Customer Satisfaction Level Of Grameenphone Ltd.

1. Background of the Report

1.1 Introduction

Topic of my internship project is "Assessing Customer Satisfaction of GrameenPhone." I got the opportunity to do my internship at GrameenPhone Ltd. I have been working for their Customer Relations Division. As the name implies, it deals with the customers after the sales occurs. Main activities of this division includes maintaining databases of the customers, preparing the bills, distributing bills, activating new connections, helpline service, collection of bill through different banks all over the country, and the other after sales services.

As a member of GP's Customer Relations Division, my job is to provide different services to our valued subscribers over telephone, which is the helpline service. In other words, my job is to satisfy the subscribers. In my internship project, I have tried to judge the satisfaction level of GP service holders.

1.2 Objectives

This project was designed to accomplish three objectives. From my point of view, these issues are very important find out the gap between expectation and perception of the subscribers and to eliminate dissatisfaction. Through this study, I tried to attain the following objectives:

* Prime objective of my study was to find out the satisfaction level of GrameenPhone subscribers.

* As an outcome of the prime objective, I tried to notice the specific areas of dissatisfaction of the GP users.

* I applied the GAPs Model of service quality to find out both the customer and provider gaps.

1.3 Significance of the Study

From the organization part we came to know that GrameenPhone is the market leader in the mobile telecommunication industry of Bangladesh. Their growth rate is very high. But in this edge of competition, it is very difficult to keep the leading edge intact. Companies need to come up with new ideas to remain competitive. They need to keep their customers satisfied.

So, it is very important for GrameenPhone to know whether their customers are satisfied or not. If the customers are not satisfied, GP can specify the zones of dissatisfaction and take necessary actions to remove the dissatisfactions.

Hence, I decided to work on this topic.

1.4 Methodology

In my study I mainly depended on primary data that was collected through direct survey. I developed a questionnaire that consisted mainly closed-ended questions. There was one open-ended question also.

Data collection was done on a random basis. The results are represented through bar charts. My research findings came out through analyzing those data.

I also collected data and necessary information by interviewing officials of GP. These can be treated as secondary data.

After the analysis part, I have applied the GAP's Model of service quality on my findings. Finally, I came up with my recommendations.

1.5 Limitations of the Study

GrameenPhone's basic strategy is widening their market through their emerging country-wide network. As a result of this strategy, the subscribers are from different segments or from different income levels. Moreover, the subscribers are from all over Bangladesh and scattered all over the country.

But the sample that I used to conduct my survey was mostly from Dhaka division. Time limitation is the main reason behind this lack-age. So, it was not a perfectly representative sample.

Moreover, it was not possible to get all required internal information of the company as these are treated as confidential company information.

2. GrameenPhone Limited: An overview

2.1 About GrameenPhone

GrameenPhone (GP) has been established to provide high-quality GSM cellular service at affordable prices. GrameenPhone has a dual purpose:

Ð* To receive an economic return on its investment

Ð* To contribute to the economic development of Bangladesh where telecommunications can play a critical role.

Historical Background

GrameenPhone was offered a cellular license in Bangladesh by the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications on November 28, 1996. The Company launched its service on March 26, 1997, the Independence Day of Bangladesh.

In 1996, Bangladesh was preparing to auction off private cell phone licenses to four companies. So at the behest of Dr. Muhammad Yunus (Grameen Bank's founder) but completely independent of Grameen Bank, a not-for-profit private company called Grameen Telecom was created. Grameen Telecom, in turn, created a for-profit company called GrameenPhone, found a foreign partner, and put in a bid; GrameenPhone received one of the four licenses. GrameenPhone's total capitalization was US$120,000,000, including around US$50 million from IFC/CDC, and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). It also received US$60 million in equity from the four GrameenPhone private partners. These were the Norwegian Telenor with a 51% share, Marubeni of Japan with a 9.5% share, and the American Gonophone at 4.5%. GrameenPhone's fourth partner is Grameen Telecom (with 35%), and Grameen Telecom borrowed US$10.6 million from the Open Society Institute to set up Village Phone.

GrameenPhone launched service in urban Dhaka on March 26, 1997. It makes its profits by serving wealthier urban customers. But from the point of view of the Grameen family and its strong anti-poverty mission, the for-profit, urban-only GrameenPhone exists for only one reason: To fund, with its profits, the extension of cell phones into rural Bangladesh in order to provide entrepreneurial opportunity to Grameen Bank members through Village Phone. As Dr. Yunus puts it, "GrameenPhone is merely what we need to do Grameen Telecom's Village Phone."

Three important and interesting structural aspects of operation on the largest scale are:

First, that the not-for-profit Grameen Telecom