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Original poster

What perks did you have because of your parents job?

249 replies

SanFranBear · 24/08/2021 22:47

My dad worked in Air Traffic Control and finished his career working at Heathrow. I was lucky enough to go on several visits to the top of the tower and see the incredible work that happens there... the radar screens, the dishes out on the roof and the best view of planes taking off in the airport. I cannot imagine that this would be allowed today (it was 30 odd years ago when I visited) and it was a genuine treat!

My mum managed a dry cleaners which was ace as it meant I could buy whatever really - most of my friend weren't allowed dry-clean only clothes Grin

What sort of perks or treats did you get because of the jobs your parents had?

OP posts:
steppemum · 24/08/2021 23:35

Mum was a teacher, so she was always around in the holidays and used to do loads of fun creative stuff with us too. And read, real love of books from her.

Dad sold cars and trucks. I passed my test at 17 and drove about 100 different cars over the next 5 years, including a van, sports car and a 7.5 ton truck.
I also spent one amazing summer working one week each at all departments in the dealership. One week on reception, one week filing, one week out driving the parts delivery van, and best of all, one week in the service bay as an apprentice mechanic, we stripped down a truck engine and rebored the cylinders. Awesome.

fingersdoublecrossed · 24/08/2021 23:36

My friend's dad was a sales rep for some kind of biscuit/cake company. Every weekend we were allowed to eat everything that was going out of date or packets that had been opened.
It was amazing!

Poppydoppy18 · 24/08/2021 23:36

My dad works at the laboratory in a hospital so he was always be able to give me any shots I needed/take my blood, rather than a doctor I didn’t know. I never let him do it though!
My mom is a child social worker which means I had plenty of (free!) strict parenting 😁

StCharlotte · 24/08/2021 23:37

@DelphiniumBlue

My Mum was a secretary in the 60's and for a while worked in the newsroom at the BBC. We had old news scripts on various pastel coloured paper for our scrap/drawing paper, it was only typed on one side. No-one else had coloured paper to draw on!
My dad worked at the BBC and we used to get taken to TV Centre if he went up on a Saturday. I was one of five and we all met our respective Dr Who over the years (mine was John Pertwee) among others.

Mum worked at a care home which was next to our primary school so if she was working when I finished school, I would go round and get fed on ice cream from gallon sized containers.

An ex boyfriend worked for EMI and got free tickets. We were at Wembley arena most weeks.

steppemum · 24/08/2021 23:41

Oh and for a while my Dad worked in the middle east.

So I spent a few years spending holidays in middle east and at boarding school. Not sure if those are perks of not!

Original poster
SanFranBear · 24/08/2021 23:42

Schwank Grin

OP posts:
Killergigglebunnies · 24/08/2021 23:44

My dm worked at a factory that made toiletries and make up. Was never short of it in my teenage years.
My df worked for car manufacturers, used to get discounts on brand new cars and preferential rates. Also, discounts on car parts.
My best friends dm worked in a factory that made sandwiches for M&S. That was our lunches sorted. Handy in our GCSE year.

elQuintoConyo · 24/08/2021 23:45

SanFranBear military. As his dependent, I also can access a hotel opposite Waterloo station in London for peanuts! DH was bowled over.

As for our DC, they get bugger all perks off either DH or me, poor sods!

Stygimoloch · 24/08/2021 23:47

My mom worked on the pick n mix counter at Woolworths 😍.

Hen2018 · 24/08/2021 23:49

Good to see they’re still going:
www.schwankgroup.com/

The biggest perk (probably only happened 3 or 4 times) was an evening emergency call out. I was allowed to go with dad while he did things in factories (I had to sit in the car and read the AA guide book). The most exciting thing was my dad talking to the night watchman and the barrier opening for us, like we were James Bond!

Haywirecity · 24/08/2021 23:50

@Stygimoloch

My mom worked on the pick n mix counter at Woolworths 😍.
I used to fill the pick and mix in my Saturday job at Woolies. They were kept in big metal storage bays in the upstairs. Got to say more of it ended up in our mouths than in the pick and mix. Manager used to go mad! Lol.
ForensicFlossy · 24/08/2021 23:54

I got to drive a milk float!

Lemoncurd · 24/08/2021 23:55

@wonderstuff

My dad was marketing manager for Scotch brand at 3M, loads of post it notes, smelly stickers when they were a thing. We were told off if we said sellotape. Then he went to a posh pen company and we got nice pens, all the really expensive ones seem to have been lost over the years which is a shame.
My grandad worked for 3M, we also received lots of tape (also remember being told off for saying'sellotape') and post its.

My dad was a dairy farmer - fresh from the cow milk. We had full range of the farm as our playground. Didn't think anything of it but I remember friends being in awe.

Spanglebangle · 24/08/2021 23:57

My dad worked in F1. I've met drivers, toured factories, been to corporate events packed full of celebs etc. Brilliant childhood memories.

MollyBloomYes · 24/08/2021 23:58

My mum works for the local council so gets cut price rail fare. Only for her but she pays for her discount ticket and our full price ones then averages out the savings amongst us and we pay her back iyswim. That's quite handy for day trips to London etc.

My dad for a long time was a contractor in design engineering. Did a lot of work for the Mars factory so every time he went he'd go to the shop for employees and bring back absolutely tons of Mars products. We were never short of chocolate which was awesome but it did get to the point where and my brothers quite fancied some pick and mix type stuff on the day we were allowed sweets!

Dad also worked for a speaker company when I was 18. Turned down VIP tickets for the club Fridge because he didn't think he knew anyone who'd be interested. Took him quite a long time to live that one down with me!
He now works for a high end folding bike company (yes you can probably guess which one). The whole family have discounted bikes, he got one with 'custom' features like a specific material for the saddle that wasn't available anymore because he went and chatted to the guys in the factory and they had a couple left over! I don't have a bike at the moment, no point until the DCs are more confident on theirs and we can cycle together but have been assured that once I do need one there'll be either a freebie I can grab from my parents garage or a discount on a new one. That's pretty cool!

Oh and when we were little he used to design Formula One racing cars. Went to visit him at work once and he let me abs my brother write our names into the design on the car to show us how the computer worked. He then forgot to delete them (they were tiny) so for a few races we got to watch 'our' car go round knowing it had our names on it like a little tiny secret Easter Egg Grin

redastherose · 25/08/2021 00:06

My Dad was sailor by profession and either Captain or First Mate depending on the size of the ship. Best perk then was getting to go and stay on his ship when it came into port. When he gave up the sea he became a admin manager in a technical college and that had loads of perks. Cheap meals in the restaurant, and got to run wild through the college when it was closed over summer So long as we didn't make a mess or break anything and we got to go into the college tv room on Saturday night to watch Dr Who on their big screen TV (well big for those days anyway). Also when they threw out some of the industrial catering equipment during a refurbishment we got them so and industrial food mixer (still going strong at my mum's now and it's probably 50 years old) and a potato peeler machine which you just poured in the potatoes and they came out peeled but my mum didn't like how noisy it was!

Downtherefordancing · 25/08/2021 00:07

My Dad worked for Yorkshire TV, mainly on outside broadcasts, and I sometimes went with him to horse racing tracks (York, Thirsk etc) and big football matches.

There would always be a big truck with all the monitors in showing the pictures from each camera and I loved being in there 😊

Rollercoaster1920 · 25/08/2021 00:14

My father was a sales rep. Whatever he was selling we got for free. Examples were toiletries, bubble baths, and the giveaways like pens and post-its or stress balls. My least favourite was the teeth cleaning chewing gum that gave you the runs because of the sweetener!

Then there were the non-legit 'perks'. Excess stock used to be able to be exchanged in some (dodgy) cash-and-carries for other goods. It's the toys I remember!
As a company car driver he would also get a daily can of petrol for mum's car. The company's view of the MPG of the company car must have been terrible.

Moooncake · 25/08/2021 00:22

My mum worked in a bingo hall. I loved it, the little old ladies would gush over me (I was super chunky.. wish people gushed over that now Grin). My mums boss was lovely too, she'd let me pick one of the edible or stuffed toy prizes every so often.

Dad worked in a factory. As a kid it was nice learning how it all worked, as an adult it gave me a stable job after my own dreams went tits up.

PickAChew · 25/08/2021 00:23

Free cheese.

YesIReallyDoLikeRootBeer · 25/08/2021 00:30

My father was in charge of a group of workers in a factory that made paper. We had all the paper we ever wanted. Doesnt sound like much I'm sure but as a kid in the 70s I had endless paper to draw on or use for what ever I wanted.

Maverickess · 25/08/2021 00:52

My mum was a nurse, so I got to never skive because she bloody knew if I was faking it. She was good for instilling a calm.demeanour in me around illness and injury though because she never panicked when I damaged myself, even though she's admitted being terrified years later, she once rolled her eyes when I came in with a nasty compound fracture and picked up her car keys moaning that A&E and x-ray would be rammed at that time of day. She shoved paracetamol down me, strapped the arm up and took me to hospital, so calm throughout which kept me calm, it was only later she told me she was really worried about the break and how it would repair.

My dad was a police officer, getting to see the police dog puppies and play with them before they trained and visiting the police stables and sitting on some of the horses and being allowed to help (under supervision obviously) getting a retired police dog as the (dad's) family pet and doing my work experience at the stables.

jarviscockatiel · 25/08/2021 00:58

My dad was a milkman and occasionally used to bring home stock that had been damaged by the forklift. We especially liked the individual trifles and cheesecakes. He'd also bring a crate of Corona fizzy drinks at Christmas. Happy days...

Ruthietuthie · 25/08/2021 01:13

My dad was a funeral director. We lived above the shop.
The benefits - a casket lift, which transported caskets from the ground floor to the first floor mortuary. Many hours of fun riding up and down on that.

VirgilStarkwell · 25/08/2021 01:33

My dad was a press photographer. My brothers and I occasionally appeared in the papers, sometimes accompanying an article by my mum.

Dad also did TV work, doing studio photography on Tiswas and other kids’ shows (and Crossroads!). I was in the audience of the odd one.

Later on he was a news cameraman, so I sometimes popped up in a piece he was filming. We were forever at the Safari Park (free pass!) due to him being their go-to guy for newsworthy events such as exotic baby animals. I was on the telly holding lion cubs!

Dad screwed his ancient cine camera to a plank and attached it to the front of the safari park’s flagship rollercoaster, in order to film newlyweds enjoying the ride. My brother and I did the test run (1980s health and safety!). It was great watching ourselves on a monitor back at the news room.

I have an interesting and very precious collection of his news photos of famous folk, royalty, and big stories from 1960s (before I was born).