Market Research Project with CASE on Singapore Telecommunication Service Providers Call Centre

Marketing Research Consumers Association of Singapore

Prepared By: Audry Chan (S10082077F) Jean Teo (S10068366G) Ong Xin Yi (S10077844F) Pee Kim Tiow (S10064222B)

Table of Contents I.  Problem Definition II.  Research Objectives III.  Data Analysis IV. Cross Tabulations V.  Limitations VI. Conclusions VII. Recommendations

I. Problem Definition •  Should CASE recommend the various

telecommunications service providers and banks to improve their call centre services?

Research Problems •  Determine the satisfaction level of consumers with

call centre services provided by telecommunication service provider and banks.

•  Investigate the reasons why consumers are satisfied or not satisfied.

•  Determine what improvements can be made to increase consumers’ satisfaction level.

I. Problem Definition •  How can CASE recommend ways to improve the

services provided by the call centre representatives of the various telecommunications service providers and banks?

Research Problems •  Determine how call centre officers of

telecommunication service providers and banks should conduct themselves.

•  Find out whether call centre officers of telecommunication service providers and banks deliver the services that they promised.

•  Determine the ways that call centre officers of telecommunication service providers and banks can improve consumers’ experience.

II. Research Objectives

•  Find out whether consumers (aged 16 -55) are generally satisfied with the services provided by telecommunication service providers and banks.

•  Find out what are the consumers’ expectations of telecommunication service providers and banks.

•  Find out the way call centre officers of telecommunication service providers and banks should serve the consumers.

•  Find out whether consumers prefer to use the service of call centre of telecommunication service providers and banks or visit an outlet or branch to solve their problems and enquiries.

•  Compare the services provided by call centre of telecommunication service providers and banks.

III. Data Analysis

A3a. Are you satisfied with the operating hours of

the call centres?

18% 22%

82% 78%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Bank Teleco

Yes

No

Result: Most of the respondents are not satisfied with the operating hours of both the telco and bank call centre services

A3b. What are the opening hours of call centres?

Know 43%

Don'ʹt Know 57%

Bank

Know 42%

Don'ʹt Know 58%

Telco

Result: A large percentage of the respondents do not know the opening hours of the call centres.

Implication: Need to educate customer on the opening hours of call centre

A3c. What are the operating hours you would like

to see the call centres operating?

Bank

Teleco

7.80%

6.30%

41.90%

42.80%

50.30%

50.90%

Office hours Extended Office Hours 24 Hours

Results: Consumers prefer call centre to operate 24 hours.

Implications: Need to increase the operating to 24 hours.

Current Operating Hours Banks Operating hours

Posb /dbs 9am-‐‑5.30pm (mon-‐‑fri) 9am-‐‑12.30pm (sat, exculding public holiday)

United Overseas Bank 24 hours

Citi Bank 24 hours

Overseas Chinese Banking Corporation

8am-‐‑10pm(excluding public holidays

Current Operating Hours Telco Operating hours

Singtel 8am-‐‑ 12 midnight

M1 24 hours

starhub 24 hours

G2. What other call centre services should be provided

by telecommunication providers and banks?

16

21

19

61

Provide more information on products

Provide more information on services

Improve call centre representatives'ʹ services

Improve call centres'ʹ services

H5. Under what circumstances do you prefer a call

centre to the physical store outlet? Why?

328

49

274

25

89

191

Convenience Avoid crowd Simple enquiries

Before/after physical stores'ʹ

operating hours

Urgency Time saving

Number of respondents

IV. Cross Tabulations Analysis

User’s first approach •  Association between age and first approach

153 167 200

184

45 46 46 59

18 29 18 19 3 7 7 3

16-‐‑25 26-‐‑35 36-‐‑45 46-‐‑55

Call Centre Physical Store Outlet

Email Others

User’s expectation •  Association between call transfer and expectation

of bank call centre services

29 21 20 2 12

282

210

64

13 28 8 6 2 0 1

No Once Twice Thrice More than 3 times

Did not meet expectations Met expectations Exceeded expectations

User’s expectation •  Association between call transfer and expectation

of telco call centre services

58 32 34

9 27

216 173

86

16 24 16 5 2 1

No Once Twice Thrice More than 3 times


User’s expectation •  Association between waiting time and expectation

of bank call centre services

5 32 28 20 66

342

122 67

2 11 2 5

Less than 1min 1-‐‑5mins 6-‐‑10mins More than 10mins


User’s expectation •  Association between waiting time and expectation

of telco call centre services

5 45 46 64 66

259

113 77

9 10 3 5

Less than 1 min 1-‐‑5 mins 6-‐‑10 mins More than 10 mins


Comparison of Waiting Time

10%

11%

55%

45%

22%

23%

13%

21%

Bank

Teleco

Less than 1 min 1 to 5 min 6 to 10 min more than 10 min

Result: Average waiting time of both call centre is 1 to 5 min.

Implication: Call centres should improve on the waiting time of the call to be less than 5 mins

Comparison: Bank has shorter waiting time.

User’s expectations •  Association between time taken for call

representative to solve problem and expectation of bank call centre services

11 23 19 6 1 8 9 8

108

301

116 26 18 11 14 2 9 7 1 0 0 0 0 0


User’s expectations •  Association between time taken for call

representative to solve problem and expectation of telco call centre services

15 31 32 14 17 12 13 26

93

217

126

27 20 17 12 3 9 10 4 1 1 0 0 0


Comparison of Time Taken to Resolve the Problem

18.3%

16.9%

47.4%

36.8%

19.5%

23.0%

4.6%

6.0%

2.7%

5.4%

2.7%

4.1%

3.3%

3.6%

1.4%

4.1%

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0%

Bank

Teleco Unresolved

More than 1 day

Next day

More than 30 min

21 to 30 min

11 to 20 min

5 to 10 min

Less than 5 min

Result: Both call centres take about 5 to 10 min to resolve problems

Implication: Need to reduce time taken to solve problem

Waiting Time Satisfaction •  Association between hanging up due to long

waiting time and satisfaction with overall waiting time of bank call centre services

192

262 222

23

Yes No

Have you ever hung up the phone before speaking to a call centre representative due to long waiting time?

Satisfied Unsatisfied

Waiting Time Satisfaction •  Association between hanging up due to long

waiting time and satisfaction with overall waiting time of telco call centre services

203 177

292

29

Yes No

Have you ever hung up the phone before speaking to a call centre representative due to long waiting time?

Satsfied Unsatisfied

Waiting Time Satisfaction •  Association between waiting time to speak to call

representative and satisfaction with overall waiting time of bank call centre services

63

301

70 20 10

84 82 69



Waiting Time Satisfaction •  Association between waiting time to speak to call

representative and satisfaction with overall waiting time of telco call centre services

72

233

61

14 9

80 100

131



Waiting Time satisfaction •  Association between satisfaction of overall waiting

time and importance of shorter waiting time to be connected to representative of bank call centre services

3 22

111 143

175

1 6 28

73

137

Least Important

Somewhat Important

Important Very Important

Extremely Important


Waiting Time satisfaction •  Association between satisfaction of overall waiting

time and importance of shorter waiting time to be connected to representative of telco call centre services

3 23

84

141 125

3 7 34

84

188

Least Important

Somewhat Important

Important Very Important

Extremely Important


Hang up •  Association between hanging up due to long

waiting time for the call transfer and satisfaction of the waiting time of bank call centre services

90

167

92

27

Yes No

Have you ever hung up the phone due to long waiting time for the call transfer?


Hang up •  Association between hanging up due to long

waiting time for the call transfer and satisfaction of the waiting time of telco call centre services

100

211

109

37

Yes No

Have you ever hung up the phone due to long waiting time for the call transfer?

Satsfied Unsatisfied

Waiting time during transfer before

hanging up

17 39

67 80 17

40

76

89

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

Less than 3min

3-‐‑5min 6-‐‑10min more than 10min

Telco

Bank 34

79

143

169

Comparison between the satisfaction of

overall waiting time 65%

35%

54%

46%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Yes No

Bank

Teleco

Result: A large percentage of the general public is not satisfied with the overall waiting time of the phone call

Implication: Need to reduce waiting time of phone call

Follow Up Period •  Association between duration taken to complete

follow up and whether follow-up period is acceptable of bank call centre services

12

29

5 0 0 0 0

7 7 3 3 4

On the day itself

1-‐‑2 days 3-‐‑4 days 5-‐‑6 days 1 week More than 1 week

Acceptable Unacceptable

Follow Up Period •  Association between duration taken to complete

follow up and whether follow-up period is acceptable of telco call centre services

30

21

9

1 1 1 1

10 7

4 6 10

On the day itself

1-‐‑2 days 3-‐‑4 days 5-‐‑6 days 1 week More than 1 week

Acceptable Unacceptable

Improvement on call centre’s services

•  Association time take to resolve problem and importance of improving call centre’s effectiveness & efficiency on solutions solving of bank call centre services

0 7 30 43 48

1 7

52

100

171

0 5 25

46 60

2 0 3 9 18 0 1 4 5 9 0 0 3 5 11 0 0 4 5 14 0 0 2 3 5

Least Important Somewhat Important

Important Very Important Extremely Important

Less 5 mins 5-‐‑10 mins 11-‐‑20 mins 21-‐‑30 mins More than 30 mins Next day More than 1 day Unresolved

Improvement on call centre’s services

•  Association time take to resolve problem and importance of improving call centre’s effectiveness & efficiency on solutions solving of telco call centre services

3 12 17

41 43

4 13

35

102 103

1 7 27

40

86

0 0 5 18 18

1 2 3 9 21

0 0 3 8 17

0 0 5 4 16

0 0 2 5 22

Least Important Somewhat Important

Important Very Important Extemely Important

Less than 5 mins 5-‐‑10 mins 11-‐‑20 mins 21-‐‑30 mins More than 30 mins Next day More than 1 day Unresolved

Overall View of Call Representatives’ Akitude

9.4%

7.4%

7.7%

8.6%

8.0%

11.0%

8.7%

9.2%

61.4%

65.1%

67.4%

64.7%

55.8%

64.2%

64.9%

70.5%

22.9%

24.0%

21.5%

22.6%

30.8%

21.5%

23.7%

18.5%

5.4%

3.1%

3.0%

3.7%

4.9%

2.9%

2.1%

1.4%

0.9%

0.3%

0.4%

0.4%

1.8%

2.0%

1.7%

0.4%

Fluent and clear

Akentive

Responsive

Patient

Enthusiastic

Professional

Friendly

Courteous

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

8.4%

7.2%

6.7%

7.8%

6.5%

8.2%

8.4%

9.8%

54.1%

55.8%

58.0%

54.4%

47.0%

55.7%

57.4%

59.9%

25.1%

28.8%

27.6%

29.7%

35.5%

26.6%

28.0%

25.0%

9.1%

6.7%

6.8%

6.7%

9.1%

7.5%

4.5%

4.0%

3.3%

1.4%

1.0%

1.4%

1.8%

2.0%

1.7%

1.3% 2.13

2.17

2.27

2.34 2.21

2.39

2.34 2.53

2.23 2.39

2.21 2.37

2.24 2.39

2.27 2.45

Bank (2.23) Telco (2.39) Mean Mean

The lower the mean score, the more favourable it is.

Comparison: The akitude of bank call centre representatives are beker than telco.

Implication: Telco call centre need to improve akitude of rep.

Overall View of Product/Service Knowledge

6.1%

7.8%

6.7%

6.3%

59.9%

61.6%

62.2%

62.4%

23.3%

21.4%

23.2%

22.3%

8.5%

7.4%

7.0%

7.0%

2.1%

1.7%

1.0%

2.1%

6.6%

9.2%

7.4%

7.2%

68.4%

70.7%

69.1%

70.4%

18.9%

15.9%

19.5%

18.3%

5.0%

3.9%

3.7%

3.3%

0.4%

0.4%

0.3%

0.9%

Answer inquiry during initial contact

Had knowledge to answer question

Able to provide accurate info

Provide relevant info to solve problem

Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree

2.25

2.16

2.41

2.34

2.20 2.33

2.36 2.20

Bank (2.20) Telco (2.36) Mean Mean

The lower the mean score, the more favourable it is.

Comparison: The knowledge of bank call centre representatives are beker than telco.

Implication: Telco call centre need to improve knowledge of rep.

V. Limitations •  Survey questionnaire is long and time consuming •  Respondents feel that questions are similar •  Respondents might not provide ‘real’ answers •  High number of rejections from the public •  Some respondents refused to reveal personal

information despite being told that information are used for verifying purposes.

•  Time constraint •  Incentives not attractive enough •  Low motivation of field force

VI. Conclusion Satisfaction level on Bank Call centres Respondents are satisfied with: •  Knowledge provided by the call centre •  Speed of how things are solved by the bank call centres •  Overall services provided by call representatives Respondents are unsatisfied with: •  operating hours of Bank call centres due to lack of awareness

of the operating hour o  Lack of publicity of call centre services

Areas for improvement: •  Increase type of services available over the call centre •  Shorten call transfer process and call waiting time

VI. Conclusion Satisfaction level on Telco’s call centres Respondents are satisfied with: •  Quick follow up process •  Efficiency of service provided by call representative Respondents are unsatisfied with: •  Delivery of speech of some call representatives •  Call transfer process and call waiting time

Areas for improvement: •  Increase type services available over the call centres •  Shorten call transfer process and call waiting time •  Improve fluency of speech of representatives

VI. Conclusion Comparison between Bank & Telco’s call centres services

Bank Telco Call representative have beker akitude

Call representative are not as enthusiastic in providing help

Call representative have beker knowledge on their products and services

Some call representative are not able to provide accurate answers to solve respondents problems/enquiries

Most respondents are unsure of the operating hours of call centre

Respondents are more aware of the operating hours of telco call centre

Quick and effective in handling problems face by customers and does quick follow up

Long call menu which customers might not be satisfied with

VII. Recommendations Satisfaction level on Bank Call Centers Problem Solution Methods

Long waiting time CASE can propose to the bank management to increase amount of operators

CASE Show statistics of the need to increase number of operators Call centre Increase operators and provide training to increase efficiency

Long call transfer period CASE can propose to the bank management to send their call centre operators for trainings

Call centre Provide training to operators to increase efficiency and have more knowledge on products and services to minimise call transfer

VII. Recommendations Satisfaction level on Bank Call Centers Problem Solution Methods

Complicated and unclear call menu options

CASE should propose to the bank call centre to minimise the number of call menu options

Call centre Ask question like ‘Which language do the customer prefer?’, from the start rather than repeating the same option in different languages. Combine similar options into one option

VII. Recommendation Satisfaction level on Telco’s call centers

Problem Solution Methods

Limited Language choices offered in call centres. Some older users find it hard to speak in English

CASE can recommend call centres to hire more call reps that are bilingual. (ie: more Malay & Tamil speakers)

CASE Work with government to encourage multi races recruitment. Show statistics on the need of services in other languages.

Unclear English accent CASE should recommend Telco to minimise outsourcing and provide training to their call centers’ representatives.

Call centre Hire more English speakers and provide trainings to foreign workers to ensure that they can communicate and enunciate clearly

VII. Recommendation Satisfaction level on Telco’s call centers


Long waiting time CASE can propose to the telco management to increase amount of operators

CASE Show statistics of the need to increase number of operators Call centre Increase operators and provide training to increase efficiency

Long call transfer period CASE can propose to the telco management to send their call centre operators for trainings

Call centre Provide training to operators to increase efficiency and have more knowledge on products and services to minimise call transfer

VII. Recommendation


Customers unaware of operating hours of call centre

Propose to call centres to fully utilize and publicize to raise awareness of call centres in the consumers’ mind

CASE: Point out loophole to the management of call centres Call centres: Publicize in their outlets

Akitude of call representative

Encourage call centres to improve call representative akitude

CASE: Show what will happen if they do not improve

Customers find it troublesome to repeat their problems every time they call the call centre

Propose an implementation of customer memory database

Database system which remembers customers enquiries preferences (Give a code to each customer)

Team’s Insight

Thank you!

Market Research Project with CASE on Singapore Telecommunication Service Providers Call Centre

Documents

Transcript of Market Research Project with CASE on Singapore Telecommunication Service Providers Call Centre