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Apple Tech Support Tops Charts

Arvind Srinivasan — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 13:20:30 -0500

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.

Take Survey Win a Wii

Roberto Baldwin — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 11:23:27 -0600

Wait a second, the Nintendo Wii isn't made by Apple. That's true, but how else will you play Mario Kart Wii?

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iPhone Tops in Customer Satisfaction Survey

John Pitko — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 14:39:04 -0600

J.D. Power and Associates is considered the upper echelon of costumer satisfaction surveys. It is highly regarded among businesses and if anyone is ever mentioned by them, people tend to listen to what they have to say.

Which is good for the iPhone since it received a high rank for its overall customer satisfaction among smartphone users. The iPhone received a score of 778 out of a possible score of 1000, "performing particularly well in the ease of operation, physical design and handset feature factors." The iPhones major competitors, Blackberry and Samsung, scored 703 and 701 respectively.

"With the introduction of the iPhone in 2007, Apple has clearly differentiated itself from the competition in areas that are most important to business smartphone users," said Kirk Parsons, J.D. Power senior director of wireless services. "By making basic applications and features easy to use and providing functionality in a thin, lightweight device, Apple has performed well in exceeding customer expectations."

The study concluded:

- Sixty-nine percent of business smartphone users own a hands-free headset, and 74 percent of those owners use a wireless headset device. Motorola owners report a higher incidence of using wireless headsets (86%), while only 60 percent of Apple iPhone owners report using a wireless headset device.

- Among smartphone users, 37 percent would like GPS (global positioning system) capabilities on their device, 25 percent would like Wi-Fi capabilities, 23 percent want touch screen and 15 percent would like to have voice recognition command for automatic dialing.

- The average reported purchase price of a smartphone device is $216, compared with an average reported purchase price of $261 in 2007. Apple owners report the highest average purchase price at $337, while Motorola owners report the lowest device pricing at $169.

- The top five reasons given for choosing a smartphone brand are: Internet capability (45%), ability to use e-mail account (41%), overall design/style (39%), Bluetooth capabilities (37%) and keyboard style (e.g., QWERTY) (37%).

- Thirty-four percent of smartphone owners say they download third-party software. Popular software downloads among business users include games (49%), business applications such as Microsoft Word and Excel (43%) and travel-related programs (36%).

Take a Survey, Win an iPhone. Yeah, it's That Simple

Roberto Baldwin — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:26:30 -0500

Maybe you just don't have the expendable cash to blow on a new iPhone 3G. Maybe you're waiting for some of back-to-school sale. Whatever your reason, forget it right now. Because we're giving away one free iPhone 3G to a lucky survey taker.

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