CALLQUAL: A Multiple-Item Scale for Measuring Customer Satisfaction with Inbound Call to the Call Centres رسالة ماجستير

Abstract

This study was conducted based on the importance of customer satisfaction in establishing Companies, their survival, and continuity, in addition to its vital role in competitiveness and maximizing profits. Call centers were targeted because they are among the most important modern marketing methods in gaining customer satisfaction. The study aimed to develop a practical model that measures the quality of the inbound calls to call centers and thus gained customer satisfaction with these calls; by adapting the well-known model SERVQUAL, including the following dimensions: Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, Empathy, and Tangibles; to simulate the service's characteristics provided by the call center (.i.e., the inbound call). Accordingly, the study resulted in a new model for measuring call quality from the customer's perspective; calling it CALLQUAL, and including six dimensions instead of five dimensions in the original model; in addition to twenty-eight indicators (element) instead of twenty-two, the new model's dimensions are Accessibility, Delivery Tool, Reliability, Responsiveness, Assurance, and Empathy. The study also demonstrated a high correlation between customer satisfaction with the call center and his satisfaction with the overall service, which confirms the importance of call centers in giving an impression of the parent company. Also, the study has targeted the subscribers of telecommunications sector's companies in Palestine; these companies include the telecommunications company "Paltel" which provides Landline telecommunications services, and two companies that provide cellular and 3G services, namely "Jawwal" and "Ooredoo," in addition to a group of companies that offer ADSL high-speed internet service; as the number of subscribers of this sector exceeds 4 million subscribers (PCBS, 2020). V The study used well-known scientific methodologies in data collection and analysis, where previous literature, brainstorming, interviews and focus groups were used as qualitative methodologies in data collection, and the questionnaire as a quantitative approach, and then the study moved to analyze data through a set of qualitative and quantitative methodologies as well, through Using thematic analysis to analyze qualitative data, and the two programs SPSS and Smart Pls to analyze quantitative data (questionnaire). Questionnaires were distributed to approximately 384 subscribers by selecting a random sample and coming up with rates that showed the extent of satisfaction of Palestinian customers with call centers in the telecommunications sector, which reached 67%, compared to the satisfaction with the parent company's services (i.e., the telecommunications companies), which came about 52%. In addition to call centers' ability to give an impression of up to 76% on the parent company, Further, the study has concluded a set of recommendations that serve the improvement projects and the managers' decisions supervising the call centers. These recommendations are represented based on the eleven indicators that follow the dimensions of "Reliability" and Responsiveness." By examining hypotheses, the mentioned dimensions have proven their role in achieving quality of inbound calls and satisfying the Palestinian customer. Finally, the study strongly recommends re-testing or modifying the CALLQUAL model through a set of future studies. These studies target call centers that belong to other sectors than the telecommunications sector. or target another group of the population that differs from the Palestinian context framework to ensure this model's validity and VI reliability. Thus, it is adopted as an official tool to measure inbound calls to call centers and obtain customer satisfaction, whether for the call center or the parent company.