Sep 17, 2012 05:51 PM EDT by LAPTOP EditorsHow We Tested
Our goal was not to stump tech support, but to simply gauge the experience an average user might have during a routine tech support call. To test the knowledge, responsiveness and approachability of these nine companies’ tech support phone service, we asked three questions at three separate times.
We asked for tips on how to extend our laptop’s battery life and how to enable three-finger swiping on the touchpad. For Acer, whose test machine didn’t feature three-finger swipe (as all other brands did), we asked about four-finger swiping.
Our third question was tailored to each brand and the services or software that company offers. For instance, for the HP system we asked about optimizing sound for watching a movie by using Beats Audio. The speed, accuracy and friendliness of the representatives play into this half of a company’s tech support grade.
Because these days most people prefer to avoid the phone, we also explored each company’s website. Was it easy to navigate and well designed? Could we find answers to our questions? Did the company offer live chat and/or email assistance? And if so, could those services get us to answers? All these factors came into play when assigning a company’s Web grade.
As part of the online assessment, we also examined each notebook-maker’s social presence and responsiveness. While neither Facebook nor Twitter are part of a company’s warranty coverage, the average consumer is starting to expect some level of attention through these channels.
September 18th, 2012 at 2:35 am
Dell service stinks. They also don’t stand behind their equipment. I’ve had nothing but problems with Dell and will never purchase another.
October 4th, 2012 at 1:51 pm
then if the sony is the top 1 at tech support..
what is the brand that is best for gamings..
i mean which brand is best for gamings..
including the price the kind of specs the kind of products.
which is the best brand of laptop that is good for gaming..
mostly and surely about durability and performance through out the year.
October 29th, 2012 at 3:24 pm
“Acer Tech Report Results” is shown as the title on the Sony page.
January 7th, 2013 at 11:51 am
I have to agree with Not Phil – I’ve never in my life encountered such appalling “service” as I just did from Dell! Will never buy from them again (not that they care).
February 4th, 2013 at 7:06 am
ive got a couple of asus notebooks and also a netbook, over the yrs ive had a couple of minor warranty issues and asus support has been brilliant, the asus techs seem enthusiastic about there products and are more then happy to take the time to show u little things or answer questions,
March 4th, 2013 at 9:07 am
I’m with Karen and notphil…….. Dell is terrible. Half the time they give you the wrong information and if you have continuing problems… too bad.
I say this as a person who has purchased 4 computers from them in the past, and will not in future.
March 16th, 2013 at 4:42 pm
the thing about dell is their consumer products suck they have for a long time and they probably always will. That said buy the same computer relabled vostro, pay the extra for pro support and your phone wait time is 2 minutes max and they’ll have a US based technician solving any problem have and they’ll drop off the part you need within 4 hours. but if you expect to pay $400 for a laptop that costs $375 to build ship and market. you’ll get crap support.
April 13th, 2013 at 2:27 pm
I’ve had had Dell XPS’s since 2004. That came with a dedicated phone line only for the XPS line, it was India sometimes but not all. The support was decent.
Prior to that I had Dell Dimension’s 8400 and their tech support was as good as dealing with monkeys.
Recently I bought a Lenovo Desktop. Tech support is located in the U.S. for my model and I just read yesterday that all tech support is coming back to the states. I also bought a 5 yr. Priority Service upgrade so I am good till 2018 if I still even have this them?
Having U.S. support is one of the reasons I bought this system. I liked another one a bit more, same price.. more of a gaming system with support in India and no Priority Support like I do here in the states. I do get next day service with this one too and they will only warranty it for 3 yrs max, (what’s that tell you?)
I am still within the time frame of returning this system exchanging it for the other and dealing with India.
Also, Lenovo does not use refurbished parts when repairing your computer, completely new parts are always used.
May 11th, 2013 at 10:06 am
Let me just say that I will NEVER EVER buy a DELL product again! I just had the worst experience with tech support. I have had continuing problems and they said pretty much what I have already heard on here…too bad. I told them that you all just lost another Dell customer and it didn’t really phase them too much. I was supposed to get a new laptop from all the problems I had with this one and they told me “it won’t get approved from all the departments here and plus we need more information.” Really?? Like you don’t have a ton already with all the problems I’ve had??