“Among the 10 leading computer manufacturers and resellers, Dell Inc. delivered the best online experience to shoppers, while IBM provided the worst, a study released Monday showed. Research on 2,100 consumers as they interacted with the vendors’ web sites found that a strong brand, comprehensive product offering and a focus on ease of use were the key drivers behind Dell’s top ranking, said Keynote Systems Inc., which provides e-business performance-management services,” Antone Gonsalves reports for InternetWeek.
“Manufacturers excelled in strong product comparison tools and in online help and customer support. Apple Computer Inc., second from the bottom in the rankings, was the lone exception, with 4 in 10 consumers complaining about its site’s product information and comparison tools,” Gonsalves reports.
Full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Clearly, Apple has some work to do on its site, if this study is to be believed. Happily for their users, though, Apple easily delivers the “best personal computer experience” for those that choose the Mac platform. Is Apple’s web site up-to-par? Is it time for a revamp of Apple.com?
I am disgusted with the service NightOwl reports getting. 93.87% of my personal dealings with Apple over the phone have been generally very good, but I have also had an occasional problem, though not as bad as NightOwl. I always related phone and on-line service. I expect better from phone than from on-line. NightOwl is owed an apology from Apple and his “record” cleared. Online, I have felt Apple’s web site is pretty good and not hard to use. However, I have been using it for years and am familiar with it. I don’t know how most new users might feel about it.
Sounds like Apple was ranked low solely on the criticism of no comparison section; a relatively minor point in my view. Apple doesn’t have 50 different configurations to have to figure out. I suppose they could present comparisons to Dell products, but then the Dells wouldn’t stack up, now would they. Just another “paid by the winner” story here.
I also agree that NightOwl’s experience is dissapointing, and perception is sometimes reality. Apple needs to pay attention to that.
For a website that needs to be a combination of Microsoft, Dell and CompUSA, Apple does an excellent job. The most underrated feature is Apple.com’s “Support” tab. ONE place to go to get ALL of your questions answered. No finger-pointing between Dell, Microsoft and 3rd-party companies if something isn’t working.
Go to Dell.com. Try to find and order a 64-bit (G5 equivelent) computer for your home. What OS will you need to utilize the 64-bit CPU? Is it included in the price? How well does that OS work with your other applications? What applications are available? Create a package similar to the iMac, how long did it take and what’s the final price?
Now, let’s compare the Apple.com’s “Mac OS X” tab with Microsoft.com…
Perhaps, taking a sharply focussed task, some websites will beat out Apple.com. But, for a website that must cater to everyone from server professionals to soccer moms, Apple.com has no equal in the computer industry for the extremely diverse content that it carries and the ease of use in which it delivers it, regardless of who uses it.
I don’t apple is losing any sleep over this because they have already won awards for the site’s design already, they are more than confident in the way it works. This is all to make mac fans chit & chatter all day long, nothing more so my fellow brothers & sisters take it with 2 bags of salt! lol
The survey was designed and administered by a firm that designs the sites to sell computers for computer manufacturers.
The firm probably designed Dell’s site. Of course it gave points to design particulars it thought were important and didn’t give points to things it thought were trivial.
In the Wintel world it is important to compare all popular desktop replacement laptops on Dell’s desktop replacement laptop page. Big points for doing that well. Apple’s desktop replacement laptop is the 17″ powerbook. In the Apple world there is nothing else to compare it with except, perhaps, the new iMac. Apples site looses points for not having something it does not need.
It makes little sense to compare Apple’s products to Wintel products except to show that equivalent products on the Wintel side actually cost more at initial purchase and way more in total cost of ownership.
If Dell is so easy, then why did it take a month to get a notebook power supply? I couldn’t even find the part on their site and had to call, where I was treated to their incompetent offshore support.
All my orders with Apple have been flawless as will all my orders from IBM. While IBMs site may be a bit confusing, it is no more so than Dells.
I would like to see the methodology for this study because it seems biased.
If Dell is so easy, then why did it take a month to get a notebook power supply? I couldn’t even find the part on their site and had to call, where I was treated to their incompetent offshore support.
All my orders with Apple have been flawless as will all my orders from IBM. While IBMs site may be a bit confusing, it is no more so than Dells.
I would like to see the methodology for this study because it seems biased.
um. I’ve been designing webSites for five years, the apple site is beautiful, well navigated and thought out. Would you expect anything less from apple. On the other hand is the dell site, a puzzling mess, the bloody thing isn’t even centred on the stage.
Maybe they mean best online experience for the manufacturer/retailer. Every click I make on the Dell site seems to increase the cost of the computer I’m shopping.
You cant tell anything without the raw data, including just how the questions were posed. I think every website is geared to sell the models that the company wants. In depth questions about parts are always a pain. Apple’s website design has been the same for quite a while, but it does parrot the osX look nicely.
As for phone support, it’s pot luck. If you don’t like the guy or gal on the other end, feel free to hang up and try again. There are plenty of cranky people out there, and lots of good ones too.
Don’t worry folks, we’re number 1 in customer satisfaction, which makes this survey pale in comparison.
Jesus Christ One Guy From Finland, Bush doesn’t produce 80% of the world’s cocaine in Afganistan. That’s the Taliban who does and it’s heroin, not cocaine. Get your drugs straight, man. Gees.
That makes no sense at all. If you want to compare the models, click the “Tech Specs” button and there it all is, in great detail. Maybe they wanted to do custom comparisons? If so, OK, I guess I can sorta see that. But this business about Dell being #1 is ridiculous! Their site is a giant cluster. I went to price a machine that would comparable to a new iMac to prove a friend wrong, and I couldn’t even figure our where to start. Somethin’ ain’t right here!
Everything you need to know about Keynote and their perspective is covered in this one line from their website:
“Microsoft Announces New Premier Level of Windows Media Hosting Provider Certification Program And Selects Keynote Systems as Certification Partner”
BTW, there is nothing about this story on their site, so no way of figuring out how they got their results.
How many people who have been at the Dell site actually have ever used the Apple site?
Sheesh, you’d think it this day and age, that such ludicrous claims would be actionable.
Hey! They are now that I think of it!