Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, Apple
Latest survey shows Apple customers are happiest
While the economy continues to tank, and desktop PC purchases are falling, a new survey from ChangeWave Research says Apple customers are the happiest buyers. Looking at people who bought a computer in the last 90 days, 81% said they were very satisfied with their purchase. That compares with 67% high satisfaction from Asus, Dell is at 55%, HP at 52%, and Toshiba at 52%. Only 50% of Lenovo buyers were very satisfied. Ouch.
Apple buyers plans to get a new laptop have increased 3% since the January survey. Plans to buy a desktop have declined by 2%.
Other survey highlights reflect similar opinions to Apple buyers. People buying brands other than Apple still want laptops, while interest in desktops continues to sink. There is also continuing interest in netbooks, and many Apple owners in the survey said they considered the iPhone to be a form of netbook.
The report also notes that overall consumer electronics spending is at the lowest level since ChangeWave began their research in 2002.
If you'd like to see a PDF of the complete survey results click here.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Quinn Taylor said 3:36PM on 2-19-2009
Not to play the fanboi, but it's been my experience that a significant portion of the 19% that aren't "very satisfied" are just a little ruffled that OS X doesn't always behave as they've come to expect from Windows. Certainly, there are areas in which OS X could stand a little more polish and functionality, and I love when the rough edges get knocked off. Even so, those who make the leap and begin with the assumption that OS X is completely different tend to be happier. Then again, maybe the people who complain about those few things still consider themselves "very satisfied"...
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Tariq said 7:53PM on 2-19-2009
Wow, that's amazing that the next highest is so far down at 67%. I love my MBP, I've never been happier with a computer purchase than I am with this thing. I'm glad I can talk about it here and not get yelled at for being a fanboi (happens on over sites quite frequently). I also love that as the economy's tanking, and other manufacturers are suffering, Apple has getting record sales, quarter after quarter.
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ErnieP said 4:11PM on 2-19-2009
Blah, blah, blah. Update the Mac mini already. I can't afford any of your other expensive stuff.
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anjldust said 4:51PM on 2-19-2009
I'm not satisfied, where do I go to bitch? This MacBook has caused me nothing but problems. The outer shell is falling apart. I've had it repaired for the case alone 4 times in the last year. The logic board has died twice. The hard drive has died. The lcd has died. The keyboard has died. The trackpad has died. I carry my laptop in a nice, reliable case (Samsonite) and always put it away when I'm not using it. I don't travel long distances with it.
I've had it for 1 year as of 2 days ago. My AppleCare has expired now, since I refuse to pay extra money to keep this piece of crap together. I'd rather just buy a new computer. Apple has been extremely unhelpful anyway, requiring me to drive an hour and a half out of my way every time it needs repaired. (10 times to date.) I tried complaining I had a lemon, they wouldn't do anything about it. I RAGED when they came out with the new MacBooks with a metal shell. This cheap plastic pisses me off so, so bad.
The OS itself is pretty nice, but I'm extremely dissatisfied with this hardware. I've considered taking them to small claims court, but it'd be cheaper to just buy an Asus or something and forget about ever even trying to switch to a Mac. I honestly will never buy Apple again.
I'm getting extremely irritated even thinking about it. I think I may contact my local consumer affairs office.
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Andrew T. said 5:51PM on 2-19-2009
That's really awkward. It's true that Apple doesn't have a lemon policy but if you had THAT many repairs needed/done, I find it hard to believe that CSR or even the Apple Store declined to give you a replacement.
I used to work for AppleCare and was involved with MANY cases where customers would get a replacement for less than what you experienced.
Not to sound like a fanboy, but at the end of the day, Apple really tries hard to make the customer happy with their purchase and if you ran into all those problems (which some are very critical in terms of functionality), CSR would usually issue a replacement especially with AppleCare.
puhsitch said 8:32PM on 2-19-2009
Yikes, that really sucks. Sounds like it may be a problem with the Apple Store that you're dealing with, though. If you talk your way up the AppleCare ladder on the phone, you may be able to get somewhere. I have definitely seen lemony machines replaced by Apple before.
Andrew T. said 11:12AM on 2-20-2009
I'm sorry to hear about your experience and it's unfortunate that Apple support isn't giving you any help at all.
If a problem arises with any Apple product and it becomes a known issue, regardless if you're ineligible for support, if it the problem occurs less than 2 years of the original purchase date, Apple repairs the unit with no charge to the customer (ex. nVidia chipsets in Early-2008 MacBook Pro). I'm just trying to think of why they're denying support that you're entitled to free of charge.
Again, your situation is very unfortunate and at the end, I hope your affairs office does help you out.
Doug Chaplin said 5:44PM on 2-19-2009
Actually, despite Quinn Taylor in your first comment trying to claim that the reason 100% of users aren't satisfied is because they're used to the ways of Windows, the reason I'd be giving Apple very low satisfaction scores at the moment is because my new MacBook Pro (late 2008) is crap. First the battery supplied failed to keep its charge, now it needs a new iSight and logic board. It took the local Apple Store nearly three weeks to get the parts in, and now they say it'll take maybe four or five days before they can get round to fixing it. Of course, if I bribed them by purchasing something called Procare, they would move it up the queue, but repairing a three month old machine that's broken twice promptly isn't part of normal customer service.
I suggested that since I'd now made five trips to the store related to hardware problems, which on my basic travel expense rate was slightly over £100, they should seriously consider doingf more than repair the machine, and upgrade it to 4Gb of RAM as compensation. The genius reply was along the lines of 'There's no chance of that happening". Possibly Apple's customer support is as good as claimed in the US. Here in the UK the company is always right.
So, yes, I would be in the 19% dissatisfied, and I'd like to thank you for giving me the chance to rant about it. But the reasons for my dissatisfaction are entirely down to Apple giving me a miserable customer experience, and I'm not putting up with any fanboi telling me my dissatisfaction is down to people missing Windows ways of doing things.
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Andrew T. said 5:58PM on 2-19-2009
Totally agree. I'm not going to say all, but the majority of complaints are hardware related, rarely does the customer complain about how useless OS X is or how hard it is to do stuff when compared to Windows.
One week average, most calls I receive are customer complaining and disappointed in why the HDD has failed in less than half a year or why is my MacBook not detecting the battery and surprisingly why the MagSafe port fails to charge the MacBook correctly. I know if you work at any computer call center, you'll get the same calls about the competition, but it made me NOT want to buy a Mac. Yes my Windows PC/laptop could defect the same, but it cost relatively less than what I would pay for a Apple - that's money down the drain.
Doug Chaplin said 7:12PM on 2-23-2009
Okay, an update. The store told me my MBP was now fixed. I went to get it. I'm glad I turned it on and tested it out in store. This time the airport card registered as non-existent. Their jaws dropped. They took it back and suggested I went for a quick coffee while they fixed it. I came back and they agreed that this machine was a nightmare. Then they said that they'd simply give me a new one, and put the old hard drive in it so that I wouldn't have to bother moving files and apps over. That was the level of service I'd heard about and given up on. So I've stopped moaning. All kudos to them for knowing when to change their tack.
wako said 6:58PM on 2-19-2009
the numbers are interesting... and im not talking about Apple either. Taiwanese companies seemed to have picked up the slack lately. Five years ago you ask someone if they were happy with their Asus or Acer machines and they wouldve certainly have said no. Now they are doing much better than their competitors.
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shaunisadirty said 6:59PM on 2-19-2009
Very misleading survey. Look at the user base. They have a much smaller number of users, the hardcore tech ones are the ones who are die hard apple fans and the other segment is the ones who think they look cool owning a mac so of course both segments are happy. Now when you compare that to the installation base of all other companies, which equals everyone else in the world, many more people are satisfied with what they are using compared to apple users.
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ryan001 said 7:45PM on 2-19-2009
@shaunisdirty
I'm sorry but you are mistaken. The article clearly states that this data relates to customer satisfaction who have made a purchase in the last 90 days—not complete installation bases.
shaunisadirty said 12:31PM on 2-20-2009
@ryan 001 -
That's exactly what I'm saying. The only people who buy Apple products are people who are A. die hard fans or B. Think they look cool - so of course they are satisfied. Everybody else just goes and buys what is available, and when you are talking about that many more people, of course there are going to be more upset people. It's natural.
pabster said 7:12PM on 2-19-2009
Not surprising. Apple routinely leads in customer satisfaction. I attribute that to the fact that the folks who can afford Apple's hardware are a bit smarter and don't suffer the PEBKAC disease which so many of the regular folk do. :)
But, seriously...is anyone shocked Apple customers are the most satisfied? I still hit myself for taking so long to migrate. The amazing increase in productivity was worth it alone...my time is worth money and I'm thrilled not to be spending hours harvesting spyware and flushing Windows installs.
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Lisa said 7:16PM on 2-19-2009
This study makes me laugh. I was required to get a MacBook for my major, and I've never been more miserable with a computer. I am constantly having to go back to the Apple store and have them repair and replace components of my laptop constantly. My Apple Care warranty expires soon... every time I walk in with a new problem and they pull up my customer history, the employee at the genius bar is shocked at how many times I've had to have repairs.
My hard drive has fried three times, my motherboard needed to be replaced, my inverted logic board replaced, my keyboard replaced, my cord replaced (it started to smoke and burn a hole through the wire), and I'm currently awaiting parts to replace my top casing to arrive (including a new keyboard again and the trackpad). I am a graphic design student. I am not doing any serious "heavy duty" work on my laptop, nor am I abusive towards it--it stays in once place in my room and I never eat or drink around it.
I feel like if I had any other laptop they'd just give me a new one after all this. :( Because of my mac it's extremely difficult for me to complete my school work and it causes me unnecessary stress.
/rant
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puhsitch said 8:42PM on 2-19-2009
If it's any consolation, the guy's reaction to your repair history is probably a good indication that you're an unfortunate exception to the norm... :-/
Stay on them and keep trying to get the sucker replaced!
anjldust said 8:29PM on 2-19-2009
Well, at least this post has showed me that I'm not the only one with major issues with their MacBook. The early 2008 models seem especially bad, with several issues being known to Apple. All they do is replace it with the same faulty parts and send you on your way. (This is especially true with problems with cracks in the case and logic boards, both of which I've had issues with. I can see my motherboard right now, due to a massive crack on the front of the laptop. I've never dropped it or even set it down hard.)
After reading this and ranting earlier on, I called Apple to discuss it with them and they offered no concession, only telling me that I'd need to upgrade to their expanded AppleCare plan. Sorry, not getting robbed out of an extra $250 when they sold me a crappy machine with known issues that they refuse to fix.
I've reported them to my state consumer affairs office. I suggest others with these problems do the same.
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anjldust said 8:32PM on 2-19-2009
I'd also like to add that many in the Mac community and Apple Store employees have been nothing but condescending to me about these issues. Since Macs "just work" it's assumed that I'm being foolish or making things up, or even that I did something to directly damage my laptop. This generally irritates me even further and makes me want to distance myself from this whole fiasco even more.
Andrew T. said 12:09AM on 2-20-2009
There shouldn't be any problems at all. With or without AppleCare, you have a crack ANYWHERE on your MacBook case, that's a mail-in-repair. Cracks on the white/black MacBook's is a known issue.
I would definitely call them back again and asked to be escalated.