Customer perceptions and expectation of quality service in the mobile communication Industry in Kenya: a case of Safaricom customers

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine customer perceptions and expectation of quality service in the mobile industry in Kenya. The study adopted the SERVQUAL model of service quality measurement. This process describes the components of this model and sites examples in the real world situation. The study looks at the service, quality and perception in-depth and identifies various definitions' of the same. Further the literature review also puts forward the various developments of the service quality model and looks at the advantages and disadvantages of other service quality models. The service quality model is discussed in-depth clearly indicating the components and what they stand for in the mobile world today. The procedures for conducting the research are discussed .The study employed a descriptive survey design .The population of study constituted both post and prepaid mobile phone customers within three towns in Kenya. Sampling procedure used was purposive sampling. The sample study is composed of three companies with at least two branches in any of the selected towns in Kenya. A total of one hundred and fourteen customers were interviewed Data analysis was collected using descriptive statistics 8fld coding for the qualitative data. These included measures of central tendency like the mean, frequency distribution tables and charts. Standard deviations were computed for selected data to allow for in-depth analysis. The research first, concludes that customer perceptions and expectation of quality service are in line with the SERVQUAL model and that customers perceive to be receiving above average quality service. The servqual model found to be consisting of important components that define customer expectations in the mobile telephone industry. This correlated well with the observations carried out in the literature review which recommend the model used as the best model of service quality measurement as well as the most widely used to measure customer expectations and quality of service .The research identifies that the highest percentage of customers expect cheap rates followed by good and efficient customer service.