Information and Communication Technology and customer service delivery at nairobi city water and sewerage company

Abstract

Many organisations have adopted the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in order to improve the products and services they offer to their customers. While some of these organisations have reaped great benefits from ICT, some have not been able to establish whether indeed the investment in ICT was worthwhile while others have suffered noticeable losses arising from the investment in ICT. Although the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company has invested heavily in ICT since its inception, no study has been undertaken to find out the extent to which the technology has been adopted and its influence on customer service. This study sought to establish the extent of the usage of ICT for service delivery in the company, the effect of ICT on the work of the customer service staff and the effect of ICT on customer service delivery as a whole. The research project was a survey during which eighty (80) members of staff of the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company were sampled. These members of staff belonged to various levels in the organization but were all involved in the different areas of service delivery in the company. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to the respondents. The data collected was checked for completeness and edited for correctness. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data with the Statistical Package for Social scientists (SPSS) as the main tool. Statistical measures such as frequencies, percentages and the measures of central tendency such as mean and mode were used. An analysis of Variances (ANOVA) and regression analysis were also carried out. The study established that in the NCWSC, ICT is used to the greatest extent in communicating to customers, resolving customer queries, meter reading, billing and in processing of applications for new water connections. The study also established that ICT is used to the least extent in the refund of customer deposits and in the exhauster and water tanker services. The study further established that the use of ICT has led to an improvement in the speed in Customer Enrolment, increased efficiency in Billing, accuracy in Meter Reading, improved speed in cash receipting, increased efficiency in query handling and increased efficiency in complaint handling which all ultimately lead to an improvement in service delivery. The work of customer care staff has also been made easier by the use of ICT according to the findings of the study.

From the study, it is clear that although ICT is used in customer service delivery at NCWSC, it is used more in some areas than others. ICT usage in the company has made the work of the staff engaged in customer service easier and has led to an improvement in the delivery of services to customers.