Despite racking up respectable license sales, Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating system has done little to help struggling PC makers regain their footing. Microsoft will look to reverse the souring user sentiment later this year when it launches Windows 8.1, codenamed “Windows Blue,” which will reportedly see Microsoft’s Start button return along with an option to boot and log in directly to desktop mode. In the meantime, however, the damage has been done. According to this year’s American customer satisfaction index report, Microsoft’s customer satisfaction rating has now fallen to its lowest level since Windows Vista launched in 2007.
Microsoft’s customer satisfaction rating slid to 74 out of 100 in the new ASCI report, just one point higher than it was following Vista’s launch. The company’s satisfaction rating peaked at 78 in 2011 before the release of Windows 8 dropped it to 75 in 2012, and now to 74 in 2013.
“One of the issues with PC software appears to be that there is less of it out there now,” ASCI director David VanAmburg told Examiner. “While productivity software remains in demand — Office, TurboTax, Acrobat — with so many households that own PCs relying more and more on their tablets, smartphones and gaming systems for entertainment and recreation, the range of PC software may be shrinking, not a welcome sign for diehards [who are] still very loyal to the traditional PC.”
