Apple and HP "made the grade" in a tech support test conducted by ON magazine in its May issue.

ON, a new personal technology monthly from the editors of the TIME magazine group, said that Apple would have received a perfect score if ON editors received 'a clear answer on the monitor issue,' referring to the question on how work could be divided between two monitors.

Gateway received the "Good Citizenship Award" for friendliest service saying that representatives spoke "with techno-certainty not techno-snobbery" and that they answered calls in an average of 1 min. 30 seconds, the shortest time in the survey. Sony ranked last in average hold time: 14 min., 45 sec.

ON used new laptops from eight leading manufacturers, including Apple, Compaq, Dell, Gateway, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Sony and Toshiba and asked two questions about getting started with a new computer as well as a third, which dealt with an easy-to-fix software glitch planted by ON. Representatives were surveyed at three different points in the day, during peak and off-peak hours and rated the companies based on average hold time, length of phone call and quality of service.

Other highlights include:

• "Wedding bells would be ringing" for Hewlett-Packard, wrote ON editors, "if it had not been for that first sour experience" of the rep speaking in too-technical terms.
  
  
• IBM was given the honor of the "ideal tech support call."
  
  
• ON editors said of Compaq's tech support, "Despite one great experience, long holds and lack of results made us wonder."
  
  
• Dell lacked efficiency, "frustrating to be kept on the phone for over an hour for an eight minute fix."
  
  
• Toshiba "just made the grade, thanks to short wait times and the monitor help."
  

by MacNN Staff