25 Workers Spill Industry Secrets That May Change How You See Things

Working in any industry for an extended period inevitably leads to the acquisition of exclusive knowledge. The underlying processes involved are often influenced by office politics, company culture, and other external factors, of which the end customer remains unaware. Consequently, it follows that there are shortcuts, workarounds, and loopholes that employees are uniquely positioned to uncover.

#1

Image source: seedsofvibrance, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)

I’m a massage therapist and I promise you I’m not looking at your body the way you do— I’m rarely looking at it at all unless you’ve got something interesting happening with your skin (a mole that looks like you need to see a derm, contact dermatitis, etc.)

I’m feeling for what’s going on in the muscles & making sure your bits are covered as I move you around.

But I PROMISE YOU idgaf about your body hair or where you hold fat or literally anything else you chastise yourself for in the mirror.

__alexa_jones_:
Massage therapist, 15 years. I have never once had a thought about someone’s body and have never had another lmt express a thought to me about any clients body – only their attitude.

#2

Image source: thewellmindedplate, Irina Iriser / unsplash (not the actual photo)

NEVER GET A LEMON IN YOUR BEVERAGE at a restaurant 😉

I worked at Mohegan Sun in PA when I was in school, in the high volume restaurant, and everyone touched the lemons with their bare hands (that also handled money, and dirty dishes). This happens in a lot of restaurants… more than you want to know.

christenph:
Fun fact – I was a bartender for years and we can get a weird and hard to get rid of nail fungus from handling infected fruit 😃 I love lemon / lime juice but yes typically that fruit is nasty af, can confirm.

#3

Image source: crazycraftycaninechaos, Ahmed / unsplash (not the actual photo)

90% of my job is training you, not your dog. The dog usually gets it in five minutes. You’re the one that takes months or years to grasp and apply simple concepts and quit fighting me. It’s why I quit doing hourly appointments.

torebel711:
A police dog trainer once “said there’s a smart end of the leash and a dumb end of the leash. Guess which end you’re on?”

wilcoxcopywriting:
This is scary similar to when parents take their kids to therapy. Often when the kid’s problems are externalizing behaviors (aggression, tantrums, hyperactivity, etc as opposed to anxiety, depression, etc) therapists want to work with the parents to teach them skills to help manage the kid’s behavior. You wouldn’t believe (or maybe you would lol) how many parents are too defensive and refuse. They think their kid is the problem and not them. Usually it’s them 😬.

#4

Image source: dr.nidsymejia, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Medical: be nice to the front desk in person and when you call the office. They 100% remember rude patients/parents. If you’re always polite and ever need a last minute favor (refill because you’re traveling tomorrow and just realized you’re out of meds, a form filled out that is due tomorrow, etc) they’ll go the extra mile and chase us down to make sure it gets done ASAP. If you’re rude, it’s just going in the regular pile of our to-dos and it will be ready when it’s ready.

#5

Image source: _maevemcginley_, Claudio Schwarz / unsplash (not the actual photo)

WASH YOU HANDS. I work in health care, holy s**t guys just wash your f**king hands. You will stop getting sick, you will stop feeling like s**t (because you’re quite literally EATING S**T) you’ll have so much more energy. There are so many preventable sicknesses that people literally only contract because they don’t wash their goddamn hands.

#6

Image source: superstevec22, Richard Catabay / unsplash (not the actual photo)

I am a former medical negligence defense lawyer and now on patients side. Medical care in the US is the worst I’ve seen in 30 years. It’s crisis level bad and it will only continue to get worse until major changes to private insurance reimbursements is made. Not the care providers fault, squarely on “insurance” companies.

#7

Image source: asteele71, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Teacher here: I’ve taught the whole gamut from 8-18 and when I tell you your kids need to memorize their times tables before 5th grade, (ideally end of 3rd) I am absolutely not kidding. It is such a big deal. My 6th graders who don’t know them end up struggling for the rest of their math classes. And I can 100% tell which kids had parents who read to them consistently when they were little.

#8

Image source: beezleyleahalicia, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Stop lying to your doctor (or any medical professional). She/he doesn’t care what you put up your nose OR up your butt. Their only concern is addressing the issues at hand. If you lie, they can’t even begin to help you. STOP LYING!

40lovebc:
Same w/your lawyer. If they dunno what they’re representing irl, you’re totally wasting your retainer. It’s not their job to judge you. &, even if they do, wgaf? If they wanna get paid, they’ll do their job.

#9

Image source: nolajazz227, Ahmet Kurt / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Did you know many public libraries have a Library of Things? Don’t want to buy a weird cake pan for a one-time bake? Your library might have some for you to borrow. Live in an apartment and don’t have garage to store a bunch of tools in? Your library might have some for you to borrow. Go ask your library what might be available!

#10

Image source: joliebeth23, Andrej Lišakov / unsplash (not the actual photo)

30-year secondary educator:
If you give your kid a smart phone in middle school (or earlier), you will be hindering their educational progress from then on.

#11

Image source: pyiero, Hanson Lu / unsplash (not the actual photo)

I was a gate agent for an airline. When flights are oversold and they solicit for volunteers to take a later flight for X amount of credit towards a future flight ask👏for👏that👏ish👏in👏CASH👏 There’s no reason it has to be pretend money or credit. They will write you a check. We keep checks for that purpose and count on no one asking. Demand cash.

#12

Image source: sillyweef, Curated Lifestyle / unsplash (not the actual photo)

When you go to a corporate event (dinner, trade show, conference), a ton of what you see goes straight into the garbage the minute it’s over. Flowers, signage, banners, trinkets. Special events for the most part are very environmentally unfriendly.

prompterchick:
The amount of wasted water from people who will open a bottled water, take one sip and leave it, is insane.

#13

Image source: thirsttrapwaterbottle, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)

IT. When we ask you to turn it off and back on again, 90% of the time it’s because that resets the mechanism causing your problem. 10% of the time it’s because we’re scrambling for solutions or just need two seconds to breathe between your irate complaints, and letting you feel like you’re doing something productive makes you less of a nightmare to deal with.

#14

Image source: andreacmichael, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Architect here specializing in highly efficient buildings. If you want to lower your energy bills put your focus on sealing air leaks before adding insulation. If you are considering replacing windows ask what the cost would be to go to triple pane glass instead of double, it likely won’t be as big of a jump as you think and will make a significant impact on your energy savings.

#15

Image source: rockrep, Arif Riyanto / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Former software engineer. All software has bugs in it.

This is a post about self-driving automobiles.

#16

Image source: marigoldilox, Alejandro Villa / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Teacher tip: Your kids don’t know your phone number and that is dangerous. Start practicing the number and quizzing them on it. Please. 🙏🏼

#17

Image source: crystal.jean.paul, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Hotels: if you need to check in early, call the hotel the morning of your reservation and ask. If you simply show up expecting to check in, it’s less likely to happen.

Also, if you tend to stay at the same hotel often, get to know the employees. You’ll be first to get upgrades and other perks when we know you and like you. :)

nannonenglish:
Also, if you had even a mildly pleasant experience, please do the Corporate surveys and rate everything with highest marks. Use employee names to make compliments if possible. Find out the manager’s name & drop it positively if they did something above standard. Anything less than a 10 might as well be zero. But positive feedback with employee names can get them national, or even international, recognition & awards.

#18

Image source: indigeauxspirit, Andrey K / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Teacher: The kids that a lot of people think are smart are still kind of slow. The phones are k**ling these kids’ ability to critically think and they have zero comprehension. Their social skills are also poor.

Signed,
Middle School ELA Teacher.

#19

Image source: jasmined_h, Sollange Brenis / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Mortgage industry tip: Always ask for a second appraisal by a different appraiser if you’re a person of color. Make sure you hide all of your black or brown photos in your house so that the appraiser doesn’t low ball your appraisal value for your home.

#20

Image source: cozmiktrxp, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)

As a loved one of a hotel worker, STOP WITH THE THIRD PARTY SOURCES WHEN GETTING A ROOM. BOOK DIRECTLY WITH THE HOTEL.

#21

Image source: knitted.fish, WrS.tm.pl / unsplash (not the actual photo)

When you receive a package from Amazon and the box it arrives in is comically large, it’s usually for one of two reasons:
1. When putting together an order, workers look at a computer screen that mentions what’s in the order and what size box should be used. Many times it’s correct, but often it’s wildly wrong. If the box is too small, the worker is trained to change the box. If the box is too big, the worker is trained to pack the item anyway and then fill up the rest of the boxwith dunnage (the filler material) because it’s faster than building a new box. The workers have a rate they’re expected to maintain (translates to one box every 30 seconds), and fiddling “unnecessarily” with boxes can affect it.
2. The item you ordered is considered hazmat, and is not allowed in a smaller box. Due to a law outside the company’s control, any object that is hazmat needs an outside marker so people are aware of it (one of the common reasons, lithium batteries, aren’t allowed to travel by air). The label has a barcode to be scanned to ensure that it’s there, and it’s placed on the side of the box so it doesn’t get in the way of the barcode that’s responsible for prompting the shipping label. If the side of the box is too small, it’s not allowed for hazmat items, even if the item being shipped is super small. That’s also why you’ll never receive hazmat items in envelopes.

#22

Image source: clonazamphetamine, Getty Images / unsplash (not the actual photo)

The reason pharmacies take so long to get your script ready is because we’re making sure the meds won’t k**l you, and making sure you don’t go bankrupt paying for them.
“There’s no one in line you must not be busy” bro we also process and fill 500+ scripts a day between phone calls and checking in orders (and vaccines), you’re not our only patient.

#23

Image source: galacticdoula, Gabriel Tovar / unsplash (not the actual photo)

You can fire your nurse or doctor while in labor.

rosebuds92:
I did this! Fired a nurse because she didn’t like my labor Playlist and told me I had to turn it off 😒.

_goddess_jen_:
Yep! The doctor on staff who was going to deliver my son had suggested I let him die bc of his complex medical condition at a previous prenatal appointment. I immediately requested someone else as I did not feel he would give my child a fighting chance at life. Fast forward I have a healthy, thriving teenager with his rare & severe congenital heart defect.

#24

Image source: katie225, Kateryna Hliznitsova / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Gym equipment is rarely cleaned at big chain gyms. Especially group exercise equipment. WASH YOUR HANDS AND DONT TOUCH YOUR FACE WHEN WORKING OUT. Unless you want ringworm on it. 😬

The disinfectant sprays they use at gyms aren’t often used correctly. You have to let the spray sit wet for, like, 10 minutes before wiping it. Nobody does that.

katie225:
Also, a lot of fitness “experts” at the gym encourage disordered eating, are required to sell a certain number of supplements, and/or run MLMs on the side and use the gym as a leads generator.

#25

Image source: trgactual, Tahir osman / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Recruiters don’t find jobs for people. They find people for jobs.

countryduchess223:
I wish people understood this when they call me back to back to back after they didn’t get one.