Small Bus. vs. Home & Office

Can anyone tell me the support differences between buying through Dell's Small Business vs. Home & Office. I once bought a desktop through Small Business and recall having an issue using the online chat support feature. Is this still the case and are there other differences I should consider?

I'm looking at the e1505 and 6400. Small business is a little over $50 cheaper for the same computer.

Thanks,
Tony

 

I've spoken about this difference in other posts. It's not that my Dell personal purchase customer experiences have been terrible, but my experience has been much more positive as a small business customer.

I actually purchased for personal use--as I assume you are--but I purchased through small business because of the value of the systems. (I ordered a 6400 a couple of weeks ago and a 640m last week--the 640m arrives today.) As a small business customer, I have a CSR that is familiar with me. I have a number and an extension that takes me right to his desk. If he's not there, I can leave a voicemail. If he's there and busy, he'll ask me when he can call me back. I've never had to be on hold to speak to him. When I ordered my second machine, I called him. He pulled up my information, remembered me, and thanked me for ordering through him again with free second-day shipping. It was something little, but I appreciate it.

About the value: I don't know why the value varies a little because the machines are practically identical. I found I got more "bang for the buck" on the SB side of things. I ordered both of mine through dealcatcher.com (click on Dell SB to see current specials).

I am admittedly biased, but I think you're looking in the right place. Dell has proven itself to me several times over.

 

Thanks for the helpful post. I know I have read that anyone can buy from either site, but is there any ethical issue with a personal purchase on the Small Business site? I've found posts that say you just put your name in as "the business", but I was wondering, if you told your service guy your computer was a personal purchase, would he report you or something?

I've taken a long personal journey to get to the point where my conscience is clear of any purposeful wrongdoing and I wouldn't want to lose sleep (or ground covered in my journey) over this. Thanks for your feedback.

 

Maybe I'm too unscrupulous for your tastes , but I'm a minister and I ordered this way without any thought of guilt. It was actually the Dell rep's idea. I called to order an E1505 and the guy said, "If you want to get that, order it as a 6400 on the small business side--I can give you a much better deal that way." I honestly didn't believe him, so I told him I'd call him back after I did some more research. He turned out to be right (I don't think Dell SB is necessarily always the better deal; it just was in this case.) So I called him back and ordered as a Small Business. It was the best thing I could've done.

If you're really worried about the ethical ramifications of it, give them a call and see what they think. If they have an issue with it--and I really don't think they will--ask them if you can get a Small Business value ordering as an individual.

Congratulations on your personal journey, by the way!

 

Thanks Mr Josh. I just got off an online chat with a sales rep. He/She said that only those with business accounts could purchase at the Small Business site. I asked if that meant I had to be affiliated with a business and they said "yes".

So I went to the small business site, opened an account, configured a 6400 and, sure enough, got to the required request for the company's name...the laptop is for my wife and not for business in any way, shape or form. Whether it was for a savings of $50 or $500, I couldn't pull the trigger and lie about my circumstance.

Not to be holier than thou, but I couldn't rationalize my way through this. Your comments on the service you are being provided, coupled with the price differential, was tempting though......

Regards,
Tony

 

Hey Tony,

Sorry it didn't work out for you--I guess the difference was that the computers I bought, though purchased with my own money, would be used for business purposes? I don't know.

It was worth a try anyway.

Josh

 

Yes it was worth a try. Thanks for your help.

I'm still considering a HP laptop...maybe a better deal will pop up.

 

you know its weird, I searched and purchased my 640m through small buisness but for some reason it shows up under home and office. This is really weird.

 

That is because all of the systems that are available for Home/Office are available in the Small business section, but not the other way around.

As to whether you should buy from Small business or not, I would if there is no difference. Dell does not care if you purchase a laptop from the small business without having a business. It is the same for the EPP section. You can buy from the EPP section without having a discount code or anything like that.

Dell has the categories so consumers can choose based on their needs, but there is no law as to which you can or can not buy from.

 

there is no ethical/moral/legal issue buying from the small bus site if you don't have a small business.

and not to sound mean, but if you feel your conscience is clear then you aren't looking hard enough.

 

Take it up with Dell, not me. They are the ones who told me that you needed a business account, which means, yes, they expect those opening a business account to be associated with a business.

My purchase was not business related in any way, shape or form, so yes, it would be an issue of ethics if I were to misrepresent myself by putting my name where Dell requested the name of the business I was associated with.

As for how hard I look at my conscience, my Lord forgives my mistakes and, believe it our not, I do everything in my power to not purposely deny Him by consciously deciding to sin.

God Bless!

 

no needs for a business account to purchase from small business.

 

My last post or review of this thread....I promise.

1) you can call Dell yourself to find out the answer as to whether personal purchases can be made on Dell small business site without first opening a "business" account.

2) you can make your own decision if putting your name in the required field that asks you for the business you are associated with is not a lie.

If Dell did not care one way or another than they would plainly state that to be the case and allow for a customer to designate their purchase as a "non business purchase"....and their sales service representative would also tell you that is the case.

Just my pov based on my conversation with Dell and experience with filling out their Business Account form.

Good luck to all.