Apple: best customer service?

Consumer Reports considers Apple to have the best customer service of all major computer manufacturers:

"In this atmosphere of low expectations, Apple Computer has actually raised its support satisfaction for desktop
computers over the past three years to levels above all competitors, while offering the most reliable desktop
hardware... Apple's superiority in all aspects of support, including waiting on the phone and Web support, suggests
that it invests its support resources wisely."

They cite Apple's success as being a direct result of their close relationship with their products. Apple actually manufactures the computer, operating system, software and peripherals: "Consequently, many glitches get caught at the design stage. And when Apple support agents do tackle support problems, they're often familiar with all the puzzle pieces."

On the flip side, Macworld reports many users to have complained of difficulties when contacting Apple support. Does anyone have any experience with Apple support to report, positive or negative?