I recently had a potential employer tell me they didn't use open source software because they can afford the expensive stuff.

It's really hard to argue with what amounts to vanity. I didn't take the job.

IME some people get uncomfortable when receiving something for free, since they're used to there being a catch (e.g. "if you're not paying for the product, then YOU are the product", and TBF that can sometimes be the case if you're not cautious with the licensing). In fact, paying for a support or enterprise plan sometimes goes over better with management than the "free" path.

In my experience this rarely works at big companies. IT purchasing decision makers at large companies always have armies of proprietary vendors whispering open-source FUD in their ear, and price alone is not enough to counteract that. Sometimes "free" is even seen as a negative.

Sadly, sometimes it's about liability and having someone to blame when something goes down/wrong.

But you can have that even with open source. Just look at Red Hat.

True but depending on the business, it's not always possible.

You can always hire a software developer, can't you?

Also need to check with legal department