Last week someone started a thread on AskReddit asking, “What is a “dirty little (or big) secret” about an industry that you have worked in, that people outside the industry really ought to know?” As of this writing it now has over 34,000 comments. Here are a few of the one I found most most interesting and/or disturbing. Buckle up.
From diverdave76:
I was a deep sea diver for 10 years in the Gulf of Mexico. Huge oil spills happen and are covered up hundreds of times a year by every company. The entire industry is in on it. The bottom of the gulf is a disgusting garbage dump. Every boat dumps their trash into the gulf no one obeys the laws and the coast guard doesn’t enforce shit.
From HeavenHasTrampolines:
I worked for a political consulting firm and was completely floored when congressmen/women would come in for media training (learning to be “normal” on camera or in front of constituents). Nearly every politician who came in for training was clueless and literally had “their views” on the issues fed to them by my boss (the media strategist). Sounds obvious, but it’s really horrifying to witness.
From LicianDragon:
The suppliers of big pet store chains like Petsmart and Petco are horrid for the animals. They’re nothing but breeding factories, churning out as many animals as possible with no thought to their health. A large majority of our animal shipments came in sick, dehydrated, or dead. Animals were often left in the back “sick room” with little if any veterinary care. We once had a greek tortoise with a respiratory infection languish for 6 MONTHS back there, barely eating anything at all before someone finally took her to the vet and had her put down. I adopted many animals during my 3 years there, including a cordon blue finch that had caught her leg in cage wiring, snapping in half at the ankle, and a gerbil that came in with no eyes and a horrible break in his leg. They would have otherwise sat in a small dark cage their whole lived never being offered up for sale.
It’s not just cats and dogs you shouldnt buy from petstores. If you’re looking for ANY pet, be it small animal, reptile, or bird. Please go to a respectable breeder, even a shelter. Don’t support the giant corporations.
From Fuckarme:
From my former job: The US military has a tradition where you spend your entire budget by Oct (the new fiscal year) or you risk losing that portion of your budget. I’ve been in units that would go out and purchase $200,000 worth of useless shit just to avoid having a budget surplus. Multiply by the number of units in the military (a shit ton) and you have all your fraud, waste and abuse.
From static74:
Fiber Internet Service Provider here – bandwidth is not a scarce commodity like they want you to think it is. It is all about profit margins and over subscribing the network.
I work for a UPS store. Here is a few things I have learned since working here…
Writing fragile on your package means nothing.Your package WILL get thrown around, dropped, and beaten up; if it is breakable then according to our guidelines for properly packaged items it needs to withstand 1000lbs of pressure and a 4ft dtop.
UPS capital claims is terrible as well they will do whatever they can to not pay you the amount you insure your package for.
From SlightlyStable:
Little secret. When you buy carpet you usually need less square footage of pad than carpet. But most companies bill you the same square footage for both and often send less pad than you paid for.
From Windintheauri:
When you pick your dog up from the kennel after a splendid beach vacation and he/she smells like dog shampoo (probably because you requested a grooming session), that’s because we have a spray that smells like dog shampoo.
Your dog has been in his cage, frightened by the foreign environment and loud barking/growling dogs. He probably shit himself or peed and then laid down in the puddle. This made him feel extremely guilty because he knows he’s supposed to go outside for that. He’s a mess, mentally and physically.
So when you come to pick him up and we realize “oops, Fido never got over to the groomers”, we have a spray bottle of doggie febreeze. We wipe any shit off as best we can, tie a festive bandana around their neck, and hope you don’t notice the completely manic excitement they’re exhibiting when you’re finally reunited.
From ElPatoSauce:
Worked foodservice for 15 years in plenty of places. Never seen an ice bin/ice machine cleaned.
Go read the whole thing if you want to be further fascinated/disturbed.