Industry Secrets That Genuinely Rocked People To Their Core

Ignorance Really Can Be Bliss

It can either be refreshing or a shock to the system when you get a behind-the-scenes look at how some industries operate. Did we want to know that numerous mid-ranked restaurants are notorious for microwaving some of their most popular menu items? No, not necessarily. However, knowledge is power, and maybe learning that your go-to plate of lobster from your nearest seafood restaurant is just being hastily microwaved, might inspire you to save your money by skipping that order next time.

We'll take a look at the biggest industry secrets that came out of the woodwork to leave people shocked and appalled.

1. Customer Service Surveys Can Have a Devastating Impact

Oh boy, this one is crucial to remember. Some of us can get quite obsessive over the quality of a company's customer service, and this might result in docking off a few points when leaving a review. However, many companies operate with something called a Net Promoter Score.

The Net Promoter Score or "NPS" is responsible for measuring customer loyalty through taking a look at the overall likelihood of recommending a specific business. A company's NPS score is determined by a single-question survey, and that single question can potentially cost an employee their job. So, unless you had a harrowing experience with your customer service representative, don't upend their livelihood with a lower score.

Used Car Dealership — EHStock/istockphoto

2. Car Dealerships Make Big Money on the Backend

Many car dealerships count on generating a large percentage of revenue with the backend costs associated whenever someone buys a car such as financing and warranties. It’s not uncommon for car dealerships to haggle on a car’s price, just because they know that this could wear you down to where you’re much more easily persuaded during financing negotiations. It really is a chess game in those car dealership lots.

Take it from ex-car salesperson/Redditor u/Goopyteacher who wrote, "When I was in car sales I learned real quick that the actual car itself isn’t where the real money is at, but the backend is. So like warranties, getting work done, etc etc. Most dealerships will still put up a fight on the actual price of the car though because they know most people are focused on the car itself. This is also done to help wear you down so you’re less likely to fight on the backend when they say they’ll discount the car price down to X amount but you have to get a warranty or 2 with it. More often than not, most people will cave because they got 2-3k off on the car and don’t realize the warranties are adding on 2-5k and warranties are often straight profit. Different dealerships tweak the above strategy to their market but generally they all play it to some degree."

Doctor talking to a patient in a consultaton at the office — andresr/istockphoto

3. The Real Reason Doctors Have You Turn Your Head and Cough

Understandably, there's an implied level of seriousness whenever a doctor asks you to do something when you're in for a checkup. You're not alone if you too assumed that there was a magical medical reason for your doctor having you turn your head when they ask you to cough during a physical to check for a hernia. It turns out they're just doing that so you don't cough directly on them.

Mother and daughter checking food labeling in supermarket — bluecinema/istockphoto

4. Food Companies Use Plenty of Supermarket Tricks

If it sometimes feels like you need to be fully present whenever you enter a grocery store and a have a foolproof, budget-friendly game plan on your person, it's because you really do. The lengths to which a company will go to aggressively or cleverly will you into purchasing their product over a competitor's — from strategic shelf positioning to limited time offers — is pretty astounding.

Steamed Lobster Tail — LauriPatterson/istockphoto

5. Many Restaurants Microwave Popular Menu Items

This is one of those "secrets" we might have been better off knowing. It's crazy how our minds can trick us into believing that a steaming bowl of lobster bisque wasn't just nuked in the microwave to give off the appearance of being recently prepared. However, many restaurants will microwave some of the biggest hits on the menu to save time. It's then just a matter of whether or not you can't get right with eating a microwaved lobster tail, bowl of pasta, grilled cheese sandwich, etc.

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'New' Books from Third-Party Sellers — yipengge/istockphoto

6. Some Authors Buy Their Own Books To Get On Best Seller Lists

It could be a matter of sheer egotism, or perhaps more strategically motivated, but it's been shown that some authors are absolutely not above buying tons of their own books to secure their spots on the New York Times Best Seller list. Knowing that, it really just boils down to whether or not you even base your own literary purchases on something like what's featured on the New York Times best seller list in the first place.

Business woman turning on the thermostat at the office — Hispanolistic/istockphoto

7. Offices Use Dummy Thermostats To Keep Employees Happy

Ouch, this one's pretty messed up. There are offices out there that will tactically "install" non-functioning dummy thermostats that are only there to instill a sense of ease in their employees by creating the illusion of control over their environments. If you've ever sworn that on a hot summer's day your office was telling you that it was a certain cooler temperature, while the room itself felt nothing of the sort, now you might know why.

Bank teller working in bank — Image Source/istockphoto

8. Banks Make Bank On All Those Overdraft Fees

It's no secret that the world's biggest financial institutions can carry out all kinds of shady behavior to make an extra buck (or in some cases, millions), but the overdraft fees situation is truly out of control. It's reported that banks can end up making as much as one billion dollars in a quarter through collecting overdraft fees. Thankfully, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is taking proactive measures to rein that mess of a situation in. We'll keep our fingers crossed that they prevail.

Young beauty blogger girl recording video on dslr camera — fizkes/istockphoto

9. Some Influencers Don't Properly Disclose Sponsored Content

It may not come as a surprise, but many social media influencers will deceptively try to pass off sponsored content and paid ads as non-sponsored content. Some might argue they're trying to make money just like the rest of us. But does that excuse the abuse of power that comes with using a wide-reaching platform to shape people's opinions without properly disclosing that they were compensated for it? Of course not. Failing to disclose a product endorsement (even if it's not a paid one) is not only unethical, but it can also be illegal, according to the Federal Trade Commission.

Cropped shot of an attractive young female call center agent working in her office — PeopleImages/istockphoto

10. Companies Really Do Analyze Those Recorded Calls For Quality Assurance Purposes

It ultimately gets down to how you carry yourself on those more frustrating customer service calls. Are you yelling and dishing out vulgar remarks like a complete animal, even though you were already told that the call was recorded? If so, it's best to rein that in. Not just because it's the right thing to do on a moral level, but also because the teams of analysts that study those calls are doing so to try to improve how customer service is being carried out.