August 11, 1999 Web posted at: 3:16 p.m. EDT (1916 GMT) by Kelvin Goh

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(IDG) -- In the race for customer satisfaction, Dell scored tops again while Compaq surprised researchers conducting the most recent quarterly survey at Technology Business Research (TBR).

The second quarter 1999 'Corporate IT Buying Behavior and Customer Satisfaction Study' shows Dell leading the way across three categories -- Intel-based servers, desktops and notebooks. The only exception to Dell's otherwise positive results was that customers said server management features are poorly integrated into the corporate environment.

Dell has a strategy of exceeding customer demands, said Julie Perron, manager of primary research at TBR in Hampton, N.H. The vendor prides itself on being a single point of accountability, she said, adding that with no distribution channels other than itself, Dell deals directly with customers and therefore is more able to meet their needs.

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Compaq, which came in second place in notebooks and Intel-based servers, registered a remarkable rebound in notebook satisfaction and a notable increase in on-site support satisfaction, TBR said. The vendor's results in the notebooks category showed an 8.1 percent increase over the previous quarter.

The vendor, which had problems a few years ago when it replaced its LTE models with the Armada line, made a comeback in the most recent quarterly findings when it gained in the areas of product reliability and pricing, said Perron. It also scored well in delivery time, but out-of-box quality remains Compaq's continuing problem, she added.

Gateway 2000 made headway in the survey improving its chronic problems with technical support response, and surpassing indirect vendors in availability of replacement parts. However, volume discounting remains a Gateway weakness and its customers, courting corporate accounts, began suggesting that this area is becoming increasingly important to them. Gateway placed second in desktops.

IBM is behind Compaq and Gateway, but recovered portions of its losses from the previous quarter regarding satisfaction in the Intel server category. The vendor has made significant improvements in most areas, including ease of set-up, upgradeability and out-of-box quality.

However, problems with delivery time and product availability, especially in notebooks and corporate desktops, weighed down the company's results in all three categories, Perron said.

Toshiba, placing fourth in notebooks, lost the momentum of its gains from the first quarter. The vendor's scores plunged in the areas of delivery time, product availability, and ease of set-up. Overly complex product design, slow technical-support response, poor availability of replacement parts, and poor value relative to the market were cited by customers as the vendor's principal competitive weaknesses.

The quarterly TBR report was based on interviews with MIS, IT and purchasing managers at 362 large U.S. corporations. The analysis is based on opinions and perceptions of large corporate end users who relay to TBR experiences of users within their organization or division.

Kelvin Goh writes for the IDG News Service in Boston.