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Nearly every profession has secrets that the general public is unaware of. Many businesses claim that their goods are fairtrade, hand-made and eco-friendly when, nine times out of ten, it’s not. However, humans are curious by nature and are always trying to find out what’s going on behind the curtains.

So when the popular Twitter account UberFacts asked its 13.6M followers, “What company secrets can you reveal, now that you don’t work for the company anymore?” the thread quickly went viral. From bankers to hospitality workers, people started opening up and sharing some insider knowledge about their former jobs.

Take a look at the best tweets we have collected from the thread and upvote the ones you may not have known about! And if you’re hungry for more posts where people spill their industry secrets in plain sight, be sure to check them out here, here and here.

Image credits: UberFacts

#1

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vandahamilton avatar
Oopsydaisy
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Why are they allowed to return them? This is a disgusting policy, and impacts badly on small business, which can't afford returns of unwanted goods. I think Americans get a bit of a shock when they try this s**t on in other countries.

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#2

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ian_smith avatar
Ian Smith
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Some of these types of practices are to abide by government food safety regulations or to protect against lawsuits

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It’s no news that every company has its own skeletons in the closet that remain virtually invisible to the general public. Chances are that you will probably never look at the companies mentioned in this post the same way ever again. But the more we know, the better—that’s why shedding a light on these dark secrets is the first step of dealing with them.

Bored Panda has contacted one of the Twitter users who replied to this thread. They preferred to stay anonymous but were kind enough to discuss the bad practices that some businesses carry out and why we are so eager to learn about them.

They told us that they were previously employed in the hospitality industry: “I worked on and off at a few bars for some extra cash when I first moved out at 23.” Finding out what was happening in the background was quite shocking, so they tried talking about this with some of the other servers. 

#4

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adiiantryx
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

a diamond obtains its monetary value not from any intrinsic property or usefulness, rather from the value we give it in society, which itself was manipulated by marketing campaigns from mining conglomerates advising people to gift diamonds to their partners for weddings, it's like a successful scam like the whole apple a day thing

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Apparently, “they said they’d experienced the same at every bar they’d worked in. We worked out between us that most of the bars in the area did the same thing—some were really established places.” 

“After I worked there, I had table service a handful of times at other bars, each time the bottle came out already opened with a pourer in place and a sparkler. When I looked closer at the bottle (as I knew what to look for), the foil seal looked really old, the bottle was chipped and scratched,” they explained that it looked like it had been around the block a few times.  

#5

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janetclarke avatar
Hiker Chick
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My frames just broke for the third time and the eyeglass place told me "oh, well, you bought the cheap ones, nothing we can do unless you spend $100 to replace them." My dollar store readers have lasted longer than my prescription frames!

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Looking at how many Twitter users contributed to this viral discussion, it seems like people not only like spilling the tea about their jobs but also think it’s relevant to get a little sneak peek into the profession. The former bar worker believes that people are mostly interested because there’s a suspicion that “companies are not always run above board.”

“I did notice a lot of people replied to my tweet in denial of the goings-on and I think, socially, people hate having to accept they’ve been conned,” they mentioned. “I think my tweet was particularly interesting because people are usually drunk and, therefore, vulnerable in a bar/club environment.”

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#7

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janetclarke avatar
Hiker Chick
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depends on the store. Two of my regular stores keep stock in the back (different sizes of clothes, additional products that ran out on the shelf).

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Many people replied to the user saying they could tell the difference between alcoholic beverages which, for very few people, could be true. “However, after a few drinks, most people will happily drink whatever you give them without question.” 

The user hopes that people who read this thread would actually take this new information into account and “maybe make better decisions” in the future. “Just buy a drink at the bar and have fun with your friends, there’s no need to look flashy,” they advised. 

#10

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nmaiewski avatar
Nancy Obertubbesing-Maiewski
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I went to a taping of America's Got Talent with Howie Mandel and Scary (Mel) Spice as judges. EVERYTHING is completely fake, and I do mean EVERY PART OF THE SHOW. It is all pre-planned and pre-scripted. While I knew some of it was, I just didn't know to what extent. Never will watch any of those type of shows again!

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When it comes to bad practices, sometimes businesses purposefully ignore or even enforce them. From the user’s experience, the companies (especially the clubbing and drinks industry) practice a “take what you can get” attitude.

“I’m not speaking for all bars and clubs at all but just a few that I’m aware of,” they specified. “There’s not many checks or inspections, maybe once a year, and—let’s face it—people can look above board for one day of the year.”

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#11

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assistanttodj avatar
Karis Ravenhill
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nope, not in all. Many times call center workers are grateful to put you on hold because we don't have to listen to the customer's whining, it gives us a sanity break.

ariawhitaker avatar
Aria Whitaker
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep. When I worked at one while in college we had two "holds": "silent hold" where you werent really put on hold, just on mute and we could hear everything....and "hard hold" where you were actually put into a hold queue and could hear music and we could NOT hear you in that one. But either one...was a welcome break.

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bobbygoodson avatar
Bobby
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

depends on the call center, I worked for one where if I put you on hold I'm listening to the same crappy music you are

kathrynbaylis_1 avatar
Kathryn Baylis
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depends on the phone service and whether the company wants to pay for it. I’ve worked jobs that weren’t customer service that had it and it was VERY eye-opening, especially when you called a fellow employee and heard what they said about you, and others as well, when they forgot about that particular hold feature.

vanessarichardson avatar
Vanessa Richardson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was once on the phone with my internet provider. The man asked if he could put me on a brief hold while he looked up my account—-forgot to put his phone on mute and I got to hear him answer a knock at his front door. It was a friend that went clubbing with him the night before, talked about and smoked some weed, cussing up a storm, just hanging out. Then he abruptly said “oh sh*t! I’m on a call!” And came back on the phone all professional sounding. He never knew I heard a thing😅

wianjama avatar
Rissie
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, actually... That depends on how options on the phones/software are used and what's available. If they have a shrivel of decency than the hold-function actually does just that, put you on hold where the agent can't hear you. And I speak of experience that it's nicer as an agent too, you get to focus and not worry about someone blabbering in your head at the same time.

james_croft avatar
Nimitz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Worked at a call center. We had 3 forms of "hold." One just muted our mic so the client heard nothing, one muted the mic and the client heard music, and one was actual hold where they heard music and you couldn't hear them. You could always tell which you were getting cause the first two were "just one sec while I look something up" and the real hold required us to ask if they mind holding while we checked for a solution.

james_croft avatar
Nimitz
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The reason was because actual hold time was a metric tracked by the companies the call center was contracted to serve. Using it was bad for stats so we'd use the other two mute/holds and just check back in every minute or so.

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erynnedittmann avatar
Erynne
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is true...you don't get put on hold, you get put on mute usually. And if the call is recorded, they can go back and listen even if you're actually on hold instead of just on mute.

cindycollins_1 avatar
CincyReds
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I remember one time working on a call center, it was collections for a credit card, this cardholder had a questions, and said hold on, let me check with my manager. So what you do you mute, they can't hear you talking. This lady says this "dumb b***h b***h doesn't know anything. So I took my headseat off of mute, and said "Mam, I can still hear you wand would appreciate it if you did not refer to me in that manner". Need less to say she was quite embarrssed!

ilonazoomer avatar
LesAnimaux
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Next time I will grace you guys with my excellent singing abilities. I sound like a banshee.

zalzanygames avatar
Zalzany Games
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My dad found that out, he was little drunk and a d**k to begin with. Got charges pressed on him with home owners insurance company because he was talking mad s**t, and said some crap about how he would go down their and whoop that persons ass. Its like you know they tell you they record this s**t right? Sure enough "they don't got right to record me with out telling me!" They play back the message warning them are recording it in the recording to him lol

randallrichardson avatar
Randall Richardson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Depends on the rules of the call center, some punish employees for having customers on hold for more than "x" amount of time, so instead they'll "put you on hold" but mute themselves while they look up information. Speaking from experience, this IS the case with, shall we say, a very popular fruity smart phone manufacturer.

johnkime avatar
John Kime
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

you can not hear people when you put them on hold. this is false. however, you can mute the caller and hear them, sadly the caller is aware that they are not on hold as there is a white noise given off when muted

jw_halverson avatar
John Halverson
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

If you hear elevator music, you ARE on hold. They cannot overhear anything you are saying. If the person says they are putting you on hold and then the line goes silent, they have merely hit the MUTE function of their headset. And the call is still live. Now here's a real tip if you are calling for customer service: treat the operator politely, be concise, have your details in order before you call, DO NOT LIE to improve your "story" (we'll know, the computer has all the details ahead of time), and give them time to work - don't be afraid of allowing silence as they work through some of the most poorly designed and idiotic computer systems you have never seen (call centers are notoriously poorly run/organized). And lastly, listen to what the operator tells you and make notes (because they notate the entire conversation for their records - again, that thing about not lying). Because if you do this, we'll bust ass for you.

kesondra_key avatar
Kesondra Key
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I worked for a travel agency for awhile. for this, its true! the silence is really awkward, so id usually put people on hold while i figured out what was going on. when people would b***h about wait times or start calling me names (happened ALOT), it made me just not want to help them anymore. I was called a C*** once from some guy screaming at me when i couldnt refund him his non-refundable thing. depending on the situation, you can sometimes give people credits for future stuff, but definitely wasnt doing it for that guy. also, if you think youre talking to a manager, youre probably talking to the other call person next to them. at least when i was there, there wasnt actually a manager around to help anyone

darklumiya avatar
DarkLumiya
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I work at a call center and nope, customer is muted when we put them on hold

turnbull50 avatar
Thomas Turnbull
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I worked in several call centres and when we put people on hold they were plsyed a tune so no chance of us overhearing.anything.

marythepoem avatar
Mary Peace
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yet again, why do people assume that everyone doing a similar job had exactly the same experience?

galinatsoneva avatar
SlartyBlartFast
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Oh waw, such bad grammar. And no, neither the call centre hears you, nor you do. It's the law. So I'm thinking YOU worked for a shady company.

suzannehaigh avatar
Tee Witt
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Perhaps if call centers answered your queries then you would not be a pain to them.

ladyinterference avatar
Diane Aguilar
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not necessarily; I think if you can hear hold music it's more than likely that the person placing you on hold can't hear you, but if you hear nothing but silence they've just muted you and can hear everything you say. When I used to work at a call center I tried to place callers on a genuine hold but sometimes that didn't work, so during those instances I would apologize and tell them I was placing them on mute and to be patient with me while I did whatever it was I needed to do so they could potentially be aware of the fact that I could still hear them speaking (but not for ulterior purposes or anything).

zacke_01 avatar
Isak Nygren
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This isn't really true where I work. I used to have a function to mute myself but could still hear the customer but they couldn't hear anything. I'm no longer allowed to use it so we but people on actual on hold. Then we can't hear the customer and they can only hear music. But I'm not in a sales department though.

greenrider82 avatar
Rider
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They would hear me cursing like I was sitting in rush hour traffic in downtown LA.

darklumiya avatar
DarkLumiya
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

this is not true everywhere, i work at a call center and when we put on hold it's usually to consult other departments, as i still need to use the headset to talk to the other departments the customer is completely muted, the call is still recorder however and the managers would hear anything the customer is saying

darklumiya avatar
DarkLumiya
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I work at a call center and this isn't true at all, we only put on hold if we need to consult another department so it completely blocks me from hearing anything the customer is saying on the other end, however, it might still be recorded i don't know, as an agent i don't have access to call logs

moridain avatar
Thomas Mack
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are two types of hold. Most of the time if you hear music we can't hear you, but if you are sent through to an automated system we are generally there with you on mute.

aaronlaw avatar
LAWLAWLAW
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've worked in a few call centres and have left people on hold for ages because I was listening to something they were saying to partner etc

janinesteam avatar
Janine B.
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't know if it's forbidden in some countries? Never heard that from Germany before. When I put someone on hold I hear the same music as the caller does.

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The former server also wanted to discuss things they saw from a client’s point of view: “There have been many times, as a customer, that I have witnessed sexual assault, drug-taking and men being aggressive and highlighted to security and [the establishment] completely ignored it—paying customers are the main priority it seems.” 

They added, summarizing their thoughts about the thread: “I’m sure there are plenty of companies, in all industries, still practicing a zero-hours contract, not adhering to the minimum wage for cash in hand jobs, no contracts, dodgy tax dealings, etc.” So if you don’t want to be exploited and serve corporate interests, it’s important to call out such behavior whenever possible.

#13

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Redemption Happens
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Joining a union is one of the very best things to ever happen to me. I’ll be a teamster at my new job. Union busters are untrustworthy despicable selfish people.

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Ace Girl
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I heard a great analogy for this. It's like putting butter on bread. Buttered bread left overnight is still soft in morning, whereas plain bread left overnight will be stale in the morning. Just having something on your face will do the trick!

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Hiker Chick
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also, why are they charging me $10 for a single generic tablet that probably costs them 15 cents to manufacture?

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Shane S
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is true in a lot of cases. Sometimes it takes more energy to recycle than it does to create new product so it’s technically worse for the environment. Try to create less trash in the first place

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Chris D
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Apple was sued and proven that they did in fact make an update slow older phones to user would buy a new one. Never buy Apple crap.

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Gaby Almodovar
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Gross! At my place, the housekeeping is bringing down the glasses from the rooms for the dish-washer every single day.

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Rijkærd
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Its funny that people are selective over garbage bags...i reuse my shopping bags for that...

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John Smith
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I always assumed it was just an animated gif. I would be amazed if it was actually connected to your pizzas progress.

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#24

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WilvanderHeijden
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm pretty sure that in my country they'd wake you up to avoid bad publicity. "Woman dies in Ikea show room bed. Goes unnoticed till closing time."

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Nathan Pogorzala
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Airlines are stealing your s**t too. Dumb s**t also, like 1 shoe just to f**k with you.

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#26

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Zedrapazia
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sounds like a lot of people should just be fired immediately. They should rather be working at a trash facility where they can throw stuff all day without ruining people's stuff. I had packaged that contained several hundred dollars that were destroyed because of these lazy bastards.

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LH25
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A friend of my mom's works for a local store chain, and they are told never to confront shoplifters. It's supposed to be for the employee's safety. People know this and walk out with all kinds of stuff.

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AtomKat
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2 years ago

This comment has been deleted.

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