Complains Management Strategies And Customer Satisfaction At Kenya Power Lighting Company, Eldoret North Rift Branch

Abstract

Complaints management strategies involve developing a process in which several discontents and displeasures from customers are handled in organization. Over the last five years the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) in Kenya reported that some of the parastatals were having more complains emanating from the members of public. Complains have risen despite organizations instituting complaint handling strategies. The specific objectives of the study were: to establish how response mechanism strategies to complaints influence customer satisfaction in KPLC, Eldoret North Rift Branch, to assess the extent to which customer complaints follow up strategies influence customer satisfaction in KPLC, Eldoret North Rift Branch, and to evaluate how complains prioritization strategies influence management of customer complaints in KPLC, Eldoret North Rift branch. The study was guided by the theory of argumentation and continual service improvement (CSL) model used to explain key concepts of the study. The researcher did utilize a case study survey research design. The target population of the study was 383 customers and 5 administrative employees of Kenya power lighting corporation. The sample size was 377 respondents obtained from the target population at 99% significant level. Non-probability and probability sampling techniques were used. The study used interview schedule and structured questionnaire to collect information from respondents, the questionnaires were issued to customers while interviews were conducted on administrative staff. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics and content analysis.Data was presented in form of frequency distribution Tables and statements. The study establish that once a complaint is responded immediately it leads to customer satisfaction, time taken to respond to a complain increases customer loyalty, methods and techniques employed by employee and staff enhances customer loyalty. Other findings shows that compesation and follow up are necessity in managing complaints. The study further established that conducting reviews on complaints leads to customer loyalty. In general study found that complaint response mechanisms, complaint follow up and complaint prioritization are effective in ensuring customers are satisfied. The study did recommend that organizations need to employ these strategies to manage customer complaints. The public management of government entities need to adopt suitable complain strategies that will enhance the way they will handle complaints from their customers. They need to employ response techniques, follow up and prioritization of complains in order to manage complains effectively and efficiently. Employees working in customer care sections need to adopt valuable lessons from this study to shape their service provision. They need to respond to complains immediately, use quick response mechanisms, prioritize the risks, and give attention to customers in order to offer valuable customer service and complaint handling.