But it costs more to provide customer support as a smaller player - you have to provide the same geographic availability of service providers, the same ratio of support techs per customer, all without the advantage of economies of scale. IMHO Dell's fall from customer service heaven is purely a result of their own obsession with budget computers and the race to the bottom. So long as Apple remains a premium brand I don't think they'll have trouble keeping good service.

I am a Mac user myself, and while my laptop has been far from trouble-free, I've had zero trouble with customer service. Every single time my phone call has been answered in less than 2 minutes, nobody's ever hassled me or tried to weasel their way out of a genuinely defective part, and many reps have even offered more expensive solutions (i.e. shipping the machine back to Apple instead of visiting a local shop, or full machine replacement) instead of me having to badger them for it. I am currently entitled to a "new" (read: refurb) machine because I've had so much repair work done on mine (twice to the shop).

While it certainly sucks that my laptop has had these problems to begin with, the fact that the service is there to back you up means I will be an Apple customer for some time yet.

I run Windows & Ubuntu, and I would shudder at the thought of having to ship my laptop in. That's a lot of time to be without my computer.

I've honestly never encountered a problem that required the manufacturer's support. More than a handful of my Mac friends have had to ship theirs in.

This is, of course, anecdotal, but my roommate had his Dell break down a while ago. Spent about 5 hours on the phone arguing with one support rep or another before they agreed to send a tech out the next day to look at it. His computer was hunky dory the next day (better than Apple, who took 4 days round-trip from time of call to time laptop was returned), but IMHO the aggravation required for it just isn't worth it.

Also, FWIW, you don't ever have to ship your laptop in (unless you are doing a full replacement like me). Plenty of service providers will look at your machine without taking it away from you for extended periods. They won't come to your house though.