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QOTW: Which tech companies are you loyal to?

by Parm Mann on 20 August 2021, 16:31

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We suspect most folk would claim complete impartiality, yet there isn't a tech company out there without its own horde of fans. Some folk like to support the underdog, others build allegiances based on past experiences, and there are those who just happen to appreciate the way a certain company operates.

Loyalties can also develop from force of habit. Buy the same brand often enough and you can find yourself locked into a familiar pattern, for better or for worse. For this week's question, we want to hear which tech companies you consider yourself loyal to, and what said companies have done to deserve such recognition. Let us know using the comments facility below.

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Posted by CAT-THE-FIFTH - Fri 20 Aug 2021 16:35
None. They have to give me the price/performance and attributes I need in a device.
Posted by Jonj1611 - Fri 20 Aug 2021 16:41
None really, I usually go for what does the job I need it to.
Posted by Saracen999 - Fri 20 Aug 2021 16:53
Loyal to? None.

Avoid? Those that have either given me good personal reason to avoid, or something publicly known, such as certain recent PSU problems.

But it is true that where I have repeated experience of a company's products, without trouble, it encourages me to risk them again rather than a shot in the dark. Even better, arguably, is where there has been a product issue and the company has demonstrated top class customer service in how they deal with it.

An example of the first of those is Seasonic. I tend to prefer their PSUs because none have ever given me problems. I don't know what their CS is like, having never needed to call on it. Similarly, though not recently, Enermax and Delta.

What I am certainly willing to do, though, is to pay a bit of a premium for products from a company whose past product performance has impressed me. If it continues to do that, it's worth a hassle-avoidance premium, aslong as it's not overdone.
Posted by cheesemp - Fri 20 Aug 2021 17:00
None really. They'd all throw me under the bus to increase the share price by one point. Personally I hate Apple due to the over closed, over priced nature. Google used to be ok (I use to be a big Google fan boy but really think they've lost it since the founders left) but seem to be throwing out everything good while chasing new vanity projects and jacking up prices/lock in.

That kind of only leaves me with Microsoft for a consumer OS/Browser with decent support (I like cloud sync) and at least some loyalty back (Microsoft points FTW). Best of bad choice TBH.

(Could you count Amazon as a tech firm? They are in a similar position to Microsoft but with worse employee treatment so i'd still go Microsoft.)

Here's hoping for a new firm to come out from nowhere and give me some more options.
Posted by watercooled - Fri 20 Aug 2021 17:10
None really. However there are a couple of companies where exceptional customer service experience would encourage me to buy from them again. An example would be Fractal who have sorted me out on a couple of occasions; once when the retailer shirked their responsibilities for a faulty item, and another sorting me out with replacement parts. I think Scythe sorted me out (at my cost, but a reasonable one) with a replacement fan that I just couldn't find at retail (non-standard size) when the original one on a cooler had worn out and become noisy after years of use. For these two companies, I've been continually impressed with quality and value, too. I do hope Fractal's proposed stock listing doesn't impact the company's values.

It's not exclusive to these companies, and there are brands I have come to expect consistent quality and support from over the years.

As for avoiding, I try to avoid writing-off companies based on anecdotes as all companies can have failures. However there's one company who produce memory/flash products that I seem to have had particularly bad luck with, with very high failure rates and/or poor performance. I still use a couple of products from them without issue but at this point I am inclined to avoid them.

I'm quite forgiving when it comes to failures, I just try to be pragmatic about it rather than getting emotional over a single failure. However, customer service in the event of a problem can make or break a company/retailer for me. There is one non-technology retailer who I had an appalling, unprofessional experience with and am unlikely to ever touch again. Having checked Google reviews of this company, it seems they have the same attitude towards many customers. It is the problem with using star ratings for customer service, and people leaving 5 star reviews for simply receiving the goods they ordered - it drowns out the complaints of people who have actually had to deal with customer service.

/rant. Well it was kinda related to the OP question! :p

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