Yahoo Lifestyle 18 Insiders Are Revealing Their Industry's Secrets, And I Can't Believe My Ears
You might have read about industry secrets from grocery store employees or HR workers...
But now insiders are sharing THEIR industry's specific secrets. Recently, Reddit user u/Ferro_Roux posed the question, "What's a hack in your industry that customers aren't supposed to find out?"
Here are some of the top-voted responses, as well as secrets from the BuzzFeed Community:
1."Just because you’re on hold doesn’t mean we can’t hear you."
2."If you were on Live Chat with customer service, I could see what you were typing before pressing send. I watched people work through grotesque, racist, and sexist statements, fraudulent lies and mistruths, and meticulous grammar fixes in real-time before deleting and typing 'ok.'"
3."You can rent a nice casket for the funeral and be buried in a cheaper one."
4."Former automotive body process engineer, here. Don’t buy the first or last year of a car. The first year they’re still working out the bugs in the manufacturing process and the last year they’re focused on getting the new model processes working and less attention on the outgoing model. The very best year is the mid-cycle refresh. Processes should be stable by then, and the refreshed exterior usually looks better than the original."
5."I worked baggage at an airport. Nothing is handled with care. If it's marked fragile, your only hope is nice baggage handlers. You should avoid packing breakable things at all costs."
6."Good audio engineers will have faders/knobs that don't do anything. When the talent asks for a change that's goofy or makes no sense, we'll adjust that phantom knob and watch them nod their head in approval of their amazing idea."
7."Therapy cash pay rates are negotiable at many private practices if you're uninsured or your insurance does not cover behavioral health."
8."Hospital bills are negotiable, to a degree. Always ask for an itemized bill and put some effort into analyzing it."
9."Teacher here. We sometimes give grades based on a child’s effort, ability, likability, etc. instead of performance."
10."I’ve worked in retail for years and can tell you that all new clothing is dirty. This still shocks people, but there’s no washing machine, disinfectant spray, or wipes when clothes come in or are returned. Nothing. I’ve opened boxes of new clothes only to see bugs come out. I've seen women come in after workout classes and try on clothes while dripping in sweat. Not to mention what can happen in the factory... The bottom line is people are gross and nothing is clean. Always wash your new clothes when you get home."
11."Electric guitars made out of fancy expensive wood will sound exactly the same as guitars made out of cheap wood. The electronics system is what makes electric guitars sound different from one another, not the fancy AAAAA flamed maple top. It’s pure aesthetics."
12."When IT or tech support asks you to restart your computer, it could be to apply a fix they made in the back-end OR it could be buying them time (for any number of reasons): 1. They applied a fix and it just takes time to sync up — the reboot just prevents the awkward silence of waiting. 2. They're not sure what the problem (or solution) is so they're hoping a reboot fixes it. If not... 3. They're buying time to think or research."
13."Paramedic here. Keep a list of your medical history, medicines, allergies, health card info, and next of kin contact info on a paper on or in your fridge. It’s a common place for us to look. If you’re incapacitated, we have all the info we need."
14."I used to work surveillance at a casino. From something, like, three stories high, we could zoom in on money on the table games and read the serial numbers of the bills. We could see the pips on dice."
15."Any Marriott booking made partially with points, with a 3-day cancellation policy, can be canceled the same day of the booking without any fees."
16."I worked at a major national pet store chain, and I'd advise you not to buy pet fish. Pretty much every shipment that came in was infected with a common parasite. Basically, half our tanks were in quarantine. We had several customers come back saying we killed their entire fish tank because of a fish we sold them."
17."I worked at Best Buy, which sells many larger appliances at cost or even at a loss. Many of these retail prices are controlled, too. Things like televisions, washers/dryers, laptops, phones, etc., do not make Best Buy any money. It's the accessories that make all the money (think: cables, cases, mounts, bags, install, and warranty). Management didn't care if I sold a million TVs. They cared how many cables and mounts I sold."
18.And finally, "Orchestral violinist, here. Sometimes we don't play all the notes."
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
