Diabetes Trick

Teddykeiko86 · Post by **Teddykeiko86** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 2:17 am

I don't have diabetes, but I can only imagine the pain in the butt it is for those that do.
However, noticed in addition to the race card, their is the diabetes card. They are pulled in different situations.
One day, while at the Olive Garden, a man was told it was a forty minute wait for table. He said that he had diabetes and could not wait. Now even if he was sat then, it would still be a while before the food came. The host kindly offered him bread sticks and water, but that wasn't gonna cut it for him. He got angry, demanded to see a manager and then began to show his diabetes supplies. Now, I think the bread sticks and water was a reasonable accommodation.
There are also memories of guests wanting FOTL passes for rides for diabetes, not an alternative waiting area or a return time. Which brings me to the point of this post, the most memorable guest in 6 years of working at a theme park. Since I took the report, I remember her full name to this day.

A young woman in her twenties comes into GR upset because she was bumped into by a sweeper while she was injecting insulin into herself. Ouch. I kept offering to call first aid. But she didn't want medical help. She wanted a refund. But what baffles me is why would you inject insulin, with your elbow crooked out in a crowded amusement park? That is like asking for trouble. To make this more interesting, she said the syringe was empty, so she shot air into her stomach and the needle broke off inside of her. Still, she refused medical attention. I never saw the offending needle, even when she claimed to have pulled out of her, she never showed it to me. Concerned about embolism (even though that probably wasn't the case) i picked up the phone to call FA. She told me not to call. I gave her a chair to sit on and she kept giving me the evil eye. The convo dwindled down to her wanted a refund. Keep in mind the park had been open 8 hours already. Since tix are non-refundable I offered discounted tickets ($10 ea) for a next visit. No. Comp ticks? Nope. Not gonna do it for her, and she mentioned the L word "lawsuit". Red flags went off. This sounded like a slip and sue to me, only with syringes and a sweeper that didn't speak english. I told her I had to end the conversation with her and had a sup speak to her. I hate the L word.
Well, he got FA to come. The guest was POed that we brought first aid in. Apparently, she had be diabetic since she was a child and never learned not to inject insulin in a place you can get bumped. My sup offered her discount tickets (at a higher price) and she took them. Here is the real shocker... she said "thank you (sup's name) you were so helpful, that other girl didn't help us at all." By now I was behind the partition helping a newhire close out their till. OMG was I pissed. It took everything in me not to go out there and tell her off.
I told this story to a diabetic co-worker and he said that those needles are very hard to break. Which made be feel like this girl took us for a ride. Anyway, her GSR expired and she never got her comps. Yay.

Ever since that day, when some one can in and said they had diabetes, my blood ran cold in fear that I would get another guest like the one mentioned above. So am I crazy or are there other diabetes tricks out there? Or am I the only one that happened to run into the most difficult diabetic ( or not) in the world?

DisneyMom · Post by **DisneyMom** » Sun Feb 27, 2011 11:05 am

Both cases seem to be wanting to take advantage :mad: BTW,did you know those breadsticks are 150 calories each?

CA Screamin Dude · Post by **CA Screamin Dude** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 3:25 am

Here's a little tip. Most times when someone threatens "lawsuit" and refuses to disclose evidence or receive treatment for alleged injuries, you're likely dealing with a liar. Most people who threaten "lawsuit" so quickly have no real intention of pursuing legal action. In fact, by offering to refund a guest, offer them discounted or comp tickets to "make up for" the alleged incident, you may be subjecting the company to civil liability/admission of wrongdoing. Most personal injury/discrimination/"unlawful practice/action" lawsuits result from an extended interaction with the individual, during which there is a definite disagreement over something which is fairly overt if not outright obvious. Rarely will a personal injury person leave the "scene of the incident" on their own to complain to someone else in a designated guest relations place. If they do, they likely know the drill and are trying to work the system. The trick is not to budge, keep asking questions (until the story starts to unravel), and basically work the subject, though that is a move the manager should make.

Speaking of diabetic lawsuits, a diabetic recently alleged to have suffered discrimination at a sushi restaurant when the restaurant refused to let him continue eating $28 "all you can eat" sushi upon seeing that the diabetic removed the rice from the sushi, eating the fish and leaving the rice. The owner offered the patron sashimi (fish without rice), two orders of the assorted sashimi for $25, but the patron refused. The restaurant's all-you-can-eat sushi policy is that patrons shall eat the entire sushi (fish + rice) before receiving new orders. The restaurant's policy is that a patron who has a significant amount of rice/fish on his plate should not receive a refill. The suit alleges discrimination precisely because the restaurant owner supposedly applied the restaurant's policy to a diabetic, who, according to the plaintiff, should be exempt from the policy because of his medical condition.

The plaintiff wants to settle for $4000, the defendant-sushi restaurant owner says his legal bills may reach $6000, and even so, the defendant refuses to settle even though doing so may be cheaper. This is an illustration of the nature of (colloquially) frivolous lawsuits. The lawsuit, filed along the lines of discrimination, personal injury, etc., comes with an asked price of settlement which is slightly cheaper than the anticipated legal fees a defendant would incur by taking the case to trial. These lawsuits are primarily designed to 'scare' defendants into settling for something they never did wrong, just because $4k may be a cheaper way out than $6k.

Some personal injury/discrimination/etc lawyers work on a contingency fee, which means that their client (plaintiff) only has to pay their lawyer if the case is won or settled. Contingent fees are usually calculated as a percentage of the award. This practice benefits the poor who otherwise cannot pay attorney's fees, and for those who legitimately suffer a loss or injury, this is an advantage. However, this also encourages colloquially frivolous lawsuits, as this encourages parties to wildly sue others over baseless and sometimes fabricated claims. If they lose? No harm, no foul, they don't pay legal costs and they don't lose money. If they win? They do pay legal costs, but they still make money over a sometimes completely made up event. Contingency fees are the standard in personal injury cases.

TalkingHands · Post by **TalkingHands** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 12:46 pm

Breaking a needle when injecting insulin while not impossible, is highly unusual. I would expect that there would be considerable bruising. Also if it broke how did they get it out without medical assistance. Now I have bent a needle injecting but it still was intact and could be removed.

As to the person who wanted immediate seating because he was diabetic. If he was going hypo, giving him a coke would bring him up. Otherwise wait your turn and take your meds or insulin when you get your meal or just after. Just because you have diabetes doesn't bump you to the head of the line.

BTW I am a 30 year type 1 diabetic.

Teddykeiko86 · Post by **Teddykeiko86** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:09 pm

CA Screamin Dude wrote:In fact, by offering to refund a guest, offer them discounted or comp tickets to "make up for" the alleged incident, you may be subjecting the company to civil liability/admission of wrongdoing. Most personal injury/discrimination/"unlawful practice/action" lawsuits result from an extended interaction with the individual, during which there is a definite disagreement over something which is fairly overt if not outright obvious. Rarely will a personal injury person leave the "scene of the incident" on their own to complain to someone else in a designated guest relations place. If they do, they likely know the drill and are trying to work the system. The trick is not to budge, keep asking questions (until the story starts to unravel), and basically work the subject, though that is a move the manager should make.

True, which is why when the Lawsuit is mentioned, we are supposed to end the conversation. However, when I did that it aggravated the guest. At the time that compensation was offered is was on grounds that you are ending your day early based on medical condition. Comp tickets were offered before the L word was said and because she stated she was embarrassed and wanted to leave, not for the injury. Since tickets are non -refundable, this would allow her to return another day when she was "better". But yeah, now that I think of it, she was probably pulling our chains. Which is was supervision and first aid thought as well.

drcorey · Post by **drcorey** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 2:24 pm

How do you break off a needle? mine are like |---| this long.
do you know what kind of damage that would have to do to the skin?
they would need medical attention first.

CBeilby · Post by **CBeilby** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:15 pm

drcorey wrote:How do you break off a needle? mine are like |---| this long.
do you know what kind of damage that would have to do to the skin?
they would need medical attention first.

That was exactly my thinking. My needles are anywhere from 5 to 10 mm, depending on my syringe prescription. If you break one of those off, you damn well better call a paramedic.

drcorey · Post by **drcorey** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 5:52 pm

CBeilby wrote:That was exactly my thinking. My needles are anywhere from 5 to 10 mm, depending on my syringe prescription. If you break one of those off, you damn well better call a paramedic.

I use BD ultra fine.
now I just have to learn not to tense up before I shoot myself.
owie, hey what happened to you, I just shot myself and it hurts.

kurtisnelson · Post by **kurtisnelson** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:04 pm

TalkingHands wrote:As to the person who wanted immediate seating because he was diabetic. If he was going hypo, giving him a coke would bring him up. Otherwise wait your turn and take your meds or insulin when you get your meal or just after. Just because you have diabetes doesn't bump you to the head of the line.

I totally destroyed someone on that while doing PAC. A family decided to camp out in the middle of my crosswalk, and starting stating that the father was diabetic and was low on sugar so they needed to stop and rest right there. This was right next to the hub popcorn cart, so I walk over there, ask the manager if I can grab a coke for a diabetic guest and hand it to them. They look at me dumbfounded for a second, so I ask "Anything else I can help you guys with or are you good to go find a spot for the parade?"
They walk off with their tail between their legs.

hobie16 · Post by **hobie16** » Mon Feb 28, 2011 6:57 pm

Very good but now they'll expect a Coke every time they try to pull that scam. :D:

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