Apple tops customer satisfaction index

CNet's Tom Krazit reports that Apple Computer has been chosen as having the best customer satisfaction "among computer individual vendors" in a new study. Apple earned a score of 83 - a 2.5 percent improvement over last year. Dell improved on its 2005 score by 5.4 percent to garner a 78.

A study released Tuesday by the University of Michigan shows that overall satisfaction increased by 4.1 percent on Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index to a rating of 77, the highest achieved by the industry since 1994. But customers still rate PCs lower than several other consumer product categories, including cars and appliances.

Michigan's American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI) is "a uniform and independent measure of household consumption experience." according to the group.

The ACSI tracks trends in customer satisfaction and provides valuable benchmarking insights of the consumer economy for companies, industry trade associations, and government agencies.

The index is based on ratings in the following areas: Customer Expectations, Perceived Quality, Perceived Value, Customer Complaints and Customer Loyalty.