Undercover Boss (2010) s02e02 Episode Script
Great Wolf Resorts
Male announcer: America is struggling to shake off the recession.
Public distrust of wealthy CEOs remains high.
But more and more bosses are looking for radical ways to reconnect with their workforce in order to find out what's really going on in their companies.
Each week, we follow the boss of a major corporation as they go undercover in their own company.
This week, Undercover Boss' first female CEO, the boss of Great Wolf Lodge, North America's largest chain of indoor water park resorts, poses as a stay-at-home mom returning to the work force.
Kris.
Kris Miller.
Nice meeting you.
Nice meeting you.
The boss will trade in her luxury lifestyle for a lifeguard's uniform and whistle.
Double whistle right over here.
We got a A.
F.
R.
I'm kind of panicking.
By working on the front line, she'll find out what's really going on inside her own company.
It's gonna be just a little bit longer.
Is that gonna be okay? It's kind of my only option, isn't it? And she'll discover the unsung heroes that make her company run.
I've been through the worst.
Nothing's ever gonna bring me down.
It was hard hearing her story.
I couldn't imagine that.
How will her coworkers react when they find out she's really the boss and how will it change their lives? I thought it was going to be about policies and procedures.
And I got something so much more.
Find out next on Undercover Boss.
With 127 water slides in 12 locations, Great Wolf Lodge is North America's largest indoor water park resort company.
And at the head of this $330 million business is one woman.
I'm Kim Schaefer.
I'm CEO of Great Wolf Resorts.
Hello, this is Kim.
Great Wolf Resorts has grown quickly.
We have a average opening of about two a year.
A large indoor water park is really the keystone to who we are.
It's the reason that people are coming to the resort.
But what endears them to Great Wolf is all the other family amenities and activities.
And that's really the thing that brings people back time after time.
My mom had me about two weeks after she turned 19.
I think it was hard for my parents to make ends meet.
We didn't have the family vacations.
The going out to dinner.
I never had any of those things growing up.
I started working from the very moment that I could.
After college, I joined Great Wolf Resorts.
I've been the Chief Brand Officer.
Chief Operating Officer.
And then in January of 2009, I was promoted to CEO of the company.
In this economy, people are working harder than they ever have.
They don't have as much discretionary income so we know they want even more for their money.
Being a female CEO certainly adds some additional pressure.
When I do publications, people will definitely make comment that they don't interview a lot of female CEOs.
That there's just not a lot of them out there.
But I don't really ever let anything being female stand in my way of-- of what it takes to be a CEO.
All right, thanks.
Bye.
What are you gonna tell me? Don't burn them.
Dave, he's a stay-at-home dad and he loves it.
Our kids have just, you know, turned out wonderful because of him.
Kim can't not work.
She has to be doing something.
What are you working on today? Just some spreadsheets.
If it were up to me, I'd probably work all the time.
When I had Max, I had Max on a Friday and I was back to work with him on Monday.
I travel a lot.
I probably travel about 75% of the time.
Nice.
Nothing but net.
You know, there are always reality checks with--with the kids.
When they tell you that they're sick of you being gone, it's--it's hard.
Sammi, you excited for dance today? Yeah.
Yeah? But I've always felt that I need to work.
That I need to have my career in order to be a better mom.
It's hard to describe why it's so important to me, but I feel like I have to have both.
Bye.
Bye, mom.
Bye.
I'm very driven and I will do anything for this company.
I am pretty serious.
I want to get the job done.
I want to go undercover because as the C.
O.
O.
, I was definitely more involved in the day-to-day operations.
But as the CEO, I haven't been out in the field nearly as much.
And we're in the service business.
It is really about those frontline pack members and how they do their job every day that is gonna determine if we're successful or not.
While I'm undercover, I'll be posing as Kris Miller, a stay-at-home mom.
My coworkers will be told that I'm taking part in a reality show about mothers re-entering the work force.
And they will have to evaluate my performance at the end of my journey.
My hair's short.
So it's the first morning.
It is definitely gonna take some getting used to.
I am definitely a little anxious.
I've got the butterflies.
But I'm so excited to go undercover.
From a personal standpoint, to reconnect with the people who make things happen in our business.
Here at the Grapevine, Texas Resort, more than half of our guests are under the age of ten.
Cub Club is designed for those young guests.
There was a lodge that had a wolf.
Pleasing these young guests is so critical to our success.
So we're always trying new programs and activities.
At this Cub Club, we're testing out a new cooking cubs program and I want to see if the kids are liking it.
Hi.
How are you? Are you Bree? I am.
I'm Bree.
Nice to meet you.
Hi, Bree.
I'm Kris.
Hi, Kris.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
Well, we've got a full class today.
So I'm gonna get you dressed in your uniform.
Okay.
Sounds good.
All right, I'll see you in a minute.
Our new friend that just came in, we're gonna need to teach her how to make pizza.
Do y'all think you can help me? Oh, that's awesome.
Okay.
Hi.
How are you, Kris? We're ready to start cooking.
Is she new? She is.
She's brand-new.
The very first thing we need to do is have a seat.
Kris, you're a mom.
Yes.
Two children.
They're grown.
But two children.
Are you ready? As ready as I'm gonna ever be.
Okay, here's some dough for you.
Here's your plates.
Can you tell? All right.
We're gonna need to go faster than that, Kris.
Okay.
We're gonna take our dough and we're gonna spread it out like this.
Oh, actually, we don't have to do that.
We're just going to pull it aside.
Okay, here we go with this cheese.
Is that good? Almost.
Okay, who else is ready? Not you? Those kids were kind of all over the place.
Everybody who's got their gloves off, come on over here.
I don't have any gloves on.
Okay, that's fine.
Then you're done.
Oh, yay.
No, no, no, over here.
As a CEO, it's much easier to corral executives.
We don't always agree.
But we at least can sit down and talk about it as adults.
You're giving me a hard time, aren't you? I have no idea how I'm going to get through the next half hour.
Oh, come here.
I got a paper towel.
Paper towel.
There you go.
Do you do much baking at home, Kris? It doesn't look like it, does it? Do you do take out? Kris doesn't look like the cooking type, which kind of surprises me for her to be a stay-at-home mom.
I'm guessing maybe the children are cooking at the house.
Now, Kris, this is our cage for thor.
And all you do Oh.
I just don't like reptiles.
I don't like anything that has to do with reptiles.
Grab a cricket, and just put it on the table, and Thor will do his trick.
Oh! Scoot back.
Scoot back.
Watch.
Hold on.
Well, I have to say that was the part of Cub Club that I really don't want to do again.
You know, I probably am not the one who should be in Cub Club.
It takes a certain personality.
Bree has that passion, that magic.
She was great with the kids.
What's your favorite thing? Swimming.
Swimming? Did you guys like the cooking class? I ate all of mine.
You did? Was it good? Oh, well, thank you.
The kids love the cooking program.
They had a great time doing it.
Was that fun or did you like playing with thor better? Okay, well, that's good to know.
We've talked for years about building a little bit more education into our programs.
That is exactly what Cub Club was designed for.
Bye, everybody.
Bye.
Well, how do you think you did? I think I did okay.
I guess, more importantly, how did you think I did? Well, you did all right for being your first time.
It is a high energy job.
That is for sure.
The main thing is is that you've got to have fun.
And that work ethic, girlfriend, has got to be way high.
Yeah.
It's a lot of fun.
But, you know the way that you're laughing right there, that's what you want to get from the--the reaction from the guests.
Okay.
How long have you been doing this? I started working in October and then a month later my husband, um, his company he'd been working for for 23 years, he got laid off.
This place has been a blessing for me and my family because there have been times that it's been that extra paycheck that has really helped us to survive.
And my daughter's headed off to college next month.
And really I just don't know how we're going to pay for her tuition.
But nobody said this life is going to be easy.
You just have to work really hard.
And we've all just locked arms and just have faith that something's gonna come out of this.
You want to give your kids everything.
And you can tell that Bree loves her kids and that she wants what's best for them.
And it--it--it was definitely hard for her to talk about the fact that "our her daughter's going to college and I have no idea how we're going to pay for it.
" What's your daughter going to school for? She's wanting to be a Veterinarian.
She's just really passionate about animals.
Wow.
Coming up, Kim struggles to keep the customers satisfied.
I thought I had two rooms.
Jackie? And later We got a double whistle right over here.
How will she cope when emergency strikes? We got a A.
F.
R.
Kim Schaefer, the CEO of Great Wolf Lodge is a boss undercover in her own company.
Her journey continues in Grand Mound, Washington.
I'm here at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington.
When you arrive at a Great Wolf Lodge, the front desk is not only the place where you check in, it's the first impression that you get of the lodge.
So it's really important that the staff is friendly, they're efficient, and knowledgeable.
There you go.
Have a good time.
Thank you.
Hi.
Can I help you? Hi.
I'm here to see Jackie.
That's me.
My name's Jackie.
Hi, Jackie.
I'm Kris.
It's a pleasure to meet you, Kris.
Nice to meet you.
Let me get your uniform if you want to follow me here.
Okay.
All right.
Thank you.
We can have up to 1,000 guests check in during an afternoon.
We've made a lot of updates to our check-in process and I want to see if they're working.
How you doing? Hi.
Good.
If you want to just familiarize.
Listen a little bit and then we'll get you involved in it too, okay? Sounds great.
So these are actually room keys.
Okay.
It's a room key, a water park pass, and then you can use it for also charging.
That's kind of neat.
We would like to charge it to this card.
Swipe it out.
Okay.
It's gonna be just a little bit longer.
Now did you want to do charging to the room? Instead of carrying your purse down the slide, you just--it'll be on your room key here.
Okay.
These are going to be breakfast vouchers.
We give those out.
Okay.
This is all the hours of activities for kids to do while they're here.
The water park's open from 9:00 to 9:00.
The restaurants and their hours, they're all within the facility.
When am I gonna get my thing? Just a minute.
We have no pets or smoking within the facility.
Okay.
I got it.
If you want, I can go over all the map again with you guys.
Uh, that's fine.
We'll figure it out.
Appreciate.
You guys have a great time.
Have fun.
Wow, that's a long process.
It's a lot of talk, talk, talk.
And by the time you get done, you'd like a big glass of water.
It sounds simple, but it's not.
If you want, come on over, we're gonna both do one.
Hi, how are you doing? So I just need to see a credit card that you charge the room with.
Okay.
Terrific.
It does match.
So now what do I do? So you just go "okay.
" And just check it in.
Shift F8.
Okay, now tap on "keys.
" Keys.
Mm-hmm.
Right on this one.
Oh, sorry, that one.
Perfect.
We're gonna go into "payment.
" You ready to go into the water park? I'm feeling frustrated.
Every check-in was taking so long.
Uh, yeah, I'm just getting the keys.
It's very difficult for me to stand there.
I didn't like seeing that line for the check-in.
The guests are standing here for a long time.
But there's absolutely nothing I can do.
There was just so many steps.
She has a lunch voucher if you want to go get-- okay.
And so much explanation.
Breakfast is right over there.
So while I'm grateful that we're trying to take care of all these guests, it's very frustrating.
Don't need to swipe the card 'cause I already have it on file.
Right.
I felt a little worried about Kris for a moment there.
There might be one more voucher over there.
Okay.
She's gonna look for another one.
It was looking like it was getting a little overwhelming because there were so many steps all at once.
I know.
It's time-consuming.
Okay.
What kind of hours do you have to work here? I work, uh, like 7:00 in the morning till 3:30 in the day.
Okay.
till 11:30 at night.
It just depends? Yeah.
We could easily do seven days straight.
That's a long time.
It's hard.
Yeah.
It's hard.
It's real hard.
Hi.
Welcome to Great Wolf Lodge.
My original request was to be on the highest floor possible.
And from what I understand, third floor isn't exactly very high.
Let me check.
The highest floor we have available with that room style is the third floor.
Three gonna be okay? It's kind of my only option isn't it? I would like to give you another option, but I don't have one.
Sorry about that.
This job is so demanding because every guest has had a unique situation.
We want to know if we could do the breakfast on Sunday morning.
I thought I had two rooms.
Jackie? It's trying to deal with each situation and still give great, friendly customer service.
I can change the date for you.
All right, good.
That's for your other room.
Thank you.
Have a good time at the Great Wolf Lodge.
Thank you very much.
Have fun.
I really wanted to find out how that first impression with the lodge was.
And everybody who was up at the front desk did a great job.
But there has got to be an easier way.
to check in.
I've got to make sure that this is somebody's priority.
So we can go on break now if you want.
Okay.
Sounds good.
Planning on getting another surgery if possible.
So what ended up, um, causing you to have to have knee surgery to begin with? I got hurt in a fall.
But it didn't heal right.
I'm really sorry to hear that.
I got used to standing on it though.
I have to.
Single mom.
Wow.
Yeah.
I've been married for 20 years and I just moved out on my own with my kids.
So you had to make a tough-- it sounds like you made a tough decision.
Yeah.
Yeah.
From living a life not worrying about anything and then now.
How are the kids doing with--with dad not around? You know, they have the good days and the bad days.
Days where they wish I could stay home and be a parent at all times.
But I always tell them "I'm your only income so I got to go to work.
" Do you get to arrange your schedule so you can go see them?" No.
No.
I have no regularity.
That's, uh, that's not easy.
Jackie has made a lot of sacrifices for her family.
And that is something that I know a lot of people have to struggle with.
But she just has no choice in the matter.
And you can tell that it was something that was definitely very hard for her.
Oh, yes.
I'm ready.
But she was very proud of the work that she was doing.
And I admired that about her.
Hi, welcome to Great Wolf Lodge.
Are you guys checking in? Well, I'm tired physically and mentally.
That was the longest day ever.
Jackie reminded me a lot of my parents.
Um, you know, they both worked a lot.
Um, they had to.
They had--they had three kids at home.
It--it definitely, um, you know, made me realize some things.
I struggle with not having as much time with my kids.
I definitely know that I've missed out on some things.
And I haven't been there for everything that they needed me to be there for.
And it--it's tough.
Great Wolf is famous for its indoor water parks.
Here at our largest resort in Grapevine, Texas, almost 3,000 people can be in the water park at any given time.
Last year, we added 200 rooms to this resort.
I want to see how that's impacted the water park.
Hi, I'm Kris.
I'm Kelly.
Oh, hi, Kelly.
It's nice to meet you.
We're gonna ask that you change before we start the shift.
Okay.
It's hot in here.
Wait till we go outside.
Really? Hi.
Wow.
These are short shorts.
Yeah.
Usually.
Okay.
As the aquatic supervisor, Kelly is in charge of overseeing all the other lifeguards.
All right, let's start on our first point and evaluate scanning.
Okay.
This is a lifeguard scanning.
All right, if you notice, she's scanning her whole pool.
Okay.
We don't want to see them fixating.
For example, staring at a piece of water for a long time.
If we see bad scanning, we want to address it immediately.
Tubes is one of our jobs.
They're starting to stack up a little bit.
So we're gonna go ahead and throw those in.
Okay.
We got a double whistle right over here.
We got a double whistle.
What? Oh.
Two short whistles means he needs our attention.
Okay.
I just got a call.
We got a A.
F.
R.
What's that? That is poo.
I just kind of gulped and I'm, like, "oh, no.
This is not going to be good.
" I just got a call.
We got a A.
F.
R.
In the outdoor pool.
As soon as Kelly said there was an A.
F.
R.
, I just kind of gulped and I'm, like, "oh, no.
This is not going to be good.
" What happened here? All right.
Here's what happened.
Um, we had A.
F.
R.
, accidental fecal release, in the pool.
What's that? Fecal is poo.
An A.
F.
R.
is when a child goes to the bathroom in the pool.
I want you to go ahead and get the piece out.
And then you're gonna use this towel and you're gonna scrub the smear off the bottom.
All right, go ahead.
Kelly was very calm, but I'm kind of panicking.
Oh, it disintegrated in my hand.
Try to get as much of it as possible.
I actually do not feel bad about sending Kris in to do this just because this is something that we get low pay to do quiet often.
That is poo.
This is disgusting.
You might have a little piece over here too.
Got to get it all.
Let's go ahead and get our shoes on.
It is so hot in here.
Uh, let's go ahead and straighten these lifejackets that are messed up right here too.
Now while we're straightening lifejackets, we do what? Oh, we should always be looking at the guards.
Right.
We should always be monitoring their scanning.
So are you from Grapevine? No, ma'am.
I'm from Rome, Texas.
Are you close to your family? Uh, I'm pretty close.
Um, I'm always kind of surrounded by people.
I didn't have much of a father growing up though.
You didn't? No.
Actually, I had a couple, but not close to any of them.
Yeah.
Oh, really? Not necessarily model citizens if you will.
So it wasn't your choice, obviously.
Oh, no, no, no.
It's hot in here.
It gets quite warm, yeah.
Wait till you go up this tower right here.
Oh.
My God, you're kidding me.
Oh, my God, I haven't run stairs in 20 years.
I'm not in that good of shape.
She's starting to sweat and look a little bit exhausted already.
Okay.
I'm tired.
And we haven't even hit the hard part yet.
Please don't make me go back up those stairs.
I can't even begin to keep up with Kelly.
It's warm in here.
It's very uncomfortable.
Now we're gonna focus on park services.
Okay.
Park services is making sure that everything's clean, clear, organized.
Thank you.
We get a break soon? We're on our feet for upwards of 12, 13, 14 hours.
This job is difficult.
Not only the environment that you're in but the pressure that you have to maintain safety.
Okay.
This right here is Timmy.
One of our operational mannequin drop toys.
What we're gonna do is we're drop him in the water when the lifeguards aren't paying attention.
Okay.
And then they have a certain amount of time to get to it.
And based on how fast they get to it, that's where we classify them.
A "meets," which means they get to it in under or in-between or a "rectify" or like a "fail" if you would.
And that's they don't see it within that time.
And we have to remediate them and go through a process.
Here's what's gonna happen Okay.
I'm gonna get in the water with Timmy.
And I'm gonna drop him to the bottom of the pool.
When I do that, I'm gonna pull my ear.
When I pull my ear, I want you to start it.
And then when he whistles and enters the water, I want you to stop it.
Okay.
I can do that.
All right.
Let's get this started.
Well, the responsibility I was taking was for the safety of all the guests that are coming to Great Wolf Lodge.
And that's a lot of pressure.
Okay.
I see him.
Oh, my God.
Okay.
Got it.
Three seconds.
Come on, guys.
Oh, thank God.
Um, just less than 14 seconds.
Yeah, so that's a "meets.
" Just barely a "meets," but still a "meets.
" He still did a pretty good job.
So how long were you a lifeguard before? Before I got promoted? Yeah.
Probably three months and then I was promoted to a supervisor.
So pretty quickly.
Yeah, pretty quickly.
So how long do you want to do this? Oh, this is probably just temporary thing.
Um, I actually have different career aspirations.
I plan to become a pilot so A pilot? A pilot.
So I've got, you know, a completely different route that I'm about to go.
You know, every job in our company is so important.
But this one involves people's lives.
Kelly was 100% about safety and everything else came second.
Thank you so much, Kelly.
I really appreciate it.
But I'm not sure that we're doing such a good job with our employees.
They have a lot of things on their plate.
And I want to make sure that we're providing them an environment where they can rehydrate and refresh so they can go back out and continue to take good care of our guests.
I'm here today at the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio to work a shift as a waitress.
There are a lot of dining choices in the area.
And since 23% of our revenue comes from our restaurants, I want to make sure that our guests are staying here.
So we need to make sure that we're consistent and we're delivering the quality that they expect.
Hi.
Are you Deanna? I'm Deanna.
And your name is? Kris.
We just opened up.
So I got some clothes over here.
Okay.
I was a waitress in college.
I loved it.
I loved the hustle and bustle.
So I'm really excited to go undercover during this lunch service.
We've got our first table.
And I'm gonna show you how you take the orders.
Okay.
Hi there.
What would you like to order? Pizza.
Pizza? You're getting pizza.
What would you like, sir? Okay.
And that should be coming right up.
Thank you.
Now this is my key.
You slide it through here.
Okay.
You begin your check.
And he's getting the Reuben.
Okay.
I'm really fast.
So hopefully you can keep up.
I think we got another table if I am correct.
Okay.
We get the bev naps.
Okay.
And then you go up and you introduce yourself.
Okay.
Hi.
Good afternoon.
I'm Kris.
How are you doing today? Good.
Thank you.
Do you know what you'd like to order today? Okay, and with the side, would you like waffle fries? Chips or carrots? Chips or carrots? Waffle fries? Yeah.
Waffle fries? Okay.
Sorry.
And what can I get for you? Okay.
We'll be right back with those.
You know we forgot? What? The drinks.
Oh, okay.
Since I used to be a waitress, there's some things that are coming back to me and feel fairly natural, especially from the customer service side of things.
Sorry, it's my first day on the job.
But I tell you, I'm just not moving as fast as I thought I used to.
Oh, there's another table here.
There's another table here.
Okay.
Hi, how are you doing today? Can we get you something to drink to start? Do you know what you guys want to order? What can I get you to drink? Hi.
Okay, let's see, we've got you guys all taken care of already.
Okay.
Thanks.
It was over here.
Hi, how are you guys doing today? I consider myself to be a great multitasker.
But the pressure of having guests in front of you and servicing them immediately It is a big challenge.
Oh, my.
Okay.
Sometimes you don't have nobody to hold this door.
I can't even see if I'm getting out the door okay.
You go down with your knees.
Okay.
And we have to get a refill and take nachos out.
Nachos? Okay.
Sure.
Yes.
Cheese? Sure.
Okay.
I'm a little anxious.
What are you doing? Um, they would like cheese-- table--table five would like cheese on the kid's burger.
Oh, well, that's fine.
We can go and do that.
Hit food prep.
Okay.
And then put "cheese.
" Go.
Go.
Kris was really overwhelmed.
And I said, "you're in my shoes now.
"I have, like, five, six tables all at once.
"And I have to remember what table didn't get a refill? What table hasn't got their check?" How we doing here? Would you like me to get your check for you? Oh, you haven't gotten yet.
I'm not saying Kris is not good, but some people are just not cut out to be in the service industry.
I have a timber burger.
I forgot to ask her how she wanted her-- there you go.
Go do it.
How did you want your timber burger done? Well done.
Well done? Okay, so here's a timber burger.
Do they want cheese? She just said a timber burger.
You didn't want cheese on your burger, right? Yeah.
We're gonna do swiss, Kris.
Okay.
Here you go again with what we have to add again.
Waitressing is the one job that I thought I would be able to do.
Usually you do all this without me.
Uh-huh.
I guess I just forgot how hard it really is.
So not knowing how many people are gonna come in and how much you're gonna get in tips, I mean, how--? I don't know.
You don't know.
I never really look on how much tip I make.
I just pray.
It is what it is? Yeah.
Yeah, 'cause I don't like it to ruin my day.
I work doubles.
And I'm, like, pray that I walk out with something in my hand.
Right.
You know what, my attitude now is life's too short.
Just move on, move on.
Well, you're so positive with everybody.
I'm trying to take your lead because you're always so friendly with people and take time for the kids.
Yeah, you know what, that's what I need to do.
You know, I lost my daughter about 11 years ago.
And my philosophy is live every single day like it's your last.
She was nine years old.
She was nine years old.
When she passed away.
Oh.
It was in a car accident.
Oh, my gosh.
You know, it just-- it happened.
I didn't know why it did.
But, you know, there's a reason why some things like that happen.
Yeah.
And good things come out of it.
Listening to Deanna talk about family, it resonated with me and it just-- it broke my heart.
I go with life saying, "you know what, "I've been through the worst, nothing's ever gonna bring me down.
" It's true.
I'm strong.
I wouldn't have my little baby right now.
I wouldn't be married right now.
I probably wouldn't be here right now.
Yeah.
You know? Deanna definitely had a positive outlook on it.
She's my angel.
And with my baby that was born, I thought, you know, she--she was in him.
My kids are my world.
And it was just hard hearing her story.
It was really hard to hear that.
I couldn't imagine that.
It's when you hear stories like that that you realize you have to be very grateful and thankful for everything you have every day.
I want to call Sammie.
I need to talk to my daughter.
I met, um, a server at our restaurant named Deanna.
And she, um, she lost her daughter when she was nine.
It definitely made me miss you and miss Max.
So I just wanted to give you guys a call.
It's hard.
I mean, it definitely-- when you're in this situation, you miss your kids.
And I need to make sure that, you know, I tell my kids every day that I love them.
Okay, I love you.
Love you too.
Okay.
Bye.
Bye.
Coming up, Kim summons her employees to company headquarters.
I'm just really nervous and scared.
Feel like I'm going to have a panic attack.
How will they react when she reveals her true identity? I'm Kim Schaefer, CEO of Great Wolf Resorts.
My week undercover has finally come to an end.
I've summoned all my coworkers together so we can review my undercover experience.
Hi.
Was it fun? It was fun.
It was absolutely exhausting.
I mean, boy do our employees work hard.
I've opened a lot of lodges.
I've met a lot of employees.
But it's just completely different when you are there and you are responsible for that guest in front of you.
You know, there's definitely so much good.
Um, I spent time in Cub Club and I have to say our cooking cubs program is quite a hit.
That was in Grapevine.
That's one of the pilot programs.
So that's good.
But there's also areas of improvement.
Something like at the front desk, the check-in process was long.
Some of them were 10, Wow.
There's just a series of steps that you have to go through.
You know, skye, I think that that's something that you've been focusing on.
Any thoughts from you on front desk? We need to make that a priority so that we don't have to deal with the long lines.
Sure, there's things we need to look at, reconsider, take a step back, and validate that everything we do is truly important to the process.
Sounds good.
Um, I did spend time with an aquatic supervisor down in Grapevine.
That environment is great for our guests, but it's brutal for the employees.
I mean, it's 84 degrees.
So the guests are happy.
But it's hard for some of these folks.
I mean, they're not taking a lot of breaks because they're there when it's busy.
You know, safety, we've got it.
There's definitely some stuff we can do.
Okay.
I'd like to find ways to give back to the employees.
And I think that if we can make that a movement, especially as we start talking about 2011, I'd be really excited to see what we could come up with.
All the employees have been called to headquarters to supposedly review my performance.
They have no idea what they're really here for.
I'm kind of scared of what to say about Kris 'cause I don't want to hurt her feelings.
I'm just really nervous and scared.
I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack.
Hello.
Hi.
Hi.
Hi.
What's going on? I'm Kim Schaefer.
CEO of Great Wolf Resorts.
Oh, my God.
Oh, wow.
You're the CEO? Oh, my God.
So you do realize that you had the CEO of the company cleaning up an A.
F.
R.
? Oh.
I even made you scrape it off the bottom.
You made me do a job that you would do.
That's true.
That's true.
That's true.
Kelly, I found you to be just an amazing young man.
That level of responsibility that you take on, I think, resonates very, very well with our young lifeguards.
I'd like to form a brand-new aquatics team.
And I want you to be the chairman of that group.
I want to make sure that you get a raise.
And I want you guys to talk about how do we make things better for our employees? I'd also like to talk to you about something personal.
I know that you have a dream to become a pilot.
I'd like to pay for you to go to flight school to get your private pilot's license.
Are you serious? I am.
Kim.
I know your dreams long-term may not be with Great Wolf.
But, you know what, I'll take you for the amount of time that we can have you, and your influence on the lifeguards and our guests is something that I really treasure.
Thank you so much.
Being able to fly, I mean, it means everything to me.
For her to take care of that is just--I'm just so grateful.
Jackie, you're very good at your job.
Well, I like it.
I can tell.
I can tell.
You've done a lot for your family as well.
You know? I'm trying.
Yeah.
And I could see that.
I'd like to do something for you.
Your knees.
Oh.
Okay? I saw as the hours went by, it was harder and harder for you to be standing.
I just try not to talk about it much because I don't want to be an inconvenience to anybody.
Well, you're not an inconvenience.
So when you're ready to have your knee surgery, I want to pay for you to take the time off that you need to recover properly.
I never, never, never would've expected anything like this.
There's another thing that I wanted to talk to you about.
Okay.
I'd like to promote you to front desk supervisor.
I'd like to give you a 7:00 to 3:00 P.
M.
shift.
A permanent shift.
I'm a mom too.
Okay? And it's important for you to be able to do the things that you need to do with them.
And it also means an increase in pay as well, okay? I've been trying.
It's just hard, you know, trying to just have, you know, my kids are in sports.
I never got to go to a game.
That's right.
I don't get to be involved in anything.
I just have to work.
Now you can go home at 3:00 P.
M.
You can go to their soccer games and their baseball games.
I can be a mom again.
That's right.
That's right.
I feel really, really good inside right now.
It's probably the first time in 15 years besides being a parent.
I'm proud all the time.
But I've never been able to be proud of myself.
Bree, I really appreciate what you're doing down in Cub Club.
It did inspire me a little bit.
We've talked a lot about doing more educational things.
And I'd love for you to be a resort ambassador for Cub Club.
This promotion would mean an increase in pay as well.
That would be amazing.
Your on-the-job experience really is going to help us make these programs for these young kids just so unique.
I know that you have a daughter who's going off to college.
And I know that you guys are going through a rough time right now.
So while you guys are figuring out what the next step is, I'd like to pay for your daughter's college.
OhMyGoodness.
Thank you so much.
You'll let me do that? Oh, my goodness.
This experience kind of makes you want to howl.
I just have to howl.
Deanna, I was so impressed with you and what you do.
You know, your passion, your enthusiasm for the job, it--it's really infectious.
Thank you.
I'd like to create a position for you that is a food and beverage training supervisor.
So it would allow you to stay on the floor and interact with the guests, but it's really about making sure that all of our employees take the care that you do.
So this promotion would mean a higher wage.
Okay.
That would work.
Um As a working mom, I know how difficult it is to be away from your family.
You have challenges I can't imagine.
You talked about your angel.
You use her as an inspiration for how you live your life every day.
And I was so moved by that.
And you reminded me of how precious that life is.
So I thank you for that.
Oh, you're welcome.
But it also made me take a look at you.
You're a wonderful server.
You're great with our guests.
Our brand promise is to make time for your family.
So I really want to make time for your family.
Okay.
What I'd like to do is instead of you working in your second shift, I'd like you to stay home.
So for the next six months, I'm gonna actually pay you to stay home, okay? Oh, my God.
You guys have had a lot of challenges.
You've got a new marriage.
And you've got a beautiful baby at home.
You should see him grow up.
I'm so happy somebody recognized that I have worked so hard to support my family.
I'm so happy that I work for Great Wolf Lodge.
Now it's time for me to address the entire company and tell them about my undercover experience.
It gives me great pleasure today to introduce to you the head of our family, our mama wolf, our Chief Executive Officer, Ms.
Kim Schaefer.
Thanks, everyone and welcome.
Good afternoon.
I know that all of you think that you're here for an employee appreciation program, but I do have something else I want to share with you.
The last week, I have been undercover at the Great Wolf Lodges around the country.
I know some people are scared right now.
I worked side-by-side with employees.
What I found was some amazing people.
People who are dedicated.
They are passionate about their job.
I worked hard, right? Yeah.
You want to know how I did? Let's take a look.
We got a A.
F.
R.
That is poo.
Oh, it disintegrated in my hand.
How are we doing here? Would you like me to get your check for you? All you do Oh! I thought it was going to be about policies and procedures.
And I got something so much more.
Our brand promise is we make time for your family.
I think we need to make the brand promise of making time for your family for all of our employees as well.
Thanks, everyone.
I really do hope I stop, take a breath, and enjoy the moments when they're right in front of me.
I am so fortune to have my family and, you know, what time I do have with them has got to be more precious.
Public distrust of wealthy CEOs remains high.
But more and more bosses are looking for radical ways to reconnect with their workforce in order to find out what's really going on in their companies.
Each week, we follow the boss of a major corporation as they go undercover in their own company.
This week, Undercover Boss' first female CEO, the boss of Great Wolf Lodge, North America's largest chain of indoor water park resorts, poses as a stay-at-home mom returning to the work force.
Kris.
Kris Miller.
Nice meeting you.
Nice meeting you.
The boss will trade in her luxury lifestyle for a lifeguard's uniform and whistle.
Double whistle right over here.
We got a A.
F.
R.
I'm kind of panicking.
By working on the front line, she'll find out what's really going on inside her own company.
It's gonna be just a little bit longer.
Is that gonna be okay? It's kind of my only option, isn't it? And she'll discover the unsung heroes that make her company run.
I've been through the worst.
Nothing's ever gonna bring me down.
It was hard hearing her story.
I couldn't imagine that.
How will her coworkers react when they find out she's really the boss and how will it change their lives? I thought it was going to be about policies and procedures.
And I got something so much more.
Find out next on Undercover Boss.
With 127 water slides in 12 locations, Great Wolf Lodge is North America's largest indoor water park resort company.
And at the head of this $330 million business is one woman.
I'm Kim Schaefer.
I'm CEO of Great Wolf Resorts.
Hello, this is Kim.
Great Wolf Resorts has grown quickly.
We have a average opening of about two a year.
A large indoor water park is really the keystone to who we are.
It's the reason that people are coming to the resort.
But what endears them to Great Wolf is all the other family amenities and activities.
And that's really the thing that brings people back time after time.
My mom had me about two weeks after she turned 19.
I think it was hard for my parents to make ends meet.
We didn't have the family vacations.
The going out to dinner.
I never had any of those things growing up.
I started working from the very moment that I could.
After college, I joined Great Wolf Resorts.
I've been the Chief Brand Officer.
Chief Operating Officer.
And then in January of 2009, I was promoted to CEO of the company.
In this economy, people are working harder than they ever have.
They don't have as much discretionary income so we know they want even more for their money.
Being a female CEO certainly adds some additional pressure.
When I do publications, people will definitely make comment that they don't interview a lot of female CEOs.
That there's just not a lot of them out there.
But I don't really ever let anything being female stand in my way of-- of what it takes to be a CEO.
All right, thanks.
Bye.
What are you gonna tell me? Don't burn them.
Dave, he's a stay-at-home dad and he loves it.
Our kids have just, you know, turned out wonderful because of him.
Kim can't not work.
She has to be doing something.
What are you working on today? Just some spreadsheets.
If it were up to me, I'd probably work all the time.
When I had Max, I had Max on a Friday and I was back to work with him on Monday.
I travel a lot.
I probably travel about 75% of the time.
Nice.
Nothing but net.
You know, there are always reality checks with--with the kids.
When they tell you that they're sick of you being gone, it's--it's hard.
Sammi, you excited for dance today? Yeah.
Yeah? But I've always felt that I need to work.
That I need to have my career in order to be a better mom.
It's hard to describe why it's so important to me, but I feel like I have to have both.
Bye.
Bye, mom.
Bye.
I'm very driven and I will do anything for this company.
I am pretty serious.
I want to get the job done.
I want to go undercover because as the C.
O.
O.
, I was definitely more involved in the day-to-day operations.
But as the CEO, I haven't been out in the field nearly as much.
And we're in the service business.
It is really about those frontline pack members and how they do their job every day that is gonna determine if we're successful or not.
While I'm undercover, I'll be posing as Kris Miller, a stay-at-home mom.
My coworkers will be told that I'm taking part in a reality show about mothers re-entering the work force.
And they will have to evaluate my performance at the end of my journey.
My hair's short.
So it's the first morning.
It is definitely gonna take some getting used to.
I am definitely a little anxious.
I've got the butterflies.
But I'm so excited to go undercover.
From a personal standpoint, to reconnect with the people who make things happen in our business.
Here at the Grapevine, Texas Resort, more than half of our guests are under the age of ten.
Cub Club is designed for those young guests.
There was a lodge that had a wolf.
Pleasing these young guests is so critical to our success.
So we're always trying new programs and activities.
At this Cub Club, we're testing out a new cooking cubs program and I want to see if the kids are liking it.
Hi.
How are you? Are you Bree? I am.
I'm Bree.
Nice to meet you.
Hi, Bree.
I'm Kris.
Hi, Kris.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
Well, we've got a full class today.
So I'm gonna get you dressed in your uniform.
Okay.
Sounds good.
All right, I'll see you in a minute.
Our new friend that just came in, we're gonna need to teach her how to make pizza.
Do y'all think you can help me? Oh, that's awesome.
Okay.
Hi.
How are you, Kris? We're ready to start cooking.
Is she new? She is.
She's brand-new.
The very first thing we need to do is have a seat.
Kris, you're a mom.
Yes.
Two children.
They're grown.
But two children.
Are you ready? As ready as I'm gonna ever be.
Okay, here's some dough for you.
Here's your plates.
Can you tell? All right.
We're gonna need to go faster than that, Kris.
Okay.
We're gonna take our dough and we're gonna spread it out like this.
Oh, actually, we don't have to do that.
We're just going to pull it aside.
Okay, here we go with this cheese.
Is that good? Almost.
Okay, who else is ready? Not you? Those kids were kind of all over the place.
Everybody who's got their gloves off, come on over here.
I don't have any gloves on.
Okay, that's fine.
Then you're done.
Oh, yay.
No, no, no, over here.
As a CEO, it's much easier to corral executives.
We don't always agree.
But we at least can sit down and talk about it as adults.
You're giving me a hard time, aren't you? I have no idea how I'm going to get through the next half hour.
Oh, come here.
I got a paper towel.
Paper towel.
There you go.
Do you do much baking at home, Kris? It doesn't look like it, does it? Do you do take out? Kris doesn't look like the cooking type, which kind of surprises me for her to be a stay-at-home mom.
I'm guessing maybe the children are cooking at the house.
Now, Kris, this is our cage for thor.
And all you do Oh.
I just don't like reptiles.
I don't like anything that has to do with reptiles.
Grab a cricket, and just put it on the table, and Thor will do his trick.
Oh! Scoot back.
Scoot back.
Watch.
Hold on.
Well, I have to say that was the part of Cub Club that I really don't want to do again.
You know, I probably am not the one who should be in Cub Club.
It takes a certain personality.
Bree has that passion, that magic.
She was great with the kids.
What's your favorite thing? Swimming.
Swimming? Did you guys like the cooking class? I ate all of mine.
You did? Was it good? Oh, well, thank you.
The kids love the cooking program.
They had a great time doing it.
Was that fun or did you like playing with thor better? Okay, well, that's good to know.
We've talked for years about building a little bit more education into our programs.
That is exactly what Cub Club was designed for.
Bye, everybody.
Bye.
Well, how do you think you did? I think I did okay.
I guess, more importantly, how did you think I did? Well, you did all right for being your first time.
It is a high energy job.
That is for sure.
The main thing is is that you've got to have fun.
And that work ethic, girlfriend, has got to be way high.
Yeah.
It's a lot of fun.
But, you know the way that you're laughing right there, that's what you want to get from the--the reaction from the guests.
Okay.
How long have you been doing this? I started working in October and then a month later my husband, um, his company he'd been working for for 23 years, he got laid off.
This place has been a blessing for me and my family because there have been times that it's been that extra paycheck that has really helped us to survive.
And my daughter's headed off to college next month.
And really I just don't know how we're going to pay for her tuition.
But nobody said this life is going to be easy.
You just have to work really hard.
And we've all just locked arms and just have faith that something's gonna come out of this.
You want to give your kids everything.
And you can tell that Bree loves her kids and that she wants what's best for them.
And it--it--it was definitely hard for her to talk about the fact that "our her daughter's going to college and I have no idea how we're going to pay for it.
" What's your daughter going to school for? She's wanting to be a Veterinarian.
She's just really passionate about animals.
Wow.
Coming up, Kim struggles to keep the customers satisfied.
I thought I had two rooms.
Jackie? And later We got a double whistle right over here.
How will she cope when emergency strikes? We got a A.
F.
R.
Kim Schaefer, the CEO of Great Wolf Lodge is a boss undercover in her own company.
Her journey continues in Grand Mound, Washington.
I'm here at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound, Washington.
When you arrive at a Great Wolf Lodge, the front desk is not only the place where you check in, it's the first impression that you get of the lodge.
So it's really important that the staff is friendly, they're efficient, and knowledgeable.
There you go.
Have a good time.
Thank you.
Hi.
Can I help you? Hi.
I'm here to see Jackie.
That's me.
My name's Jackie.
Hi, Jackie.
I'm Kris.
It's a pleasure to meet you, Kris.
Nice to meet you.
Let me get your uniform if you want to follow me here.
Okay.
All right.
Thank you.
We can have up to 1,000 guests check in during an afternoon.
We've made a lot of updates to our check-in process and I want to see if they're working.
How you doing? Hi.
Good.
If you want to just familiarize.
Listen a little bit and then we'll get you involved in it too, okay? Sounds great.
So these are actually room keys.
Okay.
It's a room key, a water park pass, and then you can use it for also charging.
That's kind of neat.
We would like to charge it to this card.
Swipe it out.
Okay.
It's gonna be just a little bit longer.
Now did you want to do charging to the room? Instead of carrying your purse down the slide, you just--it'll be on your room key here.
Okay.
These are going to be breakfast vouchers.
We give those out.
Okay.
This is all the hours of activities for kids to do while they're here.
The water park's open from 9:00 to 9:00.
The restaurants and their hours, they're all within the facility.
When am I gonna get my thing? Just a minute.
We have no pets or smoking within the facility.
Okay.
I got it.
If you want, I can go over all the map again with you guys.
Uh, that's fine.
We'll figure it out.
Appreciate.
You guys have a great time.
Have fun.
Wow, that's a long process.
It's a lot of talk, talk, talk.
And by the time you get done, you'd like a big glass of water.
It sounds simple, but it's not.
If you want, come on over, we're gonna both do one.
Hi, how are you doing? So I just need to see a credit card that you charge the room with.
Okay.
Terrific.
It does match.
So now what do I do? So you just go "okay.
" And just check it in.
Shift F8.
Okay, now tap on "keys.
" Keys.
Mm-hmm.
Right on this one.
Oh, sorry, that one.
Perfect.
We're gonna go into "payment.
" You ready to go into the water park? I'm feeling frustrated.
Every check-in was taking so long.
Uh, yeah, I'm just getting the keys.
It's very difficult for me to stand there.
I didn't like seeing that line for the check-in.
The guests are standing here for a long time.
But there's absolutely nothing I can do.
There was just so many steps.
She has a lunch voucher if you want to go get-- okay.
And so much explanation.
Breakfast is right over there.
So while I'm grateful that we're trying to take care of all these guests, it's very frustrating.
Don't need to swipe the card 'cause I already have it on file.
Right.
I felt a little worried about Kris for a moment there.
There might be one more voucher over there.
Okay.
She's gonna look for another one.
It was looking like it was getting a little overwhelming because there were so many steps all at once.
I know.
It's time-consuming.
Okay.
What kind of hours do you have to work here? I work, uh, like 7:00 in the morning till 3:30 in the day.
Okay.
till 11:30 at night.
It just depends? Yeah.
We could easily do seven days straight.
That's a long time.
It's hard.
Yeah.
It's hard.
It's real hard.
Hi.
Welcome to Great Wolf Lodge.
My original request was to be on the highest floor possible.
And from what I understand, third floor isn't exactly very high.
Let me check.
The highest floor we have available with that room style is the third floor.
Three gonna be okay? It's kind of my only option isn't it? I would like to give you another option, but I don't have one.
Sorry about that.
This job is so demanding because every guest has had a unique situation.
We want to know if we could do the breakfast on Sunday morning.
I thought I had two rooms.
Jackie? It's trying to deal with each situation and still give great, friendly customer service.
I can change the date for you.
All right, good.
That's for your other room.
Thank you.
Have a good time at the Great Wolf Lodge.
Thank you very much.
Have fun.
I really wanted to find out how that first impression with the lodge was.
And everybody who was up at the front desk did a great job.
But there has got to be an easier way.
to check in.
I've got to make sure that this is somebody's priority.
So we can go on break now if you want.
Okay.
Sounds good.
Planning on getting another surgery if possible.
So what ended up, um, causing you to have to have knee surgery to begin with? I got hurt in a fall.
But it didn't heal right.
I'm really sorry to hear that.
I got used to standing on it though.
I have to.
Single mom.
Wow.
Yeah.
I've been married for 20 years and I just moved out on my own with my kids.
So you had to make a tough-- it sounds like you made a tough decision.
Yeah.
Yeah.
From living a life not worrying about anything and then now.
How are the kids doing with--with dad not around? You know, they have the good days and the bad days.
Days where they wish I could stay home and be a parent at all times.
But I always tell them "I'm your only income so I got to go to work.
" Do you get to arrange your schedule so you can go see them?" No.
No.
I have no regularity.
That's, uh, that's not easy.
Jackie has made a lot of sacrifices for her family.
And that is something that I know a lot of people have to struggle with.
But she just has no choice in the matter.
And you can tell that it was something that was definitely very hard for her.
Oh, yes.
I'm ready.
But she was very proud of the work that she was doing.
And I admired that about her.
Hi, welcome to Great Wolf Lodge.
Are you guys checking in? Well, I'm tired physically and mentally.
That was the longest day ever.
Jackie reminded me a lot of my parents.
Um, you know, they both worked a lot.
Um, they had to.
They had--they had three kids at home.
It--it definitely, um, you know, made me realize some things.
I struggle with not having as much time with my kids.
I definitely know that I've missed out on some things.
And I haven't been there for everything that they needed me to be there for.
And it--it's tough.
Great Wolf is famous for its indoor water parks.
Here at our largest resort in Grapevine, Texas, almost 3,000 people can be in the water park at any given time.
Last year, we added 200 rooms to this resort.
I want to see how that's impacted the water park.
Hi, I'm Kris.
I'm Kelly.
Oh, hi, Kelly.
It's nice to meet you.
We're gonna ask that you change before we start the shift.
Okay.
It's hot in here.
Wait till we go outside.
Really? Hi.
Wow.
These are short shorts.
Yeah.
Usually.
Okay.
As the aquatic supervisor, Kelly is in charge of overseeing all the other lifeguards.
All right, let's start on our first point and evaluate scanning.
Okay.
This is a lifeguard scanning.
All right, if you notice, she's scanning her whole pool.
Okay.
We don't want to see them fixating.
For example, staring at a piece of water for a long time.
If we see bad scanning, we want to address it immediately.
Tubes is one of our jobs.
They're starting to stack up a little bit.
So we're gonna go ahead and throw those in.
Okay.
We got a double whistle right over here.
We got a double whistle.
What? Oh.
Two short whistles means he needs our attention.
Okay.
I just got a call.
We got a A.
F.
R.
What's that? That is poo.
I just kind of gulped and I'm, like, "oh, no.
This is not going to be good.
" I just got a call.
We got a A.
F.
R.
In the outdoor pool.
As soon as Kelly said there was an A.
F.
R.
, I just kind of gulped and I'm, like, "oh, no.
This is not going to be good.
" What happened here? All right.
Here's what happened.
Um, we had A.
F.
R.
, accidental fecal release, in the pool.
What's that? Fecal is poo.
An A.
F.
R.
is when a child goes to the bathroom in the pool.
I want you to go ahead and get the piece out.
And then you're gonna use this towel and you're gonna scrub the smear off the bottom.
All right, go ahead.
Kelly was very calm, but I'm kind of panicking.
Oh, it disintegrated in my hand.
Try to get as much of it as possible.
I actually do not feel bad about sending Kris in to do this just because this is something that we get low pay to do quiet often.
That is poo.
This is disgusting.
You might have a little piece over here too.
Got to get it all.
Let's go ahead and get our shoes on.
It is so hot in here.
Uh, let's go ahead and straighten these lifejackets that are messed up right here too.
Now while we're straightening lifejackets, we do what? Oh, we should always be looking at the guards.
Right.
We should always be monitoring their scanning.
So are you from Grapevine? No, ma'am.
I'm from Rome, Texas.
Are you close to your family? Uh, I'm pretty close.
Um, I'm always kind of surrounded by people.
I didn't have much of a father growing up though.
You didn't? No.
Actually, I had a couple, but not close to any of them.
Yeah.
Oh, really? Not necessarily model citizens if you will.
So it wasn't your choice, obviously.
Oh, no, no, no.
It's hot in here.
It gets quite warm, yeah.
Wait till you go up this tower right here.
Oh.
My God, you're kidding me.
Oh, my God, I haven't run stairs in 20 years.
I'm not in that good of shape.
She's starting to sweat and look a little bit exhausted already.
Okay.
I'm tired.
And we haven't even hit the hard part yet.
Please don't make me go back up those stairs.
I can't even begin to keep up with Kelly.
It's warm in here.
It's very uncomfortable.
Now we're gonna focus on park services.
Okay.
Park services is making sure that everything's clean, clear, organized.
Thank you.
We get a break soon? We're on our feet for upwards of 12, 13, 14 hours.
This job is difficult.
Not only the environment that you're in but the pressure that you have to maintain safety.
Okay.
This right here is Timmy.
One of our operational mannequin drop toys.
What we're gonna do is we're drop him in the water when the lifeguards aren't paying attention.
Okay.
And then they have a certain amount of time to get to it.
And based on how fast they get to it, that's where we classify them.
A "meets," which means they get to it in under or in-between or a "rectify" or like a "fail" if you would.
And that's they don't see it within that time.
And we have to remediate them and go through a process.
Here's what's gonna happen Okay.
I'm gonna get in the water with Timmy.
And I'm gonna drop him to the bottom of the pool.
When I do that, I'm gonna pull my ear.
When I pull my ear, I want you to start it.
And then when he whistles and enters the water, I want you to stop it.
Okay.
I can do that.
All right.
Let's get this started.
Well, the responsibility I was taking was for the safety of all the guests that are coming to Great Wolf Lodge.
And that's a lot of pressure.
Okay.
I see him.
Oh, my God.
Okay.
Got it.
Three seconds.
Come on, guys.
Oh, thank God.
Um, just less than 14 seconds.
Yeah, so that's a "meets.
" Just barely a "meets," but still a "meets.
" He still did a pretty good job.
So how long were you a lifeguard before? Before I got promoted? Yeah.
Probably three months and then I was promoted to a supervisor.
So pretty quickly.
Yeah, pretty quickly.
So how long do you want to do this? Oh, this is probably just temporary thing.
Um, I actually have different career aspirations.
I plan to become a pilot so A pilot? A pilot.
So I've got, you know, a completely different route that I'm about to go.
You know, every job in our company is so important.
But this one involves people's lives.
Kelly was 100% about safety and everything else came second.
Thank you so much, Kelly.
I really appreciate it.
But I'm not sure that we're doing such a good job with our employees.
They have a lot of things on their plate.
And I want to make sure that we're providing them an environment where they can rehydrate and refresh so they can go back out and continue to take good care of our guests.
I'm here today at the Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio to work a shift as a waitress.
There are a lot of dining choices in the area.
And since 23% of our revenue comes from our restaurants, I want to make sure that our guests are staying here.
So we need to make sure that we're consistent and we're delivering the quality that they expect.
Hi.
Are you Deanna? I'm Deanna.
And your name is? Kris.
We just opened up.
So I got some clothes over here.
Okay.
I was a waitress in college.
I loved it.
I loved the hustle and bustle.
So I'm really excited to go undercover during this lunch service.
We've got our first table.
And I'm gonna show you how you take the orders.
Okay.
Hi there.
What would you like to order? Pizza.
Pizza? You're getting pizza.
What would you like, sir? Okay.
And that should be coming right up.
Thank you.
Now this is my key.
You slide it through here.
Okay.
You begin your check.
And he's getting the Reuben.
Okay.
I'm really fast.
So hopefully you can keep up.
I think we got another table if I am correct.
Okay.
We get the bev naps.
Okay.
And then you go up and you introduce yourself.
Okay.
Hi.
Good afternoon.
I'm Kris.
How are you doing today? Good.
Thank you.
Do you know what you'd like to order today? Okay, and with the side, would you like waffle fries? Chips or carrots? Chips or carrots? Waffle fries? Yeah.
Waffle fries? Okay.
Sorry.
And what can I get for you? Okay.
We'll be right back with those.
You know we forgot? What? The drinks.
Oh, okay.
Since I used to be a waitress, there's some things that are coming back to me and feel fairly natural, especially from the customer service side of things.
Sorry, it's my first day on the job.
But I tell you, I'm just not moving as fast as I thought I used to.
Oh, there's another table here.
There's another table here.
Okay.
Hi, how are you doing today? Can we get you something to drink to start? Do you know what you guys want to order? What can I get you to drink? Hi.
Okay, let's see, we've got you guys all taken care of already.
Okay.
Thanks.
It was over here.
Hi, how are you guys doing today? I consider myself to be a great multitasker.
But the pressure of having guests in front of you and servicing them immediately It is a big challenge.
Oh, my.
Okay.
Sometimes you don't have nobody to hold this door.
I can't even see if I'm getting out the door okay.
You go down with your knees.
Okay.
And we have to get a refill and take nachos out.
Nachos? Okay.
Sure.
Yes.
Cheese? Sure.
Okay.
I'm a little anxious.
What are you doing? Um, they would like cheese-- table--table five would like cheese on the kid's burger.
Oh, well, that's fine.
We can go and do that.
Hit food prep.
Okay.
And then put "cheese.
" Go.
Go.
Kris was really overwhelmed.
And I said, "you're in my shoes now.
"I have, like, five, six tables all at once.
"And I have to remember what table didn't get a refill? What table hasn't got their check?" How we doing here? Would you like me to get your check for you? Oh, you haven't gotten yet.
I'm not saying Kris is not good, but some people are just not cut out to be in the service industry.
I have a timber burger.
I forgot to ask her how she wanted her-- there you go.
Go do it.
How did you want your timber burger done? Well done.
Well done? Okay, so here's a timber burger.
Do they want cheese? She just said a timber burger.
You didn't want cheese on your burger, right? Yeah.
We're gonna do swiss, Kris.
Okay.
Here you go again with what we have to add again.
Waitressing is the one job that I thought I would be able to do.
Usually you do all this without me.
Uh-huh.
I guess I just forgot how hard it really is.
So not knowing how many people are gonna come in and how much you're gonna get in tips, I mean, how--? I don't know.
You don't know.
I never really look on how much tip I make.
I just pray.
It is what it is? Yeah.
Yeah, 'cause I don't like it to ruin my day.
I work doubles.
And I'm, like, pray that I walk out with something in my hand.
Right.
You know what, my attitude now is life's too short.
Just move on, move on.
Well, you're so positive with everybody.
I'm trying to take your lead because you're always so friendly with people and take time for the kids.
Yeah, you know what, that's what I need to do.
You know, I lost my daughter about 11 years ago.
And my philosophy is live every single day like it's your last.
She was nine years old.
She was nine years old.
When she passed away.
Oh.
It was in a car accident.
Oh, my gosh.
You know, it just-- it happened.
I didn't know why it did.
But, you know, there's a reason why some things like that happen.
Yeah.
And good things come out of it.
Listening to Deanna talk about family, it resonated with me and it just-- it broke my heart.
I go with life saying, "you know what, "I've been through the worst, nothing's ever gonna bring me down.
" It's true.
I'm strong.
I wouldn't have my little baby right now.
I wouldn't be married right now.
I probably wouldn't be here right now.
Yeah.
You know? Deanna definitely had a positive outlook on it.
She's my angel.
And with my baby that was born, I thought, you know, she--she was in him.
My kids are my world.
And it was just hard hearing her story.
It was really hard to hear that.
I couldn't imagine that.
It's when you hear stories like that that you realize you have to be very grateful and thankful for everything you have every day.
I want to call Sammie.
I need to talk to my daughter.
I met, um, a server at our restaurant named Deanna.
And she, um, she lost her daughter when she was nine.
It definitely made me miss you and miss Max.
So I just wanted to give you guys a call.
It's hard.
I mean, it definitely-- when you're in this situation, you miss your kids.
And I need to make sure that, you know, I tell my kids every day that I love them.
Okay, I love you.
Love you too.
Okay.
Bye.
Bye.
Coming up, Kim summons her employees to company headquarters.
I'm just really nervous and scared.
Feel like I'm going to have a panic attack.
How will they react when she reveals her true identity? I'm Kim Schaefer, CEO of Great Wolf Resorts.
My week undercover has finally come to an end.
I've summoned all my coworkers together so we can review my undercover experience.
Hi.
Was it fun? It was fun.
It was absolutely exhausting.
I mean, boy do our employees work hard.
I've opened a lot of lodges.
I've met a lot of employees.
But it's just completely different when you are there and you are responsible for that guest in front of you.
You know, there's definitely so much good.
Um, I spent time in Cub Club and I have to say our cooking cubs program is quite a hit.
That was in Grapevine.
That's one of the pilot programs.
So that's good.
But there's also areas of improvement.
Something like at the front desk, the check-in process was long.
Some of them were 10, Wow.
There's just a series of steps that you have to go through.
You know, skye, I think that that's something that you've been focusing on.
Any thoughts from you on front desk? We need to make that a priority so that we don't have to deal with the long lines.
Sure, there's things we need to look at, reconsider, take a step back, and validate that everything we do is truly important to the process.
Sounds good.
Um, I did spend time with an aquatic supervisor down in Grapevine.
That environment is great for our guests, but it's brutal for the employees.
I mean, it's 84 degrees.
So the guests are happy.
But it's hard for some of these folks.
I mean, they're not taking a lot of breaks because they're there when it's busy.
You know, safety, we've got it.
There's definitely some stuff we can do.
Okay.
I'd like to find ways to give back to the employees.
And I think that if we can make that a movement, especially as we start talking about 2011, I'd be really excited to see what we could come up with.
All the employees have been called to headquarters to supposedly review my performance.
They have no idea what they're really here for.
I'm kind of scared of what to say about Kris 'cause I don't want to hurt her feelings.
I'm just really nervous and scared.
I feel like I'm going to have a panic attack.
Hello.
Hi.
Hi.
Hi.
What's going on? I'm Kim Schaefer.
CEO of Great Wolf Resorts.
Oh, my God.
Oh, wow.
You're the CEO? Oh, my God.
So you do realize that you had the CEO of the company cleaning up an A.
F.
R.
? Oh.
I even made you scrape it off the bottom.
You made me do a job that you would do.
That's true.
That's true.
That's true.
Kelly, I found you to be just an amazing young man.
That level of responsibility that you take on, I think, resonates very, very well with our young lifeguards.
I'd like to form a brand-new aquatics team.
And I want you to be the chairman of that group.
I want to make sure that you get a raise.
And I want you guys to talk about how do we make things better for our employees? I'd also like to talk to you about something personal.
I know that you have a dream to become a pilot.
I'd like to pay for you to go to flight school to get your private pilot's license.
Are you serious? I am.
Kim.
I know your dreams long-term may not be with Great Wolf.
But, you know what, I'll take you for the amount of time that we can have you, and your influence on the lifeguards and our guests is something that I really treasure.
Thank you so much.
Being able to fly, I mean, it means everything to me.
For her to take care of that is just--I'm just so grateful.
Jackie, you're very good at your job.
Well, I like it.
I can tell.
I can tell.
You've done a lot for your family as well.
You know? I'm trying.
Yeah.
And I could see that.
I'd like to do something for you.
Your knees.
Oh.
Okay? I saw as the hours went by, it was harder and harder for you to be standing.
I just try not to talk about it much because I don't want to be an inconvenience to anybody.
Well, you're not an inconvenience.
So when you're ready to have your knee surgery, I want to pay for you to take the time off that you need to recover properly.
I never, never, never would've expected anything like this.
There's another thing that I wanted to talk to you about.
Okay.
I'd like to promote you to front desk supervisor.
I'd like to give you a 7:00 to 3:00 P.
M.
shift.
A permanent shift.
I'm a mom too.
Okay? And it's important for you to be able to do the things that you need to do with them.
And it also means an increase in pay as well, okay? I've been trying.
It's just hard, you know, trying to just have, you know, my kids are in sports.
I never got to go to a game.
That's right.
I don't get to be involved in anything.
I just have to work.
Now you can go home at 3:00 P.
M.
You can go to their soccer games and their baseball games.
I can be a mom again.
That's right.
That's right.
I feel really, really good inside right now.
It's probably the first time in 15 years besides being a parent.
I'm proud all the time.
But I've never been able to be proud of myself.
Bree, I really appreciate what you're doing down in Cub Club.
It did inspire me a little bit.
We've talked a lot about doing more educational things.
And I'd love for you to be a resort ambassador for Cub Club.
This promotion would mean an increase in pay as well.
That would be amazing.
Your on-the-job experience really is going to help us make these programs for these young kids just so unique.
I know that you have a daughter who's going off to college.
And I know that you guys are going through a rough time right now.
So while you guys are figuring out what the next step is, I'd like to pay for your daughter's college.
OhMyGoodness.
Thank you so much.
You'll let me do that? Oh, my goodness.
This experience kind of makes you want to howl.
I just have to howl.
Deanna, I was so impressed with you and what you do.
You know, your passion, your enthusiasm for the job, it--it's really infectious.
Thank you.
I'd like to create a position for you that is a food and beverage training supervisor.
So it would allow you to stay on the floor and interact with the guests, but it's really about making sure that all of our employees take the care that you do.
So this promotion would mean a higher wage.
Okay.
That would work.
Um As a working mom, I know how difficult it is to be away from your family.
You have challenges I can't imagine.
You talked about your angel.
You use her as an inspiration for how you live your life every day.
And I was so moved by that.
And you reminded me of how precious that life is.
So I thank you for that.
Oh, you're welcome.
But it also made me take a look at you.
You're a wonderful server.
You're great with our guests.
Our brand promise is to make time for your family.
So I really want to make time for your family.
Okay.
What I'd like to do is instead of you working in your second shift, I'd like you to stay home.
So for the next six months, I'm gonna actually pay you to stay home, okay? Oh, my God.
You guys have had a lot of challenges.
You've got a new marriage.
And you've got a beautiful baby at home.
You should see him grow up.
I'm so happy somebody recognized that I have worked so hard to support my family.
I'm so happy that I work for Great Wolf Lodge.
Now it's time for me to address the entire company and tell them about my undercover experience.
It gives me great pleasure today to introduce to you the head of our family, our mama wolf, our Chief Executive Officer, Ms.
Kim Schaefer.
Thanks, everyone and welcome.
Good afternoon.
I know that all of you think that you're here for an employee appreciation program, but I do have something else I want to share with you.
The last week, I have been undercover at the Great Wolf Lodges around the country.
I know some people are scared right now.
I worked side-by-side with employees.
What I found was some amazing people.
People who are dedicated.
They are passionate about their job.
I worked hard, right? Yeah.
You want to know how I did? Let's take a look.
We got a A.
F.
R.
That is poo.
Oh, it disintegrated in my hand.
How are we doing here? Would you like me to get your check for you? All you do Oh! I thought it was going to be about policies and procedures.
And I got something so much more.
Our brand promise is we make time for your family.
I think we need to make the brand promise of making time for your family for all of our employees as well.
Thanks, everyone.
I really do hope I stop, take a breath, and enjoy the moments when they're right in front of me.
I am so fortune to have my family and, you know, what time I do have with them has got to be more precious.