‘What is a secret about the industry that you work in that customers shouldn’t know?’: Employees share the secrets that nobody knows about the industry they work in, and that would change the customer experience completely.

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María Cetra • Writer
Aug 11, 2026 1:00 PM EDT

Industry secrets? I'm always in for this gossip…

When you start working in an industry, you end up discovering things you never expected to know in the first place. It happened to me. I remember when I started working with an insurance company, an industry I knew absolutely nothing about. I started with some training that gave me a general idea of what insurance was and how it worked, especially what payments were attached to it. But when I started to actually work, I ended up discovering so much more. How it was managed, how people were paying for it, what it covered. I even learned about state laws and permits. I went from 0 to 100 in almost no time. It was insane.

This wasn't particularly useful for me per se, but I realized that because of reading insurance documents all the time, I now knew how to read other relevant documents and how to look for the information I needed in no time. I also learned how to get to a real person when calling other insurance companies in no time, which was the most useful thing of all. Nowadays, I can call whatever company number and go through their IVR system in two seconds to get to the real person. I also practiced so much math that I can do calculations quicker.

I believe you learn useful stuff at every job, and when I say everyone, I mean it. You may think that being a server you will just learn how to deal with people, but the truth is you will probably also learn about food, cooking methods, and even etiquette. So if you want to learn more about other industries, especially the secrets they hold that can make your experience as a customer a 100 times better, then read the thread below for some juicy gossip. 

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What is a secret about the industry you work in that customers shouldn't know, but that would completely change the way they spend their money?

A person with a finger across their mouth indicating silence. Representation.
via Kristina Flour

A person with a finger across their mouth indicating silence. 

Representation.

duckebones Cybersecurity isn't being hackproof, it's being harder to hack than a hacker has the appetite for sticking around for. It's cyber deterrence. Just like with door locks, those aren't for the bad guys, those are for the honest folks.
via Still-Initiative-804
glucoseintolerant that if you are half way handy, basic locksmith stuff isn't hard. Half of the "locksmiths" out there are drill and replace smiths. I see all the time people posting on the locksmith reddit " did I get Scammed" well you paid them $300 for a $45 deadbolt because they drilled and destroyed yours.
via Still-Initiative-804
orangeunrhymed After working in a grocery store for 8 years - WASH YOUR PRODUCE. I've seen people do the most disgusting things to produce, like everything from open-mouth cough on the wet rack, to wiping their boogers on ears of corn, to letting their toddlers gum on carrots and put them back. I use white vinegar on most of my produce, and actual unscented soap
via Still-Initiative-804
on anything with a rind (melons can be bigger vectors for salmonella and E. coli than raw meat). I also wipe down/wash the tops of cans. My store isn't dirty, but I've seen mouse droppings on cans of soup at various stores.
via Still-Initiative-804
Two friends telling a secret to each other. Representation.
via Ben White

Two friends telling a secret to each other. 

Representation.

pandasweatshirt debt relief agencies are a scam and will only f your credit up. i work in the mortgage industry.
via pandasweatshirt
suburbanoutrage I work in the trades. When getting estimates for work cheaper is rarely better. And the most expensive is probably ripping you off. Your best bet is often in the middle. Reputation should be your deciding factor not price.
via suburbanoutrage
rainier_withastraw I work in produce distribution. All of the grocery stores in my city get their produce from us. You're paying more to shop for produce at a bougie grocery store when you can literally get the same produce for $3-4 cheaper at a different store.
via rainier_withastraw
Zedra123 I used to work for a very high end supplements company, think vitamins, cod oils, protein powders, pre workouts, millions of pounds worth of stuff, half of the stuff we had was 3-5 years out of date, but because it was so expensive we kept it, whenever we had a inspection we loaded up the out of date products and took them away to our bosses warehouse in another estate, Almost all the supplements we made
via Zedra123
were so heavily under dosed it was a complete waste of money to buy, but we sold thousands upon thousands, £30-70 a bottle, biggest boom was during Co id, it was an giant rip off, the entire supplements industry is a massive dodgy racket cash cow
via Zedra123
MadOx321 I'm a director at a college. If you want to go to college affordably, while not possible for everyone, colleges give massive discounts and a lot of times free college education to employees. Pursue a job at a college for 4 years - free degree.
via MadOx321
MeatScience1 Do inspection in the food industry. This is fairly well known but some people still don't believe it. In a lot cases the generic/store brand is the same quality as the name brand. For example I was at a place that made Bertolli pasta and Great Value pasta. The only thing they changed was the label on the bag. Everything else was the exact same.
via MeatScience1
grindforxp Most companies dont reward loyalty, they punish it. New customer rates are the cheap ones, and if you stay put long enough they just quietly cost people money until you call and threaten to leave tbh
via grindforxp
DerpsAndRags That's the joke about my industry; healthcare. People don't always have a choice of how they're going to spend their money, if they want to live and stuff. An icky little secret about it (United States, of course), is how siloed it is behind the scenes. You may have an excellent doctor, but someone else is in charge of the billing, the scheduling, the pharmaceuticals, and you bet your busted a all that adds
via DerpsAndRags
onto the line items. So if you do end up hospitalized, get your loved ones to bring in toiletries and snacks. You'll actually save money, right down to a toothbrush.
via DerpsAndRags
imashination I work at a computer parts & peripherals company. A lot of our refurbished items are more or less brand new, either never opened at all or inspected and returned essentially unused. I would absolutely start with refurbished items from a manufacturer especially when they include the same warranty as the new parts. You can knock a good 50-70% off the price.
via imashination

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