Apple beat out all other computer makers to take the top spot in the American Customer Satisfaction Index for 2010. Apple’s score climbed two percent this year to its highest level ever at 86, and well above the top ranked PC makers score of 77 out of 100.
Apple’s first place ranking among PC companies marks the seventh year the Mac maker has come in ahead of its competition, and it is also the largest gap between companies in the survey.
The second place position turned out to be a three-way tie between HP, Dell and Acer.
PC makers climbed in the customer satisfaction rankings, too, although not enough to catch up with Apple. Some of that growth is attributed to the launch of Windows 7 as the successor to the poorly received Windows Vista.
“Windows-based PC brands appear to have recovered from the problems associated with the Windows Vista software,” said ACSI founder Claes Fornell.
Without a Windows Vista stumble to hold it back, Apple seems to have a strong customer satisfaction lead over its competition, and may be able to keep that momentum going into next year.