Apple continues 'unstoppable' winning streak in customer satisfaction

Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
Apple has once again topped the American Customer Satisfaction Index for PC makers, making it eight years in a row that consumers have been most satisfied with the Mac maker.



Apple's score in 2011 was up 1 percent to 87, placing the company a comfortable 9 points ahead of its nearest competitor. The average score in the personal computer business was tracked at 78 points on the 0-to-100 scale.



"In the eight years that Apple has led the PC industry in customer satisfaction, its stock price has increased by 2,300%," said Claes Fornell, ACSI founder. "Apples winning combination of innovation and product diversification?including spinning off technologies into entirely new directions?has kept the company consistently at the leading edge."



The ACSI said that Apple's dominance in computer satisfaction appears to be "unstoppable," as competing PC makers topped out in 2011 with scores in the 70s. HP was the best of the lot with a score of 78, while Dell and Acer sat at 77.



The ACSI numbers com from interviews with about 70,000 customers rating more than 225 companies in 47 industries and 10 economic sectors. The latest report released on Tuesday covers consumer satisfaction with PC makers, as well as major appliances and electronics.



Apple's score of 87 in 2011 marks its highest tally yet, besting last year's result of 86 points. HP also improved by one point over last year's score of 77.



Competing PC makers have slightly narrowed the gap against Apple in recent years. In 2009, the Mac maker was 12 points ahead of its nearest rival, Dell, with Apple posting a score of 84 percent.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 68
    Nice to see Apple's satisfaction percentage actually going up as time goes on and they take on a much larger user base.
  • Reply 2 of 68
    And THIS is why it's worth a little extra money for a Mac. When something goes wrong, I can not only bring it into a brick and mortar store for help, I can also call on the phone and get an American accent.



    No PC manufacturer can match that.



    Heck, I brought in an iPhone 4 complaining about the proximity sensor, and even though it was all chipped up and clearly used, they gave me a new one, no questions asked. It was beautiful.
  • Reply 3 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TimUSCA View Post


    ?I can also call on the phone and get an American accent.



    Heck, one time I even got a British accent. Talk about class!



    (I'd somehow been routed to a call center across the Pond when calling the U.S. Dev number. Go figure.)
  • Reply 4 of 68
    Apparently the Apple fanbois really dislike Apple.



    Think about it. Apple's growth has largely been from the non-fanboi section of the populace. However, as Apple has grown, its customer ratings has increased, indicating that the new Apple customers actually like Apple MORE on average, than the existing customers.



    IOW, despite all the rubbish apple "fanbois" get from online trolls, they are more critical of Apple than the regular populace (which is not so surprising, when you think about the fact that the regular populace used to find Windows satisfactory).
  • Reply 5 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addicted44 View Post


    Apparently the Apple fanbois really dislike Apple.



    Think about it. Apple's growth has largely been from the non-fanboi section of the populace. However, as Apple has grown, its customer ratings has increased, indicating that the new Apple customers actually like Apple MORE on average, than the existing customers.



    IOW, despite all the rubbish apple "fanbois" get from online trolls, they are more critical of Apple than the regular populace (which is not so surprising, when you think about the fact that the regular populace used to find Windows satisfactory).



    That's a very astute observation. I used to be a "helper" in the Apple Discussion boards and it was a bloodbath in there when OSX was released initially. And that was at a time when only the Mac faithful were using them.
  • Reply 6 of 68
    Apple Customer Service is like the old world customer sevice of the 60s but better. At least Apple cares and most of the time the customer walks away with the problem solved. Sure Apple charges top dollar for its Macs but at least you know that you have bought quality combined withh the confidence that they stand behind their products.

    Dell, Best Buy (to mention a few) they only care when you purchase the product after that you're going to battle your way towards any type of satisfaction.
  • Reply 7 of 68
    Link to the source please!
  • Reply 8 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by BUSHMAN4 View Post


    Apple Customer Service is like the old world customer sevice of the 60s but better. At least Apple cares and most of the time the customer walks away with the problem solved. Sure Apple charges top dollar for its Macs but at least you know that you have bought quality combined withh the confidence that they stand behind their products.

    Dell, Best Buy (to mention a few) they only care when you purchase the product after that you're going to battle your way towards any type of satisfaction.



    Absolutely true. It also helps to live near an Apple store. I have had my Macbook for 4 years and they have performed 3 small repairs without charging me, all out of warranty, and within an hour. With an Apple store you have a free tech support guy forever, just make a quick same day appointment. How is that not worth the premium price of an Apple, not to mention the tight software/hardware integration and industry-best design and materials?



    Why would you spend less on a Windows PC when the store won't do anything but shrug after 14/30 days and the manufacturer won't do anything after a year?



    I have a Windows desktop since I can diagnose and repair that myself, but I won't settle for low quality laptops anymore.
  • Reply 9 of 68
    Apple is doing well indeed. I know they could do better with customer satisfaction however. Why not put forth the small effort and push this rating over 90? Sometimes Apple is a real PITA when it comes to parts, repairs or replacements, and phone support duration is insufficient.



    Most companies give a warranty of 3 years on hardware and 1 year of phone support. Apple is well short of this standard. While it is true that I've rarely had to use a warranty or phone support, there have been times when it's been necessary to seek support after 1 year, and when that happens, it's like running a marathon through he l l.



    The other problem they have is being completely un-helpful when it comes to part replacements. If I need a replacement power supply or a drive mounting screw for a HP box, all I have to do is give HP a call (or go online) and order the replacement part. Done. Not so with Apple. Just try to get a part out of them, I dare you!



    Example: I have an old Mac Pro tower at the office and the rotating plastic clip that holds one of the hard drives in place broke. I went to Apple seeking a replacement part. They would not cough one up. The only "solution" would be to order an entire replacement enclosure for over $1000 because the little plastic piece "isn't available separately". BS! I told them to screw that. I ended up gluing the part back together. If Apple doesn't think that action cost them sales, they are incorrect. The Mac Pro was actually used as a workgroup server, but no more! I now buy all server hardware from HP and run Linux on it. Apple's lost thousands of dollars in sales over that stupid move. Apple is a great company and they make some great products, but there are some areas where they still need to get their act together, and this is one of them, despite what the 'rating' may be.
  • Reply 10 of 68
    mstonemstone Posts: 11,510member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addicted44 View Post


    Apparently the Apple fanbois really dislike Apple.



    Think about it. Apple's growth has largely been from the non-fanboi section of the populace. However, as Apple has grown, its customer ratings has increased, indicating that the new Apple customers actually like Apple MORE on average, than the existing customers.



    IOW, despite all the rubbish apple "fanbois" get from online trolls, they are more critical of Apple than the regular populace (which is not so surprising, when you think about the fact that the regular populace used to find Windows satisfactory).



    Excellent post and so true, at least in regard to me.
  • Reply 11 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by addicted44 View Post


    Apparently the Apple fanbois really dislike Apple.



    Think about it. Apple's growth has largely been from the non-fanboi section of the populace. However, as Apple has grown, its customer ratings has increased, indicating that the new Apple customers actually like Apple MORE on average, than the existing customers.



    IOW, despite all the rubbish apple "fanbois" get from online trolls, they are more critical of Apple than the regular populace (which is not so surprising, when you think about the fact that the regular populace used to find Windows satisfactory).



    You cannot reach your conclusion based on the data you have.



    It is possible that new customers have average rates of satisfaction, while the fanboys increased theirs. You seem to assume unchanged satisfaction among fanboys, but with no evidence whatsoever.



    Just saying.
  • Reply 12 of 68
    muppetrymuppetry Posts: 3,331member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by mytdave View Post


    Apple is doing well indeed. I know they could do better with customer satisfaction however. Why not put forth the small effort and push this rating over 90? Sometimes Apple is a real PITA when it comes to parts, repairs or replacements, and phone support duration is insufficient.



    Most companies give a warranty of 3 years on hardware and 1 year of phone support. Apple is well short of this standard. While it is true that I've rarely had to use a warranty or phone support, there have been times when it's been necessary to seek support after 1 year, and when that happens, it's like running a marathon through he l l.



    The other problem they have is being completely un-helpful when it comes to part replacements. If I need a replacement power supply or a drive mounting screw for a HP box, all I have to do is give HP a call (or go online) and order the replacement part. Done. Not so with Apple. Just try to get a part out of them, I dare you!



    Example: I have an old Mac Pro tower at the office and the rotating plastic clip that holds one of the hard drives in place broke. I went to Apple seeking a replacement part. They would not cough one up. The only "solution" would be to order an entire replacement enclosure for over $1000 because the little plastic piece "isn't available separately". BS! I told them to screw that. I ended up gluing the part back together. If Apple doesn't think that action cost them sales, they are incorrect. The Mac Pro was actually used as a workgroup server, but no more! I now buy all server hardware from HP and run Linux on it. Apple's lost thousands of dollars in sales over that stupid move. Apple is a great company and they make some great products, but there are some areas where they still need to get their act together, and this is one of them, despite what the 'rating' may be.



    Just curious - is that an isolated example, or have you had other similar experiences with Apple?
  • Reply 13 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by akhomerun View Post




    Why would you spend less on a Windows PC when the store won't do anything but shrug after 14/30 days and the manufacturer won't do anything after a year?




    Dell has one year of in-home service. They send extremely competent people right to your house. Does Apple do that?



    What if you live near a Best Buy and far from an Apple Store?
  • Reply 14 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by muppetry View Post


    Just curious - is that an isolated example, or have you had other similar experiences with Apple?



    Something tells me he walks into the apple store with a giant chip on his shoulder and puts everyone in an unhelpful mood.
  • Reply 15 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    Dell has one year of in-home service. They send extremely competent people right to your house. Does Apple do that?



    What if you live near a Best Buy and far from an Apple Store?



    Ha!



    First, they only have it if you pay extra for it. Second, I've gained more business from clients who had that 'extremely competent' contractor leave their computer in a total shambles.
  • Reply 16 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    Dell has one year of in-home service. They send extremely competent people right to your house. Does Apple do that?



    What if you live near a Best Buy and far from an Apple Store?



    Hmmmm... this service really put them (Dell) over the top in the customer satisfaction score.
  • Reply 17 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TimUSCA View Post


    Heck, I brought in an iPhone 4 complaining about the proximity sensor, and even though it was all chipped up and clearly used, they gave me a new one, no questions asked. It was beautiful.



    Dropped my iPad a week ago on the sidewalk. Completely my fault. Walked into an Apple Store, told them the truth, and they gave me a new one.
  • Reply 18 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by island hermit View Post


    Hmmmm... this service really put them over the top in the customer satisfaction score.



    That's a good point. So why is the customer satisfaction so low if they offer such great customer service?
  • Reply 19 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    Dell has one year of in-home service. They send extremely competent people right to your house. Does Apple do that?



    Who the fuck wants a Dell?



    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ConradJoe View Post


    What if you live near a Best Buy and far from an Apple Store?



    Who says somebody has to buy a computer from an Apple store? Anybody can order online. Sometimes I buy stuff from an Apple store and sometimes I order stuff online, both methods work equally fine. I've never once had to take a Mac in for repair in the many years that I've been using them.



    Once again, Apple is kicking ass, and it's taking no prisoners. Apple is also leaps and bounds ahead of it's closest competitors.



    There's a saying that goes "you get what you pay for", and that's not always true when it comes to some things, but in the case of Apple, it certainly is, which has more satisfied customers than anybody else. Mentally retarded trolls may disagree, but the facts speak for themselves.
  • Reply 20 of 68
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Apple ][ View Post


    Who says somebody has to buy a computer from an Apple store? Anybody can order online. Sometimes I buy stuff from an Apple store and sometimes I order stuff online, both methods work equally fine. I've never once had to take a Mac in for repair in the many years that I've been using them.



    Once again, Apple is kicking ass, and it's taking no prisoners. Apple is also leaps and bounds ahead of it's closest competitors.



    There's a saying that goes "you get what you pay for", and that's not always true when it comes to some things, but in the case of Apple, it certainly is, which has more satisfied customers than anybody else. Mentally retarded trolls may disagree, but the facts speak for themselves.



    I love that you can order online and in the store and still use their stores and phone-based customers service for repairs. Can't take your Dell to the mall kiosk.



    There mail-in repair service is also fast and competent. You call them up, they send you a box overnight with it's own overnight mailing label to ship your product to them. They will repair it the day they receive and overnight it back to you.



    I know people that have owned "PCs" from other companies that shipped their machines in for repair that 1) had to pay for the initial shipping and 2) waited weeks for the item to be repaired. These might be isolated incidents but they were certainly rememberable to me.
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