Tech Support Rating: Apple, Dell, Lenovo Top List

[Guest]

The problem with PC Tech Support is outsourcing. All the major PC venders outsource their tech support to companies like ClientLogic, Sitel, Onix and others. It doesn’t matter what brand you by they are supported by the same companies. I was working as a network admin for a very large outsourcer and we did support for Dell, Sony, Logitech, Micron (back when they made PC’s), Packard Bell, and Gateway. All supported out of the same building, just in different wings. All trained by the same people in our training department. Most venders have a defined metrics like call handle time. Meaning the average call take so many minutes to resolve. Then the client (Dell, HP, Whoever) only pays for the time the tech support agent is on the phone up to the average handle time. Anything over the average handle time is paid by the outsourcer. The tech support agents have to meet that average handle time metric or they will find themselves or they get fired. So the agents don’t care if they fix your problem or not, if they can fix it fast they will, but if they can’t then the blame it on windows and tell you to reload the system and call back if you still have problems. There is no incentive for them to fix your PC, only incentive to get you off the phone as fast as possible. This will never change until the big companies stop outsourcing and start caring about their products. That is why the difference between hp and dell desktop support in the report is only 2 points. Consumer Reports can do all the surveys they want it doesn’t change the fact all the consumer branded PC’s are still supported by the same outsources.

 

[shoelessinsight]

Some of my friends and I have recently had very miserable experiences with Apple products. We have had to suffer through multiple failures on each of several devices, including iPhones, Macbooks, and iMacs. I personally consider my Macbook Pro to be the most miserable computer I have ever owned.

That being said, Apple probably does have the best tech support of any computer company that I have worked with. They have Apple stores with Genius bars almost anywhere my friends or I travel. Most of the time, they can solve a given problem without shipping the given device anywhere, which means that the device can be quickly returned, sometimes even in the same day.

By comparison, most other brands I have worked with require you to work through a third party that may or may not have the needed parts to fix many common issues. More often than not, it is left to the customers to ship the item themselves. They then have to wait several weeks before their item is returned.

My personal favorite for tech support, however, is Asus. While I can understand how most people may dislike the way they handle things, I find it works quite well for me. On the two occasions that I've had problems with their products (a worn out chipset fan and a laptop keyboard that I accidentally smashed), they pointed me to their parts store, I ordered what I needed, and then performed the repair myself in my own home.

Obviously home repairs wouldn't work for most people, though. =P

 

[JohnnyLucky]

I am not surprised at the results.

 

[Guest]

what r your ratings