Undercover Boss (2010) s04e03 Episode Script
Cinnabon Inc.
This week on Undercover Boss Cin! Na! Bon! Whoo! The president of Cinnabon, Incorporated Delicious.
The youngest boss ever to go undercover poses as a contestant on a fake reality show about people trying to win funding for new businesses.
- I'm looking for Erica.
- That's me.
Hi, Erica.
I'm Alexa.
But before she goes undercover, this former Hooters girl seeks out her old boss, former Hooters CEO Coby Brooks, for advice.
Come on, girl.
Who wants to go home? Whoo, doggy! Mm, oh! It's not easy as people think.
I'm I'm nervous.
- Coffee chillatta.
- Coffee chillatta.
Whoo! Miguel, I need some help.
What will happen when this tough executive cracks? Your hair does have to be pulled back.
That's as much as I'm gonna be able to do.
- Really? - Yeah.
Mayra started to touch my hair.
I was flipping out.
I've worked in restaurants, so I know it's short enough.
Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 4x03 - Cinnabon Inc.
Original air date November 16, 2012 Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Cinnabon serves sweet treats in more than 900 bakeries throughout 40 countries worldwide.
These franchises, combined with partnerships with brands like Cream of Wheat, Pillsbury, and International Delight Creamer, pull in revenues of more than $1/2 billion Thank you so much.
Have a wonderful day.
Overseeing the 11,000 employees that keep this business baking is one woman.
I'm Kat Cole, the president of Cinnabon, Incorporated.
Cinnabon is definitely the most recognized sweet treat, not just in America, but in many countries all over the world, and of course, we are most famous for our cinnamon rolls.
We sell more than 100 million cinnamon rolls a year using 15 million pounds of cream cheese frosting, and from Indonesia, we import a million pounds of our secret ingredient makara cinnamon, and because it has more volatile oils in it, whenever it's baked, the aroma is stronger and the flavor is more powerful.
I have been the president of Cinnabon for just a little over a year and a half.
Can you have the front desk make sure they don't transfer any calls to my office? Thank you.
Some of my mantras as a leader are "make it happen," "figure it out.
" So what I want you guys to do is take a look at the chocolate frostings again.
- Yeah.
- Sometimes, that means some people may get left behind.
I don't apologize for it.
Thank you.
You guys are wussies using a fork? It's critical to not sugarcoat things.
We love sugar around here, but not on the facts.
I look forward to seeing what you can do with it.
So I tell people, be sure you really are as hungry as you say you are, because I might be able to find somebody who wants it more.
Let's go with the one that we chose.
Some of my personal mantras as a leader come from how I grew up.
I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida.
Our father, who was a Vietnam veteran, had come back a troubled guy and was making bad decisions.
He wouldn't be around for family events, or my mom was left to do things on her own, or he was out drinking and didn't come home until late, and so, when I was nine years old, my mom had the courage to leave him and take me and my two younger sisters to a different city so that we could start a new life.
She fed our little family of three girls on $10 a week.
Because of that, I learned to step up and be responsible.
People who grew up with my circumstances, we have this desire to be successful And that can be a very powerful driver and differentiator in business.
When I was 19 years old, I started working at Hooters.
I started as hostess and then Hooters girl and then bartender and then certified trainer and shift leader.
I just said, "it just feels right," so I dropped out of college.
Hooters was a rapidly-growing restaurant chain and eventually, at the age of 26, I became vice president.
I was at Hooters for a little over 15 years, and I was in the board room of the Hooters episode of Undercover Boss.
We have some management that, uh He wasn't respectful to the girls.
What? Coby Brooks, who was the former CEO of Hooters, has since left the company, and before I go undercover, I'd really like to check in with Coby and just talk with him about his experience - Hey, hey! - Hello, Kat.
- How are you? - Come on in.
and see if he has any advice.
Well, you know, you've always been such an incredible supporter.
You always gave me a chance, despite the fact that I didn't have the experience that other people did or the fact that I was younger.
You know, you've you did a great job for my father.
You did a great job for me.
You're very good at what you do.
That's why you are where you are.
I can't thank you enough for that.
Since you had the mega-journey going through Undercover Boss, I would love to get your insights.
You want the good, the bad, and the ugly, right? Exactly.
- You're in for a long ride.
- Yeah, I'm I'm nervous.
I know the feelings you're going through right now.
- I had 'em.
- Yeah.
I didn't know what to expect.
It's not as easy as people think.
It's not scripted.
It's completely real.
- There's gonna be some lows.
- Yeah.
- The whole incident - Mm-hmm.
with the beans that I went through Come on, girl.
Who wants to go home? Whoo, doggy! Oh, they look tasty.
The public is gonna expect you to maybe do some things that, you know, right then, and, you know, sometimes you can't.
Yeah.
Tell you what, Kat? Most of it's all good.
Doing the show was amazing, even the bad stuff.
It wasn't the business part.
It was the emotional connection that I enjoyed.
If you can, try to forget about what's happening back at the office and the board room.
- That's tough.
- Immerse yourself - with the people.
- Yeah.
This is their livelihood.
This is what they do.
You know, when you cry at the end 'cause you will cry, and you don't cry much.
You're strong.
- Strong like a bull.
- Who, me? I just get a little teary-eyed, you know, thinking about it now.
The journey will be well worth it when you sit back and you, for weeks, you think about your experience, or months, you think about it.
You know, emotionally, it you know, it's gonna be difficult, but more important than that: You're gonna be a better person when it's over.
Thank you.
- You're gonna do great.
- Good to see you.
- Give me a hug.
- Thank you so much.
Pull this down.
- Mom, you think bangs? - I think bangs.
Going bangs.
While undercover, I'll be posing as Alexa, an aspiring baker who's competing to earn seed money to open a cupcake shop.
Throughout my undercover journey, my employees will be tricked into thinking they are on a hosted reality show in which they will work alongside Alexa and then decide whether she deserves to win the money to start a new business.
We are at the one and only Cinnabon in Paramus, New Jersey.
The woman pretending to be the host of the fake show will keep asking questions about whether Alexa deserves the money, so my employees will have no idea this is secretly Undercover Boss.
I'm so, so glad that you made this special trip out.
It means so much to me.
It's always a pleasure.
Got toothbrush, essentials? Come on.
Give me a break.
I am going undercover to see if the new products that we've put in place, if they are being executed properly, to make sure, before we really turn up the heat, that everything is pointed in the right direction.
I'm off, so I'll say good-bye to you here.
Today, I'm at a mall in Wayne, New Jersey working at the Cinnabon location as a supervisor.
Being at a Cinnabon in a mall always reminds me of my first job.
I sold clothes, not cinnamon rolls, but I remember what it was like to be that young mall employee.
Hi.
How are you? - Hi! - I'm Mayra.
- I'm Alexa.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
- Okay, I'll meet you - in the back, okay? - Today, I want to find out what are the things that we need to make sure we improve - for this bakery.
- Hi, Alexa.
- Hello.
- How are you? I'm great.
How are you? Okay.
Come in? Okay, so first of all, you always have a smile on your face.
- Okay.
- You're really friendly, and you make sure you up-sell.
You always offer whatever you can to them.
- Okay.
- So if you have a guest, and they're like, "can I have a cinnabon?" You would also promote additional frosting on the side.
- Gotcha.
- A lot of people - will take the up-sell.
- Okay.
Hi.
How are you? The mini-bites, would you like the second one for a dollar more? Up-sell me.
Let's go.
Would you like anything to drink? Juice, coffee, water, or a chillatta? So you're total is only $5.
02.
You always remember: When you charge them, you always say, "your total is only.
" - Come on up.
- Hi, sir.
How are you? What can I get for ya? - The churro.
- Okay, churro.
And you can offer a beverage along with that.
Okay.
Would you like a water, coffee, or a chillatta? No, you're all good? Okay, that's $3.
95.
- You always say - Only.
Yes.
So you want everyone to feel like a guest.
You want them to have a great service and come back.
All right, that's $4.
48.
Okay, remember: "It's only $4.
48.
" Make sure they always get their receipt too - Yep, I will.
- And make sure you - put some napkins in there too.
- Okay.
- There you go.
- You can say, "thank you" - "so much.
" - Yeah? "Have a great day.
" Try not to say "here you go.
" Wow, she is a little commando.
- Alexa? - Yes, ma'am? You have to be a little bit faster, - so you have to move the line.
- Got it.
She actually kept physically pushing me up to the counter, and physically guiding me places.
Mayra is a take-charge young girl.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
Thank you very much.
So you're doing a great job.
You're gonna go frost the cinnabons.
Take the temperature.
So do you have anything to, um, tie your hair with? - Mm, no.
- A scrunchie? Your hair does have to be pulled back.
- How's that? - This is awful.
When Mayra started to touch my hair, I was flipping out.
I thought, "they're gonna see the wig cap.
They're gonna see the pins.
" That's probably about as much as I'm gonna be able to do.
- Really? - Yeah.
Alexa's mistake was not wanting to take direction.
I've worked in restaurants, so I know it's short enough to meet health code, so it won't fall, but I'll keep it tucked.
This may hurt her a little bit.
Maybe right now, it's a little mistake about the hair, but what if, later on, it's something else? We're gonna have you - do some cleaning.
- Okay.
So here's where the dirty dishes go.
- Okay.
- We do have to do this quickly, so it's, like, as fast as you can.
Okay.
My first job was being a hostess in a restaurant.
- Really? Where? - In in Florida.
I'm from Orlando.
I hope to be able to start my own food business - because I love baking.
- In a business, you want your employees to be happy, and it's nice to get along with your team members, so, if you have a business, keep that in mind.
I noticed these pans have a lot of black stuff built up around them.
What is that? It's usually they have been in the oven a lot.
It doesn't affect the food.
There's no safety risk.
It just happens with pans over time, but we have a solution for that that this bakery clearly is not using.
- So are you liking it here? - I am.
This mall is kind of big.
- It's huge.
- Yes.
So you tell me that you wanna, like, - start your own business, right? - Mm-hmm, basically.
And my dream is to have my own bakery business - like a Cinnabon.
- Wow, that's amazing.
- What about you? - So, like, right now, like, I'm going to college, and I wanna study physical therapy.
- Ah.
- I use to live around Teaneck, New Jersey, with my mom and my dad - Mm-hmm.
- But around that time, my parents were getting divorced.
My dad had cheated on my mom, so my mom didn't want anything to do with my dad anymore.
We had to leave the building.
My dad was the super of that building.
We didn't even have money.
We didn't even have a place to live, so around the time my parents were getting separated - Mm-hmm.
- My mom missed her mammography for that year, so when she did it the next year - Mm-hmm.
- she did come up with, um, a positive sign for breast cancer.
Hearing her talk about the tough things she's gone through her mother's cancer, her parents' divorce, um, all of those things made my heart just go out to her.
So how's she doing now? Right now, she's actually good.
She is on a five-year pill that she has to take.
- Is she in remission? - Yeah.
Right now, she has it gone, so that kind of explains my pink tie Yeah, absolutely.
But what really inspired me about my mom is no matter what was going on, how many therapies she had to take, chemo, she would always get up the next day and go to work.
She would do anything to bring us food, to bring us clothes.
She would make sure we were never missing anything.
So, like, my mom is, like, my hero.
I wanted to give Mayra a giant hug while she was I had to, like, try to mature a little bit faster to help my mom.
When I was old enough to work, my friend recommended me to Cinnabon.
How old are you now, if you don't mind me asking? - I'm 19, actually.
- 19.
I certainly understand what it's like to be a teenager and really want to step up and help your mom.
How did you become a supervisor? Katherine, which is actually in the store right now, she gave me the opportunity.
It's pretty impressive that your first job has worked out that way.
It helps that she had, like, faith in me, so I always want her to be proud too.
It's really inspiring to see someone as young as Mayra, who doesn't want to disappoint the people that have given her those chances.
People don't have the opportunity, so that's what kind of makes it special to work, like, at one of these Cinnabons.
It just touches my heart.
She's such a sweet young person, she's lived through some tough times, and she deserves some very special things.
Excuse me, excuse me.
Coming through.
Coming through.
Coming up, Kat's employees give her a mouthful Oh, no.
And later, she's caught off-guard.
I've got a bakery concept that I wanna launch.
Kat Cole, the president of Cinnabon, Incorporated, is a boss undercover in her own company.
- How are you? - Hi! Her employees think she's a contestant on a hosted reality show trying to win money to open her own bakery.
Her journey continues in Wisconsin.
Today, I'm going to be a machine operator at the Cream of Wheat plant in Stoughton, Wisconsin.
Over 50% of Cinnabon's domestic business comes from our retail division, and Cream of Wheat is one of our newest partners for retail products.
Cinnabon partners with Cream of Wheat by actually taking our makara cinnamon and putting that all into the Cream of Wheat that most of the customers in America know and love.
I'm here to work with Linda.
You're gonna take a right down the hall.
So I want to see if the Cream of Wheat team is applying the same quality that we expect in our bakeries to our products that show up in grocery stores.
Hi, I'm looking for Linda? - I'm Alexa.
- Hi.
- It's nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
Alexis didn't look like she was coming to work.
She looked like she was going on a shopping trip.
- Oh, wow.
- Yeah.
Oh, nice.
Oh, really? When she said, "Cinnabon is my favorite," I wanted to say "oh, my gosh, me too, me too!" But of course, I couldn't.
Linda is showing me the machine that takes rolls of paper, turns them into packets, and fills them with cinnabon-flavored Cream of Wheat.
Ooh! Okay.
Being on the factory floor, it's a little intimidating.
All right.
Under, top, thread it through.
Oh, wait.
There's a lot of moving parts and gears.
- All right, there we go.
- There you go.
It's amazing how much work goes into filling one Cream of Wheat packet.
I'm thinking a few more splashes in the face and stuff, that can be the end of that career.
Got it.
Yep.
Absolutely.
I felt so bad because the other workers were waiting for the filled packets of Cream of Wheat so that they can pack them and get them out to the stores.
They're taking the time to train me, and I'm kind of screwing everything up on the line, so that sucked.
All right.
Please, Jesus, work.
Whoo-hoo! Okay.
This is, like, the end of the line.
This is where they're all gonna go into the cases, and we're gonna send them out to the guy who wants Cream of Wheat.
Uh-oh.
It wants to be a pain in the butt.
So what happens to the product that got damaged? Um, I usually throw 'em away if they're really bad, 'cause usually the envelopes are smashed up.
Oh.
Seems like such a shame, you know, with so many hungry people out there - I know.
- I would hope that one of the outcomes of this journey would be finding a way to connect some of the excess that's produced here in the natural process of manufacturing and get it to people in need.
Do you live around here? No, I'm from Orlando.
Oh, okay.
Is your family - and everybody from there? - Yeah.
I was raised by a single mom and Oh, I was a single mom, so it's like Oh, really? I had two kids, and now I'm raising my grandson.
Oh, so how old is your grandson? He's 11.
He just turned 11.
Oh! And where is your daughter now? She had him when she was really young - Huh.
- And the dad and her split up, and then they were all doing their own thing, so they were just mad at the world.
Oh, okay.
- Yeah.
- So then, we took out our savings, and we went and got an attorney, and we got guardianship over him.
Wow.
I think the hardest part of it was, his daddy came to the courthouse that day.
Really? Somebody walks into a courthouse, and then they sit down, and they hold their son's hand, and then, they say, "I freely give up my son.
" Your grandson is fortunate to have you, it sounds like.
Her story made me feel like my story is even less of a big deal.
You know, I had a tough life, but nobody signed me away.
I'm like, "where did that come from?" - Yeah.
- I had no idea that that's where he wanted to go.
- Did you go? - No.
Wow.
Okay, we're heading back to work.
- Okay.
- Let's go.
One of the things that's really surprising me is what an emotional roller-coaster this trip really is.
Hearing about these employees' troubles and challenges, it's hard.
It's hard to hear.
You know, the reality is, you're only on this planet for so long, so for whatever brief period of time we are on the planet, I need to make sure that we're making a really positive difference in people's lives.
Today, I'm in Carmel Church, Virginia, just off the interstate, working in a Cinnabon micro-bakery as a coffee hostess.
Whenever Cinnabon puts a small bakery - in one of these travel plazas - That'll be $3.
26.
there's no room for all of the huge equipment needed for making the product from scratch, so we pre-make the rolls and have them shipped in so that they can bake fresh all day, so that's important for me to see that the pre-made product is still wowing guests just like the product that's in our flagship bakeries in our malls.
Hi! Welcome to Pilot Flying J.
Thank you.
I'm looking for Erica? That's me.
I'm actually addressed as Moka.
- Moka? Got it.
- Yes.
Much more fun.
Of course.
If you don't mind, if you could take off your tie - and put on this one.
- Sure.
I was totally rockin' the bad to the bone skinny tie, and then, I ended up with this little piece of magic right here.
It's quite fabulous.
We have three pans of cinnabon.
We're gonna be cooking buns almost every 30 minutes.
- Why? - 'Cause we want it to be nice and fresh every time they get it.
- Gotcha.
- Right now, what we really need - is a cinnabon box.
- Okay.
My first impression of Moka is she is incredibly high-energy.
- This is our cinnabon station.
- Okay.
We're gonna box these and do some samples.
She just had that big smile, and just went right to work.
Well, as the customers come in the door, we ask them if they'd like a free cinnabon sample.
Hello, welcome to Pilot Flying J.
Would you like a cinnabon sample? There you go.
You're welcome.
Hi! Would you like some cinnabon? One thing, try not to go so close to the door.
After they shut the door, they're ours.
If you catch them while the door's still open, they can still run away.
Alexis, she's very eager.
Would you like a cinnabon sample? She actually bombarded them at the door.
A little bit of that may be slightly frightening.
Would you like a cinnabon sample? - Why? - No? You know what? If y'all are gonna be here a few minutes, I can get you one that's unfrosted.
Mmm When I was younger, just like Moka, I would come up with ideas to take care of guests.
I think it says a lot that she would take the time to think about a way to cater.
We're pretty good on cinnabon right now.
How do you know we're good? We have timers.
Cinnabon is good for one hour, and this down here is our nice little hot box.
Ah.
Yes, this is a free facial.
Yes, this is good for the pores and everything.
- I am gonna gift you my baby.
- Okay.
- Handle with care.
- Okay.
Hi.
Would you like a sample? I would love for you to try one of these cinnabons.
Tell me if they taste like the cinnabon you know and love.
- Okay.
- All right.
While I was all alone, I had the opportunity to talk to a few guests about whether or not they felt the products that we were serving here matched their expectations.
- Delicious.
- Little treat? Good! I'm glad you like it.
Every time, they said yes.
Thank you.
That made me very happy that the brand standards are being met.
Doing all right so far, I think.
Now what I need hello, sweetheart.
I've got a bakery concept that I wanna launch, and I'm learning how some of the big bakery concepts what can we do for you? I've got a bakery concept that I wanna launch, and I'm learning how some of the big bakery concepts I hope she didn't hear him.
No, no.
That would be cool.
- Have a good one.
- Have a great evening.
All right.
- Right now - Okay.
Let's take buns from here, and we're gonna go frost them, and then, we're gonna bring them back out here.
It seemed like everything stayed the same, but that was a close one.
This is our icing that we have.
We're gonna get about one ounce of icing to each bun.
- You can finish those.
- I love baking.
Are you any good at it? 'Cause a lot of us love things.
I love to sing.
That don't mean I'm Diana Ross - or anything.
- I have a dream of making my own baked products and having them sold in places - like this - Oh, cool beans.
So what's next for you after this? I, hopefully I put in enough good work till I become a team leader and progress there.
Yeah.
Is that enough, or should I do a little more? That's perfect.
So do you have any kids? I don't have kids.
I, um, grew up with my mom was a single mom and raised three girls.
I'm the oldest of three.
I'm a single mother - of three girls.
- Oh, are you really? Yes.
Stack it one on top - of the other.
- Okay.
Now, that's enough right now.
Go ahead.
Grab your tray.
- Okay.
- Got a little frosting on you? Yeah, a little bit.
I think Moka was a great example of customer service, and just a super positive attitude.
How may I help you? It was great to see the mini-bakery version of our concept.
The product quality was being maintained, which means big business for us.
- How ya feelin'? - Good.
Today I'm working at a Cinnabon bakery in Paramus, New Jersey.
With this location, one of the biggest challenges is the fact that there are several more snack concepts that have opened recently, creating a lot of other options for shoppers, but in particular, this location, with all of its competition, continues to increase sales year over year, and I really wanna find out why.
- Hi! How are you? - I'm Alexa.
I'm Miguel.
Nice meeting you! Nice to meet you.
Uh, welcome to our store, our company.
- Thank you.
- Uh, are you ready? - I am.
- Yay! So basically, what we're going to be doing today - is the register.
- Okay.
You're going to be doing some chillattas - on this station right here.
- Okay.
Some chillattas.
Any time, a guest comes: "Hi, how are you today?" How are you guys doing today? You say hi to people, even if they're walking by? - Does that help with them - They come back.
My first impression of Miguel is that he is an incredibly high-energy, hard-working manager.
Would you like a sample of raspberry lemonade? - I'll try it.
- Yeah, sure.
So beautiful, yes.
Excellent job.
Nice job.
People love these samples.
My goodness.
Yes.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Do you ever worry about giving away so much? - No.
- Wow.
The more samples you give, the more business you get.
We got some samples up here! Miguel is so committed to the art of sampling and talking to guests beyond the counter.
Here's your chocolate mocha chillatta.
- Enjoy it.
- Next in line, please.
Can I help you guys? How are you? Just reaching out to people and creating that energy actually does get them up to the counter.
into them buying something.
Excellent job.
High five.
- Thank you.
- Yay.
So now we're gonna be talking about chillattas, okay? - Yay! - That's what you wanna - do the best, right? - Yeah, I'm excited - about the blenders.
- The chillattas, the way we make it is right here.
Let's make a strawberry banana.
- Seven ounces.
- Got it.
- Okay.
- Now, we do one ounce of the dairy base right here.
Chop together with ice.
And we're ready to go.
- Excellent.
Very nice.
- Yum.
See the texture, how beautiful it is? - Yeah.
- How rich? And now, Alexa, I want to leave you a little bit - by yourself, okay? - Okay.
Two strawberry bananas.
Okay.
How do you get these little things off? Do you just peel them off? Yeah.
I got placed on the chillatta station.
Oreo regular-size oreo, please, Alexa? - Oreo? - Oreo, regular size.
It got a little crazy in there.
Caramel mocha.
Whoo! - Now coffee chillatta.
- Coffee chillatta and a chocolate mocha.
Getting drinks out fast is pretty hectic.
Two chocolate mochas.
Whoop! Miguel, I need some help.
How many chillattas you waiting for, love? We need a chocolate mocha, which I'll get, and an orange mango.
All right, I'll do the orange mango.
When I asked Miguel for help - All right.
- Oh, the teamwork - is so much better.
- Yeah, definitely.
he quickly jumped in and helped out, and that is exactly the teamwork that should be in place at Cinnabon.
Right here are your two chocolate mochas.
C! I-n! N-a-b-o-n! - Come get your cinnabon! - Miguel's team does this Cinnabon cheer, stepping and clapping and yelling and swinging and "whoo!" at the end, and it was obvious to me that the energy that's created is a net positive for the business and the morale of the team.
- How long have you been here? - 11 years.
Wow.
You have a lot of people.
This is so exciting because when I first started here, we were, like we had no guests at the beginning, so we changed the whole mentality.
We gotta go beyond and deliver only fresh products, only fresh products all day long.
It's very difficult.
- Yeah.
- Very difficult, but it's achievable, and you can see the results.
I work, like, work nonstop.
Not everybody has the same - energy.
- Yeah! The energy here, the attitude.
Why why are you that way? That's the way I've been raised.
I'm very proud of my mom and my father.
They're my mentors.
So where are you from originally? - South America, Argentina.
- Oh! So I came to the United States with no English, started working as a landscaper.
I've been all over, all over.
Every day, I used to go to Cinnabon - to get a little minibon.
- Mm-hmm.
Like, I love sweets.
I love to bake.
So, I'm like, "one day, I'm gonna own one store.
" Nobody's gonna give you, like, "here, $250,000.
Open your own bakery.
" No, it won't happen.
I loved hearing that Miguel's ambition is to own 100% of these bakeries.
There's not a lot I can do about that, but Miguel has a hunger to do more, to be more, to accomplish more, and that is so inspiring.
It really is the American dream.
Everything you do, you can't rush it because it will happen.
As long as you put in your mind what you want, it's gonna happen to you, - so let's get back to work.
- Okay.
Excellent.
This week, I've learned with every employee that I talk to, that we're all connected somehow, some way.
Many people are going through hardships in their lives just like I did growing up.
'Ello.
Hello.
How are you? Oh, I'm doing well.
I'm just thinking about you this week.
So many of the people that I've met have just reminded me of what a great mom you are and just how incredibly lucky I am.
I definitely feel so lucky to have been given the opportunities from other people to help me get to where I've gotten.
So I just wanted to call and tell you I love you.
Well, I love you, and, you know, you be safe, okay? All right.
All right, I'll talk to you later.
Okay.
- All right.
- All right, bye.
There's just a lot more need out there, and on one hand, you cannot fix everything, um, that affects your employees, but there's always a little more I can do.
Coming up, the employees think they're meeting with an investor to give feedback on Alexa's performance.
Do you think I should invest in her? Depends on how those cupcakes taste.
How will they react when they find out Alexa is really the boss? My real name is Kat Cole, and I am the president of Cinnabon.
My employees think they're coming to an angel investor's house to give feedback on Alexa's performance.
As far as Alexa's business goes, pastry-wise, I think she's ready.
I think, um, upon tasting her creations, I could better judge.
- Hi, how are you? - Hi, how are you? - Great.
- My name's Mayra.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
So tell me about Alexa.
Do you think I should invest in her? Depends on how those cupcakes taste.
Do I remind you of anyone that you've met before? You kinda remind me of the person I trained.
Well, I am Alexa.
You are? And my real name is Kat Cole, and I am the president of Cinnabon.
Oh, my gosh.
Uh And so you are on Undercover Boss.
No, get out! - Yes.
- Oh, my gosh.
- I love that show! - Yeah.
Oh, goodness.
Linda, one of the things that I loved is how much pride you put in your work.
The work you have been doing for 34 years is unbelievable.
I want to help to try to improve some of the use of the food waste that could go to people who are in need.
I am reaching out to the head of Cream of Wheat and working to get that product to people in need.
Good.
That'll be good for it.
The fact that you stepped up to take care of your grandson you are such an incredible person for that.
I'd like to do a few things to thank you, and I am going to work with your management to get you covered for an additional week off for an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.
C.
Oh.
Thank you so much.
You are very welcome, and I'd like to do one more thing.
I'd like to start, with you, an education fund for Marciel with $10,000 in cash, and every dollar that you save into it, I will double.
Wow.
That is fantastic.
Thank you so much.
Give me a hug.
I'm really overwhelmed.
She's gonna send us to Washington, D.
C.
where Marciel wants to go.
He'll be so excited, and he'll probably wanna leave tonight.
The money that Kat's giving me for Marciel's schooling will be a great weight off my shoulders.
It feels wonderful to be appreciated.
It does.
It feels really great.
Moka, the energy that you exude, I was so proud to have you as the face of my brand.
Thank you.
I want to put you in a position where you are a Cinnabon certified trainer to help open new Cinnabon kiosks in these travel plazas, because you are an expert.
It is an opportunity for bonuses and higher pay.
I would be more than happy to accept.
I would be more than happy to.
Thank you.
This is it's a chance to change my life and my kids' lives.
I wanna make sure that you have the ability to focus on being a mom for those three sweet little girls.
So I want to give you $10,000.
I want to put another $10,000 in an account to start a good education seed for your girls.
Thank you, and I know my girls thank you.
You don't know how much that means to me.
You didn't make my day.
You didn't make my week, my month, my year.
You made my life.
Just thank you.
I couldn't thank you enough.
It feels good for someone to finally say I'm amazing.
I will tell my kids, "you know what?" "No matter who comes in your life," "treat them as if though you wanna be treated," "because you never know.
" "They could be an angel in disguise.
" Mayra, you are a tough cookie.
It's like, oh, my God, she's pushing me around this restaurant like crazy, and I loved that sense of confidence that you have, and you have to know how good that makes me feel as the president of the company.
Well, I'm glad, that, like, I have an opportunity to meet the real you, and just like I look up to my mom, I can look up to you because you're doing great in life.
Oh, man, don't cry.
You have no idea how special you are.
And people with your energy and your heart can do anything, and I mean anything.
You could be sitting in this seat one day.
This is amazing right now.
I can't even believe it.
Hearing your story was tough for me to listen to, and so Cinnabon is going to support and facilitate a breast cancer fundraiser, and we are going to match every dollar you raise, and you and your mom are gonna run it.
Oh, my God.
Thank you.
You are an incredibly special young woman.
I want to see you do great things, and because of you, we are formalizing the Cinnabon scholarship program.
I want to give you $10,000 in an education fund to cover tuition and books and expenses for the next at least two or three semesters, and I want to give you $10,000 in an account to help support you and your family, to help take some of the financial pressure off of you, and I want you to really focus on your personal savings.
For every dollar you save for the next year, - I'm going to match it.
- Oh, my God.
Thank you.
- Can I hug you? - Yeah.
It's the best feeling ever right now, and I wouldn't change it for anything.
That's all I really ever wanted to do was to help my mom, to take some pressure off of her so she wouldn't really have to keep struggling through everything.
Miguel, I was so impressed with the level of professionalism that you bring to that bakery is above and beyond.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
That's because I love what I do.
What I would like for you and your team to do is to make a training video of your songs and of the things you do that will be used worldwide.
Thank you so much, and that's very easy for us.
We're do it in two seconds.
They will kill it.
We had a conversation about your dream was to own your own bakery which is just shy of $250,000, by the way.
- That's a lot of money - Yeah, a lot of money.
- For anybody.
- Yes, definitely.
It's like buying a house But I'm choosing, like, to buy the bakery instead of buying a house, definitely.
It is so important to me that you become a Cinnabon franchisee, that I am going to give you your own store.
I'm sorry.
I didn't understand that.
I'm sorry, can you say that again? I didn't understand every word.
Cinnabon and I are going to take care of your franchise fees.
We are going to approve you as a franchise partner - and build your bakery.
- Oh, my God.
We would not be doing this if we didn't believe that you will be incredibly successful as your own 100% owner of a Cinnabon bakery.
Oh, my gosh.
I know a man doesn't supposed to cry, but I can't I can't hold it.
Yay! Thank you so much.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
I can't believe it.
My entire life I've been dreaming to be an owner, and in two seconds, she made my dream come true.
To people who are coming to the United States, never give up.
Always believe, believe, believe in what your dreams are, and hard work will always pay off.
Being undercover this week has reminded me to never forget where I came from.
If I hadn't received the mentorship, the guidance, and the hand-up that I got over so many years, I have no idea where I would be.
I don't know that I would be the president of anything.
I'm incredibly grateful that so many awesome people have taken an interest in me.
Coby Brooks was one of the people that gave me chances when I was really young, and I was lucky, and I want to make sure that I continue to afford those same opportunities for others.
I will pay it forward.
The youngest boss ever to go undercover poses as a contestant on a fake reality show about people trying to win funding for new businesses.
- I'm looking for Erica.
- That's me.
Hi, Erica.
I'm Alexa.
But before she goes undercover, this former Hooters girl seeks out her old boss, former Hooters CEO Coby Brooks, for advice.
Come on, girl.
Who wants to go home? Whoo, doggy! Mm, oh! It's not easy as people think.
I'm I'm nervous.
- Coffee chillatta.
- Coffee chillatta.
Whoo! Miguel, I need some help.
What will happen when this tough executive cracks? Your hair does have to be pulled back.
That's as much as I'm gonna be able to do.
- Really? - Yeah.
Mayra started to touch my hair.
I was flipping out.
I've worked in restaurants, so I know it's short enough.
Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 4x03 - Cinnabon Inc.
Original air date November 16, 2012 Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Cinnabon serves sweet treats in more than 900 bakeries throughout 40 countries worldwide.
These franchises, combined with partnerships with brands like Cream of Wheat, Pillsbury, and International Delight Creamer, pull in revenues of more than $1/2 billion Thank you so much.
Have a wonderful day.
Overseeing the 11,000 employees that keep this business baking is one woman.
I'm Kat Cole, the president of Cinnabon, Incorporated.
Cinnabon is definitely the most recognized sweet treat, not just in America, but in many countries all over the world, and of course, we are most famous for our cinnamon rolls.
We sell more than 100 million cinnamon rolls a year using 15 million pounds of cream cheese frosting, and from Indonesia, we import a million pounds of our secret ingredient makara cinnamon, and because it has more volatile oils in it, whenever it's baked, the aroma is stronger and the flavor is more powerful.
I have been the president of Cinnabon for just a little over a year and a half.
Can you have the front desk make sure they don't transfer any calls to my office? Thank you.
Some of my mantras as a leader are "make it happen," "figure it out.
" So what I want you guys to do is take a look at the chocolate frostings again.
- Yeah.
- Sometimes, that means some people may get left behind.
I don't apologize for it.
Thank you.
You guys are wussies using a fork? It's critical to not sugarcoat things.
We love sugar around here, but not on the facts.
I look forward to seeing what you can do with it.
So I tell people, be sure you really are as hungry as you say you are, because I might be able to find somebody who wants it more.
Let's go with the one that we chose.
Some of my personal mantras as a leader come from how I grew up.
I grew up in Jacksonville, Florida.
Our father, who was a Vietnam veteran, had come back a troubled guy and was making bad decisions.
He wouldn't be around for family events, or my mom was left to do things on her own, or he was out drinking and didn't come home until late, and so, when I was nine years old, my mom had the courage to leave him and take me and my two younger sisters to a different city so that we could start a new life.
She fed our little family of three girls on $10 a week.
Because of that, I learned to step up and be responsible.
People who grew up with my circumstances, we have this desire to be successful And that can be a very powerful driver and differentiator in business.
When I was 19 years old, I started working at Hooters.
I started as hostess and then Hooters girl and then bartender and then certified trainer and shift leader.
I just said, "it just feels right," so I dropped out of college.
Hooters was a rapidly-growing restaurant chain and eventually, at the age of 26, I became vice president.
I was at Hooters for a little over 15 years, and I was in the board room of the Hooters episode of Undercover Boss.
We have some management that, uh He wasn't respectful to the girls.
What? Coby Brooks, who was the former CEO of Hooters, has since left the company, and before I go undercover, I'd really like to check in with Coby and just talk with him about his experience - Hey, hey! - Hello, Kat.
- How are you? - Come on in.
and see if he has any advice.
Well, you know, you've always been such an incredible supporter.
You always gave me a chance, despite the fact that I didn't have the experience that other people did or the fact that I was younger.
You know, you've you did a great job for my father.
You did a great job for me.
You're very good at what you do.
That's why you are where you are.
I can't thank you enough for that.
Since you had the mega-journey going through Undercover Boss, I would love to get your insights.
You want the good, the bad, and the ugly, right? Exactly.
- You're in for a long ride.
- Yeah, I'm I'm nervous.
I know the feelings you're going through right now.
- I had 'em.
- Yeah.
I didn't know what to expect.
It's not as easy as people think.
It's not scripted.
It's completely real.
- There's gonna be some lows.
- Yeah.
- The whole incident - Mm-hmm.
with the beans that I went through Come on, girl.
Who wants to go home? Whoo, doggy! Oh, they look tasty.
The public is gonna expect you to maybe do some things that, you know, right then, and, you know, sometimes you can't.
Yeah.
Tell you what, Kat? Most of it's all good.
Doing the show was amazing, even the bad stuff.
It wasn't the business part.
It was the emotional connection that I enjoyed.
If you can, try to forget about what's happening back at the office and the board room.
- That's tough.
- Immerse yourself - with the people.
- Yeah.
This is their livelihood.
This is what they do.
You know, when you cry at the end 'cause you will cry, and you don't cry much.
You're strong.
- Strong like a bull.
- Who, me? I just get a little teary-eyed, you know, thinking about it now.
The journey will be well worth it when you sit back and you, for weeks, you think about your experience, or months, you think about it.
You know, emotionally, it you know, it's gonna be difficult, but more important than that: You're gonna be a better person when it's over.
Thank you.
- You're gonna do great.
- Good to see you.
- Give me a hug.
- Thank you so much.
Pull this down.
- Mom, you think bangs? - I think bangs.
Going bangs.
While undercover, I'll be posing as Alexa, an aspiring baker who's competing to earn seed money to open a cupcake shop.
Throughout my undercover journey, my employees will be tricked into thinking they are on a hosted reality show in which they will work alongside Alexa and then decide whether she deserves to win the money to start a new business.
We are at the one and only Cinnabon in Paramus, New Jersey.
The woman pretending to be the host of the fake show will keep asking questions about whether Alexa deserves the money, so my employees will have no idea this is secretly Undercover Boss.
I'm so, so glad that you made this special trip out.
It means so much to me.
It's always a pleasure.
Got toothbrush, essentials? Come on.
Give me a break.
I am going undercover to see if the new products that we've put in place, if they are being executed properly, to make sure, before we really turn up the heat, that everything is pointed in the right direction.
I'm off, so I'll say good-bye to you here.
Today, I'm at a mall in Wayne, New Jersey working at the Cinnabon location as a supervisor.
Being at a Cinnabon in a mall always reminds me of my first job.
I sold clothes, not cinnamon rolls, but I remember what it was like to be that young mall employee.
Hi.
How are you? - Hi! - I'm Mayra.
- I'm Alexa.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
- Okay, I'll meet you - in the back, okay? - Today, I want to find out what are the things that we need to make sure we improve - for this bakery.
- Hi, Alexa.
- Hello.
- How are you? I'm great.
How are you? Okay.
Come in? Okay, so first of all, you always have a smile on your face.
- Okay.
- You're really friendly, and you make sure you up-sell.
You always offer whatever you can to them.
- Okay.
- So if you have a guest, and they're like, "can I have a cinnabon?" You would also promote additional frosting on the side.
- Gotcha.
- A lot of people - will take the up-sell.
- Okay.
Hi.
How are you? The mini-bites, would you like the second one for a dollar more? Up-sell me.
Let's go.
Would you like anything to drink? Juice, coffee, water, or a chillatta? So you're total is only $5.
02.
You always remember: When you charge them, you always say, "your total is only.
" - Come on up.
- Hi, sir.
How are you? What can I get for ya? - The churro.
- Okay, churro.
And you can offer a beverage along with that.
Okay.
Would you like a water, coffee, or a chillatta? No, you're all good? Okay, that's $3.
95.
- You always say - Only.
Yes.
So you want everyone to feel like a guest.
You want them to have a great service and come back.
All right, that's $4.
48.
Okay, remember: "It's only $4.
48.
" Make sure they always get their receipt too - Yep, I will.
- And make sure you - put some napkins in there too.
- Okay.
- There you go.
- You can say, "thank you" - "so much.
" - Yeah? "Have a great day.
" Try not to say "here you go.
" Wow, she is a little commando.
- Alexa? - Yes, ma'am? You have to be a little bit faster, - so you have to move the line.
- Got it.
She actually kept physically pushing me up to the counter, and physically guiding me places.
Mayra is a take-charge young girl.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
Thank you very much.
So you're doing a great job.
You're gonna go frost the cinnabons.
Take the temperature.
So do you have anything to, um, tie your hair with? - Mm, no.
- A scrunchie? Your hair does have to be pulled back.
- How's that? - This is awful.
When Mayra started to touch my hair, I was flipping out.
I thought, "they're gonna see the wig cap.
They're gonna see the pins.
" That's probably about as much as I'm gonna be able to do.
- Really? - Yeah.
Alexa's mistake was not wanting to take direction.
I've worked in restaurants, so I know it's short enough to meet health code, so it won't fall, but I'll keep it tucked.
This may hurt her a little bit.
Maybe right now, it's a little mistake about the hair, but what if, later on, it's something else? We're gonna have you - do some cleaning.
- Okay.
So here's where the dirty dishes go.
- Okay.
- We do have to do this quickly, so it's, like, as fast as you can.
Okay.
My first job was being a hostess in a restaurant.
- Really? Where? - In in Florida.
I'm from Orlando.
I hope to be able to start my own food business - because I love baking.
- In a business, you want your employees to be happy, and it's nice to get along with your team members, so, if you have a business, keep that in mind.
I noticed these pans have a lot of black stuff built up around them.
What is that? It's usually they have been in the oven a lot.
It doesn't affect the food.
There's no safety risk.
It just happens with pans over time, but we have a solution for that that this bakery clearly is not using.
- So are you liking it here? - I am.
This mall is kind of big.
- It's huge.
- Yes.
So you tell me that you wanna, like, - start your own business, right? - Mm-hmm, basically.
And my dream is to have my own bakery business - like a Cinnabon.
- Wow, that's amazing.
- What about you? - So, like, right now, like, I'm going to college, and I wanna study physical therapy.
- Ah.
- I use to live around Teaneck, New Jersey, with my mom and my dad - Mm-hmm.
- But around that time, my parents were getting divorced.
My dad had cheated on my mom, so my mom didn't want anything to do with my dad anymore.
We had to leave the building.
My dad was the super of that building.
We didn't even have money.
We didn't even have a place to live, so around the time my parents were getting separated - Mm-hmm.
- My mom missed her mammography for that year, so when she did it the next year - Mm-hmm.
- she did come up with, um, a positive sign for breast cancer.
Hearing her talk about the tough things she's gone through her mother's cancer, her parents' divorce, um, all of those things made my heart just go out to her.
So how's she doing now? Right now, she's actually good.
She is on a five-year pill that she has to take.
- Is she in remission? - Yeah.
Right now, she has it gone, so that kind of explains my pink tie Yeah, absolutely.
But what really inspired me about my mom is no matter what was going on, how many therapies she had to take, chemo, she would always get up the next day and go to work.
She would do anything to bring us food, to bring us clothes.
She would make sure we were never missing anything.
So, like, my mom is, like, my hero.
I wanted to give Mayra a giant hug while she was I had to, like, try to mature a little bit faster to help my mom.
When I was old enough to work, my friend recommended me to Cinnabon.
How old are you now, if you don't mind me asking? - I'm 19, actually.
- 19.
I certainly understand what it's like to be a teenager and really want to step up and help your mom.
How did you become a supervisor? Katherine, which is actually in the store right now, she gave me the opportunity.
It's pretty impressive that your first job has worked out that way.
It helps that she had, like, faith in me, so I always want her to be proud too.
It's really inspiring to see someone as young as Mayra, who doesn't want to disappoint the people that have given her those chances.
People don't have the opportunity, so that's what kind of makes it special to work, like, at one of these Cinnabons.
It just touches my heart.
She's such a sweet young person, she's lived through some tough times, and she deserves some very special things.
Excuse me, excuse me.
Coming through.
Coming through.
Coming up, Kat's employees give her a mouthful Oh, no.
And later, she's caught off-guard.
I've got a bakery concept that I wanna launch.
Kat Cole, the president of Cinnabon, Incorporated, is a boss undercover in her own company.
- How are you? - Hi! Her employees think she's a contestant on a hosted reality show trying to win money to open her own bakery.
Her journey continues in Wisconsin.
Today, I'm going to be a machine operator at the Cream of Wheat plant in Stoughton, Wisconsin.
Over 50% of Cinnabon's domestic business comes from our retail division, and Cream of Wheat is one of our newest partners for retail products.
Cinnabon partners with Cream of Wheat by actually taking our makara cinnamon and putting that all into the Cream of Wheat that most of the customers in America know and love.
I'm here to work with Linda.
You're gonna take a right down the hall.
So I want to see if the Cream of Wheat team is applying the same quality that we expect in our bakeries to our products that show up in grocery stores.
Hi, I'm looking for Linda? - I'm Alexa.
- Hi.
- It's nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
Alexis didn't look like she was coming to work.
She looked like she was going on a shopping trip.
- Oh, wow.
- Yeah.
Oh, nice.
Oh, really? When she said, "Cinnabon is my favorite," I wanted to say "oh, my gosh, me too, me too!" But of course, I couldn't.
Linda is showing me the machine that takes rolls of paper, turns them into packets, and fills them with cinnabon-flavored Cream of Wheat.
Ooh! Okay.
Being on the factory floor, it's a little intimidating.
All right.
Under, top, thread it through.
Oh, wait.
There's a lot of moving parts and gears.
- All right, there we go.
- There you go.
It's amazing how much work goes into filling one Cream of Wheat packet.
I'm thinking a few more splashes in the face and stuff, that can be the end of that career.
Got it.
Yep.
Absolutely.
I felt so bad because the other workers were waiting for the filled packets of Cream of Wheat so that they can pack them and get them out to the stores.
They're taking the time to train me, and I'm kind of screwing everything up on the line, so that sucked.
All right.
Please, Jesus, work.
Whoo-hoo! Okay.
This is, like, the end of the line.
This is where they're all gonna go into the cases, and we're gonna send them out to the guy who wants Cream of Wheat.
Uh-oh.
It wants to be a pain in the butt.
So what happens to the product that got damaged? Um, I usually throw 'em away if they're really bad, 'cause usually the envelopes are smashed up.
Oh.
Seems like such a shame, you know, with so many hungry people out there - I know.
- I would hope that one of the outcomes of this journey would be finding a way to connect some of the excess that's produced here in the natural process of manufacturing and get it to people in need.
Do you live around here? No, I'm from Orlando.
Oh, okay.
Is your family - and everybody from there? - Yeah.
I was raised by a single mom and Oh, I was a single mom, so it's like Oh, really? I had two kids, and now I'm raising my grandson.
Oh, so how old is your grandson? He's 11.
He just turned 11.
Oh! And where is your daughter now? She had him when she was really young - Huh.
- And the dad and her split up, and then they were all doing their own thing, so they were just mad at the world.
Oh, okay.
- Yeah.
- So then, we took out our savings, and we went and got an attorney, and we got guardianship over him.
Wow.
I think the hardest part of it was, his daddy came to the courthouse that day.
Really? Somebody walks into a courthouse, and then they sit down, and they hold their son's hand, and then, they say, "I freely give up my son.
" Your grandson is fortunate to have you, it sounds like.
Her story made me feel like my story is even less of a big deal.
You know, I had a tough life, but nobody signed me away.
I'm like, "where did that come from?" - Yeah.
- I had no idea that that's where he wanted to go.
- Did you go? - No.
Wow.
Okay, we're heading back to work.
- Okay.
- Let's go.
One of the things that's really surprising me is what an emotional roller-coaster this trip really is.
Hearing about these employees' troubles and challenges, it's hard.
It's hard to hear.
You know, the reality is, you're only on this planet for so long, so for whatever brief period of time we are on the planet, I need to make sure that we're making a really positive difference in people's lives.
Today, I'm in Carmel Church, Virginia, just off the interstate, working in a Cinnabon micro-bakery as a coffee hostess.
Whenever Cinnabon puts a small bakery - in one of these travel plazas - That'll be $3.
26.
there's no room for all of the huge equipment needed for making the product from scratch, so we pre-make the rolls and have them shipped in so that they can bake fresh all day, so that's important for me to see that the pre-made product is still wowing guests just like the product that's in our flagship bakeries in our malls.
Hi! Welcome to Pilot Flying J.
Thank you.
I'm looking for Erica? That's me.
I'm actually addressed as Moka.
- Moka? Got it.
- Yes.
Much more fun.
Of course.
If you don't mind, if you could take off your tie - and put on this one.
- Sure.
I was totally rockin' the bad to the bone skinny tie, and then, I ended up with this little piece of magic right here.
It's quite fabulous.
We have three pans of cinnabon.
We're gonna be cooking buns almost every 30 minutes.
- Why? - 'Cause we want it to be nice and fresh every time they get it.
- Gotcha.
- Right now, what we really need - is a cinnabon box.
- Okay.
My first impression of Moka is she is incredibly high-energy.
- This is our cinnabon station.
- Okay.
We're gonna box these and do some samples.
She just had that big smile, and just went right to work.
Well, as the customers come in the door, we ask them if they'd like a free cinnabon sample.
Hello, welcome to Pilot Flying J.
Would you like a cinnabon sample? There you go.
You're welcome.
Hi! Would you like some cinnabon? One thing, try not to go so close to the door.
After they shut the door, they're ours.
If you catch them while the door's still open, they can still run away.
Alexis, she's very eager.
Would you like a cinnabon sample? She actually bombarded them at the door.
A little bit of that may be slightly frightening.
Would you like a cinnabon sample? - Why? - No? You know what? If y'all are gonna be here a few minutes, I can get you one that's unfrosted.
Mmm When I was younger, just like Moka, I would come up with ideas to take care of guests.
I think it says a lot that she would take the time to think about a way to cater.
We're pretty good on cinnabon right now.
How do you know we're good? We have timers.
Cinnabon is good for one hour, and this down here is our nice little hot box.
Ah.
Yes, this is a free facial.
Yes, this is good for the pores and everything.
- I am gonna gift you my baby.
- Okay.
- Handle with care.
- Okay.
Hi.
Would you like a sample? I would love for you to try one of these cinnabons.
Tell me if they taste like the cinnabon you know and love.
- Okay.
- All right.
While I was all alone, I had the opportunity to talk to a few guests about whether or not they felt the products that we were serving here matched their expectations.
- Delicious.
- Little treat? Good! I'm glad you like it.
Every time, they said yes.
Thank you.
That made me very happy that the brand standards are being met.
Doing all right so far, I think.
Now what I need hello, sweetheart.
I've got a bakery concept that I wanna launch, and I'm learning how some of the big bakery concepts what can we do for you? I've got a bakery concept that I wanna launch, and I'm learning how some of the big bakery concepts I hope she didn't hear him.
No, no.
That would be cool.
- Have a good one.
- Have a great evening.
All right.
- Right now - Okay.
Let's take buns from here, and we're gonna go frost them, and then, we're gonna bring them back out here.
It seemed like everything stayed the same, but that was a close one.
This is our icing that we have.
We're gonna get about one ounce of icing to each bun.
- You can finish those.
- I love baking.
Are you any good at it? 'Cause a lot of us love things.
I love to sing.
That don't mean I'm Diana Ross - or anything.
- I have a dream of making my own baked products and having them sold in places - like this - Oh, cool beans.
So what's next for you after this? I, hopefully I put in enough good work till I become a team leader and progress there.
Yeah.
Is that enough, or should I do a little more? That's perfect.
So do you have any kids? I don't have kids.
I, um, grew up with my mom was a single mom and raised three girls.
I'm the oldest of three.
I'm a single mother - of three girls.
- Oh, are you really? Yes.
Stack it one on top - of the other.
- Okay.
Now, that's enough right now.
Go ahead.
Grab your tray.
- Okay.
- Got a little frosting on you? Yeah, a little bit.
I think Moka was a great example of customer service, and just a super positive attitude.
How may I help you? It was great to see the mini-bakery version of our concept.
The product quality was being maintained, which means big business for us.
- How ya feelin'? - Good.
Today I'm working at a Cinnabon bakery in Paramus, New Jersey.
With this location, one of the biggest challenges is the fact that there are several more snack concepts that have opened recently, creating a lot of other options for shoppers, but in particular, this location, with all of its competition, continues to increase sales year over year, and I really wanna find out why.
- Hi! How are you? - I'm Alexa.
I'm Miguel.
Nice meeting you! Nice to meet you.
Uh, welcome to our store, our company.
- Thank you.
- Uh, are you ready? - I am.
- Yay! So basically, what we're going to be doing today - is the register.
- Okay.
You're going to be doing some chillattas - on this station right here.
- Okay.
Some chillattas.
Any time, a guest comes: "Hi, how are you today?" How are you guys doing today? You say hi to people, even if they're walking by? - Does that help with them - They come back.
My first impression of Miguel is that he is an incredibly high-energy, hard-working manager.
Would you like a sample of raspberry lemonade? - I'll try it.
- Yeah, sure.
So beautiful, yes.
Excellent job.
Nice job.
People love these samples.
My goodness.
Yes.
Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.
Do you ever worry about giving away so much? - No.
- Wow.
The more samples you give, the more business you get.
We got some samples up here! Miguel is so committed to the art of sampling and talking to guests beyond the counter.
Here's your chocolate mocha chillatta.
- Enjoy it.
- Next in line, please.
Can I help you guys? How are you? Just reaching out to people and creating that energy actually does get them up to the counter.
into them buying something.
Excellent job.
High five.
- Thank you.
- Yay.
So now we're gonna be talking about chillattas, okay? - Yay! - That's what you wanna - do the best, right? - Yeah, I'm excited - about the blenders.
- The chillattas, the way we make it is right here.
Let's make a strawberry banana.
- Seven ounces.
- Got it.
- Okay.
- Now, we do one ounce of the dairy base right here.
Chop together with ice.
And we're ready to go.
- Excellent.
Very nice.
- Yum.
See the texture, how beautiful it is? - Yeah.
- How rich? And now, Alexa, I want to leave you a little bit - by yourself, okay? - Okay.
Two strawberry bananas.
Okay.
How do you get these little things off? Do you just peel them off? Yeah.
I got placed on the chillatta station.
Oreo regular-size oreo, please, Alexa? - Oreo? - Oreo, regular size.
It got a little crazy in there.
Caramel mocha.
Whoo! - Now coffee chillatta.
- Coffee chillatta and a chocolate mocha.
Getting drinks out fast is pretty hectic.
Two chocolate mochas.
Whoop! Miguel, I need some help.
How many chillattas you waiting for, love? We need a chocolate mocha, which I'll get, and an orange mango.
All right, I'll do the orange mango.
When I asked Miguel for help - All right.
- Oh, the teamwork - is so much better.
- Yeah, definitely.
he quickly jumped in and helped out, and that is exactly the teamwork that should be in place at Cinnabon.
Right here are your two chocolate mochas.
C! I-n! N-a-b-o-n! - Come get your cinnabon! - Miguel's team does this Cinnabon cheer, stepping and clapping and yelling and swinging and "whoo!" at the end, and it was obvious to me that the energy that's created is a net positive for the business and the morale of the team.
- How long have you been here? - 11 years.
Wow.
You have a lot of people.
This is so exciting because when I first started here, we were, like we had no guests at the beginning, so we changed the whole mentality.
We gotta go beyond and deliver only fresh products, only fresh products all day long.
It's very difficult.
- Yeah.
- Very difficult, but it's achievable, and you can see the results.
I work, like, work nonstop.
Not everybody has the same - energy.
- Yeah! The energy here, the attitude.
Why why are you that way? That's the way I've been raised.
I'm very proud of my mom and my father.
They're my mentors.
So where are you from originally? - South America, Argentina.
- Oh! So I came to the United States with no English, started working as a landscaper.
I've been all over, all over.
Every day, I used to go to Cinnabon - to get a little minibon.
- Mm-hmm.
Like, I love sweets.
I love to bake.
So, I'm like, "one day, I'm gonna own one store.
" Nobody's gonna give you, like, "here, $250,000.
Open your own bakery.
" No, it won't happen.
I loved hearing that Miguel's ambition is to own 100% of these bakeries.
There's not a lot I can do about that, but Miguel has a hunger to do more, to be more, to accomplish more, and that is so inspiring.
It really is the American dream.
Everything you do, you can't rush it because it will happen.
As long as you put in your mind what you want, it's gonna happen to you, - so let's get back to work.
- Okay.
Excellent.
This week, I've learned with every employee that I talk to, that we're all connected somehow, some way.
Many people are going through hardships in their lives just like I did growing up.
'Ello.
Hello.
How are you? Oh, I'm doing well.
I'm just thinking about you this week.
So many of the people that I've met have just reminded me of what a great mom you are and just how incredibly lucky I am.
I definitely feel so lucky to have been given the opportunities from other people to help me get to where I've gotten.
So I just wanted to call and tell you I love you.
Well, I love you, and, you know, you be safe, okay? All right.
All right, I'll talk to you later.
Okay.
- All right.
- All right, bye.
There's just a lot more need out there, and on one hand, you cannot fix everything, um, that affects your employees, but there's always a little more I can do.
Coming up, the employees think they're meeting with an investor to give feedback on Alexa's performance.
Do you think I should invest in her? Depends on how those cupcakes taste.
How will they react when they find out Alexa is really the boss? My real name is Kat Cole, and I am the president of Cinnabon.
My employees think they're coming to an angel investor's house to give feedback on Alexa's performance.
As far as Alexa's business goes, pastry-wise, I think she's ready.
I think, um, upon tasting her creations, I could better judge.
- Hi, how are you? - Hi, how are you? - Great.
- My name's Mayra.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
So tell me about Alexa.
Do you think I should invest in her? Depends on how those cupcakes taste.
Do I remind you of anyone that you've met before? You kinda remind me of the person I trained.
Well, I am Alexa.
You are? And my real name is Kat Cole, and I am the president of Cinnabon.
Oh, my gosh.
Uh And so you are on Undercover Boss.
No, get out! - Yes.
- Oh, my gosh.
- I love that show! - Yeah.
Oh, goodness.
Linda, one of the things that I loved is how much pride you put in your work.
The work you have been doing for 34 years is unbelievable.
I want to help to try to improve some of the use of the food waste that could go to people who are in need.
I am reaching out to the head of Cream of Wheat and working to get that product to people in need.
Good.
That'll be good for it.
The fact that you stepped up to take care of your grandson you are such an incredible person for that.
I'd like to do a few things to thank you, and I am going to work with your management to get you covered for an additional week off for an all-expenses paid trip to Washington, D.
C.
Oh.
Thank you so much.
You are very welcome, and I'd like to do one more thing.
I'd like to start, with you, an education fund for Marciel with $10,000 in cash, and every dollar that you save into it, I will double.
Wow.
That is fantastic.
Thank you so much.
Give me a hug.
I'm really overwhelmed.
She's gonna send us to Washington, D.
C.
where Marciel wants to go.
He'll be so excited, and he'll probably wanna leave tonight.
The money that Kat's giving me for Marciel's schooling will be a great weight off my shoulders.
It feels wonderful to be appreciated.
It does.
It feels really great.
Moka, the energy that you exude, I was so proud to have you as the face of my brand.
Thank you.
I want to put you in a position where you are a Cinnabon certified trainer to help open new Cinnabon kiosks in these travel plazas, because you are an expert.
It is an opportunity for bonuses and higher pay.
I would be more than happy to accept.
I would be more than happy to.
Thank you.
This is it's a chance to change my life and my kids' lives.
I wanna make sure that you have the ability to focus on being a mom for those three sweet little girls.
So I want to give you $10,000.
I want to put another $10,000 in an account to start a good education seed for your girls.
Thank you, and I know my girls thank you.
You don't know how much that means to me.
You didn't make my day.
You didn't make my week, my month, my year.
You made my life.
Just thank you.
I couldn't thank you enough.
It feels good for someone to finally say I'm amazing.
I will tell my kids, "you know what?" "No matter who comes in your life," "treat them as if though you wanna be treated," "because you never know.
" "They could be an angel in disguise.
" Mayra, you are a tough cookie.
It's like, oh, my God, she's pushing me around this restaurant like crazy, and I loved that sense of confidence that you have, and you have to know how good that makes me feel as the president of the company.
Well, I'm glad, that, like, I have an opportunity to meet the real you, and just like I look up to my mom, I can look up to you because you're doing great in life.
Oh, man, don't cry.
You have no idea how special you are.
And people with your energy and your heart can do anything, and I mean anything.
You could be sitting in this seat one day.
This is amazing right now.
I can't even believe it.
Hearing your story was tough for me to listen to, and so Cinnabon is going to support and facilitate a breast cancer fundraiser, and we are going to match every dollar you raise, and you and your mom are gonna run it.
Oh, my God.
Thank you.
You are an incredibly special young woman.
I want to see you do great things, and because of you, we are formalizing the Cinnabon scholarship program.
I want to give you $10,000 in an education fund to cover tuition and books and expenses for the next at least two or three semesters, and I want to give you $10,000 in an account to help support you and your family, to help take some of the financial pressure off of you, and I want you to really focus on your personal savings.
For every dollar you save for the next year, - I'm going to match it.
- Oh, my God.
Thank you.
- Can I hug you? - Yeah.
It's the best feeling ever right now, and I wouldn't change it for anything.
That's all I really ever wanted to do was to help my mom, to take some pressure off of her so she wouldn't really have to keep struggling through everything.
Miguel, I was so impressed with the level of professionalism that you bring to that bakery is above and beyond.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
That's because I love what I do.
What I would like for you and your team to do is to make a training video of your songs and of the things you do that will be used worldwide.
Thank you so much, and that's very easy for us.
We're do it in two seconds.
They will kill it.
We had a conversation about your dream was to own your own bakery which is just shy of $250,000, by the way.
- That's a lot of money - Yeah, a lot of money.
- For anybody.
- Yes, definitely.
It's like buying a house But I'm choosing, like, to buy the bakery instead of buying a house, definitely.
It is so important to me that you become a Cinnabon franchisee, that I am going to give you your own store.
I'm sorry.
I didn't understand that.
I'm sorry, can you say that again? I didn't understand every word.
Cinnabon and I are going to take care of your franchise fees.
We are going to approve you as a franchise partner - and build your bakery.
- Oh, my God.
We would not be doing this if we didn't believe that you will be incredibly successful as your own 100% owner of a Cinnabon bakery.
Oh, my gosh.
I know a man doesn't supposed to cry, but I can't I can't hold it.
Yay! Thank you so much.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
I can't believe it.
My entire life I've been dreaming to be an owner, and in two seconds, she made my dream come true.
To people who are coming to the United States, never give up.
Always believe, believe, believe in what your dreams are, and hard work will always pay off.
Being undercover this week has reminded me to never forget where I came from.
If I hadn't received the mentorship, the guidance, and the hand-up that I got over so many years, I have no idea where I would be.
I don't know that I would be the president of anything.
I'm incredibly grateful that so many awesome people have taken an interest in me.
Coby Brooks was one of the people that gave me chances when I was really young, and I was lucky, and I want to make sure that I continue to afford those same opportunities for others.
I will pay it forward.