Initially, a job may seem straightforward but once you immerse yourself in it, a whole set of new surprises emerges in front of you.
Interested in the professional nuances that hide behind initial impressions, Reddit user Acrobatic_News_9986 made a post on the platform, asking others “What was an industry secret that genuinely took you aback when you learned it?”
From retail to event planning and sales, the answers they’ve received lifted the curtain from a variety of sectors; even if it’s just a glimpse, there are plenty of intriguing tidbits.
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#1
I feel like it just surprised me in general once I entered the world of work to learn how disorganised things are behind the scenes, even at the biggest of companies. From the outside looking in it always looks super official and clean cut but really it’s just a lot of people behind the scenes fumbling around and not really knowing 100% what is going on.
© Photo: wellyboot97
#2
99% of web traffic to a client’s commercial that they upload to YouTube is fake. That 1,000,000 views within the first few days for that new Bud Light commercial? Most are BoTs paid for by the ad agency that made the commercial.
© Photo: yada_u
#3
That if you are asked to rate someone’s customer service (eg your bank lender, salesperson etc) out of 10, anything less than a 9 in some places may as well be a zero.
© Photo: airazaneo
#4
Worked for a health insurance company that provided coverage for people with Medicaid and used the DRG reimbursement method to pay some providers. The charges on a hospital bill were literally meaningless, all that mattered were the diagnosis codes/procedure codes. Hospital could have charged $5 dollars or $15 million dollars, payment would have been the same regardless. Another one of the many ways in which US healthcare is just so whack.
#5
As an electrician, I’m amazed more houses don’t burn down every day. I do my best, but many others just work as fast as they can and leave behind shoddy work that (sometimes literally) falls apart when you touch it.
© Photo: mpworth
#6
I work in IT security, for a vendor. I am constantly surprised by how terrible so many organizations’ security practices are. There’s outdated equipment, no accountability, and most of it is run on Excel.
© Photo: DoubleBThomas
#7
The use of microwaves in mid-range restaurants. I knew it was common in fast food, but seeing all the hot sides in a steakhouse with $50 entrees being cooked in a microwave was a little jarring.
© Photo: Far-Reception-4598
#8
I don’t know if it’s a secret, but I remember hearing someone ask a doctor why they specifically say to “turn your head” before coughing, when assessing for a hernia. The doctor said there wasn’t a medical reason, but “it’s so you don’t cough on me.”.
© Photo: TheApprenticeLife
#9
Not sure if this counts, but when I was in car sales I learned real quick that the actual car itself isn’t where the real money is at, but the backend is. So like warranties, getting work done, etc etc. Most dealerships will still put up a fight on the actual price of the car though because they know most people are focused on the car itself. This is also done to help wear you down so you’re less likely to fight on the backend when they say they’ll discount the car price down to X amount but you have to get a warranty or 2 with it. More often than not, most people will cave because they got 2-3k off on the car and don’t realize the warranties are adding on 2-5k and warranties are often straight profit. Different dealerships tweak the above strategy to their market but generally they all play it to some degree.
© Photo: User
#10
When I found out those Judge TV shows are just game shows and the show pays out the winnings. It’s not really court, it’s more of a game show at that point. Plus those shows fly you out and pay you $500 to be on them. So both sides get paid to be on them.
© Photo: Samisoy001
#11
A lot of aisles in grocery stores are sponsored. The soda aisle for example, the store didn’t buy that merchandise, it’s stocked by a vendor.
© Photo: zerbey
#12
I don’t know if the rule has changed since I left, but you CAN 100% bring in candy at the movie theater. I worked at an AMC and was tearing tickets one day, a slow day. I was chatting with my manager when a lady came in with a grocery bag full of snacks. I tore her ticket, directed her to her room, and asked the manager about the candy. She said it’s ok. You aren’t allowed to bring in “hot food”. I believe it’s because it’s a health code violation. So stop doing that stupid s**t like using a huge bowl to pretend you are pregnant. You aren’t a f****n’ rebel. You are basically j-walking. No one cares.
© Photo: eddiefarnham
#13
College Admissions here: we absolutely discriminate when we read applications, and your chances of getting in are not equal. Some of the ways are legal, some aren’t, but good luck proving any of it. Most selective options will let you know about the legal ways (in broad terms, not in specifics), but plenty goes on behind the scenes that won’t make it to the information session.
© Photo: aemon_the_dragonite
#14
Whenever you fill out a survey like “how did you like our website today”, most of the time an *actual human* does read your response, and it doesn’t disappear into a black hole tldr; fill out surveys. Your perspective is critical to understanding what you guys actually want.
© Photo: GaiaMoore
#15
Guess how much of your vet bill goes directly to the vet’s salary? About 22%. The rest goes to operating costs and staff salaries (which are never as high as they deserve).
#16
The guacamole that you eat at TGI Friday’s is a giant envelope of dry stuff, mixed with a 5 gallon bucket of sour cream. And it’s pretty freaking good.
© Photo: tobeavornot
#17
Customer Service in Call Centres – We WANT you to swear at us…The second you swear AT me, NB not just swear, or be personally abusive or whatever, no matter how right you are, you’re wrong and no matter how bad a blooper I made, you’ve just handed me a ‘free pass’…. And I get to cut your call off – Cheers.
#18
Cable TV “customer service” the “Assumed Close” Basically I was told to interview customers and ask if they thought that they might like to have this product or that product, and then this service or that service, what ever service they said they responded positively to I was to make a check in the corresponding sales order and have them sign before I left the house. Then in a day or so tech would show up at their house with their order and their signature showing that they did indeed order it. Never could bring myself to do it. Scummy as could be. Time Warner Cable for those curious.
© Photo: MyWorldTalkRadio
#19
Lots of musicians buy their records in bulk. 500k units sold is almost platinum, then they turn around and sell it back to distributors.
© Photo: Virtual-Key-1379
#20
As a former Walmart cashier, a lot of people were surprised when I told them that we were given a 2 minute time limit per customer .
© Photo: User
#21
Years ago, I worked adjacent to the tobacco industry. My area’s RJ Reynolds rep was telling me he went to a retirement party for a colleague who had been with RJ for decades. She was drunk, spilling all kinds of tea, including the fact that cigarette shippers (cardboard displays) use to be placed in the lines at grocery stores specifically to be stolen by children. They knew we couldn’t buy them so they counted on us to steal. And we did. And my gen smoked. .
#22
The software industry is in shambles. I don’t know when it happened, but certainly before 2007. Either it’s been like that forever or happened before that year. If you have time, read through this for an idea of what software development is like. https://www.stilldrinking.org/programming-[is bad] The digital world as we know it is held up together by a conglomeration of toothpicks, empty toilet paper rolls, and chewed up bubble gum.
© Photo: User
#23
A lot of bands, I mean a LOT (including your favorite) use prerecorded tracks in their live show. Even ones you would never think. In fact, I would say MOST do today to some degree.
© Photo: NapoliPizzaMan
#24
Supermarket shelf space is a cut throat market. Notice that the name brand stuff is always at eye level, whereas generic items are near the floor? That’s not by accident
#25
I work at Waffle House & im a vegetarian so there’s not much I eat there. Money is taken out of my check for food. It doesn’t matter if I eat or not they’re still gonna take it out. Doesn’t matter how much or little it’s still taken out. The price varies on how many hours you worked that day I think.
© Photo: User
#26
Warranty work is purposely delayed. Lets say you have a product that has a manufacturing defect and is covered by warranty. Companies accept the warranty repair work yet sit on ordering the actual part needed to affect the repair until financials support that part purchase. Often it’s better to use money (or on hand parts) for new customers as that’s more profitable than fixing their mistakes/error. Personally, I always thought supporting your existing customers was more important than getting new ones, but that’s not how most businesses operate. It genuinely surprised me when I found out. I see it all the time in construction, manufacturing, and retail.
© Photo: Itstotallysafe
#27
A large majority of “loading screens” in commercial software and to a lesser extent games are fake. In the modern world most software tasks happen almost instantly, but older/less technical users assume if it was done quickly it wasn’t done well, so artificial loading bars are put in to appease those people. Really common in all kinds of “corporate software” that older people are likely to use.
© Photo: Prodigle
#28
Billboards promoting tv shows are not for the consumer but for the advertisers we want to sell time to.
© Photo: User
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