20+ “Little” Secrets of Industries That Former Employees Decided to Share With the Entire World

In every industry, there are things that are kept in secret. For example, you’ll hardly find out how coffee is made on some airlines or what the real cost of a lipstick is. In this thread, people shared the secrets of their jobs, and we want to share the most interesting moments with you.

• The fashion industry is a whole can of toxic worms, and luxury clothes are no better, especially the most popular brands. Seamstresses in my country (which is renowned for haute couture and quality luxury brands) are some kind of second zone workers that are usually paid the minimum salary, no advantages, no respect from their boss, and easily thrown away. © Prosperous_Petiole / Reddit
• Low-cost airlines: don’t ask for ice on one of those flights. The crew have most likely shoved their dirty hands in the ice several times a day. You don’t want those germs in your drink. Also, asking for a tea or coffee doesn’t look like a good idea. I have never seen the kettles being cleaned, and I don’t even know if they do clean the water tanks in the plane. © riorval / Reddit
• I used to work for a private airport, the pilots would bring their carafes or coffee pots in for us to fill. We were not required to clean them first, only fill with our in-house, staff-made coffee (which was the cheapest, most blah-tasting coffee.) Many of these pots/carafes looked like they simply would just rinse them out with water and that’s it, never scrubbed. © ColdMorningCoffee / Reddit

• There is an astonishing amount of idiots in positions of authority all over in healthcare. © scroscrohitthat*/ Reddit
• In bathrooms, the markup for end user is extortionate, from tiles to wall boards, ceramics, bath tubs, showers, everything! What will cost you about 10,000 pounds would’ve cost me about 800. © LazinessPersonified / Reddit
• I worked in a spa that sold their own lotions. The lotions were supposed to be special blends created by the spa’s estheticians. In reality, the owners and managers bought cheap lotions and some scents, and had employees fill the spa bottles with the cheap lotions. © nah_champa_967 / Reddit

• A lot of those “top 10” lists for any industry are paid for spots. Someone reaches out flattering you, then offers to sell a spot to you. © golden_ember / Reddit
• I was a recruiter, and yes it’s 100% true companies low ball you on salaries. © AvocadoBitter7385 / Reddit
• Rats and mice walk around in warehouses, and people step on cans to get to other higher cans. Please do not drink straight from a can or at the very least, clean it before you bring it to your mouth. © Warm_Philosopher_118 / Reddit

• Sometimes negative press is released intentionally because the adage is somewhat true: bad PR is good PR. There is a good book about this Trust Me, I’m Lying by Ryan Holiday. © deerinringlights / Reddit
• While licking an envelope won’t kill you, I would highly recommend using a wet paper towel. I’ve seen some nasty things in those glue rollers. © violetdaze / Reddit

• Neglect and mistreat in nursing homes is extremely common. Always place a hidden camera in your loved one’s room. © Planet_Ziltoidia / Reddit
• In the publishing industry, bestselling books are created by networks of people, not by the quality of the book. A space on a bookshop table or in the shop’s sales chart is paid for by the publisher. Very little success is based on the book itself — it’s based on the right people buying into the idea of making it a success. © Reddish81 / Reddit
• The coffee maker in your hotel room is the most likely thing to not be cleaned. © indicatprincess / Reddit

• Always double-check your prescriptions before you take them. Every time. I worked in clinical governance for a large UK pharmacy company, and the number of errors on a day-to-day basis was terrifying. And that’s only the ones we had reported. © shiveryslinky / Reddit
• I worked in the catering industry for over 30 years. That “homemade soup” from your favorite casual fast family friendly restaurant came out of a plastic bag or a can. That sausage gravy you think is so good? Big fat can.
  Those biscuits you love came from a box in the freezer, almost nothing on the menu was scratch made, it’s just heated up before service. I am not talking fine dining here. And there is nothing wrong with all that, I just get annoyed when it’s advertised as if they make it in house. © mountainsunset123 / Reddit
• Diamonds are a luxury item that basically lose all resell value once bought. © Herm*hage / Reddit

• I worked in makeup retail for 20 years, and it’s shocking to see what each product actually is at cost. Lipsticks that retail for $20 are probably $2 at cost. Foundations that retail for $40 are really $6 at cost. © discoamie / Reddit
• One famous coffee shop intentionally overcooks their beans to make them bitter, so people will add flavored syrup. The syrup costs them a couple pennies per drink, so it’s a huge cash grab for them. © *Fingernails / Reddit
• If a hotel says, “We deep clean and shampoo every pet room after every stay,” they are lying. © No-Mathematician-295 / Reddit
• In finance, the reason you get cash back rewards on credit cards is because the more you use that bank’s card, the more money that bank makes because every time you swipe the merchant pays the bank a small fee to run the card. © cheyyy14 / Reddit

And here is another article where people share the secrets of their industries.