What’s The Dumbest Solution To A Problem That Actually Worked? This Guy’s Genius Hospital Trick Goes Viral
Some situations require heavy out-of-the-box thinking which produces solutions that seem too dumb to work. But sometimes they do. Sh0tgunLlama has asked reddit “What is the dumbest solution to a problem that actually worked?” and there were quite a few responses, but one of them stood out from the rest.
Stellapotamus’s response has received nearly 21K upvotes on the site, surpassing all of its competitors. The best part? As other people pointed out, you can probably apply the same method to other places as well. Scroll down to hear Stellapotamus tell his brilliant ‘game plan’ in his own words!
(Facebook image credits: iStock)
People loved the solution and started sharing their thoughts about it
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Share on FacebookIf there is a charge for canceling, I'm a bit surprised there isn't a charge for rescheduling at the last minute. That's basically canceling. I'm thinking you got someone who didn't know what they were doing.
No my doctor's offices are the same. 24 hour notice or reschedule is no charge. Try to cancel within that last 24 hour time and they can charge you the full fee. So if you have no valid excuse then reschedule and if you have to then cancel a few days later.
Load More Replies...I wants had an interest bearing savings account that I went in and told the teller I wanted to withdraw $100 from she told me that I can only withdraw or deposit and amounts of 250 or more so I simply told her I want to withdraw $350 and took the hundred out of the 350 and gave her back the 250 to deposit she said oh and scratched here head and said ok.
In 1965 I applied for Allstate auto insurance at a local Sears’s store. Never had an accident, never had a ticket but I was a divorced female. My check was returned and I was given a 60 (or 90 day ?) grace period to find another insurance company. The Allstate agent was an acquaintance and told me, according to Allstate “divorced females are unstable and not a good insurance risk”. At the end of my grace period the agent tried again to sign me up “just in case they made a mistake/changed their mind”. Same thing happened. Again my check was returned with another grace period. At the end of the second grace period I went to another Sears store (Allstate had offices at many Sears stores in the SF Bay Area) and signed up again. Guess what, I was rejected again. Again, check was returned, again I had coverage for a few month. FREE!!!! I can’t remember how many times I changed Sears/Allstate offices before they finally had me on a list and refused to fill out papers.
Did you post this on "Not always working" by any chance? I think that I saw something similar there. Especially “divorced females are unstable and not a good insurance risk” sounds extra familiar.
Load More Replies...Lol, I'd really become suspicious if something that simple worked for someone who is supposed to be smart. I mean, aren't most people in this business a well educated, observant and intelligent members of the society?
they aren't the ones that handle the books however.
Load More Replies...My uncle wanted to fly from Prince George, BC to Vancouver, BC. The plane would make a layover in Vancouver, BC on its way to Seattle, WA. It was $450 to fly from Prince George to Vancouver but only $300 to fly to Seattle. My uncle only had carry on so I told him to book to Seattle, get off in Vancouver, and not reboard. He did...
Doesn't surprise me, My husband got sick on a trip to Florida once. We asked at the Hotel if there was a clinic nearby. The desk directed us to a medical place just down the road, a regular building, not a hospital, where we went in and waited for almost an hour The Doc came in looked at my Hubby for no longer 5 minutes, told him he had the flu, and gave him two Tylenol. Charge at the desk--500 dollars.
You have to confirmed the appointment 24 hours prior to the appointment.The Dr. can cancelled 2 hours before the appointment. What do you get? NOTHING, but a re-schedule in a month !
Please tell me how to correct/edit a comment. You have to confirm the appointment 24 hours prior to the appointment. The Dr. can cancel 2 hours before the appointment. What do you get? NOTHING, but a re-schedule in a month !
Load More Replies...I recently switched internet carriers so I could take advantage of a federally-funded program exclusively for senior citizens. Although they didn't ask me to sign a contract, I was advised that I must keep the same provider for two years, or I would be re-billed for the difference between the program and their standard costs. I jokingly asked her what if I died before the 2 years was up? Her response: "Guess we'll have to take it out of your estate!" Great comeback, since I understood she was just messing with me.
You have deprived a professional of the income he would earn during your appointment. What is the difference from shoplifting?
Personally, I've never heard of anyone being charged a cancellation fee for cancelling their doctors appointment late. Is there such a fee, here in Australia?
If you live in a country that you have to pay for the privilege of seeing a doctor then your country certainly is not a very good one.
If you have to pay to see a doctor at all you live in a farked country!
I work in a clinic and have been on the other side of the desk when it comes to scheduling/rescheduling/cancelling. It could depend on the kind of appt or specialist being seen. I mean, if it's something that the clinic has to schedule - like an excision or reserve a particular room or something - then a fee isn't unreasonable and neither is a time limit to do so. You also have to take into consideration how booked up that office is and the thought that they could have booked someone else into that spot if they had enough notice. I don't agree about a $200 fee but usually patients have any fees or cancellation policies explained at the time of scheduling. Many times they just don't pay attn to that part of the conversation. The department I was in, even if you "rescheduled" with less than 24 hours notice, your original appt stayed on the books and was considered a "late cancel" or "no show". We didn't have a late fee but we would sometimes refuse patients that did it regularly.
If he hadn't cancelled, he would probably be only charged a $30 office visit fee. Just pay that and leave if they won't reschedule.
I live in the UK where we don't get charged for cancelling an appointment with the doctor. Or to see the doctor. Or for any of our medical needs.
Seems odd to me to have to pay to go to the doctor in the first place. Was this in America?
Seems odd to me to have to pay to go to the doctor in the first place. I presume this was in America?
If they're going to charge for cancellations, how much discount do they give for waiting 3+ hours for an appointment that SHOULD have been at 10:15 am and there was no "emergency" excuse that could be given to justify the extra wait time? I had an orthopedic surgeon that regularly fell behind in his schedule!
Makes no sense. The point of a cancellation fee is that they can't book anyone else in that appointment slot on short notice so they would lose money. And what office needs a week's notice? I have never heard of that and I have been to plenty of doctors.
it only costs about $50 to go to a doctor here, and that's only if you don't go to one that bulk bills the govt instead, then its free.
Went to use my debit card at the store. I hadn't signed the back and they said they couldn't accept it without a signature. Borrowed a pen from the cashier, signed the card in front of the cashier and was good to go. Sometimes life just makes you wonder.
I would wait a few days to call and cancel. That was they do not get suspicious .
My dentist sent me a letter to the same effect a few months ago. It also stated that we should receive a call 1-2 days prior as a reminder of an appointment, but if they don't call we still have to pay. So you can fail to do your part, but I get charged for failing to do mine. then they say "please don't rely on the phone reminder, rely on the card we give you when you schedule" How does a tiny card given to me in June REMIND me of an appt 6 months later when i've no idea where that tiny thing went? I get it, if i put it in my phone or computer no problem, but when they're rushing you from the window to get to their next customer, sometimes you forget!
That is a weird office practice. I worked in a doctor's office as a receptionist while I was in school and their policy was 24 hours to cancel or reschedule. Violating that rule resulted in $50 fee. There were times when I could waive that fee, say if someone's child was sick, a car broke down, etc. But sometimes patients didn't communicate the issue so they just took the fee. I don't know about other offices but the one I worked in started this after too many patients either didn't show up at all or would cancel every appointment they made. The doctor I worked for was very popular and busy so he felt like other patients were being cheated out of time slots by people not respecting the office. I have to say, at first I thought it was wrong, but after being there for a few years, I started to agree with him.
I don't think it is fair for a doctors office to charge for canceling an appointment if you get sick at the last minute. Especially if this doctor can't help you like the DDS or eye doctor
My doctor charges $50 if you don't cancel with 48 hours. The problem with that is that their phone sucks, they don't have voicemail, and when you try to reach out to them, no matter if you're the patient, another doctor's office, or the pharmacy, you will be stuck in their "you are 4th in line...your approximate wait time in 97 minutes" system. Finally get to be the next caller, their system hangs up on you. I have tried it....yet...but I will try a no-show. If I get thru on the same day, I will let them know that I have Pink Eye (highly contagious) and I will tell them that I will still v try to come in. Believe me, they don't want you in there. Just say "we'll it's too late for a cancellation without a charge." They'll tell me "don't worry, we'll waive the fee, please stay home, DO NOT come in the office." 😉
Considering there are always people needing to see the doctor and having to wait too long, they should have easily been able to fit someone else in. The charge is just an excuse to make money.
My doctor 48 hours before an appointment my doctor's office sends a text, reminding you of the appointment, and notifying you that they charge what amounts to just about 30 USD if people don't show up. I've not shown up for several appointments, but she's never charged me. I asked her why, and she said, that there's always something to do, whether people show or not. When people don't show up, she get's ten minutes to do other things, and that adds up to the time she gets to help her son doing his math. She only warns people about not showing up because she doesn't want them to take advantage.
News Flash: An appointment cancellation fee is not legally collectible, even if you've signed a contract that explicitly obligates you to pay a cancellation fee, unless the practitioner with whom you made the appointment can prove that you, specifically, scheduled the appointment. If the practitioner cannot document that you made the appointment, the practitioner's claim will not be upheld, since doing so would enable unscrupulous practitioners to file and collect on undocumented claims at will.
I've seen some ask for your credit card in advance. Most others have you sign pages of agreements when you first come in, wherein you promise to pay a cancellation fee. The doctor then sends a formal bill with the fee. By that line of thinking, unscrupulous practitioners can file and collect on visits you never went to as well, right? They can claim they gave you a physical?
Load More Replies...What irks me is when you show up on time for an appointment and you have to wait on the Doctor. But thats ok, i dont think so
Sounds as though this is the US. And you STILL vote against civilised free heath care!
In the UK a missed appointment costs around £150 in lost work, I think $200 could be spot in. To all those complaining about being low paid, just get over it and attend the appointment, this is the value of the appointment you have been given so don't miss it. You don't complain in a restaurant that the steak you ordered should be cheaper if you are on minimum wage so why should a fine for not bothering to make a phone call be any cheaper?
either way they probably gave your appointment time to someone else and made more than the $200 -- it is a game I tell ya, a game.
Not without enough notice however a week's notice seems a little much, I am sure they could fill appointments with only 2 or 3 days notice.
Load More Replies...Why do you happy to pay for seeing a doctor or medical treatment in the U.S.? It makes me so grateful that here in Scotland, doctor's visits are free as are prescriptions and we're a fraction the size and population of the US.
I wouldn't pay that regardless. No need for fancy tricks. "Go get f****d" would work just fine.
I get charging a small fee,I suppose...although they are doctors because they genuinely want to help others, and aren't doing it for the cash...it's still a business and cancelling late means leaving a gap where they don't have customers to fill it and,thus,lose revenue. but 200 bucks. nah,man. (maybe if they're a constant canceller or did it at the last possible minute for no good reason.
thank goodness i live in Scotland, NO FEE'S ,,,,FREE MEDICAL CARE,,,,(actually it's not free, we pay a national insurance every week to cover the medical costs), but it is free to see your Doctor, or go to accident and emergency in hospital......or operations,....etc....
If there is a charge for canceling, I'm a bit surprised there isn't a charge for rescheduling at the last minute. That's basically canceling. I'm thinking you got someone who didn't know what they were doing.
No my doctor's offices are the same. 24 hour notice or reschedule is no charge. Try to cancel within that last 24 hour time and they can charge you the full fee. So if you have no valid excuse then reschedule and if you have to then cancel a few days later.
Load More Replies...I wants had an interest bearing savings account that I went in and told the teller I wanted to withdraw $100 from she told me that I can only withdraw or deposit and amounts of 250 or more so I simply told her I want to withdraw $350 and took the hundred out of the 350 and gave her back the 250 to deposit she said oh and scratched here head and said ok.
In 1965 I applied for Allstate auto insurance at a local Sears’s store. Never had an accident, never had a ticket but I was a divorced female. My check was returned and I was given a 60 (or 90 day ?) grace period to find another insurance company. The Allstate agent was an acquaintance and told me, according to Allstate “divorced females are unstable and not a good insurance risk”. At the end of my grace period the agent tried again to sign me up “just in case they made a mistake/changed their mind”. Same thing happened. Again my check was returned with another grace period. At the end of the second grace period I went to another Sears store (Allstate had offices at many Sears stores in the SF Bay Area) and signed up again. Guess what, I was rejected again. Again, check was returned, again I had coverage for a few month. FREE!!!! I can’t remember how many times I changed Sears/Allstate offices before they finally had me on a list and refused to fill out papers.
Did you post this on "Not always working" by any chance? I think that I saw something similar there. Especially “divorced females are unstable and not a good insurance risk” sounds extra familiar.
Load More Replies...Lol, I'd really become suspicious if something that simple worked for someone who is supposed to be smart. I mean, aren't most people in this business a well educated, observant and intelligent members of the society?
they aren't the ones that handle the books however.
Load More Replies...My uncle wanted to fly from Prince George, BC to Vancouver, BC. The plane would make a layover in Vancouver, BC on its way to Seattle, WA. It was $450 to fly from Prince George to Vancouver but only $300 to fly to Seattle. My uncle only had carry on so I told him to book to Seattle, get off in Vancouver, and not reboard. He did...
Doesn't surprise me, My husband got sick on a trip to Florida once. We asked at the Hotel if there was a clinic nearby. The desk directed us to a medical place just down the road, a regular building, not a hospital, where we went in and waited for almost an hour The Doc came in looked at my Hubby for no longer 5 minutes, told him he had the flu, and gave him two Tylenol. Charge at the desk--500 dollars.
You have to confirmed the appointment 24 hours prior to the appointment.The Dr. can cancelled 2 hours before the appointment. What do you get? NOTHING, but a re-schedule in a month !
Please tell me how to correct/edit a comment. You have to confirm the appointment 24 hours prior to the appointment. The Dr. can cancel 2 hours before the appointment. What do you get? NOTHING, but a re-schedule in a month !
Load More Replies...I recently switched internet carriers so I could take advantage of a federally-funded program exclusively for senior citizens. Although they didn't ask me to sign a contract, I was advised that I must keep the same provider for two years, or I would be re-billed for the difference between the program and their standard costs. I jokingly asked her what if I died before the 2 years was up? Her response: "Guess we'll have to take it out of your estate!" Great comeback, since I understood she was just messing with me.
You have deprived a professional of the income he would earn during your appointment. What is the difference from shoplifting?
Personally, I've never heard of anyone being charged a cancellation fee for cancelling their doctors appointment late. Is there such a fee, here in Australia?
If you live in a country that you have to pay for the privilege of seeing a doctor then your country certainly is not a very good one.
If you have to pay to see a doctor at all you live in a farked country!
I work in a clinic and have been on the other side of the desk when it comes to scheduling/rescheduling/cancelling. It could depend on the kind of appt or specialist being seen. I mean, if it's something that the clinic has to schedule - like an excision or reserve a particular room or something - then a fee isn't unreasonable and neither is a time limit to do so. You also have to take into consideration how booked up that office is and the thought that they could have booked someone else into that spot if they had enough notice. I don't agree about a $200 fee but usually patients have any fees or cancellation policies explained at the time of scheduling. Many times they just don't pay attn to that part of the conversation. The department I was in, even if you "rescheduled" with less than 24 hours notice, your original appt stayed on the books and was considered a "late cancel" or "no show". We didn't have a late fee but we would sometimes refuse patients that did it regularly.
If he hadn't cancelled, he would probably be only charged a $30 office visit fee. Just pay that and leave if they won't reschedule.
I live in the UK where we don't get charged for cancelling an appointment with the doctor. Or to see the doctor. Or for any of our medical needs.
Seems odd to me to have to pay to go to the doctor in the first place. Was this in America?
Seems odd to me to have to pay to go to the doctor in the first place. I presume this was in America?
If they're going to charge for cancellations, how much discount do they give for waiting 3+ hours for an appointment that SHOULD have been at 10:15 am and there was no "emergency" excuse that could be given to justify the extra wait time? I had an orthopedic surgeon that regularly fell behind in his schedule!
Makes no sense. The point of a cancellation fee is that they can't book anyone else in that appointment slot on short notice so they would lose money. And what office needs a week's notice? I have never heard of that and I have been to plenty of doctors.
it only costs about $50 to go to a doctor here, and that's only if you don't go to one that bulk bills the govt instead, then its free.
Went to use my debit card at the store. I hadn't signed the back and they said they couldn't accept it without a signature. Borrowed a pen from the cashier, signed the card in front of the cashier and was good to go. Sometimes life just makes you wonder.
I would wait a few days to call and cancel. That was they do not get suspicious .
My dentist sent me a letter to the same effect a few months ago. It also stated that we should receive a call 1-2 days prior as a reminder of an appointment, but if they don't call we still have to pay. So you can fail to do your part, but I get charged for failing to do mine. then they say "please don't rely on the phone reminder, rely on the card we give you when you schedule" How does a tiny card given to me in June REMIND me of an appt 6 months later when i've no idea where that tiny thing went? I get it, if i put it in my phone or computer no problem, but when they're rushing you from the window to get to their next customer, sometimes you forget!
That is a weird office practice. I worked in a doctor's office as a receptionist while I was in school and their policy was 24 hours to cancel or reschedule. Violating that rule resulted in $50 fee. There were times when I could waive that fee, say if someone's child was sick, a car broke down, etc. But sometimes patients didn't communicate the issue so they just took the fee. I don't know about other offices but the one I worked in started this after too many patients either didn't show up at all or would cancel every appointment they made. The doctor I worked for was very popular and busy so he felt like other patients were being cheated out of time slots by people not respecting the office. I have to say, at first I thought it was wrong, but after being there for a few years, I started to agree with him.
I don't think it is fair for a doctors office to charge for canceling an appointment if you get sick at the last minute. Especially if this doctor can't help you like the DDS or eye doctor
My doctor charges $50 if you don't cancel with 48 hours. The problem with that is that their phone sucks, they don't have voicemail, and when you try to reach out to them, no matter if you're the patient, another doctor's office, or the pharmacy, you will be stuck in their "you are 4th in line...your approximate wait time in 97 minutes" system. Finally get to be the next caller, their system hangs up on you. I have tried it....yet...but I will try a no-show. If I get thru on the same day, I will let them know that I have Pink Eye (highly contagious) and I will tell them that I will still v try to come in. Believe me, they don't want you in there. Just say "we'll it's too late for a cancellation without a charge." They'll tell me "don't worry, we'll waive the fee, please stay home, DO NOT come in the office." 😉
Considering there are always people needing to see the doctor and having to wait too long, they should have easily been able to fit someone else in. The charge is just an excuse to make money.
My doctor 48 hours before an appointment my doctor's office sends a text, reminding you of the appointment, and notifying you that they charge what amounts to just about 30 USD if people don't show up. I've not shown up for several appointments, but she's never charged me. I asked her why, and she said, that there's always something to do, whether people show or not. When people don't show up, she get's ten minutes to do other things, and that adds up to the time she gets to help her son doing his math. She only warns people about not showing up because she doesn't want them to take advantage.
News Flash: An appointment cancellation fee is not legally collectible, even if you've signed a contract that explicitly obligates you to pay a cancellation fee, unless the practitioner with whom you made the appointment can prove that you, specifically, scheduled the appointment. If the practitioner cannot document that you made the appointment, the practitioner's claim will not be upheld, since doing so would enable unscrupulous practitioners to file and collect on undocumented claims at will.
I've seen some ask for your credit card in advance. Most others have you sign pages of agreements when you first come in, wherein you promise to pay a cancellation fee. The doctor then sends a formal bill with the fee. By that line of thinking, unscrupulous practitioners can file and collect on visits you never went to as well, right? They can claim they gave you a physical?
Load More Replies...What irks me is when you show up on time for an appointment and you have to wait on the Doctor. But thats ok, i dont think so
Sounds as though this is the US. And you STILL vote against civilised free heath care!
In the UK a missed appointment costs around £150 in lost work, I think $200 could be spot in. To all those complaining about being low paid, just get over it and attend the appointment, this is the value of the appointment you have been given so don't miss it. You don't complain in a restaurant that the steak you ordered should be cheaper if you are on minimum wage so why should a fine for not bothering to make a phone call be any cheaper?
either way they probably gave your appointment time to someone else and made more than the $200 -- it is a game I tell ya, a game.
Not without enough notice however a week's notice seems a little much, I am sure they could fill appointments with only 2 or 3 days notice.
Load More Replies...Why do you happy to pay for seeing a doctor or medical treatment in the U.S.? It makes me so grateful that here in Scotland, doctor's visits are free as are prescriptions and we're a fraction the size and population of the US.
I wouldn't pay that regardless. No need for fancy tricks. "Go get f****d" would work just fine.
I get charging a small fee,I suppose...although they are doctors because they genuinely want to help others, and aren't doing it for the cash...it's still a business and cancelling late means leaving a gap where they don't have customers to fill it and,thus,lose revenue. but 200 bucks. nah,man. (maybe if they're a constant canceller or did it at the last possible minute for no good reason.
thank goodness i live in Scotland, NO FEE'S ,,,,FREE MEDICAL CARE,,,,(actually it's not free, we pay a national insurance every week to cover the medical costs), but it is free to see your Doctor, or go to accident and emergency in hospital......or operations,....etc....
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