The fake receipt thing is funny and all but I'm not really buying that a "mean comment" is some magic ad trick people should be running out to try. A 0.8 to 2.9 jump sounds great until you ask if those clicks actually turn into sales, because cheap laughs and curious clicks are not the same as money. Leaning into a joke can work if your brand is built for it, but most companies that try this just end up looking like they're in on a bit nobody else finds funny. Feels less like a genius plan and more like you got lucky that one time.

How did the flat fee guy handle it when you wanted changes after his notes came back, was that still covered or did he start tacking on extra? And did the hourly guy ever explain why one-line emails needed to be separate billable things?

The water temperature thing gets tricky because it depends on how the casings were packed. If they came packed in salt and you toss them in warm water, the salt pulls out faster and the tissue takes on too much water. Cold water slows that whole exchange down so they stay firm. There is also the timing issue people skip over. A five minute soak in cold water does nothing, you still need a good 30 to 45 minutes for them to loosen up right. The rep was right about the tearing, but the real fix is cold water plus enough time, not just switching temps.