A Report on Apple’s Customer Service Process

Apple is an American conglomerate that designs, creates, and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and offers online services. The hardware products for Apple include the iPhone smartphones, the iPod tablet computer, the Mac personal computer, the iPod portable media player, the Apple watch, and the Apple digital TV and media player. Similarly, the software sold by the company embraces iTunes media players, Safari web browser, iOS operating systems, and iWork creativity and productivity suites. Equally, the company offers online services like iTunes Store, Mac App Store, Apple Music, iOS App Store, and iCloud. A certain course or phase of a company can play a vibrant part in the whole creation value sequence of the business. In different organizations, the aspect of customer service is viewed as a cost center that drains resources for the corporation. Therefore, this paper shall take an illustration of Apple’s iPhone flaw example and exhibit how customer service in the illustration depicts a key role in the general supply series of iPhone.
Client Service in the Supply Sequence of Apple
The aspect of customer service is viewed as the expression of the consumers that has effects after the release of merchandise or amenity by a firm. For any product of a company to be successful in the market, the goals of the corporation have to start with the customers and end with the customers (Boyaci and Gallego, 2009, 12). Thus, it is contradictory for companies to start their operations from the client’s point of view and then start working backward.

The reason behind this is because the voice of the client has to be given consideration at the product design level and the market observing phase. Therefore, this helps to upsurge the consumer perspective on the duration of post-release of the merchandise.
Apple’s iPhone supply chain is based in Singapore, Taiwan, U.S, and China. Singapore supplies Samsung CPU and video processing, and Infineon Baseband communications to Shenzhen China where Apple carries out manufacturing assembling in its fulfillment plant. Taiwan provides BroadComm touch screen controllers to U.S and China.
The supply chain depicts that any interference in the material movement of any dealer into the Apple’s China warehouse, it shall slow fabrication or terminate the whole process of the company. Apple Care physically sits in Austin, Texas and Sacramento, California where its service is widely felt among the consumers of its products. The two settings form as their call centers where a client can contact them and seek for any clarification on the performance of Apple’s iPhone and other Apple merchandises.
Ways Apple’s Customer Service Creates Customer Value
Apple has not only mastered the art of design, but it has also focused on customer experience. The company replaces units of their iPhone with new products when their clients report of defects. The act has made the Apple and its business operations to run smoothly and realize high returns (Conceivious, 2010, n.p). Thus, this conforms to the saying that when you listen to your clients by fulfilling their desires, the corporate will run towards the right direction. Therefore, Apple invests more to ensure its customers enjoy the best experience of their product design and real user support that is provided.
Apple has established a client service philosophy through teaching its workforces to help its consumers have an elevating familiarity more than selling the merchandise. The employees approach the customers with a warm welcome and probe politely so as to comprehend all needs of their consumers (Jeffery, Butler, and Malone, 2008, 225). They listen to client concerns, present solutions, and end with a warmhearted sendoff and a return solicitation. Equally, the company’s name, Apple, makes every employee to effortlessly reminisce how to network with each client that walks into their compartments with exceptional amenity. The acts have made the company to gain a big market share in the highly competitive global and local markets.
Apple gave its staffs a personality through hiring workers with methodical Apple acquaintance and people who logically have an abundant temperament and a happy-to-serve outlook. The act has made Apple employees to confidently face customers who have issues with their products and provide them with adequate support. Consequently, when customers come into the Apple store, they feel like entering their home and not coming into a store (Sampson and Spring, 2012, 47). Hence, this shows that the Apple specialists have assisted in creating a community for the company clients by making them feel comfortable and providing them with immediate solutions. The process has made customers share with the company employees on the issues they undergo as they use Apple products and many other issues that are critical for the growth of the company. Principally, the route has become a sanctuary where patrons open up and be an Apple nerd without being umpired.
Apple Company empowers its clients and makes their usage of their product simpler and easier (Jung and Yoo, 2016, n.p). Apple product strategy and industrial specifications are generated in a way that is user-friendly and ones that have reduced the misperception of consumers in comprehending its technical complexities. Similarly, Apple has been in a position to eliminate some complications that arise due to flaws of their goods through learning on how they can create practices healthier for their clients. Consequently, the act of empowering customers has made people spend much in acquiring Apple products. Therefore, this has made the company to realize high returns and gain a large market share for its products.
Performance Indicators of Apple’s Customer Service Unit
Overall satisfaction of Apple’s customers is one of the indicators of the success of its customer service team. The unit carries out regular customer gratification surveys so as to scale the level of satisfaction by the various consumers of its products. Many Apple clients have rated its customer service unit to be one of best among global companies, and they have been satisfied by the firm’s products (Shen and Daskin, 2005, 200). Similarly, the company enjoys customer retention due to the service offered by the customer service unit. Apple clients are contented with the deal they obtain, and this makes them twig nearby and buy more products from the Apple stores.
The net marketer mark of Apple has helped to designate where its patron service stands and acts as a quota of purchase overhaul. Its clients are blissful with the way they are controlled, and this makes them recommend Apple’s iPhone and other products to their associates and kinfolk members. Similarly, the typical resolution time is one of the performance gauges of Apple’s punter facility component (Leuschner, Charvet, and Rogers, 2013, 55). The company has been able to resolve issues timely and offers a response to customer complaints by giving them quick answers to their queries. The act has made Apple’s clients be pleased by the experience that they undergo as they use Apple’s iPhone.
Apple’s complaint escalation rate is very low, and it has never received an unusually large number of claims. Similarly, its customer claims have never increased without a depiction of an overall customer growth. Equally, the brand features of Apple portray how its customers view the inclusive enactment of the syndicate. The opinions of the clients have always had a positive correlation to Apple’s expectations on their iPhone products and other products offered by the corporation (Slack and Lewis, 2015, 101). Therefore, Apple Company has been in a position to develop products with qualities that make clients view the company’s brand name in a positive and healthy direction.
The cash flow of Apple can act as a performance indicator of the company’s customer service. The good customer service offered by the firm to its clients has retained many customers, increased referrals and has made potential customers to complete their purchases (Faed, Hussain, and Chang, 2013, 48). Consequently, the task has created a significant impact on the company’s overall returns and profits.
Market Monitoring and Fault Data
When a creation is taken to the market, there are diverse networks of observing its health, performance and the consumer recommendations and outlooks. The market monitoring segment of the invention development signifies a considerable quota of the merchandise, more so on the side of meeting monitoring necessities and many other aspects. Similarly, marketing and public relations make an incomparable input to the matter of market checking since the opinion of the punter in the post-release retro can aid the company to mend their creation or service (Maull, Geraldi, and Johnston, 2012, 73). We may make a conjecture that Apple Care has a platform for assembling merchandise strength, post-release figures, and other aspects of customer service that have a link to their product. Therefore, in this suite, the syndicate has a straightforward and stylish technique of constructing the statistics actionable. The acts can be through data collection, information stratification, and analysis of the root causes of problems or complaints. Finally, Apple Company should take operative countermeasures so as to mend their iPhone in the imminent discharges of the merchandise.
iPhone Defect Statistics
Let’s make a deduction that Apple punter amenity amasses incoming iPhone flaw data through the application of a simple checklist as shown below.
Battery Life 90
Bubbles on the Screen 200
Screen Touch Defects 300
iPod on iPhone Defects 40
Discussion
According to the statistics recounted by the iPhone patrons, the first column depicts broad defects while on the right column is made up of simple reckonings. Thus, this can act as a simple checklist. Other modifications of the modest eminence apparatus may include a collection by shift, time, creation pigment, variety, among many other aspects (Dempsey, 2016, 81). The next steps call Apple Company to make the statistics actionable through visually rendering it in a course that heads towards a good space of opportunity. The figure below represents an iPhone Pareto chart that depicts the data collected by the customer service center on the different defects reported by patrons of Apple’s iPhone.

Observation
The above Pareto Chart shows the checklist data that was collected in a visual format. The statistics call for the Apple client service group to pay thoughtfulness to the initial and subsequent slabs of the Pareto. The two bars represent the defects that arise on the touchscreen of Apple’s iPhone. Similarly, the statistics depicted in the Pareto makes consumers of the product try to find answers behind the defects portrayed by the touchscreen of Apple’s iPhone.
Root-cause Analysis for iPhone’s Flaws
Root-cause analysis acts as the next step in the development of produce observing and enhancement as it efforts on parts where prospect trade-off is virtuous. To elucidate the touch screen defects, Apple needs to hold a consultation with the dealers of the iPhone’s touch screen tools. According to Apple’s supply chain, Apple should hold a meeting with BroadComm since it is the one that supplies it with iPhone Touch Screen technologies. In the meeting, Apple and the supplier should analyze the data and carry out a root-cause analysis on the reasons behind the defects on the touch screen. The approach involves asking several “why” questions until the two parties reach an atomic but actionable decision (Schneider, 2010, 23). Therefore, this calls for the development of a fishbone diagram to visually view the process.
Fishbone Illustration

Discussion
At the crown of the fishbone is the flaw or upshot that is stated in the form of a problem. The key frames are the main consortiums of the causes while the trifling bones are the meticulous pieces under each consortium. Similarly, there are common consortiums, but they might or might not relate to explicit hitches facing a syndicate. They include people, equipment, material, information, procedures, measurements, and the environment. Upon completion of the fishbone diagram by the company, it is obliging to assess its lucidity by carrying out an analysis on the bones top-down, or bottom-up (Niu and Qiao, 2012, 622). The reason behind this is because activity g is affected by f; f affected with e; e affected by d; d affected by c; c affected by b, and b affected by a. The exercise of testing the logic helps in coming up with a logical sense and proving that the atomic roots cause is actionable. Thus, this shall guide the management team of the Corporation to carry out corrections so as to reduce or eliminate the root-cause of the problem. Upon arrival on the root-cause for a specific capstone, the analysis team should “cloud” it so as to identify it as the root-cause. Below is a decomposed fishbone diagram.
5 Whys Technique to Investigate Root Causes of Apple’s iPhone

Observation and Discussion
Once the Apple punter overhaul team and its touchscreen dealer reach the root causes of the flaws, the provider is prerequisite to instituting countermeasures so that the subsequent supply of the materials won’t depict the flaws anymore. On the same note, public dealings, and market promotions should be established from this exertion by Apple showing the populace that it has taken their market worries into consideration. Apple can contrivance this by fixing the flaws that exceedingly troubles the market to its iPhone creation (Oflac, Sullivan, and Baltacioglu, 2012, 69). Equally, the company can carry much branding of the product so as to restore the confidence of its customers upon completion of their search for the cause.
Key Improvements to the Results
The following are three key improvements that shall be realized if Apple’s management team follows the above methods in solving the defects depicted on their iPhones. Firstly, the company should monitor the quality of the touchscreen materials supplied so as to minimize its defects. The results of this improvement shall be measured through viewing the number of reduced defects on Apple’s iPhone. Secondly, the company should improve its internal communication by communicating often and thoroughly within and across all departments. The results of this improvement shall be measured through the rate at which the company’s employees shall be catching problems and solving them before their customers can raise complaints. Lastly, Apple’s iPhone should develop a robust system for handling customer complaints. The improvement shall be measured through viewing the rate at which customers are reporting their complaints and the kind of feedback they leave on the company’s approach to resolving their problems.
Apple’s PDCA cycle
PDCA is a four-step approach that can be employed by a company in carrying out checks and balances. The cycle should be repeated from time to time for continuous improvement of a firm’s projects. I shall prepare a plan for conducting one or two repetitions of the PDCA cycle on the improvement of monitoring the quality of touchscreen materials supplied so as to minimize their defects and improve the process of iPhone development in the company. The PDCA shall follow and meet the following requirements in the daily undertakings of Apple’s iPhone management and staff teams.
Plan
The “plan” stage involves identifying and defining a problem within a process, and analysis of the problem. Apple should come up with interventions necessary to correct its touchscreen defect and establish the expected outcome of the process. The company should come up with the departmental units that shall be responsible for the improvement of the problem and schedule the steps that shall be followed in rectifying the issue. Similarly, this stage calls for the determination of the metrics for the improvement and searching for any relevant statistics related to the problem.
Do
The stage involves execution of the plan that was created by Apple’s management team. Apple should implement the solutions to its touchscreen defects and continuously check the implementation process so as to ensure efficiency. Permanent implementation should be carried out if the trial process turns out to be successful. On the same note, the company should carry out a measurement on the performance of their solution and train its workforces in the ways that they shall follow so as to realize the quality improvement.
Check
The phase involves tracking the performance of the solution over time through comparing the product quality before and after implementation. Apple should be able to view whether the implementation achieved its desired results and the things that never worked. The information that Apple obtained on the trial run should be acted upon. If the company fails to obtain its desired results, it should go back to step one and view its root-cause analysis process. Conversely, if Apple achieves its desired results on the issue of materials used in making the touchscreen, it should go ahead to the “act” phase of the PDCA cycle.
Act
It is the final stage of the PDCA cycle that involves standardization of the process improvement and implements it across the company’s business operations. In this phase, Apple should fully adopt the solution obtained from the process improvement and continue to monitor its solution. Similarly, Apple should search for other opportunities for improvement if the solution fails to improve after several implementations of the PDCA process.
Recommendation
I would recommend Apple’s customer service unit to foster healthy dialogue between users and their developers. The acts call for effective customer service that begins long before the clients seek for help. It may encompass the creation of “Frequently Asked Questions” web page that can respond to a consumer inquiry instantly without the usage of an electronic mail or a telephone call. Similarly, such a reserve works better during sunsets and holidays when support chats are not available.
Equally, I recommend that Apple should inform and educate its clients try using their products before they purchase them. The act will make the clients identify any defects that may be depicted in the iPhone like the issue of the screen touch and receive a replacement immediately. Thus, this will help reduce the number of claims on defects that are later realized by the customers. On the same note, it will help to upsurge customer satisfaction and increase referrals to Apple’s products.
Conclusion
The facet of punter amenity plays a critical part in the value sequence of creation. The act is a major avenue for learning about the market perception and feelings, and the experience that clients undergo as they use Apple products and services. The figures and statistics in this report can be made practical over a tactical and sagacious deployment of Apple’s Punter Amenity or any other company that may wish to improve its customer service unit.
Appendices
Appendix 1: Products Produced by Apple Inc.
Apple’s products and services include iPhone, a portfolio of professional software applications, iPod, iPad, Apple Tv, Mac, iPhone OS, iCloud, and a range of accessories and support offerings.
Appendix 2: Apple’s Segments
The firm’s segments include the Americas, Europe, Japan, Greater China, and the rest of the Asian Pacific. The Americas segment is composed of both the North and South America. The European segment is made up of European countries, India, Africa, and the Middle East. The Greater China segment is comprised of Taiwan, China, and Hong Kong. Lastly, the Rest of the Asian Pacific segment is made up of Australia and other Asian nations that are not included in other operating segments of Apple.
Appendix 3: Companies Tied to Apple’s Supply Chain
Analog Devices, Inc.
Glu Mobile, Inc.
Jabil Circuit, Inc.
Micron Technology, Inc.
Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd.
Nidec Corp.
Qualcomm, Inc.
Samsung.
ST Microelectronics.
Texas Instrument, Inc.
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