Anonymous Employees Confess Dirty Secrets Their Customers Should Know

If you spend any length of time working in an industry, you get a sort of behind-the-scenes perspective that customers never do. We all know that person who refuses to eat at a restaurant, shop at a store, or buy from a company because of what they've seen. But we're all friends here on the internet and friends share secrets. So one Reddit user asked:

What dirty little secret does your profession hide that the consumer should know?

So of course we snapped screenshots and told all our friends in group chats. Taking notes is so 2017. After we were done with that, we picked a few out to share with you guys. You're welcome.

I am a welder for a company that builds roller coasters... Every single weld is inspected and x-rayed for any defect. So i guess this doesn't apply, but just so everyone can feel a little bit safer I figured I'd let you internet people know.

Most everything at chain restaurants besides meats are microwaved.

Everything is pre-weighed and put into disposable cups (sauces and such) or plastic bags for veggies or sides, microwaved and then placed on a plate at the Mid area. I worked mid. Even the pasta is microwaved. It's pre-cooked to almost done and then bagged in portions to be microwaved at time of order.

Meats, Fries, Tortillas, Salads, etc. are not microwaved.. But all vegetables, soups, sauces, rice, etc. All microwaved.

Oh and when we were SUPER busy and some meat was under cooked the manager would have Grill cut it up and microwave it quickly.

Barely anyone in the state of Georgia gets an autopsy. If you wanted to kill someone over the age of 40, all you would really need to do is make sure that they had some kind of previous medical history and the body was found outside of a metropolitan area. The coroners here are only required to have a high school diploma. Some states are worse, most better.

Many of the books you read - especially romance - aren't written by the person who's name is on the cover.

Most romance books are ghostwritten and bought by someone else (often a man, I've found) and published under a female's name with a fake bio.

How do I know this?

I'm a ghostwriter.

Air traffic controllers (at least in the US) are almost all clinically fatigued. The FAA knows this and the union knows this, but it's in their interests to keep it quiet.

It's not uncommon for US controllers to have a swing shift (1pm-9pm) and then come back at 6am-2pm (9 hours between shifts) and then later go back again that night for an overnight starting at 10pm. That's 24 hours of work in 41 hours of real time. In a job where you really really want alertness.

A certain telephone company with a blue globe logo doesn't actually have a billing department. You are always routed to Sales. The job is not to fix your billing problem, it's to upsell you. If you have a legit billing problem, you will be transferred because the rep doesn't want to deal with anyone that isn't a sale. Every time you're transferred, it's actually to the same department, just a different sales rep. Billing managers are really just Sales Managers.

After working in the travel industry I can tell you that hotel room rates are often not fixed prices. If guests come to the front desk and ask the price we generally start at the high end. Most people accept this as fact and pay up. However, if a customer is hesitant or threatens to walk out we can sometimes drop the price to keep them there. Often there is a bottom line price set by the owners- we can't go any lower than that or we lose money.

Asking "is that the BEST you can do?" is an easy way to annoy people. My go-to line is "Thanks, but I'm on a bit of a budget. I'll check out some of the places nearby first."

I'm a doctor. When I'm on a 28 hour call I make lots of mistakes, and the nurses and pharmacists have kept you alive despite my best efforts. I'm sorry.

GM of a rental car company here.

Do not, under any circumstances, buy additional roadside assistance or premium roadside assistance.

Essentially every new car comes with 5 years of free roadside assistance from the manufacturer. As long as you weren't off roading, just give the manufacturer's RSA hotline the VIN and mileage and you are good to go.

Most cheap "adult" toys are made out of unstable materials (TPE, TPR) that may leech chemicals into your body and may over time start to melt, especially if stored with other toys. These material can also be porous and a perfect home for bacteria, so black spots might grow on your toy.

Doctor here. It's practically impossible to get an incompetent colleague to lose their license unless multiple patients complain. I've come across colleagues with horrendous records, ranging from billing fraud to almost killing people (and probably killing some, indeed, we just did not know for sure). Despite all of us trying to use appropriate channels, such as discussing it with the hospital, with the licensing body, we were met with staunch resistance and refusal to even start to investigate. The only way to do it would be to basically tell a patient that the doctor had almost killed them and tell them to file a complaint, but then if that information leaked, we could be sued for defamation.

It's really terrible.

Teacher here: I hide YOUR secrets. If your kids know it, I know it. Children are tactless and impulsive and they tell me all about your reproductive habits, financial difficulties, domestic problems, and tindr dates. I know so much about moms and dads that I wish I could erase from my brain forever.

But I will never tell! You're welcome!

If I start CPR on you, you have about a 5% chance to survive. I still try my hardest.

Every driver of a truck has nodded off at one time or another making them an 80,000 lb death missile.

Locksmithing.

Live in an apartment building? Does your Superintendent have a Master key for the apartment doors? Then forget about thinking you are safe and secure behind your locked door.

If at any time, a Master key has gone missing, the ONLY way to secure the building is to rekey every lock in the place. And nobody ever wants to absorb that expense. This means that the keying chart for your building has been in use since the building was constructed.

You can remove the deadbolt from a door, and with some very basic knowledge, disassemble the cylinder, and calculate the shear lines where the apartment key and the Master key operate. By deducing the cuts on the apartment key, you can easily calculate the cuts for the Master key. Take these calculations to a locksmith, and in minutes you can have a Master key that will open every door in your building.

If you live in a high-rise, don't trust the deadbolt to keep you secure. Replace the lock with a high security deadbolt such as a Medeco, and give the building management a copy of your key in case of emergency.

In the investment banking industry if you're my client and you're paying multi-million dollar fees to complete your M&A transaction, know that the senior guy that sold you the deal is a salesperson and not doing the work. The freshly hired analyst 3 months out of college will actually do all the work and his work will be checked by an associate with 2 years experience.

Your multi-billion transaction will be prudently handled by the overworked 21 year old who maybe has a thousand dollars in savings.

If your baby is in full-time care the odds are that we know about their milestones (rolling, crawling, walking, talking, etc...) before you do. It's just because the majority of their waking time is spent with us. We don't tell you because working hard to provide for your kid doesn't make you a bad parent, and we don't want you to feel like you're missing out.

Has anyone mentioned agriculture yet? If the U.S. paid our workers a salary that attracted legal immigrants and citizens, all produce/ornamentals would be priced as high as the stuff marketed as organic. A lot of farm labor is shit work, and it's one of only a few industries with no overtime pay requirements. 50+ hour weeks are normal. The factory farm I work at starts at sunrise with a minimum 9 hour day, working Saturdays as well. I'm a U.S. citizen with a Horticulture degree so I have it better than most of my illegal immigrant coworkers. I once spent a 10 hour day with a crew bent over in the field just to see what it was like and I had to take the next day off. I try to source all my produce and plants more ethically because of this, even though it's pricey.

9 out of 10 ac units are the same. Despite the brand and the cost, they mostly come from one maker in New Jersey: Ingersoll Rand.

Dental insurance is obtainable year round in the US. Use it once and get rid of it if you don't plan on paying the $8-30 monthly. Obtain the insurance again if and when you need it.

H/T: Reddit