Microsoft's Windows Outpaces Apple in Customer Satisfaction

Bloomberg

Microsoft Corp. got a bigger boost in customer satisfaction from its latest computer operating system than rival Apple Inc. did from its most recent upgrade.

Respondents giving Microsoft a positive grade for satisfaction rose to 67 percent in the week after the Oct. 22 release of Windows 7, from 64 percent the day before it went on sale, according to YouGov Plc, a London-based market-research firm. Microsoft’s satisfaction rates rose 14 percent through the end of the year.

Apple’s Aug. 28 release of its Snow Leopard software resulted in a boost of 1 point to 65 percent in the first week. Through the end of the year, the increase was 6.9 percent.

The percentage of customers satisfied with Microsoft reached 73 percent on Dec. 31, the highest since YouGov started surveying in 2007. Microsoft’s reputation is benefiting from the positively reviewed Windows 7, after some customers held off personal-computer purchases to avoid the product’s predecessor, Vista, said Matt Rosoff, an analyst at Kirkland, Washington- based Directions on Microsoft.

“People are saying, ‘Okay, Microsoft got its mojo back,’” he said. “People who were thinking about buying a new PC are more likely to do so now. You’ll see slightly better sales.” Rosoff said the boost is probably also due to the June release of Microsoft’s overhauled Bing Internet search engine.

Microsoft’s Windows runs more than 90 percent of the world’s personal computers. The Windows division, Microsoft’s most profitable, accounted for about a quarter of the company’s sales last fiscal year.

“We’re encouraged that we’re delivered a version of Windows that meets what our customers want: a simpler PC that fits with their life,” said Tami Reller, a Windows vice president.

Apple declined to comment, said Bill Evans, a spokesman for the Cupertino, California-based company.

Diapers.com Has A New Idea: Keep The Customer Satisfied

From the Wall Street Journal

What Zappos.com did for shoes, Diapers.com is seeking to do for all manner of baby products.

Red Bank, N.J.-based Diapers.com, which just raised $30 million in funding from several venture firms, is known for its over-the-top focus on customer service.

Owned by Quidsi Inc., Diapers.com provides free shipping and delivers overnight to two-thirds of the country if an order is received before 6pm; the rest of the country gets orders within two days. The company also has a no-questions-asked return policy with free shipping on returns.

“We empower our reps to take care of the customer at really any cost,” said Marc Lore, co-founder and chief executive of the company. “If we don’t have something in stock we’ll point to a competitor that does. We do just about anything to insure customers have a good experience with the Web site.”

Sound familiar? Zappos, which recently agreed to be acquired by Amazon.com Inc. for $847 million in cash and stock, is known for its attention to customer service in the kids shoes and clothing business.

Diapers.com and its investors hope the company can turn doting parents into its own fanatical customers. Underneath a snazzy Web site with cute pictures of babies are three warehouses that efficiently churn out thousands of products like diapers, car seats and strollers. The 130-employee company has invested heavily in its infrastructure, building its own customized system for supply chain and inventory management and fulfillment, complete with robots moving products around.

“We live and die by the ability to get our products shipped out as fast and at low cost as possible,” Lore said. “It’s as much a logistics play as a front-end play.”

That’s different from Lore’s previous venture. Lore and his partner Vinit Bharara previously founded ThePit.com, an online marketplace for trading baseball and sports cards that was acquired by Topps Co. Inc. in 2001 for $5.7 million in cash.

Lore wouldn’t disclose Diapers.com’s revenue but says the company is on track for 100% growth this year compared to last year. The company was recently named the fastest growing retailer by Inc. magazine.

Diapers.com’s latest Series E funding was led by New Enterprise Associates, with participation existing investors Accel Partners, Bessemer Venture Partners and MentorTech Ventures. Diapers.com will use the new funds to build out its selection of products offered and build out its site. The company already has a feature that customizes the homepage for people based on their children’s age and other factors. Next month Diapers.com will add a baby registry service that will make it easy for friends and family to buy baby products for others.