Recently, I asked members of the BuzzFeed Community things they've learned from their jobs that they think more customers should know. From disgusting to interesting, here are 14 of the best responses.
1."Former movie theater employee here. All movies start 15 minutes after their stated showtime. Previews usually range from 15–20 minutes, so being in the theatre super early doesn’t help much since the ushers are usually cleaning right up to the showtime. Also if you want to know if a movie has a post-credit scenes, ask the ticket taker."
2."I used to work as a merchandiser for a popular drink brand. While on the job, I would be rotating the product so that way the older ones would go ahead and make way for the newer dated ones."
"Well, some employees never rotated stock, so there were months-old expired products on the shelf. Always check the dates!"
3."Make sure when getting Frappuccinos for your kids, ask for it creme based. Those regular caramel Fraps you’re getting your kid has a lot of coffee in it."
4."If you're trying to solve a problem or have a complaint dealt with on a company social media account, do not threaten legal action."
"The second you do, the team can't help you any more in case you do actually take them to court. It is almost always possible to resolve a problem (even if not to your full satisfaction) without threats of legal action."
5."Call center for University alumni donations (yeah, yeah, I’m an asshole, I know): If you tell us (POLITELY) that you don’t want to donate to the University, we take you off the list and don’t contact you for the rest of the fiscal year."
"It does reset annually according to fiscal year, but it’s one 'no' as opposed to how many 'I wish my college would stop calling me' calls to voicemail?"
6."Teachers' kids get preferential treatment. I had two teachers' kids in my classroom last year, and if I didn't kiss their butts, then I was pulled into my boss's office and reprimanded. The same is true of students whose parents donate money to school events."
7."When buying clothes, try it on ASAP, then wash it before you wear it. You don’t know who has tried them on. That stuff has absolutely been on the floor many times, and many stores have lax standards on what condition clothes can be in and still go back on the rack."
"I’ve been told to just take a tissue to deodorant stains before, and the amount of makeup stains I see on things you wouldn’t expect to see makeup stains on is concerning. Try your clothes on so you know they fit, and then wash them before you actually wear them."
9."Some socially anxious customers feel afraid of bothering me, or like pointing out an incorrect price is offensive. I may not like work, but it's your money and your groceries."
"You should get a fair trade. We should fix it (even if it's a misunderstanding), and I can only do that if you point out any mistakes. Please do!"
10."I work at a luthier (string instrument repair shop), and OH MY GOD, please just loosen your bows. The main reason they break is because people tighten them way too much and then leave them like that, and eventually they snap — and then you’re out $200 minimum for a new bow."
11."In retail, don’t get mad at cashiers asking you questions. Open a credit card? Open a rewards account? Donate to this charity? It’s not only part of our job, but our daily numbers – not only for the store, but even our individual numbers are tracked."
"Our managers really get on our case about meeting goals and will really get mad if they catch us not asking. If you don’t like it, talk to management or higher-ups. Cashiers have to ask those questions as part of the job. We are getting paid to do it, and if we don’t, we could get fired."
12."As a hostess at an upscale restaurant, I spend a lot of my time strategically planning how to seat everyone who has reservations while also being able to take walk-ins."
"If you try to sit yourselves down where you're not assigned, it makes things much more stressful and can interfere with other reservations. Also, with this in mind if you are a small party of two or three, do not expect me to sit you at the large table that is clearly for a large group of eight or more."
13."I've worked retail for seven-plus years. One thing that annoyed me the most was when customers would bring up one clearance item, and then the same item but regular priced, and expect to get them both for clearance."
"It’s surprising how many people do not want to grasp the concept that clearance rarely has to do with the item itself. It’s how long the item is in the store. We get items in all the time."
"Older ones will be on clearance before newer ones! Just because you found another one not on clearance doesn’t magically make that one lower priced, too."
14.Finally, "I've worked at a small grocery store for over a year now and was never taught how to clean the slushy machine. I look at the machine one day, and it said it was over 1,500 days past due for a cleaning."
Affluent Americans may want to double-check how much of their bank deposits are protected by government-backed insurance. The rules governing trust accounts just changed.
