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Dell Proves a Bit Gun-Shy
Wired ^ | Feb. 28, 2002 | Declan McCullagh

Posted on 02/28/2002 1:14:15 PM PST by the

Edited on 06/29/2004 7:08:51 PM PDT by Jim Robinson. [history]

WASHINGTON -- Dell Computers is under fire from gun aficionados after it refused to sell a laptop to a handgun maker.

The flap began when Jack Weigand, the president of the American Pistolsmiths Guild, ordered a Dell Inspiron 4100 notebook on Feb. 13, with a promised delivery date of Feb. 21. When the date came and went, Weigand phoned Dell to find out what the problem was.


(Excerpt) Read more at wired.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: banglist
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To: the
Good post, Mr. Perfect. I read the initial thread on this yesterday, and I was curious to see how it came out.

I would not come down on Dell quite as hard as my fellow Freepers. The initial decision was stupid, but clearly it was not company policy, and the company seems to have done the right thing once it was brought to their attention. I thought the offer to ship the PC free of charge showed a certain amount of class, as did Mr. Weigand's decision to turn down the offer. I personally don't think a boycott is called for unless it happens again (and, given the ruckus that this has created, I am pretty sure we will know if it happens again).

21 posted on 02/28/2002 1:41:23 PM PST by blau993
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To: RANGERAIRBORNE;the
I own no position whatsoever in Dell. In fact, I believe that as a computer company their product and service quality has deteriorated greatly over the past couple of years, enough so that I rarely recommend them anymore unless they have a really good special running that warrants the risk. And returning for just a moment to the investment theme, I told many fellow investors over and over and over in 1999 that the days of monster Dell returns were over.

I wholeheartedly support anyone not buying from them due to a lack of quality or certainly an issue like this where they've proven to be on the wrong side of it. I just don't believe they've done that here. There are liberals stuck inside every decent-sized company in the nation. I think offering the man a free notebook IS going the extra mile to say that they were wrong. What more could they realistically do?

MM

22 posted on 02/28/2002 1:41:39 PM PST by MississippiMan
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To: the
Steven Buys a Firearm
23 posted on 02/28/2002 1:42:52 PM PST by TheDon
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To: MississippiMan
I believe this was either an honest snafu as Dell has stated, or else a misguided liberal within the company.

You're likely correct, but there's something Clintonesque about the utterances from Dell on this that leaves me doubting. I'm well aware that Michael Dell has given lots of money to the GOP and Republican candidates; including NRA A-rated candidates like John Ashcroft. But still, I'm left wondering if they're sorry about what happened or sorry they got caught.

(BTW: That little "R" at the end of a politico's name doesn't guarantee that you have someone who respects the 2nd Amendment. That's why it's called the National Rifle Association and not the National Republican Association and why the "G" in GOA doesn't stand for GOP.)

24 posted on 02/28/2002 1:44:19 PM PST by Redcloak
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To: the
Hargett said it was Dell's "mistake" and added that it grew out of Dell's attempts to comply with U.S. export regulations. "Export laws apply domestically. These laws apply domestically if it's for any of these stated purposes," Hargett said.

But she was not able to provide a reference to Commerce Department Bureau of Export Administration or State Department Office of Defense Trade Controls regulations that require approval of shipments to U.S. customers. Dell's export forms apply only to out-of-country shipments.

If they are going to claim the above as the reason they blocked this guy's purchase, then I'd like to know how they can get away with not following the exact same procedure for all domestic sales.

To do otherwise would be to leave them open to liability in the rare event of a bona fide terrorist failing to label his front company with a self-incriminating name. /sarcasm

25 posted on 02/28/2002 1:45:15 PM PST by Don Joe
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To: MississippiMan
You give them a break, not me or thousands more like me. Dude I will NOT be getting a Dell.
26 posted on 02/28/2002 1:46:14 PM PST by Texbob
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To: Cyber Liberty
I seem to remember CitiBank doing a fast backpeddle a while back.
27 posted on 02/28/2002 1:46:20 PM PST by rface
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To: Nitro
"I already hated them because of that greasy looking slack-jawed idiot on the commercials"

Wanna feel really sick to your stomach? My wife is a high school teacher. She teaches "advanced computers". Her students admire "Steven" and look to him as a role model. He is the uber-cool icon of the age.

Effeminate stupidity is now an admired trait.

28 posted on 02/28/2002 1:47:35 PM PST by Don Joe
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To: SaveTheChief
Sure I'll buy it. How much do you want?
29 posted on 02/28/2002 1:51:23 PM PST by Cyber Liberty
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To: MississippiMan
"I believe this was either an honest snafu as Dell has stated, or else a misguided liberal within the company. In either case, it's ridiculous to continue to beat the company up after they've retreated and offered the guy a free notebook. I'd take that free notebook in a heartbeat. Who among us has not made a glaring error or two in our lifetimes? It took far more courage for them to speak up as they did once the media spotlight was on them than it would have to have stuck by their silly decision. Give 'em a break."

You seem to have missed something. That "something" would be them apologizing for the breakdown in effectively applying their policy, not for the policy itself.

Let's go back a few years, and pretend we're a neigbor of Rosa Parks, and we're Black. We try to get on a bus, and we're denied. When we ask why, we're told "we found out you're negroes."

We raise a stink, and the president of the bus line rises to the occasion, says that it was an oversight, and we should have been allowed to get on the bus. To make up for the "misunderstanding", he offers us free tickets good for any seats in the back of the bus.

Let's go back a few years. This time we live in Germany, and we're Jewish. We're arrested because we're found walking down the street without yellow armbands. When we protest that we never received our armbands in the mail, the local gestappo chief apologizes, and says that to make up for the "oversight", he'll give us free armbands.

It's that sort of "resolution" to the matter that has people so irate. No one likes being told they're second-class citizens.

30 posted on 02/28/2002 1:53:21 PM PST by Don Joe
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To: MississippiMan
"I think offering the man a free notebook IS going the extra mile to say that they were wrong. What more could they realistically do?"

Change their policy.

Is it really such a lofty concept to grasp?

31 posted on 02/28/2002 1:54:43 PM PST by Don Joe
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To: blau993
"The initial decision was stupid, but clearly it was not company policy"

What do you base that conclusion on? Everything I've seen on the matter leads me to conclude that it is company policy, and the only "snafu" was that they fumbled the virtual anal probe part of Weigand's transaction.

32 posted on 02/28/2002 1:56:33 PM PST by Don Joe
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To: the
A document from The Center to Prevent Handgun Violence, Legal Action Project, entitled "Guns & Business Don't Mix; A Guide to Keeping Your Business Gun-Free," states on page 33, that Dell Computer is a company which has "already chosen to become gun-free." (Ostensibly to mean that Dell will not permit firearms on its premises?)

The document is available through the Legal Action Project of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence:

http://www.gunlawsuits.org/pdf/articles/gunsnbusiness.pdf

33 posted on 02/28/2002 1:57:26 PM PST by First_Salute
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To: the
#5 - LOL!!!
34 posted on 02/28/2002 1:57:34 PM PST by PatrioticAmerican
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To: blau993
But she was not able to provide a reference to Commerce Department Bureau of Export Administration or State Department Office of Defense Trade Controls regulations that require approval of shipments to U.S. customers. Dell's export forms apply only to out-of-country shipments.
Did you miss this part?
35 posted on 02/28/2002 1:58:18 PM PST by triggerhappy
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To: Don Joe
As I see it, their "policy" is to abide by United States law and that some goomer within the company--either honestly or intentionally--either misinterpreted or misapplied that law. I'm obviously reading the situation quite differently than you. I don't see any evidence whatsoever of an anti-gun policy here. None. If I did I would be wholeheartedly joining in the chorus of boos.

MM

36 posted on 02/28/2002 1:59:02 PM PST by MississippiMan
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To: Registered
Thanks for the bump.

I have to say the when I first heard about this I was in your camp, I figured that this would turn out to be mis-reported.

I love your graphic!

37 posted on 02/28/2002 2:00:14 PM PST by the
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To: MississippiMan
As I see it, their "policy" is to abide by United States law and that some goomer within the company--either honestly or intentionally--either misinterpreted or misapplied that law.

I thought their order processing software was flagging customers with hotwords like "combat" in their company name. What am I missing here? Are you telling me that it was not an automated action taken by their order processing software? You're telling me that it was some individual who personally decided to flag the transaction because he saw the word "combat"?

If so, I must say that your theory strains credulity.

38 posted on 02/28/2002 2:03:39 PM PST by Don Joe
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To: Don Joe
It sounded to me like they already have a reasonable policy, in light of the fact that, like any company of decent size, they are under constant threat of being labeled "big computer" and harrassed to death by the feds, like the tobbaco companies.

That reasonable policy was not followed here (disconnect with customer feedback), which is why freebies were graciously offered.

Sorry, but Dell's not coming over to suck your boots, Don.

39 posted on 02/28/2002 2:04:49 PM PST by Cyber Liberty
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To: Don Joe
It turns out that a manager in Dell's (DELL) export compliance department flagged the shipment as a purchase that was prohibited under U.S. law.

Is your reading not that an individual flagged it? Mine sure is.

MM

40 posted on 02/28/2002 2:06:28 PM PST by MississippiMan
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