Keeping customers happy isn’t always an easy task. Delivering an effective service or product is one thing, but ensuring customers remain happy with both their purchase and customer service requires a lot of hard work and dedication.

Smartphone manufacturers, Apple (News - Alert) and Research in Motion (RIM) have been included for the first time in a report by the American Customer Satisfaction Index, (ACSI) with very different results. Apple, due to its hugely popular iPhone device, received a score of 83 to top the list of mobile phone makers. On the other hand RIM, through its range of BlackBerry (News - Alert) devices, props up the list with a customer satisfaction score of 69.

Apple’s debut in the report marks the first time that a mobile phone manufacturer has scored above 80. Three companies are tied in second place for company satisfaction behind Apple: Nokia (which saw a three percent boost), and other ACSI newcomers LG and HTC (News - Alert) all scored 75.

Motorola dropped five points to 73, while Android-reliant Samsung clipped four points to 71, two points below the aggregate score for smaller phone manufacturers. The aggregate score for all cell phone manufacturers dropped 1.3 percent to 70.

“Companies with weak customer satisfaction often have weak stock performance,” said Claes Fornell, ACSI founder, in a statement. “RIM’s sales are slumping amid a bevy of problems, from hardware and software issues to server lapses that have caused email and messaging outages. Over the past year, share price for RIM has virtually collapsed.”

Meanwhile, the wireless service provider list saw an aggregate score of 76 (down one point) for smaller carriers like TracFone and U.S. Cellular (News - Alert). All carriers saw their customer satisfactions score dip aside from AT&T. The telecommunications firm’s score plummeted to 66, its lowest score since 2006, in the wake of T-Mobile (News - Alert) merger talks last year. It has increased to 69 (tying T-Mobile) this time around.

Verizon dropped three points to 70, while Sprint Nextel leads the major carriers with a score of 71 (down one point from 2011). Overall, the aggregate score for wireless services dropped 1.4 percent to 70.