What is a dirty little secret about an industry that you have worked in, that people really ought to know?
I worked for the court system in NC for several years. People freaked out when they got a jury summons and gave every excuse for a dismissal. Truth is, if they just plain failed to show, no action was ever taken. Ever.
This is probably just the owner of the local place I worked being cheap, but the comfort suites hotel I worked at for a while didn't even stock sanatizer tablets for dish washing. I didn't even realize it, until the health inspector came in one day and asked me where they were. I hate to think I may have spread something. D:
Over-cooked meat from the grill gets used in the next day's or week's chili. It's frozen. Wendy's.
Education is principally about getting kids to pass to maintain funding levels.
In the Heating and Air Conditioning repair business, the annual system "tune-up" is nothing more than hosing off the outside A/C coils, maybe check the refrigerant charge. The main reason they are there are to sell you crap you don't need, parts or filter systems , even new equipment. The A/C tech gets paid a flat fee to go a house to "tune-up" the A/C, usually about $12. Considering that travel time to a house and time spent at the at least 45 mins, he's not making much. So in order to make a good wage he will tell you need to replace a part. He gets like 20 to 25% of the charge on commission, the company gets the rest. Most common parts sold to you are; capacitors $10 their cost you are charged $215, contactors $11 to you $250, fan motors $45 you pay $500+, but labor is included with price. Oh by the way there is nothing wrong with the old part. Whoopie!
So for the hour he spent at a house he gets $12 to show up, $54 commision on a capacitor for a total of $66 for 1 1/2 hrs. work. So he has to sell you something to earn decent money. It's not the tech's fault this is how these residential companies work. I worked 35 years at repair work and it sickens me to see people getting ripped off, when I started out it was basiclly hourly work.
Many Honeywell/Ademco Lynx alarm panels (self contained) can be disabled simply by popping off the front from the wall mounted back. The early versions are incredibly simple and fast, later ones are a bit more difficult, but with some brute strength, still too easy.