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Katie Couric asks: Are you satisfied? Apparently, the answer is yes for US Consumers

When Katie Couric asks, “Are you satisfied?” what’s your answer? (Thanks to Jane for the link and info…)

“An annual survey recently said that most of us are – at least when it comes to being consumers. The report on consumer satisfaction found that Americans are generally happier with products than they were last year.

“As flyers are filing more and more complaints, Katie Couric says that the airline industry could learn a thing or two from the fast food business, where corporations allow you to have it your way.” 

It sounds like Ms. Couric is referring to the quarterly ASCI report that came out in late May.
The American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is an evaluation of the quality of US consumer products and services, updated quarterly…

“After a year of stalling and falling, the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) reverses course and registers its first gain in a year. The Index jumps 0.4% to 75.2 on ACSI’s 100-point scale, according to the quarterly release today.

“Southwest Airlines, AT&T, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s Gain; US Airways, Continental Airlines, Sprint Nextel, Comcast Tumble…”

The views on airline customer satisfaction are supported by the North American Airline Study in the report from J.D. Power today, noting that rude employees top reason for airline dissatisfaction

More at Katie Couric’s Notebook: Customer Satisfaction.

Also see these links on the http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ site…

Tags: J D Power, Katie Couric, customer satisfaction, ASCI.

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PC hardware failing? Repair may not be an offered option

An interesting post today on Consumerist where an HP Customer Service rep comes across with a sales offer

A reader on Consumerist.com relates an encounter (over chat?) with an HP customer service representative to discuss a hardware failure with his Compaq computer. The CS rep couldn’t help the situation, as the hardware was apparently out of warranty, but the customer then found that they were on the receiving end of an upsell to a new HP computer “with an awesome offer” or some such deal.

Ouch.

Interesting to note that the customer cited leaking capacitors as one of the problems.  I recall that the motherboard of an old PC of ours was replaced long after the warranty had expired, when it was found that the unit had faulty, leaking capacitors.  Perhaps the customer should escalate to second level support…

But let’s keep in mind that this is a PC that was released five or six years ago (Compaq Presario 6010US) according to the time machine that is Amazon.com (Date first available at Amazon.com: March 13, 2002) with a 1.4GHz AMD Athlon XP processor, 256MB RAM, and 40GB HDD. 

IMO, a new PC is certainly a smart bet.

(Link: Hewlett Packard: This HP Customer Service Rep Thinks He’s A Genteel Salesman)

Kingston S: May I confirm the model number of your computer facing the issue as: Compaq Presario 6010US Desktop PC?

Consumerist Reader: that’s correct

Kingston S: [redacted], I am sorry about that but I will not be able to assist you in this regard as it is out of my support boundary. Shall I share my views with you instead?

Consumerist Reader: what?

Kingston S: [redacted], you can contact the Authorized Service Providers and they may be able to do something for this.
Kingston S: This is because this was one of the best computer model when it was released.

Consumerist Reader: is there a phone number?

Kingston S: Now, that it has become old, and the options for taking it for a bench repair is not left at all.
Kingston S: The phone support is a paid support.
Kingston S: [redacted], don’t you think it is high time to upgrade your PC?
Kingston S: Why I suggested that because HP is selling new computers at attractive discount prices which has got all the Advanced features and latest technology support.
Kingston S: It is also shipped with the latest Windows Vista operating system.
Kingston S: There is an instant rebate going on with HP. You will get computers from HP even with the latest Windows Vista operating system preinstalled starting from $ 350. Isn’t that an awesome offer?

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VentureBeat Interview with Robbie Bach on Zune

Of interest: VentureBeat interviewed Robbie Bach, President, Entertainment & Devices Division here at MS, the group responsible for Microsoft games, hardware (like mice, keyboards and Surface), Zune, Mac software, Xbox 360 and more.

This is the first of several parts, focusing on Zune… and my boys are particularly interested in this answer…

Q: The Xbox guys showed a demo of games running on the Zune. It seems like a very timid way to launch games on the Zune. It is like dipping your toe in the water, seeing if hobbyists will create games on the Zune. Compare that to the major effort Apple has under way to put games on the iPod.

A: The way you have to think about it is to ask whether Zune is just a portable music player or a portable entertainment player. We think of it more as a portable entertainment player. The point of demoing games is to show that games can run on that entertainment platform. We didn’t demo games running on some big service because there isn’t some big service to announce. But the idea is that Zune does music, video, photos, and it has the hardware to do very compelling games on it. It is more compelling than an iPod because it actually has a D-pad. From a gaming perspective, it is reasonably well suited. You can read a little or read a lot into it. The point is that we think of it as a portable entertainment device.

Click here for the interview.

Tags: Zune, Robbie Bach, Consumer Electronics.

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Highlights from TechEd 2008 in Orlando

Microsoft Tech•Ed 2008 HighlightsNow available: Microsoft Tech•Ed 2008 Highlights from Orlando, where you can view video highlights and keynote addresses by Bill Gates and Bob Muglia from Server and Tools Business division, all from Microsoft Tech•Ed 2008 North America.

Tags: conferences, TechEd, Microsoft.

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Drawing on a Napkin: Next-Gen PC Design Competition Winners

New on Microsoft Presspass

Next-Gen PC Design

“Napkin sketches were the inspiration behind the winning design for Microsoft’s Next Gen PC Design Competition. Find out why Bill Gates hand-picked this concept, and see the other award-winning designs.”

I guess that this is the new ultimate, ultra mobile PC form factor. 😉

See the story on how Innovation Fuels Passion in Next-Gen PC Design Competition.

Tags: Microsoft, innovation, hardware.