Apple in Korea
Korean consumers picked out Apple as the smart phone manufacturer providing the most satisfactory after-sales service.
Market research firm Marketing Insight conducted a related survey between March and April, answered by 44,168 local smart phone users aged from 14 to 64, and announced on July 2 that the degree of satisfaction added up to 52% for Apple, 50% for Samsung Electronics, 46% for LG Electronics and 34% for Pantech. The percentages represent the number of respondents who gave at least eight points on a scale of one to 10.
Only 17% of iPhone users received aftersales service within a year from the purchase. The ratio totaled 33% for Pantech, 31% for Samsung Electronics and 25% for LG Electronics. The overall average was 29%.
The ratio of consumers that received after-sales service twice or more was 25% for Apple, followed by LG Electronics (38%), Pantech (41%) and Samsung Electronics (44%). Also, one-fourth of the respondents who used the iPhone answered that they failed to shoot the trouble even after warranty service. The percentages were found to be 29% for Samsung, 33% for LG and 40% for Pantech for the same question.
In the meantime, the average level of individual satisfaction with after-sales service was at 711 for Samsung Electronics on a scale of 1 to 1,000, beating Apple (695 points), LG Electronics (682) and Pantech (612). “It is quite expected that Samsung Electronics’ warranty service fell behind that of Apple though in part,” said the research firm, adding, “It seems that not a few iPhone users are content with Apple’s refurbishing service because they feel like they get a new product without trying to figure out which component is malfunctioning.”
Apple and the Korean manufacturers showed substantial difference in the methods of service. Apple coped with 65% of the requests by means of product exchange but the ratio was as low as 10% for the local smart phone makers. 63% of Samsung Electronics’ aftersales service was made by repairing or replacing the components.
20% of the respondents said that they brought their handsets in for servicing for battery- and battery chargingrelated problems. 15% to 18% each mentioned damage to the display panel or other exterior parts, malfunctioning of the buttons or touch-related components, picture quality degradation and problems concerning the voice call and sound quality.