Salesforce, a Pillow Maker and a $125k AmEx Bill 228
itwbennett writes "Salesforce.com, pillow manufacturer My Pillow, and an employee of My Pillow are caught up in a complex three-way legal battle. At issue is an allegedly failed software implementation and a $125,000 charge on a personal card. In short, there was an aggressive go-live date, a demand for immediate payment, and a system that was ultimately 'not functional'. Now, AmEx won't remove the charge, Salesforce.com is suing My Pillow for breach of contract and wants $550,000 in damages, My Pillow denies it owes anyone anything and is seeking unspecified damages from Salesforce.com, and the employee with the big bill wants his account credited. Still unclear is why My Pillow had no choice but to use the employee's personal credit card — and why the employee was naive enough to hand it over."
Why? Easy! (Score:5, Insightful)
For the same reason I'd do the same, in a frickin' heartbeat - $2500 in rewards dollars (and AmEx gives "real" dollars creditable to your account; not "miles", not "bux", not "flooz"). And in general, legit companies not on the brink of bankruptcy don't usually flake on their bills. Though sometimes... They do.
It does surprise me that AmEx wouldn't reverse the charge, though - They have one of the most consumer-friendly (and practically merchant-hostile) dispute policies out there. You ask, they reverse it and ask questions later, with the burden of proof on the merchant.
Re:What? (Score:5, Insightful)
This sort of contract dispute is something I deal with daily. Not in that I deal with disputes, but I'm continually trying to teach my management how to write a contract that is actually enforcable.
IF (big if) the contract is worded as "tracking effectiveness of every single 15-30sec tv advertisement" then both sides failed.
That sort of statement is why this situations happen. MyPillow.com told salesforce.com thats what they wanted. Salesforce says 'okay' because they can do that. MyPillow.com sees the final results and then only at the moment do both of them start to realize that they have TOTALLY AND COMPLETELY DIFFERENT ideas about what that statement actually means.
Then you end up in court while a judge sits there and thinks 'both of you are fucking idiots for being so vague' then eventually figures out which one of them is the bigger douche and makes a decision.
Theoretical Example:
MyPillow.com was expecting to know exactly how many sales came from each advertisement right down to which ad made which person (by name) buy a pillow from them. This is certainly doable from a technical stand point.
Salesforce.com was thinking that an average based on industry standard formula that they've been using for years based on Neilson ratings was what MyPillow.com was expecting, as it is technically correct as well.
When salesforce gives mypillow some aggregate averaged/projected data, and not a break down of customer names related to commercial airings ... then shit starts to hit the fan and both sides start talking about not paying. Neither side was technically 'wrong', but both of them clearly didn't do their due diligence did they? In this particular scenario, Salesforce would likely win as well because it DOES meet that CONTRACT REQUIREMENTS to the letter, unless the judge decides that salesforce, having done this many times before, should have known better and in their roles as consultants they were legally obligated to inform them of the potential confusion, so maybe not!
You can rest assured that the contract's specifications are so vague that this cause is not going to be an overnight thing.
Re:$125K 'personal' limit (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Summary (Score:2, Insightful)
at what point does oneself have to assume responsibility for their actions?
Whenever I see someone talking about "personal responsibility" its never the executive making decisions being asked to take responsibility. I'm guessing you figure that point comes after whatever point the boss thought it would be a good idea to use the employee's card.
Mod me down! (Score:5, Insightful)
You guys really need to mod me down instead of up. I was totally wrong. I didn't read the second page.