The CX Blog

A year ago, ACSI rating of Apple had dropped by 5%. In Q2 (as Apple’s recent PC/Mac ads attest), Apple’s satisfaction rating has zoomed up to an outstanding 85%.

Interestingly, in the same quarter, the PC industry as a whole dropped a tad. Both directions may have something to do with their product lines: Vista has been a difficult transition for PC users, and though last year’s launch of the iPhone and related iPod products was rocky, it has ultimately proven extremely successful.

Customer satisfaction with PCs retreats for a second year, falling 1.3% to 74 to match the level of 2004-2005. Except for Dell (up 1%), the drop is connected with the Windows-based machines - Hewlett-Packard, Gateway, and Compaq are all down by 4%. Not only is Apple bucking the slide, it registers its greatest ACSI increase ever (up 8% to 85) to lead the industry by a wide margin. The satisfaction of Apple PC customers is 13% higher than Dell in second place and 21% higher than Compaq. This is one of the largest gaps in customer satisfaction in any industry covered by ACSI. It is also a record high for Apple.

I would add that with the launch of iPhone 2.0, and its many, many problems impacting lots of aspects of Mac synching, Apple stepped up and did the right thing in a bad situation: their direct email clearly owning the trouble and offering a token love-offering was a near pitch-perfect rapid response. That’s a Moment of Truth.

Since then, my own infrequent dealings with Apple have indicated they’ve clearly beefed up their support ranks and made getting help a lot easier and reliable. My own experience with the Time Capsule has been pretty dismal and I suspect I regret buying it at this point, to the degree that I am slow to buy another Apple product now, but still….I know I’ll be an Apple user for life, unless things go south in a big way. That’s in part because of their product line which I mostly love, and their support which has been smart and useful.

And that, to me, is a great customer experience.