Comments on: Apple customer satisfaction scores gain

Apple extended its lead over the rest of the PC industry on the University of Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index, the fifth straight year it has led the scoring.

[bplewis24]

American Customer Satisfaction Index...also known as, Fanboy Poll.

[Constable Odo]

PC fanboys national anthem..... I can't get no satisfaction (and I try, and I try) - Rolling Stones.
Vista is the Edsel of operating systems says IT.

[Galaxy5]

Maybe the PC trolls will finally understand; being an Apple customer, in most cases, means being a happy customer.

[Vegaman_Dan]

And your comment right there qualifies as a trolling attempt all by itself. Ironic, isn't it?

[catch23]

Yes, like with MobileMe? Or maybe having to jail break the very expensive phone you bought ( I mean leased from Apple) so you can use it the way you want?
The funny thing is people take this abuse and say how wonderful it is... truly pathetic.

[MPB]

I used to be a PC user then Vista came along, I switched to Mac and never going back.

[BeamerMT]

I have windows vista and dont have any problems with it. I couldn't fathom owning a mac. My pc runs everything I want with no problems, all my games, all my IM software, everything. And I dont have to use that stupid ITunes POS.

[Jonthin]

I don't see how the Windows fiasco is going to ameliorate before the next version is released in 2010 or later...

Nothing Dell/HP/Lenovo can do about that issue so I think there is every chance that Apple will increase the margin of their competitors.

And yes Windows CAN do it all. It just does everything awkwardly, painfully and often badly. As every person in the growing army of Mac switchers regularly attests to...

[Perry_Clease]

"And I dont have to use that stupid ITunes POS."

iTunes isn't Point of Sale software.

[MaLvaDo39]

Haha!

[Penguinisto]

:)

[Good_Reverend_Gibbs]

Mac vs. Windows debate never changes. Bottom line has always been Mac is great for what it is, Windows is capable of hosting a lot more, but isn't so great for people that don't know what they are doing. The mojave experiment says a lot IMHO, and people who are computer illiterate will never ever understand how to use Windows correctly. My grandmother (age 91) has no problems navigating and using windows. What's your excuse?

[Penguinisto]

Really? Because just a few weeks ago, my missus' 15-year-old niece came up to visit, and she was using my old Dual G5 Mac to her heart's content with no problems. Took all of 10 minutes to show her where Finder and Applications were.

[jabberwockgee]

Um.... Penguin? You didn't address anything that Gibbs said. He was saying that Windows is harder to use. If your niece is computer illiterate, then he was saying she wouldn't know how to use Windows.

Nice try, though.

And it took you 10 minutes to show her how to use finder and applications? I hope that included the start up time....

[jypeterson]

Why not just buy a Mac? You can run Windows XP/Vista, Mac OSX, and any flavor of Linux/Unix you want. It really is the most versitile on the market. Plus, you get Apple's renoun service and satisfaction.

It really is the best out there...

If you want to build your own, go to ebay and purchase Mac parts and put it in your own case.

[jscott418]

I think the fact that a lot of PC manufactures sell cheap computers affects these results. After all I think many user's are disappointed in their $400 laptop running Vista. Of course Apple sells at a level that brings more satisfaction. Another possible reason is all the bloatware and anti virus suites forced on PC user's from the get go. This in itself slows a perfectly good PC down.
I do like Dell because it they do offer less bloatware then some. Apple hands down wins in the fact it has no bloatware added (unless you count Office 2008 demo) But at least thats not going to slow your computer. I really would not mind the extra software if it came as a DVD disc or something. Just don't install it on the computer.

[theveggiedude]

iTunes is POS? And I thought the whole of Vista was POS. Every click it seems to want to sell you something.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Even Apple users despise and loath iTunes. It doesn't matter what platform you run it on. It's an excessively resource hungry application that has its fingers in many areas of the OS that it has no reason to. Unfortunately, it's the only usable option right now.

[joshsc]

Ask them if they're satisfied with Mobile ME. Then again, the fanboys would just blame it on someone else.
Iphone 3g is taking a beating- fanboys don't care if they can't receive their email or send messages. It looks pretty.

[Penguinisto]

:)

[cyclelogicpress.com]

Apple has great products and great customer service. Plus they can't play the blame game ... they make the hardware and the operating system.

[hijr21]

Apple doesn't make their hardware, they buy it from manufacturers just like every other computer manufacturer. Also Apple didn't make UNIX.

[jabberwockgee]

This is a ridiculous poll.

Apple has much smaller share of the market, and most people in that market self-selected into that market. (For reference, people who self-select into a market will say that market is good even if that market shoots them in the face)

I would guess a very small portion of PC users self-select into that market. They get computers that are cheap (which may be part of their satisfaction problem, since this study seems very vague about what it's measuring satisfaction with). Many are people who are getting a first computer, and don't know how to use them (probably leading to general dissatisfaction).

I wish this company would stop wasting money performing this test.

[Riquez-001]

Apple has much smaller share of the COMPUTER market.

They also sell mp3 players, Phones & music in which they have a large share of their respective markets.

[Sabroson]

"Apple has much smaller share of the market"

But it is worth 3 times Dell ...

Apple is an innovator. Dell, HP, and others are ... just clone makers.

[taugust04]

I don't think you understand what they are measuring. They're measuring customer satisfaction by brand. So, Apple is being compared to HP, Dell, Sony, and other computer manufacturers. Although Windows vs Mac OS X marketshare is dramatic, the Apple is the third largest seller of computers in the US behind Dell and HP (the last time I checked)- therefore a comparison of customer support across the different computer brands/manufacturers is very valid and worthwhile.

In addition, I'm not sure why the fact that some folks choose Apple computers invalidates the results. For a long time, Dell ruled the customer satisfaction scores, and then for a period HP.

The main reason for this, I believe is HP and Dell's continued use of off-shored call centers that have customer service employees that read from scripts rather than take the time to understand your problem. A lot of people hate having to deal with these call centers at first level support. Apple used to be middle-of-the-road with their service, but, they've made great strides with AppleCare and service at the Apple Store.

[Vegaman_Dan]

Sabroson wrote:

"But it is worth 3 times Dell ..."

Good point! Now remove all iTunes, iPod, and all non-computer related sales from their figures. Now are they bigger than Dell? You have to compare Apples to Apples, you know. Dell doesn't sell music, music players, or phones at this time. They sell only computers and far, far, far more than Apple can dream of. When you make a fair comparison, Apple is indeed a niche company.

[Sabroson]

The Apple vs. Windows issue...

Most Apple users have used Windows ... and know how crappy it is.
Most Windows users, have not used anything else.

Here is the experience of a Windows frustrated user:

A friend of mine, is running vista on his Gateway laptop. The other day his
computer malfunctioned (he claims it was a virus)... and erased portions of
his hard disk.

He goes and pulls out the Restore CD with Windows Vista and re-installed it.
To his surprise, the internet would not work. When he starts checking in the
control panel, the drivers were missing... He goes to the store (Circuit City)
and the "expert" there tells him that he voided the warranty by re-instaling
the software .. and therefore he was on his own.

He decides to hunt down the drivers on the Internet with very little luck. And to
top things off, every time he does something on Vista, there is a pop-up window
saying "So and so wants your permission to do this and that" .. EXTREMELY
ANNOYING !!!

So... you windows user out there .. Is this supposed to be the great Windows
experience???

I am sorry ... but I am sticking with Macs for now.