Apple tops customer satisfaction survey

Survey suggests Apple customers are far happier than PC buyers

A survey released by analyst firm Forrester has shown customers are happier with Apple computers than any other brand.

The company surveyed more than 4,500 consumers in November last year about their feelings and experience towards different brands. Apple scored highest among computer manufacturers, with Dell scoring the lowest levels of satisfaction.

Buyers were asked three key questions - How effective was the company at meeting your needs? How easy was it to work with this firm? And how enjoyable were the interactions?

The responses put Apple top, ahead of Gateway, HP, Compaq and Dell. Apple gained most ground on the ease of use question.

Dell scored particularly badly in the survey.

“You know, they [Dell] pushed the envelope on supply chain efficiencies and they lost track of their customer along the way. I see them trying to attack their service interactions and take care of their quality problems,” Bruce Temkin, vice president at Forrester, told the New York Times.

The results were bad news for Microsoft, whose latest advertising campaign seeks to undermine Apple's user support base.

“This is a wake-up call to Microsoft,” Temkin said.

“They have to do a much better job of working with retailers and orchestrating the experiences that all their partners have. They need to do a better job of merchandising with Wal-Mart and Best Buy and invest heavily in retail touch points.”