Nearly 60 percent of Apple product owners said they are somewhat or much more likely to make another Apple purchase following their tech support experience, according to leading market research company The NPD Group’s Tech Services Study. The positive tech service also helped change consumer perception of Apple. Thirty-one percent said they had a much more positive view of Apple after their service.
That service left almost all of the 40 percent of Apple owners who took their Apple devices to the Genius Bar very happy. Nearly 90 percent of consumers who used Apple’s tech service said they were extremely or very satisfied. In contrast, top 2 box satisfaction among all consumer service interactions was 78 percent. A major part of their satisfaction came from the fact that only a small percentage actually paid for their service. According to the report, 88 percent of Genius Bar consumers said their service was free compared to 78 percent of all consumers.
The majority of the support was for troubleshooting (37 percent), followed by product repair (28 percent), how-to support (18 percent), software installation/upgrade (11 percent), and product installation/set-up (7 percent).
“Tech support is a great service for the consumer, but more importantly it’s a brand-building element for the retailer and manufacturer,” said Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at NPD, in the press release. “People tend to associate any type of tech support as a negative experience, but Apple has demonstrated that those ‘negatives’ can be turned into positive brand experiences and result in a trip back to the store.”
Physical presence is key to creating those positive brand experiences. According to the study consumers were more genuinely satisfied when their service was a personal interaction inside a retail store. Fifty three percent of consumers were extremely satisfied with their in-store experience, more so than any other type of service interaction. Younger consumers, despite their reputation as preferring more virtual interactions, were more likely than any other age group to want to use the service in the store, with 45 percent of respondents preferring this method.
“Retailers are rediscovering the value that services can offer the consumer,” said Baker. “Store foot traffic has declined over the years leaving fewer and fewer in-person interactions. Having a strong tech support in-store model helps fill the transaction void and builds brand awareness and satisfaction.”
Methodology
A U.S. representative sample of approximately 2,000 adults (18+) completed on online survey through NPD’s online panel in May 2012. Some of the participants were pre-identified as consumers who had returned or needed tech support on consumer electronic devices in the past 12 months.
Source: The NPD Group
MacDailyNews Take: Which is why, of course, Tim Cook, operations genius, reportedly thinks it’s a good idea to hire a cheapskate discounter to run Apple retail straight into the ground.
If the related articles below regarding a post-Steve emphasis on revenue and cost-cutting at Apple Retail Stores are true, Tim Cook needs a wakeup call posthaste. Apple shareholders can do so via email: tcook@apple.com
Related articles:
Reports persist of Apple Retail Store budget cuts, emphasis on revenue over customer satisfaction – August 28, 2012
After being Browettized, Apple Retail touts numbers – August 20, 2012
Apple newbie John Browett brings Dixons to Apple Retail Stores – August 17, 2012
Dear Tim Cook: Apple’s retail focus should be on delighting customers, not generating cash – August 16, 2012
Apple Retail Store chief Browett: ‘We messed up’ with Dixons-eque staffing gamble; refutes layoffs – August 16, 2012
Apple retail chief Browett to get $56 million golden hello – May 27, 2012
Apple grants 100,000 shares to new retail head John Browett – April 25, 2012
Tim Cook emails UK customer: John Browett’s role isn’t to bring Dixons to Apple Retail – February 1, 2012
Eyebrows raised over Apple’s hiring of Dixons CEO to run Apple Retail Stores – January 31, 2012
Apple hires Dixons CEO John Browett as new retail chief – January 31, 2012
Apple Inc.: The most profitable retailer in America – August 15, 2012
Apple’s retail juggernaut is magical and revolutionary in its own right – May 25, 2011
Apple Retail Stores hit 10th anniversary (with video of Steve Jobs’ tour of 1st store) – May 18, 2011
Apple Store: ‘The best damn retail experience in America!’ – December 2, 2010
Apple’s retail stores generate huge sales – December 27, 2007
Piper Jaffray finds ‘gravitational pull’ at Apple Retail Stores – November 26, 2007
Apple thinks different with cash register-less retail stores that bring in billions – November 23, 2007
Apple makes retail seem ridiculously easy – May 29, 2007
How Apple’s Steve Jobs is revolutionizing Manhattan retail – May 08, 2007
Fortune: Apple Inc. is America’s best retailer – March 08, 2007
How Apple Retail Stores beat Best Buy, Neiman Marcus, and Tiffany – December 19, 2006
Pound the shit out of this, MDN! Cook needs to get his mind right immediately. Browett needs to go, even if this was Cooks’ idea, just for the sake of morale.
I agree. Emailing Mr. Cook now.
Mail to tcook@apple.com sent.
I walked into an Apple store many, many times before I switched. I was always treated courteously and didn’t feel any pressure to buy and was free to browse the wares on display to my heart’s content. When I told one of the retail assistants that I was a current Windows user, I was treated with respect. There was no push for me to join the Apple crowd. And when I asked what were the advantages of Mac OS X over Windows, I was politely shown how Mac OS X worked, how multiple windows could be opened at once and how you could drop text, pictures, videos and entire paragraphs from one app to another seamlessly. That opened my eyes to the world of the Mac. What pushed me over the edge was the seamless experience I had with the iPhone 4.
The idea of embrace and extend without necessarily extinguishing is a central theme to the way Apple approaches customers. If this were to be changed to a greater emphasis on profits, it would be a dark day indeed because Apple will lack that special something that made visiting the Apple store something like visiting Santa’s Grotto and become more like visiting Radio Shack.
Just emailed Mr. Cook.
Hang on…. is 60% that bad? How that does compare to other retail operations? What if the same question is posed in a Bose, MSFT, Blackberry or other corporate direct sell stores? At the end of the day these types are surveys are as much about the front line person’s people skills and as it about the product being sold.
Over a year ago, Apple stores were great places to explore. But over the past year, I have been there about 6 times and not one was a good experience. Most Apple employees had the Mac knowledge of a WalMart Pet Department clerk. The latest Genius wanted to charge me $300 for something clearly covered under my AppleCare policy (after keeping my Mac for a week, a regional manager “found” my warranty, and then I had to wait another week for repairs) . I can’t ever imagine going back or recommending anyone set foot in one. It’s not what it was. You will leave the store WORSE than when you entered. Something wonderful has vanished forever. Order online.
Cancer killed Steve; Cook killed Apple (in one tenth of the time).
I’ve only been to the Genius Bar a few times, but they’ve never been good experiences. Pompous attitude and seemingly in a hurry to move on to the next person. Regular staffers seem much more willing to help. So I have not gone back to the Genius Bar in a few years. Luckily the products work so well, I’ve had few reasons to go there anyways.
‘Genius’?
Pompous?
In a hurry?
YOU’RE FIRED!
Apple require better.
As I’ve ranted previously: I had to intervene with a friend of mine who thought her most-excellent MacBook Pro was a lemon and wanted to return it. WHY did she think it was a lemon?
Because some DOLT of an Apple Store employee named Brian had not only confused the hell out of her, due to his LACK of knowledge of Macs, but he gave her the delay-tactics runaround about getting her money back for her Mac.
Sitting and talking with her, it was NOT difficult to discover that her Mac was fine, she had been given shite for Mac training from dolt Brian, and all I needed to do was accompany her to the Apple Store to talk to someone ELSE at the Genius Bar to get straight answers and knowledgable information. We talked to Genius Daniel, who knew his stuff, was remarkably friendly and patient.
Brian: You’re fired!
Daniel: You rock!
No ‘Brians’, no John Browetts, allowed at Apple please! They’re marketing morons. They’re KILLING OFF CUSTOMERS. Not acceptable. Apple requires better.