Ding the Dong Dell: Part TWO!

JUST KIDDING! That person didn't call back. BUT, there was something funny that happened lately regarding a Dell:

There’s something to be said for the concept of price matching. It usually has to be done “apples to apples”, i.e. the prices on the same products can be matched. It’s astounding how SO many people don’t grasp this simple concept.

I guy calls me a day or two ago, asking about a price on a specific model Toshiba notebook. Ironically, I have something along the lines of what he’s looking for in stock. He asks the price. I tell him that it’s $898 and then he asks me if I’d match a competitor’s price. I asked him if he had found another vendor in town with the same product for that price. He then proceeded to tell me that Dell has a similar machine on sale for $799 and wanted me to match Dell’s price.

I asked him if Dell sold the Toshiba notebook that he was asking about. He laughed and said “no, they’re Dell. They sell DELL!” I then proceeded to ask him where he could get that Toshiba notebook. He didn’t know. I then proceeded to attempted to talk him into a cheaper notebook, of a different brand, that was a better deal. He stopped me and explained that he wanted the better price on the Toshiba, not some other crappy notebook (his words).

I then told him that I could match prices on similar notebooks, and “similar” means “similar brand and model”. He protested and told me that I should give him the “Dell price” on the Toshiba. I tried to explain how the Toshiba was a more solidly built unit and had a better software package, and therefore was a more costly brand, but he refused to listen. (And I admit that I was thinking about the “ground beef at Midas” comment…but I held back! Props to me!) I tried a few illustrations to help communicate the idea that “different brand names cost different prices” but he was stubborn in his position, so I made him a deal. I told him that if he could call Toshiba and get them to sell him my model of the Toshiba notebook for that $799 Dell price, I’d sell it to him for $699. He laughed, agreed and said that he’d call me right back.

I never heard from him. I’m guessing that Toshiba offered one to him for $599 and he went for that one instead. Man! At least he could have called me and thanked me for getting him $300 off his notebook purchase! The nerve! Until Next Time,

The Armchair Jack Roberts! I WON’T BE UNDERSOLD!