I used to work at a commercial production studio in Chicago when I was younger and they made a lot of food and beer commercials.
And during those long days on set, I saw how they manipulated the products to make them look tasty and refreshing for mass audiences.
It was pretty interesting and I think I learned a few tricks of the trade along the way.
What are some secrets of the industries you’ve worked in?
AskReddit users shared their stories.
1. Unbelievable.
“Worked in high end golf clubs for years- almost all politicians register their handicap scores under a false name.
The USGA handicap records are technically public information, and people would be pretty pissed if they knew how much time these guys actually spend playing golf.”
2. Who are you?
“Attorneys can really only remember the details of about 20 to 40 cases at a time.
So if you call your attorney after about a month or two, depending on the firm and how busy they are, they likely completely forgot what happened to you, and are working off a set of notes to pretend they have any clue who you are.
Especially if you’ve really only interacted with them via phone other than one time in person for an intake or whatever.”
3. Not equal.
“All Emergency rooms are not EQUAL emergency rooms.
In my hospital, we don’t have any sort of OB, Pediatrics or any of that. When ever a kid comes in, or worse a baby, the nurses and doctors are all in a panic. Not because they’re incompetent but because that’s not what our hospital does regularly.
Sure we will stabilize to the best of our ability and we will immediately call the local childrens hospital, but if you have a child for example in distress, and you have multiple hospitals near by, try being aware before hand which one is the best for yours or your child’s needs.
You don’t want to rush into an ER where there isn’t someone who can confidently and effectively treat you.”
4. In Japan…
“I design children’s books that get sold all around the world so there are a few rules we have to brief illustrators on.
Less than 5 fingers (4 fingers and a thumb) is offensive in Japan. If you look online there are a few reasons out there including mafia involvement. But the reason we were given at work is there was a caste system where the lowest caste were basically shunned from society.
They often had to do the hard dangerous jobs like factory work and construction. As a result it was quite common for them to lose fingers. The descendants of these people obviously have quite a lot of influence because Disney pays large amounts of money to be able to have characters like Mickey retain his 4 fingers in Japan.”
5. Feelin’ lucky?
“I worked at a small talent agency.
We had 4-5 people that fit every description, and we sent them all on the same auditions, just like every other agency for the same role.
Talent and looks only go so far. Then you have to get lucky.”
6. It’s complicated.
“For every publicly announced data breach, whether that be a confirmed leak, or the identification of a security flaw, there are 50 other such incidents that companies swept under the rug.
Data security is complicated, and most organisations don’t have the proper expertise to secure their data.”
7. Overpriced.
“Work for an optometrist, if you find a pair of glasses in a clinic that you like, they are likely marked up x2.5-3.
There should be a number on the inside arm of the frame. It should be like “AK2073” or something like that. Look that up online and buy it straight from the manufacturer. Probably will be less than 100$.
Dont pay full price for glasses.”
8. Makes sense.
“Most electronic medical records allow providers to put pop up warnings in your chart if you act verbally or physically aggressive.
If you yelled at the ER nurse in 2017, the medical assistant you called today begging for a last minute appointment can see it.”
9. Good one.
“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.”
10. Not too shocking.
“Some musicians use a teleprompter so they don’t forget their lyrics during concerts. I know this because I did it for a few years.
My boss ran teleprompter for Tom Petty for over a decade leading up to his d**th. It is a strange, very small community of teleprompters in music.”
11. Scary.
“At any given point in time, roughly 10-20% of the entire internet has a dev team in an absolute panic state.
The websites you use for every aspect of your life are held together with duct tape and shoe strings.”
12. Be polite about it.
“Accounting firm.
If you complain (nicely) about a late fee or interest charge etc added to your invoice it’s likely to get cancelled. It’s easy to do, and the extra fees are just to discourage people from paying bills late.
But if you come back and question it politely it will be wiped instantly. It’s nothing in the grand scheme of things regarding revenue and variances.”
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