'We don't clean anything that we sell': 30 surprising industry secrets as told by former employees

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Oct 29, 2023 4:00 PM EDT

You always have to know what you're buying! After all, it's only fair, and sometimes (most of the time), what is advertised is not what you're actually purchasing. These former employees of various industries shared their secrets based on their experiences, which they offered to the wild world of the Internet via this r/AskReddit thread. Some of the fields represented include the food, restaurant, tech, insurance, and music industries. 

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  • Let's just say this list is basically a who's who of being simultaneously shocked and unsurprised. We know that most people don't do their due diligence at work, even in the fields where that's the most important thing. We also live in a world bombarded by marketing ploys and PR tactics. How could that not extend to most industries? Obviously, the fact that everyone's doing it doesn't necessarily make it okay. You have to be careful when buying most things no matter what. It's just part of the reality we're in these days. At the very least, these industry secrets should keep you informed of what to be cautious of moving forward. 

    For more content like this, here is a compilation of funny one-star reviews. 

  • 01
    Font - r/AskReddit. Posted by u/WoOoOoOoShHhHh 3 What's an industry secret in the field you work in?
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  • 02
    Font - TheoLuminati Auto insurance agent. Please, for the love of god, don't tell auto insurance agents more than you have to. They ask you a question, just say 'yes' or 'no' and answer the question as straight as you can. If you go on and on about your life story, you will probably end up saying something you don't have to and making your rate higher, or getting yourself declined. We WANT to get you that policy as cheap as possible, only tell us what we need to know and don't say anything else.
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  • 03
    Font - AMW204. In Microsoft office, word specifically, you can upload recorded interviews and it will transcribe it and ever have speaker one and speaker two, three and four! Basically, eliminating a huge annoying part of the job.
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  • 04
    Rectangle - mmmmpisghetti The fruits and veggies you buy at the grocery store...wash them. 31.2k ↓ Share
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  • 05
    Font - loocaswoodland I'm a musician. It's not really a secret but 90% of of our revenue is from merch. Spotify plays, show guarantees, etc, everything is menial in comparison to shirt sales. In fact, a big reason bands tour as often as possible is because we can sell more shirts when we're in front of people.
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  • 06
    Font - therock212 I'm a dentist. Here's the lowdown on toothpaste. As long as it has fluoride they are all basically the same. When I was in dental school the Colgate lady came by and said that everything that says Colgate Total on it is all exactly the same, the only difference is the packaging. So whether it says whitening, or gum protection, or whatever else it is all exactly the same. The exception is sensitivity toothpaste typically does have an extra active ingredient. KNO3, which helps wi
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  • 07
    Font - ZeD00m Library Worker here: the majority of donations we recieve do not end up in circulation (on our shelves) no matter how much you demand we put them there once they're donated. The reason why this is, is because we only add items to the collection that we think will circulate (be checked out). Most libraries get funding based off of statistics. We don't want to waste shelf-space on items that peope aren't checking out, as it won't improve our stats. So, unless the donated items are br
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  • 08
    Font - Tellurine C As a beginner counselor I worked with a lot of children and adolescents. Consistently the discussion with my colleagues was how it was the parents who were the biggest problem and the kids were just adapting to a crazy environment. 26.9k Share ...
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  • 09
    Font - itsmeEloise A lot of librarians will waive your fines if you have an excuse and you don't ask too frequently, even large fines. Also, librarians DON'T CARE about your fines and aren't judging you. Please come back. We personally have more fines than you. Librarians are ALWAYS overdue with their books.
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  • 10
    Font - DSlamAU.. Former industry: commercial radio It's never caller 5. It's the caller who sounds best on air 22.9k Share ...
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  • 11
    Font - Surgikull. You'd be surprised how willingly someone will do their job and even go above and beyond if you just compliment them for their professionalism, politeness and how they are helping them. Edit: thank you all 22.7k Share
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  • 12
    Font - TwoPesetas Used to screen resumes for small companies. Job "requirements" are more of a wish-list situation. Never let some unchecked boxes deter you from applying - you have no idea what the applicant pool is like. The biggest boon, especially at small companies, is someone who legitimately cares. 21.9k Share ...
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  • 13
    Font - lyckadese Construction boy here. If your windows or sliding doors are tough to open and close. 9 times out of 10, we put your own dish soap on tracks and the thing works perfectly. It take 5 minutes and we charge 150. Dish soap people, its better than wd40 sometimes 21.2k Share
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  • 14
    Font - bubikx9 A lot of successful artists at a certain level of success do nothing more than create a concept and employ several assistants, who are either current or graduating art students, who actually make the art itself, its reproductions or both.
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  • 15
    Font - TannedCroissant. If you order a pizza but like to choose your own toppings, it's often cheaper to choose an existing pizza like a Meat Supreme or something with loads of toppings, then swap out all the toppings for ones you want, than to go for the Create Your Own option in the menu. Note, this is much less awkward if you order online than on the phone. 20.6k Share
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  • 16
    Font - Askafishy. As a former TSA worker airport security is alot of theater. TSA is constantly failing plain cloths inspections. I worked with a guy who got fired because someone showed him an ID with a picture of Micky Mouse on it and he let the person through because he wasn't paying attention. 19.9k Share
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  • 17
    Font - roofshepard 791. Firefighters are trained on several areas and can specialize deeper into certain disciplines. Most of the emergencies we get called to are situations we have never been trained on, but with 4 of us on a firetruck we can normally figure out a solution. 19.7k Share
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  • 18
    Font - responsible_hedonist. Weight loss industry. This might be obvious, but most of our business comes from return clients after they've gained their weight back (and then some). To be clear, the plan isn't rigged to make you gain it back, but the fact that it happens easily as a result of dieting keeps us in business. 18.9k Share
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  • 19
    Font - Mahaloth Teacher: The parents are more of a hassle than the students. I doubt that is a secret, but there it is... 17.7k Share
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  • 20
    Font - xyenz08 Former bath and body works associate here. The scents they "discontinue" will come back with a different name and new marketing. They're just recycling the scents. 17.5k Share
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  • 21
    Font - PauseAndReflect A huge portion of online reviews, ratings, social media presence, etc that you see for any given company are fake, paid for, or done by multiple accounts controlled by us. This includes a company's Glassdoor page (fake reviews about how great it is to work there so that the million negative reviews don't crush their page). I'm not saying it's every company out there, but it's been a lot of the ones I've worked for. Source: am copywriter. What are ethics? I surely don't kno
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  • 22
    Font - POD CloudyNeighborhood. Dress codes and other rules bouncers tell you at the door are usually made up on the fly 16.9k Share
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  • 23
    Font - Dewv Wanna_Go_There. The McDonald's ice cream machine isn't broken, thes were just too lazy to clean it, or more likely, none of the people working that day know how. It's a and takes like 4 hours. It shuts off and makes you clean it, so rest assured it's gonna be clean. Just not when you need it. 15.4k Share
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  • 24
    Font - [deleted] ) Not really a secret but some wholesale nurseries will sell plants for a fraction less then public nurseries and big box retailers. Like 1 gallon of a shrub will sell for $16 at home depot, but at a wholesale nursery that same plant will cost like $2-6. Edit: some wholesale nurseries are open to the public 14.9k Share
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  • 25
    Font - hotelman97 This should be pretty obvious. But for big brand hotels, if you try to sneak above the hotel and call the corporate customer care line to demand compensation/complain. That customer care line will always call the hotel for the full story and not just blindly give compensation. 14.5k Share
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  • 26
    Font - Captain_Sarcasmos. I work in logistics for a massive manufacturing company, money's not 'real. $1000 for 8 lightbulbs. Edit: I'm at the bottom of the totem pole here, I'm just a glorified mailman who talks to a lot of people who're much higher up than me. 13.9k Share ...
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  • 27
    Font - this_time_i_mean_it. When it comes to retail: If you're night crew, day crew just around all day, and doesn't get anything done, leaving all of the work for you. If you're day crew, night crew just around all night, and doesn't get anything done, leaving all of the work for you. 13.4k Share
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  • 28
    Font - [deleted] Nobody uses bots to inflate metrics more than the most major players in the entertainment industry. All the numbers are fake, including sales. ↑ 12.5k ↓ Share
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  • 29
    Font - OlfireOrpheusTod At Goodwill, we don't clean anything that we sell, and we get some really gross stuff that touches everything else so next time you buy something from Goodwill, wash it well 11.4k Share
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  • 30
    Font - DonkeyTron42. If there's a lot of IT problems and your IT people look like they're working their off, it's because they don't know what they're doing. If things are smooth and it looks like your IT people don't do O, it's because they know exactly what they're doing. 10.4k Share
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  • 31
    Font - ralimar The cheapest bottle of wine in the restaurant has the biggest markup. 9.9k Share
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toxic-workplace servers retail airport askreddit secrets Office reddit thread Reddit funny service industry toxic-work-environment
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