When you have a problem with your computer, what you want from a repair center and what you get are often far apart. But recent customer surveys and Apple ratings indicate that Information Technology's Apple-certified Computer and Printer Repair Center (IT-CPR) scores high marks in all the crucial categories.

In a repair center, most customers want a convenient location, cost-effective service, and timely repairs. They also insist on the ability to talk directly with technicians about the problem and proposed solution, as well as any special needs, such as data confidentiality. Finally, customers want a center to accept accountability for resolving any post-repair issues.

IT-CPR is a repair center delivering the level of service its customers want, according to both surveys CPR has conducted and surveys of our customers conducted by Apple. To understand how serious Apple is about keeping its certified repair centers on track, you need to understand how things used to be in Mac Land.

Today the news is about Apple's recovery as a computer company. Not so long ago, the news was about Apple's imminent demise. The company was bleeding to death, from many wounds.

One wound was inflicted by bad products, some being notoriously lousy. Remember the PowerBook 150s and 190s, and the Apple 17 inch monitors? If you don't, congratulations. Another wound came with what had become Apple's legendary lack of customer support. Finally, many of Apple's certified repair centers were garnering bad reputations for service, sending many disgusted customers to the land of IBM-compatible PCs.

As one of the first steps in the healing process, Apple decided to focus on the performance of its certified repair centers. They began by de-certifying about half of the 8,000 to 9,000 centers several years ago, then by demanding from the remaining centers proof that various requirements were met, and finally by scoring the performance of the service centers.

Apple has scored IT-CPR for the last ten months. The scoring involves two major areas. First, are we following the rules and procedures outlined by Apple to do our repairs? Secondly, are our customers getting what they need and want from CPR as an authorized Apple service center? Below, I outline the major areas of service that are rated.

First-Time Fix Rate: Apple gives high marks to a center that consistently achieves a high level of first-time fixes. At IT-CPR, we always attempt to perform a first-time fix so that our customers do not have to quickly bring a machine back into the shop for rework. In those cases where we have misdiagnosed a problem -- rare, but it happens -- CPR treats reworks as a top priority.

Number of Parts Replaced: In the computer industry, one traditional way of dealing with intermittent repairs is the "shotgun" method: replacing all suspect components rather than spending the time to absolutely isolate a single bad component. As part of Apple's (and IT-CPR's) commitment to keeping costs to the customer down, we no longer shotgun intermittent problems. While this raises the probability of not affecting a first-time fix, it demands that CPR technicians continually improve their troubleshooting skills -- something we have done very well over the last several months.

Customer Surveys: Apple also conducts customer satisfaction surveys by calling customers. Based on our customers' feedback to Apple, IT-CPR is getting a solid "A" in customer satisfaction.

To find out more about IT-CPR's Apple computer and Hewlett Packard printer repair and maintenance services on campus, visit our Web site at http://itcpr.ucdavis.edu/, call 752-7762 or drop by Art Annex, Room 10.