical tools, to find the satisfaction level of customer.Moreover cross table analysis has been done for processing the data and information is derived to attain the objectives of the study. POPULATION Since the population of Hyderabad city is large in number, researcher was unable to collect information from all individuals due to limitation of time. So part of the population is taken for analyzing and generating the findings, which is applicable for total population. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE Simple random sampling method is used to collect data. Data has been collected from the sample chosen from the directory randomly. SAMPLE SIZE The size of the sample is 200, and factors to be considered are time, cost and effectiveness etc. The study was conducted during the period of May 2011 to July 2011. SAMPLE UNIT The respondents of the study are part of population of Hyderabad city. Each individual is considered to be the sampling unit DATA COLLECTION

The collection of data is considered to be one of the most important aspects in the research methodology. Both primary and secondary data is used in this study in order to meet the requirements of the purpose. PRIMARY DATA Under this study primary data was collected by using structured questionnaire. The structured questionnaire consists of both open-ended and closed-ended questions. The primary data has been collected through the questionnaire by means of personal interview. The questionnaire consists of number of questions printed in a definite order on a form. The primary data was collected from individuals residing in Hyderabad city, with the help of questionnaire. SECONDARY DATA The secondary data are sourced from various telecommunication websites, Magazines, Books, Pamphlets, and Periodical Surveys etc. STATISTICAL TOOLS USED FOR THE STUDY The data has been mainly analyzed by using the following methods and tests. Weighted Average Method
Ranking Method

Chi Square Test

DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION TABLE NO.1: SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH RESPECT TO THE BASIC SERVICES PROVIDED BY BSNL Particulars Getting a new phone connection after submitting our application Call connectivity (Local, STD/ISD) Voice clarity while communicating Features of the phone Rent/free various tariff package Weightage score 846 831 897 792 766 Rank II III I IV V

It is inferred from the above table that the factor voice clarity while communicating, gets first rank, second and third rank goes to the factor Getting a new phone connection after submitting the application and Call connectivity (Local, STD/ISD) respectively. Fourth and last rank goes to the factor Features of the phone and Rent/free various tariff package respectively.It is concluded from the analysis that maximum of the respondents opinion that BSNL provides best voice clarity while communicating. TABLE NO.2: SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH RESPECT TO THE BILLING SERVICES PROVIDED BY BSNL

Billing Services factors Local call tariff rates STD/ISD call tariff rates Mode of payment Issuing duplicate bills Issuing itemized bills Delivery of bills

Weightage score 769 747 803 771 797 841

Rank V VI II IV III I

It is identified from the above table that the factor Delivery of bills gets the first rank, the second and third rank goes to the factors mode of payment and issuing itemized bills respectively. Fourth and fifth rank goes to the factor Issuing duplicate bills and Local call tariff rates respectively. Last rank goes to the factor STD/ISD call tariff rates.It is concluded from the analysis that maximum numbers of the respondents are satisfied with Delivery of bills. TABLE NO.3: SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH RESPECT TO THE CUSTOMER SERVICES PROVIDED BY BSNL

TABLE NO.2: SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH RESPECT TO THE BILLING SERVICES PROVIDED BY BSNL Billing Services factors Local call tariff rates STD/ISD call tariff rates Mode of payment Issuing duplicate bills Issuing itemized bills Delivery of bills Weightage score 769 747 803 771 797 841 Rank V VI II IV III I

It is identified from the above table that the factor Delivery of bills gets the first rank, the second and third rank goes to the factors mode of payment and issuing itemized bills respectively. Fourth and fifth rank goes to the factor Issuing duplicate bills and Local call tariff rates respectively. Last rank goes to the factor STD/ISD call tariff rates. It is concluded from the analysis that maximum numbers of the respondents are satisfied with Delivery of bills. TABLE NO.3: SATISFACTION LEVEL WITH RESPECT TO THE CUSTOMER SERVICES PROVIDED BY BSNL Customer Service Factors Attitude of staff and response to their queries Providing information about the new schemes / services Transfer of phone connection Call waiting facility Call divert option Caller ID facility Dynamic locking facility Bill collection centers Weightage score 902 778 748 707 654 632 691 837 Rank I III VI VII IX X VIII II

Fault complaint redressal Other general complaint redressal

759 752

IV V

It is understood from the above table that the factor Attitude of staff and response to their queries is the best service and it ranked first by the respondents with score of 902 points. Second and third rank goes to the factor Bill collection centers and Providing information about the new schemes / services with score of 837 and 778 points. Fourth and fifth rank goes to the factor Fault complaint redressal and other general complaint redressal with score of 759 and 752 points. Sixth and seventh rank goes to the factor Transfer of phone connection and Call waiting facility with score of 748 and 707 points. Eighth and ninth rank goes to the factor Dynamic locking facility and Call divert option with score of 691 and 654 points. Last rank goes to the factor Caller ID facility with score of 632 points. It is concluded from the analysis that maximum numbers of the respondents are satisfied with Attitude of the staff and response to the queries. TABLE NO.4: AGE AND OVERALL SATISFACTION LEVEL TOWARDSBSNL LANDLINE SERVICES Age Below 27 years 27 to 35 years Above 35 years Total Level of Satisfaction of BSNL Landline Services Highly satisfied 1 9 4 14 Satisfied 47 51 50 148 Neutral 10 8 17 35 Dissatisfied 1 2 0 3 59 70 71 200 Total

Null Hypothesis (H0)-There is no significant relationship between age and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Alternative Hypothesis (H1)-There is close relationship between age and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Calculated
2

value: 11.491; Table value: 12.592

From the above analysis, we find that the calculated 2value of is lesser than the table value and hence, the null hypothesis accepted. Hence, there is a no significant relationship between age and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. TABLE NO.5: GENDER AND OVERALL SATISFACTION LEVEL TOWARDSBSNL LANDLINE SERVICES Gender Male Female Total Level of Satisfaction of BSNL Landline Services Highly satisfied 14 0 14 Satisfied 102 46 148 Neutral 25 10 35 Dissatisfied 2 1 3 143 57 200 Total

Null Hypothesis (H0)-There is no significant relationship between gender and overall level of satisfaction t towards BSNL landline service. Alternative Hypothesis (H1) - There is close relationship between gender and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Calculated
2

value: 6.099; Table value: 7.815

From the above analysis, we find that the calculated value of 2is lesser than the table value and hence, the null hypothesis accepted. So, there is a no significant relationship between gender and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. TABLE NO.6: EDUCATIONAL STATUS AND OVERALL SATISFACTION LEVELTOWARDS BSNL LANDLINE SERVICES Educational Status Primary Education SSLC/+2 Collegiate Education Total Level of Satisfaction of BSNL Landline Services Highly satisfied 1 5 8 14 Satisfied 3 60 85 148 Neutral 2 12 21 35 Dissatisfied 0 0 3 3 6 77 117 200 Total

Null Hypothesis (H0)-There is no significant relationship between educational status and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Alternative Hypothesis (H1)-There is close relationship between educational status and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Calculated
2

value: 4.652; Table value: 12.592

2

From the above analysis, we find that the calculated value of is lesser than the table value and hence, the null hypothesis accepted. So, there is a no significant relationship between educational status and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. TABLE NO.7: OCCUPATION STATUS AND OVERALL SATISFACTION LEVELTOWARDS BSNL LANDLINE SERVICE Occupation status Government Employee Private Employee Level of Satisfaction of BSNL Landline Services Highly satisfied 0 7 Satisfied 5 87 Neutral 0 23 Dissatisfied 2 0 7 117 Total

Professionals Self employed Total

2 5 14

12 44 148

4 8 35

0 1 3

18 58 200

Null Hypothesis (H0) - There is no significant relationship between occupational status and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Alternative Hypothesis(H1)-There is close relationship between occupational status and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Calculated
2

value: 39.947; Table value: 16.919

From the above analysis, we find that the calculated value of 2is greater than the table value and hence, the null hypothesis rejected. So, there is a close significant relationship between occupational status and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. TABLE NO.8: MONTHLY INCOME AND OVERALL SATISFACTION LEVELTOWARDS BSNL LANDLINE SERVICES Monthly Income Less than Rs.5000 Rs.5001 10000 Rs.10001-15000 Above Rs.15000 Total Level of Satisfaction of BSNL Landline Services Highly satisfied 1 2 4 7 14 Satisfied 14 49 66 19 148 Neutral 3 20 11 1 35 Dissatisfied 1 2 0 0 3 19 73 81 27 200 Total

Null Hypothesis (H0)-There is no significant relationship between Monthly income level and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Alternative Hypothesis (H1)-There is close relationship between Monthly income level and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Calculated
2

value: 29.337; Table value: 16.919

2

From the above analysis, we find that the calculated value of is greater than the table value and hence, the null hypothesis rejected. So, there is a close significant relationship between Monthly income level and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. TABLE NO.9: NAME OF THE SCHEMES AND OVERALL SATISFACTION

LEVELTOWARDS BSNL LANDLINE SERVICES Name of the scheme General Special Super Total Level of Satisfaction of BSNL Landline Services Highly satisfied 4 8 2 14 Satisfied 80 52 16 148 Neutral 28 7 0 35 Dissatisfied 2 0 1 3 114 67 19 200 Total

Null Hypothesis (H0) -There is no significant relationship between using the type of scheme and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Alternative Hypothesis (H1)-There is close relationship between using the type of scheme and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Calculated
2

values: 16.595; Table value: 12.592

From the above analysis, we find that the calculated value of 2is greater than the table value and hence, the null hypothesis rejected. So, there is a close significant relationship between using the type of scheme and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service.
TABLE NO.10: PERIOD OF USING THE LANDLINE AND OVERALL SATISFACTION LEVEL TOWARDS BSNL LANDLINE SERVICES

Period of Using Less than 1 year 1 to 3 years 3 to 5 years More than 5 years Total

Level of Satisfaction of BSNL Landline Services Highly satisfied 0 3 5 6 14 Satisfied 3 30 70 45 148 Neutral 0 16 10 9 35 Dissatisfied 1 0 2 0 3

Total 4 49 87 60 200

Null Hypothesis (H0)-There is no significant relationship between period of using and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service Alternative Hypothesis (H1) - There is close relationship between period of using and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Calculated
2

value: 28.749; Table value: 16.919

From the above analysis, we find that the calculated value of 2is greater than the table value and hence, the null hypothesis rejected. So, there is a close significant relationship between period of using and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. TABLE NO.11: PURPOSE OF USING THE LANDLINE AND SATISFACTION LEVEL TOWARDS BSNL LANDLINE SERVICES Purpose of Using Residential Official Total Level of Satisfaction of BSNL Landline Services Highly satisfied 3 11 14 Satisfied 57 91 148 Neutral 18 17 35 Dissatisfied 3 0 3 81 119 200 Total

Null Hypothesis (H0)-There is no significant relationship between purpose of using and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Alternative Hypothesis (H1)-There is close relationship between purpose of using and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. Calculated
2

value: 8.498; Table value: 7.815

From the above analysis, we find that the calculated value of 2is greater than the table value and hence, the null hypothesis rejected. So, there is a close significant relationship between purpose of using and overall level of satisfaction towards BSNL landline service. FINDINGS Most of the respondents belong to the age groups 27-35 years and above 35 years and most of the respondents belong to male category. Most of the respondents are educated till the level of collegiate education and most of the respondents are working as private employee. Most of the respondents are earning Rs.10001- Rs.15000 per month. It is stated that 57.0% of the respondents are using general scheme. Most of the respondents are using the BSNL landline for more than 3 years.

Most of the respondents are using for the official purpose and all are availed of STD facility. It is inferred that maximum respondents are making more than 150 calls per month and paying their bill amount from 1001-1500. It is finding that most of the respondents are satisfied by getting their new connections immediately after submitting their applications. It is found that most of the respondents are satisfied with basic services provided by BSNL. It is found that most of the respondents are satisfied with billing services provided by BSNL. It is found that most of the respondents are satisfied with customer services and value added facility provided by BSNL. It is inferred that most of the respondents are not much satisfied with the features of the phone provided by BSNL. It is noted that among the various billing service provided by BSNL delivery of bills and mode of payment makes the respondents very much satisfied. It is noted that there is no distraction while communicating. It is noted that most of the respondents are not aware of call divert option. It is noted that the demographic variables age, gender, and educational status has no relationship with the overall satisfaction level. It is noted that the demographic variables occupational status, monthly income level has relationship with the overall satisfaction level. It is inferred that other variables like usage of schemes, period of using, and purpose of usage also has relationship with the overall satisfaction level.

SUGGESTIONS

Most of the respondents are satisfied with the services provided by BSNL landline,

steps to be taken to make the customers more satisfied.

Most of the customers are not aware of the phone plus facility, steps to be taken to create awareness about these facilities.

It is inferred that most of the respondents are not much satisfied with the features of

the phone provided by BSNL when compare to other private landline providers, significant weight age should be given by the BSNL. Few of the respondents are satisfied with call connectivity. It is suggested to the company to give importance to that and make the entire customer to be satisfied.
It is noted that the demographic variables occupational status, monthly income level has relationship with the overall satisfaction level. So it is suggested while making changes in service/tariff these factors to be considered.
The service providers could focus the crew around the existing subscriber for adding new clients to their basket.

It is noted from the above study that most of the respondents are not aware of various schemes. So it is suggested to the service provider to give more weight age to know about various schemes. CONCLUSION

From the study the influence of demographic variables in the level of satisfaction yielded by the user as well as the behavioral pattern of the user is analyzed in this study.It is identified that the service provided by BSNL is at satisfactory level to the respondents.But most of the respondents are not satisfied with the features of the phone. BSNL should focus on the promotional measures as equal to the private service providers to enhance their service activity to satisfy their customers.

BILIOGRAPHY 1. Kothari. C.R (2004): Research Methodology Methods & Techniques, New Age International Publishers, New Delhi, 2nd Edition. 2. Richard I. Levin, David S. Rubin (2004): Statistics for Management, Prentice Hall of India Private Limited, New Delhi, 7th Edition.

3. www.trai.com 4. www.bsnl.co.in 5. www.indianinfoline.com