Alienware. Of course, they're "custom built gaming machines" so maybe not what you had in mind, but aces in the customer service department.

Customer service has generally gone the way of the dinosaur, in my experience. I have found, though, that if you contact an organisation expecting to be treated like shit, you will at worst be unsurprised when this happens. On the very rare occasion where you do get good service, it comes as a pleasant surprise.

Go through the Small Business division at Dell. It's a whole different world.

I have an Alienware laptop, and while the customer service is okay, I still had to wait on the phone and I ended up speaking to someone for whom English was not their first language (not that there's anything wrong with that, I just had a really hard time understanding them).

Apple has by far the best customer service I've ever seen. I've called them multiple times about things, and I've never had to wait more than 30 seconds to speak to a real human--and they all speak very good English with no accent. On top of that, every person I've talked to has been very helpful and has taken care of my issues in a satisfying and expedient manner.

It amazes me. I didn't think it was possible to be satisfied with a customer service experience.

Alienware is owned by Dell, so that might not be the way to go.

eamondaly, this was the small business division at Dell.

For the past 4 years I've had a MPC laptop. Customer service has been exceptional (I owned two dells in the past so I know what you mean). I call the government/education support line and there is no phone menu. A human in Colorado picks up. If they cannot solve the problem in 5 minutes, they just ship me a new computer (priority overnight) and ask me to hold the hard drive.

I couldn't ask for more. For that reason alone we ditched all the dells and bought 10 mpc laptops/8 desktops.

Sprung for Dell "Gold Support," don't remember what it cost, but they were really good.

Two tech support tips: 1) As soon as you feel any dissatisfaction, and before you piss anyone off who might add a warning to your file, just get off and call back. You'll get a different person, sometimes a MUCH better one. 2) As soon as you do get pissed off for real, calmly ask to speak to the supervisor, briefly state your case, and firmly request an "escalation." Use that word and insist on it.

Go to a local shop. You'll get better components, and you can talk to them face-to-face.

I have only had good customer service experience (with computer companies) with Apple.

I bought a Mac Pro (tower) this fall. It was an unusually problematic order; twice the shipped computer was deemed D.O.A. (for different, rare reasons) and sent back for replacement (not repair) with the new Macs shipped express air by Apple (to Alaska - expensive!). When the second computer was defective, Apple gave me a $100 rebate in apology. (I was not expecting this or asking for anything, nor was I a pushy, demanding customer.)

With the exception of one call where I was connected to a poorly-run overseas call center, all of the other contacts I had with Apple, by phone and e-mail, were professional and completely satisfactory.

If you total the cost all of the extra shipping of a very heavy model (including returns, five FedEx shipments between California and Alaska), their staff time (including a phone and e-mail conversation with a level 2 tech), and giving me $100 back, Apple probably lost money on this sale. But, they have retained a long-term customer.

Also, I didn't buy AppleCare; this was just normal tech and sales support for a new purchase.

And in addition (hey, it's very late at night), I never had to argue or push for anything. Nothing frustrating or antagonistic at all. Apple simply made things right.

Local shop, local shop, local shop. (For a PC, at least.)