Whats Your Industry Secret/ Loophole That Gets You Perks?

CI on 26/07/2017 - 16:23
Last edited 26/07/2017 - 17:20 by 1 other user

Hi guys

I am in the aviation industry and I travel a lot
I know a really good trick/secret/loophole which gets me priority boarding, immigration express lane and bunch of other things usually devoted for first class and business class passengers only or people with silver/gold memberships with their relevant airline.

I am too scared to share the secret as it will mean airlines/airport staff will find out eventually since everyone will try to use it and then it wont be there for me anymore.

However, as a sweetener I can share my other secret.
So 4 years ago Subway email me an offer which was buy any 600ml drink and get any 6 inch sub for free - it was a mobile offer, but the loophole is it has no expiry date.
So I can confirm I have been eating $3.80 6-inch Sub and Drink for past few years. And it tastes amazing after a good sat night out.

Education & Work

Comments

      • jaybo on 01/08/2017 - 11:16

        $0

  • [Deactivated] on 26/07/2017 - 20:11
    +1

    Excellent discounts on a certain Camera brand (in excess of 40% off)

    • HarmonicMelody on 28/07/2017 - 18:38
      +12

      So many disabled users.

    • Lexus101 on 28/07/2017 - 18:43

      Interested in getting a camera. What brands can you get discounts for (Sony, Panasonic, Canon) any help is much appreciated. Feel free to message me if you able to. Thanks in advance!

      • D6C1 on 31/07/2017 - 08:45

        I bet its Canon

      • PVA on 31/07/2017 - 22:06

        canon gives corporate discounts too but are still more expensive than going and buying at a retail store.

  • [Deactivated] on 26/07/2017 - 20:41
    +2

    So 4 years ago Subway email me an offer which was buy any 600ml drink and get any 6 inch sub for free - it was a mobile offer, but the loophole is it has no expiry date.

    I'm surprised they're still honoring it, especially if you keep going to the same store.

    Entertainment book forgot to write 'sample' across some of the samples on their website once … had lots of 2 for 1 big macs that year, but after a while they just wouldn't accept it anymore.

    • CI on 28/07/2017 - 10:57
      +7

      I have tried few stores in melb, Sydney, brisy, gc and many many stores in SA, and when I say SA I mean like all the country towns aswellThe only one I was ever rejected was port Augusta or porta gutta. The store manager looked really depressed yet moved in a fidgety quick manner (think Steve smith before a delivery). Looked me in the eyes, sat on a chair whilst I was standing, his pupils litt up like a new spark and he said "mate if I give this to you it just didn't cut it for me, here's what I'll do, I can give you the drink free and you pay for the sub"
      I was like ok.

      • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 11:02

        Nice!

        The subways I go to around Sydney CBD are pretty tight with the silly loyalty stamps, eg don't give a stamp with a promo sub … so I just don't see them honoring this deal.

        • Matt P on 30/07/2017 - 20:00
          +2

          Are they back onto a stamp based system again? I remember buying stamps/cards off ebay back in the day. I used to be a rep visiting stores in different shopping centres. About 20 different ones all over sydney (1 visit a month). Used to cost me about a buck for a filled 6" card then about 2.80 for the drink. Fed me every day for lunch for over 6 months. When they called it quits on the program, my girlfriend (now wife) and i ate at subway every chance we got to use up all the old stamps

        • [Deactivated] on 30/07/2017 - 22:29

          @Matt P:

          Are they back onto a stamp based system again?

          It varies a lot from subway to subway. Some have the cards on display, others keep them hidden away, others don't seem to offer it at all.

          The ones that keep them hidden away tend to kick up a stink about giving out stamps on the sub-of-the-day and other promos or try to short-change you by giving 1 stamp for a foot-long. IMO, they're just making up the rules as they go along.

          I remember buying stamps/cards off ebay back in the day.

          Pre-filled loyalty cards are really popular on ebay UK/US … never see them on ebay australia.

  • Strahany on 26/07/2017 - 20:45
    +1

    Ditto on sharing the Subway coupon, if possible, please!

    • [Deactivated] on 26/07/2017 - 20:48
      +2

      Try putting it in your blouse instead … much more discrete.

      • ms_caz on 26/07/2017 - 20:50

        Yes - i can see how that would be harder to spot!

    • John Kimble on 26/07/2017 - 21:11
      +55

      Call a spade a spade. That's essentially theft.

      • ChillBro on 27/07/2017 - 13:14
        -1

        Thieves like that should be imprisoned in my opinion.

        • John Kimble on 27/07/2017 - 13:23
          +2

          Hmmm, don't know if I would go that far…

        • WhyAmICommenting on 28/07/2017 - 07:23
          +3

          Chill, bro

        • gimli on 28/07/2017 - 07:30
          +7

          @John Kimble: you're getting soft mate. 😋

        • John Kimble on 28/07/2017 - 10:25

          @Gimli: We need to keep the space free in jails for the mothers of drug lords that attempt to kidnap their child back from their runway ex partner who is now a teacher.

          It's pretty straightforward. :/

        • theraque on 28/07/2017 - 13:17
          +6

          @Gimli: He's a cop, you idiot!

        • gimli on 28/07/2017 - 13:45
          +7

          @theraque: and I am Gimli son of Gloin

      • johnno07 on 29/07/2017 - 13:48
        +6

        It's not "essentially theft" - it's just plain old theft.

        • John Kimble on 31/07/2017 - 09:05
          +1

          Ha ha. I stand corrected!

    • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 10:16
      +7

      So basically stealing for a what? A couple bucks worth of paper?

      Are you really that cheap?

      • ms_caz on 28/07/2017 - 11:17
        -1

        Well - yes I guess I am.

        Especially since the things I print are then taken back to my workplace to use in the workplace….

        However the point I was really making was that there are no such things as perks in my industry.

        • ninetyNineCents on 28/07/2017 - 12:24
          +3

          So you steal from work, so you can print at home in your own time using your own toner/ink ?

        • jasong on 28/07/2017 - 13:53

          @ninetyNineCents: Maybe being even sneakier to get the remains of a half used ink/toner

        • John Kimble on 28/07/2017 - 14:59

          If that is the case (using it for work purposes) then you could argue it's not stealing and you shouldn't have to be sneaky about it.

          Otherwise you could just buy paper and get reimbursed by your company.

          Or claiming it and the printer consumables as a tax deduction (if that is allowed?).

        • Daabido on 28/07/2017 - 18:40
          +7

          @John Kimble: A tax deduction only gets you your marginal tax rate back, not 100%. Maybe ms_caz is a teacher. As they say, it's the only industry where employees steal from home and take it to their workplace.

        • ms_caz on 29/07/2017 - 18:29
          +1

          @Daabido: Bingo!

      • HarmonicMelody on 29/07/2017 - 15:29

        I thought they were joking?

    • dufflover on 29/07/2017 - 11:55
      +3

      I don't get why people are so up in arms about it :P
      Stealing office supplies seems "normal" enough of a thing to me lol. But no I def wouldn't call it a perk.

    • BuyoTheCat on 01/08/2017 - 13:02

      Just take a few piece every day. Fold it into a small piece and hide it in various orifice on you .

      Get home -> dig it out -> unfold it -> load up your hold printer.

      It might take a while, but this is much lover risk.

  • acoma on 27/07/2017 - 08:20
    +7

    Work at ISP. Free Internet. Worked at Austar (now Foxtel) back in the day. Free PayTV and Internet.

    • [Deactivated] on 27/07/2017 - 08:24
      +5

      That's pretty generous. Telstra staff get a measly 25% on phone/internet.

      • drprox on 28/07/2017 - 14:58

        Suspect it depends where you are in Telstra. I have friends there who get large data allowances and new phones every year.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 15:07
          +1

          I have friends there who get large data allowances and new phones every year.

          I think they're for business purposes, so you have to return them when you leave. I'm sure there's a corporate policy about using them for personal use, but they don't enforce the policy closely.

          The 25% off is for services in your personal name.

        • drprox on 28/07/2017 - 16:01

          @sp00ker: oh yeah for sure, they do use them for everything though as you've assumed!

    • Donaldhump on 28/07/2017 - 20:54

      Funny thing is when you stop getting it for free you realise how shit value it is…

  • mattyman on 27/07/2017 - 11:46
    +33

    I work in government. We get absolutely nothing, because bribes aren't in the best interest of our customers (the people). If people do accept "gifts" we can be fired and or prosecuted for receiving them.

    It makes sense, otherwise stuff like this can happen.
    http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/government-…

    • vicosads on 28/07/2017 - 08:14
      +6

      When contracting for government departments i found the "approved" suppliers were greatly higher priced than the rest of the market sometimes 2-300% of market value. The perks of a supplier getting a contact for a government department that doesn't care about price i guess…

      • dtc on 28/07/2017 - 10:35
        +3

        You will probably find that there are things other than price eg the supplier will offer 1 hour supply, or regular servicing, or provide financial accounts in a way that works well for the department (like how AMEX does and why its popular with corporates). Because otherwise the government almost always goes for the lowest price - in fact, that is the common complaint (it buys the lowest price without assessing the actual value)

        • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 11:09
          +1

          Also, you might not know the full details of the contract. Rebates and volume discounts at the end of a billing period are very common.

          For example, take a look at the dell corporate website, find a products that also available to retail (Eg latitude laptop). The list price on the corporate website will probably be double what the retail price is. The corporate probably gets a 50-60% discount on list price. Plus all the other benefits dtc listed above.

          Another example is business class travel. I'm pretty sure large corporations get a rebate/discount at the end of the year (even though they might be paying retail prices) throughout the year.

          Corporations aren't as silly as you think with large purchasing decision.

        • vicosads on 28/07/2017 - 15:37

          nah to clarify contractor buys specified items from the approved suppliers then installs and provides warranty, then said department gets invoiced for the lot by the contractor, the lowest price contractor may be used but they all have to use the same approved items and suppliers

        • Xastros on 28/07/2017 - 17:06

          @sp00ker: Some of them are that silly. Not enough oversight and a lot of complacency. I've worked at two very large corporations and the amount they get ripped of is ridiculous. Especially their IT spend.

          To add an option to a dropdown box in their custom software. $200k. LOL

          But other things as well like telecoms. For such large organisations they should be getting killer deals but they don't. Even after rebates/discounts etc slightly worse than retail.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 17:15

          @vicosads:

          but they all have to use the same approved items and suppliers

          There might still be an rebate agreement in place from the supplier that you're not aware of.

          Take the business class travel as an example - a large company will select a preferred airline and preferred travel agent. Employees buy all the fares through the said travel agent at list price. Airline provides a rebate directly back to the company at the end of year.

          I'm sure there's similar schemes for IT purchases, for example all cisco equipment is purchased through a reseller (Eg dimension data) and cisco provides a rebate/discount later.

          I have no idea who you work for or how efficient their purchasing operation is, but lots of these decisions might be above your pay grade and they just help rank and file staff be most productive at their job, instead of worrying about purchasing decisions.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 17:21

          @Xastros:

          Some of them are that silly.

          I don't disagree there, but there's probably good reasons for it, eg chasing profits somewhere else.

          Or maybe they're just inefficient and going to go out of business soon.

          To add an option to a dropdown box in their custom software. $200k. LOL

          Doesn't mean much without knowing some details. If it's going to take 3 months of labour + project manager + profit, I can see how it would balloon to 200k.

          Or they could just be taking the piss … everyone tries it on once in a while.

          Even after rebates/discounts etc slightly worse than retail.

          Slightly worse is about right, the devil is in the details - service, SLAs, unified reporting, etc all cost something. Retail customers don't need any of this.

        • Xastros on 28/07/2017 - 17:51

          @sp00ker: @sp00ker:

          I take your point on the extra service/SLAs etc but with the scale of revenue we give to them, I would've thought it would still be better than retail but I could be wrong.

          Why would it take 3 months of labour to add an item to a dropdown menu? In the end we just didn't go ahead with it.

          n our industry it is apparently normal to spend BILLIONS on software upgrades/changes. All public information announced via company announcements and visible later in financial statements. Yes we do have a lot of data and we do need it kept very secure but there is no way even a year worth of IT work should cost $2B. They are just poor at negotiating. If the job takes 200 people working full time for a full year, each earning $200k per year (highly unlikely) that is only $40M. yes you want a profit on top of that obviously plus overheads etc but still!

        • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 18:02

          @Xastros:

          Why would it take 3 months of labour to add an item to a dropdown menu? In the end we just didn't go ahead with it.

          I have no idea … 3 months was just what I backed out from the 200k figure. Maybe the change involves a full regression testing cycle and can't be bundled with another scheduled release.

          Maybe the guy that wrote the software is retired and doesn't get out of bed for less than 100k.

          Maybe they were just taking the piss and they'll come back with a 50k quote before the end of next quarter if you pay in advance.

          All public information announced via company announcements and visible later in financial statements. Yes we do have a lot of data and we do need it kept very secure but there is no way even a year worth of IT work should cost $2B.

          Hard to comment on this without specific details. I will say that if it's a publicly listed company, stock analysts are pretty smart at figuring out if a company has a lot of fat … There probably isn't as much fat as you think (except for several layers of management that are being paid handsomly).

        • Xastros on 28/07/2017 - 18:07

          @sp00ker: Stock analysts are not as smart as you think. Certainly wouldn't be analysing whether a company is overpaying for an IT deal.

          I wish they were that smart because then I could just buy a subscription to Lonsec and get rich off their Buy recommendations.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 18:13

          @Xastros:

          Stock analysts are not as smart as you think

          The ones working on big companies tend to be. There's always exceptions though.

          Certainly wouldn't be analysing whether a company is overpaying for an IT deal.

          Of course they would. They would look at competitors spend on IT, overall spend on operational expenses, ratios for expenses vs revenue. They might not look at what someone is spending on a hard drive.

        • Xastros on 28/07/2017 - 18:30
          +1

          @sp00ker:

          They compare IT spend to competitor's IT spend but they don't know if all of the big players are getting ripped off at the same time and they don't know how much a particular big IT job should cost.

          If you look at the big mining companies and how wasteful they were during the boom years no analyst every picks that up. Then when the tough times hit, magically billions of dollars worth of cost savings are able to be found.

          As for stock analysts, they are not stupid people but they are seriously not as smart as you think. I used to work in a financial planning firm and we used a big broking/research firm's recommendations and research papers as justification in our financial plans. I understand no one has a crystal ball but they basically would follow the market recommendations. Through the financial crisis they only changed their recommendations from buy to sell only AFTER a stock had started sliding in price. They even recommended BUY on Babcock and Brown DURING the downward slide because they were good 'value'. B&B later went into liquidation returning nothing to shareholders.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 20:38

          @Xastros:

          but they don't know if all of the big players are getting ripped

          By definition, all the big player couldn't be getting ripped off. That would just be the market rate. Further, if the suppliers are also publicly listed, you call look at their gross margins to see if they're abnormally high.

          they don't know how much a particular big IT job should cost

          Sure, but the cost of single IT big job in probably not material. No one (beyond the person doing the work) cares about the cost of an individual project, management/analysts/shareholders only looks at collective costs.

          If you look at the big mining companies and how wasteful they were during the boom years no analyst every picks that up.

          It's called common sense. In a boom time, if you want to scale up quickly of course you need to spend more.

          Then when the tough times hit, magically billions of dollars worth of cost savings are able to be found.

          The savings aren't found magically, they've always been there and everyone is aware of that. It just doesn't make sense to capture the savings in a boom time, when you can make money quickly by doing other things.

        • greatlamp on 30/07/2017 - 10:25
          +1

          @sp00ker: Having attended a 'how to respond to government tenders' class, they made a point to emphasize that they do not go for the cheapest price, but the 'best value'

          Value can include things that are outside the specific requirements, for example they provide valuable statistics to the department for free, or they do some bonus work while completing the project.

          They go to great efforts to appear impartial and objective, but the decision is really quite subjective

      • mattyman on 28/07/2017 - 12:22
        +2

        I've found the same thing. Huge markups on office equipment like cables, USB drives etc from "approved" suppliers.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 17:24

          Another reason could be they're getting a really good deal on more expensive items to they let the cheaper items slide.

          Or maybe there's a reverse relationship in place, eg we'll give you our office supplies contract if you give us your telecoms contract. It's not obvious who came out ahead in the deal, but some guys 10 pay grades above you made the decision.

      • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 13:51

        I don't understand this to be honest.

        I do a fair bit of purchasing and with many items I'm restricted to "preferred suppliers" that are more expensive than the rest of the market but with certain items I'm asked to provide 3 quotes when I've obviously done my research to find the most price efficient option.

        Seems like cronyism is alright once you right it into a contract.

        • [Deactivated] on 28/07/2017 - 17:40

          Have a look at this and this article to see some of the dodgy stuff companies to with rebates and how they squeeze suppliers.

          In this example, I'm sure store managers would see the invoice prices for the things they're selling, but be clueless about the actual cost price, because the rebates are being negotiated by the purchasing department.

    • All Blacks NZ on 28/07/2017 - 10:18
      +2

      I know 2 guys who used to work for this or a similar company and they bragged about how much money they make. They didn't only targeted schools or hospitals but a lot of small businesses where there is an admin person in-charge of buying toners/ink cartridges. He once told me that he sold an ink cartridge for $350 that usually sell for $49 and gave the person buying it a $20 MP3 player. They mostly targeted women and most of the times, those idiots would call him back to order more if he was willing to give another "gift".

    • horsome on 28/07/2017 - 10:29
      +22

      Having a government job is basically a life perk.

      • CI on 28/07/2017 - 11:00
        +1

        Spot on

      • syousef on 28/07/2017 - 19:22
        +1

        It's not what it use to be.

      • MathNerd on 29/07/2017 - 19:47
        +3

        Not if you're a teacher at a government school though, even though we're public servants too :(

    • xuqi on 28/07/2017 - 12:18
      +2

      Pollies are of-course exempt from such 'annoying' rules…..

    • ilikeradiohead on 28/07/2017 - 13:49
      +22

      I too work in Government and I guess the main perk is that I get paid for 7.5 hours work and spend 6 of them on this website.

      • John Kimble on 28/07/2017 - 14:16
        +1

        Sigh

        • nrg2010 on 28/07/2017 - 21:06

          Mmmm… I work for government and clocked around 10hrs unpaid overtime this week. Most of my colleagues are working plus hrs. I'm on a 3yr contract, so there is some performance required.

    • Kingfield on 28/07/2017 - 23:23

      dont you guys get 1:1 OT conversion to time in lieu though?

      That's better value than any of these shit perks

    • serpserpserp on 29/07/2017 - 14:39

      Ummm usually you get excellent super and better LSL than corporate jobs. Sometimes more annual leave.

    • HarmonicMelody on 29/07/2017 - 15:30

      You aren't high enough if you don't get bribes, look at Parliament house.

  • Slippage on 27/07/2017 - 13:13
    +11

    Government Job, can't accept any gifts or attend any event that we don't pay for, zero perks…

    Well except good pay, unlimited sick/carers leave, decent super, flexible hours.

    but dammit! no perks!

    • nayfon on 28/07/2017 - 10:06
      +2

      RDOs. I'd love to have them!

      • Slippage on 31/07/2017 - 11:02
        +1

        40/32 hour weeks, every 2nd Friday is an RDO! Don't know how i'd live without them….

        • lostn on 07/08/2017 - 17:08

          So you guys have a 36 hour work week?

          For me 38 a week is full time. RDO is once every 4 weeks.

        • Euphemistic on 11/08/2017 - 16:34

          9 day fortnight here too. 5 day weeks are so long though!

    • Hirolol on 28/07/2017 - 10:27

      I heard about a couple of council workers that had left over road gravel stuff that fixed a pothole in the local footy ground driveway and were given a steak lunch to say thank you and they ended up getting fired.
      Pretty bs

      • Slippage on 31/07/2017 - 11:08

        I have heard of this also!

        Questions would have been asked: Why that footy club? why not one of the other ones? why not the local church/playground/anywhere else public may drive?

        And what happens when they do this again at a different club and they don't get a free steak lunch? does that club get black listed or does the first club simply get first preference? It gets way too messy and is why most would now just dump the left over gravel and not help anyone.

      • ItsMeAgro on 31/07/2017 - 14:56
        +1

        And yet Tony can say "let's just not bother suing NewsCorp for that hundred mil they owe the Australian people" and is still in office…

    • [Deactivated] on 29/07/2017 - 15:35
      +1

      I actually get told I have to take 10 days as time off in lieu a year to counteract the extra time I spend at the office. It's nice.

    • BuyoTheCat on 01/08/2017 - 13:08

      once you get to the top, you can take any gifts and attend as many free events as you like.

      • John Kimble on 01/08/2017 - 14:06

        Pretty sure you can't. Or if you do, you have to declare them all in a gift register for compliance.

  • mhasan on 27/07/2017 - 13:38
    +9

    Worked near MCG in Melbourne East for a , after I left the job, they did not cancel my car parking card, 2 years later, I still have free parking near city and also on little Lonsdale.. I called the supervisor, he said enjoy it and don't worry :)

    • D6C1 on 28/07/2017 - 08:27
      +5

      Yeah right you called your supervisor…. Why would you do that?

      • EyyBanane on 28/07/2017 - 09:27
        +5

        May be the supervisor quit as well?

    • All Blacks NZ on 28/07/2017 - 10:21
      +16

      It's reasons like this most genuine programs get shut down and people who really need them, won't have access to them.

  • kolorijo on 28/07/2017 - 07:42
    +1

    Lots and lots of carrots…

    • RoostersMan on 29/07/2017 - 02:54

      Gardening?

      • kolorijo on 29/07/2017 - 22:06

        Nope. Carrots dangling to get everyone to do so much more than they are required…

  • WreckTangle on 28/07/2017 - 08:07
    +88

    OP has posted an aviation hack that they are keeping to themselves and a subway deal they won't share. That's pretty un-Oz bargain if you ask me.

    • pinchies on 28/07/2017 - 10:24
      +29

      That's right, what do they think this is? OzBragging?

      • tee123 on 28/07/2017 - 18:35
        +2

        Dont worry about these butthurt guys. If you share it, you will lose the deal and nobody gets to have it afterwards.

        • slipperypete on 29/07/2017 - 15:55

          the idea behind this site is to let people know of bargains

          It really wouldn't be such a popular place if we all posted about bargains we have seen but didn't let people know how to get it

          Anything more than that is simply bragging

        • tee123 on 29/07/2017 - 17:29

          @slipperypete: just hearing these stories gives me inpiration on how to be even more tightarse in the future. So im not fussed.

        • JIMB0 on 29/07/2017 - 19:51
          +6

          @slipperypete: There is a difference between a bargain and a loophole. Chances are if you post about a loophole on here the shear volume of people taking advantage of it will cause it to be noticed and shut down.

        • slipperypete on 29/07/2017 - 19:53
          -4

          @JIMB0:
          I totally get you there

          So why even mention it

        • CI on 29/07/2017 - 19:58
          +2

          @slipperypete: it's not a bargain post, it's just a forum post dude. Why is it bothering you so much - if you don't like the post don't comment !

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