Okay, odd title. I'd started off as the Taliban vs. Self Rule, The Man vs. The Little Guy but I kept feeling that it would be offensive to someone somewhere. So instead I'm caving and we'll go with a "You've Got Mail" Analogy.
Matt's computer died recently and we are trying to decide between getting a Dell or a custom-built computer from a shop in town. We'd really like to go local and support the community, but at the same time we're not getting the turn around time to our questions we'd hope. So what do you do? Do we allow ourselves to be seduced by "square footage and deep armchairs and amazingly swift checkout lines and discounts" or do we hold onto our integrity and go for the "lone reed, standing tall, waving boldly in the corrupt sands of commerce." (I love that you can look up movie scripts online).
Poor Matt has made this into a moral quandary. He so desperately wants a computer but he also desperately wants to side with the lone reed. So he kills himself waiting somewhat patiently for that lone reed to get back to him days after he said he would just so he doesn't have to buy from "Fox Books."
So what do YOU think? Do we stay local or go for BIG BAD DELL and their cans of olive oil? (too far?)
5 comments:
If the price is lower, the quality of the product is better, and the customer service is better, that is who you should go with. If that means Fox Books, so be it. They probably have better warranties anyway.
One of the benefits with going with the little guy is that they usually have stellar customer service. Really, that is one of the only ways they can compete with Fox Books. If they aren't taking care of you the way they should now, it will be the same deal later if something goes wrong.
That is my humble opinion. Maybe there is another "lone reed" in town who would serve you better?
Why not buy a used one from craiglist (although, the community there probably doesn't support it properly like in Portland)? You can then get a good deal and "support" someone in the community. But if I was buying new, I would just order one from Dell: good quality, good prices, and good service
you know I love this post. I really don't have an opinion on what you should do. But either way tell Matt "don't cry shop girl"! Take it to the mattresses...It's not personal it's business. He needs a lappy and the lone reed is not providing the service he needs. I sell cheap computer...sue me...
Gettting your computer through the channel is so 1990s! I should warn you. Claudia and I have had the worst experience with our DELL. It has broken down more times than the number of months we have owned it. If your channel partner can offer you troubleshotting services beyond reformatting your hard drive (the one size fits all advice from DELL) you should definately go with the little guy.
Thanks everyone for your comments. We ended up going for Dell since Matt was able to get everything he wanted in a computer and more for way less than our target price. Now we just need to find a spot to put it. Anyone have a cool desk they're needing to part with?
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