Undercover Boss (2010) s02e08 Episode Script
Lucky Strike Lanes
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, the President and CEO of Lucky Strike, America's leading chain of upscale bowling alleys and lounges, will pose as an out-of-work business owner looking for a fresh start.
I'm Aaron.
Aaron? Nice to meet you.
Announcer: The boss will trade in his status reports and conference calls for an oil can and a serving tray.
Whoa! Announcer: While working on the front line, he'll get an insider's look at his own company.
I don't even know how to do this.
It's a whole nother program.
Does it interface with the other one? They don't even talk.
Announcer: And he'll discover the unsung heroes that make his business run.
You make mistakes in life, and you learn from them, and you move on.
Right.
Announcer: How will his coworkers react when they find out he's really the boss? And how will it change their lives? We believed that this was our destiny.
Announcer: Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Announcer: With 18 locations across the United States and Canada, Lucky Strike Lanes is America's premiere chain of upscale bowling lounges.
[Cheering.]
And at the helm of this bowling enterprise is one man I'm Steven Foster, co-founder and CEO of Lucky Strike Entertainment.
The essence of Lucky Strike is this boutique bowling concept.
It's not like your father's or grandfather's bowling alley.
It's really more of a lounge, a nightclub-- a high-end environment which basically is just like a kid-like interactive experience where you can roll a ball, smash pins, and jump up and high-five your friends.
We opened our first Lucky Strike in Hollywood in 2003, and we had three-hour waiting lists before we realized, wow, this is something that's really delivering.
Celebrities showed up, and the Hollywood community supported us, and Studios would come in for their wrap parties.
Last year, three million people bowled at Lucky Strike.
So that's a lot of growth in the last seven years.
What a beautiful setting.
I never get tired of looking at this.
I'm married to my wife Gillian, we have two sons.
We got married as disco dance partners, really.
And we were in Central Park one day, and we saw people roller skating to disco music.
And we thought, "wow, imagine if you rented "an old warehouse, put a boom box in, rented roller skates-- that could be fun.
" And we opened, in 1979, the roller disco called Spinoff, which really got us involved with the flow of our life, which is to create entertainment environments for people to release stress and forget about their daily problems.
When it came time to tell my father that I wanted to open a roller disco, most people would think he would have reacted negatively.
Instead, they said, "what can we do to help?" And my parents had no money, and I had no money, but they'd said, "you can use our house as collateral.
" [Voice breaking.]
That's still the number one moment.
I really believe that so much of who I've become as a man came from my parents.
My dad passed away and we just lost our mother six weeks ago.
My mother was 94.
You know, in the last 12, we were able to bring my mother to almost every single opening of every single Lucky Strike.
She would come, and she would just be in the vibe.
She was ma for Lucky Strike.
She, you know, looked at me and said, "it's been a wonderful journey.
" She just asked me one question.
She said, "are you happy?" I said, "yes, ma.
" And she said, "well, that's all that matters.
" And then, soon after that, she passed.
Given the velocity at which I live, what do I do to kind of relax and de-stress myself is I meditate twice a day.
And I have not missed a meditation in 41 years.
In my capacity as CEO, I think I serve a different function than perhaps other CEOs in larger companies do.
This company grew from my heart, from my gut.
It's not just a corporation.
It's a child that my wife and I birthed that's now been adopted by a lot of people that have fallen in love.
And for that, it's a very personal company to us.
I'll walk you out.
Lucky Strike is at an inflection point.
We've come out of the recession, we've survived.
Now is the time, though, for Lucky Strike to grow.
And in order to grow, we need to know that we're delivering the experience that it was intended to give, which is a happiness-generating factory when it's working the way it should.
See you in a week.
Steven's very wise to accept this opportunity.
And I'll be Frank, I tried to talk him out of it.
I tried to present all the possibilities that might go wrong and make him feel uncomfortable.
And when I was satisfied that he had looked at everything carefully, I said, "okay, let's go.
" While undercover, I'll be posing as Aaron Johnson.
And I'll be telling my coworkers that they're participating in a program where two people compete for one job opening within the company.
Woke up a bit ago and I did my morning meditation.
My heart was, I think, racing at a higher level than it typically does in anticipation of this first day.
This is an amazing opportunity for me to be with those folks that work so hard on a day-to-day basis.
I've got this wig that I think changes my look.
How self-conscious I'm gonna be when wearing that wig, I don't know-- I'm a little nervous.
Maybe I put it on wrong.
So I think that that might be a little wiggy-- a little strange for me at first, but I think I'll get used to it.
I'm here at Lucky Strike in Hollywood.
This is our very first location, and it's the start of it all.
I love this place.
It's the home.
And I really need to make sure that this is consistent with the vibe that we first introduced almost ten years ago.
- Is Devin here? - Hey, what's going on, man? - Hey.
Aaron.
- Voila! Right there, that is for you.
You're gonna match me.
We're gonna be like the Blues Brothers.
I like that.
So we'll go right down this way.
I'm going undercover as a bartender.
The bartender is important because the bartender is interacting with a huge percentage of our guests.
of this location are from the bar.
I need to get the bartender's viewpoint on how that's going.
We're a little slow right now because it's kind of before the busy hour.
So we may have to do some promo work.
Okay.
I'd like to try to get some people up in there.
All right.
When Devin said we're gonna go do promotion, okay, so pass out cards.
That seemed pretty straightforward.
I can handle that.
Heh! You never thought you'd be running around as a giant pin! This is pretty exciting.
When we got out into the hallway and I saw this white leotard, I was shocked.
Mr.
Pin's been a big part of the Lucky Strike persona, but I never expected to be in a Mr.
Pin costume.
All right.
We dub you the knight of bowling pins.
And just like that the transformation is complete to the max.
So let's go ahead, and let's take a gander then.
How you guys doing? You guys ever seen a pin this big? - No.
- Yeah, he's intimidating.
The bowling ball actually ran away.
We're trying to get him to come back to the bowling alley.
It's a big, big mess.
You guys want some free games? All right? Why not, right? Good time.
Yay! Oh, my goodness.
A lot of people have a hard time letting go and being free, but Aaron really got into it.
He was, like, "ha! Whoo!" He kinda got a little out there.
[Chuckles.]
I'm feeling spectacular.
I want to be dressed in this pin costume all the time.
Maybe I need to wear it once a week for therapy or something.
That was awesome.
Made me feel like a kid again.
It's really fun.
A lot of the people seemed, like, quite eager.
I mean, they said, "yeah, we'll check it out.
" Still, to this day, I want to so bad-- I want them to get a bowling ball suit to go with Mr.
Pin.
Yeah, yeah.
Yes.
I mean, I just can't even imagine-- you're out in the mall, and you see a bowling pin run, and there's a big bowling ball behind it.
"Come here!" It would be hilarious.
- Let's head back down this way.
- Yeah.
So we're gonna go ahead and get behind the bar.
So let's go get you a crash course.
All right.
What's going on, guys? What can we--I'm great.
Thanks for asking.
Oh, my gosh.
Uh-oh, Detroit! Right on.
I like the glasses.
Way to be.
I'm moving behind the bar for a sec.
Devin's created a signature of these wheel shoes.
You know, I've seen little kids with those before.
And it's so fantastic to watch him glide on our hardwood surface.
Yeah, dude.
The shoes, right? Never indoors.
It's nice interacting with people, you know? It's fun, you know.
You get it.
And like I said, you talk to 'em a little bit, find out why they're there.
Right.
You become more than just somebody that's making a drink.
Yeah.
So what we're gonna do is I'm gonna teach you how to pour.
- Okay.
- A real quick trainer course.
We use a bubble system.
So a shot, we're gonna do a bubble five count for that.
Bubble, 2, 3, 4, 5.
- Bubble 2, 3, 4, 5.
- See, that should be perfect on a shot right there.
Right.
So go ahead, see how it goes.
- 2, 3, 4, 5.
- Not bad.
A little heavy, but hey, good.
That's pretty much it for the crash course.
So let's play the game.
All right.
So go ahead, do a vodka and cranberry.
Bubble 1, bubble 2, bubble 3, bubble 4.
When he pours, we gotta make sure.
Make sure.
Hand up top.
- We gotta do the bubble system.
- The bubble system.
Aaron, you've gotta do the bubble system because it makes it more accurate on the pours.
Got it.
Okay.
He was consistently heavy on the pour.
The bubble system, down That's a little heavy.
If you pour too heavy, the guest will be very pleased with you.
The boss, not so much.
See how he has something empty? You want to go up, ask him-- say, "hey, you guys need anything.
" - Can I help you? - Two Bud Lights on tap, please.
Two Bud Lights on tap.
Sure.
So that's gonna be down that way.
Don't start it right away.
There, then slide it in.
There you go.
Bubble 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Whoopsie.
All right.
Real quick, okay, you gotta make sure you push the button down pretty hard.
'Cause, yeah, it's not gonna show up if you don't-- so what do we have? One well vodka with tonic water.
So well vodka, tonic water.
Tip it.
Bubble 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
- There you go.
Better pour.
- That's not bad.
That's a better pour.
A lot better pour.
Now, vodka.
Which garnish? Lime.
There you go.
Boom.
He can be taught! - Man, I'll tell you what.
- So there you go.
So then we're gonna go ahead and take a break.
Yeah, like, that would be awesome.
Is your mind feeling overloaded? A little bit, but I was, uh-- I think I was making good progress.
Absolutely.
So often do we send that Mr.
Pin guy out? Um, I don't know.
Do you think that's something that we should do more-- Oh, sure.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Are you from here? I'm from Riverside, California.
Your family is still around, though? My dad's a professional Christian musician.
Really? Wow.
So did he travel a lot performing? Absolutely.
Yeah.
We traveled all over the place.
So he's constantly moving.
It's hard to get ahold of him at times because, I mean, he's all over the place.
So, I mean, being at my dad's shows and stuff, I used to sell product for him in the back, which is where I really feel like I became comfortable talking to people Yeah.
- Talking to strangers.
- Right.
So My mission was really to just mostly perceive whether the vibe was here, and it absolutely is.
And Devin is it.
Boom.
But Mr.
Pin's an awesome promotional tool, and it just doesn't seem like we're utilizing him like we should be.
And that's something I need to look into right away.
Announcer: Coming up I would hold it like that.
Announcer: The boss leaves his customers thirsting for more.
Whoa! Sorry.
Announcer: And later I don't even know how to do this.
Announcer: Steven discovers a problem at mission control.
It's a whole nother program.
Does it interface with the other one? They don't even talk.
Announcer: Steven Foster, the CEO of Lucky Strike Lanes, is a boss undercover in his own company.
This is gonna goBoom.
Announcer: His employees think he's part of a show where two people are in competition for a job within the business.
Not bad.
Not bad.
His journey continues in Manhattan.
Lucky Strike Manhattan is our most successful venue, and clearly it means we're doing something right.
But I need to know exactly what the details of that are.
Whatever the magic is here, we want to capture it in a bottle.
And I want to export that, not only to other boroughs and more in Manhattan, but to around the country.
Hi, I'm here to see Brianna.
Yeah.
- I'm Aaron.
- Hi, Aaron.
- And you're Brianna? - Nice to meet you.
Yes.
- Nice to meet you.
- Welcome to Lucky Strike.
- Thank you very much.
- I'll be training you today.
- Oh, great.
Wonderful.
- So I'll give you your uniform.
All right.
Hey.
- Hey, you ready? - Yes, I am.
All right.
Yeah.
So, we're setting up for a party tonight.
These are the lists for names for the bowling.
- Oh, so a big party.
- Yeah.
200 people.
- Wow.
- Have you served before? - I have never served before.
- Okay.
People are generally patient? As--you know, when they want their drinks, I mean-- - this job, you have to be fast.
- Gotta be on the move.
- You have to be on point.
So next thing we want to do is get candles for each of the tables.
Okay.
How many nights a week do you work? Usually, like, five or six.
- That's a lot.
- Yeah.
Do you live right in the city? I used to live on 43rd and 9th.
I moved back with my mom because my parents got divorced.
- Oh, really? - Yeah.
- That's tough.
- Yeah.
So You're gonna burn yourself.
That's all right.
I'll get it.
So now that these are all lit, you want to stack as many as you can.
I'll wait for you.
Yeah, please.
You'd think you would be handling more than me, you know? I know.
Hey, I'm just getting started here.
Aaron's not gonna get it the first day.
One of my candles went out.
As long as he keeps up with me, I think he should make it.
All right, so like, these guys, we can ask them if they want anything.
Introduce yourself-- "welcome to Lucky Strike" Gentlemen, welcome to Lucky Strike.
- Hi.
- I'm Aaron.
How you guys doing tonight? Good.
- My name's Brianna.
- Hi, Brianna.
- He's training today.
- Yeah.
So Can I get you guys anything to drink? Would you like water or anything? Yeah.
So diet coke gets a lemon.
Okay.
So you get that right here.
You got it? - Yep.
- I would hold it like that.
- Look at this--one-handed.
- There you go.
Cool bottle, right? - Whoa! - Sorry.
It's okay.
It's all right.
Aaron does not have any balance.
He can't hold a tray.
- Sorry again, guys.
I hope I didn't-- - I'm gonna.
I can't imagine him holding a big tray with, like, all draft beer.
I let him hold the tray, and he dropped it.
- Where did he drop it? - Right in front of the guest.
Like, right before he was gonna put it down.
All right, leave that for now.
I guess the ice cubes we'll just get with the broom.
I don't know if I can trust you with a big tray yet.
- I think I can do it.
- You do? I do.
I've got it in my heart.
- You can keep up? - Yeah.
All right, so try to take some drink orders.
It's time to do it on your own.
Okay.
You guys doing all right? Yes.
You all doing fine? Do you need anything at all or? - Wanna get the Amstel? - Thank you so much.
Coors Light? All right, I'll bring you some Coors.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Sierra.
I've lost my guy that wants a Coors Light.
Tall, thin dude.
- Can I get one bottled water? - Yeah.
I can't find him.
It's a busy night.
Any person working a room like this with a couple hundred people, all with different orders, and the music going and pins crashing-- it's hard to stay focused.
Mission accomplished.
So how come other people make mistakes, and you don't? Just because you're more conscientious? What do I need to do to be more like you? I have, like, a structure.
I've been here a year.
So you've had a lot of practice.
Yeah.
There will be times when you will feel overwhelmed, and you feel like you're gonna have a nervous breakdown.
You get through it.
- I'll carry.
- You sure? - Yeah.
- All right.
[Laughs.]
Good job.
So you want to take a break, maybe? Gonna eat something? - Let's try that.
Yeah.
- All right.
Yay! It's ready.
That's us.
Thank you.
- So this is our break room? - Yep.
I think having a little place to have a break would be nice.
You know? I don't mind this, but it's-- - it's not comfortable.
- It's not, really no.
- I want a table, where I can actually, like-- - put your food on and feel like-- - yeah, where I don't have to cross my legs, like-- - so, yeah, I just, you know, lost a close family member.
I kind of--that's when you said about the divorce thing-- you know, I kind of-- - was it your-- - my mom.
Yeah.
- Your mom.
And with your parents kind of split up, I mean, it's gotta be hard.
Yeah, it is.
I was always like a second mom.
I got certified in day care, so I always wanted to open one.
My mom, she was gonna buy the house.
I would rent out the--you know, day care on the bottom, and live on the top floor.
That would be great.
But then all this happened, so it's, like Kinda screwed it up.
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah.
I did really, really love Brianna's approach to her--the world that she creates in her section.
But at the same time, there was no break room.
We essentially sat on a little window ledge outside the kitchen.
We'll have to think creatively about how we can, you know, create a better environment for folks.
You have any advice for me? Speed is the key.
I've now been undercover for a few days, and so far, this experience has been, really, an inward journey for me.
You know, losing my mom It shook me.
I lost my anchor.
I have the brave face on, but really lost my anchor.
- First saved message-- Hi, dear, it's only your mom.
Over the last 20 to 30 years, I wasn't there for her a lot.
But my mother always cherished what I did, even though she missed me.
I'm here today in West Nyack, New York.
I'm going undercover as a mechanic.
I haven't been here in two years, so I'm super-excited.
Not only for the company, but for myself personally.
Angel? Yes.
- Hi.
I'm Aaron.
- Aaron? Aaron.
Yes.
Nice to meet you.
How you doing? We're gonna put you through some paces today.
That's good.
We're gonna get you changed into a Lucky Strike uniform.
Cool.
They guy that makes those machines hum gets a viewpoint on what we're all about that not many people have, and I certainly don't have.
They're in the mix, and I want to be in that mix.
I'm gonna show you how to work on a machine.
Just a little preventative maintenance.
You just want to make sure that, no matter what, when you're cleaning and servicing a machine, you want to be careful.
There are parts of the machine that are heavy and that will pinch your finger.
You'll get a metal splinter.
Not fun.
So at all times, just be aware of what you're doing, where you're sticking your hands - Right.
- Okay? So for now, here you go.
You'll turn the machine on here, through the mechanic switch.
Okay? Here.
And then you'll spray.
Aaron is a little bit, uh, you know, not the specific type of mechanic that you would seek.
So we're gonna climb up.
The age factor does play a very big factor.
Just be careful.
Yeah, there you go.
It's more along the lines of getting up and down the machines constantly.
[Groans.]
It could be 2 times a day.
It could be 200 times a day.
- Whoops.
- You want a certain person that can do that repetitively.
I'm gonna show you what's better to oil.
Okay? I like to oil all pivot points-- anything that moves or actuates.
These cams need oil.
Good.
Here as well.
Good.
Inside the bronze bushings here.
Just a quick dab.
You don't want excessive oil, okay? From here, we're gonna actuate the machine and let the oil seep in.
Right.
Okay, stay right there.
Don't move.
Give me power.
- This? - No.
The fuse--the fuse box.
- Oh, yeah.
- Up.
Okay.
You're clear.
Correct? Yes.
Watch your feet, and make sure you're not standing on any belts.
Now I'm gonna turn it on.
Now, you see, this pretty much oils itself.
You've just gotta add it.
Always 20 pins in each machine.
See? All right, just a little fyi We don't clean the machine-- - with a greasy towel.
With a greasy towel.
There you go.
- See these cables right here? - Yeah.
This is where you're gonna get your hands dirty.
- Right.
- Careful.
So I'm, like, right next to Angel.
His face is about two inches from my head, and I'm feeling the wig loosening up.
Careful.
Don't forget those metal splinters.
They will get you.
Angel's looking at the side of my head.
He's gotta be seeing this.
I'm totally freaked out.
My cover's about to be blown; I know it.
You all right? Announcer: Steven Foster, the CEO of Lucky Strike Lanes is a boss undercover in his own company.
And right now, he's worried his cover is blown.
I'm feeling the wig loosening up.
I'm totally freaked out.
My cover's about to be blown; I know it.
I gotta get outta here.
Can I take a bathroom break? All right.
Okay.
All right, I'm ready.
- You feel confident? - Yeah.
- Do a machine by yourself.
- Yes.
You remember where you left your grease gun? Uh I left it up front, I think, huh? Aaron doesn't look very comfortable around machinery.
Grab me two 7/16s.
He doesn't look very comfortable around a tool box.
No, it's marked on the tool.
All right.
In our language, Aaron is all thumbs.
I do wish Aaron luck, but unfortunately, that luck will not get him far as a mechanic.
You're interesting too.
I mean, where did you get all these character traits? - I would say my dad.
- Yeah? My dad worked one job for 40 years.
My parents part-owned a center when I was young.
So it was school, homework, bowling center.
And he did it every day, whether he was sick, under the weather Right.
You try to emulate what they pass on, as parents.
And my father is the best man I know.
You know what I mean? SoYou all right? Yeah.
Yeah, I have-- the same for my dad.
I choked up when Angel was talking about his dad.
The same, I think, kind of upbringing that Angel had is what I was blessed to have.
All right.
Let there be light.
Success.
- Let there be light.
- Okay.
The couple of bowling alleys I've been to, they're always busy on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday night.
- Yes.
- It's dead here tonight.
Having risked, you know, everything to create Lucky Strike, it's depressing.
Unfortunately, we don't carry the leagues here.
It's not a league atmosphere.
At least with a league, there are contracts signed where you're guaranteed that money every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, so on and so forth.
In coming here to West Nyack today, one of the decisions, one of the conclusions I could have reached was this unit should be closed.
I mean, it's been open now five years or so, and clearly we haven't figured it out, and we need to.
Do you have family, kids, anything? - I have a daughter.
- Yes.
So--and I also have a granddaughter.
No.
Come on! No way.
My daughter had a child young.
- Oh, you know what? - So--but I had her young.
- Yeah.
- You make mistakes in life, and you learn from them, and you move on.
The only stipulation I had-- you have to finish college.
- Yeah.
- She wants to be a Vet.
- That's awesome.
- Make sure you get good grades.
Make sure the baby's taken care of.
Make sure schoolwork is done I'm a happy man.
- That's--that's amazing.
- Yeah.
What's her name, your daughter? - Lalandra.
- And your granddaughter? - Janelle.
- Janelle.
Pretty.
So I am here in Houston today to go undercover at the control desk.
The control desk is a vital pole position.
It's where we decide how many lanes are booked for private parties, how many lanes are available for the walk-in guest.
It's a particular issue in Houston because we only have ten lanes available for the public.
How we're allocating those lanes is a key, key decision point.
How are we handling that? - Hi.
- How's it going, sir? - Is Jermaine here? - Yes.
Jermaine's right over there.
All right, thank you.
- Jermaine.
- Hey, how's it going? Hi, I'm Aaron.
- What's your name? - Aaron.
Aaron? Nice to meet you, Aaron.
Jermaine.
Jermaine.
The Pravada party is here.
The whole point of this is kind of lane optimization.
You want to utilize the lanes as best as possible.
Pretty much, it sounds simple, but you'll see, it gets a little chaotic.
I want you to log in, and I'm gonna be over your shoulder.
But I want to see how good you are with computers, and people as well.
Yeah.
I'm gonna do this one, and you're gonna do the next one.
- Hopefully.
- All righty.
Your name? House.
- House? - It's Andrew.
Andrew House.
That's him.
So we already have lane one reserved for him.
I'm gonna put these names in there.
Oh, sweet! - You'll all be straight.
- Awesome.
Thank you.
No problem.
But now it's your turn.
Yes.
Yean, just, uh I go back up here and, uh Uh, I don't even know how to do this.
I'm so lost.
Aaron is a unique character, I must say.
The computer was a little bit much for him.
So we have Malinda.
Spelled like that? "M," small "a," large "l"? Yes.
I don't know if-- how do we do that? - "Shift.
" He was, like, "how do you capitalize?" I'm, like, "shift.
" Now you gotta log back in 'cause you went back.
Sorry I'm taking so long.
I'm training this guy That's okay.
Thanks.
I appreciate it, though.
Thank you.
Whoops.
The technology gap is gonna leave him behind.
So I'm saying Aaron would be great standing in front of a Walmart, shaking hands when they come in the door.
Let's go make a reservation right now.
It's gonna give us all the reservations for the day.
We can only make reservations on lanes one through four, no more than seven days out.
So this is a whole different system, I see.
It's a whole nother program.
So how does it, like-- does it interface with the other one? They don't even talk.
They don't even talk.
When someone calls in for a private party, that system does not talk to the point-of-sale system.
So we have to do double the work.
If I could make it, I would have this one and that one-- all three of those ones linked to one, but-- Is that something that you could do? Not right now.
If we could figure out a way to make those two systems talk to each other, it would be streamlined.
Shoes is a really big part of our job.
- All right.
- Stack 'em, spray 'em, and I want you to put 'em up.
How's it going? I think her name's spelled wrong.
It's Maidie.
M-a-I-d-I-e.
M-a-I-d-I-e.
Did I put her in wrong? Yeah, make sure you spell names right.
It's kind of important to 'em.
Yeah.
For a good experience.
Maybe Jermaine will just let me spray shoes and put 'em in cubbies for the rest of the night.
How long have you been here? Um, I've actually only been here probably around six weeks.
- Six weeks? That's it? - Yeah.
I came in here, and I like the energy.
I liked the place.
Right.
And I just went straight to the manager and said, "you know, I belong here.
" I was gonna do graphic design.
I was a graphic designer for an investment company.
What do you think of the graphics here? I think I would try to come up with something on my own.
A design for Lucky Strike.
And if my boss jumps on it, great.
Yeah.
For sure.
What kind of graphics do you do? Just computer graphics.
Mostly marketing and advertising stuff.
Then I started going to school for computer programming.
Cash got short, so I started working again.
Is this a good substitute for where you were headed before, or is this kind of like a way station for you to get back to the college thing? I kind of feel like a knack for--like this is my place.
And I can see myself, if anything, going to school for business, doing more for the company.
Doing that, you know? People like Jermaine come to us and say that they've found their calling.
And he's using all his skills.
As CEO of Lucky Strike, that's everything.
Do you have any kids? Yeah.
I've got a four-year-old son.
He was born, actually, blind.
He was born with vision problems.
So it brought us kind of closer together.
I guess, maybe, with my son's disability, I can't afford to make mistakes.
You gotta deal with life on life's terms.
If you can't cope with life on life's terms, then, unfortunately, you're gonna have trouble.
Jermaine clearly is a man that has earned his wisdom.
He's a very deep person, and I feel very fortunate that he's chosen to be with Lucky Strike.
I don't mean to, like, get personal, but I saw this.
Yeah, this is our "strike out cancer.
" We're raising money.
We're selling these things for five bucks.
It's part for local charities, for breast cancer and all that stuff.
My mom just passed away of cancer, so Oh, really? Man, well, I'm sorry to hear about your loss.
My aunt just-- well, she had leukemia, but - Yeah, oh, it's-- yeah, the same.
Yeah, it is.
It was clear that he felt deeply about this bracelet and what it was.
And for him, it wasn't just a gesture.
It had meaning.
I want to buy a bracelet from you before I go.
Yeah, well, come on.
$5.
40.
I got it-- I got the rest.
All right, man, we'll buy this together.
And we'll remember - Yeah, that's true.
- My mom and your aunt.
- Exactly.
Exactly.
- Yeah.
Yeah, I like that.
That means a lot-- much more to me.
Thank you very much.
Man, I'll be wearing this proudly.
Yeah.
I appreciate it.
This week has been an unbelievable journey for me.
Oh, man! All these people that I have been with the last few days People that felt a sense of family They're talking to me from their heart.
They're confirming and validating the fact that Lucky Strike is all about happiness.
That's why they choose to be there.
I wanted our employees to feel that we are there with them and for them as a company.
And I know that, in doing that, our company is going to become huge.
And when it becomes huge, I'm gonna be looking up, and I'm gonna be looking up to heaven, and I'm gonna be saying, "ma, dad, we did it.
We did it.
" Announcer: Coming up Steven's employees think they're coming to company headquarters to cast their vote.
I'm going right now to cast my vote.
Announcer: But how will they react when he reveals the truth? I'm Steven Foster, CEO of Lucky Strike.
My undercover experience has come to an end, and I'm about to report back to the executive board to tell them what I've learned.
There are several things that need to be addressed immediately.
I need to talk to the team and get the ball rolling on these things right away.
Hey, all.
Hey, how are you? Well, you all know what I've been doing this last week.
I gotta tell you it was, for me, life-transforming.
It really was.
So you know, West Nyack-- we all know that that's one of our more troubled units.
I went undercover with Angel.
He's a guy that grew up in the bowling industry.
I mean, his family owned a bowling alley.
He has valid suggestions as to what we might do to build that really weak business.
And, you know, one of the go-to fixes was leagues.
What do you all think about getting a league program going up in Nyack? It could be a good thing for us, get us some exposure.
Something else to make it more fun and interesting.
All right, so I go undercover in Manhattan as a server.
We're doing a four, five-hour shift, and then we take our break.
Except the only place to take a break in Manhattan is to sit on the window ledge.
I don't know what it is, but we have to figure out a way to get a break room for our people.
- We could work one in there.
- Great.
Awesome.
- Yeah, we can.
- So next I fly to Houston.
The take-away from Houston was that our two computer systems do not speak to each other.
Because right now, they're taking the reservations in reserve, and then they've got to manually print it out.
Then they've got to type it all into the scoring system.
All the systems have the same operating system.
It sounds like it is something that is doable.
So let's push that out.
Let's work hard on that.
All: Yeah.
All right.
All the employees have been called to headquarters to supposedly vote for two guys competing for the same job.
They have no idea what they're really here for.
I'm going right now to cast my vote.
Like, this is a situation that I can't prepare for.
- Hey.
- Hey, how's it going? - Good, how are you? - Not too bad.
Do you know who I am? No, I-- uh-uh.
I've met you before, I think.
Yeah, Steven Foster, CEO of Lucky Strike.
Do you know that we were together the other night? Oh, my God.
You cut your hair.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Yeah.
This is the show Undercover Boss.
No way.
[Both laugh.]
And I got to see you do Mr.
Pin.
That is awesome.
That's wild.
Devin.
To work with you is special.
And you know, the Mr.
Pin thing for me, the way people were responding made me think, wow, you know what? We should create an entire new program around Mr.
Pin nationally, with you heading it up.
Wow, yeah.
I'm-- hey, I'm in.
I'd like you to help us design, you know, Mr.
Bowling Ball.
Yes! I think it should be-- right? And then just as a small thing, me to you, you know, I was very close to my dad.
You know, now that I don't have him-- - Mm-hmm.
- I really miss him.
And I'd like to just say, you know, take your dad on a trip, a vacation somewhere.
We'll cover all the costs.
I just like to have that to offer your dad.
Wow.
Thank you.
That-- yeah, that would be amazing.
- Yeah.
- Uh, wow.
- Yes.
The head of my entire company, uh, duped me.
[Laughs.]
I guess I mean, I'm thrilled.
I mean, the whole-- what just happened, that's awesome.
Brianna.
I was thrilled to just trail you around, just watch you kind of getting the whole Lucky Strike mission, you know? I was loving when you were talking about how much you loved the kids.
And children and-- Uh-huh.
I'd like you to create a Bowling with Bri kids' program.
- Really? - Yeah.
And-- and I want you to get extra compensation for that over and above your shifts.
- Oh, my God.
- Yeah.
You know, you explained to me how your dream is to open a day care facility.
Yeah.
I think if we get the Bowling with Bri thing going, I think it'll give you something on your resume.
And when the time comes and you're ready to open your day care center, we want to contribute $10,000 towards you setting that up.
- [Softly.]
Wow.
- Yeah.
- Is this real? - This is real.
Bowling with Bri? Bowling with Bri.
Yeah.
I am so happy.
I'm gonna cry.
I would have never thought when I started working there that this would happen.
I'm like-- Jermaine.
Your positivity is unbelievable.
I think you should be on our training team.
We're opening more units.
You're the kind of person that we need.
You know, we have two separate computer systems that aren't integrated.
And I know you've got a computer programming background.
Yeah.
So one of the things that, that I'd really like you to do for us is to work with our head systems guy to help work out the interface for us nationwide.
- I will make that happen.
- I know you will.
- I will.
- [Laughs.]
If I say I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it.
That I have no doubt about.
And you told me you had an idea for a Lucky Strike t-shirt design.
Yeah, uh, I got a few ideas.
Okay, so I think that you should work with our design department-- Okay.
- And design the Lucky Strike t-shirt.
And then I would like to make sure that a percentage of all sales goes into some fund for your son.
- Oh, my God.
- Yeah, yeah.
- [Laughs.]
- Yeah.
[Continues laughing.]
[Sniffling.]
You know what, Jermaine? You get moments like this in life that are turning points.
That's this.
That's this.
[Sniffles.]
Today is monumental.
I really probably don't even know what my future has in store.
But all I know is it's gotten brighter.
Angel.
It was an honor for me to spend time with you.
It--the pleasure was mine, thank you.
You're super talented, you grew up in bowling, we talked about leagues.
- Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Do you feel that if we kind of full-heartedly launched a league program, if you were behind it, we could make it work? [Exhales.]
I could be up for the challenge.
- Yeah? - Sure.
Yes.
We'll give you a percentage of the sales off the league program, because I think there's nothing but upside for us.
You're so skilled at what you do.
Thank you.
So I'm officially making you the head mechanic as of this moment.
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Yeah.
How's your dad gonna react? [Sniffles.]
He'll be proud.
Yeah.
You have a young daughter and she's got a kid, you're a granddad, I mean.
You know, it's gotta be a huge amount of pressure on you because you've gotta be supporting your daughter and your granddaughter-- - yeah, yeah, I do.
Well, one thing is, you know, in getting promoted, as of now, your pay's gonna go up.
- Okay.
- You know, accordingly.
So that's gonna help.
Okay.
But, you know, this is me to you, and-- and what I'd like to do is I'd like to, you know, contribute $10,000 to her college education.
- Really? - Yeah.
Yeah.
- [Sniffles.]
- Yeah.
Sometimes you do things and it's not seen, you know, and it just goes under the bridge.
So it's-- it's a good thing.
It really is.
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
- Yeah.
- I really do.
I'm about to tell everybody that I've been undercover at Lucky Strike for the last week.
I'm pumped to tell them how I've learned things that I didn't know before and that I should have known as CEO.
Please join me in welcoming our CEO and cofounder, Steven Foster.
[Cheers and applause.]
This is overwhelming.
Absolutely overwhelming.
Um, for the last week, I've been working undercover at Lucky Strike.
[Laughter, cheers, and applause.]
You know, at the age of 55, my wife and I risked everything to create the first Lucky Strike.
We believed that this was our destiny.
This is an amazing family.
I am so proud of these people and so thrilled at the experiences that I've been able to have through them.
What I'd like to do now is show you some clips from my week.
[Applause.]
Uh-oh, I don't even know how to do this.
The computer was a little bit much for him.
He was like, how do you capitalize? I'm like, shift.
[Laughter and applause.]
And just like that, the transformation is complete.
[Laughter and applause.]
- Cool bottle, right? - Yeah, that's a strange bottle.
- It's a bowling ball.
- Whoop.
- [Laughs.]
- Sorry.
It's okay.
[Cheers and applause.]
You know, this has changed me inside out.
I'm gonna grow up.
I'm gonna grow up with this company.
I'm going to be the man that my parents wanted me to be.
I'm going to walk the walk and I'm gonna-- [voice breaking.]
God bless you all.
[Cheers and applause.]
I really feel that my mother was infused in the room tonight.
My parents were all about helping people.
That was their whole life, was helping other people.
So Lucky Strike, from this point forward, is all about helping our people.
The whole business will take care of itself.
There's no doubt.
There's no doubt.
[Cheers and applause.]
I miss you, ma.
I miss you.
[Sniffles.]
I love you.
Say hi to dad for me.
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, the President and CEO of Lucky Strike, America's leading chain of upscale bowling alleys and lounges, will pose as an out-of-work business owner looking for a fresh start.
I'm Aaron.
Aaron? Nice to meet you.
Announcer: The boss will trade in his status reports and conference calls for an oil can and a serving tray.
Whoa! Announcer: While working on the front line, he'll get an insider's look at his own company.
I don't even know how to do this.
It's a whole nother program.
Does it interface with the other one? They don't even talk.
Announcer: And he'll discover the unsung heroes that make his business run.
You make mistakes in life, and you learn from them, and you move on.
Right.
Announcer: How will his coworkers react when they find out he's really the boss? And how will it change their lives? We believed that this was our destiny.
Announcer: Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Announcer: With 18 locations across the United States and Canada, Lucky Strike Lanes is America's premiere chain of upscale bowling lounges.
[Cheering.]
And at the helm of this bowling enterprise is one man I'm Steven Foster, co-founder and CEO of Lucky Strike Entertainment.
The essence of Lucky Strike is this boutique bowling concept.
It's not like your father's or grandfather's bowling alley.
It's really more of a lounge, a nightclub-- a high-end environment which basically is just like a kid-like interactive experience where you can roll a ball, smash pins, and jump up and high-five your friends.
We opened our first Lucky Strike in Hollywood in 2003, and we had three-hour waiting lists before we realized, wow, this is something that's really delivering.
Celebrities showed up, and the Hollywood community supported us, and Studios would come in for their wrap parties.
Last year, three million people bowled at Lucky Strike.
So that's a lot of growth in the last seven years.
What a beautiful setting.
I never get tired of looking at this.
I'm married to my wife Gillian, we have two sons.
We got married as disco dance partners, really.
And we were in Central Park one day, and we saw people roller skating to disco music.
And we thought, "wow, imagine if you rented "an old warehouse, put a boom box in, rented roller skates-- that could be fun.
" And we opened, in 1979, the roller disco called Spinoff, which really got us involved with the flow of our life, which is to create entertainment environments for people to release stress and forget about their daily problems.
When it came time to tell my father that I wanted to open a roller disco, most people would think he would have reacted negatively.
Instead, they said, "what can we do to help?" And my parents had no money, and I had no money, but they'd said, "you can use our house as collateral.
" [Voice breaking.]
That's still the number one moment.
I really believe that so much of who I've become as a man came from my parents.
My dad passed away and we just lost our mother six weeks ago.
My mother was 94.
You know, in the last 12, we were able to bring my mother to almost every single opening of every single Lucky Strike.
She would come, and she would just be in the vibe.
She was ma for Lucky Strike.
She, you know, looked at me and said, "it's been a wonderful journey.
" She just asked me one question.
She said, "are you happy?" I said, "yes, ma.
" And she said, "well, that's all that matters.
" And then, soon after that, she passed.
Given the velocity at which I live, what do I do to kind of relax and de-stress myself is I meditate twice a day.
And I have not missed a meditation in 41 years.
In my capacity as CEO, I think I serve a different function than perhaps other CEOs in larger companies do.
This company grew from my heart, from my gut.
It's not just a corporation.
It's a child that my wife and I birthed that's now been adopted by a lot of people that have fallen in love.
And for that, it's a very personal company to us.
I'll walk you out.
Lucky Strike is at an inflection point.
We've come out of the recession, we've survived.
Now is the time, though, for Lucky Strike to grow.
And in order to grow, we need to know that we're delivering the experience that it was intended to give, which is a happiness-generating factory when it's working the way it should.
See you in a week.
Steven's very wise to accept this opportunity.
And I'll be Frank, I tried to talk him out of it.
I tried to present all the possibilities that might go wrong and make him feel uncomfortable.
And when I was satisfied that he had looked at everything carefully, I said, "okay, let's go.
" While undercover, I'll be posing as Aaron Johnson.
And I'll be telling my coworkers that they're participating in a program where two people compete for one job opening within the company.
Woke up a bit ago and I did my morning meditation.
My heart was, I think, racing at a higher level than it typically does in anticipation of this first day.
This is an amazing opportunity for me to be with those folks that work so hard on a day-to-day basis.
I've got this wig that I think changes my look.
How self-conscious I'm gonna be when wearing that wig, I don't know-- I'm a little nervous.
Maybe I put it on wrong.
So I think that that might be a little wiggy-- a little strange for me at first, but I think I'll get used to it.
I'm here at Lucky Strike in Hollywood.
This is our very first location, and it's the start of it all.
I love this place.
It's the home.
And I really need to make sure that this is consistent with the vibe that we first introduced almost ten years ago.
- Is Devin here? - Hey, what's going on, man? - Hey.
Aaron.
- Voila! Right there, that is for you.
You're gonna match me.
We're gonna be like the Blues Brothers.
I like that.
So we'll go right down this way.
I'm going undercover as a bartender.
The bartender is important because the bartender is interacting with a huge percentage of our guests.
of this location are from the bar.
I need to get the bartender's viewpoint on how that's going.
We're a little slow right now because it's kind of before the busy hour.
So we may have to do some promo work.
Okay.
I'd like to try to get some people up in there.
All right.
When Devin said we're gonna go do promotion, okay, so pass out cards.
That seemed pretty straightforward.
I can handle that.
Heh! You never thought you'd be running around as a giant pin! This is pretty exciting.
When we got out into the hallway and I saw this white leotard, I was shocked.
Mr.
Pin's been a big part of the Lucky Strike persona, but I never expected to be in a Mr.
Pin costume.
All right.
We dub you the knight of bowling pins.
And just like that the transformation is complete to the max.
So let's go ahead, and let's take a gander then.
How you guys doing? You guys ever seen a pin this big? - No.
- Yeah, he's intimidating.
The bowling ball actually ran away.
We're trying to get him to come back to the bowling alley.
It's a big, big mess.
You guys want some free games? All right? Why not, right? Good time.
Yay! Oh, my goodness.
A lot of people have a hard time letting go and being free, but Aaron really got into it.
He was, like, "ha! Whoo!" He kinda got a little out there.
[Chuckles.]
I'm feeling spectacular.
I want to be dressed in this pin costume all the time.
Maybe I need to wear it once a week for therapy or something.
That was awesome.
Made me feel like a kid again.
It's really fun.
A lot of the people seemed, like, quite eager.
I mean, they said, "yeah, we'll check it out.
" Still, to this day, I want to so bad-- I want them to get a bowling ball suit to go with Mr.
Pin.
Yeah, yeah.
Yes.
I mean, I just can't even imagine-- you're out in the mall, and you see a bowling pin run, and there's a big bowling ball behind it.
"Come here!" It would be hilarious.
- Let's head back down this way.
- Yeah.
So we're gonna go ahead and get behind the bar.
So let's go get you a crash course.
All right.
What's going on, guys? What can we--I'm great.
Thanks for asking.
Oh, my gosh.
Uh-oh, Detroit! Right on.
I like the glasses.
Way to be.
I'm moving behind the bar for a sec.
Devin's created a signature of these wheel shoes.
You know, I've seen little kids with those before.
And it's so fantastic to watch him glide on our hardwood surface.
Yeah, dude.
The shoes, right? Never indoors.
It's nice interacting with people, you know? It's fun, you know.
You get it.
And like I said, you talk to 'em a little bit, find out why they're there.
Right.
You become more than just somebody that's making a drink.
Yeah.
So what we're gonna do is I'm gonna teach you how to pour.
- Okay.
- A real quick trainer course.
We use a bubble system.
So a shot, we're gonna do a bubble five count for that.
Bubble, 2, 3, 4, 5.
- Bubble 2, 3, 4, 5.
- See, that should be perfect on a shot right there.
Right.
So go ahead, see how it goes.
- 2, 3, 4, 5.
- Not bad.
A little heavy, but hey, good.
That's pretty much it for the crash course.
So let's play the game.
All right.
So go ahead, do a vodka and cranberry.
Bubble 1, bubble 2, bubble 3, bubble 4.
When he pours, we gotta make sure.
Make sure.
Hand up top.
- We gotta do the bubble system.
- The bubble system.
Aaron, you've gotta do the bubble system because it makes it more accurate on the pours.
Got it.
Okay.
He was consistently heavy on the pour.
The bubble system, down That's a little heavy.
If you pour too heavy, the guest will be very pleased with you.
The boss, not so much.
See how he has something empty? You want to go up, ask him-- say, "hey, you guys need anything.
" - Can I help you? - Two Bud Lights on tap, please.
Two Bud Lights on tap.
Sure.
So that's gonna be down that way.
Don't start it right away.
There, then slide it in.
There you go.
Bubble 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Whoopsie.
All right.
Real quick, okay, you gotta make sure you push the button down pretty hard.
'Cause, yeah, it's not gonna show up if you don't-- so what do we have? One well vodka with tonic water.
So well vodka, tonic water.
Tip it.
Bubble 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
- There you go.
Better pour.
- That's not bad.
That's a better pour.
A lot better pour.
Now, vodka.
Which garnish? Lime.
There you go.
Boom.
He can be taught! - Man, I'll tell you what.
- So there you go.
So then we're gonna go ahead and take a break.
Yeah, like, that would be awesome.
Is your mind feeling overloaded? A little bit, but I was, uh-- I think I was making good progress.
Absolutely.
So often do we send that Mr.
Pin guy out? Um, I don't know.
Do you think that's something that we should do more-- Oh, sure.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
Are you from here? I'm from Riverside, California.
Your family is still around, though? My dad's a professional Christian musician.
Really? Wow.
So did he travel a lot performing? Absolutely.
Yeah.
We traveled all over the place.
So he's constantly moving.
It's hard to get ahold of him at times because, I mean, he's all over the place.
So, I mean, being at my dad's shows and stuff, I used to sell product for him in the back, which is where I really feel like I became comfortable talking to people Yeah.
- Talking to strangers.
- Right.
So My mission was really to just mostly perceive whether the vibe was here, and it absolutely is.
And Devin is it.
Boom.
But Mr.
Pin's an awesome promotional tool, and it just doesn't seem like we're utilizing him like we should be.
And that's something I need to look into right away.
Announcer: Coming up I would hold it like that.
Announcer: The boss leaves his customers thirsting for more.
Whoa! Sorry.
Announcer: And later I don't even know how to do this.
Announcer: Steven discovers a problem at mission control.
It's a whole nother program.
Does it interface with the other one? They don't even talk.
Announcer: Steven Foster, the CEO of Lucky Strike Lanes, is a boss undercover in his own company.
This is gonna goBoom.
Announcer: His employees think he's part of a show where two people are in competition for a job within the business.
Not bad.
Not bad.
His journey continues in Manhattan.
Lucky Strike Manhattan is our most successful venue, and clearly it means we're doing something right.
But I need to know exactly what the details of that are.
Whatever the magic is here, we want to capture it in a bottle.
And I want to export that, not only to other boroughs and more in Manhattan, but to around the country.
Hi, I'm here to see Brianna.
Yeah.
- I'm Aaron.
- Hi, Aaron.
- And you're Brianna? - Nice to meet you.
Yes.
- Nice to meet you.
- Welcome to Lucky Strike.
- Thank you very much.
- I'll be training you today.
- Oh, great.
Wonderful.
- So I'll give you your uniform.
All right.
Hey.
- Hey, you ready? - Yes, I am.
All right.
Yeah.
So, we're setting up for a party tonight.
These are the lists for names for the bowling.
- Oh, so a big party.
- Yeah.
200 people.
- Wow.
- Have you served before? - I have never served before.
- Okay.
People are generally patient? As--you know, when they want their drinks, I mean-- - this job, you have to be fast.
- Gotta be on the move.
- You have to be on point.
So next thing we want to do is get candles for each of the tables.
Okay.
How many nights a week do you work? Usually, like, five or six.
- That's a lot.
- Yeah.
Do you live right in the city? I used to live on 43rd and 9th.
I moved back with my mom because my parents got divorced.
- Oh, really? - Yeah.
- That's tough.
- Yeah.
So You're gonna burn yourself.
That's all right.
I'll get it.
So now that these are all lit, you want to stack as many as you can.
I'll wait for you.
Yeah, please.
You'd think you would be handling more than me, you know? I know.
Hey, I'm just getting started here.
Aaron's not gonna get it the first day.
One of my candles went out.
As long as he keeps up with me, I think he should make it.
All right, so like, these guys, we can ask them if they want anything.
Introduce yourself-- "welcome to Lucky Strike" Gentlemen, welcome to Lucky Strike.
- Hi.
- I'm Aaron.
How you guys doing tonight? Good.
- My name's Brianna.
- Hi, Brianna.
- He's training today.
- Yeah.
So Can I get you guys anything to drink? Would you like water or anything? Yeah.
So diet coke gets a lemon.
Okay.
So you get that right here.
You got it? - Yep.
- I would hold it like that.
- Look at this--one-handed.
- There you go.
Cool bottle, right? - Whoa! - Sorry.
It's okay.
It's all right.
Aaron does not have any balance.
He can't hold a tray.
- Sorry again, guys.
I hope I didn't-- - I'm gonna.
I can't imagine him holding a big tray with, like, all draft beer.
I let him hold the tray, and he dropped it.
- Where did he drop it? - Right in front of the guest.
Like, right before he was gonna put it down.
All right, leave that for now.
I guess the ice cubes we'll just get with the broom.
I don't know if I can trust you with a big tray yet.
- I think I can do it.
- You do? I do.
I've got it in my heart.
- You can keep up? - Yeah.
All right, so try to take some drink orders.
It's time to do it on your own.
Okay.
You guys doing all right? Yes.
You all doing fine? Do you need anything at all or? - Wanna get the Amstel? - Thank you so much.
Coors Light? All right, I'll bring you some Coors.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Sierra.
I've lost my guy that wants a Coors Light.
Tall, thin dude.
- Can I get one bottled water? - Yeah.
I can't find him.
It's a busy night.
Any person working a room like this with a couple hundred people, all with different orders, and the music going and pins crashing-- it's hard to stay focused.
Mission accomplished.
So how come other people make mistakes, and you don't? Just because you're more conscientious? What do I need to do to be more like you? I have, like, a structure.
I've been here a year.
So you've had a lot of practice.
Yeah.
There will be times when you will feel overwhelmed, and you feel like you're gonna have a nervous breakdown.
You get through it.
- I'll carry.
- You sure? - Yeah.
- All right.
[Laughs.]
Good job.
So you want to take a break, maybe? Gonna eat something? - Let's try that.
Yeah.
- All right.
Yay! It's ready.
That's us.
Thank you.
- So this is our break room? - Yep.
I think having a little place to have a break would be nice.
You know? I don't mind this, but it's-- - it's not comfortable.
- It's not, really no.
- I want a table, where I can actually, like-- - put your food on and feel like-- - yeah, where I don't have to cross my legs, like-- - so, yeah, I just, you know, lost a close family member.
I kind of--that's when you said about the divorce thing-- you know, I kind of-- - was it your-- - my mom.
Yeah.
- Your mom.
And with your parents kind of split up, I mean, it's gotta be hard.
Yeah, it is.
I was always like a second mom.
I got certified in day care, so I always wanted to open one.
My mom, she was gonna buy the house.
I would rent out the--you know, day care on the bottom, and live on the top floor.
That would be great.
But then all this happened, so it's, like Kinda screwed it up.
- Mm-hmm.
- Yeah.
I did really, really love Brianna's approach to her--the world that she creates in her section.
But at the same time, there was no break room.
We essentially sat on a little window ledge outside the kitchen.
We'll have to think creatively about how we can, you know, create a better environment for folks.
You have any advice for me? Speed is the key.
I've now been undercover for a few days, and so far, this experience has been, really, an inward journey for me.
You know, losing my mom It shook me.
I lost my anchor.
I have the brave face on, but really lost my anchor.
- First saved message-- Hi, dear, it's only your mom.
Over the last 20 to 30 years, I wasn't there for her a lot.
But my mother always cherished what I did, even though she missed me.
I'm here today in West Nyack, New York.
I'm going undercover as a mechanic.
I haven't been here in two years, so I'm super-excited.
Not only for the company, but for myself personally.
Angel? Yes.
- Hi.
I'm Aaron.
- Aaron? Aaron.
Yes.
Nice to meet you.
How you doing? We're gonna put you through some paces today.
That's good.
We're gonna get you changed into a Lucky Strike uniform.
Cool.
They guy that makes those machines hum gets a viewpoint on what we're all about that not many people have, and I certainly don't have.
They're in the mix, and I want to be in that mix.
I'm gonna show you how to work on a machine.
Just a little preventative maintenance.
You just want to make sure that, no matter what, when you're cleaning and servicing a machine, you want to be careful.
There are parts of the machine that are heavy and that will pinch your finger.
You'll get a metal splinter.
Not fun.
So at all times, just be aware of what you're doing, where you're sticking your hands - Right.
- Okay? So for now, here you go.
You'll turn the machine on here, through the mechanic switch.
Okay? Here.
And then you'll spray.
Aaron is a little bit, uh, you know, not the specific type of mechanic that you would seek.
So we're gonna climb up.
The age factor does play a very big factor.
Just be careful.
Yeah, there you go.
It's more along the lines of getting up and down the machines constantly.
[Groans.]
It could be 2 times a day.
It could be 200 times a day.
- Whoops.
- You want a certain person that can do that repetitively.
I'm gonna show you what's better to oil.
Okay? I like to oil all pivot points-- anything that moves or actuates.
These cams need oil.
Good.
Here as well.
Good.
Inside the bronze bushings here.
Just a quick dab.
You don't want excessive oil, okay? From here, we're gonna actuate the machine and let the oil seep in.
Right.
Okay, stay right there.
Don't move.
Give me power.
- This? - No.
The fuse--the fuse box.
- Oh, yeah.
- Up.
Okay.
You're clear.
Correct? Yes.
Watch your feet, and make sure you're not standing on any belts.
Now I'm gonna turn it on.
Now, you see, this pretty much oils itself.
You've just gotta add it.
Always 20 pins in each machine.
See? All right, just a little fyi We don't clean the machine-- - with a greasy towel.
With a greasy towel.
There you go.
- See these cables right here? - Yeah.
This is where you're gonna get your hands dirty.
- Right.
- Careful.
So I'm, like, right next to Angel.
His face is about two inches from my head, and I'm feeling the wig loosening up.
Careful.
Don't forget those metal splinters.
They will get you.
Angel's looking at the side of my head.
He's gotta be seeing this.
I'm totally freaked out.
My cover's about to be blown; I know it.
You all right? Announcer: Steven Foster, the CEO of Lucky Strike Lanes is a boss undercover in his own company.
And right now, he's worried his cover is blown.
I'm feeling the wig loosening up.
I'm totally freaked out.
My cover's about to be blown; I know it.
I gotta get outta here.
Can I take a bathroom break? All right.
Okay.
All right, I'm ready.
- You feel confident? - Yeah.
- Do a machine by yourself.
- Yes.
You remember where you left your grease gun? Uh I left it up front, I think, huh? Aaron doesn't look very comfortable around machinery.
Grab me two 7/16s.
He doesn't look very comfortable around a tool box.
No, it's marked on the tool.
All right.
In our language, Aaron is all thumbs.
I do wish Aaron luck, but unfortunately, that luck will not get him far as a mechanic.
You're interesting too.
I mean, where did you get all these character traits? - I would say my dad.
- Yeah? My dad worked one job for 40 years.
My parents part-owned a center when I was young.
So it was school, homework, bowling center.
And he did it every day, whether he was sick, under the weather Right.
You try to emulate what they pass on, as parents.
And my father is the best man I know.
You know what I mean? SoYou all right? Yeah.
Yeah, I have-- the same for my dad.
I choked up when Angel was talking about his dad.
The same, I think, kind of upbringing that Angel had is what I was blessed to have.
All right.
Let there be light.
Success.
- Let there be light.
- Okay.
The couple of bowling alleys I've been to, they're always busy on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday night.
- Yes.
- It's dead here tonight.
Having risked, you know, everything to create Lucky Strike, it's depressing.
Unfortunately, we don't carry the leagues here.
It's not a league atmosphere.
At least with a league, there are contracts signed where you're guaranteed that money every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, so on and so forth.
In coming here to West Nyack today, one of the decisions, one of the conclusions I could have reached was this unit should be closed.
I mean, it's been open now five years or so, and clearly we haven't figured it out, and we need to.
Do you have family, kids, anything? - I have a daughter.
- Yes.
So--and I also have a granddaughter.
No.
Come on! No way.
My daughter had a child young.
- Oh, you know what? - So--but I had her young.
- Yeah.
- You make mistakes in life, and you learn from them, and you move on.
The only stipulation I had-- you have to finish college.
- Yeah.
- She wants to be a Vet.
- That's awesome.
- Make sure you get good grades.
Make sure the baby's taken care of.
Make sure schoolwork is done I'm a happy man.
- That's--that's amazing.
- Yeah.
What's her name, your daughter? - Lalandra.
- And your granddaughter? - Janelle.
- Janelle.
Pretty.
So I am here in Houston today to go undercover at the control desk.
The control desk is a vital pole position.
It's where we decide how many lanes are booked for private parties, how many lanes are available for the walk-in guest.
It's a particular issue in Houston because we only have ten lanes available for the public.
How we're allocating those lanes is a key, key decision point.
How are we handling that? - Hi.
- How's it going, sir? - Is Jermaine here? - Yes.
Jermaine's right over there.
All right, thank you.
- Jermaine.
- Hey, how's it going? Hi, I'm Aaron.
- What's your name? - Aaron.
Aaron? Nice to meet you, Aaron.
Jermaine.
Jermaine.
The Pravada party is here.
The whole point of this is kind of lane optimization.
You want to utilize the lanes as best as possible.
Pretty much, it sounds simple, but you'll see, it gets a little chaotic.
I want you to log in, and I'm gonna be over your shoulder.
But I want to see how good you are with computers, and people as well.
Yeah.
I'm gonna do this one, and you're gonna do the next one.
- Hopefully.
- All righty.
Your name? House.
- House? - It's Andrew.
Andrew House.
That's him.
So we already have lane one reserved for him.
I'm gonna put these names in there.
Oh, sweet! - You'll all be straight.
- Awesome.
Thank you.
No problem.
But now it's your turn.
Yes.
Yean, just, uh I go back up here and, uh Uh, I don't even know how to do this.
I'm so lost.
Aaron is a unique character, I must say.
The computer was a little bit much for him.
So we have Malinda.
Spelled like that? "M," small "a," large "l"? Yes.
I don't know if-- how do we do that? - "Shift.
" He was, like, "how do you capitalize?" I'm, like, "shift.
" Now you gotta log back in 'cause you went back.
Sorry I'm taking so long.
I'm training this guy That's okay.
Thanks.
I appreciate it, though.
Thank you.
Whoops.
The technology gap is gonna leave him behind.
So I'm saying Aaron would be great standing in front of a Walmart, shaking hands when they come in the door.
Let's go make a reservation right now.
It's gonna give us all the reservations for the day.
We can only make reservations on lanes one through four, no more than seven days out.
So this is a whole different system, I see.
It's a whole nother program.
So how does it, like-- does it interface with the other one? They don't even talk.
They don't even talk.
When someone calls in for a private party, that system does not talk to the point-of-sale system.
So we have to do double the work.
If I could make it, I would have this one and that one-- all three of those ones linked to one, but-- Is that something that you could do? Not right now.
If we could figure out a way to make those two systems talk to each other, it would be streamlined.
Shoes is a really big part of our job.
- All right.
- Stack 'em, spray 'em, and I want you to put 'em up.
How's it going? I think her name's spelled wrong.
It's Maidie.
M-a-I-d-I-e.
M-a-I-d-I-e.
Did I put her in wrong? Yeah, make sure you spell names right.
It's kind of important to 'em.
Yeah.
For a good experience.
Maybe Jermaine will just let me spray shoes and put 'em in cubbies for the rest of the night.
How long have you been here? Um, I've actually only been here probably around six weeks.
- Six weeks? That's it? - Yeah.
I came in here, and I like the energy.
I liked the place.
Right.
And I just went straight to the manager and said, "you know, I belong here.
" I was gonna do graphic design.
I was a graphic designer for an investment company.
What do you think of the graphics here? I think I would try to come up with something on my own.
A design for Lucky Strike.
And if my boss jumps on it, great.
Yeah.
For sure.
What kind of graphics do you do? Just computer graphics.
Mostly marketing and advertising stuff.
Then I started going to school for computer programming.
Cash got short, so I started working again.
Is this a good substitute for where you were headed before, or is this kind of like a way station for you to get back to the college thing? I kind of feel like a knack for--like this is my place.
And I can see myself, if anything, going to school for business, doing more for the company.
Doing that, you know? People like Jermaine come to us and say that they've found their calling.
And he's using all his skills.
As CEO of Lucky Strike, that's everything.
Do you have any kids? Yeah.
I've got a four-year-old son.
He was born, actually, blind.
He was born with vision problems.
So it brought us kind of closer together.
I guess, maybe, with my son's disability, I can't afford to make mistakes.
You gotta deal with life on life's terms.
If you can't cope with life on life's terms, then, unfortunately, you're gonna have trouble.
Jermaine clearly is a man that has earned his wisdom.
He's a very deep person, and I feel very fortunate that he's chosen to be with Lucky Strike.
I don't mean to, like, get personal, but I saw this.
Yeah, this is our "strike out cancer.
" We're raising money.
We're selling these things for five bucks.
It's part for local charities, for breast cancer and all that stuff.
My mom just passed away of cancer, so Oh, really? Man, well, I'm sorry to hear about your loss.
My aunt just-- well, she had leukemia, but - Yeah, oh, it's-- yeah, the same.
Yeah, it is.
It was clear that he felt deeply about this bracelet and what it was.
And for him, it wasn't just a gesture.
It had meaning.
I want to buy a bracelet from you before I go.
Yeah, well, come on.
$5.
40.
I got it-- I got the rest.
All right, man, we'll buy this together.
And we'll remember - Yeah, that's true.
- My mom and your aunt.
- Exactly.
Exactly.
- Yeah.
Yeah, I like that.
That means a lot-- much more to me.
Thank you very much.
Man, I'll be wearing this proudly.
Yeah.
I appreciate it.
This week has been an unbelievable journey for me.
Oh, man! All these people that I have been with the last few days People that felt a sense of family They're talking to me from their heart.
They're confirming and validating the fact that Lucky Strike is all about happiness.
That's why they choose to be there.
I wanted our employees to feel that we are there with them and for them as a company.
And I know that, in doing that, our company is going to become huge.
And when it becomes huge, I'm gonna be looking up, and I'm gonna be looking up to heaven, and I'm gonna be saying, "ma, dad, we did it.
We did it.
" Announcer: Coming up Steven's employees think they're coming to company headquarters to cast their vote.
I'm going right now to cast my vote.
Announcer: But how will they react when he reveals the truth? I'm Steven Foster, CEO of Lucky Strike.
My undercover experience has come to an end, and I'm about to report back to the executive board to tell them what I've learned.
There are several things that need to be addressed immediately.
I need to talk to the team and get the ball rolling on these things right away.
Hey, all.
Hey, how are you? Well, you all know what I've been doing this last week.
I gotta tell you it was, for me, life-transforming.
It really was.
So you know, West Nyack-- we all know that that's one of our more troubled units.
I went undercover with Angel.
He's a guy that grew up in the bowling industry.
I mean, his family owned a bowling alley.
He has valid suggestions as to what we might do to build that really weak business.
And, you know, one of the go-to fixes was leagues.
What do you all think about getting a league program going up in Nyack? It could be a good thing for us, get us some exposure.
Something else to make it more fun and interesting.
All right, so I go undercover in Manhattan as a server.
We're doing a four, five-hour shift, and then we take our break.
Except the only place to take a break in Manhattan is to sit on the window ledge.
I don't know what it is, but we have to figure out a way to get a break room for our people.
- We could work one in there.
- Great.
Awesome.
- Yeah, we can.
- So next I fly to Houston.
The take-away from Houston was that our two computer systems do not speak to each other.
Because right now, they're taking the reservations in reserve, and then they've got to manually print it out.
Then they've got to type it all into the scoring system.
All the systems have the same operating system.
It sounds like it is something that is doable.
So let's push that out.
Let's work hard on that.
All: Yeah.
All right.
All the employees have been called to headquarters to supposedly vote for two guys competing for the same job.
They have no idea what they're really here for.
I'm going right now to cast my vote.
Like, this is a situation that I can't prepare for.
- Hey.
- Hey, how's it going? - Good, how are you? - Not too bad.
Do you know who I am? No, I-- uh-uh.
I've met you before, I think.
Yeah, Steven Foster, CEO of Lucky Strike.
Do you know that we were together the other night? Oh, my God.
You cut your hair.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Yeah.
This is the show Undercover Boss.
No way.
[Both laugh.]
And I got to see you do Mr.
Pin.
That is awesome.
That's wild.
Devin.
To work with you is special.
And you know, the Mr.
Pin thing for me, the way people were responding made me think, wow, you know what? We should create an entire new program around Mr.
Pin nationally, with you heading it up.
Wow, yeah.
I'm-- hey, I'm in.
I'd like you to help us design, you know, Mr.
Bowling Ball.
Yes! I think it should be-- right? And then just as a small thing, me to you, you know, I was very close to my dad.
You know, now that I don't have him-- - Mm-hmm.
- I really miss him.
And I'd like to just say, you know, take your dad on a trip, a vacation somewhere.
We'll cover all the costs.
I just like to have that to offer your dad.
Wow.
Thank you.
That-- yeah, that would be amazing.
- Yeah.
- Uh, wow.
- Yes.
The head of my entire company, uh, duped me.
[Laughs.]
I guess I mean, I'm thrilled.
I mean, the whole-- what just happened, that's awesome.
Brianna.
I was thrilled to just trail you around, just watch you kind of getting the whole Lucky Strike mission, you know? I was loving when you were talking about how much you loved the kids.
And children and-- Uh-huh.
I'd like you to create a Bowling with Bri kids' program.
- Really? - Yeah.
And-- and I want you to get extra compensation for that over and above your shifts.
- Oh, my God.
- Yeah.
You know, you explained to me how your dream is to open a day care facility.
Yeah.
I think if we get the Bowling with Bri thing going, I think it'll give you something on your resume.
And when the time comes and you're ready to open your day care center, we want to contribute $10,000 towards you setting that up.
- [Softly.]
Wow.
- Yeah.
- Is this real? - This is real.
Bowling with Bri? Bowling with Bri.
Yeah.
I am so happy.
I'm gonna cry.
I would have never thought when I started working there that this would happen.
I'm like-- Jermaine.
Your positivity is unbelievable.
I think you should be on our training team.
We're opening more units.
You're the kind of person that we need.
You know, we have two separate computer systems that aren't integrated.
And I know you've got a computer programming background.
Yeah.
So one of the things that, that I'd really like you to do for us is to work with our head systems guy to help work out the interface for us nationwide.
- I will make that happen.
- I know you will.
- I will.
- [Laughs.]
If I say I'm gonna do it, I'm gonna do it.
That I have no doubt about.
And you told me you had an idea for a Lucky Strike t-shirt design.
Yeah, uh, I got a few ideas.
Okay, so I think that you should work with our design department-- Okay.
- And design the Lucky Strike t-shirt.
And then I would like to make sure that a percentage of all sales goes into some fund for your son.
- Oh, my God.
- Yeah, yeah.
- [Laughs.]
- Yeah.
[Continues laughing.]
[Sniffling.]
You know what, Jermaine? You get moments like this in life that are turning points.
That's this.
That's this.
[Sniffles.]
Today is monumental.
I really probably don't even know what my future has in store.
But all I know is it's gotten brighter.
Angel.
It was an honor for me to spend time with you.
It--the pleasure was mine, thank you.
You're super talented, you grew up in bowling, we talked about leagues.
- Yes.
Mm-hmm.
Do you feel that if we kind of full-heartedly launched a league program, if you were behind it, we could make it work? [Exhales.]
I could be up for the challenge.
- Yeah? - Sure.
Yes.
We'll give you a percentage of the sales off the league program, because I think there's nothing but upside for us.
You're so skilled at what you do.
Thank you.
So I'm officially making you the head mechanic as of this moment.
Thank you, I appreciate that.
Yeah.
How's your dad gonna react? [Sniffles.]
He'll be proud.
Yeah.
You have a young daughter and she's got a kid, you're a granddad, I mean.
You know, it's gotta be a huge amount of pressure on you because you've gotta be supporting your daughter and your granddaughter-- - yeah, yeah, I do.
Well, one thing is, you know, in getting promoted, as of now, your pay's gonna go up.
- Okay.
- You know, accordingly.
So that's gonna help.
Okay.
But, you know, this is me to you, and-- and what I'd like to do is I'd like to, you know, contribute $10,000 to her college education.
- Really? - Yeah.
Yeah.
- [Sniffles.]
- Yeah.
Sometimes you do things and it's not seen, you know, and it just goes under the bridge.
So it's-- it's a good thing.
It really is.
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
- Yeah.
- I really do.
I'm about to tell everybody that I've been undercover at Lucky Strike for the last week.
I'm pumped to tell them how I've learned things that I didn't know before and that I should have known as CEO.
Please join me in welcoming our CEO and cofounder, Steven Foster.
[Cheers and applause.]
This is overwhelming.
Absolutely overwhelming.
Um, for the last week, I've been working undercover at Lucky Strike.
[Laughter, cheers, and applause.]
You know, at the age of 55, my wife and I risked everything to create the first Lucky Strike.
We believed that this was our destiny.
This is an amazing family.
I am so proud of these people and so thrilled at the experiences that I've been able to have through them.
What I'd like to do now is show you some clips from my week.
[Applause.]
Uh-oh, I don't even know how to do this.
The computer was a little bit much for him.
He was like, how do you capitalize? I'm like, shift.
[Laughter and applause.]
And just like that, the transformation is complete.
[Laughter and applause.]
- Cool bottle, right? - Yeah, that's a strange bottle.
- It's a bowling ball.
- Whoop.
- [Laughs.]
- Sorry.
It's okay.
[Cheers and applause.]
You know, this has changed me inside out.
I'm gonna grow up.
I'm gonna grow up with this company.
I'm going to be the man that my parents wanted me to be.
I'm going to walk the walk and I'm gonna-- [voice breaking.]
God bless you all.
[Cheers and applause.]
I really feel that my mother was infused in the room tonight.
My parents were all about helping people.
That was their whole life, was helping other people.
So Lucky Strike, from this point forward, is all about helping our people.
The whole business will take care of itself.
There's no doubt.
There's no doubt.
[Cheers and applause.]
I miss you, ma.
I miss you.
[Sniffles.]
I love you.
Say hi to dad for me.