17 Stories Shared Online That Disclose Industry Secrets You’re Not Supposed to Know

Every day, we come into contact with many industries that provide products and services, like grocery stores, car rentals, call centers, and many others. Each of us works in a particular sector and probably knows something about it that others outside the sphere don’t.

• “If you want to book a rental car but they’re sold out, book it for a week or 2 longer than you actually need it, and then just return the car early and you’ll only get charged for the time that you had it. Some car booking systems automatically open up their system to long-term reservations and will make sure you get a car over someone who only booked in for a day or 2.”
  Ⓒ ambdaw / Reddit
• “I’m a musician. It’s not really a secret but 90% of our revenue is from merch. Plays on streaming apps, show guarantees, etc. Everything is menial in comparison to shirt sales. In fact, a big reason bands tour as often as possible is because we can sell more shirts when we’re in front of people.”
  Ⓒ loocaswoodland / Reddit
• “A lot of librarians will waive your fines if you have an excuse and you don’t ask very frequently, even large fines. Also, librarians DON’T CARE about your fines and aren’t judging you. Please come back. We personally have more fines than you. Librarians are ALWAYS overdue with their books.” Ⓒ itsmeEloise / Reddit

• “I’m a fossil replicator and apparently the industry secret is the fact that we exist. So many people are blown away to learn that most fossils they see in museums are replicas.”
  Ⓒ Katy-L-Wood / Reddit
• “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.” Ⓒ TwoPesetas / Reddit
• “Movie industry. Unless you are absolutely breathtaking in your audition (which does happen don’t get me wrong), there is a list of 30 people each studio prioritizes to be in their major films.”
  Ⓒ Passwords******** / Reddit

• “Dress codes and other rules bouncers tell you at the door are usually made up on the fly.”
  Ⓒ CloudyNeighborhood / Reddit
• “Tourism industry here. Look up when peak season is for the destination you’re looking at. There are usually cheaper prices are the beginning and end of the season. Try to book at the beginning of the season. Seasonal workers work themselves ragged and are usually completely burnt out at the end. At the beginning of the season, everyone is stoked to start making money again.”
  Ⓒ firebired_sweet / Reddit
• “A huge portion of online reviews, ratings, social media presence, etc., that you see for any given company are fake, paid for, or done by multiple accounts controlled by us.”
  Ⓒ PauseAndReflect / Reddit

• “Firefighters are trained in several areas and can specialize deeper in certain disciplines. Most of the emergencies we get called to are situations we have never been trained on, but with 4 of us on a firetruck, we can normally figure out a solution.” Ⓒ roofshepard791 / Reddit
• “When you order at a drive-thru, the microphone stays on until you move forward. So everyone inside the store with a headset on can hear your conversation until you leave the ordering area.”
  Ⓒ reb678 / Reddit

• “Arcade crane games have knobs inside that let you control how strong the claw grabs. So you basically make the claw really weak strength and then there’s a setting in the motherboard to make the claw go full power after a certain amount of plays. Whatever the arcade or owner decides how often they want people to actually win.” Ⓒ khuumshaat / Reddit
• “If there’s a lot of IT problems and your IT people look like they’re working their socks off, it’s because they don’t know what they’re doing. If things are smooth and it looks like your IT people don’t do anything, it’s because they know exactly what they’re doing.” Ⓒ DonkeyTron42 / Reddit
• “When you play match 3 games, after beating a few levels the game will make it impossible for you to continue (you will be getting impossible odds). If you put your device aside and return after several hours or a day later, you will find the previously impossible level to be easy af. It is a mechanism to prevent people from burning through hundreds of levels in one go.”
  Ⓒ Kuivamaa / Reddit

• “If you buy sliced bread and there’s a rather sudden shift in color between say the first 10 and last 20 slices, they’re different loaves patched together by hand in the same bag. Same thing is true if there’s a slight shift in size/diameter. Slices should naturally line up perfectly with their neighboring slices if they’re from the same loaf.” Ⓒ Somnambule88 / Reddit
• “Scientists: We disagree with one another a lot more often than the media would lead you to believe. The reason we’re good at our jobs though, is that (ideally) we like disagreeing with each other, and we are able to move on when proven wrong. It’s a part of the job.” Ⓒ Tumblrhoe / Reddit
• “If you call a call center of any kind, and the person you’re talking to puts you on hold with no hold music, they can hear everything you’re saying.” Ⓒ Unknown author / Reddit

What area do you work in and what useful secrets do you know from it? Share in the comments!