“Samsung, Microsoft and Sony passed Apple in a 2014 measurement of customer opinions of what it was like to deal with the company, according to a new survey published by Forrester Research,” Daisuke Wakabayashi reports for The Wall Street Journal. “his is the third year that Forrester conducted a survey for consumer electronics companies and it’s the first year that Apple has lagged behind Samsung, Microsoft or Sony.”
“The survey attempts to quantify the somewhat squishy and hard-to-define criteria of customer experience,” Wakabayashi reports. “Forrester assigns each company a customer-experience index score based on a survey of how 7,500 U.S. consumers responded to these three questions: How enjoyable were they to do business with? How easy were they to do business with? How effective were they at meeting your needs?”
Read more in the full article here.
MacDailyNews Take: Judging by this, and by many anecdotal accounts we’ve received, including one of our staff member’s last visit to an Apple Retail Store where she stood ignored for at least 20 minutes before the iPad Air for which she had already paid was located, then was made to walk from the front to the far back of the store to be checked out (hence totally and idiotically defeating the benefit to the customer of Apple’s cash register-free system), Angela’s got some work to do to recover from the the Tim Cook-induced Browettization of Apple Retail and its aftermath.
Apple Retail Stores have gone from magical in the Steve Jobs/Ron Johnson days to passable-at-best-but-usually-worse under Tim Cook/John Browett/Nobody.
Note to Apple Retail Store employees and management:
1. The customer always comes first.
2. The customer is king, not cattle.
3. You do the walking, not the customer. (You work in a service industry, so serve.)
4. Do not waste the customers’ time.
5. Customers who are picking up items deserve priority over all others as they have already purchased product; do not hold paying customers hostage.We hope Angela Ahrendts will rectify this situation.
All that being said, even putting Samsung, Microsoft, and Sony in the same room with Apple’s customer service is, well, absurd. Forrester is being paid handsomely for this lie, apparently.
When Microsoft’s stores have 4 employees per customer in their otherwise empty store, damn right they’re going to get approached and served more quickly.
/s
Considering the consistent scam level of Samsung, I too question these results. There should be a standard deviation number on the graph to indicate whether the number results for Sony, Microsoft, Samsung and Apple are in fact statistically different.
Meanwhile, I totally support MDN’s list of customer support requirements. It astounds me how extremely few companies comprehend that the customer is effectively the source of all success in the capitalist system, at yet they’re treated as inconvenient garbage. As an example, I’ve written two detailed exposés about the worthless and torturous customer support at Time Warner Cable:
Time Warner Cable: Customer Abuse In Our World Of Biznizz Bozos
I can verify that my local Apple Store is EXCELLENT. I even access to the grapevine within the store via two friends who work there. The John Browett Effect has been entirely erased. However, I know full well there are outlier Apple Stores that occasionally require sterilization or refortification.
Typo alerts. Please read: “…AND yet they’re treated as inconvenient garbage.” . . . “I even HAVE access to the grapevine…”
correcto mundo on all five..
6. Send Botvinnik a free Mac Pro.
The real judge of a company is when they get larger and are able keep up with a high level of customer satisfaction. There’s no real reason why Apple isn’t and always should be Number One.
There is no _excuse_ for Apple to not perform better. But there is a reason: lack of leadership. Cook dropped the ball.
At this point in time EVERYONE that matters truly believes that Tim Cook has let the company jump the track and that Apple is a failing company. That’s how out of hand things have gotten with Apple. Apple is becoming the infamous “dead man walking” company of Wall Street, news media and the tech industry. It’s absolutely pathetic how the industry is just kicking Apple around. All the articles show how Apple is messing up with everything they do. All Tim Cook can do is giggle and coo and say how wonderful everything is. He probably doesn’t have a clue how analysts and the news media is ripping Apple to shreds, but the Loyal Apple Apologists never blame Tim Cook for anything. They’ll blindly follow him over the nearest cliff Apple is heading for.
There’s an old expression, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire” and Apple is belching out poisonous smoke like a China mainland factory’s smokestack. Apple is constantly said to be going down in flames on a daily basis, so let the shareholder beware. They’re getting plenty of advance notice before January 27th. Tim Cook didn’t just drop one ball. He dropped two.
I’m sure that someone with the screenname “rottenbittenfruit” is completely free of any anti-Apple bias.
#sarcasm. Because some of you can’t tell.
Please be here on the 27th to discuss how far off you are and why.
Forum rules:
**Do not feed the troll***
DO NOT respond, do NOT engage and do NOT attempt to use reason.
This latest cretin is no different than the rest.
He is a troll for a reason, he thinks his little opinion is worth listening to.
It isn’t.
Since when do you (an unregistered user) set the forum rules? Take a hike.
Well Apple’s doing better than other other company in the world so it’s doubtful you can criticize Cook for dropping any ball but the giant made money ball into the humongous money vault. That said I think they may have been a year behind getting a larger iPhone out and the Mac Pro took too long. 2014 new products and upgrades though I think will rectify many bad perceptions about the company. I think we’re at a real breaking away point now where competitors will really feel the heat.
If I had been polled (I was not), I would have criticized Apple severely for their not letting me exercise my power of CHOICE with their products and software iterations.
That is, I have some serious objections to a couple of iOS 7 “features,” among them the inability to add a ripped movie to the “Video” function and actually see its TITLE! (Not interested in the user workaround.)
But Apple WILL NOT let me return to iOS 6 until they fix this problem (among others)! I can “downgrade” my Macs to any OS I want (within hardware compatibility, of course) . . . but not my iPhones and iPads!
Who are THEY to decide what OS I can OR SHOULD use? What philosophy of user care is in place at Apple now? It sure looks like “We know what’s good for you. Shut up and take it!”
Said like a champion. iOS 6 FTW (for the win)!
Shocked!
SHOCKED, I am, that Apple no longer supports OS 9!
You really dropped the ball on this one, Tm Cook… if that even IS your real name.
Shocked, no, but pissed and angry they actually have the nerve to make iTunes check Apple’s servers for permission to install iOS. The fact that I am actually trying to install iOS6 tells them that is what I the customer WANTS to do with my iOS device. And they refuse. That is horrible customer service and has nothing to do with them having to support anything. Its a goddamn travesty!!
Apple will never take the “Wild Wild West” do-anything-you-want approach. That’s the province of the PC and Android OS system’s of the world. I hear your pain but so far those things you mentioned haven’t been a real problem for me but others mileage may vary. You can’t please all of the people all of the time and people now are getting’ mighty finicky about their tech. THEY can decide since it’s THEM that’s take the repercussions of a bad decision that takes down the brand. I hope they evolve into a solution more like you approve of soon.
So far I’ve always been treated extremely well at every Apple store I’ve been to, which are several in California, and even in Barcelona (probably the most beautiful Apple store I’ve seen).
MacDailyNews is dead on target.
The Apple Retail Stores have gone from great places to visit to a hassle. Too many customers and not enough employees is usually the case, but also encountering employees who are just not as helpful as one would expect are becoming all too frequent at Apple stores. Nothing is worse in retail than the customer being made to feel like they’re nothing but an irritant to floor personnel that have clearly lost all understanding of their raison d’être.
Is it possible that numbers are dipping because more people are buying Apple products? We already know that market analysts are highly critical of Apple. Perhaps new customers are expecting miracles, too?
“attempts to quantify the somewhat squishy and hard-to-define criteria of customer experience”
Wow. Kudos to MDN. This story is no surprise because it’s all dead center on target.
Not only has the experience inside the retail stores been transformed into just another routine poor response to customer needs and satisfaction, it also goes to AppleCare via the telephone.
Whenever you call AppleCare these days you often get someone on the phone who knows less about how to use the company’s hardware or software than you. So, how is that going to help you? The very worst outcome is to have the AppleCare person guess at the answer. That always, always makes things worse.
The days are gone from when Steve Jobs would have tolerated what is now happening to the company’s customers for about 30 seconds before corrective action was taken.
The Tim Cook era, folks. It is what it is.
I’ve experienced the same thing. There was a time when no business could compete with Apple’s customer service. Not any more. Apple is still good but no longer anything special.
I agree that the Apple Stores are not a great experience. However, my experience with AppleCare has been 100% positive. My last contact was a year ago, I hope that the quality of the support personal has not deteriorated since then. I know someone with an Android phone who is constantly calling both her carrier and Samsung to get resolution of problems, usually ending in frustration.
I have never bought a Samsung product, so cannot speak for their customer support. As for Sony, their warranty repair is arcane and difficult to follow. I had to return a TV for repairs once (the picture was showing lines on the screen) and it was a hassle. I never bought a Sony TV after that.
As for Apple, I cannot sing their praises high enough. They took the time to resolve every single issue I had with my iPad and MBP. Not only that but when my AirPort Extreme 6th gen. developed a fault with inconstancy of wireless connections, they sent a FedEx courie to fetch it and replaced a brand new unit for free.
I cannot praise Apple high enough for its customer support. I have dealt with Sony, Intel, HP, Microsoft support and without exception they were horrible. Apple has been the best by far.
I too have nothing but praise for Apple’s Online tech support.
Same here, every time I walk into the apple store, be it quakerbridge mall in New Jersey, or Freeeholdall apple store. I was approached with an eager employee offering assistance.
Some years ago BMUG published an article comparing paid phone help from MS and paid phone help from the Psychic Hotline. Neither service could solve the problem but the Psychic Hotline was cheaper at not helping.
Hahahaha….thanks for the belly laugh. Love the joke.
Apples soho store I have to say has the worst customer service in the World.. I was in there last week- nobody asked me if I needed help. Got what i wanted and got in line. Then this idiot comes over to me and had the nerve to ask who helped me.nobody ever helps you there. A month ago I went there to buy a new iMac 26″ screen and an air pad and was told I had to come back- there was nobody to help me. Meanwhile they were talking in the corner doing nothing.
Wow. No one helped you with the 26″ iMac?
There isn’t a 26″ iMac. There isn’t an air pad. There is a 27 ” iMac. And there is an iPad Air. Not sure that you are credible.
rob,
I guess if you are going to outright tell a false story, there is no need to get any of the facts straight.
As far as it being the worst customer service in the world: I cannot argue against you. Because, unlike you, I have not dealt with every customer service rep in the world.
To solve your problem, might I recommend the MicroSoft Store. There employee to customer ratio is much higher than Apple’s.
I’m a little skeptic of the chart.
How does 4 of the five seem to have the same upward slope during the same period (I think he added Amazon improvement numbers to Samsung, Sony, and M$)? Compare this trend to the year prior.
And really, people had direct contact with Samsung and Sony? Since when?
Microsoft in front? Haha. Maybe someone should this to Forrester..
http://www.spawnfirst.com/news/xbox-one-replacement-nightmare/
My recent and on-going experience with Apple Tech Support (I am a Mac user since 1987) is a continuing disaster and if you visit apple support and search for Mavericks SMTP you will see the utter disaster that Mavericks is regarding even this simple issue. Whatever Apple did in creating this absolutely unnecessary situation demonstrates a lack of fundamental care in the beta testing of Mavericks and a continuing inability to solve a problem that clearly is general. SMTP works with the identical settings on both of my Macs that do not have mavericks; and Apple has been unable to solve the SMTP connection issue in my late 2013 MBP running Mavericks. Tim Cook needs to send one of his tech Seal Teams into the software group (mail or security/SSL access or whatever it is) and FIX THE ISSUE FOR 100% of the customer that should expect much better from Apple. Inexcusable.
I’m not sure Apple is entirely to blame here. I think Apple stores have become victims of their own success.
My trips to the local Apple store have become unpleasant not directly due to poor service or lack of attention, but indirectly as result of the insane number of people crowding into the store. There are people waiting in lines inside of the store! Some waiting to make a purchase, others waiting for a genius or hands-on attention, others are waiting just to try a product. The Apple employees simply can’t keep up. Self check-out is a nice option but browsing the shelves is almost impossible because of people blocking them from view.
The only fix may be to completely redesign the retail experience such that it scales with the volume of actual visitors. Perhaps break the store into multiple stores. I’ve resorted to making purchases online rather than visit the store.
I always had good customer service in Apple stores. Someone always says, “how can I help you?” within a minute or two of me entering the store. If they are busy with another customer, they’ll say that. Yes I have been in the stores when they are really crowded and have had to wait 15-20 minutes, but I’m always acknowledged, and the wait times are explained. Contrast this experience with ANY other retail store.
What a joke.
Every experience I have had in SEVERAL Apple stores has always been great.
Now lets rank technical support amongst this list! Apple hands down.
I have never had a bad experience or even a semi-bad experience at a Apple Store. I’ve got a new 5s, new mini retina and just picked up a new AirPort Extreme; life is good with Apple as a tech partner.
The store where she went needs work or more staff. Other stores are not like that at all.
So far my recent trips at the Apple store for purchasing or repair/replacement has been great so far. No issues for me whatsoever.
Please note this review costs users : 250 dollars.
Well, the documentation sure leaves a lot to be desired. From my iPod to my IPhone to my iPad to my retina MacBook Pro — I always have to figure things out for myself or search the internet for some obscure thread that may solve my problem. Apple needs to hire some tech writers to put out some user-friendly manuals in plain English. (I like David Pogues books, but Yahoo got him now.)
No one has ever read a user manual.
If you don’t, it would not be surprising that you only know 50% or less of the settings and commands that you could use.
Forums like this are a poor substitute for comprehensive user documentation direct from the developer. This is one area where Apple has lost its mojo too. Way too much stuff hidden — and not for the users’ benefit, but because Apple took the easy way out. Apple needs to offer better customer choice and control, not only in its retail stores, but also in its software and OSes.
Zero improvement on that front since the Cook era of dumbing down everything began.
Bro, there is a user manual for the iPhone and iPad – it’s downloadable from the iBookstore for free. As for the Mac, if you go to the Apple support page, you can download a simplified user manual in PDF format that essentially shows you the schematics of the MBP.
Better than that, the manual is a bookmark in safari when you get a new iPad/iPhone. Can’t get much easier than that, but I’ll admit its not obvious for everyone to check safari Favorites for user manuals..
I also had an issue at the Apple store when I went to buy an iPad Air. I was there playing with it for 10 minutes before I could get a sales person to talk to me and then they told I they could put me on a 30 minute waiting list for assistance. I said all I want to do is buy one.. no questions.. I still had to go on the wait list… I left and ordered it from MacMall with free Overnight shipping and no sales tax..
I think with the customer base growing so fast that the stores are too small and understaffed to meet the demand anymore. They need to have more people on hand and they could move more product and provide faster service..
When your profits are in the billions.. it seems stupid to understaff your stores.
Hate to say it – but Apple Store “perfection” in the past coming back to haunt them. It has gone down a bit – which becomes very noticeable for those with a problem with a device.
My sons know first hand. One more so – two Lock buttons on iPhone 4 then 5 go bad. One in a year – replaced – the 5 – 13 months ownership – must pay. But he doesn’t bother (means I don’t pay). So he uses Accessibility menu to setup and use Lock/Unlock on screen – and says he’s switching to Android because Apple “Genius” was rude (and my kids no a lot of Mac and iPhones). Now, he is on my account and I pay for all ATT stuff. So for him to say Genius F Apple!. When his iPhone never dropped etc…, perfect condition – button broke – his second one – Apple Genius basically told him F-off. One twenty something Genius telling another twenty something to get lost, not covered doesn’t work for the Apple world IMO. More so when replacing the iPhone is simple and for my son – cost free for him. But the “Genius” was rude and condescending.
And from that to my other son. His MacBook Pro – the K key popped off. Snapping it back on was a no go. The tiny clips on back of key one was missing. I say make appointment at Apple Store – so simple you’re there – he actually works in the same Mall as the Apple Store. I say they’ll give you another key, snap it on and you’re gold. Just tell them model & serial. He makes appointment. Has his serial number of MBP – I just need a “K’ Key. Sorry bring in computer so we can examine it! No I need a K key – how much? Sorry, bring it in we can’t help you.
Two 20 somethings, who love Apple would prefer to tell Apple to enjoy their products, we’ve only ever used Apple products and since 1994.
Apple CS has diminished very noticeably to those that NEED it – Apple Customers. Now going to a competitor is going to be that much worse as I’ve explained – but these are people that would rather do this to “teach Apple a lesson”. And that is very telling. Apple does have a problem on it’s hands and of it’s own making.
If your kid thought they would give out a part with out a product there, shame on them.
Bro, I feel for you. Let me tell you my story. I had the ‘A’ & ‘S’ keys come loose on my Apple wireless keyboard that I bought with my iPad 3. I complained and they replaced the entire keyboard for free.
Now with the MBP, the entire keyboard detaches and can be replaced in its entirety. Another thing, if you value your keyboard get a Moshi keyboard cover – it’s sold in the Apple Store. The keys on my MBP look like new after more than 2 years.
Yet another satisfied Microsoft customer:
If you compare the score values for the providers (excluding Amazon whose ratings may reflect more than the customers’ experience with Kindle) you will see that the values range between 81 and 83. Are these differences statistically significant? Even if they are, are they of any practical significance? My experience with Apple products and service (dating back to 1983) has always been superlative!
The survey is pure nonsense.
What percentage of people that buy a Samsung product *ever* interact directly with Samsung? 20%? 25%? The vast majority of Samsung products are sold by other retailers or online stores. The vast majority of customer service issues are dealt with the same way — through non Samsung entities.
The same is true of Microsoft and Sony.
Further, if you buy a Samsung phone, you’d typically get your apps through the Google App store. Again, you have no interaction with Samsung.
Conversely, those who shop for (let alone buy) Apple products buy very often through Apple. Also, with Apple’s various online entities from iTunes to the App store and iCloud, Apple has a huge presence in continued interactions.
While it’s patently true that the Apple stores have gone down hill over the last few years, they are still better than most of their competitors. However, Apple must get them back to the top of the list. Just being better thought of than Samsung, Microsoft or Sony is NOT good enough. They need to be thought of as MUCH, MUCH better than Amazon too. Apple’s goal must be 99+% customer satisfaction. (The old retail concept was that a person who has a bad experience tells seven to ten people about it. A person who has a great experience tells one or two people about it. Thus if 9 out of 10 customers are not getting outstanding support you’re actually hurting future sales.)
As an aside, I’d like to ask if those who’ve had a bad experience in an Apple store or with AppleCare demanded to see or talk to a manager. If you’ve had a bad experience and don’t ask to see the manager you’re part of the problem. Apple won’t fix what it does not know is broken.
Many years ago my wife and I had a terrible experience — to the point were my wife blew up — we did demand to see the manager. We laid out the full litany of the events to the manager and delineated where mistakes were made by the in store employees. The manager listened and said it will never happen again. And guess what, Apple changed its policies world wide with regard to that scenario.
Thinks can change for the better if you’re willing to be part of the process to make that change.