Trade Dress Protection — utility vs design patent strategy

Has anyone dealt with something like this? I'm not sure what my options are.

utility vs design patent strategy. I've been dealing with this for about 5 months now and teh situation isn't improving.

I have already done some research online but did not get a clear answer.

What's the typical outcome in situations like this?

Been there. Here's what I learned.

I ended up filing with the appropriate government agency or something like that, which cost about $4-8 but saved me a lot more in the long run sadly.