An evaluation of the importance of good customer care in monopolistic businesses: the case study of Moshi urban water supply authority (MUWSA)

The present study aimed at finding out the importance of good customer services in monopolistic business whereby one might assume that so long as it is a monopolizing water business customers would scramble for their services and profit would be realized. The study involved staff and customers of Moshi Urban Water Supply and Sewerage Authority. The total number of respondents was 50 individuals. Qualitative research was the predominant approach employed in collecting and analyzing data. Data were gathered through questionnaires, interview and documentary review guidelines. The study shows that regardless of a monopolistic business environment whereby public companies tend to believe that there is no competition and customers avail themselves, scrambling for their services to the extent of not considering the importance of a customer as a king rather producer as a king, forgetting the essence of good customer care, the real fact however is that the business face a big challenge, loss and stagnation. The findings reveal that most of the customers are not satisfied with both the services they get as well as responses to their queries is very poor. As a result most of Muwsa potential customers withdraw themselves from the services, big amount of unpaid debts which range around 300 million Tshs, high rate of disconnected customers due to unpaid bills and increasing incidents of water theft by most of the disconnected customers as they don not have alternative source of water.The researcher proposes that good customer care should be observed by all companies in both monopolistic and competitive environment, loss of finance and customers could be avoided by just providing good and committed customer care.

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

masters

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

The Open University of Tanzania

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Moshi, Alphoncina

• 900 History, geography, (& biography)

Language dc:language

en