Influence of customer service charter on service delivery: a case of Nairobi city water and sewerage company in Kenya

Abstract

This study aimed at investigating the influence of customer service charter on service delivery: A case of Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company. The objectives guiding this study were to establish the level of employee awareness on the customer service charter and its influence on service delivery, to assess the level of employee adherence to customer service charter commitment and its influence on service delivery and to establish customer service charter implementation strategies and their effect on service delivery in Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company. Despite the adoption of the customer service charter as a way of improving service standards, the performance of the company has remained wanting. The only Customer perception survey carried out in January 2011 after adoption of the customer service charter showed a satisfaction level of 66.6%, which was far much lower than the acceptable level of 80%.The population in this study constituted 2700 employees and 284,845 customers. The study used stratified random sampling to sample 336 employees within the Company’s six regional offices and 384 customers within the six regions. A set of questionnaires with closed ended questions was issued to the respondents in order to collect primary data for the study. The respondents answered the questions on their own. Quantitative approach of data analysis was used. Data was analyzed using frequencies, percentages, Pearson’s correlation and linear regression statistics that were used to answer the research questions. The study findings showed that all the three variables explained 86.2% of the service delivery at Nairobi City Water And Sewerage Company. The study found out that in order to improve service delivery at Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company the key determinants were customer service charter awareness amongst the staff and their adherence to the customer service charter commitments. The study found out that there was a weak positive correlation between awareness, staff adherence and Strategies. The correlation was statistically significant. This study recommends that Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company conducts a refresher staff training on the service charter ,carries out staff consultations on the items of the service charter that may require to be adjusted , makes copies of the service charter available to staff in order to promote the awareness of the service charter amongst staff, adopts the culture of processes and procedures improvement in order to improve on service charter deliverables and of continuously improving the management information systems at the organization for it is a key strategy in the implementation of the service charter. Based on the findings of the study, the researcher recommends further studies in the area of influence of service charter adoption on the service delivery in other companies. The study also recommends further studies on influence of service charter adoption on staff motivation at Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company.