A REPORT ON

CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON VODAFONE

Done for

VODAFONE

A PROJECT REPORT

Submitted to the

SRM SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

In partial fulfillment of the requirements

For the Award of the degree of

Master of Business Administration

By

R.EBENESAR
(Reg No. 3511111009)

Under the Guidance of

Mr. V.M.PONNIAH
Professor

Department of School of Management

SRM University, Chennai – 603 203

March – April 2013

i
 BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that the Research Project work titled “CUSTOMER

SATISFICATION ON VODAFONE”, bonafide record of work done by
EBENESAR.R Registration No. 3511111009 Second year MBA, SRM UNIVERSITY,
in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the award of degree “MASTER OF
BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION” during the academic year 2011-2013.

Faculty Guide Head of Department

Dr. PONNIAH V.M DEAN

Submitted or viva voice to be held on:

Internal Examiner External Examiner

Date:

Place:

ii
 DECLARATION

I, EBENESAR, a bonafide student of SRM University, hereby declare that project

titled “CUSTOMER SATISFICATION ON VODAFONE” Submitted in partial

fulfillment of the requirement for the award of the degree in “MASTER OF BUSINESS

ADMINISTRATION”, of the SRM University is my original work.

Date:

Place:

iii
 ABSTRACT

The project entitled “CUSTOMER SATISFACTION ON VODAFONE” is

carried out with an objective to determine the customer satisfaction on Vodafone service

providers’ services and to find out the customer’s mentality towards using the services.

The research type used in this study is descriptive research. Data were collected by

survey method through structured questionnaire with both opened and closed ended

questions.

For distribution of questionnaire to the consumer convenience sampling method

was used to select the customers and the survey was taken among those selected users.

After collecting the data from the respondents it was analyzed using Simple Percentage,

Weighted Average, Chi-Square Tests and ANOVA method used for analyzing the

collected data.

iv
 CONTENTS
S. No. Title Page No.
ABSTRACT iv
LIST OF TABLES viii

1 INDUSTRY PROFILE 1
1.1 INDRODUCTION 2
1.2 EVOLUATION OF THE INDUSTRY 3
1.3 MOBILE SUBSCRIBER STASTICS 5
1.3.1 GSM SUBSCRIBERS 6
1.3.2 CDMA MOBILE USERS 7
1.4 TELECOM IN RURAL INDIA 7
1.5 MAJOR PLAYERS 10
1.6 GROWTH OF MOBILE TECHNOLOGY 11
1.7 CELLULAR SERVICE PROVIDERS 12
1.7.1 BHARTI AIRTEL 12
1.7.2 RELIANCE COMMUNICATIONS 12
1.7.3 BSNL 13
1.7.4 VODAFONE 13
1.7.5 TATA INDICOM 13

2 COMPANY PROFILE 14
2.1 INTRODUCTION 15
2.2 MISSION 15
2.3 VISION 15
2.4 HISTORY 16
2.5 CORE VALUES 22
2.6 ACCOMPLISMENTS 22
2.7 SEVICES 23
2.7.1 PREPAID SERVICES 23
2.7.2 POST PAID SERVICES 24

v
 2.7.3 VALUE ADDED SERVICES 24
2.7.4 DIAL 600 TO ACTIVATE 25
2.7.5 SMS 25
2.7.6 SMS CHAT 25
2.7.7 VODAFONE ONLINE 25
2.7.8 MTNL DIRECTORY 26
2.7.9 STD/ISD CODES 26
2.7.10 RINGTONES & LOGOS 26
2.7.11 FLASH & BLINK 26
2.7.12 DAIL IN SERVICES 27
2.7.13 CALL MANAGEMENT SERVICES 30
2.7.14 VOICE RESPONSE 30
2.7.15 VOICE MESSAGING 30
2.7.16 YAHOO MESSANGER 30
2.7.17 CELL BANKING 31
2.7.18 ROAMING 31
2.7.19 YAHOO MAIL 32
2.7.20 WAP 32
2.7.21 GROUP MESSAGING 32
2.7.22 VODAFONE4HELP 32
2.8 VODAFONE ESSAR 33
2.8.1 OWNERSHIP 33
2.8.2 PREVIOUS BRANDS 33

3 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 35
3.1 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 36
3.2 MEASURING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 36
3.3 VODAFONE HAD HIGHEST CUSTOMER 38
SATISFACTION IN 2007
3.4 LITERATURE REVIEW 39
3.4.1 IMPORTANCE OF SERVICE QUALITY 39
3.4.2.SERVICE QUALITY GAP 40

vi
 3.4.3.CUSTOMER SATISFACTION 41
3.5 OBJECTIVES OF STUDY 41
3.6 BENEFITS OF STUDY 42

4 SWOT ANALYSIS 43
4.1 STRENGTHS 44
4.2 WEAKNESS 45
4.3 OPPURTUNITIES 45
4.4 THREATS 46

5 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 47
5.1 INTRODUCTION 48
5.2 PROCESS OF MARKETTING RESEARCH 49
5.2.1 PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION 49
5.2.2 RESEARCH DESIGN 50
5.2.3 DATA COLLECTION AND 50
SAMPLING

6 DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION 53

7 STATISTICAL TOOLS 75

8 FINDING & SUGGESIONS 91

9 CONCLUSIONS 95
REFRENCES 97
ANNEXURE 99

vii
 LIST OF TABLES

Table Title Page No.

No.
1 GSM Subscribers growth rate 8
2 CDMA Subscribers growth rate 9

viii
 TOWER 1, 9th FLOOR, TVH BELICIAA TOWERS,

BLOCK 94, MRC NAGAR,

CHENNAI - 600 028,

PHONE: +91-9884098844

Email: nodal.tamilnadu@vodafone.com

Date: 26th APRIL, 2013

TO WHOM SO EVER IT MAY CONCERN

This is to certify that Mr. R. EBENESAR (3511111009) doing II year

MBA in SRM SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT has done a project work entitled

“A STUDY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION AT VODAFONE CHENNAI” in

our organization during period from 7th March 2013 to 26th April 2013.

During the period of the project his conduct was found to be good.

Thanks & warmest regards,

SENTHILKUMAR A
Deputy Manager – HR
CHAPTER 1

INDUSTRY
PROFILE

1
1.1 Introduction

The telecom network in India is the fifth largest network in the world meeting
up with global standards. Presently, the Indian telecom industry is currently slated to
an estimated contribution of nearly 1% to India’s GDP.

The Indian Telecommunications network with 110.01 million connections is

the fifth largest in the world and the second largest among the emerging economies of
Asia. Today, it is the fastest growing market in the world and represents unique
opportunities for U.S. companies in the stagnant global scenario. The total subscriber
base, which has grown by 40% in 2005, is expected to reach 250 million in 2007.

According to Broadband Policy 2004, Government of India aims at 9 million

broadband connections and 18 million internet connections by 2007. The wireless
subscriber base has jumped from 33.69 million in 2004 to 62.57 million in FY2004-
2005. In the last 3 years, two out of every three new telephone subscribers were
wireless subscribers. Consequently, wireless now accounts for 54.6% of the total
telephone subscriber base, as compared to only 40% in 2003. Wireless subscriber
growth is expected to bypass 2.5 million new subscribers per month by 2007. The
wireless technologies currently in use are Global System for Mobile Communications
(GSM) and Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA). There are primarily 9 GSM and
5 CDMA operators providing mobile services in 19 telecom circles and 4 metro cities,
covering 2000 towns across the country.

2
1.2 Evolution of the Industry - Important Milestones:

Year Description
1851 First operational land lines were laid by the govt. near Calcutta(seat of
British Power)

1881 Telephone Service introduced in India

1883 Merger with the postal system
1923 Formation of Indian Radio Telegraph Company (IRT)
1932 Merger of ETC and IRT into the Indian Radio and Communication
Company(IRCC)

1947 Nationalization of all foreign telecommunication companies to form the

Posts, Telephone and Telegraph(PTT), a monopoly run by the
government’s Ministry of Communication

1985 Department of Telecommunications (DOT) established, an exclusive

provider of domestic and long-distance service that would be its own
regulator (separate from the postal system)

1986 Conversion of DOT into two wholly government-owned companies: the

Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL) for international
telecommunications and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited
(MTNL) for service in metropolitan areas.

1997 Telecom Regulatory Authority of India created

1999 Cellular Services are launched in India. New National Telecom Policy
is adopted.

2000 DoT becomes a corporation, BSNL

(Source: The Indian Telecom Industry by consulting club, IIM Calcutta)

"Telecommunications is the backbone of our future economy. International

competitiveness increasingly depends on the development of a

3
telecommunications infrastructure that is compatible with international
standards"

The cellular industry all over the world has been witnessing very high growth
rates in subscriber base in recent years. For developing countries in particular, cellular
services are becoming a very significant proportion of the overall telecom
infrastructure. The mechanics of competition within this market involve complex
feedback effects between individual service providers and with their operating
environment, and these forces play an important role in governing the growth of this
industry.

The Indian telecommunications sector has undergone a major process of

transformation because of significant Government policy reforms during the
recent years. The New Telecom Policy, 1999 focused on creating an ideal
environment for investment, establishing communication infrastructure by
leveraging on technological development and providing affordable telecom
services to all. These objectives of the policies have resulted in rapid growth of
subscribers and lower tariffs. We believe that with these major initiatives of the
Government, the mobile market in India will have a promising future.

In a country like India which is not yet telephone-saturated and the ongoing
changes in related areas are resulting in a rapidly changing profile of users, providers
and their respective needs, continuous revision of the telecom policy is imperative.
Given the emerging new technologies and the integrating economies there must be
fairness among competitors.

The tele-density in India is about four per hundred people in respect of the
fixed telephones and a little less than one in respect of the mobile telephony. The low
densities are not because there is no need for a telephone but because of its high cost
that many cannot afford that one. The situation here is nothing but holding true of the
“law of demand”. Isn’t it?

4
 The cost for the companies can come down if the revenue share imposed
on them as a condition of license is abolished or drastically reduced. Today every
telephone company is bound to pay a share out of its revenue to the exchequer.
These costs are, however, not to be scheduled to take a step further in the
development of the telecom. In addition when we go through the telephone bill
there is a 5 to 8% service charge. This amount also does not go for the telecom
development. If these external cost are removed there can be seen a spurt in
demand of not less then 40% as expected.

While taking the side of suppliers a lot of new companies are coming into the
battlefield resulting in reduction of prices and hence a little less burdensome on to the
customer. The cost of interconnection with the incumbent is proving to be
contributory to the high cost of services provided by the competitors.

The delay in the interconnection disregards the quality of service and high cost
will detract from affordability. This is an area in which no consumer body can
knowledgeably contribute unless it has the assistant of experts or economists who
alone can discover all the relevant fact of all the contesting companies. It indicates the
pre-eminent domain of TRAI (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India).

As the driven down of the prices for long distance including international services
reduces the amount available for subsidizing the local service, the rental for local
services are being increased. Considering that about 90% of the long distance calls are
made by less than 20% of customers, 80% of customers are having to pay higher
rental this depresses the demand for telephones and affordability. The urban business
subscribers will be bearing the bond of the subsidies to be given to the rural private
consumers.

1.3 Mobile Subscriber Statistics

Recently, mobile phone connections in India have crossed the 400-million mark,
which means over forty in 100 Indians have a phone. Adding on to this benevolent

5
and happy information, telecom companies are anticipating the number will nearly
treble in the next two years. According to a survey, by 2010, the cellular networks are
expected to cover 4,50,000 (out of 6,07,000) villages, covering 550 million people.

Figure 1 Market Share of both mobile and wire line Service Providers in India

(Source: DARE by Cyber Media Publication, New Delhi)

1.3.1 GSM Subscribers

The cumulative All India GSM subscriber base rose to 72.12 million in April
2006 from 69.19 million in March 2006 which is a growth of 4.23% for a month
under review [4]. Table I shows the subscribers growth rate for one month along with
market share of each provider with coverage

6
1.3.2 CDMA Mobile Subscribers

The total cumulative all India CDMA subscriber base rose by 0.97 million
from 23.25 million in March 2009 to 24.22 million in April 2009, representing a
growth of 4.2% in the month under review. A summary picture of the company wise
performance is given in Table II.

1.4 Telecom in Rural India

India has an urban population of about 26.8% and rural population is about
73.2%. And there are over 600,000 villages in India. But a vast section of the rural
sector is still cut off from the benefits of telecom services. The rural population of
around 700 million is waiting for its share of economic growth. Initially the big
telephone companies focused only on urban centres, which they felt were more
profitable. However, this mindset is gradually changing with the realisation that there
is equal, if not bigger money in rural areas.

7
 Table I. GSM Subscribers growth rate

Company No of Subscribers (in million) % Market Service Areas

Share
March 2009 April 2009

Airtel 19.57 20.68 28.7% 23

BSNL 17.16 17.59 24.4% 21

Vodafone 15.36 16.06 22.3% 16

IDEA 7.37 7.64 10.6% 11

Aircel 20.61 2.83 3.9% 7

Reliance 1.90 2.01 2.8% 8

Spice 1.93 1.98 2.7% 2.

MTNL 1.94 2.02 2.8% 2

BPL 1.34 1.31 1.8% 1

Total 69.19 72.12 100%

(Source: ENTREPRENEUR by Infomedia Press Limited, Navi Mumbai)

8
 Table II. CDMA Subscribers growth rate

Company (No .of Subscribers (% in Market Service

per million) Share) Areas

March April
2009 2009

Reliance 18.307 18.809 77.65% 20

TATA 4.851 5.323 21.98% 20

HFCl 0.062 0.062 0.26% 1

Shyam 0.027 0.028 0.11% 1

Total 69.19 72.12 100%

(Source: ENTREPRENEUR by Infomedia Press Limited, Navi Mumbai)

It is estimated that a one per cent increase in rural connectivity can generate 0.5
per cent economic growth. Thus a well-planned 10 per cent increase in rural
connectivity can propel India into double-digit growth and unprecedented prosperity.

Rural India possesses enormous potential in terms of economy and human

resources. Recent experiments have confirmed that ICT (information and
communication technology) helps improve the timeliness and efficiency of rural farm
9
operations and enhance income through producer-oriented markets. Hence the
communication ministry has requested the finance ministry for higher allocations from
the USO Fund for executing rural telephony network. The finance ministry has made a
budgetary allocation of 15 billion from the USO Fund. The rural telephony targets
include, providing 50 million telephones by 2009(i.e. one phone per three rural
households) and 80 million by 2012 (i.e. one phone per two rural households) and
provisioning mobile access to all villages with population more that 5,000 by 2009
and more than 1,000 by 2010.The Government is confident that the Bharat Nirman
Programme target of providing coverage to remaining 41,000 villages would be met
by March 2010 which will be much earlier than a schedule of November 2010.

India plans to establish 0.25 million, village knowledge centres. The ICT
industry can establish rural call centres modelled on the Kisan Call Centre established
by the Ministry of Agriculture to provide domain knowledge in the services,
agriculture and manufacturing sectors. This spread will increase the volume of users
and automatically bring down bandwidth cost, with a spiralling effect on efficiency
and economy. Advanced telecom services are no longer considered a luxury but a
necessity for all. Thus, providing telecom services to every individual in a country like
India is a huge challenge, and at the same time holds immense opportunities for those
in the telecom industry.

1.5 Major Players

There are three types of players in telecom services:

 State owned companies (BSNL and MTNL)

 Private Indian owned companies (Reliance Infocomm, Tata Teleservices)

 Foreign invested companies (Vodafone-Essar, Bharti Tele-Ventures, Escotel,

Idea Cellular, BPL Mobile, Spice Communications)

India's mobile telecom sector is one of the fastest growing sectors. Unlike in the
10
1990s when the mobile phone was an elitist product, mobile operators now tap a mass
market with mass marketing techniques. "Unified licensing" rules allow basic and
mobile operators into each other’s territory, and have ushered in perhaps the final
phase of industry consolidation.

It seems that only companies with deep pockets can effectively compete as
primary operators mobile markets. Economies of scale, scope, and end-to-end
presence in long-distance as well as local telecom, are desirable.

There are, besides, new challenges. Operators have to find new growth drivers for
the wire line business. There are problems of getting broadband to take off, of
technology choice, of when to introduce new technologies, and of developing a viable
business model in an era of convergence.

1.6 Growth of mobile technology:

India has the fastest growing mobile markets in the world. The mobile services
were commercially launched in August 1995 in India. In the initial 5-6 years the
average monthly subscribers additions were around 0.05 to 0.1 million only and the
total mobile subscribers base in December 2002 stood at 10.5 millions. However, after
the number of proactive initiatives taken by regulator and licensor, the monthly
subscriber additions increased to around 2 million per month in the year 2003-04 and
2004-05.

Although mobile telephones followed the New Telecom Policy 1994, growth was
tardy in the early years because of the high price of hand sets as well as the high tariff
structure of mobile telephones. The New Telecom Policy in 1999, the industry
heralded several pro consumer initiatives. Mobile subscriber additions started picking
up. The number of mobile phones added throughout the country in 2003 was 16
million, followed by 22 millions in 2004, 32 million in 2005 and 65 million in 2006.
The only countries with more mobile phones than India with 156.31 million mobile
phones are China – 408 million and USA – 170 million.

11
 India has opted for the use of both the GSM (global system for mobile
communications) and CDMA (code-division multiple access) technologies in the
mobile sector.

The mobile tariffs in India have also become lowest in the world. A new mobile
connection can be activated with a monthly commitment of US$ 5 only. In 2005 alone
32 million handsets were sold in India. The data reveals the real potential for growth
of the Indian mobile market.

1.7 Cellular Service Providers:

As on Apr 2007 India has 167 million mobile phone subscribers. Out of this 125
million are GSM users and 41 million CDMA users. BSNL, Bharti Airtel, Hutch,
Idea, Aircel, Spice and MTNL are the main GSM providers in India. Reliance
Communications and Tata Indicom are the main CDMA providers in India.

1.7.1 Bharti Airtel

Airtel is providing cellular services in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai,

Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,
Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Goa, Orissa, Punjab, Rajasthan,
Tamil Nadu, UP and West Bengal. Airtel is the No.1 cellular service provider in India
using GSM technology. Airtel has 23% market share in India with a total subscriber
base of 38 million.

1.7.2 Reliance Communications

Reliance has both CDMA and GSM networks and total subscriber base of 29
million or 17% market share. It has GSM network in Assam, Bihar, Himachal
Pradesh, Kolkata, North East, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and West Bengal. Reliance has
CDMA networks in other states and cities.

12
1.7.3 Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL)

BSNL is a state owned telecom company which has GSM presence in almost
every cities and towns. BSNL has 27 million subscribers with a market share of 16%.

1.7.4 Vodafone

Vodafone is another emerging GSM provider in India with coverage in Kerala,

Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Punjab
with a total subscriber base of 27 million.

1.7.5 Tata Indicom

Tata Indicom is a main CDMA provider in India with 16 million subscribers all
over India. Tata Indicom has presence in almost every state and cities in India.

13
CHAPTER 2

COMPANY
PROFILE

14
2.1 Introduction

Vodafone is a mobile network operator headquartered in Berkshire, England,

UK. It is the largest mobile telecommunications network company in the world by
turnover and has a market value of about £75 billion (August 2008). Vodafone
currently has operations in 25 countries and partner networks in a further 42 countries.

The name Vodafone comes from Voice data fone, chosen by the company to
"reflect the provision of voice and data services over mobile phones."

As of 2006 Vodafone had an estimated 260 million customers in 25 markets

across 5 continents. On this measure, it is the second largest mobile telecom group in
the world behind China Mobile.

In the United States, Vodafone owns 45% of Verizon Wireless.

2.2 Mission

Vodafone is primarily a user of technology rather than a developer of it, and

this fact is reflected in the emphasis of our work program on enabling new
applications of mobile communications, using new technology for new services,
research for improving operational efficiency and quality of our networks, and
providing technology vision and leadership that can contribute directly to business
decisions.

2.3 Vision

Our Vision is to be the world’s mobile communication leader – enriching

customers’ lives, helping individuals, businesses and Communities be more connected
in a mobile world.

15
2.4 History

In 1982 Racal Electronics plc's subsidiary Racal Strategic Radio Ltd. won one of two
UK cellular telephone network licenses. The network, known as Racal Vodafone was
80% owned by Racal, with Millicom and the Hambros Technology Trust owning 15%
and 5% respectively. Vodafone was launched on 1 January 1985. Racal Strategic
Radio was renamed Racal Telecommunications Group Limited in 1985. On 29
December 1986 Racal Electronics bought out the minority shareholders of Vodafone
for GB£110 million.

In September 1988 the company was again renamed Racal Telecom and on 26
October 1988 Racal Electronics floated 20% of the company. The flotation valued
Racal Telecom at GB£1.7 billion On 16 September 1991 Racal Telecom was
demerged from Racal Electronics as Vodafone Group.

In July 1996 Vodafone acquired the two thirds of Talkland it did not already
own for £30.6 million. On 19 November 1996, in a defensive move, Vodafone
purchased Peoples Phone for £77 million, a 181 store chain whose customers were
overwhelmingly using Vodafone's network. In a similar move the company acquired
the 80% of Astec Communications that it did not own, a service provider with 21
stores.

In 1997 Vodafone introduced its Speech mark logo, as it is a quotation mark in

a circle; the O's in the Vodafone logotype are opening and closing quotation marks,
suggesting conversation.

On 29 June 1999 Vodafone completed its purchase of AirTouch

Communications, Inc. and changed its name to Vodafone Airtouch plc. Trading of the
new company commenced on 30 June 1999. To approve the merger, Vodafone sold its
17.2% stake in E-Plus Mobilfunk. The acquisition gave Vodafone a 35% share of
Mannesmann, owner of the largest German mobile network.

16
 On 21 September 1999 Vodafone agreed to merge its U.S. wireless assets with
those of Bell Atlantic Corp to form Verizon Wireless. The merger was completed on 4
April 2000.

In November 1999 Vodafone made an unsolicited bid for Mannesmann, which

was rejected. Vodafone's interest in Mannesmann had been increased by the latter's
purchase of Orange, the UK mobile operator. Chris Gent would later say
Mannesmann's move into the UK broke a "gentleman's agreement" not to compete in
each other's home territory. The hostile takeover provoked strong protest in Germany
and a "titanic struggle" which saw Mannesmann resists Vodafone's efforts. However,
on 3 February 2000 the Mannesmann board agreed to an increased offer of £112bn,
then the largest corporate merger ever. The EU approved the merger in April 2000.
The conglomerate was subsequently broken up and all manufacturing related
operations sold off.

On 28 July 2000 the Company reverted to its former name, Vodafone Group
Plc. In April 2001 the first 3G voice call was made on Vodafone United Kingdom's
3G network. In 2001 the Company took over Eircell, then part of eircom in Ireland,
and rebranded it as Vodafone Ireland. It then went on to acquire Japan's third-largest
mobile operator J-Phone, which had introduced camera phones first in Japan.

On 17 December 2001 Vodafone introduced the concept of "Partner Networks"

by signing TDC Mobil of Denmark. The new concept involved the introduction of
Vodafone international services to the local market, without the need of investment by
Vodafone. The concept would be used to extend the Vodafone brand and services into
markets where it does not have stakes in local operators. Vodafone services would be
marketed under the dual-brand scheme, where the Vodafone brand is added at the end
of the local brand. (i.e., TDC Mobil-Vodafone etc.)

In February 2002 Finland was added into the mobile community, as Radiolinja
is signed as a Partner Network. Radiolinja later changed its named to Elisa. Later that
year the Company rebranded Japan's J-sky mobile internet service as Vodafone live!
17
and on 3 December 2002 the Vodafone brand was introduced in the Estonian market
with signing of a Partner Network Agreement with Radiolinja (Eesti). Radiolinja
(Eesti) later changed its name to Elisa.

On 7 January 2003 the Company signed a group-wide Partner agreement with

mobilkom Austria. As a result, Austria, Croatia, and Slovenia were added to the
community. In April 2003 Og Vodafone was introduced in the Icelandic market and in
May 2003 Vodafone Italy (Omnitel Pronto-Italia) was rebranded Vodafone Italy. On
21 July 2003 Lithuania was added to the community, with the signing of a Partner
Network agreement with Bitė.

In February 2004 Vodafone signed a Partner Network Agreement with

Luxembourg's LuxGSM and a Partner Network Agreement with Cyta of Cyprus. Cyta
agreed to rename its mobile phone operations to Cytamobile-Vodafone. In April 2004
the Company purchased Singlepoint airtime provider from John Caudwell (Caudwell
Group) and approx 1.5million customers onto its base for £405million, adding sites in
Stoke on Trent (England) to existing sites in Newbury (HQ), Birmingham, Warrington
and Banbury. In November 2004 Vodafone introduced 3G services into Europe.

In June 2005 the Company increased its participation in Romania's Connex to

99% and also bought the Czech mobile operator Oskar. On 1 July 2005 Oskar of the
Czech Republic was rebranded as Oskar-Vodafone. Later that year on 17 October
2005 Vodafone Portugal launched a revised logo, using new text designed by Dalton
Maag, and a 3D version of the Speech mark logo, but still retaining a red background
and white writing (or vice versa). Also, various operating companies started to drop
the use of the SIM card pattern in the company logo. (The rebranding of Oskar-
Vodafone and Connex-Vodafone also does not use the SIM card pattern.) A custom
typeface by Dalton Maag (based on their font family InterFace) formed part of the
new identity.

On 28 October 2005 Connex in Romania was rebranded as Connex-Vodafone

and on 31 October 2005 the Company reached an agreement to sell Vodafone Sweden
18
to Telenor for approximately €1 billion. After the sale, Vodafone Sweden became a
Partner Network. In December 2005 Vodafone won an auction to buy Turkey's
second-largest mobile phone company, Telsim, for $4.5 billion. In December 2005
Vodafone Spain became the second member of the group to adopt the revised logo: it
was phased in over the following six months in other countries.

In 2006 the Company rebranded its Stoke-on-Trent site as Stoke Premier

Centre, a centre of expertise for the company dealing with Customer Care for its
higher value customers, technical support, sales and credit control. All cancellations
and upgrades started to be dealt with by this call centre. On 5 January 2006 Vodafone
announced the completion of the sale of Vodafone Sweden to Telenor. On February
2006 the Company closed its Birmingham Call Centre. In 1 February 2006 Oskar
Vodafone became

Vodafone Czech Republic, adopting the revised logo and on 22 February 2006
the Company announced that it was extending its footprint to Bulgaria with the
signing of Partner Network Agreement with Mobiltel, which is part of mobilkom
Austria group.

On 12 March 2006 former chief, Sir Christopher Gent, who was appointed the
honorary post Chairman for Life in 2003, quits following rumours of boardroom rifts.
In April 2006 the Company announced that it has signed an extension to its Partner
Network Agreement with BITE Group, enabling its Latvian subsidiary "BITE Latvija"
to become the latest member of Vodafone's global partner community. Also in April
2006 Vodafone Sweden changed its name to Telenor Sverige AB and Connex-
Vodafone became Vodafone Romania, also adopting the new logo. On 30 May 2006
Vodafone announced the biggest loss in British corporate history (£14.9 billion) and
plans to cut 400 jobs; it reported one-off costs of £23.5 billion due to the revaluation
of its Mannesmann subsidiary. On 24 July 2006 the respected head of Vodafone
Europe, Bill Morrow, quit unexpectedly and on 25 August 2006 the Company
announced the sale of its 25% stake in Belgium's Proximus for €2 billion. After the

19
deal, Proximus was still part of the community as a Partner Network. On 5 October
2006 Vodafone announced the first single brand partnership with Og Vodafone which
would operate under the name Vodafone Iceland and on 19 December 2006 the
Company announced the sale of its 25% stake in Switzerland's Swisscom for CHF4.25
billion (£1.8 billion). After the deal, Swisscom would still be part of the community as
a Partner Network. Finally in December 2006 the Company completed the acquisition
of Aspective, an enterprise applications systems integrator in the UK, signaling
Vodafone's intent to grow a significant presence and revenues in the ICT marketplace.

Early in January 2007 Telsim in Turkey adopted Vodafone dual branding as

Telsim Vodafone and on 1 April 2007 Telsim Vodafone Turkey dropped its original
brand and became Vodafone Turkey. On 1 May 2007 Vodafone added Jersey and
Guernsey to the community, as Airtel was signed as Partner Network in both crown
dependencies. In June 2007 the Vodafone live! Mobile Internet portal in the UK was
relaunched. Front page was now charged for and previously "bundled" data allowance
was removed from existing contract terms. All users were given access to the "full"
web rather than a Walled Garden and Vodafone became the first mobile network to
focus an entire media campaign on its newly launched mobile Internet portal in the
UK. On 1 August 2007 Vodafone Portugal launched Vodafone Messenger, a service
with Windows Live Messenger and Yahoo! Messenger.

On 17 April 2008 Vodafone extended its footprint to Serbia as VIP mobile was
added to the community as a Partner Network and on 20 May 2008 the Company
added VIP Operator as a Partner Network thereby extending the global footprint to
Macedonia. In May 2008 Kall of the Faroe Islands rebranded as Vodafone Faroe
Islands.

On 30 October 2008, the company announced a strategic, non-equity

partnership with MTS group of Russia. The agreement adds Russia, Armenia,
Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan to the group footprint.

20
 Today, in India, becomes Vodafone. Now, the pink color logo of Hutch is
replaced by Vodafone Essar’s corporate red colored one.

In 2005-06, the Orange brand in Mumbai was phased out to introduce (now
Vodafone). The company also changed the colors of its logo from orange to pink and
then red.

After acquiring 67 per cent of stake (around Rs. 250 crores) in ison Essar from
Hong Kong-based ison Whampoa, Vodafone Essar is expecting to touch over 35
million customers across 400,000 shops and thousands of ’s own employees along
with employees of its business associates.

Vice chairman, Ravi Ruia, Vodafone Essar, said “We’ve had a good innings
as in India and today marks a new beginning for us, not as a departure from the
fundamentals that created , but an acceleration into the future with Vodafone’s global
expertise.”

Vodafone CEO, Marten Pieters of the Vodafone Essar will be landing in

India for the meeting that would discuss branding exercise, expansion plans, spectrum
requirements for its expanding subscriber base and future plans.

Vodafone offers a host of premier value added services (VAS) including

national and international roaming in over 70 countries in over 160 networks,
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), short message service, voice mail service, auto
roam, fax and data, cricket updates, M-banking, general information, tarot line, etc.
The company launched WAP in Delhi in October 2000, much before its rival Bharti. It
has 5000 WAP customers, as in December 2000. The company has been a prime
mover in introducing these value-added services in the Delhi circle.

The values are stated simply. To be fair and transparent in what they do and how
they do it. To provide the quality services with more customer friendly practices. To
make one’s communications experience simple, pleasurable and fun. Where he doesn't

21
simply get technology - but technology that is relevant. Where solutions are not just
promised in the future - but delivered in the present.

2.5 Core Values

 We shall uphold the dignity of the individual.

 We shall honor all commitments.

 We shall be committed to Quality, Innovation and Growth in every

endeavor .

 We shall be responsible corporate citizens.

2.6 Accomplishments

- Over the years, Vodafone Essar, under the Hutch brand, has been named the
‘Most Respected Telecom Company´, the ´Best Mobile Service in the country´
and the ´Most Creative and Most Effective Advertiser of the Year´.

- Vodafone is the world´s leading international mobile communications group

with approximately 315 million proportionate customers as at 30 June 2009.

- Vodafone currently has equity interests in 31 countries across five continents

and around 40 partner networks worldwide

- The Essar Group is a diversified business corporation with a balanced portfolio

of assets in the manufacturing and services sectors of Steel, Energy, Power,
Communications, Shipping Ports & Logistics, and Projects.

- Essar employs more than 50,000 people across offices in Asia, Africa, Europe
and the Americas.

- The company now has operations across the country with over 78.68 million
customers.
22
2.7 Services

Staying connected becomes a lot easier with Vodafone. We have a wide range of
services you can access right from your Vodafone phone. From cell banking to flight
updates to call management services, get all that you want, instantly.

2.7.1 Prepaid services(latest):

Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular service providers announced

a new Bonus Card 25 for its prepaid customers in Punjab. With this new bonus card,
Vodafone customers can enjoy the benefit of unlimited national SMS at just
20paisa/SMS. The new bonus card comes with 30 days validity.

Rajiv Kohli, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Essar - Punjab said, “We
have always aimed to provide value offering to our customers. The new Bonus Card
25 facilitates Vodafone customers to stay connected with their loved ones across
India at an economical rate.”

Has introduced two new Bonus Cards. Bonus Card 17 and Bonus Card 27 come
with one month validity and are priced at Rs 17 and Rs 27 respectively. All Vodafone
prepaid customers including the lifelong customers in Kolkata and rest of Bengal can
enjoy the new Bonus Cards offer available across Stores and Ministores.

‘Lifelong Prepaid @Rs.46 plan’ for its prepaid customers in Kerala. This new
prepaid offer comes with lifetime validity and a talk time of Rs.5. Vodafone
customers can make local calls to all Vodafone numbers, other mobiles and landlines
at Re 1 per minute and all STD calls are at Rs1.50 per minute. Customers need to
recharge with Rs 200 cumulative in 180 days to stay connected.

23
2.7.2 Postpaid services(latest):

2.7.3 Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular services providers has
launched three new monthly rental plans - Budget 500, Budget 750 and Budget 1000 -
for its postpaid customers in Kolkata and West Bengal. These Budget plans offer
combinations of free minutes over local and STD calls along with free local SMS.
This offer is valid for new and existing customers.

Sridhar Rao, Chief Executive Officer, Vodafone Essar East Limited, said

“These budget plans will specially appeal to customers with high usage who can
now manage their mobile bills without compromising on talktime or SMS volume.”

Announced a special offer for its customers in Madhya Pradesh and

Chhattisgarh. Customers can now avail free VIP numbers with every new post paid
connection. The VIP numbers provide customers an option to choose a number of
their preference from a range of special Golden numbers that usually comes with a
huge price tag.

2.7.3 Value added services

Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular services providers, has

announced a special offer for Zoozoo fans across India. Vodafone customers can now
get special Zoozoo DVDs from a Vodafone Store and watch these adorable characters
from Vodafone Essar’s recent television commercials as they live life’s little moments
in their inimitable style. Vodafone Prepaid customers can get the DVD through a
recharge of above Rs 300 at the Vodafone Store. Vodafone Postpaid customers can
enroll for Direct Debit or activate Callertune or Vodafone Alerts at the Vodafone store
to get the Zoozoo DVD.

24
2.7.4 Dial 600 to activate

To activate these values added services on your Vodafone phone simply dial
600 and access our Interactive Voice Response system.

2.7.5 SMS

Message your family and friends through Vodafone SMS Services. It's
convenient and affordable. Communicate with cell phone users in over 100 countries
and anywhere in India - by sending and receiving text msg.
Pay just Rs. 1.50 per message for sending SMS anywhere across the country.

2.7.6 SMS Chat

Now, you can chat on your Vodafone phone with as many people as you want.
Its fun and as simple as sending an SMS. Your identity will remain anonymous as
your phone number is never displayed during the chat. You can have your own profile
and chat name.

You can also create your own chat rooms or chat in the different rooms that
already exist including: Teens, 20s, 30s, Office, Bollywood, Delhi.

All you have to do is type in your messages and send them to 2428. You will
be charged Rs. 2 per outgoing message. Incoming messages are free.

2.7.7 Vodafone Online

Get all the useful information you need directly on your Vodafone phone -
with Vodafone Online. Including cricket, finance, entertainment, weather, astrology
and more.

 Simply go to the Vodafone Online menu on your Vodafone phone. If you do

not see the Vodafone Online menu on your phone, send HELP to 123. We
will send you the list of keywords.
25
  Scroll to the topic on which you need information.

 Select the information and key input as requested on the screen.

You will be charged Rs. 2 per outgoing message. Incoming messages are free.

2.7.8 MTNL Directory

With this facility you can get to know the address and telephone no. of MTNL
users.you will be charged Rs.2 per outgoing message.

2.7.9 STD / ISD Codes

You don't need to look up your diary or a phone directory to find out STD and ISD
codes. You can find it directly through your Vodafone phone.

2.7.10 Ringtones & Logos

Now you can change the ringtone on your Vodafone phone according to your moods.
You can download logos as well.

For every ringtone downloaded, you will charged Rs. 7.00 (including the cost
of SMS sent). For every logo/picture message downloaded, you will charged Rs. 3.00
(including the cost of SMS sent).

2.7.11 Flash & Blink

Vodafone now offers you two exciting ways to send messages. You can make
your message flash directly on your recipient’s screen instead of the inbox. You can
also highlight the important parts of your message through blinks. So your text
messages become not only more visible, but more effective too. You will be charged
Rs. 2 per outgoing message. Incoming messages are free.

26
2.7.12 Dial-in Services

Vodafone brings you more conveniences at your fingertips. Use our Dial-in-
Services to check cricket scores, horoscope, up-to-the minute news and other relevant
information on services that touch your everyday life.

All Dial-in-Services carry a flat charge of Rs 6 per minute (1 min pulse).

Here's a shortlist of services you can access –

Service
Number

NDTV Online 123

Info Line 301

Dial-n-Deliver 306

Cricket Online 123

Tarot Line 314

Cell Rashi 315

Dial-a-Pizza 303

Dial-a-Cab 335

Voice Response Service 123

There are occasions when you may not want to take a call, or your Vodafone
phone maybe busy or simply unreachable. By paying a nominal monthly access fee,
you can now retrieve your messages at your convenience. Even if you are roaming,
27
you can retrieve your messages from your voice mailbox through a fixed line,
anywhere on earth.

Your Vodafone voicemail can

 Hold up over 17 messages at a time.

 Receive a message that lasts up to 90 seconds.

 Store a message for as long as you want.

 You can also record your voice signature and welcome message.

Calling Line Identification

You can check your caller's telephone name and number on your phone screen
whenever you receive a call. This gives you the flexibility to either accept or reject an
incoming call. This service is also helpful in identifying your missed calls

You can access this service by just paying Rs. 49 per month, if you are a
postpaid customer. This service is absolutely free if you are a Vodafone Prepaid
customer.

Itemized Billing

As a Vodafone Postpaid customer, you can choose to receive an itemized bill at

the end of each month. This is a detailed billing statement which helps you keep track
of all your calls. Your itemized bill includes:

 Origin of the call

 Destination of the call

28
  Duration of the call

 Toll charges

 Airtime and total charge

Get your itemized bill.

 Via post: Pay a monthly rental of 49 only.

 Via e-mail: Pay just Rs. 19 per itemized bill.

Fax & Data Services

This service enables you to constantly keep in touch with your office,
colleagues and information sources. You can send or receive faxes and transmit data
using your Vodafone phone anytime, anywhere. Whether you are operating from
home,

Hotels and airport lobbies. At speeds of up to 9600 bps within the network or
while roaming. You can even access the Internet.

All you need is a handset compatible data card (PC Card) or a GSM Software,
and a data chord cable with a PC to set up a mobile office.You can also opt for either
Vodafone Fax or Vodafone Data services independently.

Your Vodafone fax number can help you differentiate between incoming voice
calls and fax transmissions. You can also send and receive faxes anywhere on earth
with your Vodafone phone. By opting for the Vodafone Data Services you can access
e-mail, databases and the Internet. All on your single incoming data number. Charges
to activate the Vodafone Fax and Data service, you just need to pay a one-time
activation fee of Rs 500. To access the Fax service, the fee is Rs. 250. The usage
charges are nominal at Re 1 per minute.

29
2.7.13 Call Management Services

There may be occasions when you need to conference with up to six people at a time
or talk to just two. Or you are speaking to someone and want to forward an incoming
call to another phone. With your Vodafone phone, you can do this and more.
Vodafonehelps you manage your calls effortlessly so that you stay in control of your
conversations, always.

2.7.14Voice Response

Get your Vodafone phone to respond directly to your commands. Custom designed to
recognize Indian voices and accents, the Voice Response service makes your life more
convenient. You can get the latest updates on news, stocks, cricket and your
horoscope. Airtime charges will be Rs.6 per minute (1 minute pulse).

2.7.15 Voice Messaging

Voice Messaging has become even more affordable. You can now send voice
messages to cellular phones as well as fixed telephone lines in USA or Canada for just
Rs.3.95 per min* (as against Rs.4.95 per min earlier).
Voice messages within India across select networks will cost you Rs. .95 per min
only. Also, recipients of the cellular Voice Messaging service have the option of
replying back to the messages, which get returned back as return Voice Mail
messages, facilitating two-way (though not simultaneous) voice communication.

2.7.16 Yahoo! Messenger For SMS

You do not have to wait to get a PC to use the Yahoo! Messenger. With the exclusive
Vodafone-Yahoo! tie-up, you can easily get connected through your Vodafone
phone.This unique messenger comes with a lot of exciting features. You can connect
with all Yahoo! Messenger users, send, receive and reply to instant messages, view
and manage your friend list and also manage authorization requests. All this and more

30
just by using SMS. You will be charged Rs. 2 per outgoing message. Incoming
messages are free.

2.7.17 Cell Banking

Vodafone now puts the bank in your pocket with Cell Banking. Access your bank
account and transact directly on your Vodafone phone by sending text messages.

The first of its kind in India, this service enables you to conduct your banking without
having to visit the bank or making a call. You can do Cell Banking from over 90
countries worldwide. You will be charged Rs. 2 per outgoing message. Incoming
messages are free.

2.7.18 Roaming

Now you can always stay connected, no matter where you are. With the Vodafone
Roaming facility, you can use your Vodafone phone in over 100 countries worldwide
and over 1000 cities, towns and highways across India. Vodafone Roaming makes life
easy and convenient for you.

- Vodafone Essar, one of India’s leading cellular services providers, today

announced significant reduction in international roaming rates for its Postpaid
customers traveling to South Africa during the upcoming DLF Indian Premier
League (IPL) cricket tournament. Vodafone Essar is the official partner to DLF
IPL 2009

Your Vodafone phone number and PIN number remains the same whether you are
in Delhi, Chandigarh, London, Paris or anywhere else in the world.
National and International Roaming on Vodafone Prepaid

Roaming on Vodafone Prepaid gives you the most extensive coverage in over
1000 cities, towns and highways across India, and in over 100 countries around the

31
world. Enjoy Roaming on your Vodafone Prepaid card and stay in touch wherever
you go.

2.7.19 Yahoo! Mail For SMS

You can now directly access your email account on Yahoo! Mail on your
Vodafone phone. What’s more, you do not need a WAP enabled handset for this
service as it is based on SMS. So gain freedom from your PC and access your Yahoo!
mails anytime, anywhere on your Vodafone phone. You will be charged Rs. 2 per
outgoing message. Incoming messages are free.

2.7.20 WAP

With WAP, you can have the Internet directly in your pocket. So if you are
looking for quick and easy delivery of information and services, your Vodafone phone
can show it all. Use it to check out news, finance, shopping, entertainment, travel,
entertainment and city service information etc. To access this service all you need is a
WAP enabled handset and WAP services activated on your Vodafone phone. This
service comes to you at a nominal charge of Re. 1 per minute (1 min pulse).

2.7.21 Group Messaging

Party invitations, movie outings, festive greetings... whatever be the occasion,

you can send your message to all your friends at one go!
With Group Messaging from Vodafone, you can thus save yourself the bother of
painstakingly sending your message to one person at a time whether you are on
Vodafone Prepaid or Postpaid.

2.7.22 Vodafone4help

Vodafone4help now lets you take advantage of a lot more services than before.
You can connect to the nearest fire brigade or mechanic or florist or even order a
32
pizza. If you are stranded in the middle of the road, or if you you need immediate
medical attention or if you are looking for a police station close by, Vodafone4help
gives you instant access to your nearest source of help, anywhere in Delhi or the NCR.

All the help services are charged@Rs.6/min. while for police and fire help only
local airtime charge is applicable.

2.8 Vodafone Essar

Vodafone Essar, previously Hutchison Essar is a cellular operator in India that

covers 21 telecom circles in India. Despite the official name being Vodafone Essar, its
products are simply branded Vodafone. It offers both prepaid and postpaid GSM
cellular phone coverage throughout India and is especially strong in the major metros.

Vodafone Essar provides 2G services based on 900 MHz and 1800 MHz digital GSM
technology, offering voice and data services in 22 of the country's 23 licence areas.

2.8.1 Ownership

Vodafone Essar is owned by Vodafone 52%, Essar Group 33%, and other
Indian nationals, 15%.

On February 11, 2007, Vodafone agreed to acquire the controlling interest of

67% held by Li Ka Shing Holdings in Hutch-Essar for US$11.1 billion, pipping
Reliance Communications, Hinduja Group, and Essar Group, which is the owner of
the remaining 33%. The whole company was valued at USD 18.8 billion. The
transaction closed on May 8, 2007.

2.8.2 Previous brands

In December 2006, Hutch Essar re-launched the "Hutch" brand nationwide,

consolidating its services under a single identity. The Company entered into
33
agreement with NTT DoCoMo to launch i-mode mobile Internet service in India
during 2007.

The company used to be named Hutchison Essar, reflecting the name of its previous
owner, Hutchison. However, the brand was marketed as Hutch. After getting the
necessary government approvals with regards to the acquisition of a majority by the
Vodafone Group, the company was rebranded as Vodafone Essar. The marketing
brand was officially changed to Vodafone on 20 September 2007.

On September 20, 2007 Hutch becomes Vodafone in one of the biggest brand
transition exercises in recent times.

Vodafone Essar is spending somewhere in the region of Rs 250 crores on this

high-profile transition being unveiled today. Along with the transition, cheap cell
phones have been launched in the Indian market under the Vodafone brand. There are
plans to launch co-branded handsets sourced from global vendors as well.

A popular daily quoted a Vodafone Essar director as saying that "the objective
is to leverage Vodafone Group's global scale in bringing millions of low-cost handsets
from across-the-world into India."

While there is no revealing the prices of the low-cost Vodafone handsets, the
industry is abuzz that prices might start at Rs 666, undercutting Reliance
Communications' much-hyped 'Rang Barse' with cheap handsets beginning at Rs 777.

Meanwhile, Vodafone Essar sources said there would be no discounts or

subsidized handset offers -- rather handset-bundled schemes for customers.

Incidentally, China's ZTE, which is looking to set-up a manufacturing unit in

the country, is expected to provide several Vodafone handsets in India. Earlier this
year, Vodafone penned a global low-cost handset procurement deal with ZTE

34
CHAPTER 3

CONCEPTUAL
FRAMEWORK

35
3.1 Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction, a business term, is a measure of how products and

services supplied by a company meet or surpass customer expectation. It is seen as a
key performance indicator within business and is part of the four perspectives of a
Balanced Scorecard.

In a competitive marketplace where businesses compete for customers,

customer satisfaction is seen as a key differentiator and increasingly has become a key
element of business strategy.

There is a substantial body of empirical literature that establishes the benefits

of customer satisfaction for firms.

3.2 Measuring customer satisfaction

Organizations are increasingly interested in retaining existing customers while

targeting non-customers; measuring customer satisfaction provides an indication of
how successful the organization is at providing products and/or services to the
marketplace.

Customer satisfaction is an ambiguous and abstract concept and the actual

manifestation of the state of satisfaction will vary from person to person and
product/service to product/service. The state of satisfaction depends on a number of
both psychological and physical variables which correlate with satisfaction behaviors
such as return and recommend rate. The level of satisfaction can also vary depending
36
on other options the customer may have and other products against which the
customer can compare the organization's products.

Because satisfaction is basically a psychological state, care should be taken in

the effort of quantitative measurement, although a large quantity of research in this
area has recently been developed. Work done by Berry, Brodeur between 1990 and
1998 defined ten 'Quality Values' which influence satisfaction behavior, further
expanded by Berry in 2002 and known as the ten domains of satisfaction. These ten
domains of satisfaction include: Quality, Value, Timeliness, Efficiency, Ease of
Access, Environment, Inter-departmental Teamwork, Front line Service Behaviors,
Commitment to the Customer and Innovation. These factors are emphasized for
continuous improvement and organizational change measurement and are most often
utilized to develop the architecture for satisfaction measurement as an integrated
model. Work done by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry between 1985 and 1988
provides the basis for the measurement of customer satisfaction with a service by
using the gap between the customer's expectation of performance and their perceived
experience of performance. This provides the measurer with a satisfaction "gap"
which is objective and quantitative in nature. Work done by Cronin and Taylor
propose the "confirmation/disconfirmation" theory of combining the "gap" described
by Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry as two different measures (perception and
expectation of performance) into a single measurement of performance according to
expectation. According to Garbrand, customer satisfaction equals perception of
performance divided by expectation of performance.

The usual measures of customer satisfaction involve a survey with a set of

statements using a Likert Technique or scale. The customer is asked to evaluate each
statement and in term of their perception and expectation of performance of the
organization being measured.

37
3.3 Vodafone had highest customer satisfaction index in 2007

Lisbon, 25 August 2008 - Vodafone obtained the highest customer satisfaction

index in the telecommunications sector in 2007, according to annual results published
by Anacom. Vodafone achieved a satisfaction index of 74.4 (on a scale of 0 to 100),
the highest score of all the companies in the Portuguese telecommunications market
and considerably above the sector average of 67.6.

In the report published by Anacom, Vodafone is ranked in first place in all the
indicators included in the survey: Satisfaction with the operator, Image that customers
have of the operator, Customer Expectations, Perceived Quality of the operator's
network and services, Perceived Value for Money, Complaints received and their
handling, and Loyalty of customers to their operator.

In the Perceived Quality indicator, Vodafone obtained a score of 8.3 points for
overall quality, way ahead of the scores of the other two operators (both obtained 7.7
points). Vodafone comes top in all the indicators for perceived quality of network and
services: technical quality of the network (8.2 points); customer service and advice
capability (7.6 points); quality (8.2 points), diversity (8.0 points) and reliability (7.9
points) of products and services offered; clarity and transparency of information
supplied (7.8 points); network coverage (7.9 points) and clarity and transparency of
price plans (7.9 points).

Similarly, in the indicators measuring the Image of mobile operators, Vodafone

comes top in the five categories analyzed (on a scale of 1 to 10): 'It is a reliable
company in terms of what it says and what it does' (8.1 points); 'It is stable and well
established in the market' (8.8 points); 'It contributes positively to society' (7.5 points);
'It cares about its customers' (7.6 points); and 'It is innovative and forward looking'
(8.5 points).

The methodology used in the ECSI Portugal 2007 survey (ECSI – European
Customer Satisfaction Index) is similar to that used by the European Commission to

38
survey customer satisfaction in 25 Member States, enabling comparisons to be made
between the results obtained in each country.

The ECSI Portugal 2007 Communications survey was carried out by the Higher
Institute of Statistics and Information Management at Lisbon's New University in
partnership with the Portuguese Quality Institute and the Portuguese Quality
Association, with sponsorship from Anacom.

3.4 Literature Review

3.4.1 Importance of Service Quality

Service quality can be described as a rationale of differences between

expectation and competence along the important quality dimensions.

Parasuraman, Zeithaml and Berry [1] identified ten requirements useful for
customers’ evaluation of the quality of services: reliability, responsiveness, tangibles,
communication, credibility, security, competence, courtesy, understanding the
customers and service accessibility.

Zeithaml, Parasuraman, and Berry [2] proposed a service quality scale

(SERVQUAL), a generic instrument that has 5 dimensions of service quality:
reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy and tangibles, the constructs were
found to have high correlation.

This instrument continues to be widely used in marketing studies of customer

satisfaction and consumer preference [3], despite some argument that other models
may be better [4] [5] [6] and [7].

The stage of performance that a top quality service will need to give was
conditioned through the expectation of the customers. Service quality is judged low
when the performance was below expectation.

39
 The SERVQUAL model is a common diagnostic tool used to measure
customer service and perceived satisfaction. Reliability is the service company ability
to deliver promises on time. In this study we focused on five factors that could predict
the quality of the service provided by the investigated telecommunication service
provider. Responsiveness is the degree to which customers perceive service providers’
readiness to assist them promptly. Assurance is the degree of courtesy of service
providers’ workers and their ability to communicate trust to customers. Empathy is the
care and importance the service provider gives to an individual customer, and the
degree to which specific customer needs and preferences can be understood and
articulated. Lastly, tangibility is the evidence of facilities, personnel, and
communication materials used by the company while offering services to customers.

3.4.2. Service Quality Gap

In previous service research, meeting and exceeding expectations of clients and

customers is a perspective that has gained most attraction. This concept is all inclusive
and cuts across service domains, but expectations change and experiences with
alternate service providers could shape the customers’ expectations. The important
research gap here is attaining customers’ expectation towards a particular service. A
gap is the difference, imbalance or disparity which is determined to exist between
customers’ perception of firm performance and their prior expectation. Service quality
(SQ) perceived by customers is therefore as a result of a comparison of customers’
expectation (E) of services that the organization should offer versus their perception of
the performance (P) delivered by the service organization.

Management of service quality largely focuses on managing the gaps between

expectations and perceptions of customers. The goal of the firm is to minimize the gap
between (P) and (E). Rowley pointed out that previous researchers such as Lehtinen
and Lehtinen and Gronroos also applied gap principles similar to that proposed by
Parasuraman etc.

40
3.4.3. Customer Satisfaction

Customer satisfaction is a personal feeling of either pleasure or disappointment

resulting from the evaluation of services provided by an organization to an individual
in relation to expectations.

Service providers frequently place a higher priority on customer satisfaction, because

it has been seen as a prerequisite to customer retention. As a positive outcome of
marketing activities, high customer satisfaction leads to repeat visitation to stores,
repeat product purchases, and word-of-mouth promotion to friends. While low
customer satisfaction has been associated with complaining behavior. A satisfied
customer often stays loyal longer, and is likely to patronise the firm in future.
Customer satisfaction can be conceptualized as either transaction-specific satisfaction
or cumulative Satisfaction. Transaction-specific satisfaction is a customer’s evaluation
of her or his experience and reactions to a specific company encounter . Cumulative
satisfaction refers to customers overall evaluation of patronage experience from
inception to date.
3.5 Objective of Study:
Following are the main objective to study about the customer satisfaction on
Vodafone.

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

 To study the familiarity regarding vodofone services.

 Customer satisfaction with respective value added services.
 To analyse the unawareness of Vodafone services among the customers.

SECONDARY OBJECTIVES:
 To study the profile of mobile users.
 Awareness about telecommunication providers.
 To analyse cost effective Vodafone services.

41
3.6 Benefits of study:
There are many benefits related to take this study. Some of the benefits of
taking this study are as follows:

 By analyzing this information, the company would be able to better design

schemes & services & target right prospects’ needs & wants.
 More people will get aware about Vodafone that will increase profit level of
Vodafone.
 This study helps to identify the behavior of consumer when there are no offers

& schemes from Vodafone.

42
 CHAPTER 4

SWOT ANALYSIS

43
 SWOT Analysis is a strategic planning method used to evaluate the Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats involved in a project or in a business venture.
It involves specifying the objective of the business venture or project and identifying
the internal and external factors that are favorable and unfavorable to achieving that
objective. The technique is credited to Albert Humphrey, who led a research project at
Stanford University in the 1960s and 1970s using data from Fortune 500 companies.

Strengths Weaknesses

Leadership Position Centralized Control –

Global Brand Strength Low Flexibility
Internal
High Geographical reach High Consumer churn
rates

Opportunities Threats

Expanding marketing boundaries Increased Competition

Growth through 3G Market saturation in
External Strategic Alliances Europe
Emergencies of Low cost
Brands

SWOT analysis of Vodafone

4.1 Strengths:

The main strength of Vodafone within the telecommunications market lies in

its brand image and recognition. Vodafone, having established a global presence and
having invested highly in marketing a differentiated image by promoting a Vodafone
life style, currently enjoys a differentiating advantage that, if exploited properly, can
offer a lead in competition. The presence of Vodafone in numerous countries within

44
Europe as well as in all part of the world enhances this image. It allows customers to
travel and enjoy easily the services of their home country operator. In the few
countries that Vodafone is not physically present (e.g. Norway) it has well established
strategic alliances which allow for a better service of mobile clients.

4.2 Weaknesses:

The expansion of Vodafone has been completed at the expense of direct control
of its operations. The company grew through a process of acquisitions of national
telecommunications companies (e.g. the acquisition of the third biggest Czech mobile
phone operator, Cesky mobile) rather than organic growth. This increased its
subscribers’ base quickly, offering direct market knowledge and immediate additions
of customer bases at the expense of direct effective control of the subsidiaries. At the
same time though, it implicitly imposed a centralized operational structure for the
group, nominating the UK headquarters as the leading business unit running a much
centralised marketing and handset procurement at group level. This has resulted in the
neglect of local markets and local differences, allowing market share to be gained by
smaller local competitors. Due to the highly saturated Western European market this
has resulted in an increase in the price elasticity of demand, with consumers becoming
continuously price oriented. This has resulted in high customer churn rates reaching
the level of 32.8% in the UK compared to O2’s 24%.

4.3 Opportunities:

The telecommunications market, even though highly saturated in some regions

offers great potential due to the ageing population and the sophistication of the
consumers. It offers great opportunities through a careful market segmentation and
exploitation of particular profitable segments. Different strategies should be pursued –
simple phones and simplified pricing plans to the ageing population and more
updated, sophisticated solutions for younger generations. The expanding Boundaries
of the market could provide further opportunities by allowing Vodafone to enter more
aggressively into fixed‐line service and to better enjoy the benefits of its high
45
investment in 3G technology. Moreover the company has undertaken its first steps in
establishing strategic alliances to develop customized solutions for end‐users:
Vodafone recently announced two new partnerships, one with supermarket group
ASDA to launch an ASDA branded mobile service in the UK, and another with
electrical retailer DSG International to provide mobile solutions to small businesses.
This could further be enhanced to avoid being a late‐entrant in this new method of
distribution which offers access to a wide potential customer base.

4.4 Threats:

The European part of Vodafone’s market is characterized by existing high

levels of competition. Major brands such as O2 and T‐Mobile are exploiting the price
sensitivity of customers and in this way they are building a stronger image and
presence in the market. Indirect competition is also increasing further, through the
presence of Skype and other related (not only voice) Internet‐based services. This
combined with the upcoming European legislative measures is expected to limit
further the tariffs for the network providers imposing further need for price cuts which
could harm the bottom line profitability of the company.

46
 CHAPTER 5

RESEARCH
METHODOLOGY

47
5.1 Introduction:
“Marketing research means the systematic gathering, recording, analyzing of
data about problems relating to the marketing of goods and services”
Marketing research has proved an essential tool to make all the need of
marketing management. Marketing research therefore is the scientific process of
gathering and analyzing of marketing information to meet the needs of marketing
management. But gathering of observation is must be systematic. The systematic
conduct of research requires:
 Orderliness, in which the measurements are accurate.
 Impartiality in analysis and interpretation.
All of research can be categorized into basic and applied.
1. BASIC RESEARCH: - Basic Research is that intended to expand the body of
knowledge for the use of others.
2. APPLIED RESEARCH: - Applied Research is one, which is carried out to
find the solution for a particular problem or for guiding a specific decision. It is
usually private in nature.
My research on Vodafone is carried on for guiding specific decisions and its
results are useful only to Vodafone for taking particular decision regarding product
quality, staff and security. Hence the nature of my research study is “APPLIED
RESEARCH “.

48
5.2 Process of Marketing Research:
The marketing research is done in systematic process. The Researcher has
pursued the below process of marketing for my study at Vodafone:

Problem Identification

Research Design

Data Collection

Data Analysis & Interpretation

Research Report & Presentation

5.2.1 Problem Identification:

The first and the most important step of marketing research is properly defining
the problem. In order to identify the research problem two categories of problem
should be carefully noticed.

Here the researcher’s problems are:-

 A number of customers are not satisfied with services, new schemes and offers.
 A number of customers are not satisfied with the network coverage.
 A number of customers are not satisfied with the current call rates of Vodafone.
 A number of customers are not satisfied with the Free SMS schemes.
 A number of customers are not satisfied with the service of customer care of
Vodafone.

49
5.2.2 Research Design
Research design indicates the methods and procedure of conducting research
study. Research design can be done in following three types:-
Exploratory Research:-
Exploratory research focuses on the discovery of new ideas and is
generally based on secondary data.
Descriptive Research:-
Descriptive research is undertaken when the researcher want to know
the characteristics of certain groups.
Causal or Experimental Researches:-
An experimental research is undertaken to identify causes and effect
relationship between two variables.
The Research Design is: Descriptive Research Design
5.2.3 Data Collection and Sampling:
Sources of Data Collection:-
Basically there are two types of data i.e. secondary and primary:
Primary Data Collection:-
Primary data collection contains the following four types of methods: -
Observation Method:
It contains Causal observation, Systematic observation, direct
observation and contrived observation.
Survey Method:
It contains Personal Interview, Telephone Interview and Mail Interview.
Experimental Method.
Panel Method.
Secondary Data Collection: -
It can be collected from internal as well as external sources
Internal Source:

50
 Various internal sources like employee, books, sales activity, stock
availability, product cost, etc.
External Sources:
Libraries, trade publications, literatures, etc are some important sources
of external data.
The Researcher has used primary data for the core purpose of the project
and this primary data has been gathered by survey method. The researcher has
also used secondary data
Data collection Tools:
To conduct a survey, the Researcher has selected a structured questionnaire as
an instruction for gathering valuable information from the customers.
Questionnaire, which is used for the survey, is consisting of questions and
checklist questions to check the customer feedback.
Sampling Plan:
The researcher has design a sampling plan that is consist of five decisions.
Sampling unit:
Who is to be surveyed?
The Researcher has selected youngsters, businessmen, and housewives,
employees to conduct survey and to measure satisfaction level.
Sampling types:
There are two types of sampling i.e. Probability Sampling and Non –
probability Sampling.
Probability Sampling : -
Probability sampling means each unit of the universe has equal chance
of getting selected. The most frequently used probability sampling methods are
as below:
a) Simple Random Sampling.
b) Stratified Random Sampling.
c) Multi-stage Random Sampling.
d) Cluster Sampling.

51
e) Multi – phase Sampling.
f) Replicated Sampling.
Non – Probability Sampling:-
Non – Probability sampling contains following methods:-
a) Judgment Sampling.
b) Convenience Sampling.
c) Panel Sampling.
d) Quota Sampling
For this purpose the researcher has used non probability convenience sampling.
Sample Size:
Sample size means limited numbers of respondents covered under the
research study from a population and the researcher has taken a survey of 120
respondents to know the satisfaction level of customer.
Sampling Area:
The researcher’s area for survey was:
 SRM University, Chennai.
 Vodafone Store, Chennai.
 Outside Big Bazaar, Chennai
Sampling Unit:
Here the researcher has randomly selected the respondents of the
Chennai city.
Data Analysis and Interpretation
After all the above steps are completed now the important step is data
analyzing and interpretation. For this there are various analytical and statistical
tools. Some of these tools are Percentage, Average, Dispersion, Co-relation,
Co-efficient, etc.

52
 CHAPTER 6

DATA ANALYSIS

&
INTERPRETATION

53
Q1) What is your age?

AGE NO OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE %

18-30 40 33.3

31-35 34 28.3

35-40 28 23.3

41-50 12 10

ABOVE 50 6 5

TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 33.3% of the respondents were 18-30 age limit.
2. 28.3% of the respondents were 31-35 age limit.

54
Q2) Which of these Discribes Your Job?
NO OF
JOB PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS

PROFESSIONAL 30 25

CLERICAL 22 18.3

MANUAL WORKER 8 6.66

STUDENT 42 35

OTHERS 18 15

TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 35% of the respondents were Students.
2. 25% of the respondents were Professionals.

55
Q3) Which of the Following Mobile Service You Are Using?

OPERATOR’S SERVICE NO. OF PERCENTAGE

NAME RESPONDENTS
VODAFONE 40 33.3
AIRTEL 34 28.3
AIRCEL 30 25
BSNL 10 8.3
OTHERS 6 5
TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 33.3% of the respondents were using Vodafone Mobile Services.
2. 28.3% of the respondents were using Airtel Mobile Services.

56
Q4) Are You Aware About Telecommunication Services?

AWARENESS OF TELECOMMUNICATION
YES NO
SERVICES

NO. OF RESPONDENTS 120 0

Interpretation:
1. Here 100% of respondents are aware about Telecommunication Services.

57
Q5) From which source you came to know about Vodafone?

NO. OF
SOURCES PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS
ADVERTISEMENTS 50 41.6
HOARDINGS 22 18.3
NEWSPAPERS 30 25
MOUTH PUBLICITY 18 15
TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 41.6% of the respondents are known Vodafone through advertisements.
2. 25% of the respondents are known Vodafone through Newspapers.

58
Q6) Under Which Category You Belong To Regarding Your Monthly Income.

NO. OF
INCOME PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS
BELOW 5000 12 10
5000-15000 26 21.6
15000-25000 40 33.3
ABOVE 25000 35 29.16
NONE OF THE ABOVE 7 5.8

TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 33.3% of the respondents are in the salary level of 15000-25000.
2. 29.16% of the respondents are in the salary level of above 25000.

59
Q7) Which of the following services do you use of Vodafone?

SERVICES NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

Pre-Paid 78 65

Post-paid 42 35

Total 120 100

Interpretation:

1. 65% of the respondents were using Prepaid Services.

2. 35% of the respondents were using Postpaid Services.

60
Q8) Which services are more helpful to you while using Vodafone Services?
.
SERVICES NO. OF PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS
CALL RATES 40 33.3
SMS RATES 30 25
NETWORK 22 18.3
VALUE ADDED 18 15
SERVICES
OTHERS 10 8.3
TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 33.3% of the respondents were responding that call rates are more helpful on
Vodafone services.
2. 25% of the respondents were responding that SMS rates are more helpful on
Vodafone services.

61
Q9) How Familiar Are You With Vodafone Service Provider?

VODAFONE NO. OF PERCENTAGE

RESPONDENTS
FAMILIAR 65 54.16
SOME WHAT 45 37.5
FAMILIAR
NEVER HEARD OF 10 8.33
SERVICE BEFORE
TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 54.16% of the respondents were familiar with Vodafone service provider.
2. 37.5% of the respondents were somewhat familiar with Vodafone service
provider.

62
 Q10) Why Did You Contact Customer Care?
NO OF
REASONS PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS

FOR MORE INFORMATION

52 43.3
ABOUT SERVICES

DISSATISFIED WITH THE

22 18.3
SERVICES
TO CHECK THE STATUS OF
46 38.3
SERVICE REQUEST
TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 43.3% of the respondents stated that they contact customer care for more
informations about services.
2. 38.3% of the respondents stated that they contact customer care to check the
status of service requests.

63
 Q11) Rate the following on the basis of your satisfaction.
VERY FAIRLY
SERVICES EXCELLENT AVERAGE POOR TOTAL
GOOD GOOD
NETWORK 40 22 30 20 8 120
SMS RATES 28 32 30 25 5 120
NEW SCHEMES
50 25 15 22 8 120
AND OFFERS
CUSTOMER
65 20 22 10 3 120
CARE
RECHARGE
46 42 12 15 5 120
OUTLETS
CALL RATES 35 30 35 18 2 120
VALUE ADDED
75 20 18 4 3 120
SERVICES
TOTAL 339 191 162 114 34 840
PERCENTAGE 40.35 22.73 19.28 13.57 4.04 100

Interpretation:
1. 40.35% of the respondents were rated excellent for Vodafone services.
2. 22.73% of the respondents were rated very good for Vodafone services.

64
Q12) Why you are not using Vodafone Services?

REASONS NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

LACK OF AWARENESS 2 16.66

HIGH PRICES 5 41.66

POOR SERVICES 3 25

POOR NETWORK 2 16.66

TOTAL 12 100

Interpretation:
1. 16.66% of the respondents were not using Vodafone service because of lack of
awareness.
2. 16.66% of the respondents were not using Vodafone service because of poor
network.

65
Q13) Would you like to recommend Vodafone to others?
NO. OF
SUGGESTIONS PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS

YES 108 90

NO 12 10

TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 90% of the repondents stated that they will recommend Vodafone service.
2. 10% of the repondents stated that they will not recommend Vodafone service.

66
Q14) How Satisfied Are You With Vodafone Service Provider?
SERVICE WEIGHT NO OF
PERCENTAGE N*W
PROVIDER (W) RESPONDENTS
VERY
5 58 48.33 290
SATISFIED
QUITE
4 14 11.66 56
SATISFIED
NEUTRAL 3 28 23.33 84
QUITE
2 14 11.66 28
DISATISFIED
VERY
1 6 5 6
DISATISFIED
TOTAL 120 100 464

Interpretation:
1. 48.33% of the repondents were very satisfied with Vodafone service provider.
2. 23.33% of the repondents were neutral with Vodafone service provider.

67
Q15)What Makes You Unaware About Vodafone?

NO OF
UNAWARENESS PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS

LESS
32 26.67
ADVERTISTMENT

LESS PUBLICITY 80 66.67

OTHERS 8 6.67

TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 6.67% of the repondents were unaware because of other reasons.
2. 26.67% of the repondents were unaware because of less advertisement.

68
Q16) How Satisfied Are You With Customer Care Of Vodafone?

NO OF
WEIGHT
SATISFACTION RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE N*W
(W)
(N)
VERY
5 45 37.5 225
SATISFIED
QUITE
4 33 27.5 132
SATISFIED
NEUTRAL 3 21 17.5 63
QUITE
2 11 9.16 22
DISSATISFIED
VERY
1 10 8.33 10
DISSATISFIED
TOTAL 120 100 452

Interpretation:
1. 37.5 % of the repondents were very satisfied with customer care of Vodafone.
2. 27.5 % of the repondents were quite satisfied with customer care of Vodafone.

69
Q17) Compared With Others Would You Say That Vodafone Is.
NO OF
WEIGHT
VODAFONE RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE N*W
(W)
(N)
MUCH
5 70 58.33 350
BETTER
SOME WHAT
4 20 16.66 80
BETTER
ABOUT THE
3 18 15 54
SAME
SOME WHAT
2 4 3.33 8
WORSE
NEVER USED 1 8 6.66 8
TOTAL 120 100 500

Interpretation:
1. 58.33 % of the repondents were stated that vodafone service is much better
than other networks.
2. 16.66 % of the repondents were stated that vodafone service is somewhat
better than other networks.

70
 Q18) Please Rate Your Customer Care Epresentative In The Following Areas
UN VERY
REPRESENTATIVES V.SATISFY SATISFY TOTAL
SATISFY UNSATISFY
POLITE,PROFESSIONAL 60 35 18 7 120
SPOKE
76 38 4 2 120
UNDERSTANDABLE
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT
72 35 8 5 120
QUESTIONS
ABLE TO RESOLVE
66 42 10 2 120
QUESTIONS
FOLLOWED UP WITH
QUESTIONS AND 80 22 15 3 120
PROBLEMS
TOTAL 354 172 55 19 600

VERY
V.SATISFY SATISFY UN SATISFY TOTAL
PERCENTAGE UNSATISFY
59 28.6 9.16 3.16 100

Interpretation:
1. 59 % of the repondents were very satisfied with customer care representatives.
2. 28.6 % of the repondents were satisfied with customer care representatives

71
Q19) Do You Know Attractive Margins And Schemes?

MARGINS AND NO OF
PERCENTAGE
SCHEMES RESPONDENTS

YES 90 75

NO 30 25

TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 75% of the respondents are aware of the attractive margins and schemes.
2. 25% of the respondents are unaware of the attractive margins and schemes.

72
Q20) Are You Satisfied With Current Vodafone Plans and Services?

PLANS AND SERVICES NO OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE

YES 65 54.16

NO 33 27.5

CANT SAY 22 18.34

TOTAL 120 100

Interpretation:
1. 54.16% of the respondents are aware of current vodafone plans and services.
2. 27.5% of the respondents are unaware of current vodafone plans and services.
.

73
Q)21 How Satisfied Are You With Cost Of Vodafone?

NO OF
WEIGHT
VODAFONE RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE N*W
(W)
(N)
VERY
5 52 43.33 260
SATISFIED
QUITE
4 30 25 120
SATISFIED
NEUTRAL 3 22 18.33 66
QUITE
2 9 7.5 18
DISATISFIED
VERY
1 7 5.83 7
DISATISFIED
TOTAL 120 100 471

Interpretation:
1. 43.33% of the respondents are very satisfied with the cost of the vodafone.
2. 25% of the respondents are quite satisfied with the cost of the vodafone.

74
CHAPTER 7

STATISTICAL
TOOLS

75
 Q11) Rate the following on the basis of your satisfaction.
VERY FAIRLY
SERVICES EXCELLENT AVERAGE POOR TOTAL
GOOD GOOD
NETWORK 40 22 30 20 8 120
SMS RATES 28 32 30 25 5 120
NEW SCHEMES
50 25 15 22 8 120
AND OFFERS
CUSTOMER
65 20 22 10 3 120
CARE
RECHARGE
46 42 12 15 5 120
OUTLETS
CALL RATES 35 30 35 18 2 120
VALUE ADDED
75 20 18 4 3 120
SERVICES
TOTAL 339 191 162 114 34 840
PERCENTAGE 40.35 22.73 19.28 13.57 4.04 100

NULL HYPOTHESIS:(H0)

Null hypothesis (H0) is formulated only to test whether there is any significant
difference in the relationship between the variables related to the problem being studied.

ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS:(H1)

Alternative hypothesis (H1) is a statement, which is accepted, after the Null

hypothesis is rejected based on the test result.

76
Observed Frequency:
Observed Expected (O-E) (O-E) 2 (O-E) 2/E
frequency (O) frequency (E)
40 48.4 -8.4 70.56 1.46
22 27.28 -5.28 27.88 1.02
30 23.14 6.86 47.05 2.03
20 16.28 3.72 13.83 0.85
8 4.85 3.15 9.93 2.04
28 48.4 -20.4 416.16 8.60
32 27.28 4.72 22.28 0.81
30 23.14 6.86 47.05 2.03
25 16.28 8.72 76.03 4.67
5 4.85 0.15 0.03 0.005
50 48.4 1.6 2.56 `0.05
25 27.28 -2.28 5.20 0.20
15 23.14 -8.14 66.25` 2.86
22 16.28 5.72 32.72 2
8 4.85 3.15 9.93 2.04
65 48.4 16.6 275.56 5.70
20 27.28 -7.28 53.00 1.95
22 23.14 -1.14 1.30 0.06
10 16.28 -6.28 39.45 2.42
3 4.85 -1.85 3.43 0.70
46 48.4 -2.4 5.76 0.12
42 27.28 14.72 216.68 7.95
12 23.14 -11.14 124.10 5.36
15 16.28 -1.28 1.64 0.10
5 4.85 0.15 0.03 0.005
35 48.4 -13.4 180.00 3.70

77
30 27.28 2.72 7.40 0.27
35 23.14 11.86 140.65 6.07
18 16.28 1.72 2.95 0.18
2 4.85 -2.85 8.12 1.67
75 48.4 26.6 707.56 14.61
20 27.28 -7.28 53.00 1.94
18 23.14 -5.14 26.42 1.14
4 16.28 -12.28 150.80 9.26
3 4.85 -1.85 3.43 0.70
Total 94.57

Calculated value = Ψ2 = (O-E) 2/E = 94.57

Table value degree of freedom 80 @ 5% level = 101.874
Inference:
Since calculated value is less than the tabulated value Null hypothesis (Ho) is
accepted.
Conclusion:
There is no significant difference between the level of satisfaction of the
customer care offer

78
Q13) Would you like to recommend Vodafone to others?
NO. OF
SUGGESTIONS PERCENTAGE
RESPONDENTS

YES 108 90

NO 12 10

TOTAL 120 100

ANOVA:
Analysis of variance is a technique used to test equality of means, when more than
two populations are considered. If there are more than two populations, for testing the
equality of their means the analysis of variance method is applied.
Between column sum of squares:
SSC= (ΣX1)2/N1 + (ΣX2)2/N1 +……- T2/N
Within column sum of squares:
SSE= SST - SSC
Total sum of squares SST= SSC= ΣX12 + ΣX22 +……….. – T2/N
Sources No of respondents Percentage%
Yes 108 90%
No 12 10%
Total 120 100%

NULL HYPOTHESIS:(Ho)
There is no significant difference between the performance of your service
vehicle has delivered in prescribed time
ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS:(H1)
Alternative hypothesis (H1) is a statement, which is accepted, after the Null
hypothesis is rejected based on the test result.

79
Sources X1 X2
1 108 90
2 12 10

Step 1:
X12 X22
X1 X2
108 90 11664 8100
12 10 144 100
120 100 11808 8200

N = Number of observation = 4
T = Total of all the observation = 120 + 100 = 220
Correction factor = T2/n = (220) ^2/4 = 48400/4 = 12100
SST = Total sum of squares
= ∑X1 + ∑X2–T2/n
= 11808 + 8200 – 12100
= 11220 – 11025
= 7908
SSC = Column sum of squares
= (∑X1) 2/N1 + (∑X2)2/N1 – T2/N
= (120)2/2 + (100)2/2 – 12100
= 7200 + 5000 – 12100 = 100
SSE = SST – SSC
= 7908 – 100
= 7808
Sources of Sum of Degree of Mean sum of Variance F(factor value)
variations squares Freedom Squares
Between SSC = 100 1 100 100 0.02
Column
Error SSE = 7808 2 7808 3904

80
Calculate value = 0.02
Table value of factor (1, 2) do @ 5% level = 18.51

Result:
Ho is accepted since calculated value of F is less than the table value of F

81
Q14) How Satisfied Are You With Vodafone Service Provider?
SERVICE WEIGHT NO OF
PERCENTAGE N*W
PROVIDER (W) RESPONDENTS
VERY
5 58 48.33 290
SATISFIED
QUITE
4 14 11.66 56
SATISFIED
NEUTRAL 3 28 23.33 84
QUITE
2 14 11.66 28
DISATISFIED
VERY
1 6 5 6
DISATISFIED
TOTAL 120 100 464

WEIGHTED AVERAGE = ∑NW

--------------
∑N
WEIGHTED AVERAGE = 464/120 = 3.46

82
Q16) How Satisfied Are You With Customer Care Of Vodafone?

NO OF
WEIGHT
SATISFACTION RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE N*W
(W)
(N)
VERY
5 45 37.5 225
SATISFIED
QUITE
4 33 27.5 132
SATISFIED
NEUTRAL 3 21 17.5 63
QUITE
2 11 9.16 22
DISSATISFIED
VERY
1 10 8.33 10
DISSATISFIED
TOTAL 120 100 452

WEIGHTED AVERAGE = ∑NW

--------------
∑N
WEIGHTED AVERAGE = 452/120 = 3.76

83
Q17) Compared With Others Would You Say That Vodafone Is.
NO OF
WEIGHT
VODAFONE RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE N*W
(W)
(N)
MUCH
5 70 58.33 350
BETTER
SOME WHAT
4 20 16.66 80
BETTER
ABOUT THE
3 18 15 54
SAME
SOME WHAT
2 4 3.33 8
WORSE
NEVER USED 1 8 6.66 8
TOTAL 120 100 500

WEIGHTED AVERAGE = ∑NW

--------------
∑N
WEIGHTED AVERAGE = 500/120 = 4.16

84
 Q18) Please Rate Your Customer Care representative In The Following Areas
UN VERY
REPRESENTATIVES V.SATISFY SATISFY TOTAL
SATISFY UNSATISFY
POLITE,PROFESSIONAL 60 35 18 7 120
SPOKE
76 38 4 2 120
UNDERSTANDABLE
KNOWLEDGE ABOUT
72 35 8 5 120
QUESTIONS
ABLE TO RESOLVE
66 42 10 2 120
QUESTIONS
FOLLOWED UP WITH
QUESTIONS AND 80 22 15 3 120
PROBLEMS
TOTAL 354 172 55 19 600

VERY
V.SATISFY SATISFY UN SATISFY TOTAL
PERCENTAGE UNSATISFY
59 28.6 9.16 3.16 100

Observed Expected (O-E) (O-E) 2 (O-E) 2/E

frequency (O) frequency (E)
60 70.8 -10.8 116.64 1.64
35 34.4 0.06 0.003 0.0008
18 11 7 49 4.45
7 3.8 2.2 4.84 1.28
76 70.8 5.2 27.04 0.38
38 34.4 3.6 12.96 0.38
4 11 -7 49 4.46
2 3.8 -1.8 3.24 0.85
72 70.8 1.2 1.44 0.019
35 34.4 0.06 0.003 0.0008
8 11 -3 9 0.82
5 3.8 1.2 1.44 0.38
66 70.8 -4.8 23.04 0.33
42 34.4 7.6 57.76 1.68
10 11 -1 1 0.90

85
2 3.8 -1.8 3.24 0.86
80 70.8 9.2 84.64 1.20
22 34.4 -12.4 153.76 4.47
15 11 -4 16 1.46
3 3.8 -0.8 0.64 0.17
Total 25.745

Calculated value = Ψ2 = (O-E) 2/E = 25.745

Table value degree of freedom 20 @ 5% level = 31.41

Inference:
Since calculated value is less than the tabulated value Null hypothesis (Ho) is
accepted.

Conclusion:

There is no significant difference between the levels of satisfaction of the

customer care offer

86
Q19) Do You Know Attractive Margins And Schemes?

MARGINS AND NO OF
PERCENTAGE
SCHEMES RESPONDENTS

YES 90 75

NO 30 25

TOTAL 120 100

ANOVA:
Analysis of variance is a technique used to test equality of means, when more than
two populations are considered. If there are more than two populations, for testing the
equality of their means the analysis of variance method is applied.
Between column sum of squares:
SSC= (ΣX1)2/N1 + (ΣX2)2/N1 +……- T2/N
Within column sum of squares:
SSE= SST - SSC
Total sum of squares SST= SSC= ΣX12 + ΣX22 +……….. – T2/N

Sources No of respondents Percentage%

Yes 90 75%
No 30 25%
Total 120 100%

NULL HYPOTHESIS:(Ho)
There is no significant difference between the performance of your service
vehicle has delivered in prescribed time

87
ALTERNATIVE HYPOTHESIS:(H1)
Alternative hypothesis (H1) is a statement, which is accepted, after the Null
hypothesis is rejected based on the test result.

Sources X1 X2
1 90 75
2 30 25

Step 1:
X12 X22
X1 X2
90 75 8100 5625
30 25 900 625
120 100 9000 6250

N = Number of observation = 4
T = Total of all the observation = 120 + 100 = 220
Correction factor = T2/n = (220) ^2/4 = 48400/4 = 12100

SST = Total sum of squares

= ∑X1 + ∑X2–T2/n
= 9000 + 6250 – 12100
= 15250 – 11025
= 3150
SSC = Column sum of squares
= (∑X1) 2/N1 + (∑X2)2/N1 – T2/N
= (120)2/2 + (100)2/2 – 12100
= 7200 + 5000 – 12100 = 100

SSE = SST – SSC

= 3150 – 100
= 3050
88
Sources of Sum of Degree of Mean sum of Variance F(factor value)
variations squares Freedom Squares
Between SSC = 100 1 100 100 0.06
Column
Error SSE = 3050 2 3050 1525

Calculate value = 0.06

Table value of factor (1, 2) do @ 5% level = 18.51

Result:
Ho is accepted since calculated value of F is less than the table value of F

89
Q)21 How Satisfied Are You With Cost Of Vodafone?

NO OF
WEIGHT
VODAFONE RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE N*W
(W)
(N)
VERY
5 52 43.33 260
SATISFIED
QUITE
4 30 25 120
SATISFIED
NEUTRAL 3 22 18.33 66
QUITE
2 9 7.5 18
DISATISFIED
VERY
1 7 5.83 7
DISATISFIED
TOTAL 120 100 471

WEIGHTED AVERAGE = ∑NW

--------------
∑N
WEIGHTED AVERAGE = 471/120 = 3.925

90
 CHAPTER 8

FINDINGS &
SUGGESTIONS

91
FINDINGS
 33.3% of the respondents were 18-30 age limit and 28.3% of the respondents
were 31-35 age limit.
 35% of the respondents were Students and 25% of the respondents were
Professionals
 33.3% of the respondents were using Vodafone Mobile Services and 28.3% of
the respondents were using Airtel Mobile Services.
 41.6% of the respondents are known Vodafone through advertisements and
25% of the respondents are known Vodafone through Newspapers.
 33.3% of the respondents are in the salary level of 15000-25000 and 29.16% of
the respondents are in the salary level of above 25000.
 65% of the respondents were using Prepaid Services and 35% of the
respondents were using Postpaid Services.
 33.3% of the respondents were responding that call rates are more helpful on
Vodafone services and 25% of the respondents were responding that SMS rates
are more helpful on Vodafone services.
 54.16% of the respondents were familiar with Vodafone service provider and
37.5% of the respondents were somewhat familiar with Vodafone service
provider.
 43.3% of the respondents stated that they contact customer care for more
informations about services and 38.3% of the respondents stated that they
contact customer care to check the status of service requests.
 40.35% of the respondents were rated excellent for Vodafone services and
22.73% of the respondents were rated very good for Vodafone services.
 90% of the repondents stated that they will recommend Vodafone service and
10% of the repondents stated that they will not recommend Vodafone service.
 48.33% of the repondents were very satisfied with Vodafone service provider
and 23.33% of the repondents were neutral with Vodafone service provider.

92
 37.5 % of the repondents were very satisfied with customer care of Vodafone
and 27.5 % of the repondents were quite satisfied with customer care of
Vodafone.
 58.33 % of the repondents were stated that vodafone service is much better
than other networks and 16.66 % of the repondents were stated that vodafone
service is somewhat better than other networks.
 59 % of the repondents were very satisfied with customer care representatives
and 28.6 % of the repondents were satisfied with customer care representatives
 75% of the respondents are aware of the attractive margins and schemes and
25% of the respondents are unaware of the attractive margins and schemes.
 54.16% of the respondents are aware of current vodafone plans and services
and 27.5% of the respondents are unaware of current vodafone plans and
services..
 43.33% of the respondents are very satisfied with the cost of the vodafone and
25% of the respondents are quite satisfied with the cost of the vodafone.

93
SUGGESTIONS

Following are some of the suggestions given by the me so that Vodafone can serve
people and its customers in an improved way:

 41.66% of the respondents were not using Vodafone service because of high
prices.
 25.00% of the respondents were not using Vodafone service because of poor
services.
 46.67% of the repondents were unaware because of less publicity.
 26.67% of the repondents were unaware because of less advertisement.

94
 CHAPTER 9

CONCLUSIONS

95
CONCLUSIONS

Follwing are the conclusion that the researcher found after the survey.

From the survey, it was concluded that 33.3% of the respondents were using
Vodafone Mobile Services. Out of this 41.6% of the respondents are known Vodafone
through advertisements and 25% of the respondents are known Vodafone through
Newspapers. Furthermore, 33.3% of the respondents were responding that call rates
are more helpful on Vodafone services and 25% of the respondents were responding
that SMS rates are more helpful on Vodafone services. Only, 16.66% of the
respondents were not using Vodafone service because of lack of awareness and poor
network
It was found that the most of the mobile users were employed and 35% of the
users were students. All of the respondents are aware about Telecommunication
Services. 43.33% of the respondents are very satisfied with the cost of the vodafone
and 25% of the respondents are responded with mere satisfaction with the cost of
vodafone.

96
REFRENCES

97
BOOKS:
 Marketing Management – Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller.
WEBSITES:
 http://www.vodafone.com/start/media_relations/news/local_press_releases/
portugal/portugal_press_release/vodafone_had_highest.html
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Customer_satisfaction
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hutch_(Indian_cellular_company)
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vodafone
 http://bora.nhh.no/bitstream/2330/1919/1/Saplitsa%202008.pdf
 www.anacom.pt/render.jsp?contentId=606658
 www.iimcal.ac.in/community/consclub/reports/telecom.pdf
JOURNALS:
1. V.A. Parasuraman, A. Zeithaml, L. Berry. A Conceptual Model of Service
Quality and Its Implications for the Future Research. Journal of Marketing.
1985. Vol. 49, pp.41-50.
2. V.A. Zeithaml, A. Parasuraman, L.L. Berry. Delivering quality service:
Balancing customer perceptions and expectations. 1990. New York: The Free
Press.
3. P. Kotler, G. Amstrong. Principles of Marketing, 11th Ed., New Jersey,
Pearson Prentice Hall 2006.
4. Q. Othman, L. Owen. The Multidimensionality of Carter Model to Measure
Customer Service quality (SQ) in Islamic Banking Industry: A Study in Kuwait
Finance House. International Journal of Islamic Financial Services. 2000.
3(4).Q. Othman, L. Owen. Adopting and Measuring Customer Service Quality
in Islamic Banks:
5. A Case Study in Kuwait Finance House”, International Journal of Islamic
Financial Services. 2001. 1(3): 6-12.
6. H. Sudin, W. Nursofiza. S. Shafie. Adopting and Measuring Customer Service
Quality (SQ) in Islamic Banks: A Case Study in Bank Islam Malaysia Berhad.
Proceedings of National Seminar in Islamic Banking and Finance, Putrajaya,
Kuala Lumpur, 2004.March, 91-102.
7. M.T. Izah, W. Z. W. Ismail. Service Quality in the Financial Services Industry
in Malaysia: The Case of Islamic Banks and Insurance. International Review of
Business Research Papers. 2005. 1(2): 10-21.

98
ANNEXURE

99
QUESTIONNAIRE

Name: ________________
Age: ___ years
Sex: Male/Female
Contact no.: ___________
Signature: __________

100
Q1) WHAT IS YOUR AGE? (PLEASE TICK)
o BETWEEN 18-30
o BETWEEN 31-35
o BETWEEN 36-40
o BETWEEN 41-50
o ABOVE 50
Q2) WHICH OF THESE DESCRIBES YOUR JOB? (PLEASE TICK)
o PROFESSIONAL
o CLERICAL
o MANUAL WORKER
o STUDENT
o OTHERS
Q3) UNDER WHICH CATEGORY YOU BELONG TO REGARDING YOUR
MONTHLY INCOME?
o BELOW 5000
o BETWEEN 5000-15000
o BETWEEN 15000-25000
o ABOVE 25000
o NONE OF THE ABOVE
Q4) WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING MOBILE SERVICE YOU ARE USING
CURRENTLY? (PLEASE TICK)
o VODAFONE
o AIRTEL
o AIRCEL
o BSNLOTHERS (PLEASE
MENTION)_____________________________

101
Q5) ARE YOU AWARE ABOUT TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICE?
(PLEASE TICK)
o YES
o NO
Q6) FROM WHICH SOURCE YOU CAME TO KNOW ABOUT VODAFONE
SERVICE? (PLEASE TICK)
o ADVERTISTMENT
o HOARDINGS
o NEWS PAPERS
o MOUTH PUBLICITY
o IF ANY OTHER PLEASE MENTION
_________________________________.

Q7) WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING SERVICES DO YOU USE OF VADOFONE?

o PREPAID
o POST-PAID
o
Q8) WHICH SERVICE ARE MORE HELPFUL TO YOU WHILE USING
VODAFONE SERVICES?
o CALL RATES
o SMS SERVICE
o NETWORK
o VALUE ADDED SERVICE
o ANY OTHER PLEASE MENTION
_____________________________

102
Q9) HOW FAMILIAR ARE YOU WITH VODAFONE SERVICE PROVIDER?
o VERY FAMILIAR
o SOME WHAT FAMILIAR
o NEVER HEARD OF SERVICE BEFORE

Q10) WHY DID YOU CONTACT CUSTOMER SERVICE?

o FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT SERVICES
o DISSATISFIED WITH THE SERVICES
o TO CHECK THE STATUS OF SERVICE REQUEST

Q11) RATE THE FOLLOWING SERVICE ON THE BASIS OF YOUR

SATISFACTION
Services Excellent Very Good Fairly Average Poor
(5) (4) good (3) (2) (1)
Network
SMS rates
New schemes and offers
Customer Care
Recharge outlets
Call Rates
Value Added Services

Q12) WHY ARE YOU NOT USING VODAFONE SERVICE?

o LACK OF AWARENESS
o HIGH PRICES
o POOR SERVICES
o POOR NETWORK
o IF ANY OTHER PLEASE MENTION

103
Q13) WOULD YOU LIKE TO RECOMMEND VODAFONE TO OTHERS?
o YES
o NO

Q14) HOW SATISFIED YOU ARE WITH VODAFONE SERVICE PROVIDER?

o VERY SATISFIED
o QUITE SATISFIED
o NEUTRAL
o QUITE DISSATISFIED
o VERY DISSATISFIED
Q15) WHAT MAKES YOU UNAWARE ABOUT VODAFONE?
o LESS ADVERTISTMENT
o LESS PUBLICITY
o OTHERS
________________________________
(PLEASE MENTION)
Q16) HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH CUSTOMER CARE OF VODAFONE?
o VERY SATISFIED
o QUITE SATISFIED
o NEUTRAL
o QUITE DISSATISFIED
o VERY DISSATISFIED

Q17) COMPARED WITH OTHERS WOULD YOU SAY THAT VODAFONE IS

o MUCH BETTER
o SOME WHAT BETTER
o ABOUT THE SAME
o SOME WHAT WORSE
o NEVER USED

104
Q18)PLEASE RATE YOUR CUSTOMER CARE REPRESENTATIVE IN THE
FOLLOWING AREAS.
CUSTOMER VERY SATISFY (3) UN VERY UN
REPRESENTATIVE SATISFY (4) SATISFY (2) SATISFY (1)
POLITE
&PROFESSIONAL
SPOKE
UNDERSTANABLE
KNOWLEDGE
ABOUT
QUESTIONS
ABLE TO
RESOLVE MY
QUESTIONS
FOLLOWED UP
WITH MY
QUESTIONS

Q19) DO YOU KNOW ATTRACTIVE MARGINS & SCHEMES.

o YES
o NO

Q20) ARE YOU SATISFIED WITH CURRENT VODAFONE PLANS AND

SERVICES?
o YES
o NO
o CANT SAY

105
Q21)HOW SATISFIED ARE YOU WITH THE COST OF VODAFONE.
o VERY SATISFIED
o QUITE SATISFIED
o NEUTRAL
o QUITE DISATISFIED
o VERY DISSATISFIED

Q22) GIVE YOUR SUGGESION TO HELP IN SERVE YOU BETTER.

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_________

106