Service Availability and Customer Satisfaction of Telecommunication Services in North-Central, Nigeria

Abstract

There are issues with devotion from customers, poor customer value, service delays, insufficient backup data, poor interconnectivity, network failures, bad word of mouth and all of these led to customer dissatisfaction. Customer satisfaction is the end result of a customer's evaluation of the service or product's quality in relation to their initial expectations. The aim of this study was to examined relationship between service availability and customer satisfaction of Telecommunication Services in North-Central, Nigeria. This study employed cross-sectional survey research design to gathered data and according to the National Bureau Statistics Telecoms Data – Q1 2023, there were forty three  million six hundred and nine thousand and seventy four (43,609,074) and through Taro Yamen formula, the sample size was 400 customers stratified sampling selected. The Structural Equation Model tool was adopted using SMARTPLS software package. The first structural path which represented the first hypothesis of the study showed that there is a positive relationship between service availability and customer value of telecommunication companies in North-Central, Nigeria with a beta value (β) of 0.621 at P-value of 0.00 < 0.05 and T-Value 4.502 > 1.96. The second hypothesis of the study showed that there is a positive relationship between service availability and word of mouth of telecommunication companies in North-Central, Nigeria with a beta value (β) of 0.694 at P-value of 0.00 < 0.05 and T-Value 3.125 > 1.96. From the findings, the study concluded that service availability significantly related to the measures of customer satisfaction. Based on the findings, the study recommended among others that managers of telecommunication firms in North-Central, Nigeria should foster service availability by implementing programs and initiatives that encourage and support electronic creativity and innovation, as this can significantly improve customer value.