well, yes, I do.  it appears that you walked into a small restaurant with
  Burger King expectations.  in so doing, you might have triggered some
  strong negative responses based solely in a cultural conflict that you
  might not even be aware of.  phone numbers and e-mail addresses look very
  much alike, in contrast to storefronts, offices, and counters.

  you said you know nothing about (Common) Lisp -- one of the things you
  will experience is that the community is very different from the Windows
  communities, whence it appears you come.  for instance, the Common Lisp
  market is not marketing-driven, it is not a pyramid game that requires
  ever new people nor a bug-and-upgrade scam, and it is not leveraging its
  operational costs across a huge volume of sales.  rather, it is a pretty
  mature market of long-term partnerships with a steady growth.  the quick
  sale is not unlike a one-night-stand in this setting and you _may_ just
  have appeared much less than serious than you believed you were.

| I evaluated Allegro CL 5.0 and I really like it, but these people are
| basically sitting here with the "No we don't your money.  Go give it to
| Harelquin" attitude, which is really frustrating since I want to purchase
| Allegro.  Has anyone else had better luck with them?

  yes, I have.  the fact that I have happy Common Lisp clients today is
  probably due mostly to the excellent and welcoming attitude at Franz Inc
  when I first approached them.  they have continued to be very helpful in
  making my projects succeed, both for me and for my clients.  I think what
  you write is grossly unfair, so I have to reiterate my impression that
  you have stumbled on a cultural conflict; not all restaurants serve fast
  food, some cater to a very different audience and their tastes and needs.