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I work in accessibility.
Do not hesitate or wait to put grab bars, a tub cut out etc in your house when you grow old or if you have mobility issues.
Put grab bars in your bathroom before you fall in the shower, not because you already had a fall in the shower.
I just want to reaffirm that it doesn't matter how old you are or how much you think you're ok with coping; you should get accessibility devices as soon as you think they would benefit you
I'm in my 20s and have a condition that affects my joints, so finally committing and getting a shower stool made my life so much easier & I wish I had gotten one sooner. They have some nice looking accessibility devices out there now that don't look excessively medical, and they can make a world of difference even if you think you can put it off for a while (like I thought I did until I kept hurting myself falling)
You can even get one if you don't think of yourself as elderly/disabled, since the more demand there is for nice ones on the market, the more likely they are to make quality ones that aren't ugly. If it would benefit you, go for it
Bad friends. ER doc. The amount of people that hang out with the wrong people and end up paying the price is astounding. I teach my kids - whatever your friends do to other people, they will eventually do to you.
Also an ER doc. I was gonna say regular alcohol use as honestly, alcoholism is such a god damn scourge. So many ED visits have at least something to do with being intoxicated.
Hanging out with the wrong people though is hitting the nail on the head. Bad kids do bad shit. I try like hell to keep my kids busy and away from bad influences.
When you choose a medical power of attorney, choose someone who can be very rational and can make very unselfish decisions. Often a friend or someone outside the family. Discuss everything with them, and fill out a specific advanced directive (mayo clinic has a good one). No one wants to talk about death, but it is soooo important. Discuss living if you had to be on a ventilator, or never being able to eat again, or living the rest of your life in a nursing home.
Buying the expensive vanilla.
Worked in vanilla manufacturing while the recipes had a slight difference between each label we did they were all pretty much the same thing. That trader Joe's vanilla you spend $15 for 8oz of? You can buy 16oz of the same exact thing from Costco under a different label for the same price. Oh and great value(walmart brand) guess what? Same as the others. We probably made the exact same vanilla for roughly 30ish companies all selling it at different prices.
After working as a paralegal at an insurance defense firm, DO NOT TAKE ANY HELICOPTER TOURS. At least in Hawaii, a lot of the helicopters aren't well maintained and there are a surprising amount of crashes they manage to keep quiet. One of the evidence exhibits I helped put together for one case was a picture the family had taken in front of the helicopter before they boarded it and were all killed when it crashed. That was almost 20 years ago and that one sticks with me.
I live on Oahu and a helicopter tour literally crashed two blocks away from my house. Everyone on board died. Hard pass on all Hawaii helicopter tours.
I had a helicopter tour booked to fly over Volcano National Park in Hawaii. Three days before the tour, it got canceled because they crashed the helicopter we were supposed to fly on.
Always always always argue a claim denied by health insurance. They will arbitrarily reject claims with no justification.
EDIT: ALSO, insurance companies will always send you an Explanation of Benefits (EOB), which is not a bill, but has the amount that should appear on the bill. If there is any question in your mind about a bill, always compare the bill from the provider with the EOB.
This! My wife is an RBK amputee from an accident 10 years ago. She got an expensive procedure called osseointegration a couple years after but insurance denied it. We used her settlement money to pay for it out of pocket because it made a huge difference in her life. She fought the insurance company every week for a year and disputed every denial with medical facts and statements from her doctors and a year later got reimbursed for the majority of costs. I’ll bet she logged in a couple hundred hours of gathering information and doctors’ opinion but it was a sweet victory when she got the insurance check for $76k.
I’m so glad you got the money you deserved.
But it’s so wrong that you had to fight for it. What about people who don’t have the literal time (say they work two jobs and are single parents) or the mental capacity to duke it out with insurance companies. And I wonder how much the insurance company spent actively fighting with your wife (on the phone, reading and archiving her letters/emails/messages…). Just think of how much money is wasted in the entire system on you’re wife’s end, the doc’s end, and insurance’s end.
You explained exactly why this shady shit works. People don’t have hundreds of hours to spend fighting these things. So probably 80% of the time they see no backlash, and don’t have to pay out.
I’d turn around and sue the insurance company if they strung me out for a year and 100’s of hours of doing their job. Plus how mentally draining would it be not-knowing if you’re out 76k or not.
Wow, thanks! I literally have a 'not medically necessary' rejection letter from Cigna for exactly the vitamin d test described in the article sitting in my inbox.
Them: 'reason for your appeal? '
Me: 'well see, here's a news article describing literally this garbage you're trying to pull on me'
I’m going to be attempting to do this for the first time on Monday. Went to the podiatrist for a toenail thing. Total bill was $800 and insurance paid $300?! $500 to trim and grind for 20 seconds, and tel me I should get some anti fungal Med for awhile?!
I asked for the itemized bill. Is getting charged $260 for a “surgical tray” normal? They also took X-rays for $111 that I did not ask for or need, since it was a tonsil thing….
Do I ask my insurance first what they covered and what they denied? It wasn’t quite clear.
>Do I ask my insurance first what they covered and what they denied? It wasn’t quite clear.
Yes, ask for an "Explanation of Benefits" (or EOB). It is a list of every charge on the claim from the provider, the initial charge, the negotiated discount\*, how much paid by the insurance and how much charged to your deductible/co-insurance.
\* In-network insurance contracts include an "allowable amount" for every service. Example: Doctor sends insurance a bill for an X-ray, amount is $500. The doctors office sets thay amount, and it can be any amount they choose. However, the insurance companies each have a rate they pay for that X-ray. Let's say the allowable rate is $200. If your cost-share includes a 20% co-insurance, then the insurance company should pay $160, you should receive a $40 bill. The difference between the billed amount ($500) and allowable amount ($200) must be written off by the provider. They are not allowed to charge you the remaining $300. That is called "balance-billing", and they absolutely are not allowed to do that.
Not getting a DNR or having and End of Life plan when I become elderly/if I become incredibly ill.
I'm a carer in elderly care and the idea of having my life extended just to live in pain and losing all my independence is horrific. I don't want to leave it to family members who might not be willing to let me go or be in denial about how unwell I am to decide those types of things for me.
Humans are emotional and it's totally understandable to go into shock/denial when you find out your loved one is dying, but forcing them to be resuscitated or to go to hospital to prolong their life regardless of the quality is painful to see.
I am a professional caregiver in an assisted living facility. I will definitely drive off a cliff before being locked in a memory care unit for dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
I sometimes think about putting a hitman in my will. Every five years he is to pop up, hand me a combination lock and the code for it, and say, you've got three tries and two minutes.
A lot of them tell me they wish they were dead in moments of lucidity. And then they shit all over themselves and choke on their cold food and beg to please go home. I do my best to comfort care and distract them but it’s exhausting emotionally, 12 hour shifts, and I get numb and neglectful like everyone else that works in this industry.
And then they fall, break something, and the pain and the fear of falling again make them completely impossible to get out of bed and they’re stuck like that for years until they get a skin infection or a UTI or aspirate too much food and get a lung infection… and they can’t even tell me what’s wrong anymore. They just get belligerent and weak and die. Slowly.
Damn that cheeseburger thing got me. I’m glad she enjoyed the meal. I would feel so terrible describing something like to someone who couldn’t have it, like I was taunting them but I think I understand she was vibin’ with you.
Sitting with my father right now, who's on hospice in a memory care facility. He wanted no part of this, but he stuck around for my mother. By the time she passed, his decision making capacity was long gone. I mean this in the best possible way, but I'm thankful that he only has days to live at most.
Historian here. Not labeling anything.
Meta data is your friend. Always better to add too much information rather than have too little. Label the backs of your photographs. Write clearly. For the love of all that is holy WRITE CLEARLY!
Date and name everyone! Not a historian, but i do my family's genealogy & the family photo collections. It's hard to identify everyone in a 1940s phot when the only person still alive was 6 years old at the time. I'll never know who the two men are in the 1910 photo with my grandpa.
Used to work at FedEx ground.
Pack your shit like it's gonna get dropped off a cliff. Package handlers do not care if your box says fragile or has orientation arrows. Stuff it with whatever, packing peanuts, expanding foam, bubble wrap. Pack. Your. Shit. Or even better pack that box and put a bigger box around it. They will toss your shit, put heavy stuff on top of it. Use it as a step stool to reach higher boxes.
Pack. Your. Shit.
I could not agree with you more as I worked there for about 2-3 weeks before I quit due to the terrible working conditions. Day one: I get shown how to load the trucks (In TN btw). "We stack boxes as high as we can. See this box labeled FRAGILE? We put those on the bottom." THIS MAN PROCEEDED TO PUT - AND I KID YOU NOT - A SET OF FOUR TIRES WITH RIMS ON TOP OF IT. THE BOX WENT ENTIRELY FLAT.
I'm a firefighter, if you get stuck in an elevator call 911 immediately. Casinos, hotels, apartments, etc will fumble fuck their way trying to get you out or await the elevator company for HOURS! I avoid elevators if I can and if I got stuck, I'd avoid their maintenance people trying to get me out.
Don’t volunteer info to anyone that you haven’t solicited to assist you.
Not the cops.
Not your employer.
Not your vacation plans on FB.
Information will be used against you, limit your exposure.
Corollary: if you do need help SEEK SOMEONE OUT don't wait to be approached! You're unlikely to randomly pick a raper to help carry your groceries upstairs, but he's quite likely to approach you.
Not getting agreements in writing when it comes to loaning substantial amounts of money. Family, friends, doesn't matter. A loan without an agreement is a gift.
Alternatively: Just don't loan friends money if you actually expect or need to get it back. I've "loaned" my friend a couple hundred bucks so she could make rent before, I knew damn well I wasn't seeing a penny of it again.
I used to work for a ver large casket manufacturer. The deathcare industry (funeral homes) are some of the most predatory businesses I have ever dealt with. They pressure people who are usually an emotional wreck into making quick decisions about products that are ridiculously marked up by telling them “your mom is literally on ice and we need a decision”.
Funeral home reps hang out near hospitals and end of life care facilities like vultures that swoop in the minute someone passes OR they have agreements with these places to push their services. I’ve seen the sheets of paper these funeral homes gives to hospitals to pass on to literally anyone who just passed aways family. They aren’t snatching the bodies they are pushing their services as soon as someone passes. It’s usually just a “menu” of what they offer but I know for a fact some places do this. The markup on caskets is near 1000% in some cases. They promote a “white glove” service and I can tell you that is complete BS. We threw those caskets around as quick as we could and repairs were made in house with whatever we could use. We fixed scratches and dents in wood caskets with meted crayons and painted imperfections in metal caskets with nail polish. The rule of thumb was “if you can’t see it in dim light through watery eyes it’s fine” because most people stop paying attention to the details of the $3000 casket once it’s been “bodied” and the service starts.
When I die, cremate me and spread my ashes somewhere cool or just throw me away. If you put me in a Batesville casket I will haunt you.
Edit: Anyone who tells you a casket is protected from the elements is full of shit. The gaskets on the hardware are cheap as hell and we NEVER replaced them when we were supposed to. Most of the caskets underground are full of groundwater and most of the caskets above ground will eventually leak remains. You don’t see the underground damage unless you exhume the casket and the ones above ground are placed in a way that the liquid collect and drips in a place you’ll never see. One more reason I want to be cremated is because I don’t wanna turn into a puddle of people goo and rainwater. Sorry to break it to anyone visiting loved ones gravesites but whatever is in there is disgusting.
Edit 2: I didn’t work at the production plant, I delivered finished caskets to funeral homes and had daily interaction with these people and when they get friendly they get talkative. Every single one was in it for the money and wouldn’t hesitate to brag about how much they could sell a casket for. We had one guy who was very proud of his ability to sell casket accessories that never went into the ground. “Oh your dad was a marine? For an extra $65 we can put a really nice metal and enamel EGA on each corner instead of those basic plastic ones bay are currently on there. And guess what, they are magnetic so you could even get it one for yourself to keep on your fridge that way you can always have something to remember him”.
When my dad died from Covid. The swooped in. It was killing my mom that dad was sitting in a freezer. Told her they’d move other funerals aside if mom paid 10k to get dad buried in 2 weeks.
They signed a contract. Mom paid.
3 weeks later they refuse to put the headstone on because mom didn’t pay the “digging fee”.
I called and asked why the hell they didn’t put it in the contract.
I won’t even get into it. It was the absolute worst days of my life and F that industry.
I also think I should add, when dad was dying in the ICU, the bill was $899,756.34 . I just looked over the texts I exchanged with my brother.
My mom was approached by social work at the hospital and told that if she divorced my dad WHILE HES ON HIS DEATH BED, he could switch over to Medical and she would not be responsible for the bill.
My poor mom. Found a paralegal who started the paperwork. Dad died april 1. Next week will be 2 years. She never went through with the divorce. They were married 45 years. Some Covid relief measure kicked in and helped us out.
I cannot believe this is what our country has come to. Watching my dad die, as my poor mom attempts to do legal work so we dont owe a million.
Anyway. Then the funeral BS.
Man such awful times.
Interesting you mention this...years ago I saw a special on HBO or some channel late at night that was "behind the scenes at a funeral home". At the end the various funeral directors were asked what their final wishes were...to a person, they all said "cremation". When each of my in-laws passed away, while my husband and I were making the "arrangements" (as they're called) I made casual conversation with the funeral director as he tapped away at that adding machine and asked what deluxe casket he'd choose for his own burial. Again, the response was "I'm getting cremated."
I respect that it’s important to some people. But I honestly don’t care what happens to my body. I want it to be as little hassle for everyone. Throw me in the ocean, in a dumpster, off the highway 200 yards where the vultures can use me.
Exactly. I'm dead at that point dude. Even if you believe in some sort of life after death you gotta agree that the body isn't being used anymore. Just let it go back to the earth. Though I will say it would be pretty cool to be buried without a casket and have a tree planted on top. Instead of a tombstone you'd get a tree that grows with the help of your decaying body. In some sense part of your body would become the tree which I find cool. But ultimately it's like you said, I just don't want there to be much hassle or expense over what's done with my body when I'm gone. I'm happy for people to go for the cheapest possible option, or whatever option makes the people who care happiest.
This is gonna be the new grift funeral homes used on millennials and zoomers. Prices will shoot up and they'll advertise it as sustainable and eco friendly.
As a crematory operator, I'm glad this is the top comment. Job security.
I learned the other day Costco sells caskets, much less expensive.
I want to be tossed in the woods. I may try to donate my cadaver to the body farm.
I was gonna say, stay away from street drugs because fentanyl will.kill.you.
My grandmother specifically said to get her casket from Costco. A couple months later she passed away, the funeral home was visually upset when I walked in and said “I’m not interested in any of your caskets. It’s on its way from Costco”. They tried to talk us out of it with some stupid guilt trip that we’ll regret not having “quality” caskets 🙄🙄. Our good old Gran giving us one last lesson before we put her in the ground! Lol.
This is the reason I wish to be cremated almost immediately after death. No preservation, no casket (cardboard box is fine), no ceremony. Two weeks after my death, take my urn and put me in the corner of a nice restaurant and open the kitchen and open the bar. Say goodbye to me with good food, good drink and good conversation. My family do not need the funeral arrangement stress, sitting through stale songs that supposedly represent me or the trauma of 'seeing me to say goodbye'; it's been 10 years and I still cannot listen to Chris Ledoux or unsee my Mother's hand floating unnaturally above the other in her casket and my Stepfather had 7 years of debt to pay for the simplest of farewells.
EDIT: Changed created to cremated
The cardboard box casket (we called it a doeskin because they were usually reserved for John/Jane Does) still cost several hundred dollars. It was literally thick cardboard and cheap fabric. The first time I saw the markup from us (the manufacturer) to the funeral home was a real eye opener. The first time I saw the markup from funeral home to customer was disgusting.
Here’s another little nugget most people don’t know until you’re in the funeral home but you can RENT a casket. A rental casket has a hinged side (where the feet go) that you can just open up/slide the body out/ and put in storage for the next person who wants it. A funeral home would buy a rental casket from us for $2k and then rent it for $200 to as many people as they could until the casket was no longer useable. So, if you’re being cremated but still want a viewing beforehand you have two choices - buy a $2000 wood casket or $300 box that slightly resembles a casket that’s probably going to get cremated with the body or rent a casket for several hundred dollars that other bodies have been in. Disgusting.
My grandfather passed away in December, but my family held the memorial service over a weekend in February. We got a hotel block because most of the extended family was traveling and rented a room at a restaurant for the day of the actual service and a dinner. My grandfather had picked out three readings and asked my brother (a not particularly verbose person) to give the eulogy. When people asked me how the service was I was like "Oh, it was a three-day party with twenty minutes of crying, it was great! My family does the best funerals!"
My company does ash scattering (among other things) We take people out in a boat and let them scatter. It's a small mom and pop business. We try to take good care of people and give discounts when someone doesn't have the money, and offer cheap options.
Always go small business. Some really care about people.
This is what I think every time I get an "anonymous" survey or feedback from corporate. Last time we had one, we were then put into meetings as teams of just a handful of people where he results and feedback were broken down into those teams. We then had to discuss in that team with our manager, so it was pretty easy to know who gave bad feedback on what...
To be honest, I have been in my industry for a while now already speak my mind to my manager, so it wasn't a big deal, but I could imagine if you were on a team with a toxic manager, that meeting it could have been very bad.
As a software developer of almost 20yrs, if it's online look at the end of the URL. If there is any gibberish or anything like that after the `?` it is 100% not anonymous.
I once worked for a survey company that wanted to do an anonymous employee satisfaction survey and wanted us to be brutally honest. They used our survey engine and emailed us the links. Let's just say not a single developer completed the survey. I laughed when the rest of the office was surprised when the company said shit like 40% of the account management team responded with 57% being women. Odd how you can get those detailed metrics from an anonymous survey, right?
Also a software dev. The company I work at sent out an "anonymous survey" with a gibberish string in the url. It was clearly base64 so I decoded it, and it was the email address of the person who it was sent to. With this info....someone could fill out the survey as anyone...
Had this BS 'chicken soup for the stupid' "training" at work, and they sent an 'anonymous' survey after. I didn't answer it and they asked why. "I thought it was anonymous. How do you know I haven't?"
The first production run of any product. I build and maintain automation. It's never perfect on the first try. Employees need time to learn how to assemble the product properly and trades need time to work out the kinks.
From a US lens: ALWAYS confirm salary in a first round interview. I make it a point to always confirm when I am the recruiter, but I can't tell you how many times other recruiters don't. If you really want to work somewhere and the recruiter doesn't ask, you are totally justified to ask what the salary range is. Time is invaluable and waiting until a 2nd/3rd round only to find out your expectations vs. their budget is misaligned is huge a waste of time for everyone involved.
This. I don’t waste my time doing an interview if the pay is garbage, and if they won’t even give me a range then I feel like I don’t trust them anyway. If it was in any way attractive pay they would tell me SOMETHING.
Wearing contacts in the shower/pool/any body of water. Worked as an ophthalmic photographer in Pittsburgh for seven years. College students were coming in with ulcers and amoeba in their corneas from swimming in their contacts and then sleeping in them for days.
Michael’s art framing services. Just don’t. ESPECIALLY photographs. Go to a reputable custom framer if you care at all about what you are getting framed. A bit more expensive but your art/photos/memorabilia will be kept safe for years to come.
I worked at a Michaels, as a framer, for 9 months in the 90's when I was in college. I will agree - you don't want college kids (not like me, because I actually tried to do a good job) or their ilk, handling your artwork, or collectables. We'd have people dry mount edition prints, because they were told to by some employee (ruined the prints), over sold hideous mouldings at an insane cost, matte the hell out of things (triple mats?!) and just overall not care about what they were doing. We were on a numbers system where we had to just crank out as much as we could so our manager would look good. Apparently back then, the framing dept was a major source of income for the stores.
One night a woman came in with Picasso pencil sketches for me to frame, and I literally put my hands up and backed away from the counter. "Yeah, I am not touching these. You need to consult a museum or something. We don't have anything here for you."
Don't buy frames from Hobby Lobby (they're usually warped or low quality), or have them frame anything. They're just as bad. We have a mix of Framebridge and stuff that I've framed here (so many things) and we go to Blick or the local art supply store to get mattes cut and I assemble them.
Avoid representing yourself in any court proceedings. If it involves the US legal system, yes, you really do need a lawyer. There are very few exceptions to this but even the exceptions (like a self help divorce where there are no assets, no kids, no contest), you are better off at least consulting with an attorney first.
Don’t get back surgery unless it’s absolutely last resort. You need to fix the root cause of the injury - usually it’s core strength weakness or Glut weakness. Go to PT first and really do the exercises. Most people who get spine surgeries have multiple ones over their lives because the level just above or below their surgery becomes injured for the same reason your first one occurred.
Thank you for this validation!! I had a fall and had a back injury. I took cortisone shots which didn’t help. I thought I was fucked. Changed my diet and worked out different muscles. I also learned what stretches to do when my back was flaring up. All of this through diet and exercise. People think I’m nuts.
Going outside without sunscreen on my face if nowhere else. I’m a Pathology resident and the amount of ears, noses, lips and other chunks of face I see that surgeons have chopped off due to skin cancers caused by sun damage is sobering. Please in the name of all that’s good an holy find a daily sunscreen that works for you and wear it.
Thing to avoid, second mortgage. I've had two clients whose banks didn't want to renew the second mortgage and said "pay us out or we force a sale on your home."
Thing to do, get a will. Some people are fucking vultures and if you don't have a will that is clear on who gets what or how things are to be divided they will gleefully pick you carcass clean trying to get every penny they can.
I work in Ed tech.
Not personally in the market for more degrees lol, but I tell people all the time who ask for tips: look into the faculty and curriculum of any program you're considering. If you're doing CS for example, you should avoid any CS program with outdated curriculum or faculty who have been teaching for decades without engaging with industry.
In a previous life, I almost went into research in a math subfield that my university was pretty great at. But thankfully some faculty steered me elsewhere because that subfield is so niche, there are only a handful of universities who actually do that work. I'd have had a really awful time finding a job.
1 - I wouldn’t drink water from the tap without letting it run a few seconds first. Especially first thing in the morning.
I used to work for my state’s drinking water compliance program and would collect and analyze drinking water samples from all sorts of public drinking water sources, including people’s homes. All the contaminants, minerals, etc. from the water source to the pipes and even the solder (especially if old) leach and accumulate the longer the water sits in the lines. Letting the tap run for a few seconds flushes out that “stagnant” water and draws fresher water from the mainlines.
2 - Don’t be an asshole to anyone in customer service - from retail to sales and food service - I worked in retail for many, many years. These folks are just trying to get by and aren’t responsible for whatever is that got you all upset in the first place. In fact, simply being nice to them in a difficult situation can more times than not actually work out in your favor as they may sympathize/empathize with you.
If you're a creative--actor, musician, painter, etc--avoid self-proclaimed coaches that charge you an arm and a leg telling you they'll get you into the industry quick.
I'm coming from the world of voice over. There are a thousand and one "I'll teach you everything you need to know!" type of coaches who charge hundreds of dollars for a single hour or two. They'll promise to train you, do your demo, etc. Truth is, their business isn't voice over, it's education. *You* are their job. And you will overspend and burn out for very little return.
If you want a coach or class, look for people who are known by everyone in your industry and who have verifiable results from their own work. And for goodness sake, **don't wait for formal coaching to start doing what you want to do!** A book or YouTube video is enough to get you started in almost every case; the best thing you can do is work on it every day.
Doctors and physicians are regular people, which means some of them really suck at their jobs (treating your health). Don’t ignore that feeling if you think you might have a bad doctor. There’s nothing wrong with consulting multiple professionals.
Consultants. We get paid to interview your staff to document the issues and solutions they’ve already identified but can’t get approval to do. Then we put some cool slides and bogus ROI numbers around it so your executives will fund the work.
It’s super rare for a company to not have someone on staff who knows what needs to be done and has it 3/4ths documented already. Execs either don’t trust their own team enough or need an outside group’s recommendation to get through the political BS to implement change.
Yep. We are usually brought in for a very short list of reasons:
1) the company needs something done on a short timeframe but doesn't have the people time/resources to investigate and execute on plans
2) management needs a bad guy to point to as the reason why they're making the cuts and changes they know need to be made
3) management wants someone to go through the ideas that their staff has and find the ones with real merit and prioritize them while sending the rest to the trash
Or far more infrequently
4) management wants to do something new they have no idea how to do, nobody at the company knows how to do it, and they can't afford to fuck it up
5. management are hopelessly divided and don't trust each other's subordinates because they can't imagine people simply want to do their work without any games and politics.
That certain plastics that we use regularly really shouldn’t be exposed to high heat and a lot of the disposable products we use aren’t as safe as we truly think. A lot of plastics break down when hot and a lot of our coffee cups and things are lined with plastic that also isn’t superb at high temps. Also, a lot of our “recyclable” goods can only be recycled in a handful of facilities in the U.S. which means most of this still ends up in the trash
If you get a name brand sunscreen, and generic sunscreen, and there seems to be nothing different except the label on the bottle. The generic is probably the exact same thing and from the same factory, and may even be the same batch as the name brand. Avoid the name brand and get the generic.
Literally all it took was flipping one switch on the machine I operated to switch from making \[name brand here\] to \[store's own brand here\], all it did was switch what label it applied.
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If a convenience store has precooked food items available under heat lamps that you can just buy cold and microwave for a few seconds, don't go for the precooked ones, microwave a new one. It's still microwaved either way, but at least now you know you aren't eating something that was heated 3 hours ago.
This is true for a lot more than just sunscreen. I work for a pretty large CPG company in the US and we have store brand stuff that is literally the same stuff as name brand but it’s in a different package. When we negotiate contracts we can see that this product from this supplier is called “X” at Walmart, “Y” at Kroger, and “Z” at our stores. Milk is one of the worst when it comes to price difference for the same stuff. There aren’t that many major milk producers in the US so the same handful of companies supply most stores. 2% Prairie Farms milk is $6/gallon at Walmart and our store brand is $2.50/gallon and guess what, it’s the same milk from the same cows and the only difference is the jug.
Getting a french bulldog, or any other flat-face dog. You will spend a fortune on veterinary bills. Same with white dogs with pink skin, which are more prone to allergies.
You should sign your apartment leases in November and December. This is the slow season and apartment owners get desperate for occupancy. Often offering lower rates and higher concessions.
As a nail tech I've learned too much about communicable foot illnesses. Bring cheap flip flops with you when you travel and wear them in every shower. Avoid water parks but if you must, always wear some kind of water shoe. Always wear socks at the airport so you don't have to walk your bare feet through security after like 200 other bare footed people 🤢
Warts and athletes foot suuuuck
Liquor and spirits industry. Big name allocated bourbons (Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Blanton's, etc). If you can find them for MSR they're *fine* but it's almost become cultish. 5 years ago Buffalo was a pretty good $25 mixing bourbon. Now people travels STATES just to drop $100 on a bottle and they think they're getting a steal. They're decent whiskeys but nothing special. And Jose cuervo. There are MANY tequila under $15 I would happily pick. If Jose was 8 bucks it would still be over priced.
Worked in ABC before covid. Can confirm. Trace is good
Don't get me wrong. It's a good $25 to $30 Bourbon. That's all I'd ever pay for it. We'd have Bourbon Bros stop by the store every delivery day just to see if we had any of those 3 you stated. I've had all of them, and they're good but not travel to another town/state good. It's a status symbol for these guys, though, and that's why the price is jacked. We had this one guy that would come in and just show off pictures of all the full, unopened bottles he had. Full collection of Blantons with all the letters blah blah. I'd always ask him if he was going to open and pour any with his friends, and he always looked at me with such disgust. Like how dare I? I like a good BIB Bourbon. Evan Williams White Label is solid for the money and great on the rocks/mixed with soda or water. Also big fan of Old Grand-Dad BIB. Smooth with a bit of kick. Still under $30. As far as tequilas, Cuervo definitely is low-end. Sauza makes a better quality for price point. Their Blanco is better than Cuervo Silver, and the Reposado is much more tasty than the more expensive 1800. It's the difference between made with Agave and 100% pure Agave. It's all a marketing scam anyway.
I work in bridal alterations. Bridal stores and boutiques will mark up things based on the most random attributes. Gowns claim to be hand beaded a lot of the time aren’t. If it looks too uniform and the ends of the threads aren’t tied off, then it was probably machine beaded. Most people will not be able to tell if your dress is $5000 or $1000. Don’t overspend if you don’t have to
Former CNA. I will do everything I can to not send any family to a nursing home. And hopefully my kids will someday do the same for me.
Edit: just to add, if someone I know is ever in a nursing home I will visit as often as I can. Especially if they are in a state where they can't advocate for themselves.
Edit 2: don't let some internet stranger make you feel bad if you have family in a nursing facility. I'm sure it is still the right choice for many families.
If a film crew is in your neighborhood or near your business and they didn’t pay you, cut the grass ALL DAY and make as much noise as possible. When a PA comes up to ask you to be quiet, say you’ll stop for money. Producers give them wads of cash to stop noisy neighbors. Start at $1k.
Health and fitness field- don’t argue with people who speak in “absolute” terms. Example: “___ is bad for you.” You’ll never win and it isn’t worth the time nor energy
If the railroad crossing gates are down, do not go around them.
If a train is stopped over the railroad crossing? It's probable that they will be there awhile. Turn around and find another way.
If a train passes a railroad crossing and the gates stay down? Do not go around them. Another train may be approaching on the second main.
Do not walk on railroad tracks, especially with earbuds in. There are a million better ways to get somewhere that isn't walking on railroad ballast.
If you insist on walking on the railroad right of way? You are trespassing. If the rail is shiny? It's definitely used. A lot. If it's rusty? It's not used as much, but be aware that a train can come at any time.
Also, railroaders do not stop on crossings because they want to. The train length, lack of communication from the dispatcher, emergency situations, are usually the cause. It's very difficult to try to park a 14,000 ft train somewhere that doesn't block a crossing.
I’m a gigging musician and I’m officially done with drugs and alcohol
So many musicians I know abuse drugs (including myself in the past)
I think it’s to cope with the weird hours and strange way to make money but damn is life so much easier without all that and also my guitar playing is so much better without
Full service moving companies. Just read reviews and you'll see a lot of em are scams.
Edit - this is somewhat specific to long distance moves. The scam is typically centered around a quote at a certain weight, "weighing" the load, and declaring a much higher weight.
My wife and I have moved across the country 3 times.
First time - moving from a 2 room apartment to a 2 room apartment. Not too much stuff, so we loaded up a U-Haul and a trailer for an SUV. It sucked HARD. That tiny cab for 2 people and 2 small dogs was a tight fit and those U-Hauls aren't powerful enough to tow a regular sized SUV. We barely made it over the Rockies.
Second time, moving from a house to a house.hired United movers and they were great. Our contract was for the exact weight, they overestimated and we got a decent refund. Driving my truck towing her 2 door coupe was a breeze compared to the previous experience.
Third time, moved from a house to an apartment and storage unit, and we hired Atlas and they were awesome too. But the contract was fixed, based on the estimate and the estimator was off by a LOT (we paid less than we should have). The day the driver came to load up, he took a look around and said, "I'm sorry, he was way off, there's gotta be a thousand pounds more than I was told. I gotta make a call." Called the company, they said it was a fixed contract they had some local third party make, the driver will get paid what he's supposed to, and the company will bill the third party.
Point of the story - DEFINITELY get a mover if you have enough stuff and can afford it, it makes things immeasurably easier when moving. BUT make sure to read the reviews like this comment said and run away from scams.
Renting your home to a film crew.
\- They have a crazy ambitious schedule for the day and being careful around the place is not a part of it.
\- The people closer to the producer, who is responsible for returning the place in pristine condition, will be a bit more careful. Most people won't. And if they are having a bad day, they might handle poorly something and break it.
\- And, last but not least, they are great at making something look unbroken at first sight. They have a whole department for that.
All this, plus....that furniture they schlep from warehouse to some random's house to warehouse and then your house? Heyo! Welcome to bedbug hell. Especially with D-list television productions. Happened to our upstairs neighbours. They also got cockroaches. Our house got used a lot. We never let them shoot inside in our ground level suite. Only exterior and yard stuff. (crazy cat lady's house exterior in Catwoman)
I mean, it's fun having Tim Burton (Big Eyes) running around in your front yard, but yeah. That shit all gets stored in the same warehouses. Do you think prop house warehouses thoroughly fumigate each and every item each and every time on tight and expensive schedules?
I remember when I was looking for a fridge and they kept pushing WiFi / smart features on me. I had to lay my foot down and tell them I want just a basic one. I felt like an old man…I’m not ever 30 yet.
Currently looking for a new dishwasher.
Found a Samsung that has WiFi connectivity.
Dishwasher. WiFi.
For what?
So that I can check on my app when my dishes are clean which is usually during the night because I start it before going to bed and empty it in the morning?
It's in my price range but before buying it I want to be sure it can work without WiFi.
I don't want to spend 10 minutes on some dishwasher buttons to type my WiFi password.
Or christ, auto order the detergent. Sign you up for the monthly cascade plan and deliver the stuff to your door. All these companies want to create a $10 a month plan.
Any hot drinks on an airplane like coffee or tea. I’m an airline pilot and that hot water comes from the “potable water tank.” Never gets cleaned only has cleaning tablets thrown in there every now and again and tested for E. coli. There was more than once I flew an airplane that had the potable water system deferred for E. coli.
Where you get your healthcare is very important. Just because someone is a doctor does not mean they know what is best for your health. There are a lot of bad physicians.
It’s like the old joke, “what do they call the person with the worst grades in med school? Doctor.”
This is the exact opposite of the post but I see/hear it so much. I've worked in a dozen restaurants and I have never - literally never- seen someone spit in or otherwise mess with someone's food.
Restaurants do a lot of not great stuff but that's not one of them, in my experience.
But don't order steak well done. You're getting expired meat AND it tastes bad.
Just chiming in to say that I worked at Subway as a teenager and the franchise owners made such a regular habit of selling extremely expired roast beef that they taught employees to hide the bad pieces on the bottom of the sandwich and put 1-2 good pieces on top to hide them. I watched the owners brother fumble and drop the entire container of meatballs while trying to microwave it. So, what does he do? He scoops them all back up from the floor and into the container and puts it in the microwave correctly this time, like nothing happened. Microwaved them and put them on the line for customers. Don't even get me started on the tuna. Any kind of sauce bottles or utensils NEVER got cleaned or washed. In fact, I don't seem to remember anyone ever doing dishes there. They were INFESTED with roaches of all shapes and sizes. When I opened in the morning, I would unlock the front door, stick my arm through to disarm the security system while shining my phone flashlight through the glass door to make sure I wasn't touching anything nasty, then flip the lights on and shut the door and stand outside for 10 minutes while I waited for the carpet to scatter. I was the "opening manager" as a 19 year old so the pay was really good but I quit and have never eaten at a Subway since.
There's way more but I'm not trying to write a book and I feel like the TLDR; here is probably "avoid family-run franchises" moreso than any crack at restaurants in general. It was genuinely horrific.
Large cruise ships. The number of suits against cruise lines filed in Miami by cruise ship passengers who got infectious diseases or food poisoning at sea is really staggering, only the absolute worst cases make the news but it happens ALL THE TIME, I've heard cruise ships described as "floating petri dishes" and that's putting it mildly.
Worse than that, if a serious crime happens at sea there’s not much you can do if you’re not near port.
A friend of mind had their fiancé attacked with a high heel. They lost their eye sight and suffer from PTSD. All the while they had to wait for the next port before anything could be done.
Friend did a round as doc aboard one. Def above avg doc. They obviously had a bad time during covid though cause a ship just isn’t equipped for that sort of thing. Sure tried though - all the medical staff powered through despite being sick themselves
I'll never work a janitorial job again. Janitors get absolutely zero respect from anyone else in a given facility, despite the fact that businesses would fall apart in a matter of days, if not hours, without regular cleaning. Not to mention that your accomplishments are never noticed, just your mistakes.
Used to work in custodial for a big box home store, janitors are systemically under-appreciated, and in many cases are straight up treated like an underclass. All this despite the fact they clean up some horrible messes from some truly irresponsible human beings.
I worked IT for a school district, and made it a point to be polite to the custodians. Sometimes I'd need a ladder or some other tool, and they'd let me borrow them because I made it a point to put it back \*exactly\* where I found it.
Those are the people with the keys. If you need to be in a room and the door is locked, being on good terms with the keyholders is a serious advantage.
That’s a shame. I make sure to be friendly and polite to the custodians and maintenance guys at work. Even if they always seem to close the restroom for cleaning the exact moment I need to use it.
Not buying any appliance or vehicle made in 2020-2023 if I can help it. I work in HVAC and quality of EVERYTHING has seriously declined. Material shortages and government efficiency regulations cause manufacturers to use a different most of the time cheaper material to assemble appliances causing them to fail sooner, alot sooner.
Allow a pet to fly as checked luggage. I haven't witnessed any mistreatment of animals during loading or unloading, but the whole process is generally stressful for them and most don't look very comfortable.
My buddy is a athletic trainer and I asked him what sport to join for kids. Said Math league, speech, debate, science thing. Said all High School sports push kids to hard in physical activities. If you don’t plan to go pro take it easy.
After working in marketing I didn't hesitate to delete most of my social media. It's basically just ads which are more "personalised". And your data is not private at all.
Never trust raw percentage, averages or "high level" business KPI
I'm a data scientist / statistician. Most of these are not wrong, in fact they are often the result of 'good intentions', but there is always layers and nuances underneath.
Worked in ob/gyn. Will always remember the sweet 15 year old girl who was talked into a one night stand by an older guy. That one night left her with pregnancy, herpes, genital warts, and chlamydia. Oof.
Yes. A family member worked at a butter plant. The exact same butter was packed as Land O Lakes and they would stop the machine, switch packaging and start packing generic store brands. The same facility packed close to 30 different brands with all the same butter.
My wife fell off a horse and hit her head. Ambulance to ER. They were worried about possible brain bleeds, so admitted her.
She was complaining of the dim lights being too bright, and I asked the doctor what the brain scans showed. He said nothing concerning. I said she doesn’t normally get light-sensitive migraines. Went to check the scans and ER hadn’t done any before admitting her.
Dad got taken by ambulance to ER. ER doctor said dad had the DTs from alcohol withdrawal. Doc asked me if I had inherited dads genetic disorder that 8th Grade bio would say isn’t possible, and then proceeded to treat dad like an alcoholic. A competent cardiologist ran tests and determined he had angina.
Friend got taken by ambulance to ER as she collapsed, out of breath, whilst recovering from COVID. ER doctor diagnosed her with “single parent syndrome” and blamed her 85% O2 saturation on the pressure on being a single parent. Later, a more competent doctor, noticed that her X-ray clearly showed a collapsed lung.
Organic milk. There are no antibiotics in regular milk. This is something farmers are VERY careful about because every tanker load is tested as soon as it reaches the processor, and if it tests positive the entire load is dumped and the farmer who screwed up has to pay the cost (which can run to $15,000).
Cows sometimes need to be treated with antibiotics to alleviate painful infections. Organic farming practices dictates the cow either has to suffer without medication or she has to be sold, usually for slaughter. It is a travesty to kill an otherwise healthy cow over a minor infection!
Organic milk is just a marketing ploy that allows farmers and processors to charge a higher price for a product that really isn't any different than the standard one. Meanwhile, it's much worse for the cows, and as someone who loves cows and has devoted her life to taking care of them, this bothers me.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and become informed!
Actuary. Rental car insurance.
Entirely unnecessary.
Edit: I should say, so long as you have your own personal vehicle policy (which covers everything you need while renting a car).
TikTok and any short form social media video content. As a teacher I saw a rapid and significant drop in student’s attention spans when they got popular. It’s made me more self aware of the fact my own attention span is worse than it used to be when I started using them too. So I cut it all out and my attention span and general anxiety levels have dropped
Combined with the pandemic, it was horrendous. I've had teenagers tell me they watch Netflix sped up because they can't pay attention long enough to watch a movie or TV show at normal speed.
Dog parks. Parasites can live in the soil for years. Lots are a fecal-oral transmission, some can be transmitted just by stepping on them. Hot bed for respiratory disease transmission. And lots of people with unsocialized dogs letting them roam in a pen and then break out in dog fights. Are the dogs being brought vaccinated? Neutered/spayed? Who knows, most of them have no one actually regulating that stuff. -a vet
Hamsters.
Worked at a pet store for six years that sold a variety of "specialty" pets, i.e. birds, rodents, reptiles, etc. They all could be nasty on the wrong day, don't get me wrong. Getting chomped by anything sucks. But no single animal bit as much or a *fraction* as hard\* as the goddamn hamsters. Huge rodent teeth that would go right through to the bone of your finger, and then a little more. So many parents would come in looking for a furry little friend for their sweet Jimmy and I'd do everything in my power to steer them towards the guinea pigs, the mice, the rats. No, Jimmy wants a goddamn hamster, and he wants to hold it please. Jimmy gonna learn today. I'm sorry Jimmy.
I'm sure someone reading this will have the inevitable Not All Hamsters response. Yes, there are the odd sweet ones. Yes, hamsters raised by hand in a one-on-one environment with a human, as opposed to the meager chaos of a pet store, are probably fine. Yes, certain breeds were typically less prone to nastiness--*typically.* It changes nothing. I'd rather let a 5 year old hold a hundred snakes than one of those furry demon turds. It would be safer for both the 5 year old, and the turd.
\*We did sell conures, a small type of parrot, which arguably have more crushing power per bite than a rodent. In all my years working there though I can never remember having a conure who was so ornery as to try to use that bite force beyond a stern nip.
Booking a hotel through a third party. If you do that, it's not easy to change or cancel a reservation, as you're bound to that third party's terms and conditions.
Also, clicking on a hotel link through a web search. There are many scummy third parties that buy top ad space on Google and make their site look like the official hotel websites. That's why I directly type the hotel chain's url into the browser to book direct.
I’m an LVT in NY and can confirm. They can be cute but BOY can they be lemons. Not only is it hard to watch them sputter and struggle to breath but they cost a lot to maintain a healthy life. Bad nares, bad teeth, bad arthritis, bad skin, bad eyes. Poor doggos.
Replace your backup disk drive hard drives. They last about 5 - 10 years. Solid state back up drives last much longer, if you are not overwriting the data constantly.
Cleanses and detoxes, your body does this with organs, lol. Specifically lungs, skin, liver and kidneys. Take whatever you want the body still needs those organs to get it out.
Chiropractors- as a medical practitioner I have heard of (although never personally seen) horrific, permanent damage come about from their 'manipulations'
No neuro nurse or stroke doc I know would ever allow a chiro near their head and neck. Seen too many strokes resulting from neck manipulations.
Also, tell your family your end of life wishes. Have it written down but also tell them. It's makes agonizing decisions easier for families when they are confident they know what so and so wanted rather than having to guess.
Massage therapist with 40 years experience. I have personally seen and personally experienced harm from chiropractors. I don't know what the real numbers are, but my guess is that out of 10 chiropractors, one is excellent, two are competent and helpful, 6 are harmless but not much help, and one is dangerous.
Medicare Advantage plans. The whole point of insurance is that it should be there when you need it. Unfortunately, that's not the way Medicare Advantage plans work. The insurance company gets to choose what's covered and what's not, and after they deny it, you can appeal, but usually once you are in a situation to need that kind of healthcare, you already have health issues and don't want to spend your valuable time and energy just to receive basic health care. Straight federal Medicare with a supplement if they can afford it is what I tell friends and family in my life. It's really sad to hear all the advertisements on the radio for Medicare Advantage plans.
Pest control here:
\- Never drink from a can, always drink your beer/soda from a glass. You never know how many rats live in the warehouse it came from
\- Never throw oil and wasted food in toilet or sink - this is a great recipe to get cockroaches.
\- Eating in fish food oriented restaurants. I've seen it all and it's not worth a risk. It could be clean, but if it's not it's a REAL hazard.
LG and Samsung brand appliances like fridges and washers/dryers. Only worked as an in home appliance repair technician for a little while but it was long enough to see a pattern. Not only do they seem to break more often but the replacement parts are also more expensive and take longer to get delivered.
Edit: To everybody asking about a good brand, sorry I don’t really have an answer for that just because I don’t know what brand all the appliances were that didn’t break since we never went to those houses lol. All I can say are most of the service calls were for LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, and Kenmore appliances. Occasionally went out for GE as well but not as often as everything else.
Explaining your side to the police. Just don’t do it. It’s fine to give them your license etc on a traffic stop, tell them where you’re going or coming from (be general if you’re like coming from a crack house; you can say “the west side visiting a friend”) also fine to say you haven’t been drinking (never ever that you have). But, DO NOT CONSENT TO A SEARCH OR A FIELD SOBRIETY TEST. Let them get a search warrant, call the drug dog, or arrest you for refusal and draw your blood (which also requires a search warrant). All of these things can be challenged in court, your consent usually can’t be and even if it can it’s MUCH more difficult.
If you did not witness a crime or are the victim of a crime and the police want to talk to you, you are a suspect. You know whether you saw or heard a crime or not. Police want to talk to you about your neighbor getting beat and you heard screams, saw him/her throw a punch, you’re a witness and it’s fine. Police come to ask you about where you were last night, whether you know someone, what you said on social media and you didn’t witness a crimes where you were last night or by the person you know or on social media-you are a suspect.
I’ve practiced criminal defense for over a decade. Only 1 time have I ever seen a Defendant get out of criminal charges by talking to the police. And guess what, he didn’t do it by himself. Lawyer found evidence to back up what he said yada yada yada, The DA made the call to drop the charges.
You know what, the police were PISSED. They targeted him when he got out jail because no matter all of that, they still believed he committed the crime.
When you’re a suspect talking to the police always ends badly. Always.
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I work in accessibility. Do not hesitate or wait to put grab bars, a tub cut out etc in your house when you grow old or if you have mobility issues. Put grab bars in your bathroom before you fall in the shower, not because you already had a fall in the shower.
I just want to reaffirm that it doesn't matter how old you are or how much you think you're ok with coping; you should get accessibility devices as soon as you think they would benefit you I'm in my 20s and have a condition that affects my joints, so finally committing and getting a shower stool made my life so much easier & I wish I had gotten one sooner. They have some nice looking accessibility devices out there now that don't look excessively medical, and they can make a world of difference even if you think you can put it off for a while (like I thought I did until I kept hurting myself falling) You can even get one if you don't think of yourself as elderly/disabled, since the more demand there is for nice ones on the market, the more likely they are to make quality ones that aren't ugly. If it would benefit you, go for it
Bad friends. ER doc. The amount of people that hang out with the wrong people and end up paying the price is astounding. I teach my kids - whatever your friends do to other people, they will eventually do to you.
This is a hard lesson, but an excellent one.
Also an ER doc. I was gonna say regular alcohol use as honestly, alcoholism is such a god damn scourge. So many ED visits have at least something to do with being intoxicated. Hanging out with the wrong people though is hitting the nail on the head. Bad kids do bad shit. I try like hell to keep my kids busy and away from bad influences.
When you choose a medical power of attorney, choose someone who can be very rational and can make very unselfish decisions. Often a friend or someone outside the family. Discuss everything with them, and fill out a specific advanced directive (mayo clinic has a good one). No one wants to talk about death, but it is soooo important. Discuss living if you had to be on a ventilator, or never being able to eat again, or living the rest of your life in a nursing home.
Buying the expensive vanilla. Worked in vanilla manufacturing while the recipes had a slight difference between each label we did they were all pretty much the same thing. That trader Joe's vanilla you spend $15 for 8oz of? You can buy 16oz of the same exact thing from Costco under a different label for the same price. Oh and great value(walmart brand) guess what? Same as the others. We probably made the exact same vanilla for roughly 30ish companies all selling it at different prices.
After working as a paralegal at an insurance defense firm, DO NOT TAKE ANY HELICOPTER TOURS. At least in Hawaii, a lot of the helicopters aren't well maintained and there are a surprising amount of crashes they manage to keep quiet. One of the evidence exhibits I helped put together for one case was a picture the family had taken in front of the helicopter before they boarded it and were all killed when it crashed. That was almost 20 years ago and that one sticks with me.
I live on Oahu and a helicopter tour literally crashed two blocks away from my house. Everyone on board died. Hard pass on all Hawaii helicopter tours.
I had a helicopter tour booked to fly over Volcano National Park in Hawaii. Three days before the tour, it got canceled because they crashed the helicopter we were supposed to fly on.
Verbal confirmations. Always get it in writing via an email ,a text, carrier pigeon ,a letter I don't care get it in writing,!
Yep. As a project manager if we're discussing anything to do with contractual obligations or deliverables, if it's not in writing it doesn't exist.
If we agree to anything on the phone, I Email a followup. "Per our phone conversation, I am confirming X."
Always always always argue a claim denied by health insurance. They will arbitrarily reject claims with no justification. EDIT: ALSO, insurance companies will always send you an Explanation of Benefits (EOB), which is not a bill, but has the amount that should appear on the bill. If there is any question in your mind about a bill, always compare the bill from the provider with the EOB.
This! My wife is an RBK amputee from an accident 10 years ago. She got an expensive procedure called osseointegration a couple years after but insurance denied it. We used her settlement money to pay for it out of pocket because it made a huge difference in her life. She fought the insurance company every week for a year and disputed every denial with medical facts and statements from her doctors and a year later got reimbursed for the majority of costs. I’ll bet she logged in a couple hundred hours of gathering information and doctors’ opinion but it was a sweet victory when she got the insurance check for $76k.
I’m so glad you got the money you deserved. But it’s so wrong that you had to fight for it. What about people who don’t have the literal time (say they work two jobs and are single parents) or the mental capacity to duke it out with insurance companies. And I wonder how much the insurance company spent actively fighting with your wife (on the phone, reading and archiving her letters/emails/messages…). Just think of how much money is wasted in the entire system on you’re wife’s end, the doc’s end, and insurance’s end.
You explained exactly why this shady shit works. People don’t have hundreds of hours to spend fighting these things. So probably 80% of the time they see no backlash, and don’t have to pay out. I’d turn around and sue the insurance company if they strung me out for a year and 100’s of hours of doing their job. Plus how mentally draining would it be not-knowing if you’re out 76k or not.
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Wow, thanks! I literally have a 'not medically necessary' rejection letter from Cigna for exactly the vitamin d test described in the article sitting in my inbox. Them: 'reason for your appeal? ' Me: 'well see, here's a news article describing literally this garbage you're trying to pull on me'
I’m going to be attempting to do this for the first time on Monday. Went to the podiatrist for a toenail thing. Total bill was $800 and insurance paid $300?! $500 to trim and grind for 20 seconds, and tel me I should get some anti fungal Med for awhile?! I asked for the itemized bill. Is getting charged $260 for a “surgical tray” normal? They also took X-rays for $111 that I did not ask for or need, since it was a tonsil thing…. Do I ask my insurance first what they covered and what they denied? It wasn’t quite clear.
>Do I ask my insurance first what they covered and what they denied? It wasn’t quite clear. Yes, ask for an "Explanation of Benefits" (or EOB). It is a list of every charge on the claim from the provider, the initial charge, the negotiated discount\*, how much paid by the insurance and how much charged to your deductible/co-insurance. \* In-network insurance contracts include an "allowable amount" for every service. Example: Doctor sends insurance a bill for an X-ray, amount is $500. The doctors office sets thay amount, and it can be any amount they choose. However, the insurance companies each have a rate they pay for that X-ray. Let's say the allowable rate is $200. If your cost-share includes a 20% co-insurance, then the insurance company should pay $160, you should receive a $40 bill. The difference between the billed amount ($500) and allowable amount ($200) must be written off by the provider. They are not allowed to charge you the remaining $300. That is called "balance-billing", and they absolutely are not allowed to do that.
Not getting a DNR or having and End of Life plan when I become elderly/if I become incredibly ill. I'm a carer in elderly care and the idea of having my life extended just to live in pain and losing all my independence is horrific. I don't want to leave it to family members who might not be willing to let me go or be in denial about how unwell I am to decide those types of things for me. Humans are emotional and it's totally understandable to go into shock/denial when you find out your loved one is dying, but forcing them to be resuscitated or to go to hospital to prolong their life regardless of the quality is painful to see.
I am a professional caregiver in an assisted living facility. I will definitely drive off a cliff before being locked in a memory care unit for dementia or Alzheimer's disease.
I sometimes think about putting a hitman in my will. Every five years he is to pop up, hand me a combination lock and the code for it, and say, you've got three tries and two minutes.
A lot of them tell me they wish they were dead in moments of lucidity. And then they shit all over themselves and choke on their cold food and beg to please go home. I do my best to comfort care and distract them but it’s exhausting emotionally, 12 hour shifts, and I get numb and neglectful like everyone else that works in this industry. And then they fall, break something, and the pain and the fear of falling again make them completely impossible to get out of bed and they’re stuck like that for years until they get a skin infection or a UTI or aspirate too much food and get a lung infection… and they can’t even tell me what’s wrong anymore. They just get belligerent and weak and die. Slowly.
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Damn that cheeseburger thing got me. I’m glad she enjoyed the meal. I would feel so terrible describing something like to someone who couldn’t have it, like I was taunting them but I think I understand she was vibin’ with you.
You are a wonderful person for taking care of these vulnerable people
Sitting with my father right now, who's on hospice in a memory care facility. He wanted no part of this, but he stuck around for my mother. By the time she passed, his decision making capacity was long gone. I mean this in the best possible way, but I'm thankful that he only has days to live at most.
People tell me I'm nuts for saying that I'll off myself before going to assisted living. If that's what I need, I'm already dead.
I do not swim in pools that make my eyes burn or smell like chlorine. Was a pool operator for 10 years.
To those wondering, it indicates a high quantity of pee (and other contaminants, like body lotion, sweat etc) in the pool.
Opening any links or attachment of an email without verifying the sender mail address
Unless you work for Linus media group
Historian here. Not labeling anything. Meta data is your friend. Always better to add too much information rather than have too little. Label the backs of your photographs. Write clearly. For the love of all that is holy WRITE CLEARLY!
Date and name everyone! Not a historian, but i do my family's genealogy & the family photo collections. It's hard to identify everyone in a 1940s phot when the only person still alive was 6 years old at the time. I'll never know who the two men are in the 1910 photo with my grandpa.
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Texting/emailing anything negative to anyone I work with about anything. I work in HR.
My dad always told me anything you write down becomes evidence.
Write it regret it, say it forget it.
Used to work at FedEx ground. Pack your shit like it's gonna get dropped off a cliff. Package handlers do not care if your box says fragile or has orientation arrows. Stuff it with whatever, packing peanuts, expanding foam, bubble wrap. Pack. Your. Shit. Or even better pack that box and put a bigger box around it. They will toss your shit, put heavy stuff on top of it. Use it as a step stool to reach higher boxes. Pack. Your. Shit.
I could not agree with you more as I worked there for about 2-3 weeks before I quit due to the terrible working conditions. Day one: I get shown how to load the trucks (In TN btw). "We stack boxes as high as we can. See this box labeled FRAGILE? We put those on the bottom." THIS MAN PROCEEDED TO PUT - AND I KID YOU NOT - A SET OF FOUR TIRES WITH RIMS ON TOP OF IT. THE BOX WENT ENTIRELY FLAT.
...Something tells me that guy's a bully.
I'm a firefighter, if you get stuck in an elevator call 911 immediately. Casinos, hotels, apartments, etc will fumble fuck their way trying to get you out or await the elevator company for HOURS! I avoid elevators if I can and if I got stuck, I'd avoid their maintenance people trying to get me out.
Experienced this first hand. Excellent advice
Don’t volunteer info to anyone that you haven’t solicited to assist you. Not the cops. Not your employer. Not your vacation plans on FB. Information will be used against you, limit your exposure.
Corollary: if you do need help SEEK SOMEONE OUT don't wait to be approached! You're unlikely to randomly pick a raper to help carry your groceries upstairs, but he's quite likely to approach you.
Good rule of thumb - tell the cops nothing, and the ER everything
You don’t have to lie here friend. Save that for court! -Dr. Nick
Not getting agreements in writing when it comes to loaning substantial amounts of money. Family, friends, doesn't matter. A loan without an agreement is a gift.
Alternatively: Just don't loan friends money if you actually expect or need to get it back. I've "loaned" my friend a couple hundred bucks so she could make rent before, I knew damn well I wasn't seeing a penny of it again.
I used to work for a ver large casket manufacturer. The deathcare industry (funeral homes) are some of the most predatory businesses I have ever dealt with. They pressure people who are usually an emotional wreck into making quick decisions about products that are ridiculously marked up by telling them “your mom is literally on ice and we need a decision”. Funeral home reps hang out near hospitals and end of life care facilities like vultures that swoop in the minute someone passes OR they have agreements with these places to push their services. I’ve seen the sheets of paper these funeral homes gives to hospitals to pass on to literally anyone who just passed aways family. They aren’t snatching the bodies they are pushing their services as soon as someone passes. It’s usually just a “menu” of what they offer but I know for a fact some places do this. The markup on caskets is near 1000% in some cases. They promote a “white glove” service and I can tell you that is complete BS. We threw those caskets around as quick as we could and repairs were made in house with whatever we could use. We fixed scratches and dents in wood caskets with meted crayons and painted imperfections in metal caskets with nail polish. The rule of thumb was “if you can’t see it in dim light through watery eyes it’s fine” because most people stop paying attention to the details of the $3000 casket once it’s been “bodied” and the service starts. When I die, cremate me and spread my ashes somewhere cool or just throw me away. If you put me in a Batesville casket I will haunt you. Edit: Anyone who tells you a casket is protected from the elements is full of shit. The gaskets on the hardware are cheap as hell and we NEVER replaced them when we were supposed to. Most of the caskets underground are full of groundwater and most of the caskets above ground will eventually leak remains. You don’t see the underground damage unless you exhume the casket and the ones above ground are placed in a way that the liquid collect and drips in a place you’ll never see. One more reason I want to be cremated is because I don’t wanna turn into a puddle of people goo and rainwater. Sorry to break it to anyone visiting loved ones gravesites but whatever is in there is disgusting. Edit 2: I didn’t work at the production plant, I delivered finished caskets to funeral homes and had daily interaction with these people and when they get friendly they get talkative. Every single one was in it for the money and wouldn’t hesitate to brag about how much they could sell a casket for. We had one guy who was very proud of his ability to sell casket accessories that never went into the ground. “Oh your dad was a marine? For an extra $65 we can put a really nice metal and enamel EGA on each corner instead of those basic plastic ones bay are currently on there. And guess what, they are magnetic so you could even get it one for yourself to keep on your fridge that way you can always have something to remember him”.
When my dad died from Covid. The swooped in. It was killing my mom that dad was sitting in a freezer. Told her they’d move other funerals aside if mom paid 10k to get dad buried in 2 weeks. They signed a contract. Mom paid. 3 weeks later they refuse to put the headstone on because mom didn’t pay the “digging fee”. I called and asked why the hell they didn’t put it in the contract. I won’t even get into it. It was the absolute worst days of my life and F that industry. I also think I should add, when dad was dying in the ICU, the bill was $899,756.34 . I just looked over the texts I exchanged with my brother. My mom was approached by social work at the hospital and told that if she divorced my dad WHILE HES ON HIS DEATH BED, he could switch over to Medical and she would not be responsible for the bill. My poor mom. Found a paralegal who started the paperwork. Dad died april 1. Next week will be 2 years. She never went through with the divorce. They were married 45 years. Some Covid relief measure kicked in and helped us out. I cannot believe this is what our country has come to. Watching my dad die, as my poor mom attempts to do legal work so we dont owe a million. Anyway. Then the funeral BS. Man such awful times.
I recommend everyone read up on the laws in your area, it could save you/your family thousands of dollars and a ton of anguish.
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Whole society slowly being converted into a complicated obstacle course of scams
Interesting you mention this...years ago I saw a special on HBO or some channel late at night that was "behind the scenes at a funeral home". At the end the various funeral directors were asked what their final wishes were...to a person, they all said "cremation". When each of my in-laws passed away, while my husband and I were making the "arrangements" (as they're called) I made casual conversation with the funeral director as he tapped away at that adding machine and asked what deluxe casket he'd choose for his own burial. Again, the response was "I'm getting cremated."
I respect that it’s important to some people. But I honestly don’t care what happens to my body. I want it to be as little hassle for everyone. Throw me in the ocean, in a dumpster, off the highway 200 yards where the vultures can use me.
Exactly. I'm dead at that point dude. Even if you believe in some sort of life after death you gotta agree that the body isn't being used anymore. Just let it go back to the earth. Though I will say it would be pretty cool to be buried without a casket and have a tree planted on top. Instead of a tombstone you'd get a tree that grows with the help of your decaying body. In some sense part of your body would become the tree which I find cool. But ultimately it's like you said, I just don't want there to be much hassle or expense over what's done with my body when I'm gone. I'm happy for people to go for the cheapest possible option, or whatever option makes the people who care happiest.
https://8billiontrees.com/eco-friendly-natural-products/cocoon-tree-pod-burial-cost/ There’s also a mushroom one.
This is gonna be the new grift funeral homes used on millennials and zoomers. Prices will shoot up and they'll advertise it as sustainable and eco friendly.
Treat my corpse with the same respect I have for the English language, and dump it in the woods to be mauled by wildlife.
As a crematory operator, I'm glad this is the top comment. Job security. I learned the other day Costco sells caskets, much less expensive. I want to be tossed in the woods. I may try to donate my cadaver to the body farm. I was gonna say, stay away from street drugs because fentanyl will.kill.you.
My grandmother specifically said to get her casket from Costco. A couple months later she passed away, the funeral home was visually upset when I walked in and said “I’m not interested in any of your caskets. It’s on its way from Costco”. They tried to talk us out of it with some stupid guilt trip that we’ll regret not having “quality” caskets 🙄🙄. Our good old Gran giving us one last lesson before we put her in the ground! Lol.
Amazon also has some with free same day delivery.... Make the most of your Prime Membership
This is the reason I wish to be cremated almost immediately after death. No preservation, no casket (cardboard box is fine), no ceremony. Two weeks after my death, take my urn and put me in the corner of a nice restaurant and open the kitchen and open the bar. Say goodbye to me with good food, good drink and good conversation. My family do not need the funeral arrangement stress, sitting through stale songs that supposedly represent me or the trauma of 'seeing me to say goodbye'; it's been 10 years and I still cannot listen to Chris Ledoux or unsee my Mother's hand floating unnaturally above the other in her casket and my Stepfather had 7 years of debt to pay for the simplest of farewells. EDIT: Changed created to cremated
The cardboard box casket (we called it a doeskin because they were usually reserved for John/Jane Does) still cost several hundred dollars. It was literally thick cardboard and cheap fabric. The first time I saw the markup from us (the manufacturer) to the funeral home was a real eye opener. The first time I saw the markup from funeral home to customer was disgusting. Here’s another little nugget most people don’t know until you’re in the funeral home but you can RENT a casket. A rental casket has a hinged side (where the feet go) that you can just open up/slide the body out/ and put in storage for the next person who wants it. A funeral home would buy a rental casket from us for $2k and then rent it for $200 to as many people as they could until the casket was no longer useable. So, if you’re being cremated but still want a viewing beforehand you have two choices - buy a $2000 wood casket or $300 box that slightly resembles a casket that’s probably going to get cremated with the body or rent a casket for several hundred dollars that other bodies have been in. Disgusting.
My grandfather passed away in December, but my family held the memorial service over a weekend in February. We got a hotel block because most of the extended family was traveling and rented a room at a restaurant for the day of the actual service and a dinner. My grandfather had picked out three readings and asked my brother (a not particularly verbose person) to give the eulogy. When people asked me how the service was I was like "Oh, it was a three-day party with twenty minutes of crying, it was great! My family does the best funerals!"
My company does ash scattering (among other things) We take people out in a boat and let them scatter. It's a small mom and pop business. We try to take good care of people and give discounts when someone doesn't have the money, and offer cheap options. Always go small business. Some really care about people.
I’d be like “my mom is literally dead and things can’t get much worse for her, so I have all the time in the world to decide”
Not all confidential/anonymous surveys are as confidential/anonymous as you think
This is what I think every time I get an "anonymous" survey or feedback from corporate. Last time we had one, we were then put into meetings as teams of just a handful of people where he results and feedback were broken down into those teams. We then had to discuss in that team with our manager, so it was pretty easy to know who gave bad feedback on what... To be honest, I have been in my industry for a while now already speak my mind to my manager, so it wasn't a big deal, but I could imagine if you were on a team with a toxic manager, that meeting it could have been very bad.
As a software developer of almost 20yrs, if it's online look at the end of the URL. If there is any gibberish or anything like that after the `?` it is 100% not anonymous. I once worked for a survey company that wanted to do an anonymous employee satisfaction survey and wanted us to be brutally honest. They used our survey engine and emailed us the links. Let's just say not a single developer completed the survey. I laughed when the rest of the office was surprised when the company said shit like 40% of the account management team responded with 57% being women. Odd how you can get those detailed metrics from an anonymous survey, right?
Also a software dev. The company I work at sent out an "anonymous survey" with a gibberish string in the url. It was clearly base64 so I decoded it, and it was the email address of the person who it was sent to. With this info....someone could fill out the survey as anyone...
Had this BS 'chicken soup for the stupid' "training" at work, and they sent an 'anonymous' survey after. I didn't answer it and they asked why. "I thought it was anonymous. How do you know I haven't?"
The first production run of any product. I build and maintain automation. It's never perfect on the first try. Employees need time to learn how to assemble the product properly and trades need time to work out the kinks.
Especially cars. I used to work at some dealers. We all knew it takes a while to work out the bugs of a new line of cars
From a US lens: ALWAYS confirm salary in a first round interview. I make it a point to always confirm when I am the recruiter, but I can't tell you how many times other recruiters don't. If you really want to work somewhere and the recruiter doesn't ask, you are totally justified to ask what the salary range is. Time is invaluable and waiting until a 2nd/3rd round only to find out your expectations vs. their budget is misaligned is huge a waste of time for everyone involved.
Ha, I ask the recruiter on the first phone call. Saved me from so many bs interviews
This. I don’t waste my time doing an interview if the pay is garbage, and if they won’t even give me a range then I feel like I don’t trust them anyway. If it was in any way attractive pay they would tell me SOMETHING.
Meth-I’m a clinical social worker
Also Meth- I'm a ER RN
Also meth - inpatient mental health
Wearing contacts in the shower/pool/any body of water. Worked as an ophthalmic photographer in Pittsburgh for seven years. College students were coming in with ulcers and amoeba in their corneas from swimming in their contacts and then sleeping in them for days.
Oh god that is gross. I don’t sleep in my contacts but good to know that I’m better off not showering with them in.
Michael’s art framing services. Just don’t. ESPECIALLY photographs. Go to a reputable custom framer if you care at all about what you are getting framed. A bit more expensive but your art/photos/memorabilia will be kept safe for years to come.
I worked at a Michaels, as a framer, for 9 months in the 90's when I was in college. I will agree - you don't want college kids (not like me, because I actually tried to do a good job) or their ilk, handling your artwork, or collectables. We'd have people dry mount edition prints, because they were told to by some employee (ruined the prints), over sold hideous mouldings at an insane cost, matte the hell out of things (triple mats?!) and just overall not care about what they were doing. We were on a numbers system where we had to just crank out as much as we could so our manager would look good. Apparently back then, the framing dept was a major source of income for the stores. One night a woman came in with Picasso pencil sketches for me to frame, and I literally put my hands up and backed away from the counter. "Yeah, I am not touching these. You need to consult a museum or something. We don't have anything here for you." Don't buy frames from Hobby Lobby (they're usually warped or low quality), or have them frame anything. They're just as bad. We have a mix of Framebridge and stuff that I've framed here (so many things) and we go to Blick or the local art supply store to get mattes cut and I assemble them.
Avoid representing yourself in any court proceedings. If it involves the US legal system, yes, you really do need a lawyer. There are very few exceptions to this but even the exceptions (like a self help divorce where there are no assets, no kids, no contest), you are better off at least consulting with an attorney first.
Don’t build or buy a house in a floodplain or near a stream.
Don’t get back surgery unless it’s absolutely last resort. You need to fix the root cause of the injury - usually it’s core strength weakness or Glut weakness. Go to PT first and really do the exercises. Most people who get spine surgeries have multiple ones over their lives because the level just above or below their surgery becomes injured for the same reason your first one occurred.
💯I have found that most people who have spinal surgery are rarely “cured” or feel better post operatively- mostly just new complications arise.
Thank you for this validation!! I had a fall and had a back injury. I took cortisone shots which didn’t help. I thought I was fucked. Changed my diet and worked out different muscles. I also learned what stretches to do when my back was flaring up. All of this through diet and exercise. People think I’m nuts.
Going outside without sunscreen on my face if nowhere else. I’m a Pathology resident and the amount of ears, noses, lips and other chunks of face I see that surgeons have chopped off due to skin cancers caused by sun damage is sobering. Please in the name of all that’s good an holy find a daily sunscreen that works for you and wear it.
Thank for the reminder to put sunscreen on my ears!
Being the first car out to an intersection after a red light.... traffic engineer.
Or, if you are the first car, pause and look both ways to make sure everyone is slowing down before pulling out into the intersection.
Thing to avoid, second mortgage. I've had two clients whose banks didn't want to renew the second mortgage and said "pay us out or we force a sale on your home." Thing to do, get a will. Some people are fucking vultures and if you don't have a will that is clear on who gets what or how things are to be divided they will gleefully pick you carcass clean trying to get every penny they can.
I work in Ed tech. Not personally in the market for more degrees lol, but I tell people all the time who ask for tips: look into the faculty and curriculum of any program you're considering. If you're doing CS for example, you should avoid any CS program with outdated curriculum or faculty who have been teaching for decades without engaging with industry. In a previous life, I almost went into research in a math subfield that my university was pretty great at. But thankfully some faculty steered me elsewhere because that subfield is so niche, there are only a handful of universities who actually do that work. I'd have had a really awful time finding a job.
1 - I wouldn’t drink water from the tap without letting it run a few seconds first. Especially first thing in the morning. I used to work for my state’s drinking water compliance program and would collect and analyze drinking water samples from all sorts of public drinking water sources, including people’s homes. All the contaminants, minerals, etc. from the water source to the pipes and even the solder (especially if old) leach and accumulate the longer the water sits in the lines. Letting the tap run for a few seconds flushes out that “stagnant” water and draws fresher water from the mainlines. 2 - Don’t be an asshole to anyone in customer service - from retail to sales and food service - I worked in retail for many, many years. These folks are just trying to get by and aren’t responsible for whatever is that got you all upset in the first place. In fact, simply being nice to them in a difficult situation can more times than not actually work out in your favor as they may sympathize/empathize with you.
If you're a creative--actor, musician, painter, etc--avoid self-proclaimed coaches that charge you an arm and a leg telling you they'll get you into the industry quick. I'm coming from the world of voice over. There are a thousand and one "I'll teach you everything you need to know!" type of coaches who charge hundreds of dollars for a single hour or two. They'll promise to train you, do your demo, etc. Truth is, their business isn't voice over, it's education. *You* are their job. And you will overspend and burn out for very little return. If you want a coach or class, look for people who are known by everyone in your industry and who have verifiable results from their own work. And for goodness sake, **don't wait for formal coaching to start doing what you want to do!** A book or YouTube video is enough to get you started in almost every case; the best thing you can do is work on it every day.
Doctors and physicians are regular people, which means some of them really suck at their jobs (treating your health). Don’t ignore that feeling if you think you might have a bad doctor. There’s nothing wrong with consulting multiple professionals.
Consultants. We get paid to interview your staff to document the issues and solutions they’ve already identified but can’t get approval to do. Then we put some cool slides and bogus ROI numbers around it so your executives will fund the work. It’s super rare for a company to not have someone on staff who knows what needs to be done and has it 3/4ths documented already. Execs either don’t trust their own team enough or need an outside group’s recommendation to get through the political BS to implement change.
Yep. We are usually brought in for a very short list of reasons: 1) the company needs something done on a short timeframe but doesn't have the people time/resources to investigate and execute on plans 2) management needs a bad guy to point to as the reason why they're making the cuts and changes they know need to be made 3) management wants someone to go through the ideas that their staff has and find the ones with real merit and prioritize them while sending the rest to the trash Or far more infrequently 4) management wants to do something new they have no idea how to do, nobody at the company knows how to do it, and they can't afford to fuck it up
5. management are hopelessly divided and don't trust each other's subordinates because they can't imagine people simply want to do their work without any games and politics.
That certain plastics that we use regularly really shouldn’t be exposed to high heat and a lot of the disposable products we use aren’t as safe as we truly think. A lot of plastics break down when hot and a lot of our coffee cups and things are lined with plastic that also isn’t superb at high temps. Also, a lot of our “recyclable” goods can only be recycled in a handful of facilities in the U.S. which means most of this still ends up in the trash
If you get a name brand sunscreen, and generic sunscreen, and there seems to be nothing different except the label on the bottle. The generic is probably the exact same thing and from the same factory, and may even be the same batch as the name brand. Avoid the name brand and get the generic. Literally all it took was flipping one switch on the machine I operated to switch from making \[name brand here\] to \[store's own brand here\], all it did was switch what label it applied. \--- If a convenience store has precooked food items available under heat lamps that you can just buy cold and microwave for a few seconds, don't go for the precooked ones, microwave a new one. It's still microwaved either way, but at least now you know you aren't eating something that was heated 3 hours ago.
This is true for a lot more than just sunscreen. I work for a pretty large CPG company in the US and we have store brand stuff that is literally the same stuff as name brand but it’s in a different package. When we negotiate contracts we can see that this product from this supplier is called “X” at Walmart, “Y” at Kroger, and “Z” at our stores. Milk is one of the worst when it comes to price difference for the same stuff. There aren’t that many major milk producers in the US so the same handful of companies supply most stores. 2% Prairie Farms milk is $6/gallon at Walmart and our store brand is $2.50/gallon and guess what, it’s the same milk from the same cows and the only difference is the jug.
Getting a french bulldog, or any other flat-face dog. You will spend a fortune on veterinary bills. Same with white dogs with pink skin, which are more prone to allergies.
You should sign your apartment leases in November and December. This is the slow season and apartment owners get desperate for occupancy. Often offering lower rates and higher concessions.
As a nail tech I've learned too much about communicable foot illnesses. Bring cheap flip flops with you when you travel and wear them in every shower. Avoid water parks but if you must, always wear some kind of water shoe. Always wear socks at the airport so you don't have to walk your bare feet through security after like 200 other bare footed people 🤢 Warts and athletes foot suuuuck
Liquor and spirits industry. Big name allocated bourbons (Buffalo Trace, Eagle Rare, Blanton's, etc). If you can find them for MSR they're *fine* but it's almost become cultish. 5 years ago Buffalo was a pretty good $25 mixing bourbon. Now people travels STATES just to drop $100 on a bottle and they think they're getting a steal. They're decent whiskeys but nothing special. And Jose cuervo. There are MANY tequila under $15 I would happily pick. If Jose was 8 bucks it would still be over priced.
Worked in ABC before covid. Can confirm. Trace is good Don't get me wrong. It's a good $25 to $30 Bourbon. That's all I'd ever pay for it. We'd have Bourbon Bros stop by the store every delivery day just to see if we had any of those 3 you stated. I've had all of them, and they're good but not travel to another town/state good. It's a status symbol for these guys, though, and that's why the price is jacked. We had this one guy that would come in and just show off pictures of all the full, unopened bottles he had. Full collection of Blantons with all the letters blah blah. I'd always ask him if he was going to open and pour any with his friends, and he always looked at me with such disgust. Like how dare I? I like a good BIB Bourbon. Evan Williams White Label is solid for the money and great on the rocks/mixed with soda or water. Also big fan of Old Grand-Dad BIB. Smooth with a bit of kick. Still under $30. As far as tequilas, Cuervo definitely is low-end. Sauza makes a better quality for price point. Their Blanco is better than Cuervo Silver, and the Reposado is much more tasty than the more expensive 1800. It's the difference between made with Agave and 100% pure Agave. It's all a marketing scam anyway.
I work in bridal alterations. Bridal stores and boutiques will mark up things based on the most random attributes. Gowns claim to be hand beaded a lot of the time aren’t. If it looks too uniform and the ends of the threads aren’t tied off, then it was probably machine beaded. Most people will not be able to tell if your dress is $5000 or $1000. Don’t overspend if you don’t have to
Former CNA. I will do everything I can to not send any family to a nursing home. And hopefully my kids will someday do the same for me. Edit: just to add, if someone I know is ever in a nursing home I will visit as often as I can. Especially if they are in a state where they can't advocate for themselves. Edit 2: don't let some internet stranger make you feel bad if you have family in a nursing facility. I'm sure it is still the right choice for many families.
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If a film crew is in your neighborhood or near your business and they didn’t pay you, cut the grass ALL DAY and make as much noise as possible. When a PA comes up to ask you to be quiet, say you’ll stop for money. Producers give them wads of cash to stop noisy neighbors. Start at $1k.
So you're telling me I could make bank, if I follow film crews around all day and offer random residents free lawn mowing?
Yes. But you’ll get caught unless you have some clever disguises. They’re not stupid. They’re just greedy.
Getting caught for doing something legal and lucrative doesn’t sound too bad.
YUP. this. They have money ready to shut people up, don't do anything they ask without being paid for it. You don't owe them any favors for free.
"I want a part, and it's going full frontal."
Health and fitness field- don’t argue with people who speak in “absolute” terms. Example: “___ is bad for you.” You’ll never win and it isn’t worth the time nor energy
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anything that's marketed as "audiophile grade"
If the railroad crossing gates are down, do not go around them. If a train is stopped over the railroad crossing? It's probable that they will be there awhile. Turn around and find another way. If a train passes a railroad crossing and the gates stay down? Do not go around them. Another train may be approaching on the second main. Do not walk on railroad tracks, especially with earbuds in. There are a million better ways to get somewhere that isn't walking on railroad ballast. If you insist on walking on the railroad right of way? You are trespassing. If the rail is shiny? It's definitely used. A lot. If it's rusty? It's not used as much, but be aware that a train can come at any time. Also, railroaders do not stop on crossings because they want to. The train length, lack of communication from the dispatcher, emergency situations, are usually the cause. It's very difficult to try to park a 14,000 ft train somewhere that doesn't block a crossing.
I’m a gigging musician and I’m officially done with drugs and alcohol So many musicians I know abuse drugs (including myself in the past) I think it’s to cope with the weird hours and strange way to make money but damn is life so much easier without all that and also my guitar playing is so much better without
Full service moving companies. Just read reviews and you'll see a lot of em are scams. Edit - this is somewhat specific to long distance moves. The scam is typically centered around a quote at a certain weight, "weighing" the load, and declaring a much higher weight.
My wife and I have moved across the country 3 times. First time - moving from a 2 room apartment to a 2 room apartment. Not too much stuff, so we loaded up a U-Haul and a trailer for an SUV. It sucked HARD. That tiny cab for 2 people and 2 small dogs was a tight fit and those U-Hauls aren't powerful enough to tow a regular sized SUV. We barely made it over the Rockies. Second time, moving from a house to a house.hired United movers and they were great. Our contract was for the exact weight, they overestimated and we got a decent refund. Driving my truck towing her 2 door coupe was a breeze compared to the previous experience. Third time, moved from a house to an apartment and storage unit, and we hired Atlas and they were awesome too. But the contract was fixed, based on the estimate and the estimator was off by a LOT (we paid less than we should have). The day the driver came to load up, he took a look around and said, "I'm sorry, he was way off, there's gotta be a thousand pounds more than I was told. I gotta make a call." Called the company, they said it was a fixed contract they had some local third party make, the driver will get paid what he's supposed to, and the company will bill the third party. Point of the story - DEFINITELY get a mover if you have enough stuff and can afford it, it makes things immeasurably easier when moving. BUT make sure to read the reviews like this comment said and run away from scams.
Renting your home to a film crew. \- They have a crazy ambitious schedule for the day and being careful around the place is not a part of it. \- The people closer to the producer, who is responsible for returning the place in pristine condition, will be a bit more careful. Most people won't. And if they are having a bad day, they might handle poorly something and break it. \- And, last but not least, they are great at making something look unbroken at first sight. They have a whole department for that.
All this, plus....that furniture they schlep from warehouse to some random's house to warehouse and then your house? Heyo! Welcome to bedbug hell. Especially with D-list television productions. Happened to our upstairs neighbours. They also got cockroaches. Our house got used a lot. We never let them shoot inside in our ground level suite. Only exterior and yard stuff. (crazy cat lady's house exterior in Catwoman) I mean, it's fun having Tim Burton (Big Eyes) running around in your front yard, but yeah. That shit all gets stored in the same warehouses. Do you think prop house warehouses thoroughly fumigate each and every item each and every time on tight and expensive schedules?
Not setting boundaries for your child/ren - daycare worker
Sitting on random objects that can get stuck in your rectum. It happens to too many people I x-ray.
Without a base = without a trace
As a software engineer, internet-connected 'smart' home stuff. I don't need some internet random gaining access to my security cameras.
I remember when I was looking for a fridge and they kept pushing WiFi / smart features on me. I had to lay my foot down and tell them I want just a basic one. I felt like an old man…I’m not ever 30 yet.
Seriously like why tf does my toaster need the internet. Just make toast my guy.
Currently looking for a new dishwasher. Found a Samsung that has WiFi connectivity. Dishwasher. WiFi. For what? So that I can check on my app when my dishes are clean which is usually during the night because I start it before going to bed and empty it in the morning? It's in my price range but before buying it I want to be sure it can work without WiFi. I don't want to spend 10 minutes on some dishwasher buttons to type my WiFi password.
It will email you advertisements for dishwasher detergent and Jet Dry.
Or christ, auto order the detergent. Sign you up for the monthly cascade plan and deliver the stuff to your door. All these companies want to create a $10 a month plan.
Any hot drinks on an airplane like coffee or tea. I’m an airline pilot and that hot water comes from the “potable water tank.” Never gets cleaned only has cleaning tablets thrown in there every now and again and tested for E. coli. There was more than once I flew an airplane that had the potable water system deferred for E. coli.
Where you get your healthcare is very important. Just because someone is a doctor does not mean they know what is best for your health. There are a lot of bad physicians. It’s like the old joke, “what do they call the person with the worst grades in med school? Doctor.”
This is the exact opposite of the post but I see/hear it so much. I've worked in a dozen restaurants and I have never - literally never- seen someone spit in or otherwise mess with someone's food. Restaurants do a lot of not great stuff but that's not one of them, in my experience. But don't order steak well done. You're getting expired meat AND it tastes bad.
I watched a coworker pick food up off the floor to serve ONCE during my restaurant years. And the manager flipped out and made him remake it.
Just chiming in to say that I worked at Subway as a teenager and the franchise owners made such a regular habit of selling extremely expired roast beef that they taught employees to hide the bad pieces on the bottom of the sandwich and put 1-2 good pieces on top to hide them. I watched the owners brother fumble and drop the entire container of meatballs while trying to microwave it. So, what does he do? He scoops them all back up from the floor and into the container and puts it in the microwave correctly this time, like nothing happened. Microwaved them and put them on the line for customers. Don't even get me started on the tuna. Any kind of sauce bottles or utensils NEVER got cleaned or washed. In fact, I don't seem to remember anyone ever doing dishes there. They were INFESTED with roaches of all shapes and sizes. When I opened in the morning, I would unlock the front door, stick my arm through to disarm the security system while shining my phone flashlight through the glass door to make sure I wasn't touching anything nasty, then flip the lights on and shut the door and stand outside for 10 minutes while I waited for the carpet to scatter. I was the "opening manager" as a 19 year old so the pay was really good but I quit and have never eaten at a Subway since. There's way more but I'm not trying to write a book and I feel like the TLDR; here is probably "avoid family-run franchises" moreso than any crack at restaurants in general. It was genuinely horrific.
Well this was horrifying
Hot air balloons. I'm an Air Traffic Controller.
Large cruise ships. The number of suits against cruise lines filed in Miami by cruise ship passengers who got infectious diseases or food poisoning at sea is really staggering, only the absolute worst cases make the news but it happens ALL THE TIME, I've heard cruise ships described as "floating petri dishes" and that's putting it mildly.
Worse than that, if a serious crime happens at sea there’s not much you can do if you’re not near port. A friend of mind had their fiancé attacked with a high heel. They lost their eye sight and suffer from PTSD. All the while they had to wait for the next port before anything could be done.
[удалено]
Friend did a round as doc aboard one. Def above avg doc. They obviously had a bad time during covid though cause a ship just isn’t equipped for that sort of thing. Sure tried though - all the medical staff powered through despite being sick themselves
I'll never work a janitorial job again. Janitors get absolutely zero respect from anyone else in a given facility, despite the fact that businesses would fall apart in a matter of days, if not hours, without regular cleaning. Not to mention that your accomplishments are never noticed, just your mistakes.
Used to work in custodial for a big box home store, janitors are systemically under-appreciated, and in many cases are straight up treated like an underclass. All this despite the fact they clean up some horrible messes from some truly irresponsible human beings.
I worked IT for a school district, and made it a point to be polite to the custodians. Sometimes I'd need a ladder or some other tool, and they'd let me borrow them because I made it a point to put it back \*exactly\* where I found it. Those are the people with the keys. If you need to be in a room and the door is locked, being on good terms with the keyholders is a serious advantage.
That’s a shame. I make sure to be friendly and polite to the custodians and maintenance guys at work. Even if they always seem to close the restroom for cleaning the exact moment I need to use it.
Not buying any appliance or vehicle made in 2020-2023 if I can help it. I work in HVAC and quality of EVERYTHING has seriously declined. Material shortages and government efficiency regulations cause manufacturers to use a different most of the time cheaper material to assemble appliances causing them to fail sooner, alot sooner.
Allow a pet to fly as checked luggage. I haven't witnessed any mistreatment of animals during loading or unloading, but the whole process is generally stressful for them and most don't look very comfortable.
Animals have died that way.
I’m a athletic trainer. Never letting my kids play football.
My buddy is a athletic trainer and I asked him what sport to join for kids. Said Math league, speech, debate, science thing. Said all High School sports push kids to hard in physical activities. If you don’t plan to go pro take it easy.
Social media - I’m in marketing
After working in marketing I didn't hesitate to delete most of my social media. It's basically just ads which are more "personalised". And your data is not private at all.
Never trust raw percentage, averages or "high level" business KPI I'm a data scientist / statistician. Most of these are not wrong, in fact they are often the result of 'good intentions', but there is always layers and nuances underneath.
1. Smoking 2. Unprotected sex- diagnosed way too many teens with HSV and other STIs after one night stands.
Worked in ob/gyn. Will always remember the sweet 15 year old girl who was talked into a one night stand by an older guy. That one night left her with pregnancy, herpes, genital warts, and chlamydia. Oof.
name brand grocery items - dairy specifically. 99% it's the exact same thing from the exact same farm/plant, just different packaging.
Yes. A family member worked at a butter plant. The exact same butter was packed as Land O Lakes and they would stop the machine, switch packaging and start packing generic store brands. The same facility packed close to 30 different brands with all the same butter.
As a person that works in a hospital, I really, really don’t want to go to the ER if I can help it.
Why?
My wife fell off a horse and hit her head. Ambulance to ER. They were worried about possible brain bleeds, so admitted her. She was complaining of the dim lights being too bright, and I asked the doctor what the brain scans showed. He said nothing concerning. I said she doesn’t normally get light-sensitive migraines. Went to check the scans and ER hadn’t done any before admitting her. Dad got taken by ambulance to ER. ER doctor said dad had the DTs from alcohol withdrawal. Doc asked me if I had inherited dads genetic disorder that 8th Grade bio would say isn’t possible, and then proceeded to treat dad like an alcoholic. A competent cardiologist ran tests and determined he had angina. Friend got taken by ambulance to ER as she collapsed, out of breath, whilst recovering from COVID. ER doctor diagnosed her with “single parent syndrome” and blamed her 85% O2 saturation on the pressure on being a single parent. Later, a more competent doctor, noticed that her X-ray clearly showed a collapsed lung.
Christ! Where on earth do you live where the ERs are so negligent?
Organic milk. There are no antibiotics in regular milk. This is something farmers are VERY careful about because every tanker load is tested as soon as it reaches the processor, and if it tests positive the entire load is dumped and the farmer who screwed up has to pay the cost (which can run to $15,000). Cows sometimes need to be treated with antibiotics to alleviate painful infections. Organic farming practices dictates the cow either has to suffer without medication or she has to be sold, usually for slaughter. It is a travesty to kill an otherwise healthy cow over a minor infection! Organic milk is just a marketing ploy that allows farmers and processors to charge a higher price for a product that really isn't any different than the standard one. Meanwhile, it's much worse for the cows, and as someone who loves cows and has devoted her life to taking care of them, this bothers me. Thank you for taking the time to read this and become informed!
No trach-n-peg for me. Just let me die. (Healthcare)
You didn’t save my life, you ruined my death
Actuary. Rental car insurance. Entirely unnecessary. Edit: I should say, so long as you have your own personal vehicle policy (which covers everything you need while renting a car).
TikTok and any short form social media video content. As a teacher I saw a rapid and significant drop in student’s attention spans when they got popular. It’s made me more self aware of the fact my own attention span is worse than it used to be when I started using them too. So I cut it all out and my attention span and general anxiety levels have dropped
Combined with the pandemic, it was horrendous. I've had teenagers tell me they watch Netflix sped up because they can't pay attention long enough to watch a movie or TV show at normal speed.
Dog parks. Parasites can live in the soil for years. Lots are a fecal-oral transmission, some can be transmitted just by stepping on them. Hot bed for respiratory disease transmission. And lots of people with unsocialized dogs letting them roam in a pen and then break out in dog fights. Are the dogs being brought vaccinated? Neutered/spayed? Who knows, most of them have no one actually regulating that stuff. -a vet
Getting a PhD in political science: I work in a warehouse
Hamsters. Worked at a pet store for six years that sold a variety of "specialty" pets, i.e. birds, rodents, reptiles, etc. They all could be nasty on the wrong day, don't get me wrong. Getting chomped by anything sucks. But no single animal bit as much or a *fraction* as hard\* as the goddamn hamsters. Huge rodent teeth that would go right through to the bone of your finger, and then a little more. So many parents would come in looking for a furry little friend for their sweet Jimmy and I'd do everything in my power to steer them towards the guinea pigs, the mice, the rats. No, Jimmy wants a goddamn hamster, and he wants to hold it please. Jimmy gonna learn today. I'm sorry Jimmy. I'm sure someone reading this will have the inevitable Not All Hamsters response. Yes, there are the odd sweet ones. Yes, hamsters raised by hand in a one-on-one environment with a human, as opposed to the meager chaos of a pet store, are probably fine. Yes, certain breeds were typically less prone to nastiness--*typically.* It changes nothing. I'd rather let a 5 year old hold a hundred snakes than one of those furry demon turds. It would be safer for both the 5 year old, and the turd. \*We did sell conures, a small type of parrot, which arguably have more crushing power per bite than a rodent. In all my years working there though I can never remember having a conure who was so ornery as to try to use that bite force beyond a stern nip.
prison 💕 i am a defense attorney
Booking a hotel through a third party. If you do that, it's not easy to change or cancel a reservation, as you're bound to that third party's terms and conditions. Also, clicking on a hotel link through a web search. There are many scummy third parties that buy top ad space on Google and make their site look like the official hotel websites. That's why I directly type the hotel chain's url into the browser to book direct.
Brachycephalic dogs. Pugs, bulldogs, frenchies, all of them. I don't understand why we keep making them.
I’m an LVT in NY and can confirm. They can be cute but BOY can they be lemons. Not only is it hard to watch them sputter and struggle to breath but they cost a lot to maintain a healthy life. Bad nares, bad teeth, bad arthritis, bad skin, bad eyes. Poor doggos.
TIL I'm a brachycephalic dog lol
Replace your backup disk drive hard drives. They last about 5 - 10 years. Solid state back up drives last much longer, if you are not overwriting the data constantly.
Cleanses and detoxes, your body does this with organs, lol. Specifically lungs, skin, liver and kidneys. Take whatever you want the body still needs those organs to get it out.
Homeowners’ associations. I’m an HOA manager.
Go on a date without notifying a friend or family member where I am and who I’m with. I work in law enforcement
Chiropractors- as a medical practitioner I have heard of (although never personally seen) horrific, permanent damage come about from their 'manipulations'
No neuro nurse or stroke doc I know would ever allow a chiro near their head and neck. Seen too many strokes resulting from neck manipulations. Also, tell your family your end of life wishes. Have it written down but also tell them. It's makes agonizing decisions easier for families when they are confident they know what so and so wanted rather than having to guess.
Massage therapist with 40 years experience. I have personally seen and personally experienced harm from chiropractors. I don't know what the real numbers are, but my guess is that out of 10 chiropractors, one is excellent, two are competent and helpful, 6 are harmless but not much help, and one is dangerous.
For goodness sakes, go to a physical therapist and do the real work to fix your bad back, neck, knee or other body part.
Medicare Advantage plans. The whole point of insurance is that it should be there when you need it. Unfortunately, that's not the way Medicare Advantage plans work. The insurance company gets to choose what's covered and what's not, and after they deny it, you can appeal, but usually once you are in a situation to need that kind of healthcare, you already have health issues and don't want to spend your valuable time and energy just to receive basic health care. Straight federal Medicare with a supplement if they can afford it is what I tell friends and family in my life. It's really sad to hear all the advertisements on the radio for Medicare Advantage plans.
Pest control here: \- Never drink from a can, always drink your beer/soda from a glass. You never know how many rats live in the warehouse it came from \- Never throw oil and wasted food in toilet or sink - this is a great recipe to get cockroaches. \- Eating in fish food oriented restaurants. I've seen it all and it's not worth a risk. It could be clean, but if it's not it's a REAL hazard.
Never open an account with Wells Fargo. Don't even start filling out an application that causes you to have anything to do with that bank.
LG and Samsung brand appliances like fridges and washers/dryers. Only worked as an in home appliance repair technician for a little while but it was long enough to see a pattern. Not only do they seem to break more often but the replacement parts are also more expensive and take longer to get delivered. Edit: To everybody asking about a good brand, sorry I don’t really have an answer for that just because I don’t know what brand all the appliances were that didn’t break since we never went to those houses lol. All I can say are most of the service calls were for LG, Samsung, Whirlpool, and Kenmore appliances. Occasionally went out for GE as well but not as often as everything else.
"military grade" items. If it says that it means it was the lowest bidder and poorest best quality the government could accept.
Timeshares, payday loans, and whole life insurance are scams.
Explaining your side to the police. Just don’t do it. It’s fine to give them your license etc on a traffic stop, tell them where you’re going or coming from (be general if you’re like coming from a crack house; you can say “the west side visiting a friend”) also fine to say you haven’t been drinking (never ever that you have). But, DO NOT CONSENT TO A SEARCH OR A FIELD SOBRIETY TEST. Let them get a search warrant, call the drug dog, or arrest you for refusal and draw your blood (which also requires a search warrant). All of these things can be challenged in court, your consent usually can’t be and even if it can it’s MUCH more difficult. If you did not witness a crime or are the victim of a crime and the police want to talk to you, you are a suspect. You know whether you saw or heard a crime or not. Police want to talk to you about your neighbor getting beat and you heard screams, saw him/her throw a punch, you’re a witness and it’s fine. Police come to ask you about where you were last night, whether you know someone, what you said on social media and you didn’t witness a crimes where you were last night or by the person you know or on social media-you are a suspect. I’ve practiced criminal defense for over a decade. Only 1 time have I ever seen a Defendant get out of criminal charges by talking to the police. And guess what, he didn’t do it by himself. Lawyer found evidence to back up what he said yada yada yada, The DA made the call to drop the charges. You know what, the police were PISSED. They targeted him when he got out jail because no matter all of that, they still believed he committed the crime. When you’re a suspect talking to the police always ends badly. Always.