Working in certain industries definitely makes you privy to some things you wouldn’t have otherwise known. So, Reddit user u/WoOoOoOoShHhHh decided to ask what industry secrets people learned from their jobs. Here are some of the top responses:
1.
“Former aircraft fueler. Don’t check your pets in kennels. Especially in summer or winter. They are submitted to some very harsh environments, left on belt loaders in the sweltering heat right next to a running APU that’s loud enough to deafen human ears, let alone a dog’s. It’s terrible. I always feel so sorry for them. If your departure is delayed, 90% of the time it’s us (the fueler). Look out the window to the right side if it’s a small plane, left side if it’s a really big plane. If there’s a truck sitting under the wing, we’re the reason you’re late.”
2.
“I’m an attorney. The secret is to shut the fuck up.”
3.
“Construction boy here. If your windows or sliding doors are tough to open and close, nine times out of ten, we put our own dish soap on tracks, and the thing works perfectly. It takes five minutes, and we charge $150. Dish soap, people, it’s better than WD-40 sometimes.”
4.
“Almost every hairstylist gets the heebie jeebies when we shampoo your hair, and you just stare up at us. CLOSE. YOUR. DAMN. EYES at the shampoo bowl!”
5.
“I used to work in jewelry. Most of the prettiest gemstones are also very affordable. Tanzanite is a beautiful purple and looks nicer than amethyst. Topaz comes in lots of colors, including a pretty blue color which can be as nice as aquamarine. Opals aren’t as brightly rainbow-hued as they look in pictures.”
6.
“As a beginner counselor, I worked with a lot of children and adolescents. Consistently the discussion with my colleagues was how it was the parents who were the biggest problem and the kids were just adapting to a crazy environment.”
7.
“I used to screen resumes for small companies. Job ‘requirements’ are more of a wish-list situation. Never let some unchecked boxes deter you from applying. You have no idea what the applicant pool is like. The biggest boon, especially at small companies, is someone who legitimately cares.”
8.
“There is way more butter than you think in almost every dish you eat at fancy restaurants, and that is usually the reason you won’t see the amount of calories in each dish. I am a chef in Italian cuisine. If I could recommend one guidebook for you all to have in your kitchen, it would be Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat: Mastering the Elements of Good Cooking by Samin Nosrat. Yes, there are a plethora of others, but this one is my personal favorite.”
9.
“I’m a dentist. Here’s the lowdown on toothpaste. As long as it has fluoride, they are all basically the same. When I was in dental school, a woman who worked with a popular toothpaste brand came by and said that the only difference in toothpastes is the packaging. So whether it says whitening, gum protection, or whatever else, it is all exactly the same. The exception is sensitivity toothpaste, which typically does have an extra active ingredient, KNO3, which helps with sensitivity. Don’t ever feel obligated to buy expensive toothpaste because you think it will be better for your teeth, just buy whatever you like best.”
10.
“Change your dirty furnace filters and clean your AC coils outside. These make up an easy 30% of my calls for no heat/cooling. You have two coils, inside and outside. Your furnace filter keeps the inside one clean, so make sure that filter is clean!! Outside coil: kill power to the unit, remove the coil guard and top (using a 5/16 or 1/4 nut driver and approximately 20 screws). Don’t use high-pressure water. Simply on a shower setting, hold it a few inches away from the coil. Do this from both ways. Button that beauty up and wait for it to dry before turning the power back on. Your head pressure is going to love you. Oh, and don’t forget to blow your condensate line more than your husband! (It prevents water from flowing back into the unit from a block.)”
11.
“Auto insurance agent. Please, for the love of god, don’t tell auto insurance agents more than you have to. If they ask you a question, just say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and answer the question as straight as you can. If you go on and on about your life story, you will probably end up saying something you don’t have to and making your rate higher or getting yourself declined. We WANT to get you that policy as cheap as possible, only tell us what we need to know and don’t say anything else.”
12.
“I managed boarding and grooming kennels for eight years. The secret is that the employees actually do love your pets, too. Even the difficult ones, most of us realize they just miss their people. The number of times I’ve wept when a pet died, or spent way too many hours comforting a dog with separation anxiety, or spent hours off the clock with a boarder who needed to be rushed to a vet office…wouldn’t trade it for the world.”
13.
“Some therapists/counselors are on the wrong side of the couch, so to speak. If you feel your mental health provider is unhinged, they may very well be.”
14.
“If you order a pizza but like to choose your own toppings, it’s often cheaper to choose an existing pizza like a Meat Supreme or something with loads of toppings, then swap out all the toppings for ones you want, than to go for the ‘Create Your Own’ option in the menu. Note, this is much less awkward if you order online than on the phone.”
15.
“I’m in the weight loss industry. This might be obvious, but most of our business comes from return clients after they’ve gained their weight back (and then some). To be clear, the plan isn’t rigged to make you gain it back, but the fact that it happens easily as a result of dieting keeps us in business.”
16.
And finally: “I’m a server. No matter how much we insist it’s ‘okay’ that you are keeping the entire restaurant open after we’ve closed, please know we are 100% lying. We will get fired if we deviate from anything other than pure delight that you are keeping us from going home. We dread it. Please don’t believe us.”
If you work (or worked) in an industry where you learned some pretty surprising things, add it in the anonymous comments form below, and we may make a follow-up post!
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