Apple tops the customer satisfaction survey for personal computers, although it dropped by 1% this year compared to 2008, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) report. The ACSI has also released customer satisfaction scores for different consumer product sectors.
Apple score dropped this year to 84 from 85 in 2008, on a 0-100 scale. The ACSI report stated that “the decline has done little to hurt the large lead Apple has enjoyed for six straight years over the Windows-based manufacturers.”
Apple maintains a 12% lead over Texas-based Dell, one of the largest gaps between first and second place for an industry. Dell remained unchanged at 75, while Gateway (Acer) rises 3% to 74.
According to the report, the two brands of Hewlett-Packard have also improved. HP moved up 1% to 74, while Compaq jumps 6% to create a three-way tie with HP and Gateway.
Professor Claes Fornell, head of the ACSI, said: “The recession has shifted demand towards lower-priced PCs and Hewlett-Packard is taking advantage by rolling out more of its less expensive Compaq models. Recent sales are up and HP’s share value has more than doubled relative to market since the beginning of the year.”
ACSI produces indexes for 10 economic sectors, 44 industries (including e-commerce and e-business), and more than 200 companies and federal or local government agencies. In addition to the company-level satisfaction scores, ACSI produces scores for the causes and consequences of customer satisfaction and their relationships.
