“Thinking of buying a PC, a Mac or a laptop this holiday season? If you’re in the market for a MacBook or a Mac desktop, Apple’s own Web site and its walk-in stores are the best places to buy, according to a survey by Consumer Reports magazine,” Sharon Gaudin reports for TechWeb.
“‘Apple definitely is doing something right,’ said Greg Daugherty, editor at large at the Yonkers, N.Y.-based Consumer Reports. ‘The highest-rated one of all, in terms of satisfaction, was buying online from Apple. Its retail store also was at the top of the retail category and not far down from the web site in terms of satisfaction,'” Gaudin reports.
Gaudin reports, “What was it that pushed Apple to the top in consumers’ hearts and wallets? Daugherty says people responding to their survey pointed to both selection and service. Apple employees also are known for being well-informed and helpful. ‘People are willing to pay a little extra for that,’ he noted.”
Full article here.
Related articles:
Apple again leads Consumer Reports’ survey for notebook, desktop computer tech support, value, more – October 16, 2006
Apple Mac desktops, notebooks top PC Magazine’s Annual Reader Satisfaction survey – again – August 22, 2006
Apple far outscores all other PC makers in Consumer Reports Computer Tech Support Survey – May 05, 2006
Apple Mac desktops, portables top PC Magazine’s 2005 Reader Satisfaction survey – August 24, 2005
Apple Computer products top PC Magazine’s annual ‘Best of the Year’ survey – December 16, 2004
Apple Macs top PC Magazine’s ’17th Annual Reader Satisfaction Survey’ – August 10, 2004
Apple leads PC Magazine’s 16th annual Service and Reliability Survey – July 10, 2003
But isn’t it great that people don’t have to ‘pay extra’ for any of that any more?
Apple now meets or beats almost all major competitors in the price/product equation.
They just know the best advertising is word-of-mouth and customer service reinforces that.
There are very few other companies that have as much control over their product line allowing them to be well informed enough to provide the level of service Apple does.
“People are willing to pay a little extra for that.”
What? I thought everyone had finally figured out that Macs are cheaper than simmilarly configured PCs.
People who purchase from Apple get “a little extra” for free, and a whole lot more for less.
MW = zipper, as in “Do up your zipper after you go zune.”
“‘People are willing to pay a little extra for that,’ he noted.”
I thought Macs were actually cheaper compared to crappy PCs…
Consumer Reports is so………..
I don’t think they are talking about the computers, necessarily. For instance, harddrives and DVD burners are a bit more. People are willing to pay the small amount more in order to have a salesperson that actually knows about them.
Considering the out and out wrong-ness of much of what CR has printed
about Apple in the past, this is a breath of fresh air!. only marginally
a left-handed compliment instead of the usual FUD-like comments,
CR is usually so misleading when it comes to Apple.
in Vancouver (Canada) last week they did a thing for the news about extended warranties and shamelessly misled people by saying Apple is the “exception” in the industry because you will need to purchase the extended warranty because they only offer 90 days of support! that’s such crap because now people will think the hardware is only covered for the 90 days but they are talking about just the telephone support. they should have said, in addition to the standard one year hardware service coverage…
I can testify to this. Wednesday, my MacBook Pro, bought as an apple refurb in July, suddenly had no audio at all.
I tried all the usual fixes, to no avail. It seemed to be a hardware issue, so I decided to contact Apple.
Tried by phone first, talked to a rep within a minute of dialing, and explained the situation. He immediately agreed to accept return of the computer for repair or replacement under warranty, but he suggested that due to the Thanksgiving Holiday, I try a local store for faster service.
So, I logged on to the web, pulled up the nearest Apple store, (South Hills Villege, Pittsburgh) and clicked on the link make an appointment at the Genius Bar. This was as 5PM on Wednesday. There was an opening at 7:40 that night. Gave my name and number and immediately had that appointment confirmed as mine.
Arrived at the store at the correct time. They were expecting me by first name. I explained the situation they ran a few tests and said it needed a new logic board. They had the part in stock, normally that is a while you wait job or within a 24 hour time frame. But, since it was 8PM by then and they were closed on Thursday for Thanksgiving, he said they would have it on Friday. GHe added, there was an outside chance that it may be delayed till Saturday, because of the expected rush of Black Friday.
I said ok call when it’s ready.
Slick! Other than the disappointment that it needed a logic board and I’m without my Mac for maybe two days, the entire process was smooth, professional, and painless.
BTW, the store was packed wall to wall with teenagers, obviously the cool place to hang out.
Being long in AAPL,
that made my heart go pitter patter.
Man, it’s a good time to be an Apple user!
It certainly is different than a few years ago. I remember telling everyone I cared about to follow AAPL. They all thought I was nuts. I am… but I was right.
When I bought my wireless Mighty Mouse, I guess someone was playing around on the Apple Store online on my mini, and when I ordered, I clicked checkout and noticed at the last second that there was a Mac mini Core Solo on the list. Unfortunately, the order was processed, and by the time I was able to cancel the item, it had already gone through.
I called support, and was almost immediately talking to someone about this blunder. Right away, the woman said she was, using my Apple ID info, already emailing the return info and page for me to print and put on the box when it came in. Two days later, I had it, and FedEx’d it the next day. The money was put back on my credit card and all was well.
Needless to say though, I was still embaressed. But I got over it, and then bought an iMac in October.
All in all, it turned out good (for both Apple and me). And it was-like turbowv said- smooth, professional, and painless. That is what tech support is supposed to be. Rest of the world’s companies take note.
OzzysCross101, actually the person you spoke with was ‘tele-sales’ (1-800-my-apple), rather than tech support/ applecare (1-800-apl-care).
I have yet to find something significant to complain about.
The employees of the Apple Store at the King of Prussia Mall can be pretty arrogant and only occasionally helpful. The store is ALWAYS packed, though. No experience with any other Apple stores.
My experiences with both Apple Store sales and service have been fantastic.
I bought a refurb first generation iMac G5 which succumbed to faulty capacitors on the logic board. I understand other vendors had the same problem. Anyway, I made an appointment online and took the machine to the Apple Store the same day. It was determined that the logic board should be replaced. Soon after I got the machine home video problems came up so I again made an online appointment for service at the local Apple Store. Apple decided enough was enough and they replaced the entire machine with a second generation iMac G5 (iSight) and transferred the data.
I guess the extraordinary thing about the whole episode was that everyone was cool, patient and took care of business in a very pleasant way. No one had to put up a fight; just to-the-point problem solving. Sure getting an upgraded machine was nice, but Apple did the right thing, no questions asked for this customer. This is how it’s supposed to be.
I don’t mean to make a commercial, but Apple has consistently been treating me right in other sales/service aspects for years.
Not if you shop at the aptly named Banana Computer authorised reseller in the Canaries. Awfull service and 1 month wait times for a Macbook. Oh yes, and Apple will not sell direct so you are stuffed if you want a Macbook within a month. There are many other places around the world where this also happens. Apple is nice if you live in UK or USA but sucks badly in many other regions.
I’ve also had great repair service – in my case on my wife’s iPod nano. As described by others, made the appointment online, my name was called within 5 minutes of my appoinment, I showed the “genius” the problem (it wouldn’t play through a dock device) – and 5 minutes later had a replacement. The Houston Galleria store seems to do a great job.
MDN Magic Word “hour” – made money by the hour last week with Apple stock!
This what the service was like in Japan. This was before we had an Apple Store here. We had our flat panel iMac go down on Monday. I called Tuesday and she had me try some things (about 5 minutes) and diagnosed the hard drive as having gone bad and said that someone would come to my house to pick up the unit the next day. So the next day (Wednesday) a guy comes and picks it up late afternoon. The unit is delivered back to my house all fixed first thing Friday. I restore from the external backup hard drive and everything is back to normal.
One day turnaround!! And all of that shipping was free.
Gotta love it.
JOhn:
You have to expect that the established influence of the local culture will likely determine how a business is managed and what business priorities predominate. This is what we called the “native way” and we had to adapt, which generally meant having to lower our standards of expectation. You will find life much better if you can tolerate moderating your criteria for competence and expertise.
“Apple now meets or beats almost all major competitors in the price/product equation. “
Provided you believe that Apple’s design and Mac OS X are worth the inflated price, Yes.
“Slick! Other than the disappointment that it needed a logic board and I’m without my Mac for maybe two days, the entire process was smooth, professional, and painless. “
problem 1: you had to take it to a store rather than them coming to your house/place of work.
Problem 2: Rather than them fixing it on the spot you’re going to be without the unit for two days then presumably have to go back to the store and get it.
That Service you got looks so Good compared to other vendor’s in home/office service.
“Man, it’s a good time to be an Apple user!”
If you’re dumb enough to believe that that’s good service, it’s a good time to be Apple.
“I guess the extraordinary thing about the whole episode was that everyone was cool, patient and took care of business in a very pleasant way. “
The most extraordinary thing was they they didn’t come to your house/place of work, the machine failed twice, yet you still thought the level of service you received was good. How badly would they have had to screw up to bump your rating up from Good to Excellent?
Equation:
You obviously haven’t done your homework or are unfamiliar with basic mathematical principles. Macs are no more expensive than most PC’s with equal or similar components. Additionally, Vista is expected to cost more than 10.5 and Vista will not have nearly the same elegance, features, functionality, and security as 10.5. If you’re happy with another slapdash tweaking of anachronistic NT architecture in a bargain basement PC, I suppose that you have the right to feel smug.
OK, Equation, how many times must someone show up at your doorstep to “fix” your PC to quantify how well your computer works? I have had no, read that, No, problems with my Mac for five years.
In fact, at work we see the designated PC repairman so frequently we know him by his first name and his kid’s names. Additionally, our IT personnel regularly take our system down to fix or de-bug conflicting software and remove malware. May be you need to consider how much down time you experience as a measure of PC functionality and performance, rather than how many times you need to open the door for the repairman or call the IT geek.
Put that in your equation, son.
C’mon, Equation, where’s your snappy reply? PC down? When will the Geek Squad arrive to fix it?
Oh, well, I gotta go. Let me know when you’re back online with another series of less than intelligent perspectives.
Equation,
I use the word “extraordinary” because in comparison to the experience my retired, fixed-income neighbor had with malware on his Windows machine (the local computer fix-it shop couldn’t disinfect it so they recommended he replace the entire machine, which he did) I had a smooth, hassle-free ride. Didn’t cost me anything, and I got to visit one of my favorite stores, which is always pleasant. If it makes me a snob to have no desire to stop by the Dell kiosk in between the fuzzy slipper and imitation designer perfume kiosks at the mall, then I guess I’m a snob. This Apple thing is worth the (presumed, but false) premium.
I would again say “extraordinary” in comparison to multiple family members who repeatedly require the family Windows “expert” to get them back up and running…
Too many of these stories which too many people find acceptable. I think more and more people are figuring it out. Maybe someday you will too.
M
Equation:
Since you claim superior mathematical skills, perhaps you can provide independently calculated repair frequencies of notebook and desktop machines for the following PC manufactures:
1. Dell
2. Sony
3. HP
4. Apple
No cheating!
I guess that Equation has calculated that it is much better to purchase a more robust Apple with fewer needed repairs versus a cheaper PC and “enjoy” receiving regular door-to-door services to fix the problems with his/her PC that could have and should have been prevented to begin with.
Equation, did you figure out how to apply Chi-square analysis yourself or did someone show you?