EFFECTS OF SERVICE QUALITY ON CUSTOMER SATISFACTION DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC: THE CASE OF BANK OF ABYSSINIA BRANCHES IN HARAR

The COVID-19 disaster generated a problematic phenomena for the banking industry since it severely limited employee-customer connections and relationships. The banking industry's major obligations are to comprehend changing client expectations and utilize the most recent information technology systems in order to provide high-quality services and compete more successfully. This study main goal is to investigate how, during the COVID 19 outbreak, service quality affects customer satisfaction. A mixed research approach was adopted, with a focus on mostly quantitative methodology. Data from both primary and secondary sources were used. Three distinct groups of Abyssinia Bank account holders from four branches in Harar—the Jegol branch, the main branch, the Shewaber branch, and the GrandGato branch—made up the study's sample size of 393 respondents.. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and a partial least squares structural equation model. According to the results of the descriptive statistics, men made up the majority of the bank's customers. More than half of them were married, so far as marital status was concerned. Customers believe that the bank is having trouble keeping up with demand for online services, having trouble making such services accessible, and having a hard time keeping up with cash flow difficulties. The Corona virus, in the opinion of more than three-quarters of clients, has dramatically altered banking services. The results of the partial least squares model revealed that while the other three characteristics (empathy, responsiveness, and reliability) did not significantly affect customer satisfaction, tangibility and assurance did. It was suggested, among other things, that BOA keep conducting customer care or client handling training, particularly for service marketing staff who directly interact with customers