Apple now No. 1 in customer satisfaction on Samsung's home turf of South Korea

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Apple's products are renowned around the world for quality, but now the company's iPhone has achieved yet another milestone: it has taken the top spot for customer satisfaction in South Korea the home country of Apple's chief rival, Samsung.

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Quality Insights released its most recent report on customer satisfaction within the South Korean smartphone market, and Apple beat out Samsung according to Naver. The report surveyed 44,168 smartphone owners to see how they would rate their satisfaction with both the device's performance over the course of one year and the manufacturer's customer service over that same period.

Apple's after-sale service rated highest with South Korean consumers among all manufacturers, with a 52 percent satisfaction rate. That topped a 50 percent satisfaction rate for Samsung, as well as a 46 percent satisfaction rate for South Korea's LG.

Respondents reported more satisfaction with Apple's speed in processing device repairs. Consumers that owned iPhones were also the least likely to have to send their devices in for repairs.

Apple's devices typically sit atop or near the top of customer satisfaction surveys year after year. The bestselling handset has won J.D. Power's customer satisfaction nine times in a row, with its score so high that it actually pulled up the average of the entire smartphone industry.

The Cupertino company takes great pride in its customer satisfaction ratings. CEO Tim Cook will often point out how well Apple ranks in customer satisfaction, noting that that factor drives customer loyalty, repurchase rates, and commerce within the iOS ecosystem.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 45
    nkingmannkingman Posts: 44member
    "CEO Tim Cook will often point out how well Apple ranks in customer satisfaction, noting that that factor drives customer loyalty, repurchase [B]rats[/B], and commerce within the iOS ecosystem."

    Didn't know they sell rats.
  • Reply 2 of 45
    mikejonesmikejones Posts: 323member


    While that is good news for Apple, a 2% difference is usually well within the error rate of any surveys such as this. It's basically noise.

  • Reply 3 of 45
    nkingman wrote: »
    "CEO Tim Cook will often point out how well Apple ranks in customer satisfaction, noting that that factor drives customer loyalty, repurchase rats, and commerce within the iOS ecosystem."

    Didn't know they sell rats.

    LOL. EPIC.
  • Reply 4 of 45
    seankillseankill Posts: 566member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MikeJones View Post


    While that is good news for Apple, a 2% difference is usually well within the error rate of any surveys such as this. It's basically noise.



    I agree. However, since Samsung is a big deal in Korea, there is certainly a level of biased that will take place.

  • Reply 5 of 45
    mikejones wrote: »
    While that is good news for Apple, a 2% difference is usually well within the error rate of any surveys such as this. It's basically noise.

    What is the error rate?
  • Reply 6 of 45
    jungmarkjungmark Posts: 6,926member
    nkingman wrote: »
    "CEO Tim Cook will often point out how well Apple ranks in customer satisfaction, noting that that factor drives customer loyalty, repurchase rats, and commerce within the iOS ecosystem."

    Didn't know they sell rats.

    The iRat, a larger version if the Apple mouse.

    I suppose Sammy's checks didn't clear for enough Koreans.
  • Reply 7 of 45
    davewritedavewrite Posts: 64member
    MobileBeat had a bit more on the survey:

    "iPhones have few failures, Korean respondents said, with only 17 percent having any issue with their Apple smartphone, while 31 percent reported issues with Android-based Samsung phones."
  • Reply 8 of 45
    suddenly newtonsuddenly newton Posts: 13,819member
    davewrite wrote: »
    MobileBeat had a bit more on the survey:

    "iPhones have few failures, Korean respondents said, with only 17 percent having any issue with their Apple smartphone, while 31 percent reported issues with Android-based Samsung phones."

    And still Samsung managed to come within 2 points of Apple. That is what Apple is competing against in Korea.
  • Reply 9 of 45
    mikejonesmikejones Posts: 323member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Suddenly Newton View Post





    What is the error rate?


    No clue as they don't have it on that linked page, but there's no way it's under 2%.  Even the best of surveys that have the least amount of sampling error usually never have smaller error rates than 2-3%.


     


    But as said by Seankill, that Samsung and Apple are basically within a statistical dead heat is a bad sign for Samsung.

  • Reply 10 of 45
    jack99jack99 Posts: 157member


    I think that's very good for Korean consumers.


     


     


    Apple will do for Korean consumers what Sony and other TV companies did for Korean customers. When Sony first entered Korea, they gave customers extended warranties and placed a bit of downward price pressure. This caused Samsung and LG to follow suit by increasing their warranties and offering their own price cuts.


     


     


    Let's face it. Samsung doesn't have the best track record for after sales support. That seems to have changed quite a bit in America due to the competitive market. That's why I can see Apple's presence forcing Samsung to kick things up a notch and improve sales support. Samsung's stores in Korea and elsewhere should help in this regard. 

  • Reply 11 of 45
    jack99jack99 Posts: 157member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Seankill View Post


    I agree. However, since Samsung is a big deal in Korea, there is certainly a level of biased that will take place.



     


    You mean bias toward Korean products? So you're telling me that that consumers within any given country will lean toward a brand they're more familiar with? You don't say!


     


    [In case the sarcasm wasn't obvious, American consumers are no different. That's where marketing really plays a role in establishing brand presence]


     


    Not to say this isn't a notable achievement on Apple's part. I'm not really surprised Apple ranks highly in Korea. In my last travels there, I saw quite a few iPhones and iPod Touches. One of my former coworkers was able to pick up the latter in Seoul. 

  • Reply 12 of 45


    Spamdroids, get used to Samdung is doomed?  Welcome to new normal!

  • Reply 13 of 45
    jack99jack99 Posts: 157member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by helicopterben View Post


    Spamdroids, get used to Samdung is doomed?  Welcome to new normal!



     


     


    There were many, many armchair bloggers and Apple fanboys predicting Android's doom and gloom well before its takeoff. There were articles titled "Why Android Will Never Become Competitive" all over the web.


     


    And yet, I can easily dig up a news commentary article spelling Apple's demise right now.


     


     


    Not to say I take people making either prediction all too seriously. Most clickbait bloggers don't even have advanced degrees in math or finance. 

  • Reply 14 of 45
    titantigertitantiger Posts: 300member
    [QUOTE]Quote:
    Originally Posted by Jack99 View Post

    I think that's very good for Korean consumers.

    Apple will do for Korean consumers what Sony and other TV companies did for Korean customers. When Sony first entered Korea, they gave customers extended warranties and placed a bit of downward price pressure. This caused Samsung and LG to follow suit by increasing their warranties and offering their own price cuts.

    Let's face it. Samsung doesn't have the best track record for after sales support. That seems to have changed quite a bit in America due to the competitive market. That's why I can see Apple's presence forcing Samsung to kick things up a notch and improve sales support. Samsung's stores in Korea and elsewhere should help in this regard.

    [/QUOTE]

    Margin of error is a factor of overall population size compared to sample size in the survey.

    This site offers a MOE calculator:

    http://americanresearchgroup.com/moe.html

    Based on a population of 49.78 million in South Korea and the stated sample size of the survey of 44,168 (a very large sample), you get a MOE of 0.47%.

    This appears to be a good bit more than statistical noise.
  • Reply 15 of 45
    macfandavemacfandave Posts: 603member
    I've had pretty bad luck with Samsung electronics. They die an ugly and rapid death soon after the short warranty period.

    I was using a Daewoo monitor with my Mac mini and I then got a Samsung for dual monitors, and it failed after two years and the Daewoo is going strong a year later. Using the two products side by side, the Daewoo has given me about double the useful life.

  • Reply 16 of 45
    ericthehalfbeeericthehalfbee Posts: 4,485member


    So 52% gets you top spot? Doesn't seem like South Koreans are "satisfied".

  • Reply 17 of 45
    constable odoconstable odo Posts: 1,041member
    Wall Street doesn't care about useless consumer after-sales numbers. Hedge funds realize good customer service eats into profits. How about Apple doing something that's really impressive for a change? Like really knocking the socks off investors when it comes to actual iPhone sales or is that asking too much of Timid Cook. If keeping customers satisfied is his only way of boosting Apple's shareholder value, then I guess he's ready to take a paycheck cut sooner than later. Timid Cook had better try to convince S. Koreans they'd all be better off buying iPhones than some home%u2013grown smartphone.
  • Reply 18 of 45
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Spamdroids, get used to Samdung is doomed?  Welcome to new normal!

    More like spermdroids: they come by the millions, yet you're lucky if one actually works.

    Also, the article would've been even better if they also mentioned that Tim Cook said: "most companies end the relationship with its customers after a sale. At Apple, that's when the relationship starts".
  • Reply 19 of 45
    philboogiephilboogie Posts: 7,675member
    Mr. Odo, why the heck are you here? After reading your post(s) I actually want to knock you off your socks. And I'm not a man of war.
  • Reply 20 of 45
    solomansoloman Posts: 228member
    nkingman wrote: »
    "CEO Tim Cook will often point out how well Apple ranks in customer satisfaction, noting that that factor drives customer loyalty, repurchase rats, and commerce within the iOS ecosystem."

    Didn't know they sell rats.

    As long as it's not rat bastards it's ok. :lol:
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