DELL'S LEADERSHIP POSITIONS INTACT THOUGH DELIVERY PROBLEMS EMERGE IN 4Q99 CUSTOMER SATISFACTION RATINGS
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HAMPTON, N.H.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 2, 2000--
IBM Moves Up in Both Notebook & Desktop Satisfaction Rankings; Compaq
Shows Strong Improvement in Intel Server Satisfaction
Technology Business Research (www.tbri.com) has just completed
its twelfth consecutive Corporate IT Buying Behavior and Customer
Satisfaction Study, a quarterly tracking service measuring corporate
end-user satisfaction with desktop, Intel-based server, and
laptop/notebook systems vendors. The fourth quarter study is based on
the opinions of 389 IT managers at large U.S. corporations, from
interviews conducted between mid-October 1999 and early January 2000.
The principal shifts in the rankings this quarter involve Compaq
moving up to second position for Intel server satisfaction, IBM
reclaiming its number two position from Compaq in notebook
satisfaction, and IBM moving up to a third position ranking in
corporate desktops while Compaq moves down one level and Gateway falls
from third to fifth position.
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*T
Sample 4Q Score Rank % Change 3Q99 % Change
Size Over 2Q99 4Q99 Over
3Q99
Intel Servers:
Dell 56 88.89 1 +2.8% 0%
Compaq 189 87.09 2 -1.6% +3.1%
Hewlett-Packard 51 86.10 3 +2.5% -1.0%
IBM 48 83.20 4 +0.8% -1.0%
Desktops:
Dell 115 88.17 1 +2.1% 0%
Hewlett-Packard 56 83.73 2 +4.3% -1.5%
IBM 59 83.25 3 -0.6% +2.8%
Compaq 110 82.69 4 +0.9% 0%
Gateway 43 80.96 5 0% -2.8%
Notebook:
Dell 103 84.14 1 +0.8% 0%
IBM 108 81.40 2 -1.0% +2.7%
Compaq 77 79.02 3 -2.2% -1.9%
Toshiba 51 77.69 4 0% +2.3%
*T
The weighted customer satisfaction scores TBR uses as a means of
ranking the systems vendors are based on a calculation where each
satisfaction score for each attribute is weighted by the stated
importance of each attribute. These are tallied up based on a scale of
100 points. Overall satisfaction and customer loyalty ratings are
given the highest relative weights.
While we reported in the preceding quarter that Compaq (NYSE:
CPQ) customers were having a variety of experiences with their
Intel-based servers (some good; some bad), this quarter shows a much
greater commonality of positive experience and, as a result, Compaq
has regained its stature across the board in Intel server
satisfaction, with particular gains noted in the areas of delivery
time and service and support. Compaq's drop of one ranking position in
both the desktop and notebook satisfaction ratings is primarily the
result of increased competition from IBM. In both areas, Compaq's most
serious weakness is its failure to meet market expectations regarding
price/performance and cost of ownership. A common thread for Compaq
this quarter is effectiveness of its delivery mechanism, which
outshines all of its competitors this quarter, including Dell.
Dell (NASDAQ:DELL.O) customer satisfaction scores this quarter hold
steady across all three form factors with a widening gap over its
competitors for desktop satisfaction and a slightly narrowing gap
regarding notebook satisfaction due to the increasing competitiveness
of IBM. Dell is essentially unchallenged across all three form factors
in the areas of technical support response, volume discounting,
price/performance and cost of ownership. A potential new area of
concern for Dell, as evidenced in all three form factors of the study
this quarter, is a disappointment to its customers regarding delivery
times in that increased volume demands have affected shipping
schedules. Dell's notebook product reliability scores show some
erosion this quarter resulting in a loss of its leadership position
for this attribute in the current quarter.
Following two consecutive quarters of very competitive ratings,
Gateway (NYSE:GTW.N) has fallen back to a trailing position in the
corporate desktop customers' satisfaction ratings with erosion across
most of the attribute areas this quarter. Gateway's areas of falling
satisfaction this quarter include two historically vulnerable areas
(technical support response and volume discounting) as well as some
that may be less expected such as replacement parts availability,
hardware reliability and performance, price/performance and cost of
ownership. Several customers offered up the explanation that Gateway
is having difficulty managing growth and transitions to corporate
accounts.
Hewlett-Packard (NYSE:HWP.N) has essentially held onto its gains
from the previous quarter when the vendor was cited as most improved.
HP continues to be in the top tier for Intel server customer
satisfaction and tends to be about on par with Compaq with the
exception of out-of-box quality where HP's customers tend to rate
their vendor as exceptional. In both desktops and Intel-based servers,
Hewlett-Packard's scores for delivery time show a notable decline over
previous quarters.
IBM (NYSE:IBM.N) enjoys a resurgence of support this quarter for
desktop and notebook satisfaction, while its ratings for Intel-based
servers remain essentially unchanged, that is, non-competitive and
generally on a lower plane than those of its principal competitors. In
the notebook satisfaction ratings, IBM has regained its number two
position behind Dell with improvement across the board of attributes
and significant gains in the areas of delivery time, product
availability, global support, repair time and overall satisfaction.
IBM is the superior vendor in terms of notebook hardware reliability
and service and support.
Toshiba has recovered the bulk of its losses accumulated over the
past several quarters, although Toshiba's satisfaction scores tend to
run significantly lower than both Dell and IBM. While there have been
subtle improvements for Toshiba across many of the attributes, the
systems vendor remains most challenged in the areas of long-term
reliability, replacement parts availability, cost of ownership, and
volume discounting.
The complete study results are contained in TBR's Fourth Quarter
1999 Corporate IT Buying Behavior and Customer Satisfaction Study. The
study represents an installed base of nearly two million systems and a
purchase intent of over 500,000 systems. For vendors, distributors,
large end users, and the investment community, this program has become
the preeminent tactical tool for monitoring customer satisfaction from
quarter to quarter. A customer satisfaction research program
subscription, consisting of four quarterly reports, is available for
$5,000 annually to interested parties through the contacts listed
below.
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