Thinking about buying a PC or computing device? You may want to take a look at the company with the most complaints before forking out your money. Taleee's consensus engine looked at customer complaints from across the web and here's the exclusive scoop for Huffington Post readers:
The worst? DELL. Some 50% of the almost 25,000 complaints we tallied from across the Web are aimed at DELL. Here's the pie chart look of the percent of complaints against many well-known brands:
When investors and the media look at why a company is winning or losing it's going to boil down to customer satisfaction. That's why my company Taleee tallies up customer opinion. Customer experience is king.
Among the top 3 PC/tablet makers Apple scored the best with the fewest complaints, 14% overall. Acer had 7% of complaints, owed in part to its smaller market share.
DELL started so strong. A guy (Michael Dell) in his dorm room making PCs and beating Tandy and IBM at their own game. I am a fan of the entrepreneur Michael Dell. No doubt he's built a great company. In its early days Dell stood out based on its custom configuration and direct ordering model, catalogs. Over the years I've owned every manufacturer's PC, from Apple to Zenith, and many Dell PCs.
Years ago I had a great DELL mini portable with no problems. But my latest two Dell laptops have had issues. One just conked out, couldn't handle video playing without freezing up/overheating. The newest one has problems with its display, the brightness dims and changes by itself no matter what the setting. What's changed? DELL, wherefore art thou?
The two Acers I have both work fine, little netbooks that work well in price/performance. The Apple iPad is fantastic. The HP I have is clunky and laborious with a fan that sounds like it's taken from a jet engine.
An update in response to certain readers: In compiling the data for this post, I did indeed look at market share. In fact, given market share, the statistics make the insight even stronger. Here's the breakdown of market share. Apple and HP sold the most so you'd think their complaint totals would be higher. But they're not. That speaks to quality and making customers happy. (No PC makers are clients or customers of Taleee. This is pure research and insight for consumer benefit.)
How about you, what have your experiences been with your PC or tablet? Sound off in the comments.
My experience with Acer customer service on a PC bought in the UK, but requiring repair under guarantee in France was very good indeed. They were fast, responsive and took responsibility for ensuring all was OK.
Dell: 1,040
HP: 409
Apple: 207
Acer: 157
I think these numbers make a better predictor of whether you will be one of those complainants if you buy a computer from one of the above vendors. Of course, these numbers don't negate any of the author's conclusions. It just makes an honest comparison easier. HP's complaints per share are significantly higher than Apple's and Acer's, but not astronomical like Dell's.
My personal experience with Acer is that my roommate bought an Acer laptop (on my recommendation) which had to be sent back to Acer twice for the same problem. Currently it is sitting in a corner unable to boot up. It makes a nice paperweight. So a low complaint per market share doesn't absolutely guarantee you won't be disappointed.
- Desktop Apple: never buy one, period, they're way too expensive for what you get in return. If you like their software then install it on a PC.
- Laptop: never buy an Apple, be very careful when buying a laptop in general, always consult someone who knows their way around computer hardware (and doesn't work for the store that you want to buy it in) first.
if it's good enough for scientists, it should be good enough for the average consumer.
if it's good enough for scientists, it should be good enough for the average consumer."
It's "good enough", but you can get the same performance for half the price from another brand: they use the exact same hardware.
They are inexpensive components on a motherboard, but are subject to bootleg suppliers or improper chemical compounds being used in them. Back in the 2000's there were a series of fake capacitors that flooded the market. Dell was just one of many companies buying them. Most companies did build a few machines out of them before detecting the problem.
If you open your case, look for the 1/2 inch tall cylinders sticking up off of the mainboard with an X pattern on its silver top. That is there to help relieve pressure in a capacitor that is failing and to help identify failed ones. If they fail, the top will bulge slightly. Also, leakage at the bottom is not good.
Also, NEVER buy a laptop battery off the internet that is NOT from the manufacturer. Boing Boing did a report on all of the fake batteries being sold online that do not have quality or fire protection in them.
I was told if any problems they will send a tech over to repair. I called about the original problem I had and got a call back that a tech would contact me.
Still nothing!
Point is, if you know computers you don't typically complain to the vendor itself. I am betting the complaints themselves were from tech illiterates to poor to buy a higher quality machine and to computer illiterate to properly take care of their machines. I would love to hear what type of complaints the companies were getting.