Yeah its quite possible he asked the local IT support at his office.. And he brushed him off by dropping a name... Guess he is lucky he didn't drop say palo alto or the like as the name - or maybe this guy would be down 20k+ vs the 300 and in the same boat ;)
Not sure where these users get the idea that security is easy, and or push a button.
There is no device you drop into or in front of your network be it 300 or 10k in cost that makes your network secure - NONE... No matter what firewall you buy, no matter what software you run.. All just tools, how you use the tools requires atleast understanding the basic concepts of what the tool does and how to use it..
And you need to know which tool you need as well, or your going to be pounding on that screw with your 300$ hammer screaming this hammer freaking sucks!!