Apple beats Windows PC manufacturers for customer satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is a key tenet for any business. Get it wrong or fair badly and the chances are you’ll lose that customer forever. Get it right and make the customer happy and they’ll likely stick with you for life. Judging by the latest Forrester Research survey this fact is good news for Apple and bad for every Windows-based PC manufacturer.
According to CNET, Forrester Research recently revealed data from its 2008 customer experience index. The results were compiled from the answers given by 4,564 U.S. consumers to questions relating to their interaction with various companies. How useful is the product? How easy-to-use is it? How enjoyable is it to use?
The companies which were the subject of the PC makers category included Apple, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell. Rather unsurprisingly, Apple obliterated the opposition. Why unsurprisingly? Apple has the advantage for a number of different reasons. Which is why I’m not surprised it received an 80 percent CxPi rating while all the others were in the 50 to 60 percent range.
I maintain that the people who buy Apple Mac computers are an entirely different species than those who buy Windows-based PCs. OK, so maybe that’s pushing it, but there’s certainly a case for arguing that people make the choices they do based on different factors, different wants, and different needs.
Firstly I think this survey is rather poor. The questions asked don’t seem to get to the root of how good a company’s service pedigree is. Rather it concentrates on how much the consumers like a certain product. So no wonder Apple came top. Show me an Apple fanboy that would say anything negative about the company and I’ll show you a liar.
Quite apart from the fact these results will be skewed in favor of Apple, there is the issue of price. Customers should be guaranteed a better experience from buying Apple because they pay through the nose for the privilege. Apple also has its own stores or sections in stores dedicated to its products and brands. Another obvious advantage.
Do I believe Apple is a better company than every Windows-based PC manufacturer? No way. It just uses what it has well to ensure its customers with deep pockets stay loyal. That’s not customer satisfaction, that’s keeping consumers on a tight leash and yanking hard when a new product is unveiled.
November 22nd, 2009
Oh please, like there aren’t fanboys for every company (except maybe accer). It’s not like everyone who owns an mac is a fanboy that’s just as erroneous as saying all PC users are fanboys. He says the survey is skewed because Apple has its own store and can give you specialized help. Well isn’t that the whole point? How accessible you are to your customers is going to determine how happy your customer is with your product.
December 28th, 2009
i used to love pc but with the new os its a bit bad on microsofts side both windows vista and 7 are as bad as eachother. im currantly saving up to go mac as i know they work well because its one company delivering everything not a host of companies ie dell and accer and what not all they do is bundle the cheapest components into a box bar the processor wich is either intel or AMD then sold off at a massive mark up im not surprised people that buy there products have issues my procer is all intel processor and motherboard and i have problems with windows so i believe fully that ppl buying the garbage dell and acer throw out at you would have problems.
as for price well apple is pricy but no more than a high end pc as the mac dose outpreform the pc on like for like spec you get speed and reliability with them. iv always been a PC fan but nowdays im leaning more and more to apple.