Apple Tops Consumer Reports' Tech Support Ratings, Bests Its Own Score

Consumer Reports today released the results of its annual computer tech support survey, which revealed that Apple bested its own scores from last year while also topping every other brand-name computer manufacturer.

The company scored far higher than the other big companies for the elements that make for successful online and phone support: ease of contacting staff, clarity of advice, technical knowledge, patience, and time for follow-up.

Although the full details of the survey are restricted to Consumer Reports subscribers, Macworld reports that Apple's Genius Bar was able to solve 88 percent of problems for in-store support, compared to 73 percent for Staples' EasyTech and 70 percent for Best Buy's Geek Squad.

consumer_reports_wordmark

Consumers surveyed also said that Apple was able to help solve 82 percent of computer problems, more than any other manufacturer, with only independent custom computer shops coming close to Apple. Overall, Apple rated 86 out of 100, which the publication describes as "very satisfied." The next closest brand was Lenovo, which scored a 63 out of 100, or "fairly well satisfied."

Apple traditionally performs well in Consumer Reports' surveys, and has been highly rated for a number of years.

Top Rated Comments

(View all)

wenghan1992

46 months ago

That's the apple I love.

Rating: 7 Votes

komodrone

46 months ago

Maybe we all just hate our calls being routed to India.

Rating: 6 Votes

ihateilove

46 months ago

It's not rocket science

It amazes me that while Apple continues to attempt to focus on customer need, its opponents just seem concerned for price. Sure, I'm all for a utilitarian approach to these things -- tech should be available to all -- but I can't figure out why other makers can't try harder. Then there's the media which seems to equate 'cheap' with 'good'. It's quite depressing really.

Rating: 4 Votes

pipa

46 months ago

I would expect nothing less from the boys from Cupertino. Keep up the great work guys.

Rating: 3 Votes

jayducharme

46 months ago

That's why I buy AppleCare -- for unrestricted access to that impeccable customer service. I've called them many times, even for seemingly minor questions I've had, and they're always unfailingly helpful.

Rating: 3 Votes

Ricanlegend

46 months ago

Apple is by far the best I only called them twice one time for asking when is my computer arriving and when I forgot to use and iPod touch apple care that was already 2 years old , they was so nice even without asking she gave me a refund

Rating: 2 Votes

cambox

46 months ago

Anyone can list an instance where they've gone into an Apple Store and didn't have a great experience (e.g. long wait times, inattentive staff). But overall, I think they deserve credit for providing a great tech support environment.

-staff is usually smart, friendly (esp. if you compare to other retailers)
-repair turnaround is usually 3 days, not 3 weeks
-stores are extremely clean and thoughtfully laid out

What politician said "Don't compare me to perfection, compare me to the alternative"? ;)

I agree entirely, they are masters at customer service but then we do pay for it!

Rating: 2 Votes

iSteve-O

46 months ago

"The full details of the survey are restricted to Consumer Reports subscribers."

That's not even 1% of actual consumers.

Rating: 1 Votes

mrxak

46 months ago

It amazes me that while Apple continues to attempt to focus on customer need, its opponents just seem concerned for price. Sure, I'm all for a utilitarian approach to these things -- tech should be available to all -- but I can't figure out why other makers can't try harder. Then there's the media which seems to equate 'cheap' with 'good'. It's quite depressing really.

The thing is Apple doesn't really have competition in the traditional sense. Either you're buying an Apple product and you know you are, or you're buying Something Else. When all the Something Else is commoditized and fairly low quality, you don't need great support. For every customer you lose, you pick up from somebody else's poor support. Apple, being more of a specific choice to begin with, has to keep those users that it wins over to begin with, because there's no endless pool of similar brands to churn with. Plus their higher margins gives them the budget for better support.

The other makers aren't stupid, they simply recognize that without a way to distinguish their products from anyone else's, they have to race to the bottom to compete, which doesn't leave a lot of money for good support. There's not a lot of room for many Apples, and carving out a niche is hard work.

----------

Consumer Reports: the same publication that gave the iPhone 4 a "don't buy" recommendation.

They aren't terribly relevant when it comes to tech matters, to be sure. Their computer, tablet, and smart phone reviews have always been pretty worthless and filled with ignorance. Lucky we have numerous specialized sources for that kind of information.

When it comes to consumer satisfaction surveys, they do know their stuff, though. They've been doing it a long time and have excellent methodology.

Rating: 1 Votes

olowott

46 months ago

love going to their store, its like candy land , make you wanna work hard and get all the candy :cool:

Then you see all those guys in blue , you cant wait to come back with a faulty candy cos you know its gonna be fixed with a real smile.:D

Rating: 1 Votes

[ Read All Comments ]