Apple retains leads in laptop technical support, but gap is narrowing

Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware
Apple has claimed the top spot on Laptop Magazine's 2019 customer service ratings, scoring 91 out of 100 based on a mix of phone and online performance.

2018 MacBook Pro


To test the company, Apple was queried about enabling Dark Mode in macOS Mojave, disabling automatic updates, and turning off MacBook cameras, Laptop said. The last point was something of a trick question, since that's impossible without going into Terminal -- in calls, however, AppleCare staff did explain how to limit access app-by-app.

The phone team "provides correct answers in a timely manner," the magazine said, with an average call time of 6 minutes and 40 seconds. In the online realm it's reportedly better to turn to live chat or Twitter, since Apple's article database may sometimes fail to turn up results for basic queries. Laptop tried five different phrases for the camera question, such as "disable webcam," only to realize Apple doesn't acknowledge the term "webcam" -- a problem given its popularity.

Apple solved 100 percent of phone inquiries, and even took an average of 37 percent less time than in 2018, Laptop noted.

Ranking second was a relative neophyte in the laptop space, Razer, with a score of 88. That company offers "relatively speedy responses via social media and near instantaneous connection via live chat," along with a "wealth of knowledge and advice" for those patient enough to explore forums.

Laptop Magazine rankings


Dell (78), Samsung (73), and Asus (69) rounded out the top five. Samsung phone agents were criticized for having "serious gaps in their knowledge base concerning company laptops," and live chat was "disastrous" with misguided answers or even misinformation. Social media teams however are said to have "fast, accurate responses" with follow-ups and simple instructions.

The worst-scored company was MSI at 30. "MSI produces high-quality gear at reasonable prices, but the company's tech support has actually gotten worse," Laptop wrote. "The website is a frustrating labyrinth, social media support is nonexistent, and phone support, while fast and courteous, was accurate only half the time."

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    bluefire1bluefire1 Posts: 1,301member
    Apple tech support has always come through for me. 
    badmonk
  • Reply 2 of 15
    Johan42Johan42 Posts: 163member
    Poor MSI. Such great gear but so sad to see it get beat by Huawei in tech support.
  • Reply 3 of 15
    sirozhasirozha Posts: 801member
    Out of six reported issues in the past 8 months five have been escalated to Engineering and  are still unresolved. 

    100% of issues get resolved by Apple? It’s complete and utter BS. 
    edited April 2019
  • Reply 4 of 15
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    Apple leads in customer service overall too. You wouldn’t know that from reading tech blogs however. Tales of death and destruction, anger and hate, incompetent technicians, shoddy hardware, poor design, overcharging, scamming, lying, illegal activities, nastiness. How does a company hated and despised by so many nerdy types remain at the top of lists like this one? Could it be that the Internet greatly magnifies negativity and tech blog denizens are woefully out of touch with reality?
    badmonkjony0
  • Reply 5 of 15
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    sirozha said:
    Out of six reported issues in the past 8 months five have been escalated to Engineering and  are still unresolved. 

    100% of issues get resolved by Apple? It’s complete and utter BS. 
    Maybe your issues are complete and utter BS. Ever think of that?
    badmonkjony0
  • Reply 6 of 15
    THE GAP IS NARROWING (but only with a gaming laptop company).
  • Reply 7 of 15
    jcs2305jcs2305 Posts: 1,336member
    sirozha said:
    Out of six reported issues in the past 8 months five have been escalated to Engineering and  are still unresolved. 

    100% of issues get resolved by Apple? It’s complete and utter BS. 
    "Apple solved 100 percent of phone inquiries". That's a bit different than "issues" as you put it. If a call is made and info is given, or a call is made and you are connected with a tech that can help with a broken or misbehaving device.  I personally have never made a call to Apple and have it not be resolved somehow.

    What issues have you had that Apple just couldn't help and just stopped helping and left it unresolved?  I personally have not had that happen, and I have had some strange shit happen with iPhones over the years.  if this has happened to you that is unfortunate and unacceptable.
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 8 of 15
    avon b7avon b7 Posts: 7,622member
    I've always said this is the kind of support Siri should shine on.
  • Reply 9 of 15
    lkrupplkrupp Posts: 10,557member
    jcs2305 said:
    sirozha said:
    Out of six reported issues in the past 8 months five have been escalated to Engineering and  are still unresolved. 

    100% of issues get resolved by Apple? It’s complete and utter BS. 
    "Apple solved 100 percent of phone inquiries". That's a bit different than "issues" as you put it. If a call is made and info is given, or a call is made and you are connected with a tech that can help with a broken or misbehaving device.  I personally have never made a call to Apple and have it not be resolved somehow.

    What issues have you had that Apple just couldn't help and just stopped helping and left it unresolved?  I personally have not had that happen, and I have had some strange shit happen with iPhones over the years.  if this has happened to you that is unfortunate and unacceptable.
    Just read his/her posting history for the answer. 
  • Reply 10 of 15
    tokyojimutokyojimu Posts: 528member
    I find that support calls/chats to Apple always take at least an hour and a half, and often aren’t resolved. 

    Just this week I spent 1:54 with them trying to find out how to make Apple Music (via an Amazon Echo) play more modern songs instead of those from decades ago. They were never able to help with this. 
    edited April 2019
  • Reply 11 of 15
    sirozhasirozha Posts: 801member
    lkrupp said:
    sirozha said:
    Out of six reported issues in the past 8 months five have been escalated to Engineering and  are still unresolved. 

    100% of issues get resolved by Apple? It’s complete and utter BS. 
    Maybe your issues are complete and utter BS. Ever think of that?
    If it were the case, Apple advisors should have been able to resolve them with ease. Ever thought of that?
    muthuk_vanalingam
  • Reply 12 of 15
    sirozhasirozha Posts: 801member
    jcs2305 said:
    sirozha said:
    Out of six reported issues in the past 8 months five have been escalated to Engineering and  are still unresolved. 

    100% of issues get resolved by Apple? It’s complete and utter BS. 
    "Apple solved 100 percent of phone inquiries". That's a bit different than "issues" as you put it. If a call is made and info is given, or a call is made and you are connected with a tech that can help with a broken or misbehaving device.  I personally have never made a call to Apple and have it not be resolved somehow.

    What issues have you had that Apple just couldn't help and just stopped helping and left it unresolved?  I personally have not had that happen, and I have had some strange shit happen with iPhones over the years.  if this has happened to you that is unfortunate and unacceptable.
    The article is about laptops. Are iPhones considered laptops now?

    Do you want me to describe each issue for you in detail or would you be satisfied with case numbers?
  • Reply 13 of 15
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,152member
    lkrupp said:
    Apple leads in customer service overall too. You wouldn’t know that from reading tech blogs however. Tales of death and destruction, anger and hate, incompetent technicians, shoddy hardware, poor design, overcharging, scamming, lying, illegal activities, nastiness. How does a company hated and despised by so many nerdy types remain at the top of lists like this one? Could it be that the Internet greatly magnifies negativity and tech blog denizens are woefully out of touch with reality?
    Compared with everyone else, Apple is stellar.  

    Obviously Apple isn’t perfect, but its support really is better than everyone else, one of the reasons they cost more in the first place. If only Apple products were more easily repairable, it would be unsurpassable.
  • Reply 14 of 15
    My very limited experience with Apple has been less than stellar.

    But my years old experience with Dell can best be described as MUCH MUCH Worse than nothing.  They waste HOURS of your time to give you wrong advice guaranteed to make the situation far worse than when you called. 

    So while Apple has been a mixed bag to say they are only 1000 times better than Dell borders on defamation.  If your Dell computer has a problem either install Linux or buy a MacBook.  Those are the only options. 
  • Reply 15 of 15
    jcs2305 said:
    [...] I personally have never made a call to Apple and have it not be resolved somehow.
    Really? I have. More than once.

    The most recent example is a problem with my iTunes Match subscription. It works fine across all our devices except one Mac, which shows some songs show as existing but unavailable for download. Over an hour on the phone with Apple failed to resolve the problem.

    I'm not bashing Apple, my overall experience with its support has been positive, but no vendor is perfect.
    muthuk_vanalingam
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