Although the initial encounter didn't seem to be smooth sailing, Dalzell left Seattle with a vision and personal charisma that was distinct from Bezos's. However, returning to Bentonville, Arkansas, Dalzell was easily influenced by Walmart managers. Lee Scott, the future CEO of Walmart who was running the supply chain, told Dalzell that Amazon was a novel idea but it had limited potential.

Bezos didn't give up pursuing Dalzell or stop looking for other seasoned technical people. He looked for anyone suitable but still had Covey call Dalzell's wife, Kathryn, every few weeks and John Doerr tried to seduce Dalzell. Bezos and Covey flew to Bentonville to surprise Dalzell and invite him to dinner. After the meal, Dalzell agreed to join Amazon - but then changed his mind. "It would take an atomic bomb to get my family out of Arkansas," he said at the time.