Then the question becomes why raise this irrelevant anecdote? The OP didn't research either.

The anecdote is both relevant and interesting, even if a little dated.

I think it's kinda bizarre to accuse someone of not "researching" their own recollections. How would one accomplish that?

Well the issue is that stories from “friends of friends” tend to get super unreliable very fast. Unless someone is coming on the record as having been employed themselves, stories from friends are almost always a lot of BS.

Which is likely why it's clearly introduced as an anecdote and not a fact.