Hey all…

I don’t know if age makes you wiser…or just a little more irritable when it comes to those who try to pull a fast one on you.  To get the wool pulled over your eyes, to get hoodwinked, to get some super-duper sales pitch from the semi-professional sales associate in the electronics department of your local big box mart, so on and so forth, etc. etc….. Why can’t I just get what I asked for without getting a list of reasons that I am going to have to have all of the accessories for my new gizmo?  Sure, I know that there is suggestive sales when it comes time to make your purchase…can’t buy that new ceiling fan without getting new light bulbs for it, can you?  You mean I can’t buy a $100 car stereo without having to buy a new dash mounting kit, a new wiring harness and hook up, an antenna hook up, speaker wiring harnesses…so now my $100 stereo is really going to cost me well over $200?  Uhem…perhaps I will just keep my factory AM/FM with 8-track stereo instead.

I do know that there are many shady deals done at the expense of the un-aware customer.  Heck, I’ve seen first hand how the old “bait and switch” slight of hand has been cause for feathers getting ruffled.  Of course if you have seen Fargo then you had seen a good example of this when Jerry Lundegaard was throwing in the super under coating without the customers knowing about it…then billing them for a service or item that they did not want.  That sure is some good true coat…isn’t it Jerry?

Now, I know that there are professionals out there that have rates and fees that are proportional to the time that they spent in graduate school and that is reflected in the bills that they send out.  I have no quarrels when it comes time to pony up for services that meet or exceed my expectations by any professional.  My concern, is when you are referred to this person or that person and they may (or may not) be able to assist you with your needs.  How convenient is that!  It just so happens that in this specific situation revolves around one doctor making a referral for another doctor.  Ah, well it would seem that nothing could really be done to help out by doc number two, but he can refer you to another who might be able to lend a hand.  It just seems that when the bill comes, there would be some sort of justification for the amount that was billed by said doctor number two. Again, time is money…I guess the five or ten minutes I spent with them was well worth expense…well, maybe not.  If you really didn't do anything, shouldn't your bill be a little more in line with that?  Well, huh?  Perhaps doc number three or specialist number four will work out better.  Where's my checkbook? 

It’s Sunday and it’s slow…if you can’t tell from my rant.