We have all heard the doomsday predictions. The Chinese are unloading the dollar. The Saudis will price Oil in Euros. The anti-dollar has arrived. Bye bye American Peso.
But hang on a minute. What are they hanging their hat on ? The Euro ? A conglomeration of dysfunctional Europeans, who can barely stand each other ? The Greek tragedy that is now unfolding is just a precursor of things to come. Wait till we have some real disagreements say when the French unemployment starts peaking just when the German economy is smoking hot. How can economic policy be co-ordinated without a real political union ?
Anyone who invests their life's savings in the Euro because they do not like Obama's profligate policies, are taking a huge risk. It would make more sense to buy the Saudi Riyal. At least that is backed with Oil for some time to come. What does the Euro offer you ? A bunch of Socialists with institutionalized under-employment. There is no military might, no budding superpower, no dynamic entrepreneurship, to back its value. There is no case for the Euro.
Friday, January 15, 2010
DMO's have a great business model
I called my DMO the other day. I was terribly upset with my Dentist. Instead of charging me 40% of the total cost she had charged me 60%, in error. Now she refused to give me back my 20%, saying that there were some additional costs that had not been included in the original charge. I felt terribly scammed. She was keeping my 20%.
So I called my DMO. The friendly representative on the other line explained to me all the details of my plan. He also went off on a side discourse about tooth numbers. Did you know that tooth numbers 1 thru 6 have a different insurance coverage from the rest of the crowd ?
Anyway, the guy assured me that my dentist should waste no time in sending in her claim ..btw ..forgot to mention - this was for a crown replacement. Anyway, this guy impressed on me that it was absolutely imperative that my dentist send in her claim soon. They would not process a claim if it was later than two years. When I conveyed this to my dentist, she was amused. I realised why when I saw the amount the DMO had paid her - a princely sum of $15.
Now we all know that Dentists make a sinful amount of money, working just four days a week. So how does this scam really work ? The way it works is that the DMO is just a roll of customers - like a marketing database. We are actually paying a $1000 + bucks a year to be part of a customer database. The two cleanings a year is all that is covered by this plan. Once the Dentist gets you on the client list, the only way for them tomake money is by crown replacements, tooth extractions and other high value ( probably unnecessary treatments). It is like taking your car to the local mechanic - not the honest one. The one with gambling debts.
And all those percentages, 60% or 40%. To quote Newman from Seinfeld about zipcodes - the secret is that they are meaningless! Theoretically, the dentist could double your cost and then give you a 50% discount,because you are a preferred customer from the DMO.
Well that was my rant for the day. Maybe, everyone else already knows this scam and I am the last one in on it.
So I called my DMO. The friendly representative on the other line explained to me all the details of my plan. He also went off on a side discourse about tooth numbers. Did you know that tooth numbers 1 thru 6 have a different insurance coverage from the rest of the crowd ?
Anyway, the guy assured me that my dentist should waste no time in sending in her claim ..btw ..forgot to mention - this was for a crown replacement. Anyway, this guy impressed on me that it was absolutely imperative that my dentist send in her claim soon. They would not process a claim if it was later than two years. When I conveyed this to my dentist, she was amused. I realised why when I saw the amount the DMO had paid her - a princely sum of $15.
Now we all know that Dentists make a sinful amount of money, working just four days a week. So how does this scam really work ? The way it works is that the DMO is just a roll of customers - like a marketing database. We are actually paying a $1000 + bucks a year to be part of a customer database. The two cleanings a year is all that is covered by this plan. Once the Dentist gets you on the client list, the only way for them tomake money is by crown replacements, tooth extractions and other high value ( probably unnecessary treatments). It is like taking your car to the local mechanic - not the honest one. The one with gambling debts.
And all those percentages, 60% or 40%. To quote Newman from Seinfeld about zipcodes - the secret is that they are meaningless! Theoretically, the dentist could double your cost and then give you a 50% discount,because you are a preferred customer from the DMO.
Well that was my rant for the day. Maybe, everyone else already knows this scam and I am the last one in on it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)