Computer manufacturers can be notoriously bad when it comes to customer service. Almost as bad as certain not-to-be-named ISPs that reset the phone line while you are talking to their representatives on said phone line.
Laptop Magazine did a field test of several tech support systems from various computer manufacturers (we don’t envy them), and after much deliberation, decided that Apple’s was the best. One of the major reasons was that Apple’s website isn’t a trainwreck, and actually offers useful information for most problems. However, we wonder if this test was actually fair. First, the test asked questions about power settings and external monitors. If you have ever used a PC, you know Windows handles these much worse than OS X, and thus, it would be harder for the customer support rep to actually explain how to do it. The answers from the Apple reps went something like “It does it automatically.” Second, they waited 5 minutes when calling Apple and 4 minutes when calling Fujitsu, yet gave Apple an A for phone support, and Fujitsu an A-. Maybe they really like the static-y yet trendy Coldplay-esque music that Apple support has an affinity for.
How have your experiences been with Apple tech support? Let us know in the comments.
carmelapple
August 11, 2009 at 6:50am
This wasn't really an Apple tech support issue, but I think it does reflect how easy Apple is to deal with from a consumer standpoint:
I had just purchased Leopard on the Apple website about a month after it came out and had gotten through the checkout process with ease. I got to the confirmation screen and nearly spat my Pepsi all over my Macbook (thankfully I didn't)...my copy of Leopard was going to my old address that my Macbook arrived at perhaps only 6 months earlier! I panicked...found the Apple customer service number and called it immediately. I was on hold for no more than perhaps a minute...maybe a minute and a half at the most. The cheerful young woman I spoke with took all of my information down and switched the address. The whole call took from hold time to finish about 3 minutes. Oh and she was an American too...if there is one thing I hate more than a bad product or service, it's trying to figure out what a fast talking, thick accented Indian person is trying to tell me and is failing miserably at it. I have nothing against Indian people...but if your tech support/customer service support can't adequately communicate with your customers...what's the point?
If Apple's tech support is anywhere near as good as their general customer service support...most competing companies should probably just pack it in and call it a night.
