Dell printer users are frustrated with poor customer service, slow delivery times, and an absence of New Zealand representation.

Many Dell printers deliver very good performance and reliability. Our latest test of multifunction printers showed the Dell V715w was one of the best and cheapest. And our recent printer reliability survey of over 11,000 members showed Dell was one of the most reliable printer brands, with 97 percent remaining trouble-free in the previous 12 months. 

But if you buy one, just hope your toner cartridge never runs out.

Every other printer brand has cartridges available in shops. But Dell cartridges can only be bought from Dell’s call centre or website. What does this mean? In many cases, a long wait.

“It is absolutely appalling service that Dell provides with respect to supplying printer cartridges,” says one Consumer member. “Any time you order a cartridge it takes two to three weeks to arrive. Now I am left for three-week periods without a printer unless I buy three cartridges in advance - and why should I have to do that just because I have a Dell? For a heavy printer user this is just crazy.”

This kind of complaint was reiterated by many in our  - 53 percent of those who left comments about Dell complained about its ink cartridges.

And customers are very unhappy. When asked if they would buy the same brand of printer again, only 61 percent of Dell customers said they would (compared with 95 percent of Canon customers). Just 32 percent of Dell printer customers were satisfied with the after-sales service they received. That’s a shocking result.

Because of the high number of complaints we receive about the availability of Dell printer cartridges, we won’t recommend any Dell printer until cartridges are freely available in New Zealand stores.

Finding Dell

It seems little has changed since our previous blog on the difficulties of finding Dell in New Zealand. And Consumer members are still complaining about Dell’s overseas call centre and the company’s lack of local representation. “Due to the time difference, they phoned me back at midnight to deal with a problem,” says one customer. “Very hard to understand and hard to get hold of,” says another.

At Consumer, we’re regularly contacted by members who need help resolving problems with Dell products. Perhaps their computer has died just outside the warranty period or the product they ordered isn’t as promised (both of which are covered under New Zealand consumer law). But Dell’s call centre staff seem ignorant of New Zealand consumer rights.

We’ve been unable to contact anyone in New Zealand who represents Dell, other than the registered office for Dell New Zealand - Auckland law firm Simpson Grierson. We’ve tried to get in touch with New Zealand manager Mike Hill and received no answer.

If you work for Dell and are based in New Zealand, please get in touch. We (and thousands of customers) would love to hear from you.

Dell products have average or above average reliability according to our surveys. But Dell needs to improve its customer service, distribution, and problem resolution if it wants its customers to keep coming back.

Marc Wendelborn - Research Writer

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