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Apple Falls Behind Microsoft, Samsung, and Sony in New Consumer Experience Survey

Simmias said:
I guess you missed this article by long-time MS supporter Paul Thurrott:

Anecdotally, ask any normal, non-techy user their feelings about Windows 8. Every one from my dad to my friends at work will tell you that "Window 8 sucks and you should stick with Windows 7". The public has NOT accepted the new UI and it is a huge problem for MS. Any survey that shows the experience of MS customers improving over the last year is highly questionable.
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As much as I admit that Microsoft haven't been communicating with their customers very well on how you should use Windows 8, it doesn't take long to realize that the new interface and apps (or Metro as most people know it as) is intended for tablets and other touchscreen devices. For any other desktop or laptop, simply pin desktop apps to the Start Screen and all you have is a nimbler and more stable version of Windows 7 with a fullscreen Start Menu.

Change makes people uncomfortable and even in 8.1 there are some questionable design choices. But these will be ironed out over time with 8.2, 8.3 and so on. Anybody saying Windows 8 just simply 'sucks' without giving much reason other than things have changed clearly hasn't used it long enough to work out how it should be used. Because having worked out how it should be used, I find Windows 8 to be far superior to 7.

Anyways, I digress. I don't bother with articles with so called industry experts. Whether you like something or not is entirely personal.
 
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nagromme said:
But the curve, in my experience, will be amazingly gentle. FAR less than with Android, Mac or Windows. "Immediate" as in zero seconds may not be true, but obviously that extreme is not what is meant by "intuitive."

Non-tech savvy people I know, who struggle with the complexities of Android and Mac and Windows (I'm thinking especially of a non-tech-savvy Windows-using friend with an Android phone and hand-me-down iPad) find the iPad to be a whole different can of worms. They are able to do more with the iPad--entirely on their own--than I ever thought could be true of any computing device. They ask me questions all the time about Android and Windows stuff, but their iPad "just works." They did have to learn each app of course, but it was easy to do so. Best of all, the multi-app workflow (which people say iOS isn't ideal) for works for them (Copy and Paste!) and they are using multiple apps together to produce creative output, in a way they never did in years of using Windows and Mac.
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Your experience is your experience and it is just as relevant as mine or anyone else's. The issue I have is you present (not just you; a lot of us do it to force our narrative) that experience as some sort of declarative fact. Taking your post above... switch those names - Android/Mac/Windows - in any order and you will get someone who agrees with the adjusted post.

Here's another non-fact opinion. I see your post as mostly hyperbole. My experience? I actually own and use products from each of those companies on a daily basis. None of what you say above is anywhere near the real life experiences of me and my friends <- see I have friends just like you. My anecdotal friends should meet your anecdotal friends. They will learn a lot from each other.

Most importantly, the article says nothing BAD about Apple at all. The article says Apple actually improved over last year. That's a good thing. Just because other vendors improved it doesn't negate Apple's improvement.
 
VanillaCracker said:
It's because of iOS7.

Maybe if:

1) The UI appealed to more people (the sterile extra flat design turns some people off - Google Android managed to produce a more exciting flat design)
2) The OS performed as well as the predecessor (although this is fixed in 7.1)

Not to mention how badly the iPad's software was/is performing (which is most of their market). They launched iOS for iPad while it still felt like a beta. Hell, my iPhone 5S still runs iOS7 like it's a beta. Crashes every once in a while and I still see bugs daily. Not happy buying the latest specs and still having the software run poorly.

On a side note, my local apple store smells like a Zoo everytime I go in there. The first time it happened I thought maybe some baby just peed everywhere. I've been in there 8+ times since (over the course of 2 years) and it smells the same every time. Disgusting
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I don't agree that this is necessarily the reason however I do agree with your problem. iPad Air doesn't feel like a new tablet to me, it feels like its a few generations back.
 
"Not to mention how badly the iPad's software was/is performing (which is most of their market)"

NO, iPhone is THEIR market and that's why there has been NO iOS optimization for iPad!
 
Hmmm...

Well Samsung had nowhere to go but up in my experience. I purchased a 20 inch Samsung tv that had horrible color. Samsung's response to my ~$200 purchase was to hire the Geek Squad to do a $400 calibration on my nickel. I returned the tv instead of spending the money for a calibration which would have been useless anyway as the colors were beyond fixing.
 
charlitos said:
That survey does not make a lot of sense due to the difference in how these companies provide their services. First of all Sony, Microsoft and Samsung have nowhere the retail presence Apple has in the U.S. They also don't get anywhere the amount of customers Apple gets in a daily basis. What this means is that it is easy for a consumer to confuse a semi empty store with good "customer service".

The lack of retail presence from other companies also forces consumers to troubleshoot themselves. When your Samsung Phone, Sony Camera or Windows Laptop has an issue you try to figure sh#t out on your own first, or talk to someone who knows how to figure sh#t out for you. The first impulse Apple customers get when something goes wrong with their device is to call Apple or to go the Apple Store. So i would really love to see a version of the survey when they considered all these variables as opposed to just taking customer service opinion blindly.
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Do you want to see that version of the survey because in your mind you've stacked the deck so that Apple has no choice but to come out ahead? Customer service is an individual experience. How do I feel about my experience with company X. Whether I walk into a store with 2 other customers or 200 is immaterial. How was my experience?

Bolded: That's - and here's my hyperbole - complete BS. The process you described for Samsung/Sony/Windows is the exact process that happens with any product, Apple included. 1.Try to figure out what's wrong. 2. See if someone you know can help. 3. Vendor support. 99.5% - unverifiable math - of people do it this way. That's like wanting the Ford to beat the Ferrari in a drag race - bad car analogy.

I managed hyperbole, questionable math, and a bad analogy in one post. Is there a prize or something.:D
 
scottishwildcat said:
They bought the wrong ones then. As a happy owner of two Macs, an iPad, an iPod and an AppleTV, I'm now on my third consecutive Android phone (this time, a Moto G) and frankly, it's an awesome phone for half the price of an iPhone. It's also just been updated to the latest Android OS, and it plays perfectly happily in my otherwise-Apple infrastructure, syncing with iTunes and beaming stuff to my AppleTV, as did my previous two HTC phones.
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too bad you only get the latest android on it for 18 months, per googles own support model docs.
 
mdelvecchio said:
too bad you only get the latest android on it for 18 months, per googles own support model docs.
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i get the latest android on my 4 year old nexus s within weeks of the source code being released. running incredible on kitkat.
 
Findings Mirror My Experience

Please note that the experience I'm writing about falls outside the evaluated data of the test. The reason I'm writing about it in this context is that my experience results parallel what the report stated.

Amazon is hands down the best retail media seller for me. I try to stay away from iTunes, and feel like I'm in the grip of a hydra when I go there. When I go to the amazon.com site, four clicks and I'm watching Modern Family. And if there is a problem, the fixit process is easy. I've been caught in weeklong hell with Apple support regarding download/iTunes issues. I don't buy Apple media anymore.

The best experience with a company that has a roughly analogous business is Canon USA. I know that within five minutes of hearing that first ring tone that I will be in the hands of a competent technician. There have been no exceptions. My experience with Apple is different. One of the key differences is the inflexibility and arrogance of Apple employees.

I like Macs and iOS devices. Have for a long time, but am very disappointed with the direction of Apple's service.

And this is just my opinion, but I think the root of the problem is vertical integration. There are benefits, but the lack of competition is reflected in attitude issues and internally fixated processes. It appears that Apple has become an electronics products commodity producer, much like Sony and HP.

Again, the experience I'm writing about isn't specific to the survey, but reflects similar results.

YMMV
 
I agree that Apple is falling behind. The store employees just aren't as universally "nice" as they were before.

I used to always leave a store completely satisfied on an issue. In the last year, I've left fuming a handful of times. The employees seem to have less discretion and just point to "rules" they have to follow and "systems" that won't let them do that. And when they can't help or do have discretion, they seem to be less sympathetic to user un-happiness.

It's not completely a "don't care" attitude but it's much more of a "don't mess up my day" attitude.
 
Android who? said:
Dude. Windows 8 sucks. Who wouldn't question statistics that say Microsoft is doing well?
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I took the 5 minutes to learn Windows 8 and it works fine for me. My wife's MacBook crashes/stalls much more often than my laptop running Windows 8, so.. ?
 
Apple's problem is nothing to do with it's retail stores it is

1) Value. What you get for what you pay

2) lack of products people want. For example a reasonable desktop system that does not force you to trash a good LCD monitor what you need a new CPU.
 
I'm more intrigued by the 3rd-party analysis than the results. If this is typical of any opinion poll, two percentage points up or down is going to be within the margin of error - 81% could be 83% or 79%. Second, third, and fourth place are essentially a dead heat.

Point: Apple stays essentially flat. "Flat" can't be attributed to either negatives or positives. It's "no change." Unsuccessful leadership at Apple Retail Store? That ought to have sent the numbers down, right? Ditto for all the other items blamed. If those really were bad things, then there must have been good things to counter-balance.

Point: All the other top players increased by essentially the same amount. Coincidence? Does it point to a change in survey methodology? Is it the net result of the companies' efforts to beat Apple (the "We Try Harder" effect), while Apple was unable to beat its own game? Your pick, or None of the Above.

Counter-point: If it was all due to a change of methodology, then perhaps Apple actually went down, while the others did no better than last year. If that's the story that feels good to you, then go with it.

Point: Amazon still delivers the most satisfying experience. It's also the experience that has the least person-to-person interaction. Once an automated system has been carefully honed, there's a consistency of experience that's hard to match with human interaction (at least, so long as the servers are up and system bandwidth is sufficient). Human interaction inevitably results in a mixture of highs, lows, and everything in between. Amazon completely controls the customer experience, while all other players products are sold and serviced by third party retailers. The Apple, Samsung, and Sony experience includes Best Buy, AT&T, Verizon, Sprint...

Do I think human beings and third parties are to blame? No, it's just that Amazon has fewer external variables to deal with, and that people have a tendency to be more enthusiastic when a "machine" performs beyond expectations than they are when people perform beyond their expectations.

Naturally, all machines are designed by humans, and Amazon's accomplishments are quite real - Has anyone, since Amazon's start, been credited with doing online retail better than Amazon? The fact that Amazon continues to raise the bar is equally impressive.

Still, if you've seen the TV spots for Kindle featuring that perfectly pretty and perky tech support rep, arriving instantly on the Kindle's screen, the only human manifestation we have from Amazon outside of Jeff Bezos... haven't you asked yourself why Apple hasn't done the same, or why you've never seen a Genius who's quite as appealing as an actress selected from amongst perhaps 1,000 candidates? Wouldn't we all like a second "take" when we realize we've been less than stellar in human interaction, and wouldn't it be nice if Hair and Makeup could spruce us up between takes? I can imagine an episode of Big Bang Theory where aspiring actress Penny attends a casting call and leaves with a tech support gig, more grist for Sheldon's known disdain for the likes of Apple Geniuses.

So, let us continue to strive to find deep significance in every MacRumors article. Every so often, one of us may get lucky.
 
springsup said:
I fundamentally disagree. The first rule of sales is: the customer is always right.

If you need in-depth knowledge in advance of the product in order to use it, it's a poor product.

It may be unpopular to say, but I agree with this rating. Apple has fallen well behind the standards they set for themselves under SJ. There is definitely a new feeling about this new Apple, and it's not a positive change.
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And I fundamentally disagree with the first rule of sales. Just like the statement "Underpromise, overdeliver", it's been retired with the 20th century.
 
Apple's Support

My entire home eco system is Apple. That being said, I am frustrated at Apple as of late. I still view them as better than the alternative, but have specific issues or problems they made that go beyond that look of the UI:
-- Tap to Tweet. Best feature of iOS 5, now gone
-- Same for FB
-- Phone shutting off at 20%
-- Unresponsive Camera app, sometimes at critical times

Support:
-- The refusal to talk unless you have an AppleCare warranty on file. My phone is within warranty, but in order to get service I must drive 2 hours to the nearest Apple Store
-- The knowledge that my trip to them won't be the last, as they're unlikely to do any kind of repair / investigation until they can replicate any issue you have in store. No replication, no courtesy check. Or, do a full restore of your phone first and come back if it doesn't work...

Specifically, I'm also referring to my wife's in warranty Macbook Pro, that "pops" and cracks every time you open or close the lid. Issue began in October, and Apple kept my machine for several weeks (since 2 hours isn't necessarily a cheap drive), with me offering over the phone advice several times of how they can replicate the issue. They never could, so they wouldn't open it just to see if the cables are pinched (like our last machine was) under the lid. Brought it home on Black Friday, and guess what: that night (after using it for a few hours), it popped when she shut the lid.

We recorded the issue, which has only gotten worse over the past 6 weeks. We have another appointment scheduled, and I'm taking the video of the popping to them *just in case* it won't pop while i'm there. But all of this could have been solved had they just opened it up last time.

So yes, my satisfaction with Apple is less than it was 4 years ago. Still the best, but they need to return their focus on better built products and taking care of their customers vs the bottom line only trend that has emerged.
 
KdParker said:
When the store is crowed, there will be a wait, as in any store. There is sometimes a feeling of WTF when waiting for an appointment, but I haven't found it to more or less time than waiting at any other stores.
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Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe any other store has a 'Genius' model like Apples.

Also it's called an 'appointment' for a reason. I purposely choose a less busy time just so I wouldn't have to wait.
 
Wow talk about BS! I have a lot experience with all of these and dealing with Apple is 10x better than the rest other than Amazon which is pretty good.
 
roadbloc said:
Because Windows 8.x currently has more users than the entire user base of OS X. Since 8.1 its only been here I've seen negative reaction to Windows 8, which is understandable since most users use OS X here.

In reality, Microsoft are doing fine and many people are adjusting to their newer interface just fine.
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Really? Cause I read on a couple Win sites the other day that MS is rushing Win 9 to market next year because of the Win 8 Debacle.

HP just sent me an e-mail advertising "Windows 7—back by popular demand" on 1/19/14. Being the largest PC Vendor in the world, that says lots about the perception of Windows 8.

When Vista came out there were no "XP Machines back by popular demand" or when Win 7 came out there were no "Vista machines back by popular demand".
 
itguy06 said:
Really? Cause I read on a couple Win sites the other day that MS is rushing Win 9 to market next year because of the Win 8 Debacle.
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There is no Win8 debacle. It's stable, fast, and it's selling. The simple fact that the only difference between Windows 7 and 8 from a UI perspective is a fullscreen start menu just goes to show how much people tend to over-exaggerate relatively small changes. Hell, we're seeing it in iOS7 now.

They're not even starting heavy development on Windows 9 until sometime in March. Though granted, they are rumored to be bringing back the oldschool start menu with its release.

HP just sent me an e-mail advertising "Windows 7—back by popular demand" on 1/19/14. Being the largest PC Vendor in the world, that says lots about the perception of Windows 8.

When Vista came out there were no "XP Machines back by popular demand" or when Win 7 came out there were no "Vista machines back by popular demand".
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I remember them quite well. Up until the release of 7, XP downgrades were regularly offered, and regularly taken.
 
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