Undercover Boss (2010) s03e05 Episode Script
American Seafoods
This week on Undercover Boss the CEO of American Seafoods, one of the country's biggest seafood companies, poses as an immigrant on a reality show about people pursuing their American dream.
- Bjorn Petersen.
- Bjorn, nice to meet you.
He'll trade in his private jet and rock star friends for a fishing hook and fish guts.
It's very stinky.
By working on the front line in the rough seas, this former fisherman will find out if he still has what it takes to make it in the field.
- He almost look like girl.
- Move faster than that.
I'm going as fast as I can.
You have to go into the pit and clean it up.
He'll be forced out of his comfort zone.
This water is boiling! Lift me up up, up! And the tides will turn when he reveals his true identity.
Hi, John.
Coming up next on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 3x05 - American Seafoods Original air date February 24, 2012 Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with more than 1,500 employees operating a fleet of fishing vessels in the Bering Sea, American Seafoods is one of the largest seafood companies in the United States.
And helming this $450 million a year business is one self-made Norwegian immigrant.
My name is Bernt Bodal, and I'm the CEO of American Seafoods.
At American Seafoods, we catch fish and process fish.
Our product will end up in restaurants like McDonalds, Long John Silver's, and in many grocery stores.
I was born in Norway and have equivalent of high school diploma.
I didn't have a penny to my name.
I worked on the vessels in Alaska for 13 years as a deckhand.
Watch out, watch out.
We had some very, very hairy moments.
Deck temperatures down to minus ten below and 100-knot winds it's a very, very dangerous environment.
I was a captain up to 1989.
Eventually put together a buying group and buy out the prior owners.
I'm definitely not a professional CEO.
I mean, I'm a fisherman that became CEO of American Seafoods.
But I always had a lot of confidence.
I'm a very, very quick learner.
And today, I think, American Seafoods by far is the number one fishing company in the world.
For fun, I do my own flying.
There is an emergency exit on the right hand side of the cabin.
Very few places in the world I haven't flown myself.
My other great hobby is music.
I used to be a rock and roll musician in Norway with a quite successful band called Host.
This guy flies his own airplane.
I've been fortunate to play with Roger Daltrey from The Who, Steven Tyler Just last week, Sammy Hagar invited me to come and play with him.
Are we having any fun yet? - Salmon's ready.
- Perfect.
Do you want to take it out, put it on the grill? I got divorced a few years ago.
My daughter Ellen is 30.
My mom's still alive, and she lives in Seattle now.
Are you nervous? How often do you see me nervous? Not very often.
It's going to be exciting to go back on the boat.
Am I nervous? No.
You know, I have years of experience, and I still feel confident.
When's the last time you went out on a boat? I think my dad's definitely going to have a reality check.
He hasn't done hard work like this for a really long time.
His lifestyle now is completely different.
- Bye, bye, I'll miss you.
- Bye-bye.
I've been with the company almost from the beginning, and we've been very successful.
But our goal is to continue to grow and get bigger, so while I'm undercover, I will be looking for opportunities to increase efficiency to make the company more profitable.
While going undercover, I will be posing as Bjorn Petersen, a Norwegian considering immigrating to the United States.
My co-workers will be told they are involved in a reality show called American Dreams about people who have dreamed of living and working in America in hopes of a new life and career.
Today, I am at American Seafoods processing facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
The fish from off our boats, we freeze them into a solid block, and they are then further processed where we make various food products that will end up in restaurants.
Before I go to Alaska on one of our ships, I'm going to be working as a maintenance manager.
American Seafoods has a lot of equipment.
If we have a breakdown in a facility, that's bad for business and costs us money.
Can someone tell me where to find John? - Hey, John? - Hi.
Eh, Bjorn Petersen.
- Bjorn? - Yeah.
John Pine.
How are you? Nice to see you.
- So you're my new trainee? - Yes.
We've got a couple of things to do today.
Change over a couple lines, do some welding.
Okay.
Our main thing's gonna be the pit.
- Gonna get you dressed up.
- Yeah.
Let's go to work on the fish pit.
You have to go into the pit.
It's going to be a little dirty, a little smelly from the fish, the batters, the breaders, the oil.
That's pretty deep.
Gonna be swimming round in it.
You're going to be swimming, yes.
One of the dirtiest jobs in the place.
When you get down there, I'm going to hand you a bucket and a shovel.
You clean it up.
Okay, we're going to hook you up.
If you run into problems, just say "up" - or say "stop.
" - Okay.
Watch your back over here.
Let me know when you're there.
This water is boiling! Lift me up.
Up, up! Up! Lift me up, it's boiling.
Up, up, up! Bernt Bodal, CEO of American Seafoods, is a boss undercover in his own company.
So you're my new trainee.
His employees think he's part of a reality show about immigrants pursuing their American dream, but right now, he's in a bit of hot water.
Lift me up! Lift me up! Up, up! This water is boiling.
Lift me up! Up, up! - It's hot? - It's boiling.
Okay, then we'll get you out of there.
Come on out.
When Bjorn screamed you know, I don't want to knock him down too much, but it was, like feminine woma I don't know.
Maybe it was a little bit of a @#&*, I don't know.
What I'll do is I'll put some cold water.
You don't want to go? That that gives people burn damage.
You don't want to go, you don't have to go.
This was just totally $@&*.
That water is boiling.
We shouldn't put anyone in a tank like that.
- It is a little warm.
- It's not "a little warm.
" Yes, the water was warm, but it is part of the job, going in the pit.
There are people that do do it.
I've done it.
I was more than willing to make it comfortable for him, but he didn't want to make a second effort.
- You all right? - Yeah.
You're going to change out a breader.
What is a breader? It's a machine that puts flour on fish to cover it.
What we have here is a batter applicator which got some broken wires.
- We have to repair it.
- Okay.
So I'm going to show you how to do one.
This is the wire that's damaged, so what we're going to do is cut it and remove it.
So you'll hold with one hand, and you cut.
Okay? Hold and cut.
You want me to do the other side or you want to try it? I can try it.
Now what you're going to do is cut it here.
No oh, you cut the wrong one.
By cutting the wrong one, what you've done is doubled the work.
Okay.
Where do I start? No.
No, no, no.
- You have to go from - Yeah, I got it, okay.
John has a very high standard for his employees.
He maybe wasn't a very patient trainer, but he obviously knows his job very well.
So how long have you been in this country? Oh, I've just been here for a few months right now.
You have kids? You have family? I have kids back in Norway.
What drives you to put food on the table for them? You know, work hard.
Well, I I can get a jackass to work hard.
Being a foreigner in a foreign country is people telling you you can't do stuff, and you've got to prove them wrong every day.
So you've got to try harder than the next guy.
No, no, I realize that.
The part that drives my ass is, my God, you're a foreigner like me.
- So where is your father from? - Portugal.
So are you born in this country? No, I was not born here.
I was born in The Azores.
So you still get a chance to go back to The Azores? Yes.
Matter of fact, I'm hoping to take my kids there and show them where I was born.
Oh, that'd be good.
Yeah, I really appreciate people like John.
We both are foreigners in this country.
John is a very, very hard worker, and he takes his job very, very seriously.
And people like him has made this company a great success.
Ow.
Convince me why should I give you a chance.
That's a very good question.
This just drives me crazy.
But this is one of hundreds of jobs you'd have to learn here.
Believe or not, the wires makes or breaks a lot of mechanics.
We could be here all day.
- I know.
- And it Broke Bjorn.
He sucked at it.
Let's do this.
Have you welded before? Yep.
Uh, that's a three-year-old welding.
He can't weld for @#&*.
Why don't we go in the office, talk for a few minutes? - Sure.
- Okay? Been an interesting day, huh? I need to give this some thought.
I'm sure you need to give yourself some thought whether or not this is what you want.
So let's do that and I'll have to see you around.
I can't keep someone like that.
I appreciate your taking the time.
- Okay, thank you.
- Okay, take care.
- Bye.
- Yeah, all right, bye.
I didn't find Bjorn hungry.
I didn't see the guy say, "listen, give me another shot.
" "I want to come back.
" Shoot myself in the head.
So it's time to pack it up and send him on his way.
You know, I could see John is a guy that would get very easily frustrated by people that are not up to the skill levels, which he should be, and that's why he's not going to hire me in that department.
I think I will do a lot better on the ship.
I know those jobs.
I think I will fare a lot better.
Today I'm piloting myself to Alaska to get on the American Triumph, a flagship boat.
I put on my disguise before I even exit the plane.
I've been coming to Alaska for 30 years, and I'll be very easily recognized.
The factory manager will meet me when I board.
There's only one way to do this successfully.
I have to work with him and the captain to make sure I go undetected while on the ship.
They're both under strict orders not to tell anyone.
Hi, Bjorn.
Welcome aboard.
Well, this is a big boat.
They both catch fish and they process the fish.
The boat has seven decks, and all these people are there 24 hours a day, sometimes six months at a time, away from your family and friends.
- So this is my stateroom? - This is your room, yeah.
I'll be staying on the officer's deck, 'cause I definitely would get recognized if I were down in the crew quarters.
Hi, Rolf.
Hi, good to see you, Bernt.
So what do you think about my new look? You come back to your old hunting grounds.
I want to talk to the ship's captain about how to make sure I don't get discovered.
I hope you are not getting seasick.
No, I don't get seasick.
So then, between my stateroom and up here, you know, - that should be fine.
- Yeah.
So then my first job will be on deck, I believe? But there's nobody there that's going to know me very well? Don't think so.
Unless I go undercover, basically the only two safe places I have is the bridge and down in my stateroom.
- Stay safe out there.
- I will.
Today I'm about to be a deckhand.
The deckhand is the first part of a process to catch the fish and haul the fish on board and get it down into the factory where we can do all the processing.
We will catch as much as I was a deckhand for a total of 13 years, so I'm sure I'll do very well.
You know where Billy's at? That's me.
How's it going, man? Hey, Billy.
Bjorn Petersen.
Bjorn? Nice to meet you.
You're my trainee for the day? - My greenhorn? All righty.
- Yeah.
What we're going to be doing here is going to be hauling back this net, and then we're going to be setting the other side.
So let's just walk back here.
I'll show you where we go.
No, I've never fished.
When I first seen him, I thought Bjorn was a little on the older side to be coming out on deck.
But he seemed to be a nice guy.
Make sure you stand where I tell you to stand, okay? Make sure you don't put your hands anywhere.
Because I've seen people get their fingers cut off and people get killed.
It's not a pretty sight, you know? It can be really dangerous out here.
You got these things called trawl doors that are going to be coming up.
Now the fun begins.
Watch yourself.
Now kind of lean back.
If it pops up, it'll take your face, hit you in the face.
There you go.
You all right? Grab this rope.
Hold up, put it here.
Okay.
Whoa.
Grab that hook.
You really have to pay attention.
If you don't pay attention, you can get hurt seriously hurt really quick out here.
We're going to set out our net to catch more fish.
We're going to walk back with this.
Don't pull too hard on this.
Don't get it wrapped up in your leg.
Billy had a very nice personality, very easy to get along with, and explain things very thorough.
Pull the slack.
Pull the slack up.
Pull the slack up.
Hey, now, now, get ready to pull hard.
Okay, pull it hard, pull it hard.
There you go.
So how long have you been doing this? since I was 19 years old, so So why is that? She's got M.
S.
and she's looking to get into a condo.
She's in the spot where she can't take care.
She's 72 years old and I want to help my mom out as much as I can.
So our next little task here is going to be Okay, go ahead and jump up on top of the bag.
Okay, here you go.
Now, he's going to slack it down.
You run it up there.
Hard to walk, huh? Dragging that 200-pound hook and cable up on the column, this was like walking on Jell-O.
If you stay on the green straps, it'll help you.
You know, I haven't done this job in probably 26 years, and it may be harder than I remember.
Walk it like this, okay? Here, grab it.
Walk it like that.
It's not so much being strong.
It's about technique.
Grab on with both hands if you have to.
Bjorn didn't pick up the technique that much.
He just didn't get it.
I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving him out there on deck alone at all.
We're going to open up the zipper here.
Open that.
No, hold on.
Watch, watch.
Keep that right inside there and hold it out.
All the way.
That's good.
Okay, now we get on the deck while he comes.
When I was a deckhand, it's always exciting to see when you get the net is full of fish and it's the right fish, the fish you want.
- It's a lot of fish, huh? - Nice-looking fish.
And we're going to shovel this fish into that tank.
And make sure you don't step on the fish too hard or you'll break 'em up.
Yeah, push the fish to this side.
Keep walking.
It'll go.
You know, the biggest surprise was to remember how physically hard this work is.
Almost there.
Very humbling for me to do that again.
Okay, go ahead, grab one of those shovels.
Billy totally met my expectations.
He's a fantastic worker.
Bjorn, the best thing is, you've got to push the fish to this side.
For Bjorn to be on the team, I'd have to see a lot more initiative, a lot more energy.
Keep going, keep going.
You're fine.
Keep going.
Sometimes this job can be really grueling.
It wears you down.
I'm sore every day after work.
All right.
Pretty neat, huh? You guys obviously know what you're doing.
Yeah, takes a long time to learn this stuff.
It's definitely not overnight.
It's hard, though.
Being away from your family and stuff, it sucks.
So you have married and got kids? I was married once, yeah.
But I have three kids.
Divorced myself, so I know that can be - Yeah.
- interesting sometimes.
Very tough, that's for sure.
Do you get to see your kids a lot, though, when you're home? Sometimes.
But it's tough lifestyle, you know? You know, you don't have no access to call your family here on the boat, you know? You don't have Internet here, you don't have TV, you don't have nothing.
I would love to be able to talk to my kids a lot more often.
If I was in charge, I would maybe have a couple laptops in the galley.
That little stuff goes a long way.
One of the tough things about being a fisherman and being gone for months at a time you will, unfortunately, miss family.
When I fished in the Bering sea, I used to be gone sometimes six months at a time without having any communication, so I definitely know that feeling firsthand.
So when you get to go home, Billy? When the season's done.
I will look into what it will take to have some Internet access for the crew.
Go back up.
There we go.
Coming up Bernt gets up close and personal with his own product.
It's very stinky.
For me, it was just really nasty and grossed me out.
We're starting to hold up the line.
- And later - I'm gonna have to take over.
the boss is put in his place.
You don't want to piss off your foreman me! I was just like, "move your ass.
" Bernt Bodal is a boss undercover in his own company.
By cutting the wrong one, what you've done is doubled the work.
He's posing as an immigrant on a reality tv show about people who dream of living and working in America.
Whoa! His journey continues off the coast of Alaska.
Been up for 18 hours, you know? It's been a long day.
You know, it's been 26 years since I've worked on a boat.
Interesting to come back to what I did that many years ago.
It's very hard work and very humbling.
I certainly get a renewed appreciation for the hard work all these people are doing, and their dedication.
I'm gonna be working in the fishmeal plant today.
Fishmeal is all the extra pieces of the fish.
Fish heads and the guts.
The fishmeal foreman is responsible to make all the equipment running properly.
So I want to make sure that everything run as smoothly as it should be running.
Rafal? Uh, Bjorn Petersen.
Yes.
All the guts, all the heads, all the livers.
This is the fishmeal? So let's go.
All the guts, heads I show you, but I want you to do it.
It's very stinky! I never worked in a fishmeal plant before.
Fishmeal definitely has a strong, peculiar smell to it.
Bjorn, he looks, like, afraid to like he doesn't want to touch it.
He almost look like girl.
You can pull out the shaft.
All the way.
Splash it with the water! The fishmeal stinks really bad.
For me it was just really nasty and grossed me out.
How do you like it so far? It's, uh, interesting work.
So Like this.
Tug.
So we see here you are closing the bags.
Just take the sewing machine You see this room? We filling up all the way, from the bottom to the ceiling.
This will be one of the hardest parts.
I want you to do at least, like, 10-15 bags, and then I will come back and check you, okay? Okay.
It appears to be very detail oriented.
Each bag needs to be 35.
2-35.
3 kilos.
The biggest surprise was how physically hard this work is.
The bags were definitely very heavy.
Very demanding.
Fast-paced.
And not the easiest job you can have.
Can you stop it for a second? I just want to make sure there is the right weight in the bag.
Too much.
We cannot do it 'cause you're losing the money.
It's tough work.
You can see you have to have some strength.
I can see you start sweating.
Oh, thank you.
So let's take a break.
So it's a little different for me.
First time I'm here and being on the boat.
- Yeah.
- 'Cause I I I live in, uh, Norway now.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, Rafal, like me, he is an immigrant.
You know, it's very tough to be out here having your family that far away.
I can definitely relate to that because I did it for so many years myself.
So do you still enjoy the job? You know, I like the job, you know, but You cannot leave.
It's hard to even communicate.
There's no breaks.
Oh, yeah.
So say, like, me, you know? I want to go to the bathroom Being on a ship like the American Triumph, one of the problems is the physical space.
We have a real limitation on how many people we can put onboard.
- Let's get back to work.
- Okay.
We need people like Rafal, who is just so dedicated to the work.
They are gonna be more worried about the equipment running properly than taking a break.
So make sure this gate is clean.
We are very grateful to have people like that.
Today, I'm gonna be working in the surimi factory.
Surimi is a product we make where you mince the fish, there's sugar added, and you end up with this gel, which is pretty much just fish protein.
Surimi is used to make a variety of products.
In this country, you know it from the imitation crab legs you buy in the grocery stores.
When I'm working on the surimi line, I want to make sure the quality is where it's supposed to be.
D do you know where I find, uh, Susana? - My name is Susana.
- Hi, Susana.
- I'm Bjorn Petersen.
- Hi, Bjorn.
I'm gonna teach you how to do surimi packing.
- Excellent.
- All right? Okay.
In the meanwhile, we're gonna move some more pans.
Those pans are gonna come through this belt right here.
After he introduced himself, I was just, like, "I'm gonna have to do you the same way they did me" "when I first got on this boat, was 'move your ass.
'" I'm gonna show you, and then I'm gonna want you to do it.
Okay.
And, Bjorn, remember, safety first.
Careful.
Okay.
You gotta be careful for the next ones coming out.
All right? Bjorn was listening, but was he doing it? No, that's a whole different story.
Production is not gonna wait for you.
I understand.
All right.
That's a lot of fun, huh? Lot of fun.
This is where you're gonna be packing.
Yeah.
It's an assembly line, okay? So as soon as that meat comes, I want you to keep up with that meat and we're gonna need some speed.
All right, green.
- Stretch like this.
Rip like that.
- Okay.
- That meat's coming fast.
- Yeah.
The meat will be coming out of this nozzle right here.
It'll pump out just the amount that we need.
Yeah.
Fold it back, cut, tuck it under.
- Let it go.
- Okay.
See how that meat's building up? If you don't keep up with that meat you're gonna stop the whole line, okay? All yours.
There you go, there you go.
Cut it, tuck.
Tuck a little bit better than that.
You want that plastic let that one go.
You want that plastic underneath.
All right, Bjorn, that meat's building up.
You're gonna need to move faster than that.
Keep up with that meat.
That shouldn't be happening, I'll tell you that.
I'm doing it as fast as I can at this point.
See how that goes? I want you to see that.
There's a reason why I don't want that.
When I first started here, I needed to move my ass.
You know, we're starting to hold up the line.
My first day was a drag too.
Let me go ahead I'm gonna have to take over because the meat is all piled up in the back.
That's why I need you to move a little faster.
Part of your job is to keep up with that meat hopper.
You don't want to piss off the foreman, the QC me! Susana is a girl that doesn't mess around.
She takes her job very seriously and expects other people to do the same.
I'm gonna have a quick cigarette before we go back down, okay? Beautiful! - Is there a lot of boats - Pretty out here.
A lot of boats out there today? How do you feel about the job? You know, it's, uh Am I being a little bit too hard on you? Uh, no, I mean, it's I can see you need to keep the speed up.
You really gotta show these people what you're made of, 'cause I want to move up.
It's kind of hard to get promoted.
It's tough to get promoted? It's tough.
It's very tough to get promoted.
I haven't seen anybody get promoted since I've been here.
You gotta put in a lot of years.
Yeah.
If I'm still packing surimi within the next 10-15 years, please just throw me overboard.
I'm just kidding.
Where are you from originally, Susana? American Samoa, the island.
I came here when I was four years old.
Wow.
I haven't been back home since.
Um, I lost my mom in 2002.
I'm sorry to hear that.
- My mom was a single mother.
- Wow.
She was a hardworking woman.
She was not only my mom, she was my best friend.
She had liver failure, cancer.
Since I lost my mom, I have not been close to my family.
I have isolated myself from them.
It's part of me being out here because I don't want to deal with getting close to them and then losing them.
I it made me tough, though.
Susana was extraordinarily close to her mom.
I love my mom also, and I understand her pain of losing her mom that early in her life.
I'm gonna take you back downstairs.
Okay.
You need to work on your packing.
Susana has a very demanding, repetitive job.
She seems to be very skilled at her work.
I'm gonna take you down.
Get back down to the factory.
This week, I learned a lot of things about my company and the employees.
The main reason we have a successful company is all the crew on our vessels and their hard work and dedication.
It's a tough, tough way to make a living, being gone for long periods at a time from family and friends, and I definitely want our employees to know that I personally really care about their well-being.
I'm about to reveal my true identity.
All the employees that I have worked with have been asked to come to the bridge of the American Triumph.
They think they're coming to vote on whether or not I should chase my American dream.
I left Boston to come to Alaska to judge on Bjorn's performance.
I think he'd be good for maybe a desk job.
Pencil pusher maybe, I don't know.
Hey, Rafal.
- Do you recognize me? - You're Bjorn.
I'm Bernt Bodal, CEO and owner of American Seafoods.
Really? Wow.
- Nice.
- I'm surprised.
I I should have @#&* known.
I feel I was being made a fool of.
Do you recognize me? Bernt Bodal comes face to face with his employees, I'm Bernt Bodal.
I I should have #@&* known.
And not everyone is happy.
When I saw your palm of your hand, I said, "no @#&* way he does labor.
" But I should have known.
I had a feeling back of my head.
Being tricked doesn't make me happy.
B but John, again, I I don't think you should take it that way, because, again, I I, you know for me to able to see how you guys work, and, you know, and yourself specifically, are extraordinary.
I feel I was being made a fool of.
John, I I never meant to me you're uh, if anyone made a fool, uh, it was me trying to do these jobs.
It was definitely an eye-opener for me.
Well, how's your feet? I should have asked you that.
You know, I didn't get any burn damage or anything, but I could definitely feel it.
Lift me up! Up! Up! Uh, John, I think we should modify our procedure to make sure that the temperature is cooler.
Sorry about the water.
You know, but I'm not sorry about the other stuff.
No, you shouldn't be, and I really got the feeling and appreciation that you really care about your job.
I think you deserve recognition of that, and I'd like to raise your pay by $10,000 a year, and we're going to change your title to director of maintenance.
You don't you don't have to do that.
Believe me, you don't have to do that.
I know we don't have to do it, John, but, you know, I'd like to do it.
I'm shocked, very grateful.
I mean, um, thank you.
You mentioned to me that you always had a dream of taking your wife and kids back to The Azores - Yes.
- And, uh, you know, I fly my own airplane, and what I'd like to do is to take you guys to The Azores and give you $10,000 spending money.
- You don't have to do this.
- I'd like to do it.
Um, thank you, and I think my kids will be definitely taken aback.
Never flown on a plane like that, but yeah I don't know what to say.
I don't like being tricked, but it turned out for the best.
So he's a @#&*, but I'm grateful to him for a lot.
Billy, I fished, myself, in the Bering Sea for 13 years.
- Really? - Yeah.
Uh, you did a great job of fooling me.
It definitely reminded me of all the hard work and, you know, what you and I talked about, how tough it is to be away from, you know, family, and you can't communicate - when you're out at sea.
- Yeah.
Because of you, Billy, we're going to have Internet access for all our crew throughout all our vessels.
That's awesome.
That's totally awesome.
The annual cost for this Internet service will be approximately $200,000 a year, but it is very important for us that the crew are happy.
I want to thank you thank you so much.
The morale of the crew is what keeps, you know, a good vessel like this going.
You mentioned your mom's house.
I'd like to give you a $20,000 gift that you can use as part of your down payment to try and buy your mom's house.
That would be amazing.
I can't thank you enough on that.
And, you know, one more thing.
You shared with me the fact that your mother had multiple sclerosis.
Yes.
It's taken a toll on her.
I'd like to provide a $10,000 donation in your mom's name to whatever M.
S.
cause she would like.
I appreciate that very much.
I can't thank you enough.
I think my mom is just gonna be really happy and shocked.
And about the Internet, I can actually speak to my kids.
I want to tell everybody from American Seafoods and all the boats that you guys are welcome for getting this Internet.
So, Rafal, I was really impressed with your work ethics.
I mean, it's a very hard, demanding job.
You told me you feel limited because of your English capabilities.
Mm-hmm.
I'd like to give you $5,000 to use for tutoring to help you improve the language.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate that.
Will be better for my feelings so I will be not afraid to talk with the people.
Mm-hmm.
You mentioned that your wife and two children are in Poland.
Yes, yes.
That's the hardest part of the job.
Your American dream is to one day have both your wife and children come to the United States.
Yeah.
When that day comes, I would like to take you and your family and personally fly you back from Poland to Seattle.
That's very nice.
I am very happy to feel that.
When you move your family to the United States, this will cost you some money.
To help you with this, I'd like to give you a gift of $25,000.
Thank you very much.
It's hard to believe.
I'm so so happy.
And maybe my dream will come true and, you know, my family will be together.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
I am very happy.
This will change lots of things in my life because I can bring my family over here, and we can be together.
If I will get my family here, it's 99% of my dreams come true.
Susana, I was very, very impressed with your skills.
You know, one of my goals is to become a foreman in this company, right? And, you know, I highly recommend, you know, that anytime there's an opening, you know, you should apply, because people like yourself want to work hard.
You have a very great attitude.
Thank you.
You know, Susana, you talked a little bit about your family and all the tough things you've been through in life.
I would encourage you to spend more time with your family.
And what I'd like to do is to give you a ticket and $5,000 of spending money so you can go back - and visit where you came from.
- No way.
- Are you serious? - I'm serious.
Wow! I'd like to do one more thing for you.
You know, seeing your dedication to the company, I'd like to give you a gift of $20,000.
You know, you're a young woman, and hopefully that money can help you and your family out.
I'm speechless.
I have nieces and nephews.
I can spoil them.
My mom's gone.
That's all she wanted was to keep the family together.
- Thank you.
- You're very, very welcome.
I feel blessed.
I feel great.
It just makes me want to do better.
My mom would be proud.
My mom would be really proud, you know? Keep taking care of myself and my family.
It's been great to have the opportunity to spend time with our crew.
Hello, everyone.
I'm Bernt Bodal, CEO and owner of American Seafoods.
And I've been out on the Triumph for four days working undercover.
It was great to see the hard work you guys do.
So thank you.
And one thing we will do is to get the Internet access on all our vessels.
It was a good reminder for me the sacrifices they make.
You're gone for weeks and months at a time, and it takes a very special person to do a job like this.
All the meals have been fantastic, - so you're doing a great job.
- Thanks a lot.
You know, I came here in 1978.
I really appreciate the opportunity I had in America, and I strongly believe in supporting a crew and giving them the best possible work conditions.
And I'm very supportive of them being successful.
- Bjorn Petersen.
- Bjorn, nice to meet you.
He'll trade in his private jet and rock star friends for a fishing hook and fish guts.
It's very stinky.
By working on the front line in the rough seas, this former fisherman will find out if he still has what it takes to make it in the field.
- He almost look like girl.
- Move faster than that.
I'm going as fast as I can.
You have to go into the pit and clean it up.
He'll be forced out of his comfort zone.
This water is boiling! Lift me up up, up! And the tides will turn when he reveals his true identity.
Hi, John.
Coming up next on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 3x05 - American Seafoods Original air date February 24, 2012 Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, with more than 1,500 employees operating a fleet of fishing vessels in the Bering Sea, American Seafoods is one of the largest seafood companies in the United States.
And helming this $450 million a year business is one self-made Norwegian immigrant.
My name is Bernt Bodal, and I'm the CEO of American Seafoods.
At American Seafoods, we catch fish and process fish.
Our product will end up in restaurants like McDonalds, Long John Silver's, and in many grocery stores.
I was born in Norway and have equivalent of high school diploma.
I didn't have a penny to my name.
I worked on the vessels in Alaska for 13 years as a deckhand.
Watch out, watch out.
We had some very, very hairy moments.
Deck temperatures down to minus ten below and 100-knot winds it's a very, very dangerous environment.
I was a captain up to 1989.
Eventually put together a buying group and buy out the prior owners.
I'm definitely not a professional CEO.
I mean, I'm a fisherman that became CEO of American Seafoods.
But I always had a lot of confidence.
I'm a very, very quick learner.
And today, I think, American Seafoods by far is the number one fishing company in the world.
For fun, I do my own flying.
There is an emergency exit on the right hand side of the cabin.
Very few places in the world I haven't flown myself.
My other great hobby is music.
I used to be a rock and roll musician in Norway with a quite successful band called Host.
This guy flies his own airplane.
I've been fortunate to play with Roger Daltrey from The Who, Steven Tyler Just last week, Sammy Hagar invited me to come and play with him.
Are we having any fun yet? - Salmon's ready.
- Perfect.
Do you want to take it out, put it on the grill? I got divorced a few years ago.
My daughter Ellen is 30.
My mom's still alive, and she lives in Seattle now.
Are you nervous? How often do you see me nervous? Not very often.
It's going to be exciting to go back on the boat.
Am I nervous? No.
You know, I have years of experience, and I still feel confident.
When's the last time you went out on a boat? I think my dad's definitely going to have a reality check.
He hasn't done hard work like this for a really long time.
His lifestyle now is completely different.
- Bye, bye, I'll miss you.
- Bye-bye.
I've been with the company almost from the beginning, and we've been very successful.
But our goal is to continue to grow and get bigger, so while I'm undercover, I will be looking for opportunities to increase efficiency to make the company more profitable.
While going undercover, I will be posing as Bjorn Petersen, a Norwegian considering immigrating to the United States.
My co-workers will be told they are involved in a reality show called American Dreams about people who have dreamed of living and working in America in hopes of a new life and career.
Today, I am at American Seafoods processing facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
The fish from off our boats, we freeze them into a solid block, and they are then further processed where we make various food products that will end up in restaurants.
Before I go to Alaska on one of our ships, I'm going to be working as a maintenance manager.
American Seafoods has a lot of equipment.
If we have a breakdown in a facility, that's bad for business and costs us money.
Can someone tell me where to find John? - Hey, John? - Hi.
Eh, Bjorn Petersen.
- Bjorn? - Yeah.
John Pine.
How are you? Nice to see you.
- So you're my new trainee? - Yes.
We've got a couple of things to do today.
Change over a couple lines, do some welding.
Okay.
Our main thing's gonna be the pit.
- Gonna get you dressed up.
- Yeah.
Let's go to work on the fish pit.
You have to go into the pit.
It's going to be a little dirty, a little smelly from the fish, the batters, the breaders, the oil.
That's pretty deep.
Gonna be swimming round in it.
You're going to be swimming, yes.
One of the dirtiest jobs in the place.
When you get down there, I'm going to hand you a bucket and a shovel.
You clean it up.
Okay, we're going to hook you up.
If you run into problems, just say "up" - or say "stop.
" - Okay.
Watch your back over here.
Let me know when you're there.
This water is boiling! Lift me up.
Up, up! Up! Lift me up, it's boiling.
Up, up, up! Bernt Bodal, CEO of American Seafoods, is a boss undercover in his own company.
So you're my new trainee.
His employees think he's part of a reality show about immigrants pursuing their American dream, but right now, he's in a bit of hot water.
Lift me up! Lift me up! Up, up! This water is boiling.
Lift me up! Up, up! - It's hot? - It's boiling.
Okay, then we'll get you out of there.
Come on out.
When Bjorn screamed you know, I don't want to knock him down too much, but it was, like feminine woma I don't know.
Maybe it was a little bit of a @#&*, I don't know.
What I'll do is I'll put some cold water.
You don't want to go? That that gives people burn damage.
You don't want to go, you don't have to go.
This was just totally $@&*.
That water is boiling.
We shouldn't put anyone in a tank like that.
- It is a little warm.
- It's not "a little warm.
" Yes, the water was warm, but it is part of the job, going in the pit.
There are people that do do it.
I've done it.
I was more than willing to make it comfortable for him, but he didn't want to make a second effort.
- You all right? - Yeah.
You're going to change out a breader.
What is a breader? It's a machine that puts flour on fish to cover it.
What we have here is a batter applicator which got some broken wires.
- We have to repair it.
- Okay.
So I'm going to show you how to do one.
This is the wire that's damaged, so what we're going to do is cut it and remove it.
So you'll hold with one hand, and you cut.
Okay? Hold and cut.
You want me to do the other side or you want to try it? I can try it.
Now what you're going to do is cut it here.
No oh, you cut the wrong one.
By cutting the wrong one, what you've done is doubled the work.
Okay.
Where do I start? No.
No, no, no.
- You have to go from - Yeah, I got it, okay.
John has a very high standard for his employees.
He maybe wasn't a very patient trainer, but he obviously knows his job very well.
So how long have you been in this country? Oh, I've just been here for a few months right now.
You have kids? You have family? I have kids back in Norway.
What drives you to put food on the table for them? You know, work hard.
Well, I I can get a jackass to work hard.
Being a foreigner in a foreign country is people telling you you can't do stuff, and you've got to prove them wrong every day.
So you've got to try harder than the next guy.
No, no, I realize that.
The part that drives my ass is, my God, you're a foreigner like me.
- So where is your father from? - Portugal.
So are you born in this country? No, I was not born here.
I was born in The Azores.
So you still get a chance to go back to The Azores? Yes.
Matter of fact, I'm hoping to take my kids there and show them where I was born.
Oh, that'd be good.
Yeah, I really appreciate people like John.
We both are foreigners in this country.
John is a very, very hard worker, and he takes his job very, very seriously.
And people like him has made this company a great success.
Ow.
Convince me why should I give you a chance.
That's a very good question.
This just drives me crazy.
But this is one of hundreds of jobs you'd have to learn here.
Believe or not, the wires makes or breaks a lot of mechanics.
We could be here all day.
- I know.
- And it Broke Bjorn.
He sucked at it.
Let's do this.
Have you welded before? Yep.
Uh, that's a three-year-old welding.
He can't weld for @#&*.
Why don't we go in the office, talk for a few minutes? - Sure.
- Okay? Been an interesting day, huh? I need to give this some thought.
I'm sure you need to give yourself some thought whether or not this is what you want.
So let's do that and I'll have to see you around.
I can't keep someone like that.
I appreciate your taking the time.
- Okay, thank you.
- Okay, take care.
- Bye.
- Yeah, all right, bye.
I didn't find Bjorn hungry.
I didn't see the guy say, "listen, give me another shot.
" "I want to come back.
" Shoot myself in the head.
So it's time to pack it up and send him on his way.
You know, I could see John is a guy that would get very easily frustrated by people that are not up to the skill levels, which he should be, and that's why he's not going to hire me in that department.
I think I will do a lot better on the ship.
I know those jobs.
I think I will fare a lot better.
Today I'm piloting myself to Alaska to get on the American Triumph, a flagship boat.
I put on my disguise before I even exit the plane.
I've been coming to Alaska for 30 years, and I'll be very easily recognized.
The factory manager will meet me when I board.
There's only one way to do this successfully.
I have to work with him and the captain to make sure I go undetected while on the ship.
They're both under strict orders not to tell anyone.
Hi, Bjorn.
Welcome aboard.
Well, this is a big boat.
They both catch fish and they process the fish.
The boat has seven decks, and all these people are there 24 hours a day, sometimes six months at a time, away from your family and friends.
- So this is my stateroom? - This is your room, yeah.
I'll be staying on the officer's deck, 'cause I definitely would get recognized if I were down in the crew quarters.
Hi, Rolf.
Hi, good to see you, Bernt.
So what do you think about my new look? You come back to your old hunting grounds.
I want to talk to the ship's captain about how to make sure I don't get discovered.
I hope you are not getting seasick.
No, I don't get seasick.
So then, between my stateroom and up here, you know, - that should be fine.
- Yeah.
So then my first job will be on deck, I believe? But there's nobody there that's going to know me very well? Don't think so.
Unless I go undercover, basically the only two safe places I have is the bridge and down in my stateroom.
- Stay safe out there.
- I will.
Today I'm about to be a deckhand.
The deckhand is the first part of a process to catch the fish and haul the fish on board and get it down into the factory where we can do all the processing.
We will catch as much as I was a deckhand for a total of 13 years, so I'm sure I'll do very well.
You know where Billy's at? That's me.
How's it going, man? Hey, Billy.
Bjorn Petersen.
Bjorn? Nice to meet you.
You're my trainee for the day? - My greenhorn? All righty.
- Yeah.
What we're going to be doing here is going to be hauling back this net, and then we're going to be setting the other side.
So let's just walk back here.
I'll show you where we go.
No, I've never fished.
When I first seen him, I thought Bjorn was a little on the older side to be coming out on deck.
But he seemed to be a nice guy.
Make sure you stand where I tell you to stand, okay? Make sure you don't put your hands anywhere.
Because I've seen people get their fingers cut off and people get killed.
It's not a pretty sight, you know? It can be really dangerous out here.
You got these things called trawl doors that are going to be coming up.
Now the fun begins.
Watch yourself.
Now kind of lean back.
If it pops up, it'll take your face, hit you in the face.
There you go.
You all right? Grab this rope.
Hold up, put it here.
Okay.
Whoa.
Grab that hook.
You really have to pay attention.
If you don't pay attention, you can get hurt seriously hurt really quick out here.
We're going to set out our net to catch more fish.
We're going to walk back with this.
Don't pull too hard on this.
Don't get it wrapped up in your leg.
Billy had a very nice personality, very easy to get along with, and explain things very thorough.
Pull the slack.
Pull the slack up.
Pull the slack up.
Hey, now, now, get ready to pull hard.
Okay, pull it hard, pull it hard.
There you go.
So how long have you been doing this? since I was 19 years old, so So why is that? She's got M.
S.
and she's looking to get into a condo.
She's in the spot where she can't take care.
She's 72 years old and I want to help my mom out as much as I can.
So our next little task here is going to be Okay, go ahead and jump up on top of the bag.
Okay, here you go.
Now, he's going to slack it down.
You run it up there.
Hard to walk, huh? Dragging that 200-pound hook and cable up on the column, this was like walking on Jell-O.
If you stay on the green straps, it'll help you.
You know, I haven't done this job in probably 26 years, and it may be harder than I remember.
Walk it like this, okay? Here, grab it.
Walk it like that.
It's not so much being strong.
It's about technique.
Grab on with both hands if you have to.
Bjorn didn't pick up the technique that much.
He just didn't get it.
I wouldn't feel comfortable leaving him out there on deck alone at all.
We're going to open up the zipper here.
Open that.
No, hold on.
Watch, watch.
Keep that right inside there and hold it out.
All the way.
That's good.
Okay, now we get on the deck while he comes.
When I was a deckhand, it's always exciting to see when you get the net is full of fish and it's the right fish, the fish you want.
- It's a lot of fish, huh? - Nice-looking fish.
And we're going to shovel this fish into that tank.
And make sure you don't step on the fish too hard or you'll break 'em up.
Yeah, push the fish to this side.
Keep walking.
It'll go.
You know, the biggest surprise was to remember how physically hard this work is.
Almost there.
Very humbling for me to do that again.
Okay, go ahead, grab one of those shovels.
Billy totally met my expectations.
He's a fantastic worker.
Bjorn, the best thing is, you've got to push the fish to this side.
For Bjorn to be on the team, I'd have to see a lot more initiative, a lot more energy.
Keep going, keep going.
You're fine.
Keep going.
Sometimes this job can be really grueling.
It wears you down.
I'm sore every day after work.
All right.
Pretty neat, huh? You guys obviously know what you're doing.
Yeah, takes a long time to learn this stuff.
It's definitely not overnight.
It's hard, though.
Being away from your family and stuff, it sucks.
So you have married and got kids? I was married once, yeah.
But I have three kids.
Divorced myself, so I know that can be - Yeah.
- interesting sometimes.
Very tough, that's for sure.
Do you get to see your kids a lot, though, when you're home? Sometimes.
But it's tough lifestyle, you know? You know, you don't have no access to call your family here on the boat, you know? You don't have Internet here, you don't have TV, you don't have nothing.
I would love to be able to talk to my kids a lot more often.
If I was in charge, I would maybe have a couple laptops in the galley.
That little stuff goes a long way.
One of the tough things about being a fisherman and being gone for months at a time you will, unfortunately, miss family.
When I fished in the Bering sea, I used to be gone sometimes six months at a time without having any communication, so I definitely know that feeling firsthand.
So when you get to go home, Billy? When the season's done.
I will look into what it will take to have some Internet access for the crew.
Go back up.
There we go.
Coming up Bernt gets up close and personal with his own product.
It's very stinky.
For me, it was just really nasty and grossed me out.
We're starting to hold up the line.
- And later - I'm gonna have to take over.
the boss is put in his place.
You don't want to piss off your foreman me! I was just like, "move your ass.
" Bernt Bodal is a boss undercover in his own company.
By cutting the wrong one, what you've done is doubled the work.
He's posing as an immigrant on a reality tv show about people who dream of living and working in America.
Whoa! His journey continues off the coast of Alaska.
Been up for 18 hours, you know? It's been a long day.
You know, it's been 26 years since I've worked on a boat.
Interesting to come back to what I did that many years ago.
It's very hard work and very humbling.
I certainly get a renewed appreciation for the hard work all these people are doing, and their dedication.
I'm gonna be working in the fishmeal plant today.
Fishmeal is all the extra pieces of the fish.
Fish heads and the guts.
The fishmeal foreman is responsible to make all the equipment running properly.
So I want to make sure that everything run as smoothly as it should be running.
Rafal? Uh, Bjorn Petersen.
Yes.
All the guts, all the heads, all the livers.
This is the fishmeal? So let's go.
All the guts, heads I show you, but I want you to do it.
It's very stinky! I never worked in a fishmeal plant before.
Fishmeal definitely has a strong, peculiar smell to it.
Bjorn, he looks, like, afraid to like he doesn't want to touch it.
He almost look like girl.
You can pull out the shaft.
All the way.
Splash it with the water! The fishmeal stinks really bad.
For me it was just really nasty and grossed me out.
How do you like it so far? It's, uh, interesting work.
So Like this.
Tug.
So we see here you are closing the bags.
Just take the sewing machine You see this room? We filling up all the way, from the bottom to the ceiling.
This will be one of the hardest parts.
I want you to do at least, like, 10-15 bags, and then I will come back and check you, okay? Okay.
It appears to be very detail oriented.
Each bag needs to be 35.
2-35.
3 kilos.
The biggest surprise was how physically hard this work is.
The bags were definitely very heavy.
Very demanding.
Fast-paced.
And not the easiest job you can have.
Can you stop it for a second? I just want to make sure there is the right weight in the bag.
Too much.
We cannot do it 'cause you're losing the money.
It's tough work.
You can see you have to have some strength.
I can see you start sweating.
Oh, thank you.
So let's take a break.
So it's a little different for me.
First time I'm here and being on the boat.
- Yeah.
- 'Cause I I I live in, uh, Norway now.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You know, Rafal, like me, he is an immigrant.
You know, it's very tough to be out here having your family that far away.
I can definitely relate to that because I did it for so many years myself.
So do you still enjoy the job? You know, I like the job, you know, but You cannot leave.
It's hard to even communicate.
There's no breaks.
Oh, yeah.
So say, like, me, you know? I want to go to the bathroom Being on a ship like the American Triumph, one of the problems is the physical space.
We have a real limitation on how many people we can put onboard.
- Let's get back to work.
- Okay.
We need people like Rafal, who is just so dedicated to the work.
They are gonna be more worried about the equipment running properly than taking a break.
So make sure this gate is clean.
We are very grateful to have people like that.
Today, I'm gonna be working in the surimi factory.
Surimi is a product we make where you mince the fish, there's sugar added, and you end up with this gel, which is pretty much just fish protein.
Surimi is used to make a variety of products.
In this country, you know it from the imitation crab legs you buy in the grocery stores.
When I'm working on the surimi line, I want to make sure the quality is where it's supposed to be.
D do you know where I find, uh, Susana? - My name is Susana.
- Hi, Susana.
- I'm Bjorn Petersen.
- Hi, Bjorn.
I'm gonna teach you how to do surimi packing.
- Excellent.
- All right? Okay.
In the meanwhile, we're gonna move some more pans.
Those pans are gonna come through this belt right here.
After he introduced himself, I was just, like, "I'm gonna have to do you the same way they did me" "when I first got on this boat, was 'move your ass.
'" I'm gonna show you, and then I'm gonna want you to do it.
Okay.
And, Bjorn, remember, safety first.
Careful.
Okay.
You gotta be careful for the next ones coming out.
All right? Bjorn was listening, but was he doing it? No, that's a whole different story.
Production is not gonna wait for you.
I understand.
All right.
That's a lot of fun, huh? Lot of fun.
This is where you're gonna be packing.
Yeah.
It's an assembly line, okay? So as soon as that meat comes, I want you to keep up with that meat and we're gonna need some speed.
All right, green.
- Stretch like this.
Rip like that.
- Okay.
- That meat's coming fast.
- Yeah.
The meat will be coming out of this nozzle right here.
It'll pump out just the amount that we need.
Yeah.
Fold it back, cut, tuck it under.
- Let it go.
- Okay.
See how that meat's building up? If you don't keep up with that meat you're gonna stop the whole line, okay? All yours.
There you go, there you go.
Cut it, tuck.
Tuck a little bit better than that.
You want that plastic let that one go.
You want that plastic underneath.
All right, Bjorn, that meat's building up.
You're gonna need to move faster than that.
Keep up with that meat.
That shouldn't be happening, I'll tell you that.
I'm doing it as fast as I can at this point.
See how that goes? I want you to see that.
There's a reason why I don't want that.
When I first started here, I needed to move my ass.
You know, we're starting to hold up the line.
My first day was a drag too.
Let me go ahead I'm gonna have to take over because the meat is all piled up in the back.
That's why I need you to move a little faster.
Part of your job is to keep up with that meat hopper.
You don't want to piss off the foreman, the QC me! Susana is a girl that doesn't mess around.
She takes her job very seriously and expects other people to do the same.
I'm gonna have a quick cigarette before we go back down, okay? Beautiful! - Is there a lot of boats - Pretty out here.
A lot of boats out there today? How do you feel about the job? You know, it's, uh Am I being a little bit too hard on you? Uh, no, I mean, it's I can see you need to keep the speed up.
You really gotta show these people what you're made of, 'cause I want to move up.
It's kind of hard to get promoted.
It's tough to get promoted? It's tough.
It's very tough to get promoted.
I haven't seen anybody get promoted since I've been here.
You gotta put in a lot of years.
Yeah.
If I'm still packing surimi within the next 10-15 years, please just throw me overboard.
I'm just kidding.
Where are you from originally, Susana? American Samoa, the island.
I came here when I was four years old.
Wow.
I haven't been back home since.
Um, I lost my mom in 2002.
I'm sorry to hear that.
- My mom was a single mother.
- Wow.
She was a hardworking woman.
She was not only my mom, she was my best friend.
She had liver failure, cancer.
Since I lost my mom, I have not been close to my family.
I have isolated myself from them.
It's part of me being out here because I don't want to deal with getting close to them and then losing them.
I it made me tough, though.
Susana was extraordinarily close to her mom.
I love my mom also, and I understand her pain of losing her mom that early in her life.
I'm gonna take you back downstairs.
Okay.
You need to work on your packing.
Susana has a very demanding, repetitive job.
She seems to be very skilled at her work.
I'm gonna take you down.
Get back down to the factory.
This week, I learned a lot of things about my company and the employees.
The main reason we have a successful company is all the crew on our vessels and their hard work and dedication.
It's a tough, tough way to make a living, being gone for long periods at a time from family and friends, and I definitely want our employees to know that I personally really care about their well-being.
I'm about to reveal my true identity.
All the employees that I have worked with have been asked to come to the bridge of the American Triumph.
They think they're coming to vote on whether or not I should chase my American dream.
I left Boston to come to Alaska to judge on Bjorn's performance.
I think he'd be good for maybe a desk job.
Pencil pusher maybe, I don't know.
Hey, Rafal.
- Do you recognize me? - You're Bjorn.
I'm Bernt Bodal, CEO and owner of American Seafoods.
Really? Wow.
- Nice.
- I'm surprised.
I I should have @#&* known.
I feel I was being made a fool of.
Do you recognize me? Bernt Bodal comes face to face with his employees, I'm Bernt Bodal.
I I should have #@&* known.
And not everyone is happy.
When I saw your palm of your hand, I said, "no @#&* way he does labor.
" But I should have known.
I had a feeling back of my head.
Being tricked doesn't make me happy.
B but John, again, I I don't think you should take it that way, because, again, I I, you know for me to able to see how you guys work, and, you know, and yourself specifically, are extraordinary.
I feel I was being made a fool of.
John, I I never meant to me you're uh, if anyone made a fool, uh, it was me trying to do these jobs.
It was definitely an eye-opener for me.
Well, how's your feet? I should have asked you that.
You know, I didn't get any burn damage or anything, but I could definitely feel it.
Lift me up! Up! Up! Uh, John, I think we should modify our procedure to make sure that the temperature is cooler.
Sorry about the water.
You know, but I'm not sorry about the other stuff.
No, you shouldn't be, and I really got the feeling and appreciation that you really care about your job.
I think you deserve recognition of that, and I'd like to raise your pay by $10,000 a year, and we're going to change your title to director of maintenance.
You don't you don't have to do that.
Believe me, you don't have to do that.
I know we don't have to do it, John, but, you know, I'd like to do it.
I'm shocked, very grateful.
I mean, um, thank you.
You mentioned to me that you always had a dream of taking your wife and kids back to The Azores - Yes.
- And, uh, you know, I fly my own airplane, and what I'd like to do is to take you guys to The Azores and give you $10,000 spending money.
- You don't have to do this.
- I'd like to do it.
Um, thank you, and I think my kids will be definitely taken aback.
Never flown on a plane like that, but yeah I don't know what to say.
I don't like being tricked, but it turned out for the best.
So he's a @#&*, but I'm grateful to him for a lot.
Billy, I fished, myself, in the Bering Sea for 13 years.
- Really? - Yeah.
Uh, you did a great job of fooling me.
It definitely reminded me of all the hard work and, you know, what you and I talked about, how tough it is to be away from, you know, family, and you can't communicate - when you're out at sea.
- Yeah.
Because of you, Billy, we're going to have Internet access for all our crew throughout all our vessels.
That's awesome.
That's totally awesome.
The annual cost for this Internet service will be approximately $200,000 a year, but it is very important for us that the crew are happy.
I want to thank you thank you so much.
The morale of the crew is what keeps, you know, a good vessel like this going.
You mentioned your mom's house.
I'd like to give you a $20,000 gift that you can use as part of your down payment to try and buy your mom's house.
That would be amazing.
I can't thank you enough on that.
And, you know, one more thing.
You shared with me the fact that your mother had multiple sclerosis.
Yes.
It's taken a toll on her.
I'd like to provide a $10,000 donation in your mom's name to whatever M.
S.
cause she would like.
I appreciate that very much.
I can't thank you enough.
I think my mom is just gonna be really happy and shocked.
And about the Internet, I can actually speak to my kids.
I want to tell everybody from American Seafoods and all the boats that you guys are welcome for getting this Internet.
So, Rafal, I was really impressed with your work ethics.
I mean, it's a very hard, demanding job.
You told me you feel limited because of your English capabilities.
Mm-hmm.
I'd like to give you $5,000 to use for tutoring to help you improve the language.
Thank you very much.
I appreciate that.
Will be better for my feelings so I will be not afraid to talk with the people.
Mm-hmm.
You mentioned that your wife and two children are in Poland.
Yes, yes.
That's the hardest part of the job.
Your American dream is to one day have both your wife and children come to the United States.
Yeah.
When that day comes, I would like to take you and your family and personally fly you back from Poland to Seattle.
That's very nice.
I am very happy to feel that.
When you move your family to the United States, this will cost you some money.
To help you with this, I'd like to give you a gift of $25,000.
Thank you very much.
It's hard to believe.
I'm so so happy.
And maybe my dream will come true and, you know, my family will be together.
Thank you very much.
Thank you.
I am very happy.
This will change lots of things in my life because I can bring my family over here, and we can be together.
If I will get my family here, it's 99% of my dreams come true.
Susana, I was very, very impressed with your skills.
You know, one of my goals is to become a foreman in this company, right? And, you know, I highly recommend, you know, that anytime there's an opening, you know, you should apply, because people like yourself want to work hard.
You have a very great attitude.
Thank you.
You know, Susana, you talked a little bit about your family and all the tough things you've been through in life.
I would encourage you to spend more time with your family.
And what I'd like to do is to give you a ticket and $5,000 of spending money so you can go back - and visit where you came from.
- No way.
- Are you serious? - I'm serious.
Wow! I'd like to do one more thing for you.
You know, seeing your dedication to the company, I'd like to give you a gift of $20,000.
You know, you're a young woman, and hopefully that money can help you and your family out.
I'm speechless.
I have nieces and nephews.
I can spoil them.
My mom's gone.
That's all she wanted was to keep the family together.
- Thank you.
- You're very, very welcome.
I feel blessed.
I feel great.
It just makes me want to do better.
My mom would be proud.
My mom would be really proud, you know? Keep taking care of myself and my family.
It's been great to have the opportunity to spend time with our crew.
Hello, everyone.
I'm Bernt Bodal, CEO and owner of American Seafoods.
And I've been out on the Triumph for four days working undercover.
It was great to see the hard work you guys do.
So thank you.
And one thing we will do is to get the Internet access on all our vessels.
It was a good reminder for me the sacrifices they make.
You're gone for weeks and months at a time, and it takes a very special person to do a job like this.
All the meals have been fantastic, - so you're doing a great job.
- Thanks a lot.
You know, I came here in 1978.
I really appreciate the opportunity I had in America, and I strongly believe in supporting a crew and giving them the best possible work conditions.
And I'm very supportive of them being successful.