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Most folks are familiar with the concept that it’s maybe best to not know “how the sausage is made,” which applies to actual sausages as well as most jobs. After all, anyone who has worked knows that there are always going to be some things we keep hush hush, but it can be a bit disconcerting to realize that this is true at nearly every company on the planet.
Someone asked “What's a secret in your job that people aren't supposed to know about?” and netizens spilled the beans. So get comfortable as you scroll through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own examples in the comments section.
This post may include affiliate links.
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#2
The mark up on supplies in the medical field is criminal.
#3
I’m your IT guy. I just google everything. I’m just good at googling.
Grenelda Thurber 1 year ago
But you know what you're looking for and know the right answer when you see it. That's what pays the bills.
#4
I was a server at a chain barbecue restaurant. Yummy food, & they played blues all day. The secret was what they put in the potato salad that was so good… celery seeds. When I was first hired & doing training, they told us we would lose our jobs if we told anyone. It’s been > 25 yrs, I think I’m safe to blow the secret. 😂.
#5
Restarting your computer will fix so many problems you call your IT dept for when you don’t restart the damn thing for 8 months….
William Teach 1 year ago
Way back when I worked for a big wireless company restarting was the first thing we did, which often fixed it. Usually by taking the battery out and putting it back in. Breaking that circuit.
#6
Working for giant companies, it’s comical how many systems are raggedy messes of bare-bones functionality. All available money gets thrown at certain projects, leaving everything else to work on complete shoe-strings.
#7
Most family members have no idea what's best or even good for their loved ones with dementia.
A lot of times, they make things worse.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
True, because there isn't as much support for them as there should people. Often they try to take on more than they should, or they hear from doctors in a clinical sense without knowing what that means as far as actually caring for them. They also may not understand why nurses or carers do things the way they do but don't think to as before judging. Unfortunately not all nursing home staff are as well trained as they should be though, or there just aren't enough of them for the actual amount of care needed, as recent inquiries have found.
#8
When you bring your 5 kids in for Halloween costumes and leave 20 opened packages all over the dressing room floors for the employees to try and clean up and match all the pieces back in their bags, you WILL be remembered, you will be talked shite about, and when you need that one piece to compete everything, we're not going to have it, and it looks like no other stores in the area have it either.
Susan 1 year ago
When I used to work retail and a customer was rude to me I would tell them I would go look in the back for whatever item they needed. Then I'd sit down and take a nice long break after which I'd go back out to tell them that I couldn't find any. But if someone was nice I'd call every store in the area and arrange free shipping for them. Remember to be nice to workers!
#9
Health insurance has been going on a tear with denying claims/services, even with all of the boxes checked. The billing department at my place has straight up been hung up on multiple times trying to get answers.
ScootyPuffJr 1 year ago (edited)
This should be so much higher up. My pain management team actually used the words "s**t out of luck" last week while talking to me since my insurance company has denied all of our claims and appeals to move forward with necessary procedures while I'm in horrendous pain with no answers. Thanks, United Healthcare!! I hope there's a hell so you can all burn there someday.
#10
When I was temping for a large company, I was told if anyone called to say any of their property / vehicles had been damaged they couldn’t make an insurance claim because they weren’t covered, when in fact they were but the company didn’t want their premiums to increase and caused problems with their budgets. They pissed me off so much treating me like c**p, so I told everyone who called the truth and to put their insurance claims in. Then I walked out. Haha!
#12
I don’t have to serve you as a crew memeber.
I had to use this once.
Lady was rude and horrible and recorded me cussed me out
she threw a frosty at me
I quickly gave her card back and told her I’m not serving you have a great day shut and locked the window
and worked form the first window until she decided to leave my drive thru.
#13
The IRS doesn't have the budget to enforce tax law, and will drop any issues they feel would cost more than they will collect. There has been more than one instance where a client comes to us after years of arguing with the IRS and we will literally just reprint their prior letters on our letterhead to have the IRS drop the whole matter.
#14
IT guy. The whole "have you tried turning it off and on again" thing isn't just us being lazy.
Like 70% of all problems genuinely get fixed by a restart, but we can't just say that because management thinks "real IT work" needs to look more complicated. So we remote in, click around a bit, maybe run a basic diagnostic, then... restart your computer.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
Suppose you never turned off your vehicle, but kept it running continually while keeping it fueled or charged--would you expect that to go on indefinitely without problems cropping up?
#15
A lot Hospitals may look good as a patient. As a mechanical engineer and pipefitter, the amount of money that gets siphoned away from the mechanical side. These places are literally running off the phrase:
“Two bolts are holding back catastrophe”
You wouldn’t believe how true this is for many things we romanticize.
schools and hospitals are in a rough spot, at least by me in Chicago.
Shelby Moonheart 1 year ago
My hospital looked a bit run down after COVID. The care was still great but I could tell the building was not maintained as well.
#16
It’s insanely easy to be a “bestselling” novelist, and just because you are doesn’t mean you make any money. I’m a true-blue USA Today Bestselling Author and I’ve made $5ish in 2024.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
Is this because there is no real authority on the term 'best selling'? I vaguely remember hearing something about that. You would think it would have a criteria based on actual sales but I have a feeling it's not.
#17
We regularly come *this* close to either poisoning everyone for 50 miles around or blowing a football field sized crater in the ground then poisoning everyone for 50 miles around.
Source: operator at a midsized chemical plant.
#18
If your 2 year old doesn’t want to paint because they’d rather do something else, we can’t force them. If you keep complaining and being nasty because you want fridge art, we will do your child’s art and put their name in it so you can stop complaining.
Big Chungus 1 year ago
We switch out the one piece of art on the fridge each season. We have stainless steel so the only magnetic part is a small side panel that barely juts out.
#19
Many sales guys are the guys that never grew out of the frat house, but the ones that make bank every single year are the guys that really listen and understand someone's motivations without them spelling it out. Those folks know what's important to their customers and their boss and quietly find a way to make everything work for everyone involved.
The guy that's the life of the party, knows everyone around, and loves making connections can do well in sales, but the quiet, emotionally intelligent, and detail oriented guys will make $150k+ every single year selling just about anything out there.
#20
If you ask internet customer service reps politely to credit you for every day of outage in your area on that billing cycle you can easily get 70% discount on your bill. Most outages happen overnight and nobody notices but most providers keep record of them.
#21
Night shift gets more s**t done because we're able to wear headphones while daytime isn't. We focus on our work while listening to podcasts while AM will spend hours worth in bathroom breaks.
Joshua David 1 year ago
Not where i work. I have to go in early every day to get place ready for opening. Our night shift likes to play poker amd do NOT §HIT! The boss loves the kids at night and when i say something I GET IN TROUBLE. Truth.
#22
Most meetings could honestly just be an email, but we have them anyway to look productive.
Gustav Gallifrey 1 year ago
Most people who call meetings do it because they like to feel that they're 'running things', to demonstrate that people must come when they call, because they like the sound of their own voice, and it offers opportunities to humiliate someone in front of others.
#23
When I tell you to turn the router off and on again, it's not because I have no idea what is going on and hope the issue will sort itself out. There are all kinds of logs where I can see what the problem is. When you restart the router, these logs get updated.
Also, when you lie and tell me you restared the router already a bunch of times and it didn't resolve the issue, I can tell that you didn't - the logs are right there, and the last time it was restarted was 3 months ago. I can't tell you that I know you are lying, but it definitely goes in the documentation so everyone knows that everything you say needs to be double checked.
Vanessa MacKenzie 1 year ago
Same with your fibre box. If you haven't turned it or the router off in months, it builds up bits and pieces of software from updates/upgrades that can slow your entire system and wear it out faster. A refresh of your internet once a month is a healthy way to keep it going longer.
#25
How often IEPs aren't followed, how often staff are attacked by students(sometimes very seriously injured), how often teachers and/ or staff make fun of the students they serve.
Diolla 1 year ago
For my fellow non- Americans: An Individualized Education Plan (or Program) is also known as an IEP. This is a plan or program developed to ensure that a child with an identified disability who is attending an elementary or secondary educational institution receives specialized instruction and related services.
#26
Any part I can get, you can get too. The only difference is I mark it up by 30%.and then charge you labor and taxes.
#27
That fancy touchscreen thermostat we installed in your office is just a screen you are changing the number on. The logic controller we installed in your heating/ac unit uses a different sensor and is predetermined what temperatures it is set at.
#28
Most elevators in the United States do not get maintained properly. I used to work for an elevator company and they would only limit us to a few calls a day because they didn't want to give the impression that something was wrong with their elevators. They didn't want to lose those contracts for those elevators and maintenance. Once in a while I would say maybe three four times a month we would find an elevator that was really in bad shape. Every time we would put it out of service the next day it would be in service again not sure who put it back in service but someone did. Even if we reported it nothing would get done no would check the cameras or anything. It was better to take a risk and not have people complaining about having to use the stairs even if it cost them their own safety. I learned to keep my mouth shut and do what I was told I was close to retirement and didn't want to lose that.
ScootyPuffJr 1 year ago
I've been trapped in elevators twice, and the one where I work now breaks down weekly, has started on fire, and has dropped a few floors with a coworker inside it. Stairs for the win whenever possible!
#29
I answer the phone a lot and if someone asks for me I say I’m unavailable and send them to voicemail.
Shelby Moonheart 1 year ago
If I pick up my phone and someone askes for me by my legal name I say that that person isn't available right now. Can I take a message? They usually hang up.
#31
Not my job... but... soda machines and icecream machines at fast food places are rarely properly cleaned.
s8rr4pwvds 1 year ago
Very true as someone who’s worked at multiple restaurants, tho my current work has surprised me with how well they keep everything clean
#32
I work for a corporation that has a bunch of field offices and there's basically nothing I can't see.
Who's surfing the internet, what year we bought the chair their a*s is sitting in, what their middle names are, how much the sales guys are bringing in, etc.
And anything I can't see officially I still hear about unofficially at some point or another.
If you work for a big company, I need you to know that your privacy lasts until it doesn't. People have access to your business and the only reason they're not looking is because they don't have a reason right this second.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
Also if you work for a big company, they'll take care of you until they don't, and they only need you until they don't.
#33
We are infested with bugs and rats.
The garbage room has a colony of rats you'll see occasionally when emptying food bins. The staff are excellent at cleaning up after the rats .
There are roaches and flies in every department all year round . To their credit, it was only this year that german cockroachs came , before it was just the tiny roaches .
Most departments were deep cleaned daily, but with budget cuts, it's now only once a week or so, and it's easier to tell how disgusting the place is back of house .
I work in a casino . Don't eat at the buffet.
Joshua David 1 year ago
I refuse a buffet everytime! I steer clear of pot lucks as well. I dont know if the dish was prepared hygenically. Did you wash your hands after pooping? Yeah. As far as a potluck its basically if i get some pot, im in luck.
#34
60 year old, married with 3 kids, boss is banging his 23 year old assistant. She charges him $300 when they do. Also, he gave her herpes. It’s a whole thing.
#35
You can call multiple entirely separate company customer service departments and talk to the exact same agent at the exact same desk who has been trained in all of them.
OneHappyPuppy 1 year ago
And sometimes I will pretend you spoke to someone else, when in reality I'm the only one answering the phone lol
#36
It’s not really a secret but there’s a lot of bad programmers out there. You get frustrated with their code everyday.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
I used to speak to overseas programmers when working helpdesk tickets. Many of them had no idea how to use the website they were supporting, nor indeed any website, because all they did was program.
#37
I had split audio tracks for a bunch of ghost hunting tv shows and all of the “ghost sounds” were on the sound effects track.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
Not that surprising. I have been watching a show that has a live audience and although I think a lot of the laughs are real, there is one particular laugh that is the same on many episodes.
#38
We know you are looking at p**n on your company PC even when you are at home. We just don't care unless we are told to care.
Luke Branwen 1 year ago
Boss makes a hundred, I make a dime, that's why we jork it on company time.
#40
Emergency room
Most medical diseases or ailments are treated with supportive care. Treating symptoms until the disease runs its course. For many ailments people present to the er for there isn’t a magic cure or anything proven better than over the counter medicine.
Leoninus Fate 1 year ago
yeah, my aunt needed a test for cancer, went in February 09 2024 for it, and then she died in July 4/ 2024 from cancer.... in September we got the thing that was supposed to do the test. i called them back and told them Me:"She can't do the test" Nurse: "Oh why?" Me "CAUSE SHE DIED AND THE CAUSE OF IT WAS CANCER, so yeah we don't need this test now, she's dead and we already know it was cancer" The woman on the phone was horrified and they sent people over to take the test back {it was a pee test for kidney cance}...... if they did the test in the hospital in February she would be alive right now... she was already in dialysis for diabetes, she could have had chemo at the same time they said....hurts cause the year before on may 22,2023, my mom also died from kidney failure and kidney cancer and that's why when my aunt started feeling like my mom did she tried to get help..... but they didn't care....
#41
The bosses make 3 times as much as actual producers, they drink and spend their time watching YouTube and bidding on auction sites at work.
Luke Branwen 1 year ago
3 times? IMO this is kinda lowballing the amount those parasites earn.
#42
Become a pro at pretending to be busy when you're actually done with the work alr.
#44
I fix the lottery equipment for my state. This includes lottery ticket vending machines, Powerball terminals (the ones at literally every convenience store/bar etc) and keno vending machines. There is zero technical documentation of any kind. We made these things and there is literally nothing. No wiring schematics/blueprints, nothing. There are no more new Powerball terminals. If something breaks we cannibalize parts from other machines. I have literally sat there scraping BBQ sauce off machines so we can give them out to new bars. Also the lottery ticket vending machines run xp and are Internet connected.
Grenelda Thurber 1 year ago
Yikes, running XP and connected to the internet isn't good. Those machines would be open to all manner of malicious attacks. XP hasn't been supported by Microsoft for years, i.e. no security updates.
#45
Hardly ANYONE cares about Veterans.
#46
That the “black owned business” that it’s advertised for on sites like Yelp and such, isn’t Black owned. In fact, people tend to think I’m the owner because I’m always at the front with my coworkers and I’m the only male that’s present most of the time.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
Is this a normal thing? I don't think I've ever seen a job ad or business review that specified owners were a particular race.
#47
The guys putting the new roof on your house are definitely drunk by lunchtime.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
There's a reason for this, which I learned from a house painter. After spending all day exposed to paint fumes, that slight perpetual buzz goes away unless it's restored with a few beers or something similar. So a lot of tradespeople that are exposed to fumes will eventually become alcoholics. It's almost a tradition.
#48
Blinds cost about 1/5 of what those national blind companies charge.
goldenwood_cottage 1 year ago
And those expensive custom models are made in a sweatshop in China
#49
That all of the "metrics" reported to higher commands are lies, completely falsified in order to keep all indicators "green."
Training records are falsified by unwritten orders of higher command. At first, an employee needed to have the training. Then, they just needed to have the training scheduled. Finally, they only needed to have the required training identified.
Your tax dollars at work.
Horosho Bodka 1 year ago
I worked at a command where simply signing up for the required training meet DISA requirements. No need to take it, just sign up.
What do you think ?
Cosmos 1 year ago
The older I get, the less that surprises me about how the world is held together by gum and 2 sticks while the richest of the rich get richer. It's a new gilded age.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
I always say most things are now held together with tissue paper and spit.
Load More Replies...
BookFanatic 1 year ago
Sorry, but sometimes libraries really do recycle books out if we can't mend or donate them elsewhere.
Lost Panda 1 year ago
Part of my job is translating Japanese to English and vice versa between us and the parent company. I don't know most of the kanji, so... you get a rehashed version of what Google or Deepl says it means
Cosmos 1 year ago
The older I get, the less that surprises me about how the world is held together by gum and 2 sticks while the richest of the rich get richer. It's a new gilded age.
Stephanie Did It 1 year ago
I always say most things are now held together with tissue paper and spit.
Load More Replies... BookFanatic 1 year ago
Sorry, but sometimes libraries really do recycle books out if we can't mend or donate them elsewhere.
Lost Panda 1 year ago
Part of my job is translating Japanese to English and vice versa between us and the parent company. I don't know most of the kanji, so... you get a rehashed version of what Google or Deepl says it means
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