Customer Insight at Apple UK Report

Executive Summary

Apple is recognized to have a satisfactory customer service experience. Customers have described the customer service as quick and easy. Apple employees are polite and welcoming. They use instructions developed by the ‘Genius’ program. However, the technical customer service that is sent to home-based customers may sometimes lack the right skills or right replacement parts.

Apple reduced reliance on expertise from dealers creating a gap in technical service. Dealers were required to hire engineers. Apple appears successful at segmenting customers at the individual level. On the other hand, its geographical segmentation in China has created negative publicity.

Customers in China appear to be underprivileged compared to customers in other countries. Samsung customer support services appear more specialized to product models compared with Apple’s customer services.

Introduction

Apple offers customer services known as complementary support which addresses “basic setup, installation, assembly, and connectivity” (Complementary Support (United Kingdom)).

The services are conducted through phone calls, face-to-face communication, and through the website. Customers are eligible for the complementary services within 90 days after purchase of an Apple product. The company also offers a one-year warranty service.

Apple has trained its employees to recognize different categories of customers. The angry customer requires attentiveness. The indecisive customer requires an objective service person who has no intention to directly increase sales. The suspicious customer may require a service person who is well-informed about the products and the company (Government of South Australia 2006).

Apple’s satisfactory customer service may rely partly on the accuracy of their technique to categorize customers. Their success on customer service depends on the ability to address an individual customer’s personality rather than generalizing customers (McGuinn 2009, p. 61).

High tech products can be “divided into standardized and non-standardized products” (Viardot 2004, p. 195). Customer service of standardized products can be performed by dealers in a country because understanding the product does not require specialized training. Non-standardized products are designed to meet the requirements of a particular customer.

They are sold at a higher price and require the company to deal directly with the customer. The company needs to have a personal contact with the customer (Viardot 2004, p. 196). Apple has adopted the personal contact requirement even for its standardized products.

Through this technique, it has increased the speed of helping customers and dealing with complaints. Apple is able to contact customers through phone calls or emails in case of problems such as a repair or replacement program.

High-tech companies are sometimes required to provide services at the customer’s home or workplace. The services should be carried out promptly and at a low cost (Oracle and high tech industry 2003).

Customer service is a satisfactory experience when a “technician or engineer with the right skills, knowledge, and service parts arrives” (Oracle and high tech industry 2003, p. 4). Customers want their problems solved with less repetitive actions.

Apple obtains its competitive edge through customer loyalty as a result of better customer service than competitors. It has increased the likelihood of sustained profitability. Loyal customers use multiple Apple products and are willing to purchase new products.

Findings

Apple uses a set of words that are used to express how an employee feels about a customer’s comment. Kinder (2012) reports that ‘crash’, ‘bug’ or ‘problem’ are some of words that are not supposed to be used by employees while dealing with customers.

Employees are trained to use words with less negative expression such as “stops responding” instead of “has crashed”. Employees are also trained to use emotional expressions such as “I understand how you feel”.

There are also background support systems that give feedback to the front desk employees on how they have handled the customers. The background managers give suggestions and solutions to improve customer service the following moment (Biddle 2012). It creates a constant review of customer service. Findings suggest that some customers have no problem with the outcome of the controlled human words and feelings.

However, some customers think that employees are just like robots with programmed feelings. Emotional expressions that are not authentic may soon turn ineffective to match customer sophistication (McGuinn 2009, p. 57). Apple should allow employees to use their creativity rather than restrict them.

For a company to know its customers, Barlow & Stewart argue that a company needs to “make a list of interactive touch points” (2010, p. 237). It can use video clips or recordings of crucial moments in customer service that can be used for elaborations. Apple through its ‘Geniuses’ program has reduced the common mistakes that happen through customer service by creating a list of appropriate action and words.

Apple also trains employees to read the customer’s body language (Biddle 2012). Another way of understanding customers is to encourage them to post comments in the customer feedback system (Collier 2011, p. 49). A company should review the criticism posted on social media networks to understand their customers better.

Apple reduced the percentage of small dealers from 7% to 1% and increased the proportion of large dealers to provide customer service (Viadort 2004). Apple used large dealers who are trained to provide demonstrations, customized solutions, and after-sale support. Apple intended to reduce instances of poor customer service through large dealers.

A company’s quality image may be ruined if it relies to provide customer service through dealers. Dealers may lack knowledge about the products they sell (Viardot 2004, p. 196). Solomon (2012, p. 49) discusses that customer loyalty is partly attributed to a satisfactory experience at the customer care. Satisfactory customer service results in sustainable sales revenues.

Apple is also considered to have failed to fill the gap left by servicemen after it downsized on contracts with dealers. Apple used to earn more than 50% of the income that service companies earned through paid customer service before 2004. The services cost about $50 an hour for a product whose warranty has expired.

Customers made a direct payment to the person who came to repair their products (Engel 2007). Apple required that dealers send their service employees to Apple’s training programs annually. The new technical service employees lack high skills that the dealers were required to maintain.

The Apple customer care department has invented the anticipatory customer service where a customer is able to set an appointment to visit an Apple Store. The customer is anticipated by Apple employees and is received warmly upon arrival (Solomon 2012, p. 51). It increases the quality of service because the employee knows your problem even before you arrive.

Solomon argues that a customer after an experience at Apple feels that he/she has been “heard, known and understood” (2012, p. 51). Through the anticipated customer service, the company benefits by allocating more employees to areas with more work. The customer benefits by getting an undivided attention. Less time is wasted while waiting to be served.

Apple employees are also known to objectively help customers choose products that match their needs without necessarily selecting products with a higher price. Apple does not offer any sales commission and has no sales targets for employees.

It intends to discourage employees from persuading customers to buy products that do not match their needs (Apple’s customer service secrets revealed, 2011). Apple is able to create an atmosphere of trust and long-lasting customer loyalty.

Engel (2007, p. 44) argues that Apple iPod nano battery replacement program came after negative publicity. The company’s initial response was that customers should buy new iPods. If it was the company’s fault, customers deserve a free replacement even without media advocacy.

Engel (2007, p. 56) argues that Apple is unlikely to admit its fault and would rather blame the vendors. There were problems with some of their products such as eMac which were reported to fail a few weeks after the expiry of their warranty (Engel 2007, p. 45).

Apple is supposed to consider the frequency of failure of their product. If the frequency is high, they should consider increasing the warranty period so that their products do not appear to have been designed only to last within the warranty period.

Graham (2011) reports that Apple UK could be rated to have the best customer service in the industry. According to interviewees, customers are given quick, easy, and free service.

Apple UK may have the leading customer service but it China Apple has faced criticism for discriminating against Chinese consumers. Unlike other countries, consumers in China do not have the privilege of product replacement if it is defective. Customers are supposed to be given a new one-year warranty after repair of an iPhone but it does not apply in China (Mozur 2013).

Mozur (2013) and Engel (2007) report a similar response from Apple where it only admits its fault after intensive media attacks. Mozur (2013) reports that Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, admitted the differences in customer service in China from other countries after attacks by China Central Television and The People’s Daily.

The company responded that it had plans to standardize customer services in China to global standards. Apple appears to be experiencing failure as a result of using the traditional customer segmentation where customers are categorized geographically (Bailey et al. 2009, p. 239).

Samsung has a ‘live chat’ program for customer support. It may ease customer anxiety to visit Samsung Stores (Samsung: Contact Us 2013). It is also likely to increase customer openness. Samsung offers scheduling for repairs. Service tracking is a system that allows customers to follow up on any pending services or product delivery.

Samsung’s website appears more detailed than Apple’s. Samsung tries to have most of the support categories on one page. A customer needs to type the product’s model and name to be directed to the right webpage which matches his/her product’s description (Samsung: Support 2013). Samsung’s videos on user manuals are readily available through the home page.

A customer on Apple’s website may require some navigation to obtain them. Samsung’s online support differs from Apple’s because of the clear categorization of products’ support services. Customers are likely to meet a service person who clearly understands the product because of extensive specialization.

Samsung customer service to defective products includes recalls to defective top loader washing machines. The washing machines manufactured between February 2010 and February 2013 are reported to have caused several fire incidences in Australia (Chanthadavong 2013).

Samsung has extended a warranty to the African market for the Galaxy S4. It covers accidental damages to the screen and liquid damages for a month (Dowuona 2013). The announcement was warmly received by customers.

Conclusion

Apple customer service in the UK is the best in the industry and among many industries. Its invention of the ‘Genius’ customer service program has come up with methods and procedures to improve customer satisfaction. The program has developed procedures that reduce mistakes that upset customers. Customer service at Apple Stores is considered simple and quick (Gallo 2012, p. 15).

Samsung, the main competitor, uses online services that are specifically matched to each model. Samsung online system appears to be more detailed and more specific compared to Apple’s website. As a result of specialization of customer support programs to product models, Samsung customers may be served by employees who are more knowledgeable about their products.

Recommendations

1. Apple should increase support group specialization in a few products to improve customer service.
2. Apple should improve technical customer service by ensuring that the large dealers maintain high standards by hiring skilled employees. The company should also carry assessment exercises to evaluate effectiveness of the annual training programs.
3. To catch up with Samsungs 24-hour-chat program, Apple can also start an online program that uses a system such as that of Skype with a webcam to communicate online. Customers should be able to view the employee and elaborations may be conducted as if it were face-to-face.

Reference List

Apple’s customer service secrets revealed 2011. Web.

Bailey, C., Baines, P., Wilson, H. & Clark, M. 2009, ‘Segmentation and customer insight in contemporary services marketing practice: why grouping customers is no longer enough’, Journal of Marketing Management, vol. 25, no.3&4, pp. 227-252. Web.

Barlow, J. & Stewart, P. 2010, Branded customer service: the new competitive edge, Berrett-Koehler Publishers, San Francisco.

Biddle, S. 2012, How to be a genius: this is Apple’s secret employee training manual, media release. Web.

Chanthadavong, A. 2013, Samsung recalls top loader washing machines, media release. Web.

Collier, M. 2011, The ultimate customer service guide: how to connect with your customers to sell more, John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken.

Complementary Support (United Kingdom) 2013. Web.

Dowuona, N. 2013, Samsung provides accidental damage warranty for Galaxy S4, media release. Web.

Engel, G. 2007, The naked serviceman, Lulu Press, Hillsborough.

Gallo, C. 2012, Steve Jobs and the Apple Experience, McGraw-Hill Professional, New York.

Government of South Australia 2006, Customer Service. Web.

Graham, F. 2011, Does Apple have the best customer service in Britain? Vote now, media release. Web.

Kinder, L. 2012, Apple’s customer service revealed in leaked memo, media release. Web.

McGuinn, C. 2009, ‘The future of customer service’, Irish Marketing Review, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 57-66. Web.

Mozur, P. 2013, Tim Cook apologizes for China Customer Service, media release. Web.

Oracle and high tech industry 2003. Web.

Samsung: Contact Us. Web.

Samsung: Support. Web.

Solomon, M. 2012, High-tech, high-touch customer service: inspire timeless loyalty in the demanding new world of social commerce, American Management Association, New York.

Viardot, E. 2004, Successful marketing strategy for high-tech firms, 3^rd edn, Artech House Publications, Boston.