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Customers Rate PC Vendors' Tech Support
VorfeedTech writes "News.com has a story on consumers' satisfaction with tech support. The article goes on to mention ConsumerReports' survey results comparing a few of the major PC vendors. Apple rated the best for tech support. I guess this is where they think different (TM)."
I work at a university and we have a huge computer contract with Dell, so pretty much every PC we have comes from them. We don't have much trouble with them, and when we do, the service has been excellent. Of course, we don't call the home user line, either, but if you're a corporate user I'd recommend them wholeheartedly.
Now, as for Gateway... when I was in high school, I worked for a company that had an outsourced tech support contract with Gateway. I was on hand when Windows 98 rolled out and all the poor Windows 95 users screwed things up when upgrading... I can honestly say that they hired anyone that could effectively grip a mouse. It was sad, but maybe things have changed.
But that's $250 for three years of additional, full coverage. The initial hit is steep, but it's really worth it if you're paranoid :)
Amen, Apple most probably rate the best because the range of options in their machines is relatively small - but this has always been an Apple benefit, and it's the reason why services like Versiontracker work so well for the Mac - you can get your head around the size of the problem.
That was classic intercourse!
My Mom was proactive and bought a Mac a few months ago. She had problems with connecting to the Internet.
Since I know little about the Mac and how it accomplishes such things, and since I live about 2500 miles away from here, I said "Um, Sorry Mom, call Apple".
And so she did. And to my amazement, they solved her problem. Not only that, but she actually emailed her good experiences to me within a couple hours.
I have to admit this is the only good tech support experience I've heard from a PC company. Years ago, when I had a PC from another well known company, the tech support guys made me jump through 1000 hoops before they'd admit to a problem that could be fixed with a BIOS upgrade.
Apple didn't make my Mom do that!
[OBDisclaimer: I work for Apple, in fact the Euro support centre is next-door but right now I'm speaking just for myself.]
Yes, Apple have full-time, trained employees working on tech support. They do in both the US support site (Sacramento, CA) and in Europe (Cork, Ireland).
By the way, every new Mac sold also contains a diagnostic CD. The user can simply insert it, boot in 5 seconds and get a result back for tech support without even needing a supporting OS!! Kewl or wha' ....
Alison
"It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education." - Albert Einstein
People who expect to mail-order a home PC from one of the big vendors, then get decent tech support are like people who order a Big Mac, and expect to get an attractive, witty wait-person who comes to their table, remembers their name and can suggest a good merlot to go with that. It's just not going to happen.
Back in the day, I paid my tech support dues at an ISP at around the time that a lot of people were getting interested in the Internet. Most people had Win3.1 and 14.4 modems, and most of them knew approximately diddly about what an ISP was or what their monthly fees were paying for. ("Modem? What's that? Nobody told me I had to buy a whatever-you-call-it... I want my money back!"). We tried to help EVERYBODY who called, whether it was a simple password change, or the dreaded "I just installed Win95, now I can't get connected" call. If the call took 2 hrs, it took 2 hrs, and if we couldn't help them on the first call, we would call them back later with some kind of answer.
The result was that when this ISP I worked for lowered the monthly fee from $35 to $25/mo (for dial-up, yeah you read that right), our regular customers complained (!) because they were worried that we were going to turn into just another one of those cheap ISP's with crappy tech support. After all, they knew perfectly well that if they wanted bad service, they could use one of those 3.5" AOL floppies they got in the mail every week and pay less.
Point is, support is expensive. HP, Dell, et al, just can't sell you a $500 PC, then teach you how to use it for free. You ought to be able to get someone on the phone when you get your new Dell home and the HD won't spin up, but people call tech support indignantly resolute in their belief that their $500 has earned them the right to expect Dell to teach them how to create a desktop shortcut... which means that legitimate support needs just have to wait.
When people ask me whether they should get a Dell or a Compaq or whatever, I tell them that there are several reputable, LOCAL shops that can put together a PC for them and support it. It costs more, but as always, you get what you pay for.
The best thing I loved about Apple's Customer Service, is that when I called, the lady asked me my name and then asked for my phone number so she could call me back just in case we got disconnected. Do you believe that? I can't remember the number of times that I've been disconnected on Customer Service lines, but for once someone got it right.
If they disconnect you, then they should call you back.
Thanks Apple!