Undercover Boss (2010) s01e03 Episode Script
7-Eleven
Male announcer: The economy is going through tough times.
Many hard-working americans blame wealthy ceos, Out of touch with what's going on In their own companies.
But some bosses are willing to take extreme action To make their businesses better.
Each week, we follow the boss Of a major corporation As they go undercover into their own company.
This week, the ceo of 7-eleven.
This convenience store empire spans five continents.
They've turned the local corner market Into a global corporate icon.
The boss will trade in his executive office And personal putting greens For a mop and a pot of joe.
- Oh, my goodness! - Ooh, what's going on here? - You just goofed.
Announcer: He'll assume a new identity - Hi, I'm danny.
- Hey, nice to meet you, danny.
Announcer: And pose as a new recruit.
- Man, this thing moves fast.
- Yeah, you gotta keep up.
- Seems like it would be easier If there was just a sink right here.
- Pipe dreams, honey.
[laughs.]
- Mr.
Danny wasn't working very hard.
- Yep, I'm getting a little tired.
Announcer: By working on the front line, he'll find out What's really going on inside his company.
- We have to get rid of these old doughnuts.
- Those items are supposed to be going to charities.
I don't understand it.
We've got to fix that.
Announcer: He will find the good - I am so thankful for this country Which allow me to survive and be happy.
Announcer: He will find the bad - We've got lights out in the back room in the store, And that's a safety issue.
Announcer: And he'll discover the unsung heroes That make his company run.
- Dolores, you're amazing.
Announcer: How will his co-workers react When they find out he's really the boss? - My name's joe depinto, And I'm the ceo here at 7-eleven.
- I don't know what to say.
God bless him for that.
Announcer: And how will it change their lives? - This will change the way I work every day As ceo in our company.
Announcer: Find out next on undercover boss.
Announcer: Headquartered in dallas, texas, Overseeing this $17 billion business Is one man.
The baron of the big bite The sultan of the slurpee The king of convenience - My name is joe depinto, And I'm the president and ceo of 7-eleven.
convenience store.
It's open seven days a week, The brand 7-eleven is 82 years old.
We use a franchise model whereby we partner With independent operators And they distribute our products.
And we support them with our support staff Back in dallas.
There's roughly That operate the 7-eleven business.
And my role is, obviously, to ensure that this business Is moving forward and profitable.
I'm originally from chicago.
My father was a blue-collar worker.
I started my first job delivering newspapers When I was 13 years old.
You know, I've always thought it's important to work hard, And I basically worked my way up to the top.
My background-- I come from the military, And was a graduate of west point.
The time that I spent in the army Was formative for me.
The army was all about ensuring that you properly led people That were assigned to you and that you took care of them.
That's the approach I take every day as ceo.
The people that support me are my family.
I have my wife and four boys.
Nice grab, man! - When I first met joe, I thought he was A smart officer in the army, And people looked up to him.
So I knew there was great things to come, But I never could have imagined where he is now.
- Oh - It's going in, pete.
Yeah! - Yeah! - Here at 7-eleven, we're on a mission.
We're on a mission to make our company better.
One thing I took away from when I was in the military was We always had our equipment working So that we could be mission-ready.
And it's the same thing in running stores.
In particular, I want to find out How the communication from our store support center in dallas Is flowing down through our organization, And ultimately, to our stores.
That's why I'm going undercover.
We're going to the executive committee meeting.
I think they're gonna be really surprised When I tell them what I'm about to do.
I see you guys put me right at the head of the table.
Let's go ahead and get started.
I called this impromptu meeting today To let you guys know that I'll be going undercover Within our organization.
I'll be spending a week in our stores, In our distribution centers, on the front lines.
- Do you think you'll learn anything From this experience that might cause us To take a different look at our strategy moving forward? - [chuckles.]
you don't want to know the answer to that.
[laughter.]
Look, I'll be focusing on spending time in the field Where the rubber meets the road.
I'm gonna see what we're not doing well, And that's only gonna make us better in the long run.
All right, I'm gonna be gone for a week.
- Okay, honey.
- When I'm undercover, my alias is going to be danny rossi.
My cover story is that I used to be in real estate, I'm out of work, and I'm looking for new opportunities.
I'll be telling my co-workers that a camera crew will be Documenting my journey As I try out entry-level jobs At some of the biggest businesses in america.
- Hi, how are you doing? I have a reservation.
[alarm beeping.]
I'm looking forward to going undercover, But I have some apprehension because I know That I'm not gonna do great in every job that I try.
It's 5:30 a.
M.
I'm here in shirley, new york, And this store is the epicenter of coffee for 7-eleven.
Coffee is a huge business to us.
We sell over a million cups a day.
Hello.
Dolores? - You're danny? - Hi, I'm danny.
How are you? - How do you do? - Is this for me? - Put these on, please.
- This store sells more than More than any other in our system.
So I'm here to learn what their secret is.
Is it the location? Is it the type of coffee? Is it our people? I need to figure out What makes their coffee business so great So I can share it with our other stores.
- Okay, I have to teach you the ropes.
- I need to learn the whole program.
- Let's do the easy stuff.
Good morning, vinnie.
- Good morning, dolores.
- We'll take this one down, and we dump the filters.
Hi, eugene.
Good morning.
- Good morning, dolores.
- Here, you can dump this guy.
- Good morning.
- Good morning, darling.
- You know everybody here.
- Well, I've been here a long time.
- How long have you been doing this? - 18 years.
- Wow.
- Here, you can do this guy.
- Okay.
Seems like it would be easier if there was just, like, A sink right here.
- Pipe dreams, honey.
[laughs.]
A sink over here.
[laughs.]
Already he's coming up with all these ideas.
Good morning.
- This store is unbelievably busy, And I was a little apprehensive starting out.
But once I got together with dolores, She made me feel a lot better.
- You can start that one.
- All right.
I don't want to let her down.
It's getting busy.
- He hasn't seen anything yet.
The rush hour is beginning.
Danny, you got customers behind you.
- Oh, excuse me.
I'm sorry, sir.
- Danny.
This one could be changed.
You gotta take the other one out first.
Hey, where you been? - Oops.
- Danny Okay, I need french vanilla, regular.
Where is he? - Taking care of the coffee business at this store Is really challenging-- the pace of it.
There's a lot of interaction with customers.
You've gotta keep the coffee right.
It's a lot of work.
Ooh, what's going on here? How did that happen? - Oh, my goodness! Aw, for crying out loud Take care of the customers.
Where is he? Danny, you just goofed.
- I did? - Yes.
You just mixed it with the french vanilla-- For the decaf, hazelnut.
- Oh, yes, I did.
- Okay, this is no good anymore.
This is no good.
Oh, danny's a little bit mushy-mush Until he gets into the groove of things.
He's amazed by the amount of coffee that we sell.
Hiya, russell! I gotta hit you.
You know I gotta hit you.
- Dolores know all the customers.
She knows 'em by name.
She's like everybody's mom.
Hiya, nicky! - Is he your son? - No, he's a customer.
- Ah.
- He's a pain in the neck customer.
- Her attitude is upbeat, positive.
How long have you known dolores? - 20 years now.
We are good friends, her and I.
She's very humble, dolores.
She's been through a lot.
She has five children.
- No kidding.
- Yeah.
- And she's got only one kidney, So she's on dialysis twice a week.
- Dolores? - Monday and Friday.
Yep.
She won't let her kids donate because she's afraid That something will happen to them, And they'll only have one kidney.
- Finding out about dolores really hit me pretty hard.
She seems to have so much energy, And she's so positive about things.
To have such a huge health issue, It's really surprising.
Hey, dolores - Yes? - Susan told me that you go for dialysis.
- Yes.
- How do you do that and do this? Is it hard on you? - It's some process, I'll tell you, you know.
- Yeah.
- I'm waiting for a donor.
- Dolores.
- Yes.
- You're amazing.
- No, I'm not.
- To have a person like dolores in there, That makes me feel real good.
- Hey, good morning, tom.
- That's why we're selling Not because we have great coffee, But because we have dolores there.
- I hope this wasn't an interview for danny Because he is a little slow.
But a smaller store, less high-volume, I think he'll do it.
Good luck, danny.
[laughs.]
Announcer: Coming up, making the perfect pastry Proves too much for joe to handle.
- What happened here? - Wheels all fell off, man.
- Yeah, we gotta buy some more wheels, right? Maybe we can use that first paycheck.
Announcer: And later, joe is finding it hard to swallow How much food is going to waste.
- Those items are supposed to be going to charities.
Announcer: Joe depinto is the ceo of 7-eleven And has gone undercover in his own company.
- Oh, what's going on here? Announcer: His journey continues at a bakery in baltimore.
- We have a large organization.
Not only do we have stores, But we've got a network of commissaries and bakeries.
We make over 60 million pastries a year.
Our organization is really trying to expand Freshly made foods in our stores, And bakery items are a key.
Today I'm at our largest bakery here in baltimore.
I'll be looking at quality assurance, And, in particular, be working on the line With some of our employees.
Hey, how are you? - Hi.
- I'm looking for phil.
- I'm phil.
How you doing? - Hi, phil, I'm danny.
Phil handles the bakery's training department.
So I'm definitely interested in seeing How he handles new employees.
- Let's do this.
- Let's do it.
- All of this gorgeous dough is going up here.
This is what's called the in-feeder.
Pick up this tray like this, flip it over.
It's like you're folding up a sheet.
We're all about the perfect doughnut.
So how does the dough feel? It feel like-- It's like-- - It feels like a, uh - Don't say it.
Right now I'm putting fritters on the line.
- So we're gonna make fritters.
- And baked putting five across.
- Five across.
- All of it.
Look at 'em.
Nice and perfect.
You can use your own technique.
Oh, you're missing a spot.
You gotta keep up with it, man--keep up.
Just remember, put five across.
- Oops, I missed a spot.
Man, this thing moves fast.
- This is a nice speed.
- I know.
- I gotta go in the back to get some flour.
- All right.
- I'll be right back.
You sure you got it? - Yeah.
- Whoa.
Think I need a little help, my man.
Oh.
As soon as phil left, I couldn't keep up.
Need a little help.
The line was simply moving too fast, And I couldn't get the five fritters in a row.
- Wow, what happened here? We got a lot of missing pieces.
- Phil, when you left, the wheels all fell off, man.
- The wheels did? - But we're back at it.
- Yeah, we gotta buy some more wheels, right? Maybe we can use that first paycheck.
How you like that? - It's clear that this is a tough job.
You know, trying to keep up wi phil is very difficult.
- You got way too many going by.
- All righty.
Phil, how long you been here? - Oh, I've been here for eight years, man.
- What'd you do before you were here? - Uh, I was, uh, United States marine corps.
- You know, I was in the army for a few years.
- What was your specialist? - Field artillery.
- And you here, just like I am? - Yeah.
- Well, at least we-- We throwing on some real ammo now.
Some nice doughnuts.
- [laughs.]
Phil's a great trainer.
You know, he's clearly had a background As a sergeant in the marines.
- Sometimes you might have to pick up three in your hand.
Or four.
That's what I'm talkin' about.
There you go.
- Because he's had An outstanding training approach.
I was nervous about coming here 'cause I didn't know how I was gonna do.
- So what changed your mind? - Well, you guys are helping me out.
I appreciate that.
- It's like the marine corps and the army.
Always work together.
Yes, this is the break room.
- Oh, that's great, phil.
Where'd you learn how to do that? - I was six years old when I started to draw.
Let me go get my art book.
- Holy cow.
- There go your perfect doughnut.
- It's a big doughnut.
- Yeah, look at that doughnut.
[laughter.]
- Phil's a funny guy, and he works really hard.
He's also a really talented guy.
- Don't take it to no museum.
You might get-- [chuckles.]
- Oh, that's great.
I really enjoyed it.
There was no corporate talk or anything like that.
It was making doughnuts, and we were having fun.
Cheers.
- Yep.
- Yeah, I've got a real passion around soldiers.
Having phil in charge of this unit Really sets me at ease.
And I know that the products coming out of this bakery Are up to the high standards that we're setting here At 7-eleven.
Now I'm heading back to new york, Where I'll be working the night shift At one of our stores.
One of the challenges we have is attracting folks To work on the night shift.
These are the folks that are really the anchor For 7-eleven and allow us to be a 24/7 business.
The goal for me tonight is to spend time With the store clerks and really find out Why they choose to work the night shift.
It's important for me to figure out How we keep these folks motivated.
Hey, how are you? I'm danny.
- Hey, mister danny.
My name is waqas.
- Hi, waqas.
- Nice to meet you.
You can just follow me and I'll show you what to do.
You can change over here.
- Okay.
- Okay.
Okay, mister danny, ready to work.
So your job is to smile and greet all the customers, Stock merchandise, And perform all the regular cleaning activities.
And if you find any money, just leave it on the ground And I'll take care of it, okay? - There you go, man.
There's a dime.
- Mister danny seems like a nice guy, But he wasn't working very hard.
- Yep, I'm getting a little tired.
- So I'll make him do some work.
- This night shift is a tough time to work Because you're preparing for the next day.
- Yeah, it's a little dirty.
- Ugh.
You're cleaning the store.
You're putting product on shelves.
You're taking care of So the challenge for me will be keeping that energy up.
- So these are our new sandwiches, And they go behind the old ones.
Okay? - Okay.
So, waqas, you've been here for four years? - Yes, sir.
- Why do you work the night shift? - Because I can go to school easily.
So night's much easier for me.
- Oh, you go to school? - I'm getting my bachelor's degree.
- Really? - Yeah, in criminal justice.
- Wow, that's pretty cool.
Waqas is a fine young man.
He's been putting himself through college.
He's working hard to try to be successful.
All the things he's doing, I did when I was younger.
Okay, what are we doing next? - First of all, we have to get rid of these old doughnuts.
- So we're gonna throw these away? - Mm-hmm.
- I'm a little upset that we're throwing away doughnuts.
You throw 'em away every day? - Every night.
- ButYeah.
JustWow.
for perishable food items.
And those items need to be going to charities, Not being thrown in the garbage.
I don't like throwing stuff away.
- Uh, me too.
- I know waqas was just following direction, But it's frustrating to see so much food go to waste.
We've got 6,500 stores in the u.
S.
, And that's a lot of charities we could be giving to.
It's something that I'm very passionate about.
I don't understand it.
We've got to fix that.
- Okay.
- Hi.
- Hi, danny, how are you? I'm danny.
How are you? Nice to meet you.
- My dad brings me food whenever I forget my lunch at home.
So today's your first day, So we treat you like a guest.
- Okay.
I appreciate that.
- Help yourself.
- I'm hungry.
How 'bout you? - Yeah, me too.
- We've been working hard.
Oh, this is great.
Where are you from originally, waqas? - I am from pakistan.
Moved to u.
S.
Seven years ago.
- Four years at 7-eleven.
- Mm-hmm.
- How do you like it? - I would never consider this job as my permanent job.
- Do you think that your job is a dead end? - That's what I was thinking.
If you start working for a sales associate, You have to be a sales associate for all your life.
You can grow.
You can be a manager.
- So you don't think there's other opportunities? - No, there's no other opportunities.
I'm not gonna recommend someone To come and work for 7-eleven.
There's not much room for you to grow.
- Hmm.
- Okay, mister danny, you are done for tonight, okay? - Thank you.
It was nice to work with you.
- Oh, thanks.
- It's early morning.
Feeling pretty tired.
But I learned a bunch of things.
I enjoyed working with waqas.
But the thing that just absolutely hurt Was the fact that he doesn't believe that He has an opportunity with 7-eleven.
Great people make great companies, And we can't let them think Their job's a dead end.
We can't win the battle Without great soldiers.
Announcer: Coming up, Joe discovers a store That doesn't meet And he decides to take action.
And later, joe's undercover mission Is put in jeopardy.
- Igor said we were going to a store in south lake.
That's where I live.
Announcer: Joe depinto, Ceo of 7-eleven, Is a boss undercover in his own company.
His employees think he's part of a documentary About someone trying out entry-level jobs.
His journey continues at a busy store In new york state.
- This is a pretty special This store is one of the highest grossing stores In our system.
Hi, I'm danny.
- Nice to meet you, danny.
I'm lorie.
- Nice to meet you.
Worldwide, we've got 36,000 stores, So this is Pretty big store for us.
Most of our stores operate independently.
They rely on headquarters To provide them with equipment, Product, and all-around support.
My goal today is to find out How the communication from our store support center in dallas-- How it's flowing out to our stores.
- We keep the front windows as clean as possible.
This is something that we do periodically through the day, Because many people pass through our doors.
And what you do-- You know, you have to kind of Watch out for the customers.
- Okay.
- How are you? - Hi, how are you? Hi, how are you doing? - How are you? [bell dinging.]
- excuse me.
- Hi, guys.
- Hey, how you doing? - Bien.
It was really good to see All of our customers coming in to the store, But I have to admit, It was really hard To get as much done As I would have liked to.
Yeah, that looks great.
- It looks much better.
In probably about, you know, ten minutes It's gonna be all full of fingerprints again, But we do the best that we can.
- Lorie let me know that I'd be handling A lot of floor duties-- Keeping hot food items fresh, Sweeping floors, and stocking shelves.
- Okay, now that you're done with this, I'm gonna just take you into the office And let you do a maintenance call for me.
- Okay.
Headquarters is responsible for maintenance at each store.
If there's a problem, They call us, and we'll send our folks out to fix it.
- I have some lights that are out.
- You got a couple here.
How long have those been out? - I have it in the office when they were here last.
I think they were here last, like, three weeks ago.
- Lorie said that we've got some lights out On the inside of the store, And then all the lights in the back room are out.
- What's gonna happen is I'm gonna give you the number, And you're gonna call them, And then you're gonna just tell them What the problem is.
- Okay.
- Okay.
There you go.
- Calling My name is jerry.
May we have your five-digit store number please? - Yeah, hi, jerry.
This is store 23754.
- 23754.
Thank you, sir.
All right.
What can we do for you? - We've got, uh, four light bulbs out.
We also have a light sensor In the back room that's out.
- Thank you, sir.
- Our support team rates maintenance issues by priority, P-1 being the highest priority And p-5 being the lowest.
And what's that classified as? - Uh, it's just a standard, monthly visit.
It's called a p-5.
- Standard monthly visit.
- So that means they're not gonna come? - So those lights will be out for the remainder of the month? - Right.
- The issue is support from maintenance Was gonna be sometime within the next 30 days.
- All right, sir.
Anything else we can do for you? - Uh, no.
Bye-bye.
- As far as the lighting contract, I've run into a few glitches with it That haven't made me very happy.
- I'm gonna make a call to our c.
O.
O.
, And we're gonna get that solved right now.
- Darren rebelez.
- Hey, darren, it's joe.
We've got lights out in the back room in this store, And we got four lights out on the sales floor.
Now I think you'd probably agree That lights out on the sales floor Need to be fixed immediately, Because they're a customer-sensitive issue, And the lights out in the back room Are a safety issue.
- Well, we'll get that addressed, And we'll make sure that's handled appropriately.
- All right.
Okay.
Thanks.
I made a call, And lorie's gonna get a nice surprise, 'cause her lights are gonna get fixed really quickly.
- Okay, danny.
Great job.
Thank you very much.
I think you're done for the day.
- Thank you.
- Okay? Good luck to you.
Thanks so much.
- We really need to do everything we can To support our stores.
It's really important to me, And it's vital for the future of our company.
I'm leaving new york, And I'm flying to dallas For my last undercover job.
Tonight I'll be working on a delivery truck, Making deliveries to our stores.
The distribution folks Are really the unsung heroes.
The customer has no idea All the work that goes into getting their products To their stores.
It's critically important, So I'm looking forward To spending time with these folks tonight.
Hey, guys.
I'm looking for, uh, igor? - Igor.
- Hi, are you igor? - Yes, sir.
- Hi, I'm danny.
- Hey, nice to meet you, danny.
- How are you doing? - I'm good.
How are you? - I guess I'm gonna be training with you tonight.
- No problem.
I will show you everything I know.
- Okay.
- Are you ready? - Ready to go.
- Let's go, my friend.
- All right.
- So we're going to siberia room.
Welcome in.
- It's cold.
- [laughs.]
For me, it's like A russian summertime, you know, right? - A russian summertime? - Yeah, it's kind of.
I like it.
- Where are you from? - Have you seen the movie borat? - Yeah.
- I'm from kazakhstan.
- So that's why you like the cold? - Well, yeah, that is a cold winter, yeah.
So now we go to pick up my truck.
My truck is my baby.
You know? I love it, like, religiously.
If I would have long hands, I could hug.
I will--you will see.
That's my baby.
This is my horse.
Okay.
Oh, be careful.
All right.
That's great.
Let the fun begin.
- So you got a family? - Yeah, I have two kids.
I have a granddaughter.
- How about your wife? - I'm working nights.
She's working daytime.
Okay.
- This is our first stop.
- Yeah.
Okay, you just pull it out.
Be careful.
Don't fall from the ledge here.
Roller coaster.
Six flag.
Ooh! You like it, huh? - Yeah, not bad.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Ready? Danny, this is jacob.
Jacob, this is danny.
- Hey, jacob.
Nice to meet you.
- Danny's gonna be my partner.
I just training him, And, uh, you might see him tomorrow, Day after tomorrow, whatever.
- Does he take care of you guys? - Oh, very much so.
- Oh, well.
- He definitely does his job very well.
- Ha.
Listen, I just do my job.
Nothing else, nothing extra.
Guys.
- See you later, ross.
- Nice meeting you.
- All the best.
Bye.
- Take it easy.
- You don't miss being with your family, Working the night shift? - I tell you, my wife We have only two days to love each other, And no way to argue, you see? [laughter.]
- I'm enjoying this a lot.
This guy's energetic, Enthusiastic, positive.
He's the kind of guy We need to have working for us.
All right.
Number two.
Let's do it.
- Yeah.
- Where's your next store? - Oh, five, six minutes to drive.
- Igor said we were going to a store in south lake.
That's where I live.
Who's the third-shift guy here? - Over here? We will see.
- I go into this store all the time.
Everyone there knows me, Including the franchise owner.
- You see that 7-eleven? That's the store.
I will need you to step out please.
[truck beeping.]
- I was helping back up the truck, And I turned around, And the owner is at the store.
[suspenseful music.]
I wanted to make sure that I didn't blow my cover, So I told igor that I was gonna use the restroom.
Igor's distributing the product.
As soon as he's done, I'll get back in the truck, And we'll get out of here Without my cover being blown.
- Bye, guys.
- How do you stay so motivated? I mean, it's the middle of the night.
- Well, I'm I'm living an american dream now.
America is the best country in the world.
You guys just do not really know How blessed you are.
- I've heard that many times.
But I guess you got to be from somewhere else To realize it.
- Right, because you take it for granted.
With no english, No knowledge of any culture, - You came here with $50 in your pocket? - Yeah.
And I survive.
- That--that's amazing.
- That's the story about america.
That's not story about me.
I'm blessed.
I'm really blessed.
And now you ask me why I'm so motivated? Because I'm so thankful for this country Which allow me to survive and be happy.
Okay.
- This has been a great night, And igor's been a great guy to be with.
- Well, danny, that's how it works.
That was a real pleasure.
Thank you, my friend.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you.
- Thanks a lot.
I've always been someone Who's very committed to the business, And to see folks working as hard as they were Made me feel great as a ceo And makes me want to work Even harder in my job To ensure we're giving them All that we can To support them in what they do.
Announcer: Coming up, Joe summons his coworkers to headquarters - It's frustrating, 'cause I don't know what's going on.
Announcer: And reveals his true identity.
- My name's joe depinto, And, uh, I'm the ceo here at 7-eleven.
- Now my week undercover Has come to an end, And I'm gonna report back to our executive committee And tell them all that I've learned Both the good things I learned, As well as the things That we absolutely need to take action on.
Hey, everyone.
[quiet greetings.]
Well, the experience was one That I don't get to see a lot as ceo.
- What do you think you learned that-- Because you were undercover, That you couldn't have learned as joe depinto, the ceo? - Well, um, going undercover Tells me that we have more work to do.
Everyone knows we have a program Where we give away sandwiches and bakery items to charities, But in the store I was in, We threw those products away.
We've got these great programs, But they haven't reached the stores.
We got to get that resolved.
Another experience, We've been working extremely hard On facilities and maintenance.
Called you, darren, that one time Where we were in the store.
Hey, darren, lights out on the sales floor Need to be fixed immediately.
I think we got to zero in On what the stores' issues are.
That's ultimately gonna enable us To put the right fixes in place.
Every single employee I met was amazing.
What we have to do Is better support 'em.
Okay? Thanks, everyone.
- Thank you.
[quiet replies.]
- Now's the time for me To reveal my true identity To the folks that I've worked with for the past week.
- It's frustrating, 'cause I don't know what's going on.
- Maybe I'll be in some kind of trouble.
- How are you? - Okay, how are you? Waqas.
- Waqas, you remember me? - Uh, you Let me see.
- You remember me? - I'm trying to place you.
I don't - I Yeah, I don't know.
- I'm not danny.
- I realize it now.
You were good at danny.
- My name's joe depinto, And, uh, I'm the ceo here at 7-eleven.
- Get out of dodge.
- You're the big shot? - I wanted to break away, And I wanted to spend some time In our stores, undercover, Trying to get a real look At what the operation of our store is Without people knowing that I'm the ceo.
Waqas, I think it's incredible That you're getting your education And still working the night shift at our stores.
For four years-- that's amazing.
- Thank you.
- But I want you to know this.
We were talking about your future.
- Mm-hmm.
- And you told me that you didn't think You had any more opportunity with 7-eleven.
- I would never consider this job as my permanent job.
No, that's not the thing, But I want to go back to my country And help the poor people.
- Yeah.
- Peoples who are struggling for their justice.
People struggling for their human rights.
- I think that's awesome, and I commend you for it.
But I want you to know this.
You decide what you want to do.
If you decide you want to stay here with our company, I will personally look after you as a mentor And I'll try to help you succeed here at 7-eleven.
And if you decide that you want to go back to your country, I think we can help you there also.
- Oh, thank you.
He cares about me.
Uh, he's my mentor for my life, And that makes me, like, more confident That I'll be successful in my life.
- Phil, you took care of me.
You picked up my slack.
Couple things I want to tell you about.
One, I was amazed by your artwork.
W're a big business.
And we've got a huge marketing department And an advertising department, So what I want to do is I want to give you the opportunity To do some freelance artwork For our advertising agency To help build up your portfolio.
- I thank you twice.
More than once.
- You do such a wonderful job for our company.
And I just-- I enjoyed being with you.
Thank you.
- You're very welcome.
Praise in god.
[laughter.]
Seem like a dream just coming true.
It's a feeling that want to reach out And just hold on, and don't let go.
And I almost started crying in there.
I got tears in my eyes right now.
I'm trying to-- try not to let it come out.
- Igor, the clerks love you.
You deliver the product on time.
You do an unbelievable job.
- You will never hear from me anything else.
I just do my job.
- I want to tell you, I want to recognize you For all your hard work and dedication, And everything you do for our company, And send you and your wife to a resort For a nice vacation for the two of you So you can spend someuality time together.
- Sounds fantastic.
That's That's--I'm speechless.
- Hey, igor, you said it last night.
This is america.
- I could not believe that was happen.
Thank you.
Or in a movie.
Or in a book.
Only in america might happen.
- Dolores, I have to tell you, I enjoyed spending time with you More than I can ever say.
- Oh, thank you.
- The thing that's most impressive to me Is every customer that comes in knows you.
- I love you, nicky.
- And they're not coming to 7-eleven to buy our coffee.
They're coming to buy from dolores.
- That's true.
I have to admit.
It's a nice store.
We love it.
- With your situation, And you saying that you wouldn't Take a kidney from your family, You know, it's kind of like you are at the store.
You do it for other people.
- I can't take it from them, Because they're young.
And if it happened to me, It could happen to them.
- I'm gonna tell you what I want to do.
I'm gonna set up a dolores donor awareness program.
- Oh, my god.
That's wonderful.
- And we're gonna get all of our franchisees Across the United States and canada involved.
Dolores, this program will remind all of our customers How important it is to fill out an organ donor card, So that you and others in your situation Will have a better chance Of getting an organ donation.
- I love it.
- I hope that will be okay with you.
- That's wonderful.
Thank you so, so much.
I don't know what to say.
- Oh, dolores, thank you for everything.
- God bless him for that.
Thank you.
- Now it's time for me To tell the company about my undercover experience.
- I'm very, very proud to present joe depinto, President and ceo of 7-eleven.
[cheers and applause.]
- My name is joe depinto, And for the past week I've been working undercover At 7-eleven.
[crowd gasps, murmurs.]
Now I want to tell you Why I've been doing that.
It was an opportunity for me To step out of the role of ceo And work alongside employees in our business Where people didn't recognize me.
And we've got a few video clips, And I think you'll really enjoy them.
Seems like it would be easier If there was just, like, a sink right here.
- Pipe dreams, honey.
[laughs.]
a sink over here.
Already he's coming up with all these ideas.
- You kicked my butt.
- Mister danny seems like a nice guy, But he wasn't working very hard.
- What happened here? - Wheels all fell off, man.
- We got to buy some more wheels, right? Maybe we can use that first paycheck.
- You ready? Roller coaster.
Six flag.
Ooh! - I thought I knew our stores.
The fact is, I have a lot more to learn.
You all taught me that.
And you'll be seeing me and our team Working with you to find out what your challenges are So that we can all Collectively better serve our customers, And that's my commitment to you.
This will change the way I work every day as ceo in our company.
So thank you.
[cheers and applause.]
- I was working with the big cheese.
[laughs.]
I thought it was excellent.
This way, he knows firsthand what we're going through.
I thought that was great.
- The experience I had was extraordinary.
As the ceo, I've got a lot of responsibility To make sure that this company's vibrant For the great people that we met.
And I'm gonna do that.
Many hard-working americans blame wealthy ceos, Out of touch with what's going on In their own companies.
But some bosses are willing to take extreme action To make their businesses better.
Each week, we follow the boss Of a major corporation As they go undercover into their own company.
This week, the ceo of 7-eleven.
This convenience store empire spans five continents.
They've turned the local corner market Into a global corporate icon.
The boss will trade in his executive office And personal putting greens For a mop and a pot of joe.
- Oh, my goodness! - Ooh, what's going on here? - You just goofed.
Announcer: He'll assume a new identity - Hi, I'm danny.
- Hey, nice to meet you, danny.
Announcer: And pose as a new recruit.
- Man, this thing moves fast.
- Yeah, you gotta keep up.
- Seems like it would be easier If there was just a sink right here.
- Pipe dreams, honey.
[laughs.]
- Mr.
Danny wasn't working very hard.
- Yep, I'm getting a little tired.
Announcer: By working on the front line, he'll find out What's really going on inside his company.
- We have to get rid of these old doughnuts.
- Those items are supposed to be going to charities.
I don't understand it.
We've got to fix that.
Announcer: He will find the good - I am so thankful for this country Which allow me to survive and be happy.
Announcer: He will find the bad - We've got lights out in the back room in the store, And that's a safety issue.
Announcer: And he'll discover the unsung heroes That make his company run.
- Dolores, you're amazing.
Announcer: How will his co-workers react When they find out he's really the boss? - My name's joe depinto, And I'm the ceo here at 7-eleven.
- I don't know what to say.
God bless him for that.
Announcer: And how will it change their lives? - This will change the way I work every day As ceo in our company.
Announcer: Find out next on undercover boss.
Announcer: Headquartered in dallas, texas, Overseeing this $17 billion business Is one man.
The baron of the big bite The sultan of the slurpee The king of convenience - My name is joe depinto, And I'm the president and ceo of 7-eleven.
convenience store.
It's open seven days a week, The brand 7-eleven is 82 years old.
We use a franchise model whereby we partner With independent operators And they distribute our products.
And we support them with our support staff Back in dallas.
There's roughly That operate the 7-eleven business.
And my role is, obviously, to ensure that this business Is moving forward and profitable.
I'm originally from chicago.
My father was a blue-collar worker.
I started my first job delivering newspapers When I was 13 years old.
You know, I've always thought it's important to work hard, And I basically worked my way up to the top.
My background-- I come from the military, And was a graduate of west point.
The time that I spent in the army Was formative for me.
The army was all about ensuring that you properly led people That were assigned to you and that you took care of them.
That's the approach I take every day as ceo.
The people that support me are my family.
I have my wife and four boys.
Nice grab, man! - When I first met joe, I thought he was A smart officer in the army, And people looked up to him.
So I knew there was great things to come, But I never could have imagined where he is now.
- Oh - It's going in, pete.
Yeah! - Yeah! - Here at 7-eleven, we're on a mission.
We're on a mission to make our company better.
One thing I took away from when I was in the military was We always had our equipment working So that we could be mission-ready.
And it's the same thing in running stores.
In particular, I want to find out How the communication from our store support center in dallas Is flowing down through our organization, And ultimately, to our stores.
That's why I'm going undercover.
We're going to the executive committee meeting.
I think they're gonna be really surprised When I tell them what I'm about to do.
I see you guys put me right at the head of the table.
Let's go ahead and get started.
I called this impromptu meeting today To let you guys know that I'll be going undercover Within our organization.
I'll be spending a week in our stores, In our distribution centers, on the front lines.
- Do you think you'll learn anything From this experience that might cause us To take a different look at our strategy moving forward? - [chuckles.]
you don't want to know the answer to that.
[laughter.]
Look, I'll be focusing on spending time in the field Where the rubber meets the road.
I'm gonna see what we're not doing well, And that's only gonna make us better in the long run.
All right, I'm gonna be gone for a week.
- Okay, honey.
- When I'm undercover, my alias is going to be danny rossi.
My cover story is that I used to be in real estate, I'm out of work, and I'm looking for new opportunities.
I'll be telling my co-workers that a camera crew will be Documenting my journey As I try out entry-level jobs At some of the biggest businesses in america.
- Hi, how are you doing? I have a reservation.
[alarm beeping.]
I'm looking forward to going undercover, But I have some apprehension because I know That I'm not gonna do great in every job that I try.
It's 5:30 a.
M.
I'm here in shirley, new york, And this store is the epicenter of coffee for 7-eleven.
Coffee is a huge business to us.
We sell over a million cups a day.
Hello.
Dolores? - You're danny? - Hi, I'm danny.
How are you? - How do you do? - Is this for me? - Put these on, please.
- This store sells more than More than any other in our system.
So I'm here to learn what their secret is.
Is it the location? Is it the type of coffee? Is it our people? I need to figure out What makes their coffee business so great So I can share it with our other stores.
- Okay, I have to teach you the ropes.
- I need to learn the whole program.
- Let's do the easy stuff.
Good morning, vinnie.
- Good morning, dolores.
- We'll take this one down, and we dump the filters.
Hi, eugene.
Good morning.
- Good morning, dolores.
- Here, you can dump this guy.
- Good morning.
- Good morning, darling.
- You know everybody here.
- Well, I've been here a long time.
- How long have you been doing this? - 18 years.
- Wow.
- Here, you can do this guy.
- Okay.
Seems like it would be easier if there was just, like, A sink right here.
- Pipe dreams, honey.
[laughs.]
A sink over here.
[laughs.]
Already he's coming up with all these ideas.
Good morning.
- This store is unbelievably busy, And I was a little apprehensive starting out.
But once I got together with dolores, She made me feel a lot better.
- You can start that one.
- All right.
I don't want to let her down.
It's getting busy.
- He hasn't seen anything yet.
The rush hour is beginning.
Danny, you got customers behind you.
- Oh, excuse me.
I'm sorry, sir.
- Danny.
This one could be changed.
You gotta take the other one out first.
Hey, where you been? - Oops.
- Danny Okay, I need french vanilla, regular.
Where is he? - Taking care of the coffee business at this store Is really challenging-- the pace of it.
There's a lot of interaction with customers.
You've gotta keep the coffee right.
It's a lot of work.
Ooh, what's going on here? How did that happen? - Oh, my goodness! Aw, for crying out loud Take care of the customers.
Where is he? Danny, you just goofed.
- I did? - Yes.
You just mixed it with the french vanilla-- For the decaf, hazelnut.
- Oh, yes, I did.
- Okay, this is no good anymore.
This is no good.
Oh, danny's a little bit mushy-mush Until he gets into the groove of things.
He's amazed by the amount of coffee that we sell.
Hiya, russell! I gotta hit you.
You know I gotta hit you.
- Dolores know all the customers.
She knows 'em by name.
She's like everybody's mom.
Hiya, nicky! - Is he your son? - No, he's a customer.
- Ah.
- He's a pain in the neck customer.
- Her attitude is upbeat, positive.
How long have you known dolores? - 20 years now.
We are good friends, her and I.
She's very humble, dolores.
She's been through a lot.
She has five children.
- No kidding.
- Yeah.
- And she's got only one kidney, So she's on dialysis twice a week.
- Dolores? - Monday and Friday.
Yep.
She won't let her kids donate because she's afraid That something will happen to them, And they'll only have one kidney.
- Finding out about dolores really hit me pretty hard.
She seems to have so much energy, And she's so positive about things.
To have such a huge health issue, It's really surprising.
Hey, dolores - Yes? - Susan told me that you go for dialysis.
- Yes.
- How do you do that and do this? Is it hard on you? - It's some process, I'll tell you, you know.
- Yeah.
- I'm waiting for a donor.
- Dolores.
- Yes.
- You're amazing.
- No, I'm not.
- To have a person like dolores in there, That makes me feel real good.
- Hey, good morning, tom.
- That's why we're selling Not because we have great coffee, But because we have dolores there.
- I hope this wasn't an interview for danny Because he is a little slow.
But a smaller store, less high-volume, I think he'll do it.
Good luck, danny.
[laughs.]
Announcer: Coming up, making the perfect pastry Proves too much for joe to handle.
- What happened here? - Wheels all fell off, man.
- Yeah, we gotta buy some more wheels, right? Maybe we can use that first paycheck.
Announcer: And later, joe is finding it hard to swallow How much food is going to waste.
- Those items are supposed to be going to charities.
Announcer: Joe depinto is the ceo of 7-eleven And has gone undercover in his own company.
- Oh, what's going on here? Announcer: His journey continues at a bakery in baltimore.
- We have a large organization.
Not only do we have stores, But we've got a network of commissaries and bakeries.
We make over 60 million pastries a year.
Our organization is really trying to expand Freshly made foods in our stores, And bakery items are a key.
Today I'm at our largest bakery here in baltimore.
I'll be looking at quality assurance, And, in particular, be working on the line With some of our employees.
Hey, how are you? - Hi.
- I'm looking for phil.
- I'm phil.
How you doing? - Hi, phil, I'm danny.
Phil handles the bakery's training department.
So I'm definitely interested in seeing How he handles new employees.
- Let's do this.
- Let's do it.
- All of this gorgeous dough is going up here.
This is what's called the in-feeder.
Pick up this tray like this, flip it over.
It's like you're folding up a sheet.
We're all about the perfect doughnut.
So how does the dough feel? It feel like-- It's like-- - It feels like a, uh - Don't say it.
Right now I'm putting fritters on the line.
- So we're gonna make fritters.
- And baked putting five across.
- Five across.
- All of it.
Look at 'em.
Nice and perfect.
You can use your own technique.
Oh, you're missing a spot.
You gotta keep up with it, man--keep up.
Just remember, put five across.
- Oops, I missed a spot.
Man, this thing moves fast.
- This is a nice speed.
- I know.
- I gotta go in the back to get some flour.
- All right.
- I'll be right back.
You sure you got it? - Yeah.
- Whoa.
Think I need a little help, my man.
Oh.
As soon as phil left, I couldn't keep up.
Need a little help.
The line was simply moving too fast, And I couldn't get the five fritters in a row.
- Wow, what happened here? We got a lot of missing pieces.
- Phil, when you left, the wheels all fell off, man.
- The wheels did? - But we're back at it.
- Yeah, we gotta buy some more wheels, right? Maybe we can use that first paycheck.
How you like that? - It's clear that this is a tough job.
You know, trying to keep up wi phil is very difficult.
- You got way too many going by.
- All righty.
Phil, how long you been here? - Oh, I've been here for eight years, man.
- What'd you do before you were here? - Uh, I was, uh, United States marine corps.
- You know, I was in the army for a few years.
- What was your specialist? - Field artillery.
- And you here, just like I am? - Yeah.
- Well, at least we-- We throwing on some real ammo now.
Some nice doughnuts.
- [laughs.]
Phil's a great trainer.
You know, he's clearly had a background As a sergeant in the marines.
- Sometimes you might have to pick up three in your hand.
Or four.
That's what I'm talkin' about.
There you go.
- Because he's had An outstanding training approach.
I was nervous about coming here 'cause I didn't know how I was gonna do.
- So what changed your mind? - Well, you guys are helping me out.
I appreciate that.
- It's like the marine corps and the army.
Always work together.
Yes, this is the break room.
- Oh, that's great, phil.
Where'd you learn how to do that? - I was six years old when I started to draw.
Let me go get my art book.
- Holy cow.
- There go your perfect doughnut.
- It's a big doughnut.
- Yeah, look at that doughnut.
[laughter.]
- Phil's a funny guy, and he works really hard.
He's also a really talented guy.
- Don't take it to no museum.
You might get-- [chuckles.]
- Oh, that's great.
I really enjoyed it.
There was no corporate talk or anything like that.
It was making doughnuts, and we were having fun.
Cheers.
- Yep.
- Yeah, I've got a real passion around soldiers.
Having phil in charge of this unit Really sets me at ease.
And I know that the products coming out of this bakery Are up to the high standards that we're setting here At 7-eleven.
Now I'm heading back to new york, Where I'll be working the night shift At one of our stores.
One of the challenges we have is attracting folks To work on the night shift.
These are the folks that are really the anchor For 7-eleven and allow us to be a 24/7 business.
The goal for me tonight is to spend time With the store clerks and really find out Why they choose to work the night shift.
It's important for me to figure out How we keep these folks motivated.
Hey, how are you? I'm danny.
- Hey, mister danny.
My name is waqas.
- Hi, waqas.
- Nice to meet you.
You can just follow me and I'll show you what to do.
You can change over here.
- Okay.
- Okay.
Okay, mister danny, ready to work.
So your job is to smile and greet all the customers, Stock merchandise, And perform all the regular cleaning activities.
And if you find any money, just leave it on the ground And I'll take care of it, okay? - There you go, man.
There's a dime.
- Mister danny seems like a nice guy, But he wasn't working very hard.
- Yep, I'm getting a little tired.
- So I'll make him do some work.
- This night shift is a tough time to work Because you're preparing for the next day.
- Yeah, it's a little dirty.
- Ugh.
You're cleaning the store.
You're putting product on shelves.
You're taking care of So the challenge for me will be keeping that energy up.
- So these are our new sandwiches, And they go behind the old ones.
Okay? - Okay.
So, waqas, you've been here for four years? - Yes, sir.
- Why do you work the night shift? - Because I can go to school easily.
So night's much easier for me.
- Oh, you go to school? - I'm getting my bachelor's degree.
- Really? - Yeah, in criminal justice.
- Wow, that's pretty cool.
Waqas is a fine young man.
He's been putting himself through college.
He's working hard to try to be successful.
All the things he's doing, I did when I was younger.
Okay, what are we doing next? - First of all, we have to get rid of these old doughnuts.
- So we're gonna throw these away? - Mm-hmm.
- I'm a little upset that we're throwing away doughnuts.
You throw 'em away every day? - Every night.
- ButYeah.
JustWow.
for perishable food items.
And those items need to be going to charities, Not being thrown in the garbage.
I don't like throwing stuff away.
- Uh, me too.
- I know waqas was just following direction, But it's frustrating to see so much food go to waste.
We've got 6,500 stores in the u.
S.
, And that's a lot of charities we could be giving to.
It's something that I'm very passionate about.
I don't understand it.
We've got to fix that.
- Okay.
- Hi.
- Hi, danny, how are you? I'm danny.
How are you? Nice to meet you.
- My dad brings me food whenever I forget my lunch at home.
So today's your first day, So we treat you like a guest.
- Okay.
I appreciate that.
- Help yourself.
- I'm hungry.
How 'bout you? - Yeah, me too.
- We've been working hard.
Oh, this is great.
Where are you from originally, waqas? - I am from pakistan.
Moved to u.
S.
Seven years ago.
- Four years at 7-eleven.
- Mm-hmm.
- How do you like it? - I would never consider this job as my permanent job.
- Do you think that your job is a dead end? - That's what I was thinking.
If you start working for a sales associate, You have to be a sales associate for all your life.
You can grow.
You can be a manager.
- So you don't think there's other opportunities? - No, there's no other opportunities.
I'm not gonna recommend someone To come and work for 7-eleven.
There's not much room for you to grow.
- Hmm.
- Okay, mister danny, you are done for tonight, okay? - Thank you.
It was nice to work with you.
- Oh, thanks.
- It's early morning.
Feeling pretty tired.
But I learned a bunch of things.
I enjoyed working with waqas.
But the thing that just absolutely hurt Was the fact that he doesn't believe that He has an opportunity with 7-eleven.
Great people make great companies, And we can't let them think Their job's a dead end.
We can't win the battle Without great soldiers.
Announcer: Coming up, Joe discovers a store That doesn't meet And he decides to take action.
And later, joe's undercover mission Is put in jeopardy.
- Igor said we were going to a store in south lake.
That's where I live.
Announcer: Joe depinto, Ceo of 7-eleven, Is a boss undercover in his own company.
His employees think he's part of a documentary About someone trying out entry-level jobs.
His journey continues at a busy store In new york state.
- This is a pretty special This store is one of the highest grossing stores In our system.
Hi, I'm danny.
- Nice to meet you, danny.
I'm lorie.
- Nice to meet you.
Worldwide, we've got 36,000 stores, So this is Pretty big store for us.
Most of our stores operate independently.
They rely on headquarters To provide them with equipment, Product, and all-around support.
My goal today is to find out How the communication from our store support center in dallas-- How it's flowing out to our stores.
- We keep the front windows as clean as possible.
This is something that we do periodically through the day, Because many people pass through our doors.
And what you do-- You know, you have to kind of Watch out for the customers.
- Okay.
- How are you? - Hi, how are you? Hi, how are you doing? - How are you? [bell dinging.]
- excuse me.
- Hi, guys.
- Hey, how you doing? - Bien.
It was really good to see All of our customers coming in to the store, But I have to admit, It was really hard To get as much done As I would have liked to.
Yeah, that looks great.
- It looks much better.
In probably about, you know, ten minutes It's gonna be all full of fingerprints again, But we do the best that we can.
- Lorie let me know that I'd be handling A lot of floor duties-- Keeping hot food items fresh, Sweeping floors, and stocking shelves.
- Okay, now that you're done with this, I'm gonna just take you into the office And let you do a maintenance call for me.
- Okay.
Headquarters is responsible for maintenance at each store.
If there's a problem, They call us, and we'll send our folks out to fix it.
- I have some lights that are out.
- You got a couple here.
How long have those been out? - I have it in the office when they were here last.
I think they were here last, like, three weeks ago.
- Lorie said that we've got some lights out On the inside of the store, And then all the lights in the back room are out.
- What's gonna happen is I'm gonna give you the number, And you're gonna call them, And then you're gonna just tell them What the problem is.
- Okay.
- Okay.
There you go.
- Calling My name is jerry.
May we have your five-digit store number please? - Yeah, hi, jerry.
This is store 23754.
- 23754.
Thank you, sir.
All right.
What can we do for you? - We've got, uh, four light bulbs out.
We also have a light sensor In the back room that's out.
- Thank you, sir.
- Our support team rates maintenance issues by priority, P-1 being the highest priority And p-5 being the lowest.
And what's that classified as? - Uh, it's just a standard, monthly visit.
It's called a p-5.
- Standard monthly visit.
- So that means they're not gonna come? - So those lights will be out for the remainder of the month? - Right.
- The issue is support from maintenance Was gonna be sometime within the next 30 days.
- All right, sir.
Anything else we can do for you? - Uh, no.
Bye-bye.
- As far as the lighting contract, I've run into a few glitches with it That haven't made me very happy.
- I'm gonna make a call to our c.
O.
O.
, And we're gonna get that solved right now.
- Darren rebelez.
- Hey, darren, it's joe.
We've got lights out in the back room in this store, And we got four lights out on the sales floor.
Now I think you'd probably agree That lights out on the sales floor Need to be fixed immediately, Because they're a customer-sensitive issue, And the lights out in the back room Are a safety issue.
- Well, we'll get that addressed, And we'll make sure that's handled appropriately.
- All right.
Okay.
Thanks.
I made a call, And lorie's gonna get a nice surprise, 'cause her lights are gonna get fixed really quickly.
- Okay, danny.
Great job.
Thank you very much.
I think you're done for the day.
- Thank you.
- Okay? Good luck to you.
Thanks so much.
- We really need to do everything we can To support our stores.
It's really important to me, And it's vital for the future of our company.
I'm leaving new york, And I'm flying to dallas For my last undercover job.
Tonight I'll be working on a delivery truck, Making deliveries to our stores.
The distribution folks Are really the unsung heroes.
The customer has no idea All the work that goes into getting their products To their stores.
It's critically important, So I'm looking forward To spending time with these folks tonight.
Hey, guys.
I'm looking for, uh, igor? - Igor.
- Hi, are you igor? - Yes, sir.
- Hi, I'm danny.
- Hey, nice to meet you, danny.
- How are you doing? - I'm good.
How are you? - I guess I'm gonna be training with you tonight.
- No problem.
I will show you everything I know.
- Okay.
- Are you ready? - Ready to go.
- Let's go, my friend.
- All right.
- So we're going to siberia room.
Welcome in.
- It's cold.
- [laughs.]
For me, it's like A russian summertime, you know, right? - A russian summertime? - Yeah, it's kind of.
I like it.
- Where are you from? - Have you seen the movie borat? - Yeah.
- I'm from kazakhstan.
- So that's why you like the cold? - Well, yeah, that is a cold winter, yeah.
So now we go to pick up my truck.
My truck is my baby.
You know? I love it, like, religiously.
If I would have long hands, I could hug.
I will--you will see.
That's my baby.
This is my horse.
Okay.
Oh, be careful.
All right.
That's great.
Let the fun begin.
- So you got a family? - Yeah, I have two kids.
I have a granddaughter.
- How about your wife? - I'm working nights.
She's working daytime.
Okay.
- This is our first stop.
- Yeah.
Okay, you just pull it out.
Be careful.
Don't fall from the ledge here.
Roller coaster.
Six flag.
Ooh! You like it, huh? - Yeah, not bad.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
Ready? Danny, this is jacob.
Jacob, this is danny.
- Hey, jacob.
Nice to meet you.
- Danny's gonna be my partner.
I just training him, And, uh, you might see him tomorrow, Day after tomorrow, whatever.
- Does he take care of you guys? - Oh, very much so.
- Oh, well.
- He definitely does his job very well.
- Ha.
Listen, I just do my job.
Nothing else, nothing extra.
Guys.
- See you later, ross.
- Nice meeting you.
- All the best.
Bye.
- Take it easy.
- You don't miss being with your family, Working the night shift? - I tell you, my wife We have only two days to love each other, And no way to argue, you see? [laughter.]
- I'm enjoying this a lot.
This guy's energetic, Enthusiastic, positive.
He's the kind of guy We need to have working for us.
All right.
Number two.
Let's do it.
- Yeah.
- Where's your next store? - Oh, five, six minutes to drive.
- Igor said we were going to a store in south lake.
That's where I live.
Who's the third-shift guy here? - Over here? We will see.
- I go into this store all the time.
Everyone there knows me, Including the franchise owner.
- You see that 7-eleven? That's the store.
I will need you to step out please.
[truck beeping.]
- I was helping back up the truck, And I turned around, And the owner is at the store.
[suspenseful music.]
I wanted to make sure that I didn't blow my cover, So I told igor that I was gonna use the restroom.
Igor's distributing the product.
As soon as he's done, I'll get back in the truck, And we'll get out of here Without my cover being blown.
- Bye, guys.
- How do you stay so motivated? I mean, it's the middle of the night.
- Well, I'm I'm living an american dream now.
America is the best country in the world.
You guys just do not really know How blessed you are.
- I've heard that many times.
But I guess you got to be from somewhere else To realize it.
- Right, because you take it for granted.
With no english, No knowledge of any culture, - You came here with $50 in your pocket? - Yeah.
And I survive.
- That--that's amazing.
- That's the story about america.
That's not story about me.
I'm blessed.
I'm really blessed.
And now you ask me why I'm so motivated? Because I'm so thankful for this country Which allow me to survive and be happy.
Okay.
- This has been a great night, And igor's been a great guy to be with.
- Well, danny, that's how it works.
That was a real pleasure.
Thank you, my friend.
Thank you.
Thank you, thank you.
- Thanks a lot.
I've always been someone Who's very committed to the business, And to see folks working as hard as they were Made me feel great as a ceo And makes me want to work Even harder in my job To ensure we're giving them All that we can To support them in what they do.
Announcer: Coming up, Joe summons his coworkers to headquarters - It's frustrating, 'cause I don't know what's going on.
Announcer: And reveals his true identity.
- My name's joe depinto, And, uh, I'm the ceo here at 7-eleven.
- Now my week undercover Has come to an end, And I'm gonna report back to our executive committee And tell them all that I've learned Both the good things I learned, As well as the things That we absolutely need to take action on.
Hey, everyone.
[quiet greetings.]
Well, the experience was one That I don't get to see a lot as ceo.
- What do you think you learned that-- Because you were undercover, That you couldn't have learned as joe depinto, the ceo? - Well, um, going undercover Tells me that we have more work to do.
Everyone knows we have a program Where we give away sandwiches and bakery items to charities, But in the store I was in, We threw those products away.
We've got these great programs, But they haven't reached the stores.
We got to get that resolved.
Another experience, We've been working extremely hard On facilities and maintenance.
Called you, darren, that one time Where we were in the store.
Hey, darren, lights out on the sales floor Need to be fixed immediately.
I think we got to zero in On what the stores' issues are.
That's ultimately gonna enable us To put the right fixes in place.
Every single employee I met was amazing.
What we have to do Is better support 'em.
Okay? Thanks, everyone.
- Thank you.
[quiet replies.]
- Now's the time for me To reveal my true identity To the folks that I've worked with for the past week.
- It's frustrating, 'cause I don't know what's going on.
- Maybe I'll be in some kind of trouble.
- How are you? - Okay, how are you? Waqas.
- Waqas, you remember me? - Uh, you Let me see.
- You remember me? - I'm trying to place you.
I don't - I Yeah, I don't know.
- I'm not danny.
- I realize it now.
You were good at danny.
- My name's joe depinto, And, uh, I'm the ceo here at 7-eleven.
- Get out of dodge.
- You're the big shot? - I wanted to break away, And I wanted to spend some time In our stores, undercover, Trying to get a real look At what the operation of our store is Without people knowing that I'm the ceo.
Waqas, I think it's incredible That you're getting your education And still working the night shift at our stores.
For four years-- that's amazing.
- Thank you.
- But I want you to know this.
We were talking about your future.
- Mm-hmm.
- And you told me that you didn't think You had any more opportunity with 7-eleven.
- I would never consider this job as my permanent job.
No, that's not the thing, But I want to go back to my country And help the poor people.
- Yeah.
- Peoples who are struggling for their justice.
People struggling for their human rights.
- I think that's awesome, and I commend you for it.
But I want you to know this.
You decide what you want to do.
If you decide you want to stay here with our company, I will personally look after you as a mentor And I'll try to help you succeed here at 7-eleven.
And if you decide that you want to go back to your country, I think we can help you there also.
- Oh, thank you.
He cares about me.
Uh, he's my mentor for my life, And that makes me, like, more confident That I'll be successful in my life.
- Phil, you took care of me.
You picked up my slack.
Couple things I want to tell you about.
One, I was amazed by your artwork.
W're a big business.
And we've got a huge marketing department And an advertising department, So what I want to do is I want to give you the opportunity To do some freelance artwork For our advertising agency To help build up your portfolio.
- I thank you twice.
More than once.
- You do such a wonderful job for our company.
And I just-- I enjoyed being with you.
Thank you.
- You're very welcome.
Praise in god.
[laughter.]
Seem like a dream just coming true.
It's a feeling that want to reach out And just hold on, and don't let go.
And I almost started crying in there.
I got tears in my eyes right now.
I'm trying to-- try not to let it come out.
- Igor, the clerks love you.
You deliver the product on time.
You do an unbelievable job.
- You will never hear from me anything else.
I just do my job.
- I want to tell you, I want to recognize you For all your hard work and dedication, And everything you do for our company, And send you and your wife to a resort For a nice vacation for the two of you So you can spend someuality time together.
- Sounds fantastic.
That's That's--I'm speechless.
- Hey, igor, you said it last night.
This is america.
- I could not believe that was happen.
Thank you.
Or in a movie.
Or in a book.
Only in america might happen.
- Dolores, I have to tell you, I enjoyed spending time with you More than I can ever say.
- Oh, thank you.
- The thing that's most impressive to me Is every customer that comes in knows you.
- I love you, nicky.
- And they're not coming to 7-eleven to buy our coffee.
They're coming to buy from dolores.
- That's true.
I have to admit.
It's a nice store.
We love it.
- With your situation, And you saying that you wouldn't Take a kidney from your family, You know, it's kind of like you are at the store.
You do it for other people.
- I can't take it from them, Because they're young.
And if it happened to me, It could happen to them.
- I'm gonna tell you what I want to do.
I'm gonna set up a dolores donor awareness program.
- Oh, my god.
That's wonderful.
- And we're gonna get all of our franchisees Across the United States and canada involved.
Dolores, this program will remind all of our customers How important it is to fill out an organ donor card, So that you and others in your situation Will have a better chance Of getting an organ donation.
- I love it.
- I hope that will be okay with you.
- That's wonderful.
Thank you so, so much.
I don't know what to say.
- Oh, dolores, thank you for everything.
- God bless him for that.
Thank you.
- Now it's time for me To tell the company about my undercover experience.
- I'm very, very proud to present joe depinto, President and ceo of 7-eleven.
[cheers and applause.]
- My name is joe depinto, And for the past week I've been working undercover At 7-eleven.
[crowd gasps, murmurs.]
Now I want to tell you Why I've been doing that.
It was an opportunity for me To step out of the role of ceo And work alongside employees in our business Where people didn't recognize me.
And we've got a few video clips, And I think you'll really enjoy them.
Seems like it would be easier If there was just, like, a sink right here.
- Pipe dreams, honey.
[laughs.]
a sink over here.
Already he's coming up with all these ideas.
- You kicked my butt.
- Mister danny seems like a nice guy, But he wasn't working very hard.
- What happened here? - Wheels all fell off, man.
- We got to buy some more wheels, right? Maybe we can use that first paycheck.
- You ready? Roller coaster.
Six flag.
Ooh! - I thought I knew our stores.
The fact is, I have a lot more to learn.
You all taught me that.
And you'll be seeing me and our team Working with you to find out what your challenges are So that we can all Collectively better serve our customers, And that's my commitment to you.
This will change the way I work every day as ceo in our company.
So thank you.
[cheers and applause.]
- I was working with the big cheese.
[laughs.]
I thought it was excellent.
This way, he knows firsthand what we're going through.
I thought that was great.
- The experience I had was extraordinary.
As the ceo, I've got a lot of responsibility To make sure that this company's vibrant For the great people that we met.
And I'm gonna do that.