24" Dell LCD for $550 and the ordeal that followed

On February 1 of this year my company finally decided that we needed to upgrade to LCD monitors. We had been looking at the Dell 20" 2005FPW but we really need component video ports. Well Dell was supposedly coming out with a replacement called... 2007FPW. It would be the same size and all but with the extra connections plus some more goodies.

The 2005FPW is on sale for $450 and from everything that I had heard, when the 2007FPW finally does come out it will be at full price ($550 to $599). On top of that there is no release date given and everyone at Dell says they have never heard of it. So I'm guessing March maybe April. Well we need to get at least 10 new monitors now. What to do? So after a little shopping we come to the conclusion that there are really only three monitors that we are interested in.

The Dell 2005FPW, good price but doesn't have everything we want. The Dell 2007FPW, has what we want but isn't out yet. And the... FPD2185W, 21" w-everything we want, but $600. Ugh.

Well there was also this... The Dell 2405FPW, 24" HUGE screen with everything we want, but at $850 it was way out of our price range.

So we decide to order the Gateways. We aren't thrilled with the price but it does do everything we need it to. At the last minute I decide to call dell for some odd reason. I can't get in touch with my normal reps to I talk to one of the random small biz people. She plays around with the numbers and does some computer back flips and something strange happens. When she enters everything just right she gets a price of ... $550 on the 2405FPW. I'm stunned, that can't be right, a 24" for lest then the 21" Gateway? But she says I have to order in quanbreasties greater then 10. Um, no problem there, I know a good price when I see it so I ask her if I can call her right back because I need to count up exactly how many I need. In the end we end up buying 50 of them. We setup financing through Dell. They even record me authorizing the order to close the contract.

Wow, what a deal. That's 50% off of list price. Who knows, they must be dropping the price because of the 3005FPW. I go home tired but happy.

February 2, 2006. 12:02PM.

I get a call from a manager at Dell, we'll call him Dade. So Dade tells me there has been a mix up and that they will not be able to sell me those monitors at that price. BUT the good news is that as a show of good faith they will sell them to me at their cost. $780. I tell Dade that, well that's all well and good but we have a contract. You, ie. Dell, insisted on that point and as such I will still be expecting these monitors. Well I'm sure you can tell that this conversation devolved quite quickly. Dade telling me flatly that he didn't care what had happened but that "Dell had not become a Fortune 50 company by letting deals like this go through". So I asked Dade if it was Dell's policy to make offers to customers and then call back the next day with a higher price. I went out to say that it sounded a lot like bait-and-switch to me. Dade went on to say some things, I said some things, but at some point I realized that it was obviously Dade's job just to say no and that he probably didn't have any authority to ever say yes. I had just lost an hour of my time to some bottom rung middle manager. Ok, forget this, I ask to speak to Dade's manager. "Oh, he is um traveling". I'm sure he it, but I suggest you call him because as soon as I get off of the phone I'm calling my legal department. The second they pick up the phone the meter starts. I can guarantee you that by the end of today I will have racked up legal fees on this that will make what you are going to lose on these monitors look like chump change. Dade says he will get back to me.

February 2, 2006. 1:28PM.

My Dell rep calls. "Dude, what did you do" I just got off the phone with corp management. They had Dade send me the details. At the end of his email it just says, Good Freakin Luck". So I give him the latest score. And he does his best to pull the party line, but I cut him off and say, I'm not trying to be an butt but imagine my position. Do you think my clients let me call them back, after we have a signed contract, and try and raise their price by 30%? Go back to you boss tell him I'm peeed, tell him I'm crazy tell him whatever you like, but the fact of the matter is we have a contract and I expect Dell to honor their part of it. I mean c'mon, you guys have been hounding me for months to give you a shot at my business and the first time I decide to go with you this is what happens? He says that he understands, he is completely on my side, hell he doesn't care in fact. If the sale goes through it will look great on his numbers.

February 2, 2006. 2:45PM.

Second Dell Manager, says he is some bigwig at corp. Tells me that they will not honor the price, there is no contract. That they have disclaimers all over their website saying that they can cancel any order at any time for any reason.

I inform him that I have a sign, clearly posted on the wall of my office that says that any time someone from Dell calls me and causes me to be annoyed that Dell agrees to pay me $20,000. Now sir I will agree to your posting it you will in turn agree to mine. He is not amused. I also point out that I did not use the web site and that this was all done over the phone and that it was actually Dell who had be pursuing me in this. He is still not amused. I however am. He says he will get back to me.

15 minutes later.

My rep calls. "Dude you so owe me. I went to bat for you and I got it approved". But they told me that I have to tell you this. "We will sell you these monitors at this price but this is not an offer to sell monitors at this price. This is a one time situation that Dell is in now way obligated to do and further more you my not increases this order or call back and order more at the price, further more. Blah blah blah"

In the end, Dell did honor the price and I salute them for that. Yes, they did try and weasel out of it and who can blame them, but they didn't try too hard and considering it was resolved the same day I would have to say that plus the huge loss on this that took on this, well I think they handled it about as well as you can expect anyone to.

Good job Dell.

I felt it was necessary to post this with as many of the details as possible. It seemed only fair as you can be sure that had this not gone my way I would have led the anti Dell jihad.

*Please do not call Dell and try scam them on their price. This was not meant this that vain. This is just one persons ordeal take what you want from it. For me, I can say that the next time I order I will be sure to give my Dell rep a call first. Oh and yes, I may just ask him to send me that offer in writing J