#2

-An Amazon employee.
#3

"You should do what you think is best" is code for "you should do that, but on a recorded line, I can't tell you to do that.".
Let’s be honest, finding a good hack feels amazing, right? It makes life easier, work smoother, and sometimes even saves the day when you least expect it. And it’s not just about productivity; sometimes these clever little “cheat codes” are what keep people sane in the chaos of running a business. Employees, freelancers, and entrepreneurs all have their own tricks they swear by. These are the lessons you don’t often find in books but pick up through experience, trial, and error.
To get a deeper look into this world of insider wisdom, we sat down with Ankita Chopra from Ankita’s Fashion Hub. With years of experience running her own business, she’s learned what works, what doesn’t, and the small things that actually make a big difference.
#4
#5

ImSamIam: Also utilize silence. In general people don't like to be the last to speak so if you don't respond and let it get quiet for a moment, they'll usually keep talking.
#6

So, if they say "no" to waiving your fines at the circulation desk or any other desk, you may just get a yes in the Teen Center, if you're nice.
I changed some adult man's whole life by doing it for him once. He didn't even ask me to. He would always come in to get graphic novels from the teen section but could only read them at the library because he owed $20 in late fees, and that was a lot of money to him. When he asked me if there was any way to get a comic sent over from another branch without placing a hold (which he couldn't do because of his fees), I just took his card and waived the fees. I saw his face change as I gave it back to him and told him what I'd done. Suddenly he was able to read at home at whatever time he wanted. I think about him a lot.
EmotionalFollowing72: Our library stopped all late fees and wiped accounts clean. It’s been a year and there’s been a 30% increase in books checked out and a huge reduction in lost books because people returned them knowing they weren’t going to be fined.
“One of the first things I always recommend is staying organized,” Ankita said with a smile. “It sounds like such a simple thing, but the truth is that it changes everything about how you work.” When you’re juggling suppliers, customers, and daily operations, a lack of organization can create chaos faster than anything else. She explained that something as basic as keeping proper lists or maintaining a structured calendar can reduce unnecessary stress.
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#8

Abrahms_4: This is one of those keep your damn mouth shut situations. We had a guy would do this, leave his phone in the building on one of the housekeepers carts and leave. So it looked like he was just moving around the whole shift. He got caught when the manager used that cart one night and found his phone. Guy had been doing it for like 2 years.
#9

Buys you anything from a few hours to a few days.
Of course, staying organized is only part of the picture. “Delegation was something I struggled with at first,” Ankita admitted honestly. Like many entrepreneurs, she started off doing everything herself. At the time, she didn’t fully trust anyone else to handle her growing business the way she wanted. But eventually, the workload became too overwhelming to manage alone, and she realized she had no choice but to let go of control.
The turning point came when she started hiring people for specific tasks and giving them real responsibility. “Learning to delegate properly changed everything,” she said. Not only did her stress decrease, but the business also grew faster because multiple hands were working towards the same goal.
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#12
There was a 7 day return policy on all used games.
Play it for a week, return it for a different game.
There was a very sweet grandma and her grandson that would come in every week to do this - she loved how happy gaming made her grandkid. It was super wholesome.
Another lesson Ankita feels strongly about is staying technically up to date. In today’s fast-paced digital world, relying on outdated systems can hold a business back. “Automate tasks where you can, use tools like WhatsApp for business communication, and make sure your website is fully functional,” she explained. This isn’t just about convenience, it’s about keeping pace with how customers want to interact with businesses today.
She shared how using even small automation tools saved her hours every week. Customers could easily place orders, track their purchases, and ask questions without waiting. This gave her more time to focus on the creative side of her work, while also building trust with her audience.
#13

If you want to book one of these red flights (because it’s a better connection, better airline, more convenient time) without approval you can just set the search parameters for the departure time to exactly the what the preferred flight is departing at. The system then sees it as the cheapest flight for those parameters and you can book without any further approval.
gsfgf: Employers that make you take s****y flights are the worst. Like, I get wanting people to take the cheapest flight all else being equal but making someone layover in ORD on a flight from CLT to ATL because it’s cheaper should be illegal.
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#15

Ankita also emphasized something many entrepreneurs overlook: customer support. “It’s underrated, but having good support builds trust and keeps customers coming back,” she said. A great product alone won’t keep people loyal; what matters is how they’re treated when they have questions or issues.
She shared how a simple gesture, like responding quickly or resolving a problem without hassle, can turn a one-time buyer into a lifelong customer. In fact, some of her most loyal clients today started out with small issues that were handled with care. “Prioritize customer support,” she advised firmly. “It makes all the difference between a brand people forget and a brand people love.”
#16

waterloograd: When I worked for the government as a student, they gave us per diems. So instead of showing receipts they just gave us something like $75 per day to cover food. What we would do is get pizza for dinner, split it and save the leftovers for lunch. Probably made about $50/day doing things like that.
HogGunner1983: They don’t ask for a receipt? When we travel all meals at restaurants must have both the itemized and the signed receipts.
Edit: TIL my company is stricter than I realized on travel expenses 🫠
#17

Edit: adding as an update for my SECOND biggest piece of advice if youre facing becoming unhoused. Find ANYWAY to maintain a gym membership. You will have access to showers, charging your devices, and a third space. Planet fitness could save your life.
BigBennP: That sounds very much like the "show up h**h to d**g rehab rule."
Medicaid pays for 28 days of inpatient d**g treatment. However, medicaid also pays for up to 3 days of inpatient stay for "detoxification." So if someone shows up at a rehab under the influence they can bill for up to 31 days.
This led to certain social workers advising individuals that they needed to use before showing up at rehab so they'd fail a d**g test.
#18
When someone orders a brewed coffee and says **"Yeah, that's for here,"** we charge them for a small coffee... but we're supposed to give them a *large mug*. The system doesn't care; it's a legacy rule from when the mugs were all one size.
They get a massive coffee for the price of a small just by using two specific words. We'd only do it for people who were nice and said the phrase. The angry customers just got the small cup.
She also touched on the importance of generosity in business. “Don’t shy away from giving discounts when you can,” Ankita continued. In her experience, small price cuts or offers aren’t just about making a sale—they’re about showing appreciation. Customers notice when brands value them, and they’re more likely to return the favor by sticking around. She added that these little gestures create goodwill and word-of-mouth recommendations, which are priceless.
#19
As the IT guy, when employees needed a tech task done fast(er) or wanted special treatment, they'd bring me a bottle of Mtn Dew or a Payday (candy bar).
I used my personal rewards account to earn points when ordering office equipment.
With 200 employees and an owner who liked the latest and greatest tech for himself and company, I'd rack up a truly significant amount of points quickly. I quickly figured out the employees with kids and those less fortunate, so I'd often use points to buy employees home computers and simple computer parts.
#20
Nearly all our employees will say they've restarted their computer before calling for help. We have a script we can run that shows (without them knowing) the last time they rebooted. It's almost always over a week or so.
So the first thing we'll do is run another script to reboot their computer. We'll say we're "running an update/fix". But we aren't. We're just rebooting it.
And nearly always, that fixes their issue. They think we're wizards, but in reality, we just did what they claimed to have done.



