Internship Report On Airtel Customer Service

Executive Summary

I have prepared this report, which is limited to the communication arena of Airtel, through which I learnt a lot and it has aided me in being well equipped with valuable experience that would help me once I enter the professional life after the completion of my studies.

During the month of August to October 2009, I worked in Airtel GSM as an internee. My association with this company was being a part of the Customer Service Department. It was a great experience for me and it helped me in realizing where my potential lies. What I learnt at Airtel over the weeks was how to get along with the people that I have to work with everyday, building relationships with people, building confidence and improving my communication skills. This internship has also prepared me for my future career so this internship has helped me a great deal. The experience has taught me responsibility, teamwork and how to handle people in tough social situations. Even though the nature of work was quite basic as an internee, nevertheless I got to see what practical life is. This internship overall has been a great experience.

This report gives a profile of Airtel and an insight into a Airtel Franchise where I was assigned to work. All the functions and operations of a Franchise. This report also reflects my learning and experiences at Airtel along with my responsibilities and the tasks that I performed.

Last part of the report consists of some recommendations and suggestions that I have given. My proposal would be of great use to Airtel and if followed properly, it can increase the performance of employees and finally the performance of the organization itself.

INTRODUCTION AND
BACKGROUND

1. Introduction and Background: Airtel Bangladesh

The Dhabi Group is a multinational company based in the UAE, which owns and operates a wide range of business concerns that are spread across 3 different continents. It has a diversified business interest in the institutions that have enjoyed commercial success as a result of its strong financial resources and extensive management expertise. The Abu Dhabi Group’s major investments are in the following sectors:

• Telecommunications
• Hospitality services
• Property development
• Oil exploration and supplies
• Banking and financial services
• Automobile industries.

Airtel Bangladesh takes pride in being backed by the Abu Dhabi Group, one of the largest groups in the Middle East.

Airtel Bangladesh is currently operational in Bangladesh and Pakistan, while it is also setting pace to initiate its operation in Uganda & Congo. Within the markets Airtel is already operating, it has quickly developed a large customer base and established itself as one of the leaders of telecom service sector.

In Bangladesh, Airtel Bangladesh commenced its operations under a landmark MOU agreed upon by the Dhabi Group and the Government of Bangladesh worth USD 1 billion, out of which USD 750 million was exclusively committed for investment in the telecommunication sector of the country. Succeeding the MOU signing, the BTRC license for telecom service provision was issued to Airtel Bangladesh, followed by the signing of interconnectivity agreement with all the existing telecom companies of Bangladesh.

In December 2005, Airtel Bangladesh International LLC obtained a 15 year GSM license to operate as the sixth mobile phone operator in Bangladesh for 50 million US dollars.

Airtel Bangladesh launched their operations on the 10th of May, 2007 and uses the code 16 proceeded by the code number of Bangladesh +880. Airtel Bangladesh has acquired a million subscribers within 70 days of launch.

The company started rolling out network from mid-2006. In less than a year, amidst much speculation, Airtel Bangladesh launched their commercial operation with 26 districts – the largest ever launch in terms of network coverage and BTS Stations. Unlike its operations in other countries Airtel Bangladesh uses the slogan be heard instead of we care.

Currently Airtel Bangladesh provides both post-paid and pre-paid connection plans. The post-paid plan is branded and marketed across the country under the name Zahi Post-paid, which means leader or royalty. The pre-paid segment is branded and marketed as Zem Pre-Paid.

Based on the NGN (Next-Generation) network, Airtel Bangladesh’s operational activities in Bangladesh aim to achieve a new and modern corporate identity, which is congruent with the dynamic changes taking place in the telecom industry today. With a reflection of a new strategy, our aim is to be perceived not only as a telecommunication operator of voice services, but also as a universal provider of comprehensive communications services for both residential and business customers.

The subscriber base of over 2 million users in our first year of operation alone serves as a testament to Airtel Bangladesh’s customer-driven business mandate. These achievements have only been possible due to Airtel’s uncompromising commitment to provide maximum network coverage and clear connectivity at the most affordable price.

In December 2005, Airtel Bangladesh International LLC paid $50 million dollars (US) to obtain a GSM license from the BTRC and became the sixth mobile phone operator in Bangladesh.

In a press conference on August 17, 2006, Airtel announced that his network would be activated two months ahead of schedule, in October, 2006. Again in October, 2006 Airtel Bangladesh put off the launch of its cell phone services in Bangladesh until April, 2007 after its major supplier Nokia walked out on an agreement over a payment dispute.

Airtel had a soft launch at the end of January 2007. It gave away complimentary subscriptions among a selected group of individuals, whose job was to make ‘test calls’ and the operator adjusted its network’s quality based on their comments.

The official website of the company www.Airteltel.com.bd was launched on the April 30, 2007.

On the April 14, 2007 (Pohela Boishakhi day) Airtel Bangladesh kicked off its advertisement campaign titled “Salam Bangladesh Salam”. A few days later on the April 29, they launched their website.

On May 9, 2007, Airtel in an advertisement in some daily newspaper stated that it would be launching publicly on May 10, 2007. However, neither call rate nor any package details were revealed. The advertisement included an announcement for the people interested to buy Airtel connections to bring the documents like ID Card, etc, to the designated franchise and customer care centers.

On October 1, 2007, Airtel Bangladesh has expanded its network to five more districts raising total number of districts under Airtel coverage to 56, says a press release. Mymensingh, Jamalpur, Sherpur, Rajbari and Narail towns are now under Airtel network.

On November 10, 2007, 61 districts under Airtel network coverage.

On June 10, 2008, Airtel Bangladesh has expanded its network to Three more districts Bandarban, Khagrachhari and Rangamati. Now 64 districts under Airtel network coverage.

1.1 Mission of Airtel Bangladesh

• Establish and sustain as a customer centric organization
• Provide high quality and innovative communication services, through state of the art infrastructure and a team of professionals
• Continuously develop, motivate and empower our people
• Achieve profitable growth for all our stakeholders.

1.2 Vision of Airtel Bangladesh

To become the essential communication provider in Bangladesh of high quality voice and innovative data services by offering affordable products and services to all market segments and to become an integral part of their everyday lives.

Airtel Bangladesh’s brand values include:
• Simplicity
• Honesty
• Innovation
• Quality
• Dynamic
• Friendly

1.3 Objectives of the Airtel Bangladesh

The company has several objectives to fulfill the demand of the customers.
• Provide easy access to telephone in rural Bangladesh.
• Introduce a new system of communication for villagers.
• Bring the information revolution to the villages and prove that telecommunication is the greatest weapon against poverty.
• Provide different range of services to the customers.
• Fulfill the customers’ satisfaction.

Take Airtel Bangladeshs service to that height where for anyone, having a cell phone would mean having a Airtel Bangladesh connection.

1.4 Policies of Airtel Bangladesh

Airtel Bangladesh believes in working with strategic partners and employees for long term relationships. As a consequence of the above Airtel Bangladesh is looking for the following to deliver its vision:
Strategic vendors and partners to assist in rolling out these services in a timely and efficient manner with a focus on turnkey solutions and premium propositions; Strong partners to assist in launching these services and creating effective sales & marketing / business development opportunities for all to operationally and financially gain; Consultants and experts to help deliver this vision; Well rounded employees who wish to become part of this adventure.

1.5 Goal

Airtel Bangladesh’s goal is to have satisfied customers and the only way to achieve that is by providing quality services

1.6 The Airtel New Look

An evolution that strengthens the Airtel identity while keeping the customers in focus. This time Airtel used a more contemporary font & style to give a more approachable image. Airtel’s new slogan is “be heard”. This new logo encompasses the expanding reach of Airtel not just in Bangladesh but in an international footprint. With our strengthened GPRS/EDGE network we would empower our customers to create their own life style networks.

1.7 Competitors
The competitors of Airtel Bangladesh have increased as the growing demand of telecommunication in my country. The major competitors are Banglalink, Aktel, Citycell, Teletalk, Grammenphon, Aktel.

1.8 Strategy of Airtel Bangladesh

Airtel Bangladesh’s basic strategy is coverage of both urban and rural areas. In contrast to the “island” strategy followed by some companies, which involves connecting isolated islands of urban coverage through transmission links, Airtel Bangladesh builds continuous coverage, cell after cell. While the intensity of coverage may vary from area to area depending on market conditions, the basic strategy of cell-to-cell coverage is applied throughout Airtel Bangladesh’s network.

Research methodology

2. Research Methodology

2.1 Origin of the Report
This report is a partial requirement of the MBA program. Assigned by the institutional Supervisor Prof. Dr. Syed Masud on July, 2009. I prepared this report as a part of my study.

2.2 Objectives of the Study
Internship is a part of the course-outline of MBA program and it is mandatory. Internship is a source of good learning and it is a basic element of a student’s career which applies the theoretical knowledge into practical work. Internships are a great way to learn about an occupation and get work experience at the same time. Internship enables a person to develop his skills and abilities that are directly applicable to his career. Internships give an insight from a student’s career to a professional career. I wanted to see for myself whether my academic progress relates to official work or not, and so it lead me to Airtel Bangladesh.

Airtel Bangladesh because it is a dynamic organization with a powerful culture that allows people to make the most of their skills, personality and career. I developed such knowledge and skills which directed to my career. The internship program at Airtel Bangladesh is designed in such a way that it ensures maximum learning in ones chosen career area and provides the person with an insight into the company, work and people.

2.3 Significance

During my academic years in the MBA program I got exposed to many terms which are applicable in a professional career. From the beginning of my degree I was taught about the organizational structures, organizational hierarchy (chain of command) etc. At Airtel Bangladesh I got a chance to experience my studious learning in relation to practical work. I became a part of the organizational hierarchy as I had to report to my supervisors and they had to report to their supervisors. A chain of command followed from the Manager through the Executives to the Internees.

At Airtel Bangladesh I observed that an employee is hired through a proper recruitment and selecting process and his training takes place on the bases of his job which enhances his knowledge, skills and abilities. An employee is retained by providing him with perks, incentives and benefits. All the employees of Airtel Bangladesh are given medical benefits, mobile phone and transport facility when required to perform an official task. Human Resource planning is a road map used to carry out an activity, everything is accurately planned in Airtel Bangladesh so that the results can be perceived and accuracy can be achieved.

2.4 Scope of the Study

This report renders a close analytical look at the Airtel Bangladesh with main focus and emphasis on training and development of Airtel Bangladesh. The report is written from the point of view of Airtel Bangladesh Ltd.

2.5 Methodology
The business research used in this report is descriptive nature. Through this descriptive research this report seeks to determine the answers to who, what, were and how questions of the Airtel Bangladesh Ltd. Secondary data analysis was selected as the basic research method.

2.5.1 Data Collection

Data for this report has been extracted mainly from secondary sources, as well as primary sources by conducting depth interview.

2.5.2 Source of Secondary data

Majority of the secondary data was obtained from the Human Research Department of Airtel Bangladesh Ltd. Annual reports of the mobile operators, their official web sites, reports done on the telecommunication sectors and information obtained from the Internet.

2.5.3 Data processing and analysis
Collected information was processed with the aid of MS Excel computer Software. Detailed analysis, working variables, variables and working definitions are incorporated in the report.

2.6 Limitations
The major limitation factor for this report was primarily the reluctance and strict adherence to confidentiality maintenance attitude shown by the officials of mobile operator. Most of the calculations had to be made taking Airtel Bangladesh’s figures as the industry average. Most of the relevant literature and study materials on the telecom sector were not updated, and no comprehensive in depth study on the cellular industry could be found. The analysis and future projections were computed with the simplified trend analysis by MS Excel Use of other professional of statistical software would generate reports with higher level of precision and lower standard deviation.

3 BUSINESS STRUCTURE AND

STRATEGY

3.1 Airtel Bangladesh Team
Board Executive Committee Airtel Bangladesh

Mr. Muneer Farooqui
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Mr. Muneer Farooqui is the CEO of Airtel Bangladesh International Ltd. He is holding a Master degree in Computer Science from Preston University, USA. He has professional experience of more than 16 years of continuous advancement and expertise in process re-engineering, CS, sales, international business, product support & systems implementations.

Mr. Mumtaz Ahmad Khan, Ph.D
General Manager HR & A
Mr. Mumtaz Ahmad Khan is General Manager Human Resource & Administration in Airtel Bangladesh International Limited, Bangladesh. He bags over thirty five years of varied and multidimensional experience where his major work association has been with the telecom sector. He is PhD in Human Resource Development (HRD) apart from holding two degrees of MBA and MS (HRD).

Mr. Ashraful H. Chowhdury
General Manager Govt. & Operator Relations
Mr. Ashraful H. Chowhdury is the General Manager of Government and Operator Relations. He has 22 years of experience in Private Sector Business Development, HRD Management & Personnel Administration, Project Management & Corporate Communication, International man and Export Development, ICT & Telecommunication Project Management in South Asia, Europe, Scandinavia, North America and the Caribbean. Mr. Chowdhury passed both his Bachelor of Arts in Honors and Masters in Economics with major in International Trade from the University of Chittagong. He did his Post Graduate studies in International development Studies from Stockholm University, Sweden. Further he was the Research Fellow from Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, Canada. Ashraf was Managing Director of DELTASOFT LTD, General Manager of TM International (BD) Ltd, Project Manager GRAMEEN TELECOM LTD- a sister concern of Grameen Bank, Adviser (Economic & Commercial Relations) in the Royal Netherlands Embassy, Dhaka and Trade Adviser Commonwealth Secretariat, London. Assigned for the Caribbean Countries.

Mr. Marius M. Voinea
Chief Commercial Officer
Mr. Marius Mihail Voinea is Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), who is looking after the commercial side of the Company that covers Customer Service, Marketing, Sales and Strategic Planning Divisions.

Mr. Amyn Ashraff Merchant
Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Amyn Ashraff Merchant possesses 15 years of long and enriched international financial management experience in various celebrated companies like, Ernst & Young and Advanced Telecom Co – a pioneer prepaid calling card company, in Saudi Arabia, British Telecom – in Saudi Arabia & the UAE, & Hewlett Packard in Canada.

Brigadier General (Retd) Ismat Ahmed Chowdhury
General Manager Logistics
Brig Gen (Retd) Ismat Ahmed Chowdhury, General Manager of Logistics, joined Airtel Bangladesh International Limited on March, 2006. Prior to joining Airtel, he served in Bangladesh Army for 33 years.

Mr. Yasir Ishaq Ansari
Chief Information Officer
Mr. Yasir Ishaq Ansari completed his Bachelors in Computer Science and Computer Engineering from King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals. He worked in reputed organizations like Compac, IBM,British American Tobacco, NORTEL Networks, NADRA. He joined Airtel Bangladesh International Ltd., in May 2006. His focal expertise in IT is & Data Technology Architecture, Call Center Technology, Network Platform Design implementation etc.

Mr. Mahboob Hossain
General Manager Sales
Mr. Mahboob Hossain is leading the Sales Division of Airtel Bangladesh International Limited. His work experience in telecom sector is around ten years. Prior to joining Airtel, he was heading Direct Sales of the Sales Discipline in Grameen phone. He has also been a part of RANGS Electronics where he was taking care of the operations pertaining to sales and marketing. His association fabric with the local corporate sector is considerably wider that enabled him to pursue his professional agenda efficiently.

Mr. Azmat Mushtaq Khan
Deputy General Manager Marketing & Strategic Planning
Mr. Azmat Mushtaq Khan is the Deputy General Manager Marketing & Strategic Planning. He has completed his MBA from Asian Institute of Technology, 1997. As the precursor to developing a strategic plan, it is desirable to clearly identify the current status, objectives and strategies of an existing business or the latest thinking in respect of a new venture. He has the ability to work on such lines and develop business strategies for the Company.

Mr. Nauman Fakhar
Head of Customer Service
Mr. Nauman Fakhar has joined Airtel Bangladesh International Limited on May 07, 2008 as Head of Customer Service Division. He bags 11 years of work experience both in telecom and banking sectors. Before joining Airtel, he served in Telenor Pakistan as a lead in Customer Relationship Management. He also worked in American Express Bank for around eight years in various positions.

3.2. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE (ORGANIZATIONAL CHART)

3.3. Organizational Departmentalization

Airtel Bangladesh (Pvt.) Ltd. Head office is in Banani, Dhaka. Airtel has the maximum number of Sales and Customer Service Centers countrywide, backed by two state-of-the-art Contact Centers of international standards that are equipped with the right facilities to ensure real-time online services. Their highly trained and well groomed team of Customer Service Executives provides round-the-clock-support. Airtel has setup Corporate Lounges, with a customer-friendly environment to provide personalized care to our corporate clients. Furthermore, an extensive network of franchises, kiosks and mobile units ensure easy and convenient accessibility.
Different divisions, department and functionaries working in the head office are

2 Audit, Risk & Corporate Governance Division
3 Customer Service Division
4 Engineering Division
5 Finance Division
6 Govt. & Operators Relation Division
7 Human Resource & Administration Division
8 Information Technology Division
9 Legal & Corporate Affairs Division
10 Management Division
11 Marketing Division
12 Procurement Division
13 Logistics Division
14 Project Management Office & Quality Assurance Division
15 Sales Division
16 Strategic Planning & Business Development Division

In the head office there are also offices of top management including CEO office.

4

COMMUNICATION

4.1The Service
Airtel Bangladesh believes in service, a service that leads to good business and good development. Telephony helps people work together, raising their productivity. This gain in productivity is development, which in turn enables them to afford a telephone service, generating a good business. Thus development and business go together.

4.2The communication process
Airtel Bangladesh has its own and innovative communication processes through which Airtel Bangladesh communicates with its existing subscribers and general people as ill. Some of Airtel Bangladesh communication processes are jotted down below:

Technology Used By AIRTEL
NGN (Next Generation Network)

The network that has been deployed in Bangladesh by Airtel is based on the NGN or Next-Generation Technology- a future-proof architectural system which ensures optimum utilization of frequency and enhances speed and quality of both voice and data services.

4.2.1.Packages
Airtel Bangladesh has currently launched so many packages which helps people to know about its different tariff plan & etc. thus, Airtel Bangladesh communicates about its basic product with the general people.
Airtel Bangladesh’s current packages are:
Airtel provides both post-paid and pre-paid connection plans. The post-paid plan is branded and marketed across the country under the name Zahi Post-paid, which means leader or royalty. The pre-paid segment is branded and marketed as Zem Pre-Paid.

The Zem prepaid category is divided into five segments:
Zem 1 Sec
Zem 24 hrs
Zem FnF
Zem Fun / Zem Fun Plus

The Zahi postpaid category is divided into three segments:
Zahi 50
Zahi 125
Zahi 300
Zahi-Post-paid and Zem Pre-paid user enjoy various value added services(VAS), such as SMS, MMS, GPRS, 64K SIM, Dual SIM product, Corporate packages for product advertising via SMS, and a host of other features.

4.3.Customer service
As Airtel Bangladesh is a service-oriented company, their communication is linked through providing them various kinds of services. After purchasing their products a customer is always in touch with the company through its different kinds of communication process. Such as:
 Customer can reach them any time for any enquiries.
 Always informing them about the latest updates.
 Informing them about the new service.
 Organize different kinds of social activities.
 Plantation, city beautification etc.
 Always send feedback to the customers.
 Provide new services to meet the customer satisfaction.
 Their customer care centers are open 24 hrs, 365 days a year for any kinds of services required by the customers.
 When launching new products they use media, newspapers and banners to communicate with customers.

4.4.Communication with the Villagers

The program of Airtel Bangladesh called “Village Phone Program” has built up an intimate relationship between the product users and the Company. It is a unique idea that has communicated that no matter what, Airtel Bangladesh will be there even to help the poorest of the poor. Its message was quite transparent, i.e. having a Airtel Bangladesh connection is not just a rich society’s pride but also the right of the unprivileged ones. They become effectively mobile public call offices. This not only provides rural poor with new, exciting income-generating opportunities, but it also helps to enhance the social status of women from poor rural households. BAL recognition and has been featured extensively in international media.

4.5.Airtel Bangladesh Franchise
Airtel has nine customer care centers around the country located at key points all over the country. These centers are directly run by Airtel itself. Airtel has another 90 franchises situated major places all over the country. This is the largest chain of retail outlets in Bangladesh. However there are no customer care centers or franchises in the Barisal division. This is quite odd since Barisal is one out of the six divisions of Bangladesh.

4.6.Promotion (advertisement)
Airtel Bangladesh has made different promotional activities for the customers. They launch different types of promotional activities, which are given below:

 Airtel is placing attractive billboards and banners in different locations.
 They are using media to communicate with the people and let them know about the service they are providing.
 Their advertisements both rational and emotion based for that they can communicate with the customers.
 Their name and logo itself communicates with the customers.
 Represents “BANGLADESHI” culture in their advertisements
 Uses video clips & neon signs

4.7.Subscriber
Airtel Bangladesh is the largest mobile phone company in Bangladesh with more than 3.5 milion customers as a May 2009. It is also the fastest growing cellular telephone network in Bangladesh. At the end of 2007, it had about 3500 base stations around the country with plans to add about 500 in the following six months. Airtel Bangladesh’s stated goal is to provide cost-effective and quality cellular services in Bangladesh.

The subscriber growth rate of Airtel Bangladesh is as follows :

GSM Features

• Caller Id: Display of the phone number of an incoming call in your handset before the call is answered.
• Call Waiting: While talking to the first caller, you will hear a special tone informing you about the second call on the line. At that moment, you can put the first caller on hold and talk to the second caller.
• Call Divert: Call Divert lets you redirect or re-route your call to another Airtel Bangladesh mobile or any other mobile phone.
• Call Barring: Enables you to restrict certain types of calls to be made from your mobile. This feature is especially important for security purposes.
• Call Conference: Receiving calls from multiple callers can be supplemented by joining these multiple callers to enable them to talk to each other. You will be able to communicate with a group consisting of maximum five callers.
• Web to SMS:The Airtel website includes a messaging feature- Web to SMS- which allows you to send SMS to any Airtel number in Bangladesh from our webpage. Simply log into our e-portal and select the “Web to SMS” option. Type your desired message on your computer and send it to any Airtel number in Bangladesh simply from anywhere of this world. And best of all, no charges apply for the messages you sent out from our web

4.8.Additional Features

Voice Mail Service (VMS)

VMS is a unique answering machine. It provides subscriber with a personal electronic mail box in our voice mail center. When subscriber is not available or outside the coverage area or simply busy even switch off his or her cell phone, the caller can leave a message in subscriber’s voice mailbox, which subscriber may listen or retrieve at subscriber’s convenience. It provides 24- hour automatic secretarial service makes one available to his calling person anytime.

Short Message Service (SMS)

SMS in subscriber mobile acts like an advanced pager. Subscriber can send and receive text messages of up to 160 characters, directly from one AIRTEL BANGLADESH mobile to another AIRTEL BANGLADESH or City Cell mobile and to foreign operators’ (international) mobiles as well. Subscriber can use your mobile phone attached to a computer to send faxes or transfer date, even they need not to be connected with a fixed line. Further, subscribers can use this service even when they are on the move within AIRTEL BANGLADESH’s coverage area.

Fax and Date Service

Currently available only to corporate clients Subscriber can use their mobile phone attached to a computer to send faxes of transfer data. They need not to be connected with a fixed line. Subscriber can use this service even when they are on the move within AIRTEL BANGLADESH’s coverage area.

Information Service

Subscriber can gather particular information by few numbers that’s presented in the below

 My Airtel Account

For corporate clients, “My Airtel account” in their Airtel menu provides up-to-date account balance and answers to billing related queries.

You can check your mini-statements to find out your usage minutes and a log of the persons you have communicated with.  In order to know details, please contact to you dedicated Key Account Manager (KAM)

 Online Address Book

Another unique feature of our e-portal is the online address book, which allows you to save phone numbers and email addresses of your contacts in a special directory in the Airtel website. Access the online address book from anywhere in the world to find out valuable contact info whenever & wherever you should need it.

In order to use this feature, simply register to e-portal, which is known in another name as self-care portal. To resister, go to home page and under the login section, you will find ‘create profile’ section. Just simply create your profile and you will be set to use this online address book.

Mobile Internet (GPRS/EDGE):

GPRS/EDGE as a bearer enable Airtel to provide advanced data related service to the customers. It is a high speed data transmission technology in GSM networks. Subscribe to “Mobile Internet” to avail these amazing services –

Internet:

Surf internet anytime, anywhere!!!

Airtel understands your need for being connected in today’s fast-paced world of information! Mobile Internet brings the world to your hands, by enabling you to access internet using your Airtel connection!

Just use your Airtel phone as a modem to access internet from your desktop or laptop and get connected to the informational highway wherever Airtel network is available in Bangladesh.

WAP:

Don’t have a computer/laptop around? Use your mobile phone to surf WAP sites!!!

WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) bridges the gap between the mobile world and the Internet! Our GPRS/EDGE facilities give you the ability to surf WAP sites, so that you can access a wealth of information using just your phone. How handy is that!

MMS:

because life is about sharing moments!

Share your life’s most beautiful experience with Airtel’s MMS!!! Make your messaging fun, colorful and musical! Add pictures, animations, polyphonic & MIDI sound, even video clips to messages and show the world how amazing communication can be!

Activating Mobile Internet on your phone

In order to use Mobile Internet (GPRS/EDGE), there are certain things you require-

1. 1st requirement- You need to have a GPRS/EDGE/MMS compatible handset.
2. 2nd requirement- Your handset needs to be configured before using the services

Normally, if you want to access GPRS/EDGE through your mobile, you need to configure your handset. This makes life complicated – as you have to find out your handset model name, model number, model type etc and enter them into your phone.

Wireless internet brings the world of web to your hands, by enabling you to access internet, WAP and MMS by using your Airtel connection. Backed by our EDGE network in all metro cities, you can now stay truly mobile with your phone and/or notebook.

Wireless Internet is available under two package plans

Pay-as-you-go

• Option 1 is a pay-as-you-go package where billing occurs based on total kilobytes used within a billing period.

Unlimited

• Option 2 is an unlimited package, which allows you to our GPRS/EDGE services as much as you want, but still pay the same amount at the end of each month.

Airtel Data Card:

Airtel Data Card is a bundle package offer, which contains a postpaid dedicated SIM for internet services & a highly configured EDGE card – Sony Ericsson GC86 EDGE/GPRS PC card.

Use the Sony Ericsson GC86 EDGE/GPRS PC card with your notebook to access Airtel’s EDGE/GPRS network wherever you go.

Simply insert your Airtel SIM in your Data Card and plug the card into your computer to enjoy unlimited hi-speed internet on your laptop, anytime, anywhere.

Email Solutions:

To ensure that your business can be carried out smoothly & effectively, you can now send and receive emails from Airtel phone whenever you are on the move. We have two email solutions as follows:

• Push Email thhourh Windows mobile
• Instant Email

Push Email through Windows mobile

Windows Mobile extends the familiar Windows and Office experience to mobile devices, by connecting you to the wireless world of the internet by using your choice of Windows Mobile-based devices such as Smartphone and Pocket PC Phones.

The Windows Mobile platform is compatible with Microsoft Outlook Mobile and familiar Microsoft Office Mobile software used in offices. By aligning your mobile device with your office application, you will be able to access your Microsoft email account from your PDA.

Benefits:

• Airtel Bangladesh’s GPRS facilitates sending and receiving Emails directly through your Smart Phone powered devices that bring you the business information you need, even when you are away from your desk or in leisure.
• Using different Sync Software’s on your Airtel Connection you can get secure, wireless and direct push synchronization of corporate e-mail with attachments, calendar, contacts – all with affordable, scalable and easy to manage solution.
• It gives you maximum freedom to hold the right handset you desire and get in touch with your office information.
• With Sync tool all changes made on the handset will automatically sync with the Exchange Server

Conference Call: Use your Conference Call feature to talk to up to 5 people simultaneously! Calls can be created with both on-net and off-net numbers.

“Conference Call” allows you to-

1. invite up to 5 people to join in call conference
2. speak privately with any member in the conference
3. discontinue private conversation and come back to conference

To make a Conference Call, you need to ensure that “Call Waiting” option in your handset is activated. For most-handsets, the “Call Waiting” feature can be found under the “Call Settings” Menu.

Caller Line Identification (CLI):

Caller Line Identification, which is also known as Caller Id, displays the caller’s number on your mobile handset and enables you to know who is calling even before you answer the call. If it is someone whose number is stored in your personal phone book, his/her name will be displayed. CLIs will be displayed for any mobile or landline number

 Benefits:

• According to your preference / urgency, you can decide instantly which call you want to hold and which one you don’t.
• Anonymous calls can be avoided as you can see the number of the caller.
• Even if you miss a call, you can call that person back as you can see their number afterwards

Friends & Family

It will enable you to call up to three AIRTEL BANGLADESH numbers (activated as Friends & Family) for only Tk. .25for 24 hrs. This service is applicable for AIRTEL BANGLADESH F&F pakage.

Welcome Tunes

It will enable subscriber to set any song as tunes.

®         Key benefits for a subscriber’s of WAP

†   Easy to use

†   The possibility of having personalized services.

†   Portability. You do not have to entail separated investi for WAP

†   Access to a wide variety of service on a competitive market.

†   Fast, convenient and efficient access to services.

4.9.Few other services and aspects of AIRTEL BANGLADESH

4.9.1.International Roaming

Airtel Bangladesh became the sixth Mobile phone operator in the country.To offer its subscriber the international Roaming facilities.The number of Airtel Roming networks increased rapidly.Airtel Bangladesh has 200 Roaming partner with 107 countries.

Our International Roaming Service offers two unique services as follows:

• Globe Roam
• IR SMS

Globe Roam

With Airtel, you don’t have to worry about roaming the world. No matter where in the world you travel, our vast roaming coverage will keep you seamlessly connected.

Airtel International Roaming provides you the freedom of using your existing Airtel number when you travel outside Bangladesh. We empower you to roam anywhere & everywhere around the globe. We keep you connected to all those who matter, your friends and family.

IR SMS:

We know that frequent flyers like yourself want to immediately contact your loved ones back home when you land in a foreign country, to let them know your flight was fine!

To ensure that you have a quick, convenient & affordable way to drop a line back home, Airtel offers you IR SMS.

IR SMS allows you to stay in touch with your contacts and loved ones via SMS only when you roam around the world. This service gives you the option to receive and send SMS using your Airtel number when you are abroad, without having to activate voice and other regular VAS services.

Prerequisite:

• Postpaid Airtel Connection with ISD facility
• International Credit Card (own name) / RFCD Account / FC Account
• Valid International Passport
• Security Deposit

Airtel Roamers:

With Airtel, you don’t have to worry about roaming the world. No matter where in the world you travel, our vast roaming coverage will keep you seamlessly connected.

Airtel International Roaming provides you the freedom of using your existing Airtel number when you travel outside Bangladesh. We empower you to roam anywhere & everywhere around the globe. We keep you connected to all those who matter, your friends and family.

Globe Roam

…….Take your Airtel phone around the world

Airtel’s Globe Roam facilities provide you with the freedom of using your existing Airtel number when you travel outside Bangladesh.

The roaming countries that are covered under our International Roaming (IR) network, you can use of your existing Airtel phone to avail all Voice, SMS, GPRS and other VAS facilities with the foreign operators.

Subscription requirements for Globe Roam

Globe Roam of International Roaming (IR) Services can be availed by the subscribers who meet the following:

Eligibility Conditions:

• Postpaid Airtel Connection with ISD facility
• International Credit Card (Own Name)/ RFCD Account/ FC Account.
• Valid International Passport
• Security Deposit of BDT 10,000 (Refundable)

To subscribe the Globe Roam services, you also need to submit certain documents to Airtel as follows:

Required Documents

• Duly filled subscription form **
• Photocopy of valid International Passport (first 7 pages)
• Photocopy of valid International Credit card / RFCD Account / FC Account.

How to select network while abroad ?

After reaching to the foreign country, you have to get connected to a foreign operator’s network to make use of Globe Roam services. You can do this in two ways:

• Automatic Network Selection:

• Go to the “Network Selection” menu in your handset
• Select “Automatic”
• The strongest Network will be selected automatically for your use.

• Manual Network Selection:

• Go to the “Network Selection” menu in your handset
• Select “Manual” or “Search”
• All available networks will be displayed
• Select your desired network.

Disclaimer:

• Availability of roaming services( Voice, SMS,GPRS & VAS) in a particular destination would depend on Airtel-foreign operator roaming tie-up status. Hence you need to check with your nearest Airtel customer CareCenter for detailed information on available services and tariff structure for the particular destination

For detailed Globe Roam Tariff, you are kindly requested to visit any of your conveniently located Customer Sales & Service centers OR you may:

• Dial 786 (from your Airtel number in Bangladesh)

4.9.2. Short brief on International Roaming

International Roaming is the ability to use your own GSM phone number in another GSM network (another country)

With International Roaming facility AIRTEL BANGLADESH subscribers have the ability to make and receive calls whilst traveling to other countries having GSM network provided AIRTEL BANGLADESH has an commercial operation with that network operator.

The unique roaming features of GSM allow cellular subscriber to use their Services in any GSM service area in the world in which their provider has a roaming agreement.

4.9.3.Benefits of Roaming:

®  Using the same mobile number

®  Reachable at one number

®  Same mobile handset

®  Reduce high bill

• Tensionless traveling around the world
• Move anywhere, anytime without any notice

SMS Roaming:

Stay in touch via SMS only when traveling abroad.

We know that frequent flyers like yourself want to immediately contact your loved ones back home when you land in a foreign country, to let them know your flight was fine!

To ensure that you have a quick , convenient & affordable way to drop a line back home, Airtel offers you IR SMS.

IR SMS allows you to stay in touch with your contacts and loved ones via SMS only when you roam around the world. This service gives you the option to receive and send SMS using your Airtel number when you are abroad, without having to activate voice and other regular VAS services

Billing Format and Credit Policy

E-Portal

The Airtel website- www.Airteltel.com.bd- offers a state-of-the art e-portal facility so that you can manage your account on-line, from the comforts of your office or home. These e-services include:

• On-line billing information
• Self-Service of VAS such as Caller Tunes

Subscription for bills to be received via email

Be it bill information through hardcopy or e-mail, we provide you anyway you want. All you have to do is, simply contact to your dedicated Key Account Manager (KAM) and ask for it.

Priority service at customer care points

At our 4th generation multimedia contact centers, treatment of corporate clients are prioritized. Your calls, faxes, and emails are always attended real-time and treated on priority basis.

Payment of Bills

Airtel has made bill payment as convenient as possible by creating a multi-faceted bill collection system. Any of the following mechanisms can be used to clear your bills:

• Payment through Cash or Cheque at our BusinessCenters & franchises
• Payment via Ezee load
• Bill payment via Scratch card
• Auto debit mechanism from Bank (Incase of IR and Individual Bill),.

Payment points

Cash payments to clear postpaid dues can be made at:

• Business Centers
• Franchises
• Prime Bank Limited
• Eastern Bank Limited
• Dutch Bangla Bank Limited
• Bank Alflah

Voice Solutions

In today’s dynamic business market, every business needs the right information at the right time to succeed. With our corporate voice solutions, your business will be able to experience customized voice services, backed up by the next-generation network.

• Customimized voice solutions
• Closed User Groups
• FnF
• Call Management Services
  – Call Conferencing
  – Voice Mail
  – Missed Call Alert
  – Call Divert/ Call Forward
  – Call Waiting
  – Call Holding

Customized voice solutions

Our corporate voice solutions can be customized to suit the needs of small, medium and large enterprises, so that they can succeed in the business world.

A range of voice options are available for you to choose from, both with & without line rent, and with minimum commitment & maximum flexibility.

For comprehensive information, please contact your Key Account Managers.

Closed User Groups

Take advantage of our Closed User Groups (CUG) feature.  Enjoy lower call rates when you talk within your defined company connections, and make your business talks more affordable.

4.10.New value-added Service

Airtel Bangladesh also introduced a number of value-added services during the year. A News Update Service was introduced in cooperation with The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, two leading newspapers of the country. Subscribers can now get a two minute update of the lates news by dialing 222 on their AIRTEL BANGLADESH mobile, Similar services were launched providing latest scores Cricket and providing medical information when there was an outbreak of Dengue Fever in Dhaka last year. It may be noted that Airtel Bangladesh was the first mobile phone operator in the country to introduce value-added services like Voice Mail Service, Short Message Service and data transmission.

activities and sports events in the country. Airtel Bangladesh also sponsored different types of social cultural programs.

4.11.Socio-cultural activities and contribution

Airtel Bangladesh also actively participates in promoting different socio-cultural activities and sports events in the country. Airtel Bangladesh also sponsored different types of social cultural programs.

New Launching

Eidi- Airtel Bangladesh is introducing a reward program called “Eidi” to benefit its existing subscribers. The “Eidi” reward program is a unique way of showing gratitude to the subscribers for making Airtel Bangladesh their preferred mobile phone service provider. The longer you stay as a Airtel subscriber, the more benefit you derive out of the “Eidi” reward program.

4.12. BARRIERS TO COMMUNICATION

Political barriers- This is a major barrier in the communication process. Due to several political issues Airtel Bangladesh cannot communicate the way it wants.

Some times they have problems in launching new projects on time due to hurtle and strikes. Sometimes it may lead to cancellation of new projects.

People lack proper understanding – Sometimes people may misinterpret the slogans of the advertisements on billboards and media. They can have a different understanding of the issues. Therefore Airtel Bangladesh cannot communicate properly.

Selective perception- This is a barrier because some people who are regular users of another service from the beginning, they don’t want to change their service provider or shift to other mobile services. Airtel Bangladesh cannot communicate with them and thus influence their own selective perception no matter how hard they try.

Different meanings- sometimes people may interpret different meanings to a single advertisement and thus criticize the services of Airtel Bangladesh. There for Airtel cannot communicate properly and convey the right message to its subscribers.

Social barriers- Sometimes Airtel Bangladesh cannot continue to provide certain services due to social barriers. Information flow- A lot of Airtel information is miss communicated due to different biased communicators who are not able to provide the right information at the right time.

5.1  IN DEPTH SWOT ANALYSIS

In order to find what are the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats faced by Airtel Bangladesh, Bangladesh. How can they increase their market share in Bangladesh Cellular industry?

Following is the SWOT Analysis of Airtel Bangladesh Bangladesh.

Strengths of Airtel

• Superior product quality for customers
• Better customer relationship than competitors
• Extra features and services
• Committed and efficient staff
• Strong financial base
• Products innovations ongoing
• Good reputation among customers
• Good packages according to the target market
• Management is rational and understanding the situation
• Low price as compared to quality provided 

Weaknesses of Airtel

• Less time in market as compared to major competitors
• Less coverage as compared to major competitors
• Less experienced employees than competitors
• “Seth organization”
• Not able to capitalize on start

Opportunities for Airtel

• A developing market
• Mergers, joint ventures or strategic alliances
• Could develop new products
• Extension to overseas
• Decline of major competitors
• Technologically better environment
• New launches
• More customers after re-launch

Threats for Airtel

• Emerging companies in market
• Unstable political conditions
• High public expectations
• Low prices of competing brands

5.2  COMPETITIVE STRATEGY AND COM PETITIVE ANALYSIS

Comparative Industry Analysis (BCG Matrix)

BCG Matrix of cellular companies in Bangladesh

BCG Growth-Share Matrix

High Relative Market Share   Low Relative Market Share

Cellular Market Share by BCG matrix

 Gremeen Phone is the company which is associated with “Stars” in BCG matrix with high market growth and high relative market share.

Airtel Tel and Banglalink are the GSM cellular companies which are associated with “Question marks” in BCG matrix as it exhibits high market growth and relatively low relative market share.

Aktel is the GSM cellular company and Citycell the CDMA cellular company with low market growth and high relative market share that’s why it is associated with “Cash Cows” in BCG matrix.

Teletalk is the GSM cellular company with low market growth and low relative market share that’s why it is associated with “Dogs” in BCG matrix.

5.3  PEST ANALYSIS 

Political

Bangladesh Telecommunication Authority has been striving hard and trying its level best to create level playing field in the Cellular Mobile industry. Politically, Bangladesh is an unstable country where Government decisions and regulatory initiatives matter a lot

Social

During the formation of marketing strategies, Airtel looks after a lot of factors. Deep study of local culture and social setups is also one of the major factors which account much in successful strategy formation of Airtel. Varying types of consumer behaviors are found in different societies. The study of society helps to understand the consumer behavior and in turn assists Airtel to improve their marketing strategies by understanding issues like:

• The way how consumers think, feel and select a cellular connection
• The psychology of how consumer is influenced by culture, family and social setups.
• As Bangladesh is an Islamic country and people are very strict in case of Islam any thing against the philosophy of Islam on either print or electronic media are treated as against Bangladesh.
• Most of the people dislike anything extra-ordinary or something which sabotage their culture or subculture.
• Companies who are targeting upper-end of market mostly published and aired their advertisement in English language.
• In metropolitan cities women are doing work along with their other responsibilities but other than metropolitan cities it is difficult for women to convince their parents and spouses for work.

Understanding of these issues helps to adopt better strategies by taking the consumer into consideration. By understanding the consumer, Airtel makes a more Informed decision as to which strategy to employ.

Economic Factors

• In Bangladesh, Marketers should consider long term and short term state of a trading market.

• Inflation is controlling by state bank and under strict eyes but unemployment rate is going up and up with the increase of level of poverty.

Technological Factors

• Companies have technology with which they can compete in the Bangladesh and now companies are investing in their infrastructure to not only expand but also to upgrade their existing structure.

6.  AIRTEL OFFERINGS

Airtel puts a great focus on development of its product according to the customer demand and satisfaction.

Airtel Bangladesh in Bangladesh offers two main products that are

1. Zem Prepaid

2. Zahi Postpaid

6.1  Zem Prepaid

ZEM is our prepaid offering, a convenient and affordable package with a variety of Value added services to ensure that your communication is fun, exciting and colorful!

Zem Prepaid is offering two kinds of services.

A. Voice related services

B. Text related services

6.1. A.  Voice related Zem Prepaid Services

Voice related services include communication services which are associated with the transfer of voice. When Airtel started its services there were two leading GSM cellular companies, one was GrameenPhone and the other was Banglalink. GrameenPhone was the main market leader and Banglink was the successor in the Bangladesh. Then the main challenge for Airtel was to attract customers towards it with the help of such services that will be exciting and attracting enough to move customers from GrameenPhone and Banglalink.

At that time, Airtel used the offers and services such as Friends n Family Numbers, low calling rates ‘n’ good voice quality as compared to GrameenPhone.

As the time passed, Airtel got a great feedback from public due to its exceptional services. At the end of 2005, Airtel shifted its focus on every segment of the market from the rich market to middle and low level customers. In this regard, they introduced five Calling Plans that were

Above five calling plans were used for about one and half year, and then checking completely the response of people towards it, Airtel has continued to use three calling plans Zem 24 hours (Tk 0.89/min any mobile), Zem 1 second(tk 0.02/Sec), Zem Fun Tk 0.99/min (9 am to 5 pm), Zem FnF (Tk 0.25/min any five mobile).

6.1.B Calling plans

1. 1.     Zem 24 hrs

     Tariff Plan

2. Zem 1 Second

Tariff Plan

3. Zem FnF

Tariff Plan

 4. Zem Fun

Tariff Plan

• Ø Zem Features (Call Related)

• Caller Line Identification (CLI)
• Conference Call
• Call Waiting/Call Hold
• Call Divert

• Ø Zem Features (SMS Related)

• Short Messaging Services (SMS)
• International SMS
• Instant messaging
• MMS
• GPRS
• Missed Call Alert

Latest Marketing Campaigns of Zem Pre Paid

6.2  Zahi Postpaid

Zahi is the postpaid connection that offering by Airtel Bangladesh, with revolutionary features that will suit both corporate and personal lifestyle, and ensure that always have that all important edge in everything can do!

Zahi Postpaid is offering two kinds of services.

A. Voice related services

B. Text related services

A. Voice related services

• Call Waiting/Call Hold
• Conference Call
• Call Divert
• Caller Line Identification (CLI)

B. Text related services

• SMS (Short Messaging Service)
• International SMS
• MMS
• GPRS
• Missed call alert

Latest Marketing Campaigns of Zahi Post Paid

6.1.A  Calling plans

Zahi Post paid offer for tow packages.

1)      Zahi

2)      Zahi Royal

Tariff Plan

CUSTOMER SERVICE

AND

SURVEY

7.1.Customer Service

The customer Management Division of Airtel Bangladesh Ltd. provides a full range of after-sales service customized to the needs of the valued customers. Efforts are made to offer complete service through all the contact points dedicated  for AIRTEL BANGLADESH customers at every opportunity through CallManagementCenter, Customer Centers, Airtel Bangladesh Service Desks (AIRTEL BANGLADESHSD), Airtel Bangladesh Centers (AIRTEL BANGLADESHC) and Customers Communication.

The trained team of Customer Management Division strives to ensure service with an aim to content the subscribers through “YOU FIRST” attitude and solution. Our strategy is to connect Bangladesh with “Ease & Care” at every contact throuth professional and pro-active service.

7.2.Exclusive Customer Service:

 Our Customer Relationship Management system has been designed to ensure that your queries are answered and problems are taken care as quickly and efficiently as possible

• Dedicated Key Account Managers
• E-Portal
• Subscription for bills to be received via email
• Priority service at customer care points
• Payment of Bills
• Payment points

Dedicated Key Account Managers

We know that each business has its individualized needs. Our KAMs are exclusively assigned to each account to provide dedicated customer service

7.3.Customer Care

Customer care is making the bridge between the customers and company. Besides Franchise the only department who deals customers directly. Sales department procures the business and Customers Care keeps the business with the company for long period. Once relationship is established Customer Care is doing the business with the subscribers. It works with the objective to meet all kinds of queries from customer and provide the optimum solutions. It works to ensure customers satisfaction and also to motivate the people in Airtel Bangladesh service.

Responsibilities of Customer Care arc unlimited.

7.3.1.Purpose

The purpose of the department encompasses the following.

­           To receive queries

­           To solve queries

­           To provide all sort of information.

­           To solve any problem regarding network.

To ensure smooth operation Customer Care is providing services from tow perspectives.

­           Over Hotlines

­           Through InformationCenter

7.3.2.Hotlines

ImageCenter is committed to provide efficient, dedicated and reliable service to it valued subscribers. For customer’s convenience it has introduced three HOTLINE services of 24 hours to handle all queries regarding Airtel Bangladesh’s network and services. Subscriber may call any time for all complaints and queries.

Hotline Numbers

1. For General services # 786
2. For Bill inquiry # 786

7.3.3.Information Center

It provides on spot solutions as subscribers can physically go there and get services. It deals with the following areas

1.         Bill Clarification

1. Preparation of manual bill
2. Bill correction

Besides these, Customer Care is receiving several written complaints and queries from subscribers over fax and by post. It replays with solutions through courier services. To solve problems of customers and to provide information regarding AIRTEL BANGLADESH network Customer Care gets inderect support from-

1.    Sales

2.   Marketing

3.    Information

Direct information / Exchange information from-

­           Operation and maintenance

­           Planning

­           Billing

Customers do not buy features, customers only buy benefits. Subscribers only can ensure those benefits by receiving concrete information and services according to their requirmement and here lays the responsibility of Customer Care.

Billing department is and important segment of Customer Relations division. A total of 23 employees are rendering their services under the direct supervision to a Manager. This department is closely related with Customer Care, Sales, Information System, Switching Systems and Finance.

Responsibilities of this department includes

­   Customers installation & validation

­   Provisioning and withdrawing services

­   Charging for the services provide

­   Fraud management & credit control.

­   Billing

­   Distribution

­   Collection and

­   Preservation of subscription documents

7.3.4.Automated Service

Insta-care

Insta-Care is the automated service with Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. It is operative round-the-clock.

Insta-care  (Post-paid and pre-paid):

Caters to FAQ on Billing Queries & Procedures, 24 hours a day, and 365 days in a year. Dial from subscriber Post-Paid and pre-paid AIRTEL BANGLADESH mobile to avail Insta-Care Services. Charges, Tk .50 flat per minute for pre-paid on the other hand post-paid is free.

INSTA-CARE-786 (For POST & PRE-PAID both):

Caters to FAQ on Services, Product, Network & Emergency Information, 24 hours a day, 365 days in a year. Dial from any AIRTEL BANGLADESH mobile to avail Insta-Care 786 Services. Charges, TK. 2 flat per minute following 1^st free minute.

INSTA-BILL

Insta-bill is the e-mail based auto reply service for AIRTEL BANGLADESH’s Post Paid subscribers, operative round-the-clock. Subscribers can avail information on account status, current balance, last bill, unbilled usage, total amount due, last payment, security deposit, credit limit etc. by sending an e-mail.

Thank you

From the start of our operation in 1997, we have developed a special relationship with you, a time-nurtured attachment that deepens with every call you make and receive.

Thankyou is our way expressing gratitude to you, because your loyalty has touched us deeply and made us such a successful company. Thankyou provides a number of rewards that will your mobile phone experience much more satisfying.

7.4.COVERAGE OF AIRTEL BANGLADESH LTD.

Airtel Bangladesh has the largest and fastest growing mobile network in Bangladesh. Airtel Bangladesh aims to build a full range of service all over the country. Airtel Bangladesh’s network is divided into six zones according to the divisional borders: Dhaka Zones, Chittagong Zone, Khulna Zone, Sylhet Zone, Rajshahi Zone and Barisal Zone. Currently Airtel Bangladesh is pirating in all six zones. At present AIRTEL BANGLADESH has coverage in 64 districts of Bangladesh.

7.5.ASSESSING CUSTOMER SATISFACTION OF AIRTEL BANGLADESH.

Topic of our project is “Customer Relationship Management of Airtel Bangladesh.”. This very topic is related with Customer Relation Division of Airtel Bangladesh this division consits of 151 employees. As the name implies, it deals with the customers after the sales occurs. Main activities of this division includes maintaining databases of the customers, preparing the bills, distributing bills, activating new connections, help line service, collection of bill through different banks all over the country, and the other after sales services.

Obviously the main job of AIRTEL BANGLADESH’s Customer Relations Divisions is to provide different services to the valued subscribers over telephone, which is the help line service. In other words, their job is to satisfy the subscribers. We have tried to judge the satisfaction level of AIRTEL BANGLADESH service holders.

7.5.1.Objectives

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

­           Prime objective of our study was to find out the satisfaction level of                                               Airtel Bangladesh subscribers.

­           As an outcome of the prime objective, we tried to notice the specific areas                          of dissatisfaction of the AIRTEL BANGLADESH users.

­           We applied the GAPs Model of services quality to find out both the                                               customers and provider gaps.

7.5.2.significance of the Study

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

So, it is very important for Airtel Bangladesh to know whether their customers are satisfied or not. If the customers are not satisfied, AIRTEL BANGLADESH can specify the zones of dissatisfaction and take necessary actions to remove the dissatisfactions. Hence, we decided to work on this topic.

7.5.3.Hypothesis

Our hypothesis is, “Although Airtel Bangladesh is one of the leading the market of mobile telecommunication industry with a sharp distance, their customers are not fully satisfied with the company’s services. If AIRTEL BANGLADESH does not take care of these dissatisfactions and another company enters the market with similar offers, it will be difficult for Airtel Bangladesh to keep the current market sahre intact.”

In our hypothesis, we have first admitted that Airtel Bangladesh is one of the market leader of the mobile telecommunication industry of Bangladesh. As per the market share date, there is no scope for argumentation on this issue. Nevertheless, we assumed that the customers of AIRTEL BANGLADESH are not fully satisfied and loyal to AIRTEL BANGLADESH.

Our logic behind this assumtion was: AIRTEL BANGLADESH is a highly growing company.  In this high growth situation, it is very difficult to keep the customers satisfied.

Another assumption of our hypothesis was, if AIRTEL BANGLADESH does not take care of the dissatisfactions and another company comes with similar offer, it will be difficult for Airtel Bangladesh to keep their market share intact.

The logic that supported this was: we assumed AIRTEL BANGLADESH’s customers are not brand loyal. They are using AIRTEL BANGLADESH’s service as they do not have any suitable alternative. So, if a big player form another industry enters this business, it can be challenging for Airtel Bangladesh.

7.6.Customer Satisfaction: From Theoretical View

Customer satisfaction is the extent to which a product or service’s perceived performance matches a buyer’s expectations. If the product or service’s performance falls short of expectations, the buyer is dissatisfied. If performance matches or exceeds or exceeds expectations, the buyer is satisfied or delighted.

Expectations are based on customer’s past buying experiences, the opinion of friedns and associates, and marketer and competitor information and promises. Marketer must be careful to set expectations too low, they may satisfy those who buys but fail to attract enough buyers. In contract, if they raise expectations too high buyers are likely to be disappointed. Dissatisfaction can arise either from a decrease in product and service quality or from an increase in customer expectations. In either case, it presents an opportunity for companies that can deliver superior customer value and satisfaction.

Today’s most successful companies are rising expectations-and delivering performance to match. Such companies track their customers’ expectations, perceived company performance, and customer satisfaction. Highly satisfied customers produce several benefits for the company. Satisfied customers are less price sensitive, remain customers for a longer period, and talk favorably to others about the company and its products & services.

Although the customer-centered firm seeks to deliver high customer satisfaction relative to its competitors, it does not attempt to maximize customer satisfaction. A company can always increase customer satisfaction by lowering its price increasing its services, but it may result in lower profits. Thus, the purpose of marketing is to generate customer value profitably. This requires a very delicate balance: The marketer must continue to generate more customer value and satisfaction but not “Give away house”.

Now, we have a very good idea regarding the importance of customer satisfaction. So, it is also important for the company to know about the satisfaction level of the customers. When any problem is identified, it becomes easier to solve the problem. In the nest part of our paper I have focused on the ‘Customer Satisfaction Factors’ of Airtel Bangladesh. That has been followed by our primary research: a survey to find out the ‘customer satisfaction level’ Airtel Bangladesh.

7.6.1.Customer Satisfaction Factors of AIRTEL BANGLADESH

Airtel Bangladesh is a highly growing mobile company. In mobile telecommunication industry, there are direct and indirect factors that influence customer satisfaction. I tried to focus on the most important factors that influence customer satisfaction at Airtel Bangladesh.

Airtime

Airtime is the core offering of Airtel Bangladesh. So, quality of communication network avaiability etc. are the most important customer satisfaction factors. Quality of airtime depends on the ratio of subscribers and transmission base stations. If the numbers of subscribers are increased without developing the network, quality of airtime goes down.

After Sales Services

After sales service very important in the mobile telecommunication industry AIRTEL BANGLADESH has extensive after sales customer care tools. I would like to focus on these tools one by one:

Help line

AIRTEL BANGLADESH has the only 24 hours help line service in Bangladesh. In this part of our paper we tired to focus on the existing operations of the help line service of AIRTEL BANGLADESH, which will enable us to understand the importance of the help line service.

A AIRTEL BANGLADESH subscriber needs to dial 786 to reach Airtel Bangladesh Help line. It is computer aided information base to afford immediate access to the information about the subscribers. But the operations are done manually.

After dialing 786 the subscriber is first welcomed by an automated and standardizeed process. Then s/he needs to wait for few seconds. After that the subscriber reaches the Customer Relations officer (CRO): The CRO starts the conversation with a greeting. The subscriber explanis his/her problems to the CRO (Some Basic Queries are enclosed in The APPENDIS)

If the inquiry is regarding general information, The CRO does not need to take help of information and the subscriber keeps the phone.

There are some queries that are very much more personalized and the CRO nees to get into the account of that particular subscriber and provider the service. In some cases, the subscriber just keeps the complaint/request and later action is needed to be taken. Customers need to pay TK 4 per minute to take the service from help line.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

This is a newly introduced services by Airtel Bangladesh. This is an automated help line services. AIRTEL BANGLADESH subscribers need to dial 123 to reach this service. After  that, s/he can get information regarding bill, usage, and credit policy, bank name that receives AIRTEL BANGLADESH’s bill, and son on by choosing different options. It is free of charge for the first minute, from the second minute the subscriber needs to pay Tk 2 per minute.

Information Centers

Most of the problems of the subscribers are solved by the help line services However, some problems cannot be solved. Subscribers need to come physically to deal with those problems. Airtel Bangladesh has 128 Franchise to solve the problem.

These Franchise are situated in the prime divisional headquarters like Dhaka, Chittagong, Sylhet, Rajshai, and Khunla.Here the subscribers can come directly with their problems like billing (wrong bill, detailed bill etc.), address change SIM change, handset problems etc.

These after sales services are very crucial to keep the subscribers satisfied regarding Airtel Bangladesh.

7.7 Survey

In order to research whether Airtel Bangladesh is conducting an efficient communication method in dealing with its customers or not, i had prepared a survey form/questionnaire (given in the annexure) to probe into the matter. It (the questionnaire) was prepared to cover areas such as the quality of Airtel’s customer service, its biggest threat in the field of communication, could Airtel create absolute brand loyalty or not, did people respond to Airtel’s promotional activities, and so on. This survey was conducted among 100 people, including students, teachers and employees of different classes whom i found to be very lively in participating.

7.8.Analysis

Q1: GENDER

Table No:

Analysis:

From this pie chart, i have taken the survey of 64% male & 36% female employees to fulfill my report about turn over in Airtel Bangladesh Bangladesh Ltd. I can assume that , from the total employee most of the employees are male.

Q2: Age

Table No : 02

Chart No: 02

Analysis:

During my survey, i have found that most of the employees are at the age of 30-40 years (about 40%) , 36 % are from 20-30 years, 16% are from 40-50 years and above 50 years , 8% are working as high experienced employer.

Q3: Living Area

Table No: 03

Chart No: 03 

:

From my survey , I  have found that , most of the employees are living in Dhanmondi(44%) ,Few are from Gulshan(20%), Banani( 12%), Farmgate(8%)  & Mirpur (16%) .

Q4: Education

Table No: 04

Chart No: 04

Analysis:

From my survey, I found undergraduate is 12%, graduate 56% and post graduate 100%.

Q5: Job Position Sectors

Chart No: 05

Analysis:

From my survey, i have found that, 20% of the employees are in marketing department, 12% are in IT, MANAGEMENT & Call center Department. I have taken about 16% are working on Finance Department & 16% are on customer care.

Q6: How long you are experienced in ymy specific job positions?

Table No: 06

 Chart No: 06

Analysis:

On the above pie chart ,most of the employees are experienced of 1 -2 years ( 48%) , and the employees , who are near about top level management , 28% of them are experienced of 3 or 4 years , 12% are above 5 years experienced & 8% are new in experienced who are working in those respected positions for 6 months .

Q7: How long you are working as an employee in Airtel Bangladesh Bangladesh Ltd.?

Table No: 07

Chart No: 07

Analysis:

Most of the very recently joined employees are working in the Airtel Bangladesh. 60% of them are working for 6 months, 32% are working for 1-2 years % 8% are working for 3-4 years.

Q8: Did you work for any other company before coming here?

Table No: 08

Chart No: 08

Analysis:

88% of the employees worked before joined here. They worked in different company. Only 12% have no experiences about this.

Q9: If YES, why did you leave that job?

Table No: 09

Chart No:09

Analysis:

65.2 % of the employees are experienced of working pressure, 30% of the employees think their unexpected salary & very few of the employees left that company because of unexpected facilities.

Q10:  Income (Tk)

Table No: 10

Chart No : 10

Analysis:

While I ire surveying 25 employees to know there income, I have found that among 25 employees, 40% are getting above 35000 Tk. 24% are getting 25000-35000 Tk. & 16000-25000 Tk.

A few of the employees are getting Tk. 5000-15000 as an Income from the organization.

Q11: Does this company give you any facilities?

Table No: 11

Analysis:

From my survey, 88% of the employers are saying that, they are getting attractive facilities & very few have said that they don’t get that.

Q12: Do you get any chance for as a company decision maker?

Table No: 12

Analysis:

From my survey, 88% of the employers are saying that, they are getting chance for making any decision and few have said that they don’t get that (12%).

Q13: How long is your working hour?

Table No: 13

Chart No : 13

Analysis:

From my survey, 56% of the employees are working 6 hrs per day , 24% are working 9 hrs per day , 12% are working 3 hrs & 8% are working 12 hrs.

Q14: In which shift you are working for ?

Table No : 14

Chart No : 14

Analysis:

From my survey, I have taken about 72% of the employees are working on morning shift , 16% are in night shift , 8% are working in both shift. About 4% didn’t say about this.

Q15: The job task of ymy is highly monotonous.

Table No: 15

Chart No : 15

Analysis: 

From my survey, 64% of the employees don’t think that their job is highly monotonous, 12% are thinking strongly that their job isn’t very much monotonous. But 24% of the employee thinks that their job is monotonous.

Q16: You are highly satisfied working here because of job task.

Table No: 16

Chart No: 16

Analysis:

From the pie chart, I can easily understand that, most of the employees are highly satisfied working here on their individual job task. 16% are highly satisfied, 40% are quite satisfied & 36% are satisfied with their job task. A few of the employees aren’t satisfied with their job task.

Q17: You are highly satisfied working here because of job environment

Table No :17

Chart No : 17

Analysis:

Most of the employees are highly satisfied working here because of job environment .24% are highly satisfied, 44% of the employees are satisfied & 28% are quite satisfied working here because they think the job environment is really affordable. 4% are not satisfied because of job environment.

Q18: You are highly concerned on company profit.

Table No: 18

Chart No: 18

Analysis:

From my survey, all of the employees are thinking about their company’s profit. But there are differences in degree of thinking.  44% are more concerned, 36% are quite concerned & 16% are randomly concerned on their company profit.  4% don’t think about company’s profit.

Q19: You are highly concerned on company growth.

Table No : 19

Chart No: 19

Analysis:

From my survey, the entire employee is thinking about their company’s growth rate. But there are differences in degree of thinking.  72% are more concerned, 16% are quite concerned & 12% are randomly concerned on their company growth rate.

Q20: You have a strong relationship with the top management level.

Table No : 20

Chart No : 20

Analysis:

60% of the employees have a strong relationship with the top level management. They are very satisfied working with them. from my survey , I can see that , from the above pie chart , 16% are quiet agree , 12% are just have good communication with the top level management of Airtel Bangladesh Bangladesh. 12% of the employees have no relation with the top level management level.

Q21: You have a strong relationship with the colleagues while working on a group task.

Table No: 21

Chart No: 21

Analysis:

24% of the employees have a strong relationship with their colleagues while working on a group task. . They are very satisfied working with them. From my survey, I can observe from above pie chart, 44% of the employees have better relationship & 32 % have good relationship with the colleagues while working on a group task.

Q22: You have a strong relationship with ymy colleagues an they help you sometimes by guiding.

Table No: 22

Chart No : 22

Analysis:

24% of the employees have a strong relationship with their colleagues by getting helped while working. They are very satisfied working with them. From my survey, I can observe from above pie chart, 32% of the employees have better relationship & 44 % have good relationship with the colleagues & the colleges are helping sometimes.

Q23: You are highly satisfied the salary you are paid.

Table No: 23

Chart No: 23

Analysis:

From my survey, I can see that from the above pie chart, 16% are highly satisfied for working here with their salary. 16% are quite happy with this, 40% of the employees are satisfied working here by this salary. But they have more expectations. 28% of the employees are not satisfied because of their salary. They have said that, they are searching other jobs.

Q24: You are highly motivated by the company.

Table No : 24

Chart No: 24

Analysis:

28% of the employees are highly motivated by the organization, 28 % are motivated quietly. But 16% of the employees are saying that, they are not motivated.

Q25: Are you planning to leave this job that you are continuing?

Table No : 25

Chart No: 25

Analysis:

From the above chart, i can easily understand, 60% of the employees are staying in this company & 40 % have the intensity to leave their job soon.

Histogram No: 01

From This Histogram chart, i can say that, on an average 1.6 employee are leaving this company.

FINDINGS

RECOMMENDATION

AND

CONCLUSION

 8.1.Findings

According to my survey I came about with the following findings:

Airtel could build up an effective communication.

GP is the biggest threat to Airtel.

Even after a lot of efforts, Airtel could not establish an absolute customer loyalty.

Although Airtel has a variety of slogans, it cannot always express its meanings.

Airtel’s logo had successfully delivered its meaning to the general people.

 8.2.Recommendation

From the survey that I have done, I came to know about certain shortcomings of Airtel in respect of communicating themselves with their customers. It was discovered that Airtel personnel has slightly different ideas about the effectiveness of their communication methods from what the customers hold. This might have taken places due to probable slacks in representing Airtel’s ideas and services clearly to its customers. I believe that If AIRTEL BANGLADESH follows these recommendations; it will enable them to achieve a sustainable distinct competitive advantage and to run smoothly with loyal subscribers & market leadership.

Airtel Bangladesh certainly has potential to capture good market and to give tough time to the competitors, but for this at least following steps should be taken-

Airtel Bangladesh is offering cheap rates for its prepaid and postpaid customers as compared to its competitors but the main area they are lacking is the way to communicate it to customers.

Seth Culture should be avoided.

Network should be enhanced to much more cities.

There should be consistency of brand ambassadors, jingles, colors and graphics in their print and electronic media ads to create strong brand recognition.

More regional departmentalization should be there, so as to create strong presence and market analysis at regional levels.

More staff to should be hired in some departments to meet the requirements.

There should be more decentralization and employees should be encouraged for their ideas.

Compensation and benefits plans should be revised, as it can be used as a very important tool to create motivation in employees.

8.3.CONCLUSION

I would like to start the conclusion part by restating the hypothesis of my study. My hypothesis was, “Although Airtel Bangladesh is leading the market of mobile telecommunication industry with a sharp distance, and their customers are not fully satisfied with the company’s services. If AIRTEL BANGLADESH does not take care of these dissatisfactions and another company enters the market with similar offers, it will be difficult for Airtel Bangladesh to keep the current market share intact.” From the analysis of the survey results and, it is clear that Airtel Bangladesh’s subscribers are dis satisfied with different services of the company. Moreover, the analysis indicated that the subscribers of Airtel Bangladesh are not loyal toward the company. They clearly pointed that if another company comes with similar offer, they will not hesitate to switch.

After doing this report I would like to conclude by saying that it had been a great experience for me. Moreover the survey that I conducted gave us a stronger and more helpful knowledge about the entire research. This report may contain few flaws yet I have tried my best to maintain accuracy. My view, Business Communication helped us to learn about the various methods of communication and how these methods are implemented in different organizations. I have chosen a telecommunication organization as the subject of my report.