We do our best to go through life with as few hitches and bumps as possible. Whatever little tricks or tips we can learn to make it go even smoother, we cherish and hold. But of course, that’s the idea that those viral ads we all know, the “one weird trick [insert profession here] hates ” get their power from. But are there actually any “one weird tricks” that those profession don’t want us to know?
Someone on Reddit asked professionals to share simple tricks their industry really does hate. Whether it be a secret saving or a simple annoyance, here were their answers.
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Just a few turns.
“Most disposal problems can be fixed with a few turns of an allen wrench on the underside of the disposal (it manually fixes jams). Most people seem to not know this and call plumbers instead.”
“Recently when mine stopped working I discovered the reset button on the bottom as well. Saved me a lot of money and time,” answered one user, grateful they’d heard this tip.
Self-assembly.
“I don’t really care that much but a regular customer at the McDonald’s I work at has learned how to beat the system: Sausage egg mcmuffin: $2.99 Sausage mcmuffin: $1 Round egg ala carte (on the side): $0.79 He pays $1.79 and puts the egg on his muffin himself. Saves him $1.20 every time.”
Never-ending money.
“Gift cards don’t expire in the state of California. If a gift card has a monetary value (ie a $50 amazon gift card) then it legally can’t expire. If it says that it has expired when you try to use it contact the retailer directly and inform them that you live in California, they will issue a replacement.”
Open and close.
“Worked in the garage door business for a few months. So many times we’d get calls out ‘My garage door isn’t closing’. Get to the house and there is a leaf in front of the safety eye. Before calling, make sure A.) there isn’t anything obstructing the safety eye, B.) the unit isn’t unplugged.”
Free air flow.
“At gas stations (at least in my state), they have to turn on the air for you to inflate your tires if you ask. No need to put quarters in the machine! The gas station attendants always make a sour face when I ask, so I assume they hate it. Mwahaha free compressed air!”
DIY it.
“Accountant here, and I used to work for an accountant that specialized in tax work (filing personal income taxes for clients). These accountants hate it when people are smart enough to do their own taxes. But here’s the thing: filing taxes is easy. In most cases, your taxes are extremely easy to file. Take your tax slips, enter those numbers into a FREE tax program, and file it. In some cases, it only took about 10-15 minutes to complete a client’s file, and we charged them a few hundred bucks.”
Know your rights.
“Security Guard here. Just know you can walk away and tell the guard to pound sand, unless of course you actually have broken the law and they witnessed you do it. If a Security Guard demands to see an ID, you can tell him ‘no’, and just walk away. Security is not a sworn LEO, and cannot legally force you to show ID, and cannot arrest/detain you unless they eyewitness you break the law.”
Back and forth.
“I work as an internet sales specialist for a chain of car dealerships, and if the average person knew how easy it is to get the cheapest possible price on a new car, I wouldn’t have a job. Literally all you have to do is start a bidding war between two dealerships. Submit inquiries online to both of them, and explicitly tell them that you’re shopping. Any time one of them comes at you with a deal, just present that number to the other one. They’re going to keep trying to beat each other until they financially can’t anymore, and that’s when you have your cheapest price.”
Cheating death.
“Latin teachers hate Google translate. Not even because it can be used to cheat. Oh no, my friend. It’s because the translations it gives are utterly, woefully, laughably incomprehensible. No matter how bad you are in class, you are better than Google.”
Double check it.
“In Canada there is something called the Scanning Code of Practice […]. Most major retailers adhere to it. What it means is that if the product scans in at a price HIGHER than the price listed on the shelf, the customer is entitled to receive the item free, up to a $10 maximum (customer will receive $10 off when the item costs $10 or more).”
Missed connections.
“It can be cheaper to book a long, connecting flight that goes through your destination and get off early, than to just book that one segment. Airlines hate it so much they are suing.”
Another user added a piece of advice, “Make sure you book a one-way ticket if using this trick. The rest of your itinerary will be cancelled when you do not show up for the connecting flight.”
Paying for the name.
“Drug companies. Generic over the counter medications really do work as well as the name brands. I’m still trying to convince my parents to quit buying the $10 bottles of Nyquil extreme cold and flu with 4 different ingredients instead of the $3 generic cough suppressant when all they have is a cough.”
Daring diving.
“Dumpster Diving. I don’t know about American laws on this, but in Denmark, if there is no fence or lock, it is perfectly legal to go to the dumpster behind a shop after it closes and take anything there. Might sound disgusting, but trash from a store is very different from household trash, and I get all the fruit I can eat that way (they got a bag with a pound or 2 of apples and 1 apple got a brown spot, they throw out the entire bag). Some shops really loath dumpster divers. Be sure to check your local laws on it before you venture out to do it though.”
Removing the layers.
“You know those tongue scraper cleaners dentists tell you to use? Just use a spoon.”
Pictures of $30 tongue scrapers I’ve seen being sold online are flashing before my eyes. Who knew the answer was so easy this whole time?
Infinite loop.
“If you get an old Jack in the Box receipt, write down any 4 random digits and tell them that you did the online survey, you can get two free tacos. They have no way of knowing if you actually did it or not so they just insert the coupon code and boom! You get a snack and another receipt! Endless tacos! Source: I used to work at a Jack in the Box.”
The price of extreme.
“Extreme couponing really does work. A lady came through my line today, and had a preliminary total of $168.59. After I ran a handful of coupons, she got out of there with a total of -$0.16. That blew my [expletive] mind. Even though it was in my line, I could only smile and laugh at it. […] We PAID HER to take merchandise off of our hands.”
Proof is in the pudding.
“When getting work done on your car by a mechanic, ask for the old parts that they replace. They are required to give them to you. This will put you at ease if you think they are screwing you by not doing the work they claim.”
Take it back.
“It varies by state, but there is a ‘cooling off’ period after you sign a residential lease in NJ. It gives you three days after you sign to back out of a lease for any reason. I’ve used this trick before after signing a lease. The realtor I was working with was surprised (and disappointed) that I knew about it.”
Squeaky clean.
“I spent a few years making bath products, primarily soap, for a living. I hate to hear of people watering down their liquid soap to save money, […] Quick point about watering down soap. Because it’s mostly water already, liquid soap contains a carefully formulated amount of preservative to prevent bacterial/fungal growth. When you water it down, you make that preservative useless and theoretically germs can now flourish in your soap. “
Best price available.
“If you have a clean driving record you should be getting quotes from every car insurance company you can every time you renew. Different companies have different rates for every zipcode, driver, and vehicle, there is nothing one company will offer that you can’t get elsewhere for cheaper.”
