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Customers Rate PC Vendors' Tech Support
Posted by
timothy
on Fri Aug 09, 2002 06:28 AM
from the from-bad-to-worse dept.
from the from-bad-to-worse dept.
VorfeedTech writes "News.com has a story on consumers' satisfaction with tech support. The article goes on to mention ConsumerReports' survey results comparing a few of the major PC vendors. Apple rated the best for tech support. I guess this is where they think different (TM)."
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Customers Rate PC Vendors' Tech Support
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Reverse would be fun... (Score:5, Funny)
A Universal Truth... (Score:5, Interesting)
When you are supporting something, you become a genre expert, and as such, have a domain of knowledge about the product that few outside of tech support could hope to attain.
Besides, when you've worked tech support, you only remember the bad calls, never the good ones.
Good ones... (Score:4, Interesting)
A few years ago a Jaz disk would eject immediately after inserting it in the drive and I called Iomega. After going trough the automated stuff (push # for ...), I finally got a live person on the line.
After the usual (cables, drivers, etc....) stuff she exactly told me what to do to make it stay in there (easy: keep your hand the disk, until it snaps, it never had the problem after that occurence). She even was very patient with me because I had to walk to the computer each time to do something because the phone and computer were in different rooms. After being helped, I thanked her for her friendly and useful help, and she actually sounded astonished anyone would thank her for the help.
And now you say they don't remember the good calls? *snif* (Oh, and she had one kind of sexy voice with a slight Irish accent)
Re:Good ones... (Score:5, Insightful)
This isn't just for phone service. For instance, I just replaced my battery at Sears (at Vallco in Cupertino). A guy named Frank provided superior service and proved himself an all around decent human being. I wrote a letter to the manager and would recommend anyone to him and to that Sears.
Dell buys adds => Dell gets press (Score:4, Interesting)
I wonder if there is a connection there?
Apple, Gateway (Score:2)
Re:Apple, Gateway (Score:4, Insightful)
As a comparison, try checking the prices of in-store maintenance contracts for the same hardware. You'll find Apple is more than reasonable.
On the flip side, consider that any hardware repair at all after the first year will run you at least 350$ for parts and labor. You're foolish not the get the applecare warranty.
Remember that apple systems have a longer lifetime than typical PC counterparts. You're going to be using that ibook for a long time to come, you might as well take care of it.
Profitability (Score:3, Interesting)
Dell is the top manufacturer of PCs, no doubt largely because of its good technical support, however the contrast in the number of sales for Dell vs Compaq doesn't correlate well with the tech support satisfaction numbers.
How accurate is this thing? (Score:3, Insightful)
This seems ridiculously high to me. 5% of computers are unusable in the first month? No explanation is give of what constitutes "unusable". Does it mean the hard drive is physically crapped out or something like "the Internet is broken again"?
Furthermore, Apple is a terrible company to include in this kind of survey. A very large percentage of their customers are Mac enthusiasts. Not that there's anything wrong with that, it's just that comparing an Apple customer's perception of Apple support with a Dell customer's perception of Dell support is hardly an accurate picture - the Dell customer has no particular love for the company.
Re:How accurate is this thing? (Score:5, Insightful)
Ask yourself the question, why not??
Re:How accurate is this thing? (Score:5, Insightful)
Huh? Because Apple customers like Apple products they should be excluded of a customer satisfaction survey?
You argue that because they are Mac enthousiast they will have a better perception of Apple's tech support. Has it occured to you that maybe Mac enthousiast are enthousiastic because of the quality of Apple's tech support and that the probable reason that the Dell customer has no particular love for the company is because their products are not very satisfying...
Dell v. Gateway (Score:3, Informative)
Now, as for Gateway... when I was in high school, I worked for a company that had an outsourced tech support contract with Gateway. I was on hand when Windows 98 rolled out and all the poor Windows 95 users screwed things up when upgrading... I can honestly say that they hired anyone that could effectively grip a mouse. It was sad, but maybe things have changed.
--- Dell Tech (Score:3, Funny)
I used to be a big Dell fan until... (Score:5, Interesting)
I've had two Dell computers without problem. The PCs worked fine for the duration of their life with me(2-3 years) and all was good.
This past winter I was going to buy another one only I had a complete brain fart about the limit on my card since I had never used it to make a purchase over $100 online.
So they send me an e-mail back saying the bank denied my purchase but did not give them a reason and I was to call Dell back, yadda yadda. So after figuring out about the limit from my card company I call Dell back and explain. I called the number they told me to call in the e-mail but after waiting 20 minutes to talk to them they had to rout me through to someone else because it wasn't the right department. So I wait another 20 minutes and I explain the problem to the next person...oh wait, it's not their department so they route me some place else. So I wait another 20 minutes and I explain the problem to the next person...oh wait, it's not their department so they route me some place else. Only this time my connection is disconnected...
I was so irritated I just forgot about the entire thing. In 2 days they had to release my order (as said in the e-mail) and I never did get a Dell. I built my own computer (thank goodness).
This could have all been avoided had I not bought the computer on the last day of a significant sale (free shipping -$90 plus a free upgrade or two, so I was saving quite a bit). Because of that I couldn't just cancel the order and configure and buy again.
In any event, that entire ordeal soured me to Dell.
After a great experience building my own computer months later, I'd never go back unless perhaps I ever bought a laptop.
HP Support is the pits (Score:1)
Man, I can't think of a single good experience I've had with them. Once, I lost the driver cd that came with my scanner and they wanted me to pay $20 just for the drivers to use the scanner I'd already bought. I'm sorry, but I'm not a corporation and I'd really like it if they treated me like a person.
I have had somewhat positive experiences with Gateway and Dell, though I've never had to deal with their tech support, per se. Normally my problems with them have been relating to the fact that they never send me exactally what's on the invoice. Yea, I didn't want those $250 Boston Acoustic speakers anyways. Thanks for these $20 Altec Lansings and thanks for charging me $250 for them!
Bad numbers (Score:2)
Yes, support is going down the tubes, and companies are pay lipservice to quality of support, while trying to get people off the phone as quickly as possible, but I think they deserve some credit for having to support something they weren't even involved with (the OS).
Scoring done like this isn't really accurate. (Score:2)
How many times would those low scores be attributed to the consumer not having a clue, blowing up, and then thinking to him/her self that the entire tech support thing was evil?
Of course, there will be times where the reverse is true, when tech support will really be the ones who screw up, but being the tech support is their job.
They can actually get fired... the consumer can't get fired.
what about sony (Score:2, Interesting)
Slashdot readers opinion not representative (Score:5, Insightful)
Point in case: I mailed compaq a few weeks ago, after I installed SuSE 8.0, because my computer was freezing, and the caps and scroll lock lights were blinking when this happened. I hoped the people at compaq could tell me if this was a diagnostic code.
The support was pretty good; I got a response to my email in less than 15 minutes. I find that excellent. However, the poor guy at the support centre couldn't get a grip on what I was saying, because he consequently underestimated my knowledge of computers. His first response was to make me use the quick restore cd's, which would erase my hard disk and repartition it and reinstall the win98 se that originally came with the computer.
My point is that if you're a professional yourself, your either better than the support guy or the support guy is not going to take you serious enough. Either way you won't be helped properly. That's why slashdot readers can't really have a representative opinion on help desks; help desks are aimed at nitwits (as far as their computer use goes anyhow).
My Mom's Mac (Score:4, Informative)
Since I know little about the Mac and how it accomplishes such things, and since I live about 2500 miles away from here, I said "Um, Sorry Mom, call Apple".
And so she did. And to my amazement, they solved her problem. Not only that, but she actually emailed her good experiences to me within a couple hours.
I have to admit this is the only good tech support experience I've heard from a PC company. Years ago, when I had a PC from another well known company, the tech support guys made me jump through 1000 hoops before they'd admit to a problem that could be fixed with a BIOS upgrade.
Apple didn't make my Mom do that!
More kudos to Apple ... anyone with bad stories? (Score:4, Interesting)
On Monday afternoon I called them and they said they'd send me an overnight shipping package.
Tuesday, mid-day, an Airborne Express box was sitting on my porch. I packed the machine and brought it to the Airborne office for shipping.
Wednesday, I check the website and my machine arrived in the morning, has been fixed and is being shipped out in the afternoon.
Thursday, mid-day, an Airborne Express box is on my porch with my laptop with a new hard drive.
Time from problem discovery to problem resolution: 70 hours. Cost to me: $0. (Well, I did miss out on the $200 rebate offer when I bought it by one friggin' day ... darn you Apple--why won't you be nice and give it to me anyway? why? Oh ... sorry ... )
For the price you pay for a Mac (Score:1, Insightful)
Dirk
I AM NOT AN IDIOT!! (Score:1, Interesting)
It's very aggrivating to sit on on hold for 20 - 30 minutes when I do need help and then some goofball that sounds like a 18 year old kid get on the phone and give me instructions on how to get to my control panel!! I've been using computers longer than he's been alive! Then when he can't figure out the problem they send me off to level 2 and the process starts all over again.
They really need to put in the phone options a way to go straight to level 2 or 3 tech support for people that know what the hell they are doing!!
Dell Support Services (Score:2)
In my experience, Dell is top notch in Tech support services. I find their supprt staff clueful (mostly, you still get the occasional person who reads off the screen) and not hesitant to send out a replacement part. Opposed to Gateway where its like pulling teeth trying to convince them that you need a replacement part, or Toshiba who will not replace a hard drive until it has 20% bad sectors (HDD was 1-2 years old and was rapidly failing, it had a 3 year service agreement).
Bottom Line: (IMHO) Dell rocks, Gateway Sucks and don't use Toshiba unless you like bending over.
Some better statistics. (Score:2, Insightful)
98% of all users believe technical support representatives can read their minds.
45% of all users do not listen.
Support:
75% of all technical support representatives don't want to help you for good reason.
90% of all technical support representatives with over 1 year of service are there for the money and don't care in the least.
Apple Tech Support is really good (Score:2, Interesting)
And yes, it was not an obvious problem by a long shot, dealing with how an update handed obsolete names of some computers on the network. They were very competent troubleshooters and they finally solved the problem.
Since I make a point of complaining when service is bad, I thought it only fair to send an email to them praising the service. I received a kind, personal, reply from the tech support supervisor.
Apple's got my business for as long as they like.
Dell UK (Score:1)
My Dad bought a laptop from them (at my recomendation to my eternal shame) and it came without the restore disk we requested. The disk appeared on the email order confirmation but not on the hardcopy invoice that arrived with the PC.
To cut a long story short, after 5 attempts to get the disk sent to us including a conversation with one of the "customer care" managers, we still have no disk. Being bounced around between about 50 people and then cut off is the plot of the average call. They are useless.
Its been so much hasle that we have given up.
On the otherhand, if you never need to speak to them, their laptops are excellent.
Apple had better have the best support... (Score:2)
Seriously, it shouldn't be too hard for them to provide damn good support considering that they have complete control over the specifications of the hardware *and* the operating system.
You can't run into the sort of situation where Compaq blames Microsoft, Microsoft says it's Mitsumi's fault, and Mitsumi blames Compaq, and you're a ping pong ball going back and forth between everyone. With Apple, the buck stops in exactly one place (unless you're dealing with a 3rd party application).
I love Dell, but... (Score:2, Interesting)
We purchased a dozen or so LCD monitors from Dell, to go with some of our existing, but still new ( 1 year old ) Dell desktops. One of them had two horizontal lines running through the screen, at about 1/3 and 2/3 of the way down.
This line was present both when it was hooked up to the computer, and during the self test when powered on by itself.
The guy on the phone kept insisting that I swap out the video card, just to be sure. Obviously, if it happens when its not even connected to the system, its not a problem with the system.
Another time, fairly recently, I called up to get a replacement fan for the back of the cpu, as it had been whining incessantly (much like I'm doing now).
"How did you determine the problem is with the fan?"
"Uh, I used my ear."
I guess I really can't fault them -- it's apparent they're working off scripts and trouble shooting diagrams. Always get my replacement parts the next day though. Best thing about Dell
Compaq was doing something similar to me (Score:4, Funny)
I had a client who'd bought a batch of 70 or so and was rolling them out in lots of five at a time. Hence, every few weeks, we'd have to call Compaq and RMA the video card. Well, naturally, we had to go through the diagnostics. Even though this was a well-known and documented issue, and even though the beep sequence said exactly what was happening, and even though you would tell Compaq you'd gone through the diagnostics, you had to do it while the Compaq tech was on the line.
So eventually I figured out how to do this.
Compaq tech: "Okay, switch out the video card with a known good card and check it boots up with that one, then replace the original and see if you still have the same problem."
Me: wait for 15 seconds doing nothing, then, "Okay, done that. The other card worked fine, but I still have the same problem with the original."
Compaq tech: "Gosh, that was quick."
Me: "Yes, well, I'm, err, used to doing this by now."
Compaq tech: "Okay. Well then...um, let's reset the motherboard BIOS by..."
Me: "...switching over Jumper A17, powering up for 20 seconds, then turning it off and switching back, yeah, I know. Hang on a minute."
Sit for another 30 seconds doing nothing.
"Okay, done that, same problem."
Compaq tech: "Wow, you're really quick on this stuff!"
Me: "Yeah, well, I play the piano, I have good dexterity."
Compaq tech: "Oh..."
Quite efficient, I think: if you just pretend to do what they're asking instead of actually doing it, it goes much more quickly. This is good, right? You cut down on the call time, save the client time and money, and don't tie up the Compaq tech line either, so they're getting better call times -- yay, everyone wins!
You just had to make sure you paused long enough to make it sound plausible. No good coming back after five seconds claiming to have replaced the video card, booted up into Windows, shut down, and switched in the original video card, as well as having done a complete NT installation on the side. But there was one tech who I spoke with quite often, and he soon figured out what was going on. Fortunately, he also figured out I had at least half a clue, and if he played along it'd cut down his call times.
They have to go through the charade, poor buggers; almost feel sorry for them sometimes.
Dell Support (Score:1)
Everyone else in my family bought Dells, too. And they have all had to call customer support at least once for hardware failures. From what they told me, the only way a customer can get replacements is to blantantly ignore what the service tech tells em to do.
So the mother board is fried? Ok, so does Windows start?
.....
No, the motherboard is fried. The computer doesn't start.
Ok, is the computer plugged in?
Hmm, gee. I would never have thought of that, let me check YES it's plugged in.
Alright, when you start the computer, press Control-Delete to enter the BIOS menu
Ok, I might be able to do that if you send me a working motherboard.
Sir, i can't send you a motherboard until you press Control-Delete
Okay, whatever... I'm pressing Control-Delete now
continues for about 15 minutes or until tech gets tired of talking and just sends the part
All in all, I was very satisfied with Dell hardware and the fact I never had to call support. Considering that I would know as much or more than the person on the other line, I find tech support to be more of a comedic relief than anything else. Not only will you eventually get a new part, but you get to make fun of the guy on the phone and their crappy advice. I just might start calling tech support more often ...
AppleCare (Score:1)
I called, got a case number and approval for a warranty repair [which I _know_ lasts a year, four times the free phone help], and then mailed in my AppleCare subscription card.
Why? Because three years worth of hardware support is worth it to me; while I used to do hardware support for these machines myself, I simply can't get the parts from Apple at all, much less have them installed & tested for free.
The service place called two days ago with an ETA for my repaired system, and Apple called last night to tell me that my free support was about to run out -- and would I be interested in buying some more?
OS X and BSD Tech support (Score:1)
Apple's support is good, but... (Score:3, Interesting)
This was obviously a hardware problem, but the tech was not able to even discuss it with me without a credit card number. He told me that if it was a hardware problem I would not be charged, but if it were a software problem I would.
I explained that there was no way that it could be a software problem since it was a physical plug not going into a physical hole because a physical piece broke off.
Long story short, I had to give my card number (was not charged), they sent me an Airborne box, which I filled with my iBook and gave back to the guy who was dropping it off. They had to wait for a part so it took a week to get it back, but all is well with it now.
I just thought it was funny that even Apple has some strange policies in their tech support department.
Tech Support (Score:4, Insightful)
Because people will not pay for it. Margins are too low for companies to give good tech support. Consumers are only looking at prices/features not how good their tech support is. Who here is going to pay an extra $100 to $200 a year just for good tech support? Not many. Businesses are different, but most consumers are not going to pay the money to get good tech support.
Dell asked for it (Score:2)
I don't know about these numbers, and what they really reflect. They reflect satisfaction, and hopefully just with the service and not the consumers frustration with computers in general, which could easily creep into the customer's feelings. It almost seems like it should be broken out into the customer's experience with computers, because that can determine how a "problem" is perceived. Both of these descriptions could or could not be describing the same problem:
1. My NIC is not working. The light doesn't light, and I am using DHCP to get an IP. I have another PC on my network configured the same way and it doesn't have any problem. I have even tried a known working cable.
2. The internet is broken.
Of course, one problem is easy to work with, the other one could be a nightmare. I'll bet Dell gets a lot of #2.
Choose your support wisely... (Score:3, Insightful)
For example, when I purchased my Dell system, I purchased it through my university (works if you buy through your business too), and as such, I was given the option of having 5yr premium tech support (5yr full, 24/7).. I can't remember what the exact service agreement stated, but at the time, Dell used a 3rd party company for its high-end support contracts named "Wang" (.. there's probably more to that name, but that's all i can remember right now).
Bottom line: If I had any problem whatsoever (or even *think* I was having a prob w/ the system), I'd call up the 800 number -- forwarding me to the Tier 3 tech support guy -- and say "look, component X has just failed, I want a replacement here in 24 hrs." Sure enough, the part would arrive; I'd send to defective part back to them in the same box -- no cost to me.
Lesson: Don't just roll over and save the extra $25 if you're concerned about support to begin with... Oh, and buying it through a large organization helps. ;)
The headline tells it all... (Score:3, Insightful)
And this is new... how?
Here's some more good headlines for CNet
Grass is coloured Green
Sky is blue
Microsoft earns another billion dollars
CNet runs out of good stories
(I have been on computers since 1987, customers have always been unhappy with customer support.)
dell warranty (Score:1)
Consumer vs. Business (Score:3, Interesting)
I think perhaps that the article is decent, but it does not paint a clear picture. Perhaps, the various vendors of computers have separate groups of customer support, and i would not be surprised if the ones for the business side of things were much more technical than the consumer side. For example, Compaq has always made great business class machines and servers. But I wouldn't put my money in their consumer side products... that's just me though.
I've had good luck with dell, notcompaq or gateway (Score:1)
Dude, you're gettin' Dell tech support (Score:2, Informative)
Back in the day, I paid my tech support dues at an ISP at around the time that a lot of people were getting interested in the Internet. Most people had Win3.1 and 14.4 modems, and most of them knew approximately diddly about what an ISP was or what their monthly fees were paying for. ("Modem? What's that? Nobody told me I had to buy a whatever-you-call-it... I want my money back!"). We tried to help EVERYBODY who called, whether it was a simple password change, or the dreaded "I just installed Win95, now I can't get connected" call. If the call took 2 hrs, it took 2 hrs, and if we couldn't help them on the first call, we would call them back later with some kind of answer.
The result was that when this ISP I worked for lowered the monthly fee from $35 to $25/mo (for dial-up, yeah you read that right), our regular customers complained (!) because they were worried that we were going to turn into just another one of those cheap ISP's with crappy tech support. After all, they knew perfectly well that if they wanted bad service, they could use one of those 3.5" AOL floppies they got in the mail every week and pay less.
Point is, support is expensive. HP, Dell, et al, just can't sell you a $500 PC, then teach you how to use it for free. You ought to be able to get someone on the phone when you get your new Dell home and the HD won't spin up, but people call tech support indignantly resolute in their belief that their $500 has earned them the right to expect Dell to teach them how to create a desktop shortcut... which means that legitimate support needs just have to wait.
When people ask me whether they should get a Dell or a Compaq or whatever, I tell them that there are several reputable, LOCAL shops that can put together a PC for them and support it. It costs more, but as always, you get what you pay for.
Consumer Reports (Score:3, Insightful)
But in the same issue they think the Chevy Avalanche is a better "truck" then the base model Ford and Dodge pickups they tested it against. Of course, this time the nearly $8k price difference didn't seem to bother them much...
PC Tech support call (almost true story) (Score:3, Funny)
User: 3
User: #
User: 9
User: 9
User: 4
User: 0
Tech Support: All technicians are busy. We value your business. Please continue to wait.
Tech Support: Hello, how can I help you?
User: About a minute after booting up, my computer freezes with a blinking cursor in the corner.
Tech Support: Sir, can you check your power cord? Is it plugged into the wall?
User: Yes, as I said, when I turn it on it freezes up.
Tech Support: Is your computer turned on?
User: Yes.
Tech Support: Is your monitor plugged into both the wall and your computer?
User: Of course.
Tech Support: Is your monitor turned on?
User: Yes yes. That's not the problem.
Tech Support: I see. Do you have your support CD?
User: Yes.
Tech Support: Ok, insert your support CD and press the reset button.
User: Ok.
Tech Support: You should see our logo and several choices.
User: Alright there they are.
Tech Support: Press the one called Reformat and Reinstall Operating System.
User: Uhh...Won't that remove all of my stuff? I mean can't you help me figure the problem out?
Tech Support: Your problem can't be solved without reinitializing your system.
User: But it starts up ok and works for a while.
Tech Support: Sir, can you check your power cord? Is it plugged into the wall?
Call me back! (Score:3, Informative)
If they disconnect you, then they should call you back.
Thanks Apple!
hmmm (Score:1)
Consumers arent the only ones mad at manufacturers (Score:1)
What did you expect? (Score:3, Insightful)
Customer satisfaction doesn't do much for profits one way or the other. Maintaining support facilities costs money, but the most money can be saved by getting people in and out as quickly as possible (satisfaction be damned). In the continuing quest of investors for the quick buck, is anybody really surprised by the amount of disdain the average computer manufacturer shows their customers?
Alienware (Score:2)
Gateway used to be... (Score:1)
But, even better than that, we got another from them, five or six years down the road. Unfortunatley this one didn't come with the same great service agreement. But, when we called up on account of a failed CDROM drive, becase of our older agreement, they extended the free service. They also shipped out the new drive very quickly. _And_ didn't even request the old one back. They were a bit more demanding when we had a problem with the monitor; they did ask for that back. However, the replacement was a nice change, they sort of 'upgraded' us from a 15" to a 17".
Maybe Gateway is starting to fall behind, but it wasn't always so.
And on that note about having parts fail, when I was in a high school which required laptops [and as provided by them] their last choice while I was there was this Acer notebook. My understanding was that the computer was a nice one, better than most previous models they'd chosen, but the LCD screens had a horrible tendency to crack. I worked with the school's IT/Support dept, and we saw more of "my screen has cracks in it" than anything else. Sad thing was, it's not hard to prevent, or be cautious, but point is, hardware problems aren't always the manufacturer's fault.
Tevye
Not on the list, but... (Score:2)
My Panasonic Mini-DV camcorder apparently doesn't exist, and it's only 1.5 years old.
The Panasonic CD-RW I got for my mother-in-laws friend wasn't supported by the Adaptec EasyCD it came bundled with (and it also, apparently, doesn't exist).
My (ex)bosses' printer was the kicker, though. We upgraded all the computers to Win2k and needed drivers for it. It was a dot-matrix, so I didn't have high hopes, but they needed it to print payroll, so obviously it was a high priority job
In short, no more Panasonic for me, ever again.
HP Tech Support (Score:1)
He explained what was wrong, or rather what the computer was not doing. In essence, they told him to piss off and call the software vendors, before he could even finish. They wouldn't even bother helping him. They said that it wasn't their problem. In turn, he told them that it was there problem because he'd just return their computer and then it would be their problem anyway. So, they called upper management and came back with a go-fuck-yourself reply.
My brother took the computer back and exchanged it for another, albeit non-HP. This is a sweet machine, now I'll need to get a better computer just to show him up. It turns out that it was a hardware problem, the video card was fubar. And it became HP's problem anyway. (After talking to my brother for a few minutes about what was happening, I could tell that the video card was all fubar, but this all happened while I was on vacation.)
Now my brother tells the lovely tech support story from HP to all his friends, family, strangers, etc. He'll never buy an HP product ever again.
In my opinion, HP has lost a few customers in this display of their competence in dealing with people. My dad for instance is a very big consumer, now he'll never purchase a product from HP. And neither will I.
My brother is not a techie, he's one of your average joe's. Knows about two things about computers: Jack Shit. If your tech support is going to treat people like this, you'll lose your business. Especially here in America. This isn't Russia where you have only one vendor, and you can treat everyone like shit. A business can afford to spend a few minutes walking through some questions with people to find out what the problem is. That's how you get repeat business and more customers.
Apple thinks different all right (Score:2)
No, they think different on price too.
Re:Tech support (Score:1)
Re:Apple? (Score:2, Interesting)
I defected from Apple for quite a few years...but when I started doing more creative stuff again, I went back. Glad I did....they seem to really trying to give customers a solid product offering these days. However, they're also not trying to be all things to all people.
-psyco
Re:Apple? (Score:2)
Re:How can they rate ?! (Score:2)
Don't get confused about Windows, Intel, and IBM Compatibles.
Re:How can they rate ?! (Score:1)
Re:Who is doing the support. (Score:5, Informative)
[OBDisclaimer: I work for Apple, in fact the Euro support centre is next-door but right now I'm speaking just for myself.]
Yes, Apple have full-time, trained employees working on tech support. They do in both the US support site (Sacramento, CA) and in Europe (Cork, Ireland).
By the way, every new Mac sold also contains a diagnostic CD. The user can simply insert it, boot in 5 seconds and get a result back for tech support without even needing a supporting OS!! Kewl or wha' ....
Re:How can they rate ?! (Score:1)