EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Banglalink is continuously coming up with new ideas regarding its products

and services. Recently, the company is mainly focusing on the non-voice
services. Because, the company knows in near future, voice based services
will reach to the maturity stage, which will make the business growth
constant to some extents. Hence, the company is trying to maintain its
position in non-voices services as well like SMS, Push-Pull, and Information
related services at the early growing stage. These services are working as a
building block to increase Banglalink’s service value.

Coming up with innovative service is easier than making subscribers aware

of services. Hence through this report we have tried to analyze the present
situation of the cellular phone industry in Bangladesh and Banglalink’s
position there in, find out the services that Banglalink is presently providing
to its valued customers & their satisfaction level. 50 million people out of
160 million total citizen of Bangladesh are presently using cell phone; it
means approximately 34% people are using cell phone. In the third world
country like Bangladesh the amount of users is amazing. Banglalink holds
almost 25% market share of telecom industry that is out of every 100 users
25 belongs to Banglalink. So Banglalink marketing strategy should be
“Profitable growth & expanding market share through satisfying existing
customers”. We have drawn some valuable recommendation to Banglalink
to be the market leader in future in this competitive market.

A comprehensive survey was conducted to know about Banglalink’s present

position in the market and its present service condition that is providing to
its valued customers. The survey report shows that Banglalink is still one of
the leading companies in this industry but as it is becoming more
competitive day by day so Banglalink should revise its service packages,
quality with more conveniently for the customers.

Among the cellular phone companies Banglalink has some unique

competitive advantages in this industry in Bangladesh so if it is possible for
Banglalink to provide better services with continuous innovative products it
will add value to the company. Otherwise, in the long run new innovation
services will not give its ultimate success.
 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION

1.1 Origin of the Study

The term paper is prepared for Mr. Md. Humayun Kabir Chowdhury, the
course teacher of Service Marketing, MBA program, BRAC Business School
at BRAC University. Submission of this report is a part of fulfilling the
requirement of the course Service Marketing (MKT-602). Following the
standard procedure and instruction given by the course teacher does this
formal report.

1.2 Statement of the Research Problem

As a requirement of Marketing Management we got an opportunity to make

a project based on the SERVQUAL Scale; we are writing this report on the
basis of the facts and figures we have collected and analyzed the consumer
attitude towards Banglalink by conducting survey. During the last two
weeks, we have personally interviewed the consumers and consulted with
knowledgeable persons. This report has been written based on the findings
of the investigation. The purpose of this report is to get an exposure to the
consumer attitude towards Banglalink. This study will give us an
opportunity to experience how the preference varies from consumer to
consumer.

Customer satisfactions are positively related with product and service

quality. Recent study shows the relationship between customer satisfaction
and trust with product and service quality in the context of Global System
for Mobile Telecommunication (GSM) mobile phone service providers. They
have utilized customer satisfaction and trust as dependent variables while
products and services are as independent variable. Moreover, overall
service quality, corporate image, and attractiveness of the company could
be taken into account to investigate further research. The present study will
investigate the relationship among product and service quality, customer
satisfaction in the context Banglalink in Bangladesh.

1.3 Scope of the Study

The consumer perception regarding a product will not always be the same.
To buy a product or services a consumer needs to know the key attributes

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

of that product or service. This project helps us to have a clear view about
how a consumer perceives a service. It also helps to identify the major
attributes and decision making system based on those attributes.

1.4 Background of the Study

Banglalink is the market follower in telecommunication service in

Bangladesh having more than 14 million subscribers and is controlling
approximately 30% of the market share. The market share of Banglalink is
now increasing at a great extent as the customer satisfaction level is
increasing. As the socioeconomic status of the country does not provide
further possibilities to enhance the growth of the industry, as a market
follower, Banglalink should strive to retain its existing subscribers and
penetrate other operator’s subscriber. Therefore, there is an emergence of
studying the related facets of the customer satisfaction and loyalty in the
context of Bangladesh to retain and increase its market share.

Hence, in the current study, we try to examine whether there are

relationships between products and service quality, customer satisfaction in
Banglalink in Bangladesh or not.

1.5 Objective of the Study

The basic objective of study was to focus on the basis of SERVQUAL. The
objectives of the project are as follows:

• To determine customer perceptions and expectations regarding

different services of Banglalink
• To determine the level of satisfaction regarding different services of
Banglalink
• To evaluate the reasons behind dissatisfaction regarding products
and services of Banglalink

Significance
We expect that, this report will help to:

• Banglalink to better understand their consumer attitude towards

their services.
• Banglalink and the top management to take corrective action against
their deficiencies.
• The research findings may help policy-makers to understand what
key factors helped implement successful competitive strategies in the
competitive market.

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

1.6 Research Methodology

Methodology gives shape of the total study. It actually designs the entire
work. It helps to complete the work in a systematic & organized way. For
that, selection of an appropriate methodology is very much essential and
the total success of the study depends on it.

For making any study successful data collection, processing & the best use
of it are very important. Research methodology includes the sources we
have used to collect the data. The data that we have used for research
purposes mainly of two types- primary or raw data and secondary data or
published source.

Primary Sources
We have collected data by interviewing people directly. We have prepared
questionnaire using five rating scale and asked them to choose best option
according to them. For better understanding, we also discussed about the
topic.

Secondary Sources
The data and information is also taken from related books of marketing,
magazines, catalogs, newspapers and also from the Internet.

1.7 Research Approach

Survey
We have mainly basing our research based on survey. We have personally
interviewed people to collect data and gone for the observational approach
as well. We also browsed the internet to get more related information.

1.8 Research Instruments

Questionnaire
We have prepared a questionnaire with a set of 23 questions and ask the
consumers and we also ask random people. Our questionnaire pattern is
close ended; so that we can understand properly and also use that
information in our report effectively.

1.9 Sampling Plan

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

Sampling Unit
For study purpose, we have chosen Banglalink as sampling unit. To conduct
survey we have taken interview of 20 respondents’ opinion to evaluate their
decision-making procedure while consuming service of Banglalink.
Judgmental and purposive sampling method is being followed to get the
data from the respondents. Same sampling method is being followed to get
experience person’s opinion. We have selected our survey participants
randomly.

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

1.10 Contact Method

Personal Interview
We took personal interview procedure for data collection and contact
people to conduct our survey. When we took the interview personally, we
prepared a set of questions so that we do not miss out taking any important
information.

1.11 Limitations

We have given our level best effort to work on SERVQUAL model and tried
to find out vast outcomes of our concerned topics. To complete this work
we have tried to find out all possible documents about the SERVQUAL
Model. Our honorable teacher has given us the guidelines for completing
the project.

Though our teacher helps us to solve the project, but still we have faced
some problems to do our work because of some limitations. Some of the
limitations for this study were as follows:

• The sample size is small in considering with the existing services of

Banglalink.
• The time available for completing the project was not sufficient.
• Many consumers have less idea regarding the service dimensions of
SERVQUAL.
• People were reluctant to provide their valuable time for the collection
of data, as they were busy with their own schedule.

Though all these limitations we have tried our level best to provide an
excellent outcome. Now we are thankful to our respectful teacher and our
classmates and almighty Allah, to help us to perform our jobs properly.

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

CHAPTER-2
AN OVERVIEW OF BANGLALINK

2.1 About Banglalink

Banglalink (Bengali: বাংলািলংক), is the second largest cellular service provider

in Bangladesh after Grameenphone. Sheba Telecom (Pvt.) Ltd. was granted
license in 1989 to operate in the rural areas of 199 upazilas. Later it
obtained GSM license in 1996 to extend its business to cellular mobile,
radio telephone services. It launched operation in the last quarter of 1997
as a Bangladesh-Malaysia joint venture.

In July, 2004, it was reported that Egypt based Orascom Telecom is set to
purchase the Malaysian stakes in Sheba Telecom through a hush-hush deal,
as Sheba had failed to tap the business potentials in Bangladesh mainly due
to a chronic feud between its Malaysian and Bangladeshi partners. An
agreement was reached with Orascom worth US$25 million was finalized in
secret. The pact has been kept secret for legal reasons, considering
financial fallout and because of the feud. Now it is a wholly owned
subsidiary of Orascom Telecom.

Banglalink had 1.03 million connections until December, 2005. The number
of Banglalink users increased by 257 per cent and stood at 3.64 million at
the end of 2006, making it the fastest growing operator in the world of that
year. In August, 2006, Banglalink became the first company to provide free
incoming calls from BTTB for both postpaid and prepaid connections. On
August 20, 2008, Banglalink got past the landmark of 10 million subscriber
base. As of January, 2010, Banglalink has a subscriber base of 14.07
million.

2.2 Mission of Banglalink

Banglalink aims to achieve its vision through being number ‘one’ not only in
terms of market share but also by being an employer of choice with up-to-
date knowledge and products geared to address the ever changing needs of
our budding nation.

2.3 Vision of Banglalink

Be a leader as a Telecommunication Service Provider in Bangladesh.

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Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

CHAPTER-3
SERVICE QUALITY AND SERVQUAL SCALE

3.1 Services

Services are commodities that cannot be stored or disappear in use, or as

activities that require personal contact. The distinct characteristics of
services are intangibility, perishability, heterogeneity of the product, and
simultaneity of production and consumption.

Two economic units are required for a service to be produced – the

consumer and the producer. While the consumer cannot retain the actual
service after it is produced, the effect of the service can be retained.
Managing a service operation requires the manager to understand the
service concept, service delivery system, and service levels. As the
consumer has a key role in the definition and evaluation of all three
elements, it is imperative that service managers have a clear
understanding of consumer expectations and perceptions. Services may be
provided by private or public agencies. These characteristics enhance the
importance of certain marketing strategies that are unique to services
marketing, such as service customization, managing evidence, making the
service tangible, and synchronizing supply and demand patterns.

3.2 Service Quality and SERVQUAL

Quality is a strategic tool for attaining operational efficiency and improved

business performance. Importance of quality to service firms and have
demonstrated its positive relationship with profits, increased market share,
returns on investment, customer satisfaction, and future purchase
intentions. Service quality has been described as a form of attitude, related
but not equivalent to satisfaction, which results from the comparison of
expectations with performance (Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry 1988).
Service quality involves a comparison of expectations with performance: it
is a measure of how well the service level delivered matches customer
expectations on a consistent basis. Service quality has been conceptualized
as a function of consumer expectations towards the service situation and
process, and of the output quality they perceived themselves to have
received. The ultimate goal of service quality measurement is to assist
managers in ensuring service quality and customer satisfaction (Webster,
1988). Measurement is a necessary step towards devising any action plan.
However, because of its elusiveness and indistinctness, explication and

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

measurement of quality also present problems for researchers, who often

bypass definitions and use one-dimensional self-report measures to capture
the concept.

The emergence of service quality and its assessment has attracted the
attention of numerous researchers in the past two decades or so. In this
sense, there are two main lines of thoughts on measuring service quality an
American and a European perspective. The focus on functional quality
attributes is referred to as the American perspective of service quality while
the European perspective suggests that service quality considers two more
components.

The European perspective considers the quality of a service as perceived by

customers consists of three dimensions: functional (the process of service
delivery to customers), technical (the outcomes generated by the service to
the customers), and image (how the customers view the company).
Considering those dimensions, the quality of the service is dependent upon
two variables: the expected service and the perceived service.

Functional quality of a service is often assessed by measures of customers’

attitudes, as in customer satisfaction questionnaires. The process of
identifying customers’ attitudes begins with determining customers’
requirements or quality dimensions. The author explains two ways of
identifying important quality dimensions of services: quality dimension
development approach and critical incident approach. The first one uses
different sources of information, such as opinions of providers and
literature. The other one is a process to obtain information from customers.

The 10 determinants of service quality established by Parasuraman et al.

(1985) provide a list that can guide investigation on the first approach. The
authors subsequently developed SERVQUAL (Parasuraman et al., 1988), a
two-part instrument for measuring service quality that was refined later
(Parasuraman et al., 1991). SERVQUAL provided a means of measurement
for researchers to determine how well service level is delivered and how it
matches customer expectations on a consistent basis.

Parasuraman et al. (1988) developed a 22-item measurement instrument

called SERVQUAL for assessing customers' perceptions of service quality in
service and retailing organizations. Respondents are first asked to provide
the level of service expected from a service firm on the 22-item
expectations scale. Perceived service quality is obtained by subtracting the
expectation rating from the perception rating for each of the items. The
perceived quality is assessed based on service quality dimensions that
correspond to the criteria used by consumers when assessing service
quality. There are 10 potentially overlapping dimensions: tangibles,

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

reliability, responsiveness, communication, credibility, assurance,

competence, courtesy, understanding/knowing the customer, and access.
Afterwards, these dimensions were reduced to five, namely: tangibles,
reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy. The SERVQUAL instrument
may be used individually or may be averaged across the 22 pairs of items
to obtain an overall service quality score.

Using these 5 dimensions as the evaluation criteria the specification of

service quality becomes the gap between customers’ expectations and
their perceptions (Parasuraman et al). The five key gaps or discrepancies on
the service provider's side that are likely to affect consumers' perceptions
of service quality are:-

Gap 1: Consumer expectation-management perception gap, which is the

gap between consumer expectations of service quality and management
perceptions of these expectations
Gap 2: Management perception-service quality perception gap, that is, the
gap between management perceptions of consumer expectations and the
firm's service quality specifications
Gap 3: Service quality specifications- service delivery gap, the gap
between service quality Specifications and actual service quality
Gap 4: Service delivery-external communications gap, or the gap between
actual service delivery and external communications about the service
Gap 5: Expected service-perceived service gap, which is the gap between
expected service and perceived service

Applications of the SERVQUAL scale have been made to measure service

quality in hospitals, hotels, travel and tourism, telecom companies,
insurance companies and banks, business school placement centre, retail
stores and acute care hospital physicians, dentists, attorney, financial and
banking institutions, laundry/dry cleaning and automobile companies.

3.3 Service Quality Dimensions

Service quality is a perception of the customer. Customers, however, form

opinions about service quality not just from a single reference but from a
host of contributing factors. Service marketers need to understand all the
dimensions used by customers to evaluate service quality.

David Garvin in the article ‘Competing on the Eight Dimensions of Quality’

identified the following eight dimensions of quality applicable to both goods
and services. These include: Performance, Features, Reliability,

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

Conformance, Durability, Serviceability, and Aesthetics, Perceived quality or

prestige.

In a further refinement of their earlier factor identification, Parasuram,

Zeithmal and Berry have identified the following five dimensions of service
quality as crucial. These are:

a. Reliability
This dimension is shown to have the highest influence on the customer
perception of quality. It is the ability to perform the promised service
dependably and accurately.

Banglalink, one of the leading companies of telecommunication sector in

Bangladesh, has been striving to protect itself as a reliable service provider.
It hopes to differentiate itself from other companies in Bangladesh. To
protect this reliability, Banglalink is always striving to provide its promised
services as dependably and as accurately as possible which is quite evident
from its growth rate.

When service delivery fails the first time, a service provider may get a
second chance to provide the same service in the phase called ‘Recovery’.
The expectations of the customer are usually higher during the recovery
phase than before because of the initial failure. Thus, the service provider is
likely to come under greater scrutiny, thereby increasing the possibility of
customer dissatisfaction. The reliability dimension, which ensures timely

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

delivery time after time, helps the service provider to meet the customer
expectations fully at the lowest level of service expectation.

b. Responsiveness
It is the willingness of the service firm’s staff to help customers and to
provide them with prompt service. The customers may have queries,
special requests, complaints, etc. In fact, each customer may have
problems of his or her own. While the front-end employee may have been
trained or equipped to deliver standardized services, the customers want
them to go beyond this limit. It is the willingness to help the customer or
willingness to go that extra distance that is responsiveness.

The second aspect of responsiveness is speedy response to a customer

request. When response is delayed customers usually loses interest. Many
sales representatives respond on the phone, ‘I will call you back’. The call is
never returned. The customer draws his or her own conclusion about the
quality of service he is likely to receive in the future.

c. Assurance
It defined as the ability of the company to inspire trust and confidence in
the service delivery. It refers to knowledge and courtesy of the service
firm’s employees and their ability to inspire trust and confidence in the
customer toward the company. This dimension is considered vital for
services that involve high risk as customers may not be able to evaluate all
the uncertainties involved in the process by them.

Example: Telecommunication services sometimes requires complex

uncommon procedures, services in various ways demand this service
quality dimension.

There are property developers/builders who provide a list of previous

buyers of flats or apartments to potential buyers. The evaluation of
construction services is beyond technical capabilities of most buyers.
However, the prospective customers are free to call the previous
customers. When prospective customers hear from them about the
company and its satisfactory delivery, they feel assured and develop a
more positive attitude towards the company.

d. Empathy
It refers to the caring, individualized attention the service firm provides
each customer. When service provider puts himself in the shoes of the
customers, he may see the customer’s viewpoint better. When customers

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

feel that the provider is making his best effort to see their viewpoint, it may
be good enough for most.

Example: a lady customer with a young child arrives slightly late at the
check-in counter and requests the agent for a seat along the aisle and near
the toilet. Even if all such seats have already been taken up, the agent and
the airline may make even effort to request another passenger to exchange
seats and meet the customer demand. The lady passenger would be
delighted if her request could be honored despite the last minute checking
in, and even if she does not get such a seat, she would be grateful for their
effort.

e. Tangibles
It refers to physical facilities, equipment, and appearance of a service firm’s
employees. The job of the tangible and physical evidence of a service is
multifunctional.

When a customer sees the various offerings of Banglalink in the newspaper

or commercials, he becomes aware of the quality of service he is about to
receive. If Banglalink provides customers service with well dressed &
mannered employees, announce their offerings in a specified written format
etc, customers will be impressed. Tangibles provide the customer proof of
the quality of service.

3.4 Applicability of SERVQUAL in Telecommunication

Despite the high growth market of cellular phone communication the

research in customer satisfaction is still in its initial stages (Aydin & Özer,
2006; Sharma & Ojha, 2004; Woo & Fock, 1999). A survey of cellular phone
customers in Hong Kong revealed that transmission quality and coverage of
network are most important (Woo & Fock, 1999). Others have examined the
link between loyalty, switching cost and switching behavior (Aydin & Özer,
2006; Lee & Feick, 2001). An exploratory study of factors contributing to
customer satisfaction of mobile user in India has resulted in the
construction of three distinct constituents i.e., network base service
performance, retailer related process performance, and network operator
related performance (Sharma & Ojha, 2004).

SERVQUAL can track service quality trends, systematically soliciting and

analyzing customer suggestions and complaints. The potential application
of SERVQUAL in evaluating Banglalink’s services is to determine relative
importance of the five dimensions in influencing customer’s overall quality
perceptions. The most critical dimension consistently identified is reliability,

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

followed by assurance, tangibles, responsiveness and finally empathy. So,

considering all the dimensions are important in measuring service quality,
we are trying to find out the whether these dimension have significant
influence on customer perceived performance or not in case of Banglalink.

3.5 Measuring Service Quality

When evaluating service quality, consumers examine five dimensions:

tangibles, reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy.

Using SERVQUAL to Measure Service Quality

The SERVQUAL instrument was based on the premise that service quality is
the difference between customers’ expectations and their evaluation of the
service they received. The first part of the questionnaire asks customers to
indicate the level of service they would expect from a firm in a particular
industry. The second part of the questionnaire asks customers to evaluate
the service performed by a specific service firm. Gap Theory is the method
for calculating service quality that involves subtracting a customer’s
perceived level of service received from what was expected.

SERVQUAL uses 22 questions to measure the five dimensions of tangibles,

reliability, responsiveness, assurance and empathy. Through SERVQUAL,
firms can measure customers’ evaluations of their service performance. For
example, if customers consistently give firm low scores for one dimension,
such as reliability, then the firm’s management can take steps to improve
that particular dimension of their service offering.

3.6 Problems with SERVQUAL

Although SERVQUAL is an excellent instrument for measuring service

quality, managers must be aware of potential problems with the
instrument, as well as with the gap theory methodology on which it is
based. An understanding of these problems may prevent service companies
from misinterpreting the results and developing inappropriate marketing
plans. The SERVQUAL instrument has three potential problems.

First, SERVQUAL measures customers’ expectations of the ideal firm in a

particular service industry. This may or may not be relevant to the
capabilities of a particular service firm or the set of service firms available
to a consumer. For example, consumers may indicate that physicians
should provide their services at the time they promised. Seldom do patients
see the doctor at the scheduled time. No one likes waiting after their

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appointment time, yet, because of excess demand, patients will continue to

wait.

The second problem with SERVQUAL is its generic nature. Since its not
industry specific, it does not measure variables that may be important for a
particular industry. For example, in the airline business, on-time arrival is a
very important dimension to travelers, but SERVQUAL does not measure
travelers’ perceptions of this variable.

The third problem with problem with SERVQUAL deals with the gap theory
methodology used for measuring the level of service quality. Measuring
consumer expectations after a service has been provided will bias
consumers’ responses. If customers had a positive experience at
Blockbuster, they will tend to report lower scores for their expectations, so
there is a measurable gap between what they expected and the actual
service they received.

3.7 Questionnaire

Based on your experiences as a customer of telecommunication, please

show the extent to which you think a telecommunication company would
possess the feature described by each statement. Here is no right or wrong
answers - all we are interested in is the number that truly reflects your
feelings regarding telecommunication that would deliver excellent quality of
service.

This questionnaire attempts to explore the consumer attitude, perception

and satisfaction toward the different services provided by one of the largest
mobile phone operator of Bangladesh, Banglalink. Your cooperation in
filling out this questionnaire will be immensely helpful in this regard. Your
information will not be disclosed.

Weights for each category are given bellow:

[Strongly Disagree = 1], [Disagree = 2], [Neutral = 3], [Agree = 4],
[Strongly Agree = 5]

OA1: What is your overall attitude about the service quality of Banglalink?

Very Low Low Moderate High Very

High

Statements in the Reliability Dimensions (Five Items)

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

R1: When Banglalink promises to do something by a certain time, it does

so.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

R2: When you have a problem Banglalink shows a sincere interest in

solving it.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

R3: Banglalink performs the service right the first time.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

R4: Banglalink provides its services at the time it promises to do so.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

R5: Banglalink insists on error-free records.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

Statements in the Responsiveness Dimensions (Four Items)

RES1: Banglalink keeps customers informed about when services will be

performed.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree
RES2: Employees in Banglalink give you prompt service.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

RES3: Employees in Banglalink are always willing to help you.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

RES4: Employees in Banglalink are never too busy to respond to your

request.

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

Statements in the Assurance Dimensions (Four Items)

A1: The behavior of employees in Banglalink instills confidence in you.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

A2: You feel safe in your transactions with Banglalink.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

A3: Employees in Banglalink are consistently courteous with you.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

A4: Employees in Banglalink have the knowledge to answer your questions.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

Statements in the Empathy Dimensions (Five Items)

E1: Banglalink gives you individual attention.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

E2: Banglalink has employees who give you personal attention.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

E3: Banglalink has your best interests at heart.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

E4: Employees of Banglalink understand your specific needs.

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

E5: Banglalink has operating hours that are convenient to all its customers.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

Statements in the Tangibles Dimensions (Four Items)

T1: Banglalink has modern looking equipment.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

T2: Banglalink’s physical facilities are visually appealing.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

T3: Banglalink’s employees appear neat.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

T4: Materials associated with the service are visually appealing at

Banglalink.

Strongly Disagree Disagree Neutral Agree

Strongly Agree

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CHAPTER-4
ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

4.1 Analysis and Results a

For the study, twenty two questions have been used to identify the service
Gap. A five point likert scale is used to measure the customer attitude,
expectation and perception across the five dimension of the study. The
RESULTS of the survey are shown in the following tables.

Model Summary
Taking overall attitude (OA1) as dependent variable and five dimensions
(AR, ARES, AA, AE, AT) as independent variable we get the following model
summary:

Adjusted R Std. Error of the

Model R R Square Square Estimate
1 .803(a) .644 .517 .518
Predictors: (Constant), AT, ARES, AA, AR, AE

Coefficients (a)
Taking overall attitude (OA1) as dependent variable and five dimensions
(AR, ARES, AA, AE, AT) as independent variable we get the following
Coefficients table:

Unstandardized Standardized
Coefficients Coefficients

Model B Std. Error Beta t Sig.

1 (Consta
.488 1.494 .327 .749
nt)
AR .939 .416 .692 2.256 .041
ARES -.168 .478 -.096 -.352 .730
AA .359 .507 .175 .710 .490
AE .680 .510 .420 1.333 .204
AT -.870 .447 -.510 -1.945 .072
Dependent Variable: OA1

Here, AR, ARES, AA, AE and AT stands for average reliability, average
responsiveness, average assurance, average empathy and average
tangibles respectively.

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CHAPTER-5
FINDINGS, RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSION

5.1 Findings

The results revealed that customer satisfaction is a multidimensional

construct. In our study overall service quality refers to the rating of service
quality on a scale of 1 to 5. Stepwise regression was used to examine the
relative importance of the five dimensions in determining overall service
quality.

There were only two significant dimensions that were important in

determining the overall service quality of Banglalink, that is, reliability,
tangibles. Among them reliability has the most significant influence on the
overall service quality of Banglalink. After reliability, tangibles the next
important dimension of Banglalink in determining the overall service quality
is empathy. The remaining dimensions assurance and responsiveness were
not statistically significant at the 5% level.

From the overall model summary we can say that, our model is 64 percent
compatible/fit in measuring the overall service quality of Banglalink.
Therefore it can be considered as a good model.

On the other hand, from the coefficients table we can see that the error on
significance level for reliability among the five dimensions is the lowest
(0.041). Therefore we can say that we are 96 percent confident that
reliability has significant influence on the overall service quality of
Banglalink.

Similarly, the error on significance level for tangibles is the second lowest
(0.072). Therefore we can say that we are 93 percent confident that
tangibles has significant influence on the overall service quality of
Banglalink. The error on significance level for empathy is the third lowest
(0.204). Therefore we can say that we are 80 percent confident that
empathy has significant influence on the overall service quality of
Banglalink.

The error on significance level for assurance is the fourth lowest (0.490).
Therefore we can say that we are 51 percent confident that assurance has
significant influence on the overall service quality of Banglalink. Last of all,
the error on significance level for responsiveness is the highest (0.730)
among the five dimensions. Therefore we can say that we are 27 percent

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

confident that responsiveness has significant influence on the overall

service quality of Banglalink.

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

5.2 Recommendations

The findings of this study have important practical implications to

management of service quality of Banglalink. This study demonstrates the
usefulness of the SERVQUAL approach as a measure of service quality. The
results of the study indicate that the SERVQUAL scale could make a
valuable contribution by enhancing the understanding of the perceived
service quality of telecommunication services. The measurement scale also
serves to identify symptoms and the underlying problems that inhibit the
effective provision of quality services.

Once the attributes of mobile phone services from the customers'

perspective are more clearly known and understood, its service providers
will be in a better position to anticipate consumer requirements rather than
to react to consumer dissatisfaction. The attributes of reliability and
tangibles have been identified by respondents to be the most important
dimensions of service quality. Although these findings cannot be
generalized to the overall customer profile, Banglalink should use it as an
impetus to assess their services, particularly to study ways of improving on
their reliability and tangibles dimensions.

Banglalink management could start by improving on staff training,

especially to train their staff to be more professional and courteous when
dealing with customers. The public confidence of Banglalink has to be
gained and the best way is for the management to look at improving on
aspects such as reliability of services, improving physical facilities, training
of staff and communicating precise information on schedules.

In view of the intense competition in the telecommunication sector, it is

imperative that the management of Banglalink carry out more research to
discover any shortfalls in service quality and to take necessary corrective
measures in case of a shortfall. This could ensure that the service quality of
Banglalink provides the best to its consumers in order to compete
effectively with its competitors. As the consumer plays a key role in the
definition and evaluation of the quality of telecommunication services
offered, managers of Banglalink should incorporate consumer expectations
and perceptions in the formulation of effective long-term marketing
strategies.

5.3 Conclusion

Measuring customer satisfaction is one of the key steps in improving

service quality and retaining customers on a long-term basis. The outcome
of this study concluded that two of five dimensions of service quality were

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 Consumers Attitude toward the Service Quality of Banglalink

strong predictors of service quality of Banglalink and had positive

influences on customers' perceived service quality. Gathered empirical
results showed that in mobile telecom industry in Banglalink reliability and
tangibles are strong determinants of service quality while empathy,
assurance and responsiveness are weak ones and aren’t prominent
dimensions in forming service quality perceptions.

Although there are few players in Bangladesh’s mobile telecom market, the
competition between them is more intense than ever. They compete not
only in terms of network quality by substantial investments in network
extensions and upgrades, but also in terms of customer acquisition and
satisfaction via direct and indirect strategies. Based on the studied model,
the present research successfully applies what is derived from service
quality literature to the mobile telecom sector with evidence from
Bangladesh, providing a comprehensively integrated framework to
understand the dynamic relationships among dimensions of SERVQUAL in
the marketplace.

According to the results of this study, firms expecting to build and maintain
competitive advantages in this market must seek to deliver higher and
better service quality. In other words, they must pay attention to and invest
more on programs and approaches that increase their service quality, if
they want to survive this market. As a result of the findings, a managerial
priority should be to identify the most important factors in assessing service
quality. Additionally, managers should make key performers aware of their
role in customer perceived quality and provide these individuals with
adequate training in order to offer a consistently high standard of service
delivery. It is important that service quality be reassessed on a regular
basis.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Valarie Zeithaml & Mary Bitner, Services “Marketing”, 4th Edition

2. http://www.banglalinkgsm.com

3. Kotler Philip, “Marketing Management”, 12th Education

4. Cooper Donald R. & Shindler Pamela S, “Business Research
Methods”

5. Anderson & Sullivan, "The antecedents and consequences of

customer satisfaction for firms"

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