Undercover Boss (2010) s02e09 Episode Script
Subway
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 Chief Development Officer of Subway, America's largest food franchise, poses as an unemployed counselor looking for a new career.
- John Wilson.
- John, nice to meet you.
The boss will trade in his guitar and estate for a delivery van and a walk-in freezer.
Okay, he didn't teach me this part.
John.
How do you get out of here? Help! Welcome to Subway.
While working on the front line Whew.
He'll get an insider's look at his own company.
So why do they have two different steak sandwiches? It's above my pay grade, dude.
And he'll discover the unsung heroes that make his business run.
I really love my customers.
I really, really, really do.
And I got three kids that work at Subway too.
Wow.
How will his coworkers react when they find out who's really the boss? And how will it change their lives? I wanted to find out about building sales, but what I found was a lot more.
Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, Subway has 33,000 stores in 93 different countries.
of this $14 billion sandwich empire is one man.
I'm Don Fertman.
I'm the Chief Development Officer for Subway.
Subway started in 1965, when 17-year-old Fred Deluca wanted to open up a submarine sandwich shop.
And that was one of the best $1,000 investments that anybody's ever made in the history of business.
Hello, Janet.
Hi, Don.
My job is overseeing the development of brand-new stores.
But I have a confession: I've worked at Subway for 29 years, and I have never made a sandwich.
I never worked as a sandwich artist when I was a kid.
I was all about rock and roll.
I don't care if you say it's right I don't care if you spend the night the name if this band was The rayons.
I was the orange crayon, and our promoter happened to work for Subway, and he asked us to do some Subway jingles.
When the band broke up, our promoter called me up and said, "I need some help Selling franchises.
" And I wasn't doing anything better at the time.
It was a very difficult transition for me.
I had come from staying out till 5:00 in the morning, getting up in the afternoons, just in time for General Hospital.
All of a sudden, I had to switch my lifestyle to sitting behind a desk and actingnormal.
Can't have a beer on your desk in the business world, so I found myself sneaking drinks, drinking when I got up the next morning.
It was awful.
Uh, and I did that for two years at Subway.
Until one day, I had an on-the-job meltdown and collapsed under a drug and alcohol problem.
It's kind of a funny thing with alcohol.
It starts out being your best friend, and it turns into your worst enemy.
After I came out of rehab, Fred Deluca game me a second chance.
I've been in recovery now for 27 years.
after I got sober, I stayed away from music, worrying that it might lead me back to my old behaviors.
but I found myself missing it, so today, I still play with some of the guys from The Crayons.
I knew Don just at the end of his rock and roll days.
And I had a crush on him.
I love you.
I can't say that I projected for him this incredible corporate image that he's got now.
- Bye, dad.
- Good luck, babe.
Thank you.
Hey, Fred.
How you doing? I'm good.
So are you kind of ready for this? I--I think so.
You know, I'm a little bit nervous about going out there, 'cause I haven't really done it in this way before.
You know, you--you do this kind of thing all the time.
You're always out in the stores.
You're always visiting stores.
You're talking to franchisees all the time.
Yeah, I think that's-- for this project, I think it's better than you go.
The reason I'm going undercover rather than Fred is because Fred Deluca is the face of Subway.
So we decided that I should go, because I won't be as easily recognized.
The front line people, that's the face of the company.
So what they do is particularly important.
Those insights are gonna be invaluable.
That's exactly what I'll focus on.
- Okay.
- Hey, thanks, Fred.
Go to it.
I want to reach and I need to make sure we're doing everything possible so we can reach that goal.
So that's why I'm going undercover.
The apprehension I have is, whatever job I'm going to get, I've gotta learn how to do it.
'Cause I don't know these jobs.
When I'm undercover, I'll be posing as John Wilson, a drug and alcohol counselor looking for a new career.
My coworkers are going to be told that this is a competition reality show where two candidates compete for the same job at Subway.
Well, I'm up early on this first day.
It's time to transform myself into John Wilson.
Oh ho.
Okay, it's getting darker, isn't it? You know, this is a beginning of what could be a, uh, amazing adventure.
I'm here in Orlando, Florida, at a typical Subway store.
I'm excited about going undercover today as a sandwich artist because I want to find out what it takes to make a great Subway sandwich.
Excuse me.
I'm looking for Jessi.
- Hi.
I'm Jessi.
- I'm John.
Nice to meet you.
Here, if you just take this.
Go get changed.
Bathroom's right down the hall.
I got a lot of stuff to teach you, and we're about to get hit with a rush.
Folks only have so much time.
It's important to get our sandwiches made quickly so you can get more customers through the line.
- Oh.
- This is our cheat sheets.
Okay, this is like how you make a mini-sub, foot-long, six-inch.
So I'm gonna give you about two minutes.
I want you to study this, and then I'm gonna quiz you on it.
- Oh, boy.
- Yeah.
I don't know when the last time is I took a test.
Two trays, one tray.
Two trays, four bacon, one tray cheddar.
One set up - Time's up.
- Okay.
- Big Philly.
- Big Philly.
Uh, three trays on a foot long.
- Okay.
- Like, one is a big Philly.
One's a steak and cheese.
Why do they have two different steak sandwiches? It's above my pay grade, dude.
I make the sandwiches.
Uh, Subway melt.
I know it tastes good.
It does taste good, but how do you make it? Uh, turkey and bacon.
And what else? And, uh, a little more turkey.
Ham? If you're slow, or if your sandwich is taking longer than my sandwich, I'm gonna lose three people while I wait on you.
And I'm not gonna make that money back, 'cause they're not gonna wanna come back, because it took so long.
So, you know, my objective is to break you.
Because if I can break you, I don't need you.
You have to be as good or better than me.
I'm a customer.
I just walked in the door.
What do you say to me? Um, hi, how you doin'? Welcome to Subway.
Welcome to Subway.
What kind of bread would you like? Should I say it like that? Welcome to Subway.
What kind of-- you have a stern look on your face.
- Funny guy.
- Mm-hmm.
You're trying to be a comedian.
How 'bout we just make sandwiches? Hi, sir.
How are you? What can we get for you today? Any cheese on it? How many pieces of turkey does a foot-long turkey get? Uh, I would say six.
You would be right.
I'm just learning.
Okay, would you like some vegetables on that, sir? Oh, everything but onions and ja-- so then I can remember what order.
Some pickles, sir? Yeah.
Come on, just grab a handful.
Yeah, you can pass that.
Grab a handful and then go? - Fold.
- Fold now? 'Cause this is six-inch.
Rolled.
- Roll.
- Roll.
Fold.
Fold.
Look, there's a lot of people here.
Roll, roll.
- Hey, uh, you're-- - yes? You're being timed.
- I'm being timed.
- Yeah.
- On this one? - Uh-huh.
You get two minutes.
Okay, it was a-- - Subway club.
- Subway club.
American and swiss.
Excuse me.
- For here or to go? - Uh, it's for here.
This is my first club ever.
When Jessi was timing me, I could really feel the pressure 'cause she game me two minutes, and I wanted to do a good job.
But when the line was getting bigger, that's where the pressure was.
Sure, what kind of cheese would you like, sir? Ten seconds.
Okay, and Everything that I do is for the good of my customers.
Like, that's the last thing that you want me to hear, is that you made one of my customers unhappy.
Three minutes.
'Cause I'm sweatin', man.
I want to make it look nice.
There's no such thing as a five-minute sandwich.
A five-minute sandwich is a lost customer.
All right, come on.
No, you're done.
I'm done? Why don't you go in the back and do some dishes? We'll probably have you take out trash, clean the dining room, and have you sweep and Welcome to Subway, sweetheart.
Welcome to Subway.
I might be better at scrubbing than I am at making sandwiches, so Maybe I found my calling in life.
Oh, man.
It's inside the door, intelligent person.
Jessi is tough.
She kept me hopping, she kept me on my toes.
Whoa! Here is a 56-year-old man taking orders from a 19-year-old.
How does that make me feel? Old.
I see you're digging your bomb diggity sandwich over there.
It's really delicious.
If you were gonna make the ultimate sandwich, what would you make? I would make a Cuban.
Would you ever suggest this to anybody? You know, I've never quite gotten a corporate bigwig to let me bend his ear about that.
It's on my list.
I have a list.
It's a big list.
Yeah.
One thing that's very important is innovation.
And folks being able to get ideas back to headquarters.
We have to look at the channels to make that happen.
So do you live around here? I live, like, Live at home with my daddy.
It's just me and my dad for 19 years.
- It's just you and your dad? - Yeah.
My dad, he has a commercial carpet installation business.
I've gone to jobs, and You know how to install carpets? And you're going to school I'm growing.
I'm going to school.
I got a job.
I pay for my car.
So I don't get to work with him as much as I'd like to, but he's my rock.
Is he helping you with college? Yeah, he, like, paid for my first semester, and then I've got financial aid.
I've just got to get that figured out.
I've got to go talk to somebody about a loan or something.
I don't know and Where's your mom? Not there.
I mean, like, I have an idea where she is, but she's just-- she was never there, so I just try not to worry about her.
She doesn't worry about me, so - That--that sucks.
- Yeah, it does.
Jessi's been through a lot of stuff.
Uh, I could relate to what she was talking about.
My mom left my dad.
That's tough for anybody.
Come on.
Let's go see if you remember how to wrap a sandwich.
Oh, boy.
Today I learned what I came to learn, which is the sandwich is king.
It's got to be made right.
And after today, I can no longer say that I've never made a Subway sandwich.
Coming up, Don goes into deep freeze.
I can't get out of here.
Help.
Don Fertman, Chief Development Officer of Subway, is a boss undercover.
There's no such thing as a five-minute sandwich.
His employees think he's part of a television show where two people are competing for one job within the company.
There you go.
That's better than it was.
His journey continues in Auburn, Alabama.
I'm here in Auburn, Alabama on one of the busiest days of the year, because it's game day in this university town.
I'm going undercover working alongside a store manager, and I want to find out how they handle customer service on a busy day.
I'm looking for Sherri.
I'm her.
You come to work today, huh? I am.
Ah, how about we get you started? 'Cause today is a football game day, and we're gonna be really, really busy.
When John came in, I saw he was older, and I was like, "oh, this man is not gonna be able to move fast.
"He is not gonna be able to get it.
It's gonna take more than Good morning, sweetie.
Okay.
Always need paper, and, "hi, how can I help you today?" Hi, how can I help you today? Hey, how you doing? All right, so, no.
Ma'am, be right with you.
Ma'am, be right with you.
And we're gonna finish with him first.
Yup.
And she'll see that you're doing something, so she won't be upset.
- Be with you in just a moment.
- Sure.
And what vegetables, sir, would you like on it? What kind of vegetables would you like, sir? Lettuce, tomato, and mustard? Mayo and mustard.
Okay.
You come to Subway a lot? Second time ever? Sir, you wanted bacon? All right.
We'll be with you in just a moment.
We'll be with you in just a moment.
And everybody.
Hello.
A six-inch tuna on wheat.
We started on this child about 15 minutes ago.
All righty, well, we gonna talk and move.
Ooh, and it's not ice cream.
It's not ice cream.
This is tuna.
Ma'am, what kind of cheese would you like today? American cheese.
Some people have kind of a stern look, and some people are waiting, and I want to take care of these people, and I want to talk to 'em too and make 'em feel good.
I started about half an hour ago.
So we're doing tuna.
You came at the right place at the right time, didn't you? I'm gonna bite ya.
Okay, this is all customer service.
I'm talking to people.
We're gonna talk to 'em and get their money at the same time, all right.
John is being a chatty catty, and he's talking a lot.
This will be my first roast beef sandwich ever.
He couldn't talk and make a sandwich.
Like, "hi, how's your day at Subway?" But he would stop his hands from moving.
And he didn't get nothing out of anybody.
No dirt, no nothing out of no one.
We got to get him in and get him out.
How you expect me to make money? We're gonna have a conversation and we're gonna get our hands to move.
Now, when we have one customer, we will make them feel like princesses and kings, but when we have a line, we need to what? Keep moving.
Move it, move it, move it.
- You got it.
- green pepper and mustard green pepper and mustard he went one tomato, two tomato, three tomato.
And we still got cucumbers to go, y'all.
We still not finished.
Four.
Five.
We just got to get you just a little faster.
It should have took no more than one minute to knock that on out.
How can I get to know him in a minute? You can.
The things you get to know, you will be amazed the things you're gonna learn here at Subway.
People will tell you about their children, their divorces, who's in jail, who's not in jail.
In the space of one minute? In the space of one minute.
I promise you.
They can get it in and get it out.
Are you gonna show me how to get that out of people? Yes, I will.
Oh, I'll tell you everything, honeybunch.
And how long have you been doing this? I been doing it, like, 19 years.
Wow.
I was gonna stay, like, a year.
That was it.
You're still here.
I was even thinking about being at GM.
But then I won't be around people all the time.
So you just love your customers? I really love my customers.
I really, really, really do.
And I got three kids that work at Subway too.
Wow.
What impressed me the most about Sherri is that Subway is engrained in her.
The customer service comes naturally to her.
I'm coming, princess.
I like your outfit.
I saw you walking up.
I'm like, "oh, that's so cute.
" I'm just to old to wear it, but that's so cute.
She knows all of her customers, and if she doesn't know 'em, she makes 'em feel like she knows 'em.
Now are you ready to make some more sandwiches? 'Cause we got more people coming.
Uh, I'm always ready.
You go, honey.
Today I saw customer service in action, and found out that you can give great customer service while churning out lots and lots of sandwiches in a very short period of time.
You can put it all together.
Did I hear them say "break"? No, no, you don't get one.
That's why we took your watch.
I am exhausted.
Been on my feet all day.
My back's killing me.
Oh, man.
As always, when I'm on the road, I miss the family.
- Hello? - Hi, love.
Hey, babe.
My family today is very different from the family I grew up in.
So how'd school go today with the kids? They had a good day.
I grew up in an alcoholic family.
Growing up, I would watch my dad, and I would say, "I'm never gonna be like that.
" And then, as I drank, I found I'm exactly like him.
But you know what? I don't have to be like that today.
Okay, give my love to the kids.
- I will.
- Okay, bye, baby.
- Good night, babe.
- Bye.
I can be a sober dad to my kids.
Today I'm at a brand new store in Orlando, Florida that recently opened in the Science Center.
When a new store opens, one of the challenges is meeting the demand, because you don't know what the demand is yet.
Uh, I'm looking for Efrain.
Yes, sir, and your name? Uh, John Wilson.
All right.
Here's your uniform.
I'm looking forward to going undercover to find out how this store is prepping for the daily business in order to reduce costs and increase profitability.
- How do I look? - Oh, looking great.
- Doing all right? - Yes, sir.
Um, so, what we're gonna do now is, we got to start on our bread.
We're gonna have one wheat, one honey oat, two whites, one herb cheese, one parm.
This is gonna be your seasoning.
Grab one, roll it, put it back.
All right, go ahead and try that.
Yes, sir.
That seems easy.
Now this one's not done right.
You only have it on half.
So go ahead and roll that again.
- Okay.
- All right.
Go ahead and grab those pan and put 'em in here.
- What's this thing? - It's a proofer.
It's where they expands the bread.
Go ahead and close it.
Yep.
We're gonna set the timer.
And what we're gonna do, we're gonna do the next six rounds.
All right, so the same thing we just did here, I need you to do that.
Get it done, like, probably in two minutes.
Baking Subway bread has a lot of stages.
First you got to prep it, then you got to put it in the proofer.
So I want to make sure I get it done right and fast.
So now you just pressing stuff.
Look.
Oh, that's that? Yeah, that's that.
Got to stop it.
- Okay.
- Open it.
You're gonna burn my bread.
See, now with that glove, you just pinched the bread, so now the bread is actually gonna bake just like that.
Same as for that bread.
Go ahead and put the cheese.
I'm sorry, little bread.
I'm sorry.
When you're finished there, just put it in the oven.
John is definitely just not up to par with these things.
I mean, he's just not cutting it.
All right, I'm gonna send you to make some cookies, all right? Cookies.
So I'm gonna need two pans of chocolate chip, two pans of macadamia, one pan of double chocolate, one pan of oatmeal, one pan of peanut butter.
John? Yes.
Got the bread? Oh, boy.
All right, it's pretty much all the timers.
Go ahead and turn off all the timers.
- Right? - Yep.
Now go ahead and finish the cookies.
Make sure you keep it to mind in four minutes you got to come back and put this back up.
Oh, boy.
- John.
- Coming, mother.
- Your bread.
- Okay, sir.
This whole Subway thing is all about multitasking.
John probably said, "oh, man, this is Subway, man.
"We don't do a lot of work here.
"This is gonna be a piece of cake.
John obviously was wrong.
" Peanut butter.
Okay, he didn't teach me this part.
How do you get out of here? - John.
- Efrain, help.
Don Fertman, Chief Development Officer of Subway, is a boss undercover.
But currently he's locked in a freezer in the back room of an Orlando Subway.
- Efrain, help! - John.
How do you get out of here? Help! John couldn't get out the freezer.
I don't know what it was.
John just wasn't there.
Out.
Thought you got locked in there.
My first time in there.
I thought you were supposed to pull.
I couldn't get out.
It was a frightening moment.
- Are you done? - No.
John's speed is similar to my grandma.
I mean, if I was to tell him to do something, my grandma probably could have done it a little faster.
Take that bread out and put it over there as well.
Nope.
You just hit start again.
Take that bread and put it over there.
- How do I stop? - You got two things buzzing.
Let's go.
Okay.
How do I stop-- take this bread out.
Take this bread out.
Take those cookies out.
Watch out.
You're squeezing the bread.
Where's the bread thing? - Over there.
- Okay.
We're gonna have burnt cookies by the time you're done.
Did the cookies buzz? Do you hear 'em? I did not.
- They're buzzing now.
- These ears are getting old.
Okay, quiet down.
Stop.
Yup, the wrong-- now you're just pressing knobs.
You need to take a break.
I'm really good at multitasking in front of a computer and talking on the telephone, but when it comes to the Subway kitchen, I think I have a lot to learn.
All right, John, what happened? I keep listening for the buzzers, but there's so many moving pieces to this.
And, you know, I'm not a young guy.
So let me ask you this, how old are you, and how'd you-- how'd you get where you're at? - I'm 20.
- You're 20 years old, you got to be one of the youngest managers ever.
This company of 96, 97 stores, I was the youngest manager.
Holy mackerel.
When I started off here, I was just a sandwich artist.
I was in there making the minimum wage.
I didn't have a car.
I would use to walk to work, ride the bus.
There was no manager.
And I went in there, and I tried to do the best I can.
And in seven months, I got manager of the month out of 293 stores.
That meant a lot.
- You got manager out of 93-- - 293 stores.
- 290-- - the whole section of Florida.
I'm really glad for Efrain that he's been given the opportunities he has, and he's really made something of them, and he's made something of himself.
Somebody like that is terrific for our organization.
What do you want to do from here? I want to adopt a child.
My real mom and dad just wasn't there for me.
And I always tell my foster mom, I said, you know, "you gave me a second chance.
"Nothing could have been possible if you didn't really take me in and raise me how you did.
" So I just want to grow up to be real successful and as well as give back to different foster kids and stuff like that-- foster kids.
Your mom adopted you.
Does she have other kids or do you have brothers-- she had four of her own, and she adopted three of us.
Really? Efrain was a foster kid.
He ended up getting adopted.
And now he's planning to pass that on.
That is really awesome.
At the age of 20, he's running a Subway store.
This guy, he's got places to go, and I think he's gonna get there.
At Subway, as the Chief Development Officer, I am in charge of developing new stores all over the world.
And a big part of that is nontraditional development.
Those are stores that are in unusual types of locations, not your freestanding building, not a strip shopping center.
And today I'm in Buffalo, New York.
And I'm standing in front of a Subway store in a church, so I can see how this really works.
I'm John Wilson.
John, nice to meet you.
I think I'm working with you today.
Great.
Well, before we get started, first thing, got a uniform for you to go and change into.
I'm very interested in learning how they're surviving here, considering that it's not our traditional demographic, and it's certainly not a traditional location.
So today what we're gonna be doing is something new.
We're gonna be trying deliveries.
Oh, boy.
We're gonna be introducing to the community.
So you're part of the trial process.
So I'll be learning along with you.
- Yes.
- I was very surprised this particular Subway wanted to start a delivery program, 'cause very, very few stores do delivery.
You're gonna answer the phone for the next order.
Just say, "Subway at True Bethel.
How may I help you?" Subway at True Bethel.
Yes.
Then we write down the orders here.
You write down what they want exactly.
So that's my job right now, is to take down the order.
Yes.
Oh, boy.
Subway, True Bethel.
Hello? Subway, True Bethel.
How may I help you? Yeah, can I get some sandwiches for delivery? An order for delivery, terrific.
Tell me what kind of sandwich of sandwiches-- - bmt on wheat.
- Pardon me.
- A bmt - A bmt - On wheat.
- On wheat.
Okay.
Get some olives - olives.
- And avocadoes.
A lot or a little? - A lot.
- What's the second one? - Avocado.
- Sorry, could you say that one more time? Avocado.
Holy mackerel.
When the phone started ringing, I'm trying to understand the person, I'm trying to get all the information right.
That is a lot of pressure.
I don't have a total on that for you, sir, but we can ring it up for you, and I can tell you exactly how much.
Would you like that? Yeah.
Okay, hang on.
We're gonna ring that up right now.
Somebody has to read my writing.
The challenge in doing delivery was writing everything down, doing it in such a way that everybody could see it, which was kind of hard, when people are just using pieces of paper, and then trying to make the order right, get all the orders coordinated.
Let's do this.
So how about your family? I have four kids, all adopted.
- All adopted? - Yes.
So how'd you end up adopting kids? Well, my wife had a problem with having kids.
So I looked at life and said, "hey, maybe we were created for something else.
" Four kids.
You're working night and day.
Just about.
When do you get time to spend with your family? Saturday nights is family day for us.
And this is our delivery to the funeral home.
Yes.
Hi.
- Hi.
- How are you? Hello.
Good to see you.
Pastor Sway.
Yes.
$20.
34.
Just give us $20 even.
Okay.
Thank you.
You all have a great day.
That was good.
You know everybody around here.
Oh, yeah.
Hello? Duane, where are you guys? The guys from the barbershop called three times.
They want their food.
We'll be there-- we'll be there shortly.
Is that the store calling? Yeah, because Al's is really-- they want their food right away.
They've called the store a couple of times for this last order.
The pressure of delivering on time was, like, being out there on game day.
Okay, we've got a few seconds till the clock buzzes.
I want to make sure that I get through those last few seconds successfully.
Okay, we're here.
A little bit up on the curb, but that's okay, 'cause we're here to make a delivery.
Hey, what's up, sir? I know you was, man.
How you doing? Good to see you.
You guys must have been starving.
$19.
98.
$20.
Keep the change.
- All right, sir.
- Here you go.
You can blame me.
I'm the new guy.
- Oh, yeah.
- I'm slowing the guy down.
This one is on the house.
And then you get 20% off your next order as well.
Call us and we'll bring it.
I'm-a order up tomorrow.
- Now, it won't take as long - Okay.
- 'Cause you know why - Appreciate it.
- Yeah.
- Appreciate that, though.
Eat fresh.
Hopefully, it's still fresh.
Well, hey, we were pretty close.
- Yeah.
Pretty close.
- I think delivery could potentially increase our sales.
Just have to make sure that the process works and that the product is fresh, fast, and the way they want it.
Ah, a new worker today.
And you are? - I am John Wilson.
- John.
Darius Pridgen.
Good to meet you.
I'm the pastor here.
Yeah.
Learning everything fine? I-I'm working on it.
A lotta customers today.
You wanna see the church in the back? Show you around and Sure.
I'd love to see the church.
Duane, if you would keep an eye on the store.
Sorry, boss.
I'm going on break.
- You ever did a sermon? - I have not done a sermon.
Come on, now.
Let me put you right behind This is the power desk.
This is where it all happens.
This is where it all comes down.
It all happens right here.
Let the church say amen.
- Everybody, amen! - Amen.
Amen.
- Do I hear you? Amen! - There you go.
See? You got a lot of music going Oh, man, come on over here.
Let me-- this is-- this is a music church.
Well, that's good, 'cause I love music.
You're not gonna go into an African-American church anywhere and not have a drum.
You've gotta have it.
'Cause we have rhythm.
- I only know how to play like-- - do you have rhythm? Like if I do like that.
You need the backbeat, right? The pop, pop.
- Uh-uh.
- Okay.
I'm gonna keep you on the subs.
Wanna try here? Come on, sit down there.
Oh! You fooled me.
You fooled me.
What I like about the pastor is I felt instantly comfortable with him, and he cared about each person that he works with.
I could really feel that from him.
I mean, I've never seen a Subway store with a church.
- Right.
- How long has that been there? The Subway's been there about five years, John, and the reason we actually put it in the church was because there weren't a lot of opportunities in this neighborhood when I got here.
We had a high murder rate and a lot of people not working.
So a lot of people always talk about "just get people jobs.
" Well, that's not the key if they haven't been trained.
So we started collecting an offering.
We called it a franchise offering-- literally called it a franchise offering.
- Really? - But we've got to do more than bring a business-- we've gotta train people.
We try to push people into the next level of life.
Now, I'm working with Duane.
- Yeah.
- Where'd you find him? You know, Duane is actually another minister at another church.
We have a church in Niagara Falls, but because of his people skills, it was a good fit for him to come over and to manage the store.
Could you imagine this being in other churches? Yes.
Any organization can do it if they're gonna put the work into it.
I was really impressed by what they've accomplished there, how he ended up transforming the church into this.
He's a man of action, and he's out there working hard to make things happen, to make things better.
Duane, I got your worker back for you.
So don't forgetSmile.
Terrific.
Smile.
Wash your hands.
- Wash hands.
- And whose brother are you? - I am your brother.
- The pastor's brother.
- Thank you, pastor brother.
- All right.
I came here today wondering how Subway and a church could possibly work together, and I came away learning that not only do they work together but there's so much more we can do.
It's an opportunity to take business and not just make profits but make people have a better life.
My journey undercover is coming to an end.
Over this journey, I've connected with people who have been through things that are just Overwhelming.
Meeting pastor darius and Duane and the neighborhood that they're working to change, I start to think about where I was 27 years ago.
My life was falling apart, and Subway gave me a second chance.
But most of all I bring back with me the people that I've met, the people that are making this company what it is.
Don's employees think they're coming to company headquarters to cast their vote between two workers competing for a job at Subway.
Gotta let some go, gotta keep some.
It's a dog-eat-dog world.
But how will they react when he reveals the truth? I'm Don Fertman, the Chief Development Officer for Subway.
My undercover experience is finally over.
I'm really looking forward to taking what I've learned and changing the face of Subway.
- Hey.
Hey.
- Hi.
Welcome back.
I'm back.
I miss the beard already.
How was it? Well, I found out I am not the fastest sandwich artist in the world.
But, uh, you know, one of the last things that you said to me was go out there and meet the people.
And let me tell you, I got to know some great people.
So I see Jessi in Orlando.
She's into creating sandwiches, so she's a sandwich artist who's got a head full of great ideas.
You know, you do multi-- you know, donor round tables, and they do round tables with development agents.
But what about a sandwich artist forum? - That's great.
- All ideas welcome.
Next on my list, Sherri, uh, was in Alabama.
And the customers that come into her store feels like she cares about each one of them.
You know, I know it all starts with the sandwich, but it ends with customer service.
Yeah, yeah, this is a, this is really a big deal.
The question is, how do you take her attitude and her approach and introduce that to so many people around the world? Exactly right.
We need to pick her brain.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
You know, I'm not an operations guy.
As you know, I'm the development guy.
And I saw some cool development stuff, 'cause I saw an excellent, non-traditional location.
In Buffalo, New York, it's in a church.
Mm-hmm.
And it's one that we talk about all the time in the media, but I got a chance to see how it works, and maybe it's something to use as a potential business model for empowering communities and reaching out into the communities and kind of tying that together.
Okay, great.
I kind of like that idea.
It was a great report, Don.
- Yeah, it was terrific.
- Thank you.
Thanks, everybody.
All these 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 not nervous about giving my assessment.
I'm pretty confident in it.
Gotta let some go, gotta keep some.
It's a dog-eat-dog world.
Hey.
How are you? Do you know who I am? You're John.
I have a feeling maybe your name isn't John.
- Do I look like John? - No, you don't.
Do I look a little different? Yes, you do.
I'm Don Fertman, and I am the Chief Development officer for Subway.
Wow.
Wow.
Oh, don't say that.
Wow.
Efrain.
You ran me ragged, man.
What you kept emphasizing with me was initiative.
And there was so many ways to use initiative.
So I want to have you join our innovation committee because it looks for ways to foster innovation within the system.
I know you're a guy that speaks his mind, and I want you to be able to speak your mind.
I would love to.
You've been very interested in fostering others.
You know, the whole foster care idea and being more involved in that.
What I'd like to do is give you $5,000 for you to donate to the foster organization of your choice.
Thank you.
One last thing, and that is, uh, your mom.
I want you to do something nice for your mom.
So I'm gonna give you You just use that $1,000 however you want.
That's funny, 'cause her birthday's coming up in, like, two weeks.
- Really? - Yeah.
Would you do something really nice for her on her birthday? Oh, definitely.
My son's 11.
If he grows up to be like you, I'll be really, really proud.
I appreciate it.
I really do.
It's just crazy.
It's really exciting.
Just what he's doing for my moms, it makes me feel good, uh, for the fact that I always tell myself I always wanna give back to her.
Anything I could do, I'll always give back to her.
Well, I'm extremely happy about the whole situation.
Sherri.
I was so excited working with you because you are an amazing sandwich artist.
You are terrific at customer service.
You're a wonderful manager and you're the Subway lady.
Thank you.
And it's an honor to know the Subway lady.
You're somebody that helps the customer really know Subway because they get to know you.
So I wanna make you the star of a customer service video because you know what customer service is all about.
Well, thank you.
So for the video, we're gonna give you $5,000 for appearing and helping out on the project.
Thank you.
That's sweet.
So I want to fly you and a guest out to our convention in California.
We'll have you give a workshop while you're out there.
I'm gonna give you the opportunity to spoil yourself a little bit to go on a shopping spree, to have a spa day.
Just do things that are gonna make you feel good.
We want you to take care of yourself.
Aw.
Thank you.
I am just so ecstatic that somebody actually recognized that I do a good job.
You just couldn't get any better than this.
Jessi.
I've worked for different bosses.
You are the boss who scared me the most.
Funny guy.
Mm-hmm.
You're trying to be a comedian.
How about we just make sandwiches? I don't wanna scare you.
- In a good way.
- Oh, okay.
You know, you showed me the art of the sandwich.
But you taught me a lot more than that.
And, you know, your dad's worked so hard, and in the meantime, he helped you start college.
I know it's tough on your dad, it's tough on you.
What I wanna do is pay for the rest of your college education.
What? I will pay for the rest of your college education.
Wow, I don't even know what to say to that.
That's, like-- thank you.
Thank you so much.
That is amazing, thank you.
And the thing is, I want you to spend some time with your dad.
And I will pay for you and your dad to go on vacation anywhere you wanna go.
Oh, my God.
Are you kidding me right now? This is, like, not even happening.
You know, all I did was teach you how to make a sandwich.
This is just insane.
I gotta just try and remember to keep breathing.
I don't even know how to describe it.
Honestly, I'm at a loss for words right now.
The girl that never shuts up has nothing to say.
Duane.
I was just amazed by how you're working to build the business on the store, but you're also working to build the community.
I just have so much respect for you, man.
Thanks to you, we're gonna build a program with Subway empowering the community by building job skills, and we want you to advise us how to do that.
Wow.
And you'll be getting compensation for that.
Sounds awesome.
And you have your church in Niagara Falls.
Mm-hmm.
So we'd like to waive the franchise fee for you.
$15,000 franchise fee will be gone and that can be the start between Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and maybe a whole network of these all around the country.
All right.
And maybe all around the world.
You never know.
And on top of that, we're going to start an education fund for your boys of $20,000.
Wow.
$5,000 for each kid.
Thank you.
If we get started now, by the time college rolls around, I think they'll be in good shape.
Definitely.
Definitely.
Thank you so much.
I'm a man, so I tried to hold back my tears, but I just wanted to cry because seeing my children actually able to get that education, it was just awesome.
And words can't express how I feel right now.
I'm feeling a little nervous 'cause I'm about to reveal to the entire corporate staff that I've been undercover.
Right now, I'm gonna introduce to you your friend, our Chief Development Officer, Mr.
Don Fertman.
Thank you, Fred.
Thank you, Subway, team Subway.
I am here to tell you that, for the past week, I have been undercover at Subway.
I learned that I really stink as a sandwich artist.
Let's take a look at some of my experiences.
- You get two minutes.
- I want to make it look nice.
There's no such thing as a five-minute sandwich.
And it's not ice cream.
It's not ice cream.
Okay.
This is tuna.
John's just not cutting it.
And my grandma probably could have done it a little faster.
I wanted to find out about building sales, building profits.
But, you know, what I found was a lot more.
It helped me to realize just how fortunate I am to be part of this Subway family.
The people that are out there serving each sandwich are the folks that truly make this company great.
We need to hear it for the people behind the counters all over the world of Subway.
The climax of this whole thing for me was the opportunity to help make their lives better.
You could say that the gifts I was able to give are similar in scope to the gift that was given to me by this company when they gave me a second chance when I had failed them.
I'm hoping that as a result of this experience, I can be a better boss, but that I can also be a better employee.
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 Chief Development Officer of Subway, America's largest food franchise, poses as an unemployed counselor looking for a new career.
- John Wilson.
- John, nice to meet you.
The boss will trade in his guitar and estate for a delivery van and a walk-in freezer.
Okay, he didn't teach me this part.
John.
How do you get out of here? Help! Welcome to Subway.
While working on the front line Whew.
He'll get an insider's look at his own company.
So why do they have two different steak sandwiches? It's above my pay grade, dude.
And he'll discover the unsung heroes that make his business run.
I really love my customers.
I really, really, really do.
And I got three kids that work at Subway too.
Wow.
How will his coworkers react when they find out who's really the boss? And how will it change their lives? I wanted to find out about building sales, but what I found was a lot more.
Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Headquartered in Milford, Connecticut, Subway has 33,000 stores in 93 different countries.
of this $14 billion sandwich empire is one man.
I'm Don Fertman.
I'm the Chief Development Officer for Subway.
Subway started in 1965, when 17-year-old Fred Deluca wanted to open up a submarine sandwich shop.
And that was one of the best $1,000 investments that anybody's ever made in the history of business.
Hello, Janet.
Hi, Don.
My job is overseeing the development of brand-new stores.
But I have a confession: I've worked at Subway for 29 years, and I have never made a sandwich.
I never worked as a sandwich artist when I was a kid.
I was all about rock and roll.
I don't care if you say it's right I don't care if you spend the night the name if this band was The rayons.
I was the orange crayon, and our promoter happened to work for Subway, and he asked us to do some Subway jingles.
When the band broke up, our promoter called me up and said, "I need some help Selling franchises.
" And I wasn't doing anything better at the time.
It was a very difficult transition for me.
I had come from staying out till 5:00 in the morning, getting up in the afternoons, just in time for General Hospital.
All of a sudden, I had to switch my lifestyle to sitting behind a desk and actingnormal.
Can't have a beer on your desk in the business world, so I found myself sneaking drinks, drinking when I got up the next morning.
It was awful.
Uh, and I did that for two years at Subway.
Until one day, I had an on-the-job meltdown and collapsed under a drug and alcohol problem.
It's kind of a funny thing with alcohol.
It starts out being your best friend, and it turns into your worst enemy.
After I came out of rehab, Fred Deluca game me a second chance.
I've been in recovery now for 27 years.
after I got sober, I stayed away from music, worrying that it might lead me back to my old behaviors.
but I found myself missing it, so today, I still play with some of the guys from The Crayons.
I knew Don just at the end of his rock and roll days.
And I had a crush on him.
I love you.
I can't say that I projected for him this incredible corporate image that he's got now.
- Bye, dad.
- Good luck, babe.
Thank you.
Hey, Fred.
How you doing? I'm good.
So are you kind of ready for this? I--I think so.
You know, I'm a little bit nervous about going out there, 'cause I haven't really done it in this way before.
You know, you--you do this kind of thing all the time.
You're always out in the stores.
You're always visiting stores.
You're talking to franchisees all the time.
Yeah, I think that's-- for this project, I think it's better than you go.
The reason I'm going undercover rather than Fred is because Fred Deluca is the face of Subway.
So we decided that I should go, because I won't be as easily recognized.
The front line people, that's the face of the company.
So what they do is particularly important.
Those insights are gonna be invaluable.
That's exactly what I'll focus on.
- Okay.
- Hey, thanks, Fred.
Go to it.
I want to reach and I need to make sure we're doing everything possible so we can reach that goal.
So that's why I'm going undercover.
The apprehension I have is, whatever job I'm going to get, I've gotta learn how to do it.
'Cause I don't know these jobs.
When I'm undercover, I'll be posing as John Wilson, a drug and alcohol counselor looking for a new career.
My coworkers are going to be told that this is a competition reality show where two candidates compete for the same job at Subway.
Well, I'm up early on this first day.
It's time to transform myself into John Wilson.
Oh ho.
Okay, it's getting darker, isn't it? You know, this is a beginning of what could be a, uh, amazing adventure.
I'm here in Orlando, Florida, at a typical Subway store.
I'm excited about going undercover today as a sandwich artist because I want to find out what it takes to make a great Subway sandwich.
Excuse me.
I'm looking for Jessi.
- Hi.
I'm Jessi.
- I'm John.
Nice to meet you.
Here, if you just take this.
Go get changed.
Bathroom's right down the hall.
I got a lot of stuff to teach you, and we're about to get hit with a rush.
Folks only have so much time.
It's important to get our sandwiches made quickly so you can get more customers through the line.
- Oh.
- This is our cheat sheets.
Okay, this is like how you make a mini-sub, foot-long, six-inch.
So I'm gonna give you about two minutes.
I want you to study this, and then I'm gonna quiz you on it.
- Oh, boy.
- Yeah.
I don't know when the last time is I took a test.
Two trays, one tray.
Two trays, four bacon, one tray cheddar.
One set up - Time's up.
- Okay.
- Big Philly.
- Big Philly.
Uh, three trays on a foot long.
- Okay.
- Like, one is a big Philly.
One's a steak and cheese.
Why do they have two different steak sandwiches? It's above my pay grade, dude.
I make the sandwiches.
Uh, Subway melt.
I know it tastes good.
It does taste good, but how do you make it? Uh, turkey and bacon.
And what else? And, uh, a little more turkey.
Ham? If you're slow, or if your sandwich is taking longer than my sandwich, I'm gonna lose three people while I wait on you.
And I'm not gonna make that money back, 'cause they're not gonna wanna come back, because it took so long.
So, you know, my objective is to break you.
Because if I can break you, I don't need you.
You have to be as good or better than me.
I'm a customer.
I just walked in the door.
What do you say to me? Um, hi, how you doin'? Welcome to Subway.
Welcome to Subway.
What kind of bread would you like? Should I say it like that? Welcome to Subway.
What kind of-- you have a stern look on your face.
- Funny guy.
- Mm-hmm.
You're trying to be a comedian.
How 'bout we just make sandwiches? Hi, sir.
How are you? What can we get for you today? Any cheese on it? How many pieces of turkey does a foot-long turkey get? Uh, I would say six.
You would be right.
I'm just learning.
Okay, would you like some vegetables on that, sir? Oh, everything but onions and ja-- so then I can remember what order.
Some pickles, sir? Yeah.
Come on, just grab a handful.
Yeah, you can pass that.
Grab a handful and then go? - Fold.
- Fold now? 'Cause this is six-inch.
Rolled.
- Roll.
- Roll.
Fold.
Fold.
Look, there's a lot of people here.
Roll, roll.
- Hey, uh, you're-- - yes? You're being timed.
- I'm being timed.
- Yeah.
- On this one? - Uh-huh.
You get two minutes.
Okay, it was a-- - Subway club.
- Subway club.
American and swiss.
Excuse me.
- For here or to go? - Uh, it's for here.
This is my first club ever.
When Jessi was timing me, I could really feel the pressure 'cause she game me two minutes, and I wanted to do a good job.
But when the line was getting bigger, that's where the pressure was.
Sure, what kind of cheese would you like, sir? Ten seconds.
Okay, and Everything that I do is for the good of my customers.
Like, that's the last thing that you want me to hear, is that you made one of my customers unhappy.
Three minutes.
'Cause I'm sweatin', man.
I want to make it look nice.
There's no such thing as a five-minute sandwich.
A five-minute sandwich is a lost customer.
All right, come on.
No, you're done.
I'm done? Why don't you go in the back and do some dishes? We'll probably have you take out trash, clean the dining room, and have you sweep and Welcome to Subway, sweetheart.
Welcome to Subway.
I might be better at scrubbing than I am at making sandwiches, so Maybe I found my calling in life.
Oh, man.
It's inside the door, intelligent person.
Jessi is tough.
She kept me hopping, she kept me on my toes.
Whoa! Here is a 56-year-old man taking orders from a 19-year-old.
How does that make me feel? Old.
I see you're digging your bomb diggity sandwich over there.
It's really delicious.
If you were gonna make the ultimate sandwich, what would you make? I would make a Cuban.
Would you ever suggest this to anybody? You know, I've never quite gotten a corporate bigwig to let me bend his ear about that.
It's on my list.
I have a list.
It's a big list.
Yeah.
One thing that's very important is innovation.
And folks being able to get ideas back to headquarters.
We have to look at the channels to make that happen.
So do you live around here? I live, like, Live at home with my daddy.
It's just me and my dad for 19 years.
- It's just you and your dad? - Yeah.
My dad, he has a commercial carpet installation business.
I've gone to jobs, and You know how to install carpets? And you're going to school I'm growing.
I'm going to school.
I got a job.
I pay for my car.
So I don't get to work with him as much as I'd like to, but he's my rock.
Is he helping you with college? Yeah, he, like, paid for my first semester, and then I've got financial aid.
I've just got to get that figured out.
I've got to go talk to somebody about a loan or something.
I don't know and Where's your mom? Not there.
I mean, like, I have an idea where she is, but she's just-- she was never there, so I just try not to worry about her.
She doesn't worry about me, so - That--that sucks.
- Yeah, it does.
Jessi's been through a lot of stuff.
Uh, I could relate to what she was talking about.
My mom left my dad.
That's tough for anybody.
Come on.
Let's go see if you remember how to wrap a sandwich.
Oh, boy.
Today I learned what I came to learn, which is the sandwich is king.
It's got to be made right.
And after today, I can no longer say that I've never made a Subway sandwich.
Coming up, Don goes into deep freeze.
I can't get out of here.
Help.
Don Fertman, Chief Development Officer of Subway, is a boss undercover.
There's no such thing as a five-minute sandwich.
His employees think he's part of a television show where two people are competing for one job within the company.
There you go.
That's better than it was.
His journey continues in Auburn, Alabama.
I'm here in Auburn, Alabama on one of the busiest days of the year, because it's game day in this university town.
I'm going undercover working alongside a store manager, and I want to find out how they handle customer service on a busy day.
I'm looking for Sherri.
I'm her.
You come to work today, huh? I am.
Ah, how about we get you started? 'Cause today is a football game day, and we're gonna be really, really busy.
When John came in, I saw he was older, and I was like, "oh, this man is not gonna be able to move fast.
"He is not gonna be able to get it.
It's gonna take more than Good morning, sweetie.
Okay.
Always need paper, and, "hi, how can I help you today?" Hi, how can I help you today? Hey, how you doing? All right, so, no.
Ma'am, be right with you.
Ma'am, be right with you.
And we're gonna finish with him first.
Yup.
And she'll see that you're doing something, so she won't be upset.
- Be with you in just a moment.
- Sure.
And what vegetables, sir, would you like on it? What kind of vegetables would you like, sir? Lettuce, tomato, and mustard? Mayo and mustard.
Okay.
You come to Subway a lot? Second time ever? Sir, you wanted bacon? All right.
We'll be with you in just a moment.
We'll be with you in just a moment.
And everybody.
Hello.
A six-inch tuna on wheat.
We started on this child about 15 minutes ago.
All righty, well, we gonna talk and move.
Ooh, and it's not ice cream.
It's not ice cream.
This is tuna.
Ma'am, what kind of cheese would you like today? American cheese.
Some people have kind of a stern look, and some people are waiting, and I want to take care of these people, and I want to talk to 'em too and make 'em feel good.
I started about half an hour ago.
So we're doing tuna.
You came at the right place at the right time, didn't you? I'm gonna bite ya.
Okay, this is all customer service.
I'm talking to people.
We're gonna talk to 'em and get their money at the same time, all right.
John is being a chatty catty, and he's talking a lot.
This will be my first roast beef sandwich ever.
He couldn't talk and make a sandwich.
Like, "hi, how's your day at Subway?" But he would stop his hands from moving.
And he didn't get nothing out of anybody.
No dirt, no nothing out of no one.
We got to get him in and get him out.
How you expect me to make money? We're gonna have a conversation and we're gonna get our hands to move.
Now, when we have one customer, we will make them feel like princesses and kings, but when we have a line, we need to what? Keep moving.
Move it, move it, move it.
- You got it.
- green pepper and mustard green pepper and mustard he went one tomato, two tomato, three tomato.
And we still got cucumbers to go, y'all.
We still not finished.
Four.
Five.
We just got to get you just a little faster.
It should have took no more than one minute to knock that on out.
How can I get to know him in a minute? You can.
The things you get to know, you will be amazed the things you're gonna learn here at Subway.
People will tell you about their children, their divorces, who's in jail, who's not in jail.
In the space of one minute? In the space of one minute.
I promise you.
They can get it in and get it out.
Are you gonna show me how to get that out of people? Yes, I will.
Oh, I'll tell you everything, honeybunch.
And how long have you been doing this? I been doing it, like, 19 years.
Wow.
I was gonna stay, like, a year.
That was it.
You're still here.
I was even thinking about being at GM.
But then I won't be around people all the time.
So you just love your customers? I really love my customers.
I really, really, really do.
And I got three kids that work at Subway too.
Wow.
What impressed me the most about Sherri is that Subway is engrained in her.
The customer service comes naturally to her.
I'm coming, princess.
I like your outfit.
I saw you walking up.
I'm like, "oh, that's so cute.
" I'm just to old to wear it, but that's so cute.
She knows all of her customers, and if she doesn't know 'em, she makes 'em feel like she knows 'em.
Now are you ready to make some more sandwiches? 'Cause we got more people coming.
Uh, I'm always ready.
You go, honey.
Today I saw customer service in action, and found out that you can give great customer service while churning out lots and lots of sandwiches in a very short period of time.
You can put it all together.
Did I hear them say "break"? No, no, you don't get one.
That's why we took your watch.
I am exhausted.
Been on my feet all day.
My back's killing me.
Oh, man.
As always, when I'm on the road, I miss the family.
- Hello? - Hi, love.
Hey, babe.
My family today is very different from the family I grew up in.
So how'd school go today with the kids? They had a good day.
I grew up in an alcoholic family.
Growing up, I would watch my dad, and I would say, "I'm never gonna be like that.
" And then, as I drank, I found I'm exactly like him.
But you know what? I don't have to be like that today.
Okay, give my love to the kids.
- I will.
- Okay, bye, baby.
- Good night, babe.
- Bye.
I can be a sober dad to my kids.
Today I'm at a brand new store in Orlando, Florida that recently opened in the Science Center.
When a new store opens, one of the challenges is meeting the demand, because you don't know what the demand is yet.
Uh, I'm looking for Efrain.
Yes, sir, and your name? Uh, John Wilson.
All right.
Here's your uniform.
I'm looking forward to going undercover to find out how this store is prepping for the daily business in order to reduce costs and increase profitability.
- How do I look? - Oh, looking great.
- Doing all right? - Yes, sir.
Um, so, what we're gonna do now is, we got to start on our bread.
We're gonna have one wheat, one honey oat, two whites, one herb cheese, one parm.
This is gonna be your seasoning.
Grab one, roll it, put it back.
All right, go ahead and try that.
Yes, sir.
That seems easy.
Now this one's not done right.
You only have it on half.
So go ahead and roll that again.
- Okay.
- All right.
Go ahead and grab those pan and put 'em in here.
- What's this thing? - It's a proofer.
It's where they expands the bread.
Go ahead and close it.
Yep.
We're gonna set the timer.
And what we're gonna do, we're gonna do the next six rounds.
All right, so the same thing we just did here, I need you to do that.
Get it done, like, probably in two minutes.
Baking Subway bread has a lot of stages.
First you got to prep it, then you got to put it in the proofer.
So I want to make sure I get it done right and fast.
So now you just pressing stuff.
Look.
Oh, that's that? Yeah, that's that.
Got to stop it.
- Okay.
- Open it.
You're gonna burn my bread.
See, now with that glove, you just pinched the bread, so now the bread is actually gonna bake just like that.
Same as for that bread.
Go ahead and put the cheese.
I'm sorry, little bread.
I'm sorry.
When you're finished there, just put it in the oven.
John is definitely just not up to par with these things.
I mean, he's just not cutting it.
All right, I'm gonna send you to make some cookies, all right? Cookies.
So I'm gonna need two pans of chocolate chip, two pans of macadamia, one pan of double chocolate, one pan of oatmeal, one pan of peanut butter.
John? Yes.
Got the bread? Oh, boy.
All right, it's pretty much all the timers.
Go ahead and turn off all the timers.
- Right? - Yep.
Now go ahead and finish the cookies.
Make sure you keep it to mind in four minutes you got to come back and put this back up.
Oh, boy.
- John.
- Coming, mother.
- Your bread.
- Okay, sir.
This whole Subway thing is all about multitasking.
John probably said, "oh, man, this is Subway, man.
"We don't do a lot of work here.
"This is gonna be a piece of cake.
John obviously was wrong.
" Peanut butter.
Okay, he didn't teach me this part.
How do you get out of here? - John.
- Efrain, help.
Don Fertman, Chief Development Officer of Subway, is a boss undercover.
But currently he's locked in a freezer in the back room of an Orlando Subway.
- Efrain, help! - John.
How do you get out of here? Help! John couldn't get out the freezer.
I don't know what it was.
John just wasn't there.
Out.
Thought you got locked in there.
My first time in there.
I thought you were supposed to pull.
I couldn't get out.
It was a frightening moment.
- Are you done? - No.
John's speed is similar to my grandma.
I mean, if I was to tell him to do something, my grandma probably could have done it a little faster.
Take that bread out and put it over there as well.
Nope.
You just hit start again.
Take that bread and put it over there.
- How do I stop? - You got two things buzzing.
Let's go.
Okay.
How do I stop-- take this bread out.
Take this bread out.
Take those cookies out.
Watch out.
You're squeezing the bread.
Where's the bread thing? - Over there.
- Okay.
We're gonna have burnt cookies by the time you're done.
Did the cookies buzz? Do you hear 'em? I did not.
- They're buzzing now.
- These ears are getting old.
Okay, quiet down.
Stop.
Yup, the wrong-- now you're just pressing knobs.
You need to take a break.
I'm really good at multitasking in front of a computer and talking on the telephone, but when it comes to the Subway kitchen, I think I have a lot to learn.
All right, John, what happened? I keep listening for the buzzers, but there's so many moving pieces to this.
And, you know, I'm not a young guy.
So let me ask you this, how old are you, and how'd you-- how'd you get where you're at? - I'm 20.
- You're 20 years old, you got to be one of the youngest managers ever.
This company of 96, 97 stores, I was the youngest manager.
Holy mackerel.
When I started off here, I was just a sandwich artist.
I was in there making the minimum wage.
I didn't have a car.
I would use to walk to work, ride the bus.
There was no manager.
And I went in there, and I tried to do the best I can.
And in seven months, I got manager of the month out of 293 stores.
That meant a lot.
- You got manager out of 93-- - 293 stores.
- 290-- - the whole section of Florida.
I'm really glad for Efrain that he's been given the opportunities he has, and he's really made something of them, and he's made something of himself.
Somebody like that is terrific for our organization.
What do you want to do from here? I want to adopt a child.
My real mom and dad just wasn't there for me.
And I always tell my foster mom, I said, you know, "you gave me a second chance.
"Nothing could have been possible if you didn't really take me in and raise me how you did.
" So I just want to grow up to be real successful and as well as give back to different foster kids and stuff like that-- foster kids.
Your mom adopted you.
Does she have other kids or do you have brothers-- she had four of her own, and she adopted three of us.
Really? Efrain was a foster kid.
He ended up getting adopted.
And now he's planning to pass that on.
That is really awesome.
At the age of 20, he's running a Subway store.
This guy, he's got places to go, and I think he's gonna get there.
At Subway, as the Chief Development Officer, I am in charge of developing new stores all over the world.
And a big part of that is nontraditional development.
Those are stores that are in unusual types of locations, not your freestanding building, not a strip shopping center.
And today I'm in Buffalo, New York.
And I'm standing in front of a Subway store in a church, so I can see how this really works.
I'm John Wilson.
John, nice to meet you.
I think I'm working with you today.
Great.
Well, before we get started, first thing, got a uniform for you to go and change into.
I'm very interested in learning how they're surviving here, considering that it's not our traditional demographic, and it's certainly not a traditional location.
So today what we're gonna be doing is something new.
We're gonna be trying deliveries.
Oh, boy.
We're gonna be introducing to the community.
So you're part of the trial process.
So I'll be learning along with you.
- Yes.
- I was very surprised this particular Subway wanted to start a delivery program, 'cause very, very few stores do delivery.
You're gonna answer the phone for the next order.
Just say, "Subway at True Bethel.
How may I help you?" Subway at True Bethel.
Yes.
Then we write down the orders here.
You write down what they want exactly.
So that's my job right now, is to take down the order.
Yes.
Oh, boy.
Subway, True Bethel.
Hello? Subway, True Bethel.
How may I help you? Yeah, can I get some sandwiches for delivery? An order for delivery, terrific.
Tell me what kind of sandwich of sandwiches-- - bmt on wheat.
- Pardon me.
- A bmt - A bmt - On wheat.
- On wheat.
Okay.
Get some olives - olives.
- And avocadoes.
A lot or a little? - A lot.
- What's the second one? - Avocado.
- Sorry, could you say that one more time? Avocado.
Holy mackerel.
When the phone started ringing, I'm trying to understand the person, I'm trying to get all the information right.
That is a lot of pressure.
I don't have a total on that for you, sir, but we can ring it up for you, and I can tell you exactly how much.
Would you like that? Yeah.
Okay, hang on.
We're gonna ring that up right now.
Somebody has to read my writing.
The challenge in doing delivery was writing everything down, doing it in such a way that everybody could see it, which was kind of hard, when people are just using pieces of paper, and then trying to make the order right, get all the orders coordinated.
Let's do this.
So how about your family? I have four kids, all adopted.
- All adopted? - Yes.
So how'd you end up adopting kids? Well, my wife had a problem with having kids.
So I looked at life and said, "hey, maybe we were created for something else.
" Four kids.
You're working night and day.
Just about.
When do you get time to spend with your family? Saturday nights is family day for us.
And this is our delivery to the funeral home.
Yes.
Hi.
- Hi.
- How are you? Hello.
Good to see you.
Pastor Sway.
Yes.
$20.
34.
Just give us $20 even.
Okay.
Thank you.
You all have a great day.
That was good.
You know everybody around here.
Oh, yeah.
Hello? Duane, where are you guys? The guys from the barbershop called three times.
They want their food.
We'll be there-- we'll be there shortly.
Is that the store calling? Yeah, because Al's is really-- they want their food right away.
They've called the store a couple of times for this last order.
The pressure of delivering on time was, like, being out there on game day.
Okay, we've got a few seconds till the clock buzzes.
I want to make sure that I get through those last few seconds successfully.
Okay, we're here.
A little bit up on the curb, but that's okay, 'cause we're here to make a delivery.
Hey, what's up, sir? I know you was, man.
How you doing? Good to see you.
You guys must have been starving.
$19.
98.
$20.
Keep the change.
- All right, sir.
- Here you go.
You can blame me.
I'm the new guy.
- Oh, yeah.
- I'm slowing the guy down.
This one is on the house.
And then you get 20% off your next order as well.
Call us and we'll bring it.
I'm-a order up tomorrow.
- Now, it won't take as long - Okay.
- 'Cause you know why - Appreciate it.
- Yeah.
- Appreciate that, though.
Eat fresh.
Hopefully, it's still fresh.
Well, hey, we were pretty close.
- Yeah.
Pretty close.
- I think delivery could potentially increase our sales.
Just have to make sure that the process works and that the product is fresh, fast, and the way they want it.
Ah, a new worker today.
And you are? - I am John Wilson.
- John.
Darius Pridgen.
Good to meet you.
I'm the pastor here.
Yeah.
Learning everything fine? I-I'm working on it.
A lotta customers today.
You wanna see the church in the back? Show you around and Sure.
I'd love to see the church.
Duane, if you would keep an eye on the store.
Sorry, boss.
I'm going on break.
- You ever did a sermon? - I have not done a sermon.
Come on, now.
Let me put you right behind This is the power desk.
This is where it all happens.
This is where it all comes down.
It all happens right here.
Let the church say amen.
- Everybody, amen! - Amen.
Amen.
- Do I hear you? Amen! - There you go.
See? You got a lot of music going Oh, man, come on over here.
Let me-- this is-- this is a music church.
Well, that's good, 'cause I love music.
You're not gonna go into an African-American church anywhere and not have a drum.
You've gotta have it.
'Cause we have rhythm.
- I only know how to play like-- - do you have rhythm? Like if I do like that.
You need the backbeat, right? The pop, pop.
- Uh-uh.
- Okay.
I'm gonna keep you on the subs.
Wanna try here? Come on, sit down there.
Oh! You fooled me.
You fooled me.
What I like about the pastor is I felt instantly comfortable with him, and he cared about each person that he works with.
I could really feel that from him.
I mean, I've never seen a Subway store with a church.
- Right.
- How long has that been there? The Subway's been there about five years, John, and the reason we actually put it in the church was because there weren't a lot of opportunities in this neighborhood when I got here.
We had a high murder rate and a lot of people not working.
So a lot of people always talk about "just get people jobs.
" Well, that's not the key if they haven't been trained.
So we started collecting an offering.
We called it a franchise offering-- literally called it a franchise offering.
- Really? - But we've got to do more than bring a business-- we've gotta train people.
We try to push people into the next level of life.
Now, I'm working with Duane.
- Yeah.
- Where'd you find him? You know, Duane is actually another minister at another church.
We have a church in Niagara Falls, but because of his people skills, it was a good fit for him to come over and to manage the store.
Could you imagine this being in other churches? Yes.
Any organization can do it if they're gonna put the work into it.
I was really impressed by what they've accomplished there, how he ended up transforming the church into this.
He's a man of action, and he's out there working hard to make things happen, to make things better.
Duane, I got your worker back for you.
So don't forgetSmile.
Terrific.
Smile.
Wash your hands.
- Wash hands.
- And whose brother are you? - I am your brother.
- The pastor's brother.
- Thank you, pastor brother.
- All right.
I came here today wondering how Subway and a church could possibly work together, and I came away learning that not only do they work together but there's so much more we can do.
It's an opportunity to take business and not just make profits but make people have a better life.
My journey undercover is coming to an end.
Over this journey, I've connected with people who have been through things that are just Overwhelming.
Meeting pastor darius and Duane and the neighborhood that they're working to change, I start to think about where I was 27 years ago.
My life was falling apart, and Subway gave me a second chance.
But most of all I bring back with me the people that I've met, the people that are making this company what it is.
Don's employees think they're coming to company headquarters to cast their vote between two workers competing for a job at Subway.
Gotta let some go, gotta keep some.
It's a dog-eat-dog world.
But how will they react when he reveals the truth? I'm Don Fertman, the Chief Development Officer for Subway.
My undercover experience is finally over.
I'm really looking forward to taking what I've learned and changing the face of Subway.
- Hey.
Hey.
- Hi.
Welcome back.
I'm back.
I miss the beard already.
How was it? Well, I found out I am not the fastest sandwich artist in the world.
But, uh, you know, one of the last things that you said to me was go out there and meet the people.
And let me tell you, I got to know some great people.
So I see Jessi in Orlando.
She's into creating sandwiches, so she's a sandwich artist who's got a head full of great ideas.
You know, you do multi-- you know, donor round tables, and they do round tables with development agents.
But what about a sandwich artist forum? - That's great.
- All ideas welcome.
Next on my list, Sherri, uh, was in Alabama.
And the customers that come into her store feels like she cares about each one of them.
You know, I know it all starts with the sandwich, but it ends with customer service.
Yeah, yeah, this is a, this is really a big deal.
The question is, how do you take her attitude and her approach and introduce that to so many people around the world? Exactly right.
We need to pick her brain.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
You know, I'm not an operations guy.
As you know, I'm the development guy.
And I saw some cool development stuff, 'cause I saw an excellent, non-traditional location.
In Buffalo, New York, it's in a church.
Mm-hmm.
And it's one that we talk about all the time in the media, but I got a chance to see how it works, and maybe it's something to use as a potential business model for empowering communities and reaching out into the communities and kind of tying that together.
Okay, great.
I kind of like that idea.
It was a great report, Don.
- Yeah, it was terrific.
- Thank you.
Thanks, everybody.
All these 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 not nervous about giving my assessment.
I'm pretty confident in it.
Gotta let some go, gotta keep some.
It's a dog-eat-dog world.
Hey.
How are you? Do you know who I am? You're John.
I have a feeling maybe your name isn't John.
- Do I look like John? - No, you don't.
Do I look a little different? Yes, you do.
I'm Don Fertman, and I am the Chief Development officer for Subway.
Wow.
Wow.
Oh, don't say that.
Wow.
Efrain.
You ran me ragged, man.
What you kept emphasizing with me was initiative.
And there was so many ways to use initiative.
So I want to have you join our innovation committee because it looks for ways to foster innovation within the system.
I know you're a guy that speaks his mind, and I want you to be able to speak your mind.
I would love to.
You've been very interested in fostering others.
You know, the whole foster care idea and being more involved in that.
What I'd like to do is give you $5,000 for you to donate to the foster organization of your choice.
Thank you.
One last thing, and that is, uh, your mom.
I want you to do something nice for your mom.
So I'm gonna give you You just use that $1,000 however you want.
That's funny, 'cause her birthday's coming up in, like, two weeks.
- Really? - Yeah.
Would you do something really nice for her on her birthday? Oh, definitely.
My son's 11.
If he grows up to be like you, I'll be really, really proud.
I appreciate it.
I really do.
It's just crazy.
It's really exciting.
Just what he's doing for my moms, it makes me feel good, uh, for the fact that I always tell myself I always wanna give back to her.
Anything I could do, I'll always give back to her.
Well, I'm extremely happy about the whole situation.
Sherri.
I was so excited working with you because you are an amazing sandwich artist.
You are terrific at customer service.
You're a wonderful manager and you're the Subway lady.
Thank you.
And it's an honor to know the Subway lady.
You're somebody that helps the customer really know Subway because they get to know you.
So I wanna make you the star of a customer service video because you know what customer service is all about.
Well, thank you.
So for the video, we're gonna give you $5,000 for appearing and helping out on the project.
Thank you.
That's sweet.
So I want to fly you and a guest out to our convention in California.
We'll have you give a workshop while you're out there.
I'm gonna give you the opportunity to spoil yourself a little bit to go on a shopping spree, to have a spa day.
Just do things that are gonna make you feel good.
We want you to take care of yourself.
Aw.
Thank you.
I am just so ecstatic that somebody actually recognized that I do a good job.
You just couldn't get any better than this.
Jessi.
I've worked for different bosses.
You are the boss who scared me the most.
Funny guy.
Mm-hmm.
You're trying to be a comedian.
How about we just make sandwiches? I don't wanna scare you.
- In a good way.
- Oh, okay.
You know, you showed me the art of the sandwich.
But you taught me a lot more than that.
And, you know, your dad's worked so hard, and in the meantime, he helped you start college.
I know it's tough on your dad, it's tough on you.
What I wanna do is pay for the rest of your college education.
What? I will pay for the rest of your college education.
Wow, I don't even know what to say to that.
That's, like-- thank you.
Thank you so much.
That is amazing, thank you.
And the thing is, I want you to spend some time with your dad.
And I will pay for you and your dad to go on vacation anywhere you wanna go.
Oh, my God.
Are you kidding me right now? This is, like, not even happening.
You know, all I did was teach you how to make a sandwich.
This is just insane.
I gotta just try and remember to keep breathing.
I don't even know how to describe it.
Honestly, I'm at a loss for words right now.
The girl that never shuts up has nothing to say.
Duane.
I was just amazed by how you're working to build the business on the store, but you're also working to build the community.
I just have so much respect for you, man.
Thanks to you, we're gonna build a program with Subway empowering the community by building job skills, and we want you to advise us how to do that.
Wow.
And you'll be getting compensation for that.
Sounds awesome.
And you have your church in Niagara Falls.
Mm-hmm.
So we'd like to waive the franchise fee for you.
$15,000 franchise fee will be gone and that can be the start between Buffalo, Niagara Falls, and maybe a whole network of these all around the country.
All right.
And maybe all around the world.
You never know.
And on top of that, we're going to start an education fund for your boys of $20,000.
Wow.
$5,000 for each kid.
Thank you.
If we get started now, by the time college rolls around, I think they'll be in good shape.
Definitely.
Definitely.
Thank you so much.
I'm a man, so I tried to hold back my tears, but I just wanted to cry because seeing my children actually able to get that education, it was just awesome.
And words can't express how I feel right now.
I'm feeling a little nervous 'cause I'm about to reveal to the entire corporate staff that I've been undercover.
Right now, I'm gonna introduce to you your friend, our Chief Development Officer, Mr.
Don Fertman.
Thank you, Fred.
Thank you, Subway, team Subway.
I am here to tell you that, for the past week, I have been undercover at Subway.
I learned that I really stink as a sandwich artist.
Let's take a look at some of my experiences.
- You get two minutes.
- I want to make it look nice.
There's no such thing as a five-minute sandwich.
And it's not ice cream.
It's not ice cream.
Okay.
This is tuna.
John's just not cutting it.
And my grandma probably could have done it a little faster.
I wanted to find out about building sales, building profits.
But, you know, what I found was a lot more.
It helped me to realize just how fortunate I am to be part of this Subway family.
The people that are out there serving each sandwich are the folks that truly make this company great.
We need to hear it for the people behind the counters all over the world of Subway.
The climax of this whole thing for me was the opportunity to help make their lives better.
You could say that the gifts I was able to give are similar in scope to the gift that was given to me by this company when they gave me a second chance when I had failed them.
I'm hoping that as a result of this experience, I can be a better boss, but that I can also be a better employee.