Dropped $350 on a 'historical consultant' for my Roman Empire alternate history novel

I paid a guy who supposedly worked on history documentaries to fact-check my draft about a Roman Republic that never fell. He told me my use of stirrups in 200 AD was accurate, but then I found out from a Reddit thread that Romans didn't adopt them until way later. Now I'm redoing chapter 6 and wondering if I should've just stuck with Wikipedia. Anyone else wasted cash on a specialist who got basic stuff wrong?

4 comments

4 Comments

fiona_west213d ago

And then he probably charged you extra for the wrong info too, right?

paul_taylor212d ago

@fiona_west21 You're probably right on the money there. I've run into the same thing with mechanics before. Best way to handle it is to get a second opinion from another shop before agreeing to any work. Always ask for the quote in writing and check for an itemized breakdown of parts and labor. That way you can spot if they're padding the bill with fees for "diagnostics" that took them 10 minutes. If the first guy gets pushy about that, it's a big red flag to walk away.

nancyj1119h ago

You know, I used to be the type who just trusted whatever a mechanic told me and paid the bill without question. But hearing experiences like yours and @paul_taylor21's really opened my eyes to how common this padding of bills is. Getting a second opinion and an itemized quote in writing makes so much sense now, even if it feels awkward at first. It's a shame we have to be so careful, but a pushy mechanic who won't give you that breakdown is definitely someone to avoid. I'll be doing things differently from now on.

emma_flores19h ago

Hear hear, nancyj11. The thing that gets me is how many people still think getting a second opinion is rude or something. Like no, it's your car and your money. But here's what I really want to know - have you ever actually tried to get that itemized quote and the mechanic got weird about it? I had one guy literally snatch the paper back from me when I asked to see the parts list. That's when I knew he was full of it. Makes you wonder how many people just hand over their credit card without ever seeing what they're really paying for.