Apple Tops Customer Satisfaction Surveys

[MacRumors]

According to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), Apple still tops the list as highest in customer satisfaction for personal computers. Apple's customer satisfaction score reached a record 85, which was 10 points higher Dell, its closest competitor.

"We haven't seen anything like this before, where a company scores 10 points over its nearest rival," said Claes Fornell, the head of the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), conducted quarterly by the University of Michigan.

Fornell believes that part of Apple's climb in customer satisfaction has been due to a particularly poor response to Window's Vista, which may have contributed to drops in the satisfaction of rival companies.



Article Link

[Tallest Skil]

In other news, sun to rise tomorrow. Also, in before people complaining about localized events in customer service problems.

[jk000]

and so they should be

[plumbingandtech]

Keep them away from these forums!

Oh wait. They are smart enough to know that people tend not to post if everything is going peachy.

[11800506]

It's good news that Apple's rank in customer satisfaction hasn't dropped. It is amazing how different Apple support is from other companies. My experiences with HP and Dell support have been pretty bad however, so it isn't surprising.

[motulist]

That's actually a slight bit surprising given the increase in users complaining of problems around here. But I guess if Apple is still the top in customer satisfaction then the increase in complaints is probably more a sign of Apple's growing marketshare than it is a sign of changing quality.

[Mr Maui]

I wonder how Apple would fare in customer satisfaction in the phone category.

[Small White Car]

Originally Posted by motulist

That's actually a slight bit surprising given the increase in users complaining of problems around here. But I guess if Apple is still the top in customer satisfaction then the increase in complaints is probably more a sign of Apple's growing marketshare than it is a sign of changing quality.

% vs. #

There ARE more complaints simply because there are more Mac users. The overall percentage can remain 'good' but doesn't mean you won't see more and more problems around here every year.

[thecartoonguy]

Originally Posted by Tallest Skil

In other news, sun to rise tomorrow. Also, in before people complaining about localized events in customer service problems.

Wait the sun WILL rise? huh, I guess I will have to go to work after all.

[JfcA09]

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5B108 Safari/525.20)

is this before or after mobileme?

[FJ218700]

looks like all the whiners are localized here

[dgcaste]

Originally Posted by JfcA09

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5B108 Safari/525.20)

is this before or after mobileme?

this was an exit poll from the mojave experiment, after the actors received their paycheck.

[cubedweller]

Originally Posted by JfcA09

Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_0_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5B108 Safari/525.20)

is this before or after mobileme?

And the iPhone 3G? And the MBP graphics card issues? And the MagSafe problems. And the battery problems. Keep climbing that hill Apple!

[bmcgrath]

Fair play Apple but I still don't think your perfect even if you took care of my problem and even replaced my machine with a shiney new one.

[kironin]

Does it have anything to do with user support in the stores?

My old Titanium Powebook was mysteriously crashing on boot up that had not yielded to my efforts at diagnostics and my Macbook was in serious need of a new battery so set an appointment at one of the local Apple stores on a Saturday. Even though we ended up erasing the disk and reinstalling 10.4.11, it was actually quite a pleasant experience and walked out of there with two nicely functioning computers.

While I was there, I saw many mid-aged people that I would not describe as tech savvy by a long shot getting problems solved or just getting educated about their devices, be it, Macbook Air a lady brought in for help, others picking up macbook pros, several older iPods, several iPhone's (one was about the 3G issue, apparently a local ATT tower was down though I wonder now given other reports about software issues, one was simply the guy need to better understand the settings), and the class for new iPhone users behind learning how to use their iPhone (all were definitely mid-age to older non tech types). You came out of there with the impression that it was a pretty lively successful store with a lot of people getting help with their technology.

Where are the Dell or HP stores like this ?

[IJ Reilly]

Originally Posted by Small White Car

There ARE more complaints simply because there are more Mac users. The overall percentage can remain 'good' but doesn't mean you won't see more and more problems around here every year.

Hey, anecdotes rule. Everybody knows that!

[MultiFinder17]

Not surprising to me, and I'm an iPhone and MobileMe customer! Here's some of my views if anyone is interested.

iPhone and the 2.0 update: I've honestly had no real issues with 2.0 on my 4gig EDGE phone. I had the SMS keyboard lag for a bit, but that seems to have cleared up. My backups don't take bloody ages, but that's prolly because I don't have 598743 apps on my phone. Signal is just as good as it was under 1.x.x, so I'm good there. Either 2.0 really was good for a majority of people, or His Steveness just smiles upon me

MobileMe: Yeah, Apple *really* dropped the ball on this one. The launch left me with nonfunctional e-mail, a dead homepage, no access to my iDisk, and nonfunctional syncing for a couple of days. That *REALLY* sucked. However, after about a week of spotty bringing services back up, it's been pretty stable. Every once and a while there were some minor issues, but they had been mostly taken care of. I was still kinda peeved at Apple for keeping mum on the subject, but I soon got over it when they admitted their failure and gave me a free month of service for my troubles. It has been pretty solid since then, with very few exceptions (mostly just e-mail being funny for a few minutes a day). I was just as pleased with it as I was with .Mac, and last night, I get *another* e-mail saying that I'm getting another two months for free! So yes, they really flubbed the launch, but they made up for it. It's all working incredibly smoothly now, and they gave me a quarter-of-a-year for my trouble. At least Apple admits when they make mistakes and tries their best to fix them and then make it up to the customers.

[amac4me]

Way to go Apple.

Here's some background about the Professor who created the ACSI index.

[ivladster]

Like i said before: Apple spoils us too much

[Mac21ND]

Originally Posted by kironin

Does it have anything to do with user support in the stores?

My old Titanium Powebook was mysteriously crashing on boot up that had not yielded to my efforts at diagnostics and my Macbook was in serious need of a new battery so set an appointment at one of the local Apple stores on a Saturday. Even though we ended up erasing the disk and reinstalling 10.4.11, it was actually quite a pleasant experience and walked out of there with two nicely functioning computers.

While I was there, I saw many mid-aged people that I would not describe as tech savvy by a long shot getting problems solved or just getting educated about their devices, be it, Macbook Air a lady brought in for help, others picking up macbook pros, several older iPods, several iPhone's (one was about the 3G issue, apparently a local ATT tower was down though I wonder now given other reports about software issues, one was simply the guy need to better understand the settings), and the class for new iPhone users behind learning how to use their iPhone (all were definitely mid-age to older non tech types). You came out of there with the impression that it was a pretty lively successful store with a lot of people getting help with their technology.

Where are the Dell or HP stores like this ?

Certainly part of the reason Apple opened it's own retail stores and prefers to staff it's own employees at Best Buy, etc;. I know people (especially in forums) can complain about Apple Retail stores, but it's still a pretty good option considering what could be and what most PC users expect from Best Buy, Circuit City, etc;. Trying getting tech support from Walmart where you bought your $500 Dell.

[dual64bit]

With producing the hardware and software, it's easy for one to hate the overall interaction with their computer unless they hated it from the beginning. I think apple offers the overall deal, the 100% package. It's a good thing, people appreciate it.

[Decrepit]

Long hold times, useless phone support. Not a chance.

I shouldn't have to drive 60 miles to get a part for my Mac because tech support doesn't understand how to troubleshoot.

Then, when I drive 60 miles to find a "genius" I have to wait 7 days for a replacement part that is under warranty. That part? The power brick. Something that they could have taken out of another package or even from a floor model.

Apple's warranty and service are awful. It's a good thing the computers tend to run so well so you don't find out how bad the service is.

[BRLawyer]

Originally Posted by Tallest Skil

In other news, sun to rise tomorrow. Also, in before people complaining about localized events in customer service problems.

And the 45 million dollar question is: where are the PC-fanboys and whiners that populate this forum now?

5 years in the lead and going...so how can anyone REALLY challenge Apple's ABSOLUTE domination in terms of overall reliability, customer satisfaction and post-sales services?

Apart from Rob Enderle and his followers here in MacRumors, of course...

MICROSOFT IS DEAD. DELL IS DEAD. GO APPLE!

[chicagdan]

Originally Posted by plumbingandtech

Keep them away from these forums!

Oh wait. They are smart enough to know that people tend not to post if everything is going peachy.

I think people are complaining on these boards for good reason. Apple is still the best in the business, but their peak for product quality was three or four years ago. I've found Leopard buggy, all the iPhone 2 software extremely frustrating and MobileMe a near disaster.

I don't go nuts on these boards about every little issue because I understand that Apple has been very ambitious the last two years and needs some more time to tie everything down. But my patience is running thin.

[cnorth3]

Originally Posted by Mr Maui

I wonder how Apple would fare in customer satisfaction in the phone category.

Well, I've had a Gen 1 iPhone since day one. Never had any problems until one day, recently, I noticed a dead pixel on the display. I happened to be in the Apple Store for something else, so I took the iPhone to the Genius Bar, thinking there's no way they're going to do anything for me. Guess what, 10 minutes later I had a brand-new iPhone! Color me satisfied.