Undercover Boss (2010) s03e12 Episode Script
Fastsigns International
Male announcer: This week on Undercover Boss - Hold on! - Oh, my God! Announcer: The CEO of Fastsigns International, the largest custom sign company in America, poses as a recently divorced rocker chick who has a really hard time keeping a job.
- I'm Louise.
- Okay.
For her age, she's just very hip.
[Giggling.]
Are you ready? Announcer: By working in the front lines Oh, it's cold.
Announcer: This CEO finds out the field is no piece of cake.
This is a lot harder than my real job.
Uh-oh.
She's a prima donna.
Help! She needs to suck it up.
[Gasp.]
A kitty cat.
Come here! Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.
Announcer: How will she react when the journey takes an emotional turn.
It's a struggle, and it hasn't been easy.
Um, we actually lost the house today.
- You lost your house today? - We got evicted today.
Oh.
[Sigh, sniffling.]
Announcer: Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 3x12 - Fastsigns International Original air date May 4, 2012 Announcer: Headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, Fastsigns International is the industry leader in custom sign and graphic solutions.
With 530 locations worldwide, Fastsigns International has an annual revenue of more than $300 million.
Overseeing the 4,000 employees that keep this company running is one woman.
I'm Catherine Monson.
I'm the president and CEO of Fastsigns International.
Fastsigns was founded in Austin, Texas and that really is what transformed the sign industry.
And they opened a sign shop.
And then they opened a second.
And then they opened a third.
And they found out it was a little bit challenging to run.
So they decided to franchise, and very quickly the franchise took off, and Fastsigns is the largest sign company in the world.
I started with Fastsigns in February of 2009, in the depths of the recession, and there are some tough choices you have to make as a CEO of a company.
There were certainly times that I was concerned about how people would feel about me.
But more important than being liked is doing what's right for the company.
I was born in Washington D.
C.
, and by the time I was three I was in Southern California.
I am the oldest of four.
I'm the outgoing, boisterous one.
I had a childhood that had wonderful parts to it, and also not-so-wonderful parts.
My brother Chuck was a big-time surfer.
Then he had this unfortunate accident when he was 16.
He got out of the water and put his surfboard up in the sand and ran down to go body surfing and dove under a breaker and hit his head on a sandbar and broke his neck.
So he's paralyzed from the shoulders down.
He's a quadriplegic.
My brother was in the hospital for about six months after he broke his neck.
I was there every day.
Here's this amazing man who's a quadriplegic who has an amazing outlook on life that has created this charity wheels of mercy to help people who can't afford wheelchairs get 'em.
And he's making a difference every single day.
Certainly, there are people who have worse childhoods than I and I would say more people who had better childhoods than I.
My mom was an alcoholic.
I grew up in an alcoholic home.
She was mean and belittling, and nothing that I did was ever right.
There was a time where mother became violent.
She took a big glass object and broke it over my forehead.
Split my face open.
You know, just crazy things.
And so we actually went to court and got a restraining order against her.
She went to a public park in Maryland and shot herself in the chest with .
12 gauge double-barreled shotgun.
We were estranged.
But she's still your mom.
And so I was afraid that I might be that same way, so I made a decision not to have children.
And so I'm very work focused.
I made a decision to leave Southern California for this position.
And yeah, I miss my friends, and yeah, there were some tearful nights where I felt lonely, but I had some people say "you're too focused on work," "you're a workaholic," "you don't have any work-life balance.
" At this point in my life, I'm single.
Have been married twice before.
Certainly, I would love to be married again.
I wanna go undercover to learn what training and tools and resources we need to put in place so that our people can live our new positioning of being more than signs and more than fast.
That's a look.
We're becoming a visual idea company.
Oh, yes! That is perfect.
While undercover, I'm gonna be posing as Louise Steely, a recently-divorced rocker chick who has a really hard time keeping a job.
The people I work with will be told that I'm a contestant on a reality TV show called Second Chances where people who wanna try a new career get a second chance.
Today, I'm excited to work with our center manager here because we're gonna do site surveys.
A site survey is when you've gotten an order and now you're gonna go measure and make sure that you're doing the right type of sign.
What I wanna find out today is: Are there any opportunities that we haven't thought about? And so I think being at the very beginning of a project, doing a site survey, I'm gonna learn if there's things we've overlooked.
- It's cold this morning.
- I know.
Do you always have to work out when it's cold? Yes.
I'm Jenn with Fastsigns.
- Hi, Louise Steely.
Both: - Nice to meet you.
So today, what we're gonna do is do some site surveys.
So what I'll do now is just show you some catalogs just to give you an idea of what to offer a customer when you talk to them.
And you're often outside in this kinda cold weather? Oh, yeah.
Couple times a week.
Oh, it's cold.
My feet are frozen.
My first impression of Louise was that she's a prima donna.
Complaining about being cold, and it's life, so She needs to suck it up.
Okay, so the most common thing we do are banners.
Okay.
So we can print full-color graphics, pictures whatever to the material.
So the name of this business is Galt Industries.
What they are is more of like a construction company.
Their logo's not real flashy.
But it's something that has to be up there so that people know what it is.
I think the building looks kinda shabby.
Um So you think they're gonna make the outside look better? I think that maybe we ought to recommend that they paint it.
I would never, ever say that to a customer, whether I think it or not.
You don't wanna offend them.
'Cause there's plenty of other sign companies out there that she can go to.
What I'll just start doing is I'm gonna measure this garage door, take the picture back to the store and scale it.
It's really important to take accurate measurements.
You don't wanna make something too big, and you have your installer come out here and then you're embarrassed 'cause it doesn't fit.
Bartending is a lot easier.
Just put a little too much whiskey in the drink - and everything is cool.
- Oh, okay.
So we'll do that.
About 117.
And what we'll do is draw the picture of the garage door.
So here's the door.
And then I was also thinking maybe putting a logo on that door there.
[Gasps.]
A kitty cat.
Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.
Come here! Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.
Come here.
Hi, come here.
Louise seemed very distracted.
And I didn't even know what to say.
We're here to do a job.
You a cat fan? I'm just an animal nut.
I hate cats.
If the customer was out here, I would've been completely embarrassed that she did that.
We are going to go to another site.
It's a boxing gym.
- Do you see this cat? - Yes.
Do you believe in reincarnation? Um Anyway, never mind.
People think I'm a little trippy that way.
But I'm thinking look at how this cat - is totally mesmerized by us.
- Yep.
Honestly, I don't think that I could have Louise in my office.
So how long you been with Fastsigns? I've been with Fastsigns for four years.
It's good because you get some support from the franchise as far as the marketing and stuff.
Mm-hmm.
But I think that there's a lot of things that could change.
Like, a lot of our current clients get the email marketing and they just think it's junk mail.
It looks like junk mail.
Certainly, I'm disappointed to hear that Jenn doesn't feel that all of our marketing materials are first class.
And I just don't think that's effective.
I think we need to step back and take a look and see if there's something to what Jenn says.
So where exactly are you from? I am from Hyattsville, Maryland which is just outside of Washington D.
C.
Oh.
I'm originally from Pittsburgh.
What got you from Pittsburgh to St.
Louis? - A bowling scholarship.
- How cool! Me and my husband met through bowling.
Really? - And your husband's name? - Gary.
- Do you still bowl? - Yeah, three nights a week.
Sometimes I don't see Gary for two or three days.
- How long you been married? - Two years.
We've been together for six years.
- What do you like to do? - Horseback riding.
- For ever? - Since I was four.
- Oh, so horseback riding.
- Yeah, I love it.
This is it right here.
This guy wants to get more exposure to Manchester road - which is a busy road.
- Okay.
Go ahead.
- Hi! Are you David? - Yeah, how are you? I am kind nervous about Louise meeting the customer.
- And this is Louise.
- Hi, Louise.
- She's training with me today.
- And you are? - David.
- David.
Hi, David.
Nice to meet you.
Don't make suggestions that are out-of-the-box.
I think that's really important for her to grasp that concept.
It worries me.
So I'm gonna let you walk her around and show her exactly what you're looking for.
All right, sounds great.
Well, outside's where the sign's gonna go.
All right.
We'd like to see something on all three different spots.
Okay.
It's either gonna be vertical or horizontal.
All righty.
All right, I'm gonna see if I can get in through those bushes.
Okay, 73 and 6.
Okay, great.
- Hey, David.
- Hi.
Uh, we've taken a lot of measurements, and what we're gonna do is put together some drawings so that you can take a look at it.
Sounds good.
Sounds good.
- All right.
- All right, very good.
Well, thank you so much for your time.
We'll be back to you in two days.
- All right, have a great day.
- Thanks.
I think Louise, at first, was a little rough.
But at the end she took good measurements, figured it out.
So I think that really impressed me.
I think you did a great job of getting the whole idea of what exactly they're looking for.
Can we hop in the car and get warm? Of course.
Oh, and one more thing.
Would you like to go bowling with me? - Really? - Try it out? - I would love to.
- Okay, great.
- Let's do it.
- All right, cool.
It was so exciting to watch her bowl.
That level of skill is just amazing.
Okay.
Ready? - All right, okay.
- You got this.
[Whimsical music.]
[Laughing.]
Damn it! So my question for you is, how do you balance a job you love, a husband you love, and passions you love? When you're passionate about something you just make it happen.
You just make time for it, you know? I would just be passionate about whatever you're gonna do.
Be passionate.
Good advice.
This is my first job undercover, and I didn't expect it to have such a personal effect on me.
Yay! And it really made me reflect on my passion.
Horses were the amazing thing that got me through tough times in my childhood.
And I've kinda put it on hold, and maybe I need to bring it back.
Oh, that's a good one.
I hit something! I hit something! But, um, right now, my commitment is Fastsigns.
Announcer: Coming up the boss finds herself in a sticky situation.
Uh-oh.
Oh, bad.
Got myself into a bit of a pickle.
Announcer: And later, her patience is tested.
Ooh! Look at all those bubbles.
Oh, shoot.
Announcer: Catherine Monson, the CEO of Fastsigns International, is a boss undercover in her own company.
Hi.
Louise Steely.
Both: Nice to meet you.
Announcer: Her coworkers think she's part of a reality show called Second Chances about a divorced rocker chick that needs help deciding on a career.
I'm in Austin today.
This is where the concept for Fastsigns got started.
And today, I'm gonna be working in the production area, which is really the heart and soul of this business, and it's all the different things that go into making signs.
This location is a little unusual in that it actually handles the production for three different Fastsigns locations.
So I'm really excited to see how they manage the workflow in this busy environment.
But I'll also admit I'm a little bit nervous.
I've never touched a piece of equipment, I've never touched a sign.
This is signs 101 for the CEO.
Hello.
I'm Sheldon.
I'm Louise.
- My new trainee? - Yes, I'm your new trainee.
Okay.
For her age, she's dressed very hip, contemporary, I guess.
But you know, it's Austin.
We keep it weird here.
Today, I'm gonna teach you how to do production for signs.
I'm excited.
I can't wait.
Okay.
So normally, each store does their own production.
But we're special.
We do production for three stores.
So we're really busy.
This is kind of a rough idea what the sign's gonna say.
- "No parking anytime.
" - Okay.
I'm gonna take you over here.
I'll show you what we do, then I'll let you work on the second one on your own.
Okay.
These are two separate signs.
This is the edge of one sign.
So can I do that on this side? Sure.
Just kinda like poke it a little bit.
Wow, that's cool.
Okay, the next part you wanna take out the little os.
- Okay, the center pieces.
- The center pieces.
And you just kinda pull away.
We try not to make mistakes, 'cause usually we're so busy we don't have time to go back again.
So I'd better not make a mistake.
Yes.
Uh-oh.
I just, um, stuck what do I do? Just yeah, just like that.
Just peel it off a little bit.
Uh-oh.
Uh-oh.
I messed it up.
She's a little not great with the knives yet.
But that takes a while to get the coordination down, and it's not the easiest thing to do.
The next step is we wanna put this on aluminum.
So let's go get a preview of the stomper.
So there's really a machine called a stomper? It's the stomp shear.
We just call it the stomper for short.
These little edges of the tape, that's where we're gonna chop it out at.
Just slide it in here, try to line it up to the blade.
And then now I just step down.
Just step down.
I've never put a sign together in my life.
I don't know what I'm doing.
Sometimes, it's easier if you get one foot on this side and step this way.
[Laughing.]
Okay.
We make signs.
We're not making rockets.
Eventually, it becomes second nature.
Yep.
Now we go back to where we first started.
Just like we did on the little one, - you let the - Oh, wow.
It's a thing of beauty.
How long have you been doing this? I have actually been at this place for 13 years.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
So how about you? Where do you see yourself in five years? The whole reason I got involved with this TV show, Second Chances was maybe I have the opportunity to get a franchise.
Well, the only bad thing about having a franchise would be that corporate moves slowly.
We have to compete against 150 different sign shops - in this town.
- Mm-hmm.
A lot of those are using the Internet.
Fastsigns has been lagging behind to get a website set up to where you can go there and order a sign online.
- And you don't have that now? - No.
Sheldon brought up a really important point that we, Fastsigns don't yet have an ecommerce online ordering solution.
We need something like that to stay up-to-date.
I completely agree with what he pointed out as a shortcoming with our company, and I think that will help a lot of our franchise partners grow their business even better.
This one is a lot of signs.
40 signs.
Okay.
40 signs.
- 40 signs.
- Great.
I'm gonna leave you alone, and I'm gonna go change out this material over here.
- Scream if you need any help.
- All right.
And don't cut your finger off.
[Chuckling.]
Good advice.
Uh-oh.
Uh-oh.
Crap.
Oh, bad.
Oh, oh.
When I got to do the signs by myself, I continued to mess up.
I got myself into a bit of a pickle.
Clearly, it takes some practice to get better at this.
Sheldon! Help.
I left Louise alone for maybe two minutes, and she was already having issues.
If you're really careful, you can get it off again.
Eventually, she needs to be more independent, 'cause we're not gonna be able to help her.
We're all gonna be busy making signs.
It would be devastating to Fastsigns if they had a bunch of Louises like me working in the production area.
So we're gonna make sure that that doesn't happen.
Clearly, I'm not good at this.
It takes some time.
Ha, ha.
You're a very good teacher.
I will tell you.
Well, it helps to have a little kid to test your patience.
Really? Well, I've been a single dad for a very long time.
I'm not single anymore.
Oh.
A couple years ago, I met Michelle.
We just like had everything in common, and then about three months in, we found out she had lung cancer.
[Gasp.]
Oh, no! And so I took care of her for six months while she was going through chemo, and then at the end, as a surprise, I asked her to marry me.
Oh, what a beautiful story.
How is she doing now? She's doing good.
She's getting her strength back.
Her hair's starting to grow.
We're trying to plan a wedding on a small budget and take it one step at at time.
That must've been an amazing lesson in caring and love for your son to see you take care of her.
It was a good lesson for him to learn to stick with people and you know, not give up on people.
After a day working in production, I'm certainly humbled and a little embarrassed that things that appear simple really aren't.
This franchise partner is really blessed to have Sheldon.
So what's next? What's the next job? Okay, well, let's clean up a little bit.
Okay.
I am in Culver City, and today I chose an installer to work with.
I have never applied any kind I have not done any installations.
So I don't really know what tools we use.
I don't know what techniques we use.
Hi, I'm Louise and I'm looking for a guy named Gary.
Gary is in the back.
All right.
What I'm hoping to learn today is how we install our products and how we ensure that they meet our high standards.
- Gary, this is Louise.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Wow.
I didn't know it was supposed to be a woman.
Well, you know, women can work too.
Oh, of course.
But nobody even suggested it was she, he, or anything.
Well, today, we're gonna apply the decals on this truck.
Side, side, back, tailgate, and front.
I'm gonna help with the first one on the door.
Yeah.
So that way, you get the feel of it, how we're gonna do this.
You're gonna make me do one by myself? - Yes.
- Okay, all right.
Hands-on training.
- Let's measure this out.
- Tape measure.
See, we want more.
You wanna tape it all the way across so I'm about centered.
- All right.
- So we peel it back.
- Only as far as the tape.
- Okay.
Remember, careful with matte.
So this is why we come use this.
- The squeegee.
- You're pressing out the air.
Just take your time.
I think I can do this.
I think you can do this one on your own.
It's much easier too.
There's a part of the work that's easy, like measuring and get it in the right place.
Ahh! I've got air.
But I had no idea how hard it is to apply a big graphic and not have air bubbles.
Look at all those bubbles! Mm.
Oh, another damn air bubble.
Oh, shoot.
Oh, come on.
Oh, look what I did.
Okay, this is not good.
It looked easier when you were doing it.
Well, yeah.
Because I'm going slowly.
I'm not pressing hard on it.
You don't think I was doing that? - No, I saw you were.
- Well, I mean this comes with experience, practice, and also patience.
No one ever accused me of patience.
It seems like Louise is a little bit out of her comfort zone.
She's kind of impatient.
We all have the idea, sticker just put it and stick.
And when it comes to something as a car, you can't just paste it on.
What did you do before? I've done a little bit of everything.
I've substitute taught, I've been a bartender, I've been divorced a couple times.
I don't understand it.
Marriage is way too hard.
- Yeah, it's complicated.
- That's a good way to say it.
It's complicated.
I'm married right now.
I'm expecting a baby any minute.
Tell me! Is this your first? - My first boy.
- So you already have a girl? Yeah, two girls.
One is 18, and the other one is 3.
Cool.
Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- That's pretty cool.
- So now - We're going off-site and apply it at a car dealership.
We wanna plan their window decal.
- We got two jobs today.
- Yes, two jobs.
My first impression of Gary was a bit scary.
He looks like kind of a rough and tumble guy.
But after just a little bit of time with him, it's real easy to see he is a teddy bear.
I could easily have misjudged the book by its cover.
All right, so where we going? That's the window that we're going to do the install on.
Wow, this is really big.
Tape it.
And we start to do the same thing we do with the oth - We could do it down.
- Okay.
[Phone ringing.]
I'm gonna step away for a minute, all right? - Okay.
- All right.
This is not easy.
It is really physically demanding, and there is definitely a skill involved that has to be learned over time.
I don't have the strength for this.
And you're still not doing the strokes evenly.
You're almost coating.
So right now, we're going to take a little break and - Oh, I'm so glad.
- Ha.
I would not hire Louise.
I think Louise might be suited for a job maybe at, um Maybe not so hands-on.
- So where do you live? - I live in Los Angeles.
South central Los Angeles.
- So how long is your drive? - 21/2 hours.
- Holy crap! - Yeah, to get to work.
Before I came to graphic designing, you know, I was a young kid.
I grew up in bad neighborhoods thinking that everybody belonged to a gang, and I thought that was the way it's supposed to be.
I don't need education, I don't need nothing.
I got money.
So around 19 years old And I went to court, and as I was going to court, I see my mother and she's crying.
And I look at my daughter, and she's only a few months old.
And I said "I can't be a parent.
I can't be a son.
" "And wow, I've ruined my life completely.
" Then I'm gonna live my life right.
In the courtroom, the judge tells me to stand up and he tells me today's your lucky day.
He said, "we're dismissing your charges.
" I said, "only a miracle can do this.
" And that was the day I got released.
First thing I do I'm gonna find myself a church to get into.
So that's my goal.
Put me in a position where I can help somebody else.
I'm gonna find a way.
Find a direction.
That's really amazing.
It's a struggle.
And it hasn't been easy.
And it isn't easy now.
We actually lost our house today.
- You lost your house today? - We got evicted today.
Oh.
Wow.
I have a job and I have my That's right, you have a job.
So what are you gonna do? Where are you gonna go? Good things come from sometimes from bad things.
So maybe it's time for me to make that change to move.
I've never met anybody like Gary, on one hand.
And then on the other hand he's very much like my brother.
People that have overcome huge obstacles and are living their life with grace and love and working to help other people.
Let's go ahead and finish it off.
I think it's getting kinda dark.
I might need some help with you to get this done Okay, let's get this done.
Before we have no light at all.
I have to tell you, I'm really moved by you sharing that story.
That's quite an inspiration.
Announcer: Coming up Just hold on! Announcer: The boss is faced with some emotional highs.
Ooh! Ooh! Announcer: And later, some emotional lows.
I've really not done things to take care of me.
I'm in Phoenix today.
I'm actually working with one of our franchisees.
I've met this guy, but it's important that I take this risk.
Because typically, when I go in and visit franchisees, they're saying the stuff they think I wanna hear.
And I think going in as Louise will give me a better view, and I might find out really what's happening.
- Hey, are you Scott? - Scott's right over there.
Scott's up there? - Scott! - I'll be right down.
I have to go up in that thing? - It's safe.
- You're not up in it.
Hi, I'm Scott Kohler, nice to meet you.
- Hi, I'm Louise.
- Hi, Louise.
- Is that safe? - Of course it's safe.
- We have a harness for you.
- Okay.
And today, we're gonna be putting a set of letters on the side of the building.
Okay, cool.
I was kinda surprised.
I expected someone that was a little bit more I guess business-oriented.
Where can I put my purse? The all-black that kinda surprised me a little bit.
These are the letters that we're gonna be putting up.
The company's called NRG Energy.
We've already prepped the letters.
We've already put the studs in 'em.
So we're gonna go up.
We'll mount the pattern on the wall, we'll get it in place, and then we'll drill holes, and then we'll mount the letters.
Are you ready for this? Totally ready.
[Nervous laugh.]
Okay, so we have a harness for you.
Is this a trapeze act or something? [Chuckling.]
All right.
Is that a look or what? [Both laughing.]
Are you ready? What up, "G"? Ooh! The higher we get, the more bouncy it gets.
Oh, my God! [Gasp.]
- Just hold on! - Ooh! Um I really got scared.
But it's not so much the height.
When it was smooth and stable, that was cool.
Ah! Then when it started to wiggle around, that was a little unnerving.
How long is it gonna take us to do this deal? This pattern has 32 holes that need to be drilled.
And it's normal for this thing to move this much? When you're up this high, yes.
Ooh! [Chuckling.]
Okay, so now, what's the next deal? We drill holes.
And are you ready? Do I look straight and level to you? Straight and level and pull the trigger and push.
- Is that right? - That's perfect.
I think I'm just having a little tiredness in the arm.
Do you wanna drill a couple holes? I don't feel like she's done a lot of manual labor.
It's all right.
We probably need to go up a little bit.
She drilled about 15, 16 holes and she was ready to take a little break.
Ah, five maybe.
So, um, why did you decide to own a business rather than be an employee? Um, it's kind of the American dream to own your own business.
My wife calls it my mistress.
You know, that's what keeps me away from home, out late at night.
So how many hours do you work a week? You know, 50, 60.
So it's usually at least a ten-hour day.
You know, there's nothing in my shop I can't do.
There's not a piece of equipment I can't run.
You know, when we've been short-handed or When times were tough and I couldn't afford to pay someone to install 'em, needed to be able to to be able to do it as well.
So there's no class that you go to.
- Nobody trains you on this.
- Not that I'm aware of.
- You learned this on the job.
- Yes.
We're not providing our franchise partners the training that they need in these kinds of projects.
And that's something that I'm gonna change when I get back to the office.
My wife says that I should be stricter with my employees like I am with my daughter.
- You have a daughter? - 21/2.
Her name is Maya.
We adopted.
Oh, you adopted.
Yeah, my wife Julie has M.
S.
And she did chemotherapy as a treatment for that.
Ah.
We were trying to overcome the effects of the chemotherapy, and it just, uh, didn't happen.
You have kids? I was never able to have kids.
- Didn't want any? - Wanted some.
Just not real good timing on those things.
We were really fortunate.
She is my number one.
Seeing the way Scott's eyes lit up when he talked about his daughter really made me reflect on my decisions not to have any children.
And I suppose if given the chance to go back, I might do it differently.
- I think we got 'em all.
- That's it.
You just wanna pump some silicone in the hole.
And then that's all we do? That's it.
Julie's M.
S.
is it like doing well? It's not fixed forever.
In fact, she actually had an infusion today.
So are you gonna try to adopt another baby, or is one the right number? Um, I would definitely adopt another if the opportunity arises.
It's really motivating to see how committed Scott is to his business.
As well, he's really committed to his family.
Oh, look at that.
That's perfect.
- That's perfect.
- That's perfect.
To have that kind of love in your life is a really special thing.
[Sniffles.]
I mistakenly thought that going undercover would actually be easy.
It has given me such an added appreciation for our employees.
I really need to make the company a better place for them, and for our franchise partners.
It was as much personal growth for me as it was business growth.
I made a decision three years ago to accept the job of CEO of Fastsigns and leave my friends and leave my family.
And I don't regret that, but I've really not done things to take care of me.
Today, all the employees I have worked with are gonna be coming to a place that's very special to me.
An equestrian center in Laguna Hills, California.
All the employees believe that they are weighing in on whether or not I deserve a second chance.
[Chuckles.]
Wow.
Hello.
Hello.
Do you know who I am? No, I don't think we've ever met.
I think I trained you last Saturday.
Do you? Yes, you are Louise, right? I'm Catherine Monson, CEO of Fastsigns International.
Oh, my God.
This is surprising, what's going on now.
What're you doing here? [Laughs.]
Well, I hope I didn't disappoint you.
You did not.
Sheldon I messed up, made mistakes, ruined signs, and you never lost patience with me.
I was just blown away.
You highlighted a real weakness of our companies.
- The website.
- So I want to share with you, 'cause I'm very excited, that we are in the testing phase right now.
- Excellent.
- I would like you to be part of our test group.
- Would you be interested? - I would love to do that.
We'll make sure we pay you for that time away from the office.
You're too kind.
And so you have a big day coming up.
In about three months, we're gonna get married.
You've had a very hard, trying, challenging time early in your relationship, battling cancer, fighting it back, winning That I would like to treat you and Michelle to a honeymoon of your dreams.
Oh.
Really? As a gift from Fastsigns and from me, $10,000.
Wow.
I am excited to tell her, because she's gonna just explode.
I mean, she's gonna think it's the coolest thing ever.
That's very generous.
Thank you.
You guys have some medical bills.
Yes.
She had a collapsed lung, she had the radiation, - and then she had the chemo.
- Wow.
Well, that's what you sign up for, for better or for worse.
Well, I would like to give you $50,000 - Holy - To ease some of that pressure.
Are you you're kidding me, right? You don't really have to do that, though.
That's a lot.
[Crying.]
It would be my dream that I could sometime in my future find a man who would stand by me like you've stood by Michelle.
Well, everybody should have somebody like that.
I want to hug you.
[Laughs.]
Okay, then just hug me! Come on! Don't be waiting! You're awesome.
I kind of feel peaceful.
You know, like I I can kind of relax a little bit, and, uh, enjoy life a little more.
- Thank you.
- All right.
You know, I'm just shocked.
Jenn, it is very clear that you are driven, and what really disappointed me is that you felt that our email marketing campaigns - looked like spam or junk.
- Mm-hmm.
I'm really excited to tell you that next month at our convention, we're gonna unveil a whole new look and feel to the Fastsigns brand.
I can't wait for you to see that.
Awesome.
You also shared with me that you're busy with bowling, and Gary's busy with his, and that sometimes you never see each other.
Yeah.
But I think you need to spend some time together.
So, I am gonna give you $10,000.
Oh, my God.
With the caveat You have to use it on a romantic vacation.
[Laughs.]
That's amazing.
Wow.
Thank you.
You have taught me the lesson that if I'm really gonna be the best CEO possible, I want to have a life that's balanced like yours.
I want to encourage you to chase your passions and your dreams even more.
And I'd like to give you $20,000.
What? Oh, my God.
Wow.
For bowling? - For bowling.
- Oh, my God.
For whatever you want.
- Thank you.
Wow.
- You're very welcome.
It feels amazing to have the recognition that I'm doing a good job.
It's really important to me that it's appreciated at my level from somebody like Catharine.
- Thank you.
- Thank you for everything.
I'm frikkin' excited.
Scott, I have to tell you, the day with you, I had so much fun.
I'm glad.
You almost killing me on the lift, the way you made it sway back and forth.
You liked to make me shriek.
It was a great experience for me as CEO.
Thank you.
You had to teach yourself how to do those kinds of installs.
We didn't provide any training.
I really think the kind of job that we did together is the kind of job that every Fastsigns should do.
Thanks to your inspiration, I'm gonna put together a training program to teach our franchise partners every step along the way.
I think that's incredible.
You shared a story of getting blessed with this wonderful baby, and I see you light up when you talk about Maya.
I'd like to give you $10,000 to put in a college fund for Maya.
I'll gladly accept.
[Laughs.]
Thank you.
She is my number one.
The most important thing.
I made a decision not to have children, because I was afraid that I would turn out like my mother.
And I really have not regretted that decision until I was on that lift, and you talked about Maya the way you did.
I really respect how you get involved in the business and do installations, but I also want you to be able to spend the time that Maya deserves as she's growing up, and the time that Julie deserves.
I would like to give you $15,000 so that you can be at home with Julie and with Maya.
[Exhales.]
God has blessed me with her, and, um, I'm I'm just so thankful that I have her.
And my wife, and just, life is even though it's hard, life is good.
Life is good.
My daughter Maya means the world to me.
Whatever Maya's opportunities are, we'll be able to to afford that.
- Bye.
Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
It's incredible.
[Exhales.]
Gary.
The biggest gift for me was to see a man who made a lot of mistakes, and now has turned his life around in the most amazing and beautiful way.
Thank you.
I want to give you the best opportunity to just continue to grow in your Fastsigns career, so I am going to bring you out to Dallas where our corporate office is, for a week, and put together a customized training program for you, teaching you all the tricks of the trade.
All expenses paid, as well as your salary during that week.
And to have this opportunity to learn more and have it presented to me as a gift I'm really grateful.
I know how much your church has helped you and the importance that that church has in your life, so, I would like to give you something for you to give your church.
$15,000.
The church is about to close down because they couldn't pay their dues.
Thank you, Jesus.
And there's something else I'd like to do for you.
I so respect that you make the long 21/2-hour drive to work, and I know how difficult it can be when you don't have a dependable car.
So I would like to give you a new car.
[Sobbing.]
We've been trying to save up, but we can't.
We've been trying to get a car, but we can't.
I love you.
Thank you.
It breaks my heart to think of you and your family being evicted from your house, so, I'm gonna give you $50,000.
[Sniffles.]
Thank you.
Our prayers have been answered, just in one day.
All of them get answered in one day.
This doesn't happen to people like me.
This this is I'm not supposed to be here.
It's supposed to be somebody else.
I'm gonna tell you that I don't believe that's true.
You're gonna be an inspiration that brings lots of other people out of the darkness, into the light.
- Can I give you a hug? - I would love a hug, Gary.
This doesn't feel like it's real.
Almost feels like a dream.
I'm still in shock.
[Sighs.]
I've really learned, from the people I've worked with, of the importance of better balance in life.
And so there is one last stop that I need to make before going back to the office.
[Knocks.]
The people we love are so important to us.
I need to invest more time in family.
Brenna! - How are you? - Good.
How are you? - So good to see you.
- I missed you.
- Hey, bro.
- So good to see you.
It's great to see you.
It's so great having all of us together.
It's been so long.
Oh, you made me a welcome sign! The love and relationships that we have with our family far exceed anything we could ever accomplish in our business lives.
[Laughs.]
Just good to be back.
This whole experience is gonna make me not just a better CEO, but a better person, a better friend, a better aunt.
It has truly enriched my life.
I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you.
And how much I admire you.
Thanks, Chuck.
You rock.
And very glad to see you.
It's been too long.
[Laughs.]
It's been too long.
It has been.
- Yeah, we miss you.
- Same here.
Same here.
- I'm Louise.
- Okay.
For her age, she's just very hip.
[Giggling.]
Are you ready? Announcer: By working in the front lines Oh, it's cold.
Announcer: This CEO finds out the field is no piece of cake.
This is a lot harder than my real job.
Uh-oh.
She's a prima donna.
Help! She needs to suck it up.
[Gasp.]
A kitty cat.
Come here! Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.
Announcer: How will she react when the journey takes an emotional turn.
It's a struggle, and it hasn't been easy.
Um, we actually lost the house today.
- You lost your house today? - We got evicted today.
Oh.
[Sigh, sniffling.]
Announcer: Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 3x12 - Fastsigns International Original air date May 4, 2012 Announcer: Headquartered in Carrollton, Texas, Fastsigns International is the industry leader in custom sign and graphic solutions.
With 530 locations worldwide, Fastsigns International has an annual revenue of more than $300 million.
Overseeing the 4,000 employees that keep this company running is one woman.
I'm Catherine Monson.
I'm the president and CEO of Fastsigns International.
Fastsigns was founded in Austin, Texas and that really is what transformed the sign industry.
And they opened a sign shop.
And then they opened a second.
And then they opened a third.
And they found out it was a little bit challenging to run.
So they decided to franchise, and very quickly the franchise took off, and Fastsigns is the largest sign company in the world.
I started with Fastsigns in February of 2009, in the depths of the recession, and there are some tough choices you have to make as a CEO of a company.
There were certainly times that I was concerned about how people would feel about me.
But more important than being liked is doing what's right for the company.
I was born in Washington D.
C.
, and by the time I was three I was in Southern California.
I am the oldest of four.
I'm the outgoing, boisterous one.
I had a childhood that had wonderful parts to it, and also not-so-wonderful parts.
My brother Chuck was a big-time surfer.
Then he had this unfortunate accident when he was 16.
He got out of the water and put his surfboard up in the sand and ran down to go body surfing and dove under a breaker and hit his head on a sandbar and broke his neck.
So he's paralyzed from the shoulders down.
He's a quadriplegic.
My brother was in the hospital for about six months after he broke his neck.
I was there every day.
Here's this amazing man who's a quadriplegic who has an amazing outlook on life that has created this charity wheels of mercy to help people who can't afford wheelchairs get 'em.
And he's making a difference every single day.
Certainly, there are people who have worse childhoods than I and I would say more people who had better childhoods than I.
My mom was an alcoholic.
I grew up in an alcoholic home.
She was mean and belittling, and nothing that I did was ever right.
There was a time where mother became violent.
She took a big glass object and broke it over my forehead.
Split my face open.
You know, just crazy things.
And so we actually went to court and got a restraining order against her.
She went to a public park in Maryland and shot herself in the chest with .
12 gauge double-barreled shotgun.
We were estranged.
But she's still your mom.
And so I was afraid that I might be that same way, so I made a decision not to have children.
And so I'm very work focused.
I made a decision to leave Southern California for this position.
And yeah, I miss my friends, and yeah, there were some tearful nights where I felt lonely, but I had some people say "you're too focused on work," "you're a workaholic," "you don't have any work-life balance.
" At this point in my life, I'm single.
Have been married twice before.
Certainly, I would love to be married again.
I wanna go undercover to learn what training and tools and resources we need to put in place so that our people can live our new positioning of being more than signs and more than fast.
That's a look.
We're becoming a visual idea company.
Oh, yes! That is perfect.
While undercover, I'm gonna be posing as Louise Steely, a recently-divorced rocker chick who has a really hard time keeping a job.
The people I work with will be told that I'm a contestant on a reality TV show called Second Chances where people who wanna try a new career get a second chance.
Today, I'm excited to work with our center manager here because we're gonna do site surveys.
A site survey is when you've gotten an order and now you're gonna go measure and make sure that you're doing the right type of sign.
What I wanna find out today is: Are there any opportunities that we haven't thought about? And so I think being at the very beginning of a project, doing a site survey, I'm gonna learn if there's things we've overlooked.
- It's cold this morning.
- I know.
Do you always have to work out when it's cold? Yes.
I'm Jenn with Fastsigns.
- Hi, Louise Steely.
Both: - Nice to meet you.
So today, what we're gonna do is do some site surveys.
So what I'll do now is just show you some catalogs just to give you an idea of what to offer a customer when you talk to them.
And you're often outside in this kinda cold weather? Oh, yeah.
Couple times a week.
Oh, it's cold.
My feet are frozen.
My first impression of Louise was that she's a prima donna.
Complaining about being cold, and it's life, so She needs to suck it up.
Okay, so the most common thing we do are banners.
Okay.
So we can print full-color graphics, pictures whatever to the material.
So the name of this business is Galt Industries.
What they are is more of like a construction company.
Their logo's not real flashy.
But it's something that has to be up there so that people know what it is.
I think the building looks kinda shabby.
Um So you think they're gonna make the outside look better? I think that maybe we ought to recommend that they paint it.
I would never, ever say that to a customer, whether I think it or not.
You don't wanna offend them.
'Cause there's plenty of other sign companies out there that she can go to.
What I'll just start doing is I'm gonna measure this garage door, take the picture back to the store and scale it.
It's really important to take accurate measurements.
You don't wanna make something too big, and you have your installer come out here and then you're embarrassed 'cause it doesn't fit.
Bartending is a lot easier.
Just put a little too much whiskey in the drink - and everything is cool.
- Oh, okay.
So we'll do that.
About 117.
And what we'll do is draw the picture of the garage door.
So here's the door.
And then I was also thinking maybe putting a logo on that door there.
[Gasps.]
A kitty cat.
Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.
Come here! Here, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty, Kitty.
Come here.
Hi, come here.
Louise seemed very distracted.
And I didn't even know what to say.
We're here to do a job.
You a cat fan? I'm just an animal nut.
I hate cats.
If the customer was out here, I would've been completely embarrassed that she did that.
We are going to go to another site.
It's a boxing gym.
- Do you see this cat? - Yes.
Do you believe in reincarnation? Um Anyway, never mind.
People think I'm a little trippy that way.
But I'm thinking look at how this cat - is totally mesmerized by us.
- Yep.
Honestly, I don't think that I could have Louise in my office.
So how long you been with Fastsigns? I've been with Fastsigns for four years.
It's good because you get some support from the franchise as far as the marketing and stuff.
Mm-hmm.
But I think that there's a lot of things that could change.
Like, a lot of our current clients get the email marketing and they just think it's junk mail.
It looks like junk mail.
Certainly, I'm disappointed to hear that Jenn doesn't feel that all of our marketing materials are first class.
And I just don't think that's effective.
I think we need to step back and take a look and see if there's something to what Jenn says.
So where exactly are you from? I am from Hyattsville, Maryland which is just outside of Washington D.
C.
Oh.
I'm originally from Pittsburgh.
What got you from Pittsburgh to St.
Louis? - A bowling scholarship.
- How cool! Me and my husband met through bowling.
Really? - And your husband's name? - Gary.
- Do you still bowl? - Yeah, three nights a week.
Sometimes I don't see Gary for two or three days.
- How long you been married? - Two years.
We've been together for six years.
- What do you like to do? - Horseback riding.
- For ever? - Since I was four.
- Oh, so horseback riding.
- Yeah, I love it.
This is it right here.
This guy wants to get more exposure to Manchester road - which is a busy road.
- Okay.
Go ahead.
- Hi! Are you David? - Yeah, how are you? I am kind nervous about Louise meeting the customer.
- And this is Louise.
- Hi, Louise.
- She's training with me today.
- And you are? - David.
- David.
Hi, David.
Nice to meet you.
Don't make suggestions that are out-of-the-box.
I think that's really important for her to grasp that concept.
It worries me.
So I'm gonna let you walk her around and show her exactly what you're looking for.
All right, sounds great.
Well, outside's where the sign's gonna go.
All right.
We'd like to see something on all three different spots.
Okay.
It's either gonna be vertical or horizontal.
All righty.
All right, I'm gonna see if I can get in through those bushes.
Okay, 73 and 6.
Okay, great.
- Hey, David.
- Hi.
Uh, we've taken a lot of measurements, and what we're gonna do is put together some drawings so that you can take a look at it.
Sounds good.
Sounds good.
- All right.
- All right, very good.
Well, thank you so much for your time.
We'll be back to you in two days.
- All right, have a great day.
- Thanks.
I think Louise, at first, was a little rough.
But at the end she took good measurements, figured it out.
So I think that really impressed me.
I think you did a great job of getting the whole idea of what exactly they're looking for.
Can we hop in the car and get warm? Of course.
Oh, and one more thing.
Would you like to go bowling with me? - Really? - Try it out? - I would love to.
- Okay, great.
- Let's do it.
- All right, cool.
It was so exciting to watch her bowl.
That level of skill is just amazing.
Okay.
Ready? - All right, okay.
- You got this.
[Whimsical music.]
[Laughing.]
Damn it! So my question for you is, how do you balance a job you love, a husband you love, and passions you love? When you're passionate about something you just make it happen.
You just make time for it, you know? I would just be passionate about whatever you're gonna do.
Be passionate.
Good advice.
This is my first job undercover, and I didn't expect it to have such a personal effect on me.
Yay! And it really made me reflect on my passion.
Horses were the amazing thing that got me through tough times in my childhood.
And I've kinda put it on hold, and maybe I need to bring it back.
Oh, that's a good one.
I hit something! I hit something! But, um, right now, my commitment is Fastsigns.
Announcer: Coming up the boss finds herself in a sticky situation.
Uh-oh.
Oh, bad.
Got myself into a bit of a pickle.
Announcer: And later, her patience is tested.
Ooh! Look at all those bubbles.
Oh, shoot.
Announcer: Catherine Monson, the CEO of Fastsigns International, is a boss undercover in her own company.
Hi.
Louise Steely.
Both: Nice to meet you.
Announcer: Her coworkers think she's part of a reality show called Second Chances about a divorced rocker chick that needs help deciding on a career.
I'm in Austin today.
This is where the concept for Fastsigns got started.
And today, I'm gonna be working in the production area, which is really the heart and soul of this business, and it's all the different things that go into making signs.
This location is a little unusual in that it actually handles the production for three different Fastsigns locations.
So I'm really excited to see how they manage the workflow in this busy environment.
But I'll also admit I'm a little bit nervous.
I've never touched a piece of equipment, I've never touched a sign.
This is signs 101 for the CEO.
Hello.
I'm Sheldon.
I'm Louise.
- My new trainee? - Yes, I'm your new trainee.
Okay.
For her age, she's dressed very hip, contemporary, I guess.
But you know, it's Austin.
We keep it weird here.
Today, I'm gonna teach you how to do production for signs.
I'm excited.
I can't wait.
Okay.
So normally, each store does their own production.
But we're special.
We do production for three stores.
So we're really busy.
This is kind of a rough idea what the sign's gonna say.
- "No parking anytime.
" - Okay.
I'm gonna take you over here.
I'll show you what we do, then I'll let you work on the second one on your own.
Okay.
These are two separate signs.
This is the edge of one sign.
So can I do that on this side? Sure.
Just kinda like poke it a little bit.
Wow, that's cool.
Okay, the next part you wanna take out the little os.
- Okay, the center pieces.
- The center pieces.
And you just kinda pull away.
We try not to make mistakes, 'cause usually we're so busy we don't have time to go back again.
So I'd better not make a mistake.
Yes.
Uh-oh.
I just, um, stuck what do I do? Just yeah, just like that.
Just peel it off a little bit.
Uh-oh.
Uh-oh.
I messed it up.
She's a little not great with the knives yet.
But that takes a while to get the coordination down, and it's not the easiest thing to do.
The next step is we wanna put this on aluminum.
So let's go get a preview of the stomper.
So there's really a machine called a stomper? It's the stomp shear.
We just call it the stomper for short.
These little edges of the tape, that's where we're gonna chop it out at.
Just slide it in here, try to line it up to the blade.
And then now I just step down.
Just step down.
I've never put a sign together in my life.
I don't know what I'm doing.
Sometimes, it's easier if you get one foot on this side and step this way.
[Laughing.]
Okay.
We make signs.
We're not making rockets.
Eventually, it becomes second nature.
Yep.
Now we go back to where we first started.
Just like we did on the little one, - you let the - Oh, wow.
It's a thing of beauty.
How long have you been doing this? I have actually been at this place for 13 years.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
So how about you? Where do you see yourself in five years? The whole reason I got involved with this TV show, Second Chances was maybe I have the opportunity to get a franchise.
Well, the only bad thing about having a franchise would be that corporate moves slowly.
We have to compete against 150 different sign shops - in this town.
- Mm-hmm.
A lot of those are using the Internet.
Fastsigns has been lagging behind to get a website set up to where you can go there and order a sign online.
- And you don't have that now? - No.
Sheldon brought up a really important point that we, Fastsigns don't yet have an ecommerce online ordering solution.
We need something like that to stay up-to-date.
I completely agree with what he pointed out as a shortcoming with our company, and I think that will help a lot of our franchise partners grow their business even better.
This one is a lot of signs.
40 signs.
Okay.
40 signs.
- 40 signs.
- Great.
I'm gonna leave you alone, and I'm gonna go change out this material over here.
- Scream if you need any help.
- All right.
And don't cut your finger off.
[Chuckling.]
Good advice.
Uh-oh.
Uh-oh.
Crap.
Oh, bad.
Oh, oh.
When I got to do the signs by myself, I continued to mess up.
I got myself into a bit of a pickle.
Clearly, it takes some practice to get better at this.
Sheldon! Help.
I left Louise alone for maybe two minutes, and she was already having issues.
If you're really careful, you can get it off again.
Eventually, she needs to be more independent, 'cause we're not gonna be able to help her.
We're all gonna be busy making signs.
It would be devastating to Fastsigns if they had a bunch of Louises like me working in the production area.
So we're gonna make sure that that doesn't happen.
Clearly, I'm not good at this.
It takes some time.
Ha, ha.
You're a very good teacher.
I will tell you.
Well, it helps to have a little kid to test your patience.
Really? Well, I've been a single dad for a very long time.
I'm not single anymore.
Oh.
A couple years ago, I met Michelle.
We just like had everything in common, and then about three months in, we found out she had lung cancer.
[Gasp.]
Oh, no! And so I took care of her for six months while she was going through chemo, and then at the end, as a surprise, I asked her to marry me.
Oh, what a beautiful story.
How is she doing now? She's doing good.
She's getting her strength back.
Her hair's starting to grow.
We're trying to plan a wedding on a small budget and take it one step at at time.
That must've been an amazing lesson in caring and love for your son to see you take care of her.
It was a good lesson for him to learn to stick with people and you know, not give up on people.
After a day working in production, I'm certainly humbled and a little embarrassed that things that appear simple really aren't.
This franchise partner is really blessed to have Sheldon.
So what's next? What's the next job? Okay, well, let's clean up a little bit.
Okay.
I am in Culver City, and today I chose an installer to work with.
I have never applied any kind I have not done any installations.
So I don't really know what tools we use.
I don't know what techniques we use.
Hi, I'm Louise and I'm looking for a guy named Gary.
Gary is in the back.
All right.
What I'm hoping to learn today is how we install our products and how we ensure that they meet our high standards.
- Gary, this is Louise.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Wow.
I didn't know it was supposed to be a woman.
Well, you know, women can work too.
Oh, of course.
But nobody even suggested it was she, he, or anything.
Well, today, we're gonna apply the decals on this truck.
Side, side, back, tailgate, and front.
I'm gonna help with the first one on the door.
Yeah.
So that way, you get the feel of it, how we're gonna do this.
You're gonna make me do one by myself? - Yes.
- Okay, all right.
Hands-on training.
- Let's measure this out.
- Tape measure.
See, we want more.
You wanna tape it all the way across so I'm about centered.
- All right.
- So we peel it back.
- Only as far as the tape.
- Okay.
Remember, careful with matte.
So this is why we come use this.
- The squeegee.
- You're pressing out the air.
Just take your time.
I think I can do this.
I think you can do this one on your own.
It's much easier too.
There's a part of the work that's easy, like measuring and get it in the right place.
Ahh! I've got air.
But I had no idea how hard it is to apply a big graphic and not have air bubbles.
Look at all those bubbles! Mm.
Oh, another damn air bubble.
Oh, shoot.
Oh, come on.
Oh, look what I did.
Okay, this is not good.
It looked easier when you were doing it.
Well, yeah.
Because I'm going slowly.
I'm not pressing hard on it.
You don't think I was doing that? - No, I saw you were.
- Well, I mean this comes with experience, practice, and also patience.
No one ever accused me of patience.
It seems like Louise is a little bit out of her comfort zone.
She's kind of impatient.
We all have the idea, sticker just put it and stick.
And when it comes to something as a car, you can't just paste it on.
What did you do before? I've done a little bit of everything.
I've substitute taught, I've been a bartender, I've been divorced a couple times.
I don't understand it.
Marriage is way too hard.
- Yeah, it's complicated.
- That's a good way to say it.
It's complicated.
I'm married right now.
I'm expecting a baby any minute.
Tell me! Is this your first? - My first boy.
- So you already have a girl? Yeah, two girls.
One is 18, and the other one is 3.
Cool.
Congratulations.
- Thank you.
- That's pretty cool.
- So now - We're going off-site and apply it at a car dealership.
We wanna plan their window decal.
- We got two jobs today.
- Yes, two jobs.
My first impression of Gary was a bit scary.
He looks like kind of a rough and tumble guy.
But after just a little bit of time with him, it's real easy to see he is a teddy bear.
I could easily have misjudged the book by its cover.
All right, so where we going? That's the window that we're going to do the install on.
Wow, this is really big.
Tape it.
And we start to do the same thing we do with the oth - We could do it down.
- Okay.
[Phone ringing.]
I'm gonna step away for a minute, all right? - Okay.
- All right.
This is not easy.
It is really physically demanding, and there is definitely a skill involved that has to be learned over time.
I don't have the strength for this.
And you're still not doing the strokes evenly.
You're almost coating.
So right now, we're going to take a little break and - Oh, I'm so glad.
- Ha.
I would not hire Louise.
I think Louise might be suited for a job maybe at, um Maybe not so hands-on.
- So where do you live? - I live in Los Angeles.
South central Los Angeles.
- So how long is your drive? - 21/2 hours.
- Holy crap! - Yeah, to get to work.
Before I came to graphic designing, you know, I was a young kid.
I grew up in bad neighborhoods thinking that everybody belonged to a gang, and I thought that was the way it's supposed to be.
I don't need education, I don't need nothing.
I got money.
So around 19 years old And I went to court, and as I was going to court, I see my mother and she's crying.
And I look at my daughter, and she's only a few months old.
And I said "I can't be a parent.
I can't be a son.
" "And wow, I've ruined my life completely.
" Then I'm gonna live my life right.
In the courtroom, the judge tells me to stand up and he tells me today's your lucky day.
He said, "we're dismissing your charges.
" I said, "only a miracle can do this.
" And that was the day I got released.
First thing I do I'm gonna find myself a church to get into.
So that's my goal.
Put me in a position where I can help somebody else.
I'm gonna find a way.
Find a direction.
That's really amazing.
It's a struggle.
And it hasn't been easy.
And it isn't easy now.
We actually lost our house today.
- You lost your house today? - We got evicted today.
Oh.
Wow.
I have a job and I have my That's right, you have a job.
So what are you gonna do? Where are you gonna go? Good things come from sometimes from bad things.
So maybe it's time for me to make that change to move.
I've never met anybody like Gary, on one hand.
And then on the other hand he's very much like my brother.
People that have overcome huge obstacles and are living their life with grace and love and working to help other people.
Let's go ahead and finish it off.
I think it's getting kinda dark.
I might need some help with you to get this done Okay, let's get this done.
Before we have no light at all.
I have to tell you, I'm really moved by you sharing that story.
That's quite an inspiration.
Announcer: Coming up Just hold on! Announcer: The boss is faced with some emotional highs.
Ooh! Ooh! Announcer: And later, some emotional lows.
I've really not done things to take care of me.
I'm in Phoenix today.
I'm actually working with one of our franchisees.
I've met this guy, but it's important that I take this risk.
Because typically, when I go in and visit franchisees, they're saying the stuff they think I wanna hear.
And I think going in as Louise will give me a better view, and I might find out really what's happening.
- Hey, are you Scott? - Scott's right over there.
Scott's up there? - Scott! - I'll be right down.
I have to go up in that thing? - It's safe.
- You're not up in it.
Hi, I'm Scott Kohler, nice to meet you.
- Hi, I'm Louise.
- Hi, Louise.
- Is that safe? - Of course it's safe.
- We have a harness for you.
- Okay.
And today, we're gonna be putting a set of letters on the side of the building.
Okay, cool.
I was kinda surprised.
I expected someone that was a little bit more I guess business-oriented.
Where can I put my purse? The all-black that kinda surprised me a little bit.
These are the letters that we're gonna be putting up.
The company's called NRG Energy.
We've already prepped the letters.
We've already put the studs in 'em.
So we're gonna go up.
We'll mount the pattern on the wall, we'll get it in place, and then we'll drill holes, and then we'll mount the letters.
Are you ready for this? Totally ready.
[Nervous laugh.]
Okay, so we have a harness for you.
Is this a trapeze act or something? [Chuckling.]
All right.
Is that a look or what? [Both laughing.]
Are you ready? What up, "G"? Ooh! The higher we get, the more bouncy it gets.
Oh, my God! [Gasp.]
- Just hold on! - Ooh! Um I really got scared.
But it's not so much the height.
When it was smooth and stable, that was cool.
Ah! Then when it started to wiggle around, that was a little unnerving.
How long is it gonna take us to do this deal? This pattern has 32 holes that need to be drilled.
And it's normal for this thing to move this much? When you're up this high, yes.
Ooh! [Chuckling.]
Okay, so now, what's the next deal? We drill holes.
And are you ready? Do I look straight and level to you? Straight and level and pull the trigger and push.
- Is that right? - That's perfect.
I think I'm just having a little tiredness in the arm.
Do you wanna drill a couple holes? I don't feel like she's done a lot of manual labor.
It's all right.
We probably need to go up a little bit.
She drilled about 15, 16 holes and she was ready to take a little break.
Ah, five maybe.
So, um, why did you decide to own a business rather than be an employee? Um, it's kind of the American dream to own your own business.
My wife calls it my mistress.
You know, that's what keeps me away from home, out late at night.
So how many hours do you work a week? You know, 50, 60.
So it's usually at least a ten-hour day.
You know, there's nothing in my shop I can't do.
There's not a piece of equipment I can't run.
You know, when we've been short-handed or When times were tough and I couldn't afford to pay someone to install 'em, needed to be able to to be able to do it as well.
So there's no class that you go to.
- Nobody trains you on this.
- Not that I'm aware of.
- You learned this on the job.
- Yes.
We're not providing our franchise partners the training that they need in these kinds of projects.
And that's something that I'm gonna change when I get back to the office.
My wife says that I should be stricter with my employees like I am with my daughter.
- You have a daughter? - 21/2.
Her name is Maya.
We adopted.
Oh, you adopted.
Yeah, my wife Julie has M.
S.
And she did chemotherapy as a treatment for that.
Ah.
We were trying to overcome the effects of the chemotherapy, and it just, uh, didn't happen.
You have kids? I was never able to have kids.
- Didn't want any? - Wanted some.
Just not real good timing on those things.
We were really fortunate.
She is my number one.
Seeing the way Scott's eyes lit up when he talked about his daughter really made me reflect on my decisions not to have any children.
And I suppose if given the chance to go back, I might do it differently.
- I think we got 'em all.
- That's it.
You just wanna pump some silicone in the hole.
And then that's all we do? That's it.
Julie's M.
S.
is it like doing well? It's not fixed forever.
In fact, she actually had an infusion today.
So are you gonna try to adopt another baby, or is one the right number? Um, I would definitely adopt another if the opportunity arises.
It's really motivating to see how committed Scott is to his business.
As well, he's really committed to his family.
Oh, look at that.
That's perfect.
- That's perfect.
- That's perfect.
To have that kind of love in your life is a really special thing.
[Sniffles.]
I mistakenly thought that going undercover would actually be easy.
It has given me such an added appreciation for our employees.
I really need to make the company a better place for them, and for our franchise partners.
It was as much personal growth for me as it was business growth.
I made a decision three years ago to accept the job of CEO of Fastsigns and leave my friends and leave my family.
And I don't regret that, but I've really not done things to take care of me.
Today, all the employees I have worked with are gonna be coming to a place that's very special to me.
An equestrian center in Laguna Hills, California.
All the employees believe that they are weighing in on whether or not I deserve a second chance.
[Chuckles.]
Wow.
Hello.
Hello.
Do you know who I am? No, I don't think we've ever met.
I think I trained you last Saturday.
Do you? Yes, you are Louise, right? I'm Catherine Monson, CEO of Fastsigns International.
Oh, my God.
This is surprising, what's going on now.
What're you doing here? [Laughs.]
Well, I hope I didn't disappoint you.
You did not.
Sheldon I messed up, made mistakes, ruined signs, and you never lost patience with me.
I was just blown away.
You highlighted a real weakness of our companies.
- The website.
- So I want to share with you, 'cause I'm very excited, that we are in the testing phase right now.
- Excellent.
- I would like you to be part of our test group.
- Would you be interested? - I would love to do that.
We'll make sure we pay you for that time away from the office.
You're too kind.
And so you have a big day coming up.
In about three months, we're gonna get married.
You've had a very hard, trying, challenging time early in your relationship, battling cancer, fighting it back, winning That I would like to treat you and Michelle to a honeymoon of your dreams.
Oh.
Really? As a gift from Fastsigns and from me, $10,000.
Wow.
I am excited to tell her, because she's gonna just explode.
I mean, she's gonna think it's the coolest thing ever.
That's very generous.
Thank you.
You guys have some medical bills.
Yes.
She had a collapsed lung, she had the radiation, - and then she had the chemo.
- Wow.
Well, that's what you sign up for, for better or for worse.
Well, I would like to give you $50,000 - Holy - To ease some of that pressure.
Are you you're kidding me, right? You don't really have to do that, though.
That's a lot.
[Crying.]
It would be my dream that I could sometime in my future find a man who would stand by me like you've stood by Michelle.
Well, everybody should have somebody like that.
I want to hug you.
[Laughs.]
Okay, then just hug me! Come on! Don't be waiting! You're awesome.
I kind of feel peaceful.
You know, like I I can kind of relax a little bit, and, uh, enjoy life a little more.
- Thank you.
- All right.
You know, I'm just shocked.
Jenn, it is very clear that you are driven, and what really disappointed me is that you felt that our email marketing campaigns - looked like spam or junk.
- Mm-hmm.
I'm really excited to tell you that next month at our convention, we're gonna unveil a whole new look and feel to the Fastsigns brand.
I can't wait for you to see that.
Awesome.
You also shared with me that you're busy with bowling, and Gary's busy with his, and that sometimes you never see each other.
Yeah.
But I think you need to spend some time together.
So, I am gonna give you $10,000.
Oh, my God.
With the caveat You have to use it on a romantic vacation.
[Laughs.]
That's amazing.
Wow.
Thank you.
You have taught me the lesson that if I'm really gonna be the best CEO possible, I want to have a life that's balanced like yours.
I want to encourage you to chase your passions and your dreams even more.
And I'd like to give you $20,000.
What? Oh, my God.
Wow.
For bowling? - For bowling.
- Oh, my God.
For whatever you want.
- Thank you.
Wow.
- You're very welcome.
It feels amazing to have the recognition that I'm doing a good job.
It's really important to me that it's appreciated at my level from somebody like Catharine.
- Thank you.
- Thank you for everything.
I'm frikkin' excited.
Scott, I have to tell you, the day with you, I had so much fun.
I'm glad.
You almost killing me on the lift, the way you made it sway back and forth.
You liked to make me shriek.
It was a great experience for me as CEO.
Thank you.
You had to teach yourself how to do those kinds of installs.
We didn't provide any training.
I really think the kind of job that we did together is the kind of job that every Fastsigns should do.
Thanks to your inspiration, I'm gonna put together a training program to teach our franchise partners every step along the way.
I think that's incredible.
You shared a story of getting blessed with this wonderful baby, and I see you light up when you talk about Maya.
I'd like to give you $10,000 to put in a college fund for Maya.
I'll gladly accept.
[Laughs.]
Thank you.
She is my number one.
The most important thing.
I made a decision not to have children, because I was afraid that I would turn out like my mother.
And I really have not regretted that decision until I was on that lift, and you talked about Maya the way you did.
I really respect how you get involved in the business and do installations, but I also want you to be able to spend the time that Maya deserves as she's growing up, and the time that Julie deserves.
I would like to give you $15,000 so that you can be at home with Julie and with Maya.
[Exhales.]
God has blessed me with her, and, um, I'm I'm just so thankful that I have her.
And my wife, and just, life is even though it's hard, life is good.
Life is good.
My daughter Maya means the world to me.
Whatever Maya's opportunities are, we'll be able to to afford that.
- Bye.
Thank you so much.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
It's incredible.
[Exhales.]
Gary.
The biggest gift for me was to see a man who made a lot of mistakes, and now has turned his life around in the most amazing and beautiful way.
Thank you.
I want to give you the best opportunity to just continue to grow in your Fastsigns career, so I am going to bring you out to Dallas where our corporate office is, for a week, and put together a customized training program for you, teaching you all the tricks of the trade.
All expenses paid, as well as your salary during that week.
And to have this opportunity to learn more and have it presented to me as a gift I'm really grateful.
I know how much your church has helped you and the importance that that church has in your life, so, I would like to give you something for you to give your church.
$15,000.
The church is about to close down because they couldn't pay their dues.
Thank you, Jesus.
And there's something else I'd like to do for you.
I so respect that you make the long 21/2-hour drive to work, and I know how difficult it can be when you don't have a dependable car.
So I would like to give you a new car.
[Sobbing.]
We've been trying to save up, but we can't.
We've been trying to get a car, but we can't.
I love you.
Thank you.
It breaks my heart to think of you and your family being evicted from your house, so, I'm gonna give you $50,000.
[Sniffles.]
Thank you.
Our prayers have been answered, just in one day.
All of them get answered in one day.
This doesn't happen to people like me.
This this is I'm not supposed to be here.
It's supposed to be somebody else.
I'm gonna tell you that I don't believe that's true.
You're gonna be an inspiration that brings lots of other people out of the darkness, into the light.
- Can I give you a hug? - I would love a hug, Gary.
This doesn't feel like it's real.
Almost feels like a dream.
I'm still in shock.
[Sighs.]
I've really learned, from the people I've worked with, of the importance of better balance in life.
And so there is one last stop that I need to make before going back to the office.
[Knocks.]
The people we love are so important to us.
I need to invest more time in family.
Brenna! - How are you? - Good.
How are you? - So good to see you.
- I missed you.
- Hey, bro.
- So good to see you.
It's great to see you.
It's so great having all of us together.
It's been so long.
Oh, you made me a welcome sign! The love and relationships that we have with our family far exceed anything we could ever accomplish in our business lives.
[Laughs.]
Just good to be back.
This whole experience is gonna make me not just a better CEO, but a better person, a better friend, a better aunt.
It has truly enriched my life.
I just wanted to tell you how proud I am of you.
And how much I admire you.
Thanks, Chuck.
You rock.
And very glad to see you.
It's been too long.
[Laughs.]
It's been too long.
It has been.
- Yeah, we miss you.
- Same here.
Same here.