Undercover Boss (2010) s04e17 Episode Script
Epic Bosses
Male announcer: Tonight you'll see exclusive updates on some of your favorite bosses.
I love it.
Whoa! Announcer: Over the years almost 60 corporate leaders have gone undercover in their own companies.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[Crashes.]
- Slow down.
- All right, yeah.
Announcer: From the biggest names in travel and entertainment To some of the most recognizable fast food chains in the world.
- Hi, welcome to Subway.
- Hi, welcome to Subway.
Announcer: These bosses have traveled around the globe from Alaska to Mexico to work alongside their employees to get an unfiltered view of what really goes on behind the scenes.
This water is boiling! Lift me up! Oh! Oh! This was just totally bull@#$%.
Sometimes I feel like punching an eight-year-old.
Announcer: Some have been horrified to see some of the behavior and problems that exist.
Someone's not saying something.
Welcome to Moe's.
I don't like being yelled at.
I'm gonna go see your supervisor, and I'm gonna find out what's going on here at this call center.
When you go home at the end of the day and then you can't pay your bills, it's hard.
Announcer: However, most have been inspired by the hard-working individuals that make their company tick.
I really should've done a better job of really protecting them like, they should be enjoying this time in their lives.
My mom would be embarrassed of me not to help them more.
To me, the value I got from spending time with him wasn't about what I could learn about GSI, it's what I could learn about being a better person.
I want to recover those wage cuts over the next three years.
[Cheers and applause.]
Whoo! I'd like to pay for your daughter's college.
Oh, my goodness! [Laughs.]
I'd like to offer you $10,000 to pay off the loan debt that you have today and start fresh.
You kind of just changed my life a little now.
It's a lot, actually.
I want to cover all your education expenses.
My mom always told me hard work pays off, but this is this is this is crazy.
I would like to give you a new car.
[Sobs.]
Announcer: Tonight we will reconnect with some of the bosses whose lives have been changed the most by going undercover.
Today, Todd is being treated with respect.
Let's go.
Four.
Announcer: How have these CEOs' personal lives been forever affected? When you sent me that email, it really made everything worth it for me.
Announcer: And what big changes have these bosses made to their companies? I committed to doing six town hall meetings a year.
I've set up a crisis fund.
I have donated $1 million, and the company is matching that $1 million to make it $2 million.
[Cheers and applause.]
Announcer: Find out next on Undercover Boss: Epic Bosses.
Undercover Boss 4x17 - Epic Bosses Original air date May 17, 2013 This goes by so fast.
[Laughs.]
Announcer: On February 7th, 2010, a record-shattering number of viewers tuned in to watch Larry O'Donnell, president of Waste Management, go undercover in the very first episode of Undercover Boss.
Get it, Randy! Get it, Randy! Announcer: However, the most controversial episode in that first season featured Hooters.
All: Hi, welcome to Hooters! [Rock music.]
Announcer: Coby Brooks, the CEO of Hooters, went undercover and faced one of the most shocking employees in the history of the show.
- Scotty.
How are you? - Scott.
Jimbo.
The first girl that finishes her plate of beans will go home.
This is not okay.
Go! The jimbo incident, or the beans incident Whoo, doggie! Oh, they look tasty.
Helped us spur more programs to make sure the management didn't have those issues again, and we didn't.
Rookie.
When we were first approached to do the show I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know what I was gonna encounter.
Day one of shooting, I was nervous.
When you're out there doing live taping you don't know what's gonna be aired.
Want me to grab one of the girls, - get 'em to help you out? - No, I don't.
I got it.
I got it.
You don't know what's gonna come out of your mouth.
I will not be a Hooters girl.
I have the wrong parts.
[Laughs.]
Wanna switch? [Cheers and applause.]
Even with the negative parts, overall the Undercover Boss experience it was very positive.
I think that the morale was actually heightened, and everybody, you know, felt more of a sense of family.
Shortly after Undercover Boss aired my episode, Hooters was sold to an outside group.
Now I've started a new venture.
You know, it's doing something completely different.
Hey, ladies.
All: Hi.
Welcome to Twin Peaks! Thank you.
I am now the CEO and owner of Twin Peaks franchise in the Southeast.
- Mr.
Brooks.
- How we doing, Jer? How's the ship going? Everything well? Oh, outstanding.
Customers happy? Since the girls are here, they're always happy.
[Laughs.]
That is a good point.
The media use the term "breastaurant" for not only us but other chains.
We've never considered ourselves that.
We don't think that we fall into that category.
All: Twin Peaks is fantastic.
All right, let's go over the Orlando plans.
We got opening in five weeks.
There's 32 stores currently na you know, throughout the nation, and in the process of opening two more.
The hiring's doing really well.
We have, um our goal was 120 girls, and we're right about 90 right now.
I was able to keep a lot of my team together.
We're all rejuvenated, we're all back in it, and a lot of that I credit to my time on Undercover Boss.
If I could do it again I would.
It'd be harder to get away with it, but I think it'd be great for everybody to do it, with or without the cameras.
Announcer: Coby Brooks wasn't the only former Hooters executive to go undercover.
- Hey, hey.
- Hello, Kat.
- How are you? - Come on in.
Announcer: Kat Cole, the president of Cinnabon who got her start at Hooters, was the youngest boss to ever be featured on Undercover Boss.
Being on Undercover Boss was an awesome experience.
It was exhausting at times, but so much fun.
- Hello.
- Hello.
How are you? Announcer: When she went undercover, she met an employee who reminded her of herself when she started out.
Make sure they always get their receipt too.
Yup, I will.
And make sure you put some napkins in there too.
Okay.
There we go.
And 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.
- Okay.
- So you have to move the line.
After being on Undercover Boss I was inspired to reach back out to Mayra to bring her to our corporate headquarters to help her see what's possible for her.
- Hi.
- Hi.
How are you? - Good.
- So good to see you.
Since the show aired, I've been following Mayra very closely, and I've taken her under my wing.
We've certified her as a trainer, she's now teaching classes and workshops for us.
We are going to be tasting some of the chillatas that are coming out.
To have someone like Mayra with so much potential she could be setting in my seat one day.
Are there any challenges that you see with making the chillatas that you'd like the team to know? When I first tried making the oreo chillata, I blended the oreos with everything in the ice, and it came out, like, brown.
Yeah.
But it's really important to blend, like, for example, the peanut butter cups after you blend the ice 'cause then if not, it's gonna come out, like, brown.
Not pretty and white.
When you see her, her confidence and her drive, it's kind of an unstoppable combination.
And I hope that Cinnabon is able to help her get to wherever she wants to go next.
You can do anything you want.
I hope that I could be a small part of that in helping you see what so many of your options are.
This is amazing.
[Chuckles.]
Being on Undercover Boss also helped remind me how important it is to give back at every opportunity.
You mentioned that your mom had breast cancer.
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.
So today, we're also going to surprise Mayra with some plans we've put in place to help her raise funds for breast cancer research in honor of her mother.
All the proceeds from these cinnapacks that you sell in your bakeries can go into your fund on the days of your fundraiser.
Just want to take these home.
[Laughter.]
Since the show, I've gotten thousands of letters written in of people saying, "I was so inspired by Mayra," or, "I was so inspired by your story," and sharing their story with me.
Everyone can come into the bakery and see all the work that you're doing to raise funds for breast cancer.
That's so cool.
And that made it all worth it.
- Thank you.
- Oh, you're so welcome.
Announcer: Coming up What's your mortgage? I'm gonna pay off the mortgage.
Oh! Announcer: The most generous CEO in Undercover Boss history.
I'm setting up a trust for the kids.
$250,000.
[Sobs.]
Thank you.
Announcer: And later - Any advice? - Get skinnier.
Announcer: One boss makes an unbelievable transformation.
[Grunts.]
Flex it.
Let's go! Announcer: Over the years, bosses have given more than $4 million in rewards to deserving employees.
- What are your boys' names? - Daniel and Christopher.
Daniel was diagnosed with leukemia.
Some rewards have been truly life-saving.
Like the gift that Steve Phelps, Chief Marketing Officer of Nascar, gave to an employee with a sick child.
I really want to see Daniel get better.
Anything that the speedway hasn't covered from a financial standpoint travel expenses, any other medical things that are not covered we will cover for you.
- Really? - Yeah.
Um You know, I see Glen about once a month.
He goes over to Orlando every couple of weeks with Daniel for a treatment.
Daniel's well on his way to recovery.
That's just, uh That's a blessed thing.
So we're very happy about the progress that's going on there.
Announcer: The most generous boss of all also happens to be the only one to take the undercover journey twice.
During his two life-altering experiences, Steven J.
Cloobeck gave away more than $2 million.
I'm gonna put up $100,000 to start your business.
$100,000? I'm gonna give you $1.
3 million pesos to buy a new home.
That is a-a lot of money.
What's your mortgage? About 150,000, probably.
I'm gonna pay off the mortgage.
Oh! Undercover Boss changed my life forever.
- Hi.
How are you? - Good.
How are you? Good.
Are you enjoying yourself? We are.
I used to think a lot of time needed to be spent at our corporate offices.
And I realized it was all about being with our team.
Hey, where's Tommy? Good to see you.
Welcome back.
How are you? I learned it's important to take care of as many people as possible.
Everything good? I don't have to go undercover, 'cause we do some very special things for my team.
And I'm gonna do it when people don't expect it.
- Patrick.
- Mr.
Cloobeck.
Patrick is one of our executive chefs.
He and his wife have adopted special needs children.
What you guys have done is so selfless.
I'm setting up a trust for the kids.
$250,000.
My God.
Thank you.
I've arranged to have a special van made to transport the kids.
I'm gonna show you what it looks like.
Sir, thank you so much.
Well, it's my honor, pal.
Let's go check this out.
Being able to help your worldwide team there's not a greater feeling in the world than that.
- Thank you so much.
- Take care and enjoy.
On the first show, I really realized I had to be a better listener.
I had to listen to our guests, listen to our team members.
There was a time when financially it was a little tough.
I give my parents $100 a month just for, like, food.
Wow.
On the second show, I realized that I couldn't just continue to give to a couple of team members.
So during the second show I create a crisis fund to take care of all of my team members worldwide.
I've set up a crisis fund for all of our team members that may be in need.
I have personally donated $1 million of my own money to this crisis fund.
And the company is matching that $1 million to make it $2 million.
[Cheers and applause.]
The crisis fund has helped so many in our company.
There was a team member by the name of Jacob.
He works in one of our sales offices.
He was diagnosed with pretty extreme stage four cancer.
So the crisis fund came in, got him to the number one oncologist in Las Vegas.
The doctors put him on some experimental treatment and he's now cancer-free.
It's a miracle.
How you doing? Good.
How you doing, Stephen? I haven't seen Jacob in months and I wanna know where he sits with regard to his remission.
- So how you doing? - Good.
Really good.
Do you remember when you came in here? I had no hair the last time I was in here.
It was in the middle of chemo.
I do remember.
What'd the doctor say? Well, they told me that I'm good to go, and they are confident that if it ever came back they would re-treat it no problem.
- Wow.
That's pretty amazing.
- Yes, it is.
Without that help I would not be here today.
I would be dead without that clinical trial.
I had to get into that.
And I just really wanted to tell you thank you.
You being alive really is thanks enough.
Jacob is a shining, bright example of how important the crisis fund is to our team members.
- Thank you, Stephen.
- Thanks for coming in.
Appreciate it.
Before I did Undercover Boss, I was much more aggressive, much more arrogant, and today I'm very in touch with what's most important for my guests and what's most important for my team.
I've gotta be a new kind of leader, and I found that inside of me after doing Undercover Boss.
[Rock music.]
- Hi, welcome to Subway.
- Hi, welcome to Subway.
Announcer: Another boss who was inspired to make big changes within his company after going undercover is Don Fertman, Chief Development Officer of Subway Excuse me, I'm looking for Jessie.
Hi.
I'm Jessie.
Announcer: The highest-grossing company ever featured on Undercover Boss.
I first realized that I was on a unique journey when I walked into Jessie's store.
I got a lot of stuff to teach you.
We're about to get hit with the rush.
She handed me my uniform and she told me to get to work.
- Hey, uh - Yes.
You're being timed.
Okay, that was a - Subway club.
- Subway club.
American and Swiss.
- This is my first club ever.
- Three minutes.
I'm sweating, and I wanna make it look nice.
There's no such thing as a five-minute sandwich.
"There's no such thing as a five-minute sandwich.
" We say that to each other all the time now.
When I sat down with Jessie and she told me that she would never be able to talk to somebody at Subway corporate headquarters If you were gonna make the ultimate sandwich, what would you make? I would make a Cuban.
Would you ever suggest this to anybody? You know, I've never quite gotten a corporate big wig to let me bend his ear about that.
I thought this is a great opportunity for us to hear from our sandwich artists because they're the ones who can really tell us how to do things better.
Hey, look, it's Don.
- Hey, everybody.
- Hi, Don.
How are you all doing today? Undercover Boss prompted us to find more Jessies around the world who had great ideas the way Jessie did.
Go down the line and make your sandwich.
Bread's already cut.
Grab a plate.
We get sandwich artist ideas all the time.
- It looks so pretty.
- Very nice.
And we put them through a market test with our research and development department as a result of Jessie.
Jessie, I want to point out that my sandwich was finished before anybody else.
Didn't you start before anybody else, Don? [Laughs.]
I was a little nervous about discussing my alcoholism, but it just kind of came out.
I had an on-the-job meltdown and collapsed under a drug and alcohol problem.
I've been recovering now for 27 years.
As a result of that, I was amazed at the number of people who contacted me and have been helped by this.
Two days after Undercover Boss aired, I received an email from a man named Harold.
He told me that he had been sober for two weeks.
He was struggling, and he had just about given up.
Then he saw my story, and that gave him hope.
He's been sober two years, and he has found success in life.
I'm very very excited, because I'm going to meet Harold for the first time after two years.
It was absolutely wonderful to finally meet Harold.
- It's good to meet you.
- It's good to meet you.
To see his sincerity and how much what I shared truly touched him.
A difference you've made in my life.
When I watched your episode, Don, I had days of sobriety.
Not even weeks.
And I see that you're in charge of a multi-billion-dollar company.
When you admitted what you did on national television, that was really powerful for me.
You became a real serious role model for me.
I don't think you'll ever know how grateful I am to you and to Undercover Boss.
After doing that show, when you sent me that email, it really made everything worth it for me.
You helped me to see what this show meant.
I didn't ever expect you to answer.
No guy at the top is gonna talk to a little guy.
But it's not a little guy, you know, we're all the same.
You made me realize that.
We got to give each other hope.
This is just the beginning.
I certainly hope so.
I'm very grateful that my experience on Undercover Boss has enabled me to help other people all around the world and maybe even make the world a little bit of a better place.
Announcer: Sheldon Yellen, the CEO of Belfor, was another CEO who was inspired by his employees' dedication to the company despite their own struggles.
So I was homeless for a little bit.
And I lived in a boxcar from a train.
Imagine that.
And you're smiling every day.
- Yeah, I'm - You have a great attitude.
I'm glad I'm here.
[Laughs.]
I could be under a bridge, dead.
- And you wanna make them happy.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Announcer: And along the way, he learned some things about himself he wanted to change.
In the past, I've always been in a private plane and with a chauffeur-driven car, in a nice hotel.
How are ya? Today I travel more modestly.
I'm very comfortable now in my taxicabs.
It's a different way of traveling for me.
I'm very capable of opening my own doors, very capable of carrying my own briefcase.
I think it's been a great experience, and it has brought me closer to where this company pulse is.
Since Undercover Boss, I often go out on the front lines today and I show up unannounced on a job site.
- Laura? - Nice to meet you.
Laura.
- Nice to see you.
Sheldon.
- Nice to see you too.
- Everything is good? - Yes.
Get to see what is really going on.
I get to hear what we're doing right, I get to hear what we're doing wrong.
Paperwork, what I've noticed is different in a lot of various offices that I've been to.
If you're trained one particular way, I feel you should everyone should be trained that way.
- We need more uniformity.
- Correct.
And my priorities have changed in that I get to be with the people.
Good to see you.
Everything's good? Everything's good.
- Got everything under control? - So far so good.
And I don't have to sit behind my desk and look at profit and loss statements and balance sheets.
I'm humbled to know that my partners are taking care of that.
You going to the Town Hall meeting tonight? - That I am.
- You are? - Yes.
- Okay, good.
On Undercover Boss, I committed to doing six Town Hall meetings a year.
I am making a personal commitment, from this day forward, to have six Town Hall meetings a year with hundreds of our people at a time and letting them know that I want to get to know them.
I do care.
He's just a terrific leader.
So help welcome our CEO Sheldon Yellen.
[Applause.]
The first thing I gotta do is just thank everybody for being here.
For those of you that are here with your families, I thank you guys for being here.
I'm gonna shut up and listen to your great stories.
I live in the greatest city as a General Manager The Town Hall meetings are so important to me because I get to sit and see and touch and feel some of the greatest people on earth.
Two months into my tenure here at Belfor, my wife, myself, and my family suffered a devastating loss.
My baby twins Laura and Freddy five months into her pregnancy, they passed away.
Here at Belfor I got a necessary paid-time leave of absence, I got a sympathy card with a personal check signed by you, Mr.
Sheldon.
So I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, sir.
[Applause.]
Since Undercover Boss, I get to go out and be as close as I can possibly be with our people.
I think it's made me a better person.
And I hope, and really hope, that it's made me a better leader.
Thank you all for your trust, for your belief, and God bless you and your families and all that you give up to be part of this family.
The biggest effect that Undercover Boss had on me was allowing me to become who I really am.
I stopped hiding behind that suit-and-tie image.
I stopped hiding in an office in Birmingham, Michigan.
I stopped being a CEO and became one of many Belfor people around the world.
Announcer: Coming up I'm CEO for this company.
You don't belong in that restaurant.
Right here, right now, we're gonna shut the restaurant down.
What will one CEO discover when he returns to a restaurant he shut down? And later - Hi.
- Hello.
Hello, Montana.
How are you? Announcer: A boss has an emotional reunion with a very special employee.
All that really matters is making a positive difference in the lives of the people I touch.
- Hi.
Allan? - Yeah.
- Roger.
How are you? - Hi.
Nice to meet you, Roger.
Announcer: Over the years, many bosses have gone undercover to connect with their frontline employees.
Wow.
- My name is Tom.
- Right.
How are you today, sir? It's not a "sir.
" Announcer: Like Mike White, CEO of Directv, who learned how important each and every employee is to the company.
When I did Undercover Boss I'd been with the company all of six months, and I felt that the experience really accelerated my learning.
- You want me to do it? - No.
The time I spent with the six individuals that I worked with was really an honor, because you may think you've got it all figured out, but more often than not they know a lot more than you do.
Announcer: But some have made personal changes as well.
Like Mitchell Modell, CEO of Modell's Sporting Goods That's you're carrying a lot around with you, partner.
Announcer: Who found that both he and his company needed to get in shape.
Are you working out with John? Uh, yeah.
5:15.
As a result of the journey that I experienced through Undercover Boss absolutely made me a better CEO.
I made a commitment, I put myself on notice to the world that I'm gonna lose weight, I'm gonna do it.
I realize I am such poor physical shape.
In order for me to make sure that I'm successfully passing on the torch to my kids, I have to make sure I'm in better physical shape as well as getting the company into shape.
After working that one week and going through all the laborious tasks and seeing how physically unfit I was and I couldn't even work a physical day for eight hours I was huffing and puffing.
At night I was physically exhausted.
I was humongous.
It was embarrassing.
I weighed 310 pounds, I felt lousy, I was just self-destructing.
All my friends, all my family members are saying, "what're you doing?" "You gotta lose weight, you gotta lose weight.
" Never listened to them.
Seriously, any advice? Get skinnier.
[Laughter.]
That would be a problem overnight.
And no matter what I did or tried to say, I could stand on my head, things were not getting through to Mitchell.
By going through the undercover journey, it made me reflect on my brother Michael who from day one was dealt with an incredible bad hand.
He had Crohn's when he was 13.
He had cancer when he was 18.
He had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
And I'm saying to myself, I was given a good hand.
And why am I doing this to myself? - It's good, right? - It's great.
After seeing myself on TV and reflecting back on Michael, it was the tipping point.
And from that point on, I decided to hire a trainer.
Let's go, four! Use the muscle to get up, not momentum.
Get all the way up to the top.
Hold it! I'm not gonna kid you.
Those first couple of days, I'm saying, what am I doing? I can't do it.
Remember when we started this? You couldn't even get this buckled.
The first thing he did was he put these chains around my neck.
Let's check in on what you used to weigh.
And I go, "what are you doing? You're killing me.
" He goes, "no, let me put another one on.
" And that was 40 pounds, and 60 pounds, and 80 pounds.
I said, "John, I can't do this.
" "I can't breathe, I can't walk.
" He goes, "well, you're doing it to yourself.
" "You are gonna lose 80 pounds.
" And that was back in November.
And here we are.
You got rid of all this weight.
This is what you were carrying.
[Exhales.]
Every morning, I wake up at 5:00.
I'm on the treadmill for 15 minutes.
Going right to the weights.
All 12.
Good! We use the elastic bands, and I just feel so much better.
- Ah! - Flex it.
Let's go! - Ah! - Beautiful.
Nice set.
Whoo! When I went on Undercover Boss, I weighed 310 pounds.
[Struggling.]
Five months later, I now weigh 240 pounds.
Nice job.
Good work.
It's just an incredible, incredible journey.
I feel like the whole weight of the world is off my shoulders.
[Upbeat rock.]
Hey, guys, what's doing? Hey, Mitchell! How are you? My business life and my personal life are interconnected.
When you're in a family business, you have to have it in your veins.
Yesterday was the best day we ever had.
I saw that.
Unbelievable.
We've made tremendous changes in the entire organization, both at the store level as well as the distribution center.
So I'm here to see Kirk.
Here's Kirk now.
- How you doing, partner? - All righty, what's doing? Kirk was promoted, overseeing all the truck drivers.
I think that you shouldn't be a truck driver anymore.
I think you deserve to be a yard maintenance supervisor.
And he gives me an update on everything that's going on in the distribution center.
These are our new flat screens.
Oh, I love that.
And it shows us the daily productivity and how well we're doing with the numbers.
Some of the changes that I made in the distribution center is that we implemented an incentive program that all associates could achieve.
End of the quarter, there's a payout if we make our mark.
- So they're excited about that? - Yeah, extremely.
Great.
I have so much greater appreciation for our people.
We really opened up the lines of communication in our company.
How you doing? I'm spending half my time living in the stores.
In two months, I hit over 100 stores.
Looks great.
Yeah, a lotta changes came about.
And it's been such a short time.
The morale has changed.
I mean, you opened a lotta people's eyes.
The morale in the distribution center is incredible.
They truly know that we care about them.
I could honestly say for the first time, Michael, my brother, would be very proud that we're really walking the talk.
What I appreciate the most is the bridge that you drew between management and associates.
Because there was always like a wedge.
A lotta people have a lot of good ideas, they have a lotta information, but they're afraid to say anything.
It's impressive, what you did.
At the end of the day, we always wanna be cognizant of every dollar we spend.
But I was being penny wise, pound foolish.
What Undercover Boss really taught me is we've gotta reinvest.
Because if my associates are happy, we have a fighting chance of making our customers happy.
As a result of Undercover Boss, not only am I feeling personally healthier, I know the company is healthier.
The chains that were pulled off my neck when I was working out those same chains were lifted off the associates because they now hear that they have a voice that will be heard.
See, it just changed from a paycheck to a good job.
You know, that makes all the difference.
That's great.
Great seeing you.
- Yeah.
See you around soon.
- All the best.
We'll see you in a couple of weeks.
Let me walk you downstairs.
[Upbeat music.]
This is the kind of thing that we've gotta make sure happens.
Announcer: Mark Mallory, the Mayor of Cincinnati, was the only government official in Undercover Boss history to go undercover.
All right.
People still comment to me about the fat suit that I wore.
Okay.
Or about the dreads that I had in my hair or the beard and moustache.
Some people tell me I looked better with the hair on.
Okay.
When I was doing Undercover Boss, I was expecting to maybe find a lot of disgruntled employees.
I was expecting to maybe hear about how tough it is to be a city employee in this environment.
Good! Hey! What I ended up finding were people who were very committed to public service.
Right now, my oldest son, he's in a nursing home.
He's in a nursing home? Why? Yeah, he has cerebral palsy.
I really became focused and very invested in what I was doing when I was sitting in the cafe having coffee and donuts with the meter maid.
Nobody should ever go through that, you know? Leaving their child 'cause they can't take care of them.
I think, then, I started to realize this is beyond just doing a television show.
I'm actually affecting someone's life here.
I have some friends that want to help out Okay.
And buy you a van that has a wheelchair ramp in it.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
But it also brought to me a new commitment and a renewed commitment to public service.
[Hard rock music.]
All right.
Here we are.
Well, after Undercover Boss, I continued to go out and work with employees because I wanted to see what some of the other challenges were.
We have quite a few buildings that we gotta get demolished in a very short amount of time.
Okay.
Well, what do you say we get to it? Do I need some safety equipment? Yeah.
We got a hard hat here for you.
Today, I'm gonna be going to help demolish a house.
Yeah! Yeah, there you go! Building inspector! We have 500 or 600 buildings in the city of Cincinnati that are vacant, that need to be demolished.
- This handle here - Right.
Moves the moves the stick in and out.
These are blighted properties that need to be torn down and give us the opportunity to rebuild some of our community.
[Laughing.]
You're doing good.
When you have an experience like I've had on Undercover Boss, you get a new perspective that allows you to dig deeper, to go into some of the areas that you think you know that you don't really know.
I gotta tell you, this is kind of therapeutic.
[Laughing.]
It is therapeutic.
That was fun.
- Appreciate it.
- Yes, sir.
Anytime.
Thanks a lot.
Undercover Boss didn't just change my life, I think it changed the lives of a lot of mayors across the country.
I've heard from mayors that I see at our annual conferences who say that they have gone on jobs too because they saw me on the show.
That's a great feeling.
This looks great.
Announcer: When Dina Dwyer-Owens, CEO of the Dwyer Group, went undercover in her own company, she discovered that there was a great need to help women in the workplace.
In doing the Undercover Boss show, what I learned is that there are women out there who are incredible at working on the front line.
You are the epitome of what Don Dwyer would've looked for in one of our team members.
Thank you.
You're an incredible technician, and you're an incredible mother, and you're an incredible wife.
So what I'd like for you to do is have you spend time with me creating this new program.
And you'll help, you know, reach out maybe to women.
Are you willing to help me with that? Absolutely.
I think it would be fun.
It'll be a lot of fun.
I'm just a little country girl from nowhere.
You're an amazing country girl from nowhere.
Thank you.
Today, only about 4% of our front line team members are women.
So we've started a new program, and Tanna Marino is helping a committee bring more women into the trades.
These are all women-cut? These are all women-cut pants.
- Yeah.
- Are they all about the same? - All: Hi! - Hi, Dina.
- Hi, Tanna! - How are you? Good! Good, good, good.
Can't wait to see the uniforms.
I'm grateful that Tanna can now set an example for other women.
So she can show other women if I can do it, you can do it.
[Laughter.]
Since an early age, my dad grounded me in my faith.
I can almost hear him saying, "Dina, get out there and make a difference today.
" Ladies and gentlemen, Dina Dwyer-Owens.
Good morning.
Thank you, Diane.
I had an opportunity to speak to a catholic women's group.
And it was all about, how do you live your faith in the workplace? Some of you may know Don Dwyer.
Um, Don is my father and the founder of the Dwyer Group.
He began the Dwyer Group with what he coined his "code of values.
" My faith now has just gotten even deeper than what it was before.
Because what I heard, again, from viewers is that They were thankful that somebody at my level, running an organization as big as the Dwyer Group of companies, was willing to be honest and upfront about their faith.
- How are you, Pauline? - I'm good.
St.
Mary's.
I did see the episode that you were on.
- Did you? - Yes.
And it was such a good show.
Being invited to speak before groups, especially groups of faithful people, is very humbling, because who am I to speak to them? But I guess the good news is maybe I'm doing something right.
And I can only give God the credit for that that he's working through me to touch people's lives, 'cause at the end of the day, that's all that really matters is is what I'm doing making a positive difference in the lives of the people I touch? Announcer: Coming up Why would I wanna work for you with the way you talk to people inside there? I would say that you couldn't handle the job.
Announcer: One CEO returns to a restaurant he shut down when he went undercover.
My biggest concern is training.
- Announcer: And later - Hi, I'm Jake.
So How long have you guys, uh, worked here? Announcer: A boss faces his biggest challenge ever the language barrier.
Como le va en clase de ingles? Um I like to whip cream people in the face.
Announcer: Some bosses who've gone undercover have been confronted with situations that have required them to take drastic measures.
Yeahha-ha! You gotta try to call me tonight.
It's my duty to have a discussion [Yawning.]
About Jacqueline and her future.
That this is not how we run restaurants here.
I'm gonna go see your supervisor and I'm gonna find out what's going on here with this call center.
She blew it.
I'm about to just flip out here.
Announcer: Rick Silva, president and CEO of Checkers, was a boss undercover When he experienced every boss' nightmare So if you go on overtime, I can take you outside and beat you up, right? Announcer: A restaurant so bad it had to be shut down.
Why would I wanna work for you with the way you talk to people inside there? I would say that you couldn't handle the job.
I'm CEO for this company.
You don't belong in that restaurant.
Right here, right now, we're gonna shut the restaurant down.
It was a difficult decision to shut the restaurant down that night.
At that moment, I forgot the cameras were there.
I was in one of my restaurants and things weren't right.
I had an employee who wasn't happy, I had a manager who wasn't doing things right.
And it was my job to make them right.
I'm at that Checkers restaurant that I shut down when I was on Undercover Boss, and I wanna see how it's doing now.
Welcome, Mr.
Rick! How are you? Good.
Very, very good.
Welcome to my store.
We put a new manager at this restaurant.
His name is Leo and he has made very important changes to the restaurant.
When I was here with Undercover Boss show, my biggest concern was training.
How much training did we give you? I didn't get any training.
I trained myself.
So every single employee has gone through the training.
Every single employee.
Every single employee is trained and certified in every single position.
That wasn't what was going on when I got here that night with Undercover Boss.
- Value size orange? Sure.
- Thank you.
Thank you! - Thank you.
- You're welcome.
I love the feeling of teamwork.
I love the respect.
- Hey, Todd? - Hey! Good to see you! Always good to see you! That night when I was here, Todd was a team member and wanted to go back to school.
Why did you stop? It seems like you really love it.
I love to see you smiling like this.
This is a level of confidence that you didn't have that night when I was here.
I know.
I was so disappointed that night that Todd wasn't feeling comfortable in his restaurant.
How late can you stay? I would never let somebody talk to me like that.
I do it because I need to help my mom.
How's it make you feel? Like I'm worthless.
[Crying.]
I just wanted to work.
I just need a job.
Things have changed in the restaurant.
Everyone is a team now.
We're very supportive towards each other.
Everyone treats one another with the utmost respect.
I look forward to waking up in the morning and going to work now.
I'm very relieved to be able to come back and understand that today his manager is treating him with the respect that he deserves.
So tell me about you.
Right now, I'm striving to be shift manager.
I wanna talk about that, about your development.
One of the things that we offered you was the opportunity to go to school.
And I know you've been incredibly busy and haven't had a chance to take advantage of that opportunity.
But is there any way that you can get to that and get to school and start going? - Of course.
- Yes? Absolutely.
My mind hasn't changed about going to school.
Okay.
Most likely, I'll be going to school during the summer.
Honestly, that makes me more happy than everything that's happened in this restaurant.
I really wanna see if you can make that happen.
- We gonna shake on it? - Shake on it.
That's what I'm talking about.
Rick has made a big difference, and my life has changed dramatically since Undercover Boss.
I'm planning on going to culinary school during the summer time.
I'm honestly proud of myself since the show.
Today, I feel very confident.
I can speak up for myself, and I'm not afraid to say anything I have to say.
I appreciate him for everything he's done.
Hello! All: Hi.
[Laughing.]
I am so impressed with this restaurant.
You're number one in South Florida, you're number three in the entire company.
But what I saw in there, what I felt in there, that's what really gets me excited.
'Cause what I saw in there was teamwork.
I got a totally different feeling.
And that gives me confidence it'll keep getting better and keep getting better.
So I've decided that I wanna give this restaurant $15,000 to thank you for the incredible difference that I've seen here today.
'Cause I want everybody to get an extra bonus.
- That's amazing! - They deserve it.
Yes! That sounds great.
More money is always good, right? More money's better than less money.
- I like that, right? - Always.
The Undercover Boss experience has made me a better leader.
One of the things that I realized is that there's always more that we can do to support our employees so that they can improve their lives and really improve Checkers and Rally's for everybody's benefit.
All right, Leo, thank you.
Congratulations.
Good job! Number three.
On your way to number one.
All right, yes.
Thank you.
I love it! Announcer: When Rick Tigner, the president of Kendall-Jackson Wineries went undercover in his own company He discovered some serious problems.
Every job has its bull@#$% you gotta deal with.
My job just happens to have a lot of bull@#$%.
One of the most surprising, crazy days was obviously the day with Rene, the truck driver.
They tell you this or that or try to give you attitude, I mean, the first thing that comes to your mind is @#$% you.
No teamwork kind of a thing, or is there? [Laughs.]
I'm on team Rene.
For me to see individuals out there not working as a team frustrates me.
I don't believe you can be a team when you're just one person.
At the end of the day, @#$% customer service, @#$% all that.
Yeah.
I've had this problem with this guy a couple times now.
Like, you're an @#$%.
And, you know, tempers flare.
Ended up almost fighting the guy, it got really bad.
That was shocking.
I was mad almost the whole time.
But I learned a lot.
The one thing I talked about was concierge level of service.
And what I realized right away was we weren't providing concierge level of service.
Today, two years later, Rene no longer actually works for the company.
But we now have a code of conduct, now we have driver rules and regulations, we have a better morale inside the truck driving department that we have.
So it's a much better business today than before I met Rene.
[Soft acoustic guitar.]
During the shooting, one of the moment I had that was an "ah-ha" moment for me was actually in the field trying to communicate with our farm workers and the fact that we just couldn't communicate with it.
Hi, I'm Jake.
So How long have you guys, uh, worked here? Um, you'll be needing this.
It's English-Spanish dictionary.
Oh! Do you know Spanish? - I don't yet.
- You don't? I don't see the word "how" in here.
- That's the Spanish side.
- Oh.
Laura couldn't communicate.
I was trying to read from a book.
That was embarrassing.
The amazing part is we have done lots of fixes.
So, Fernando, what did you write? "Irma is working" - "Irma" - "On the table.
" "Is working.
" We do English classes for Spanish-speaking employees Como le va en clase de ingles? All: Muy bien Yes, yes, yes.
Okay, bueno.
We do Spanish classes for English-speaking employees.
So I'm learning some Spanish too.
- How am I doing? All: - Muy bien.
[Laughter.]
The great thing that we've done is we're bringing our English-speaking employees and our Spanish-speaking employees together for new-hire tours, new-hire orientations, management classes.
This is my first time I take this classes.
And, uh, I'm a truck driver.
That's the first company I work for they do this.
And I really appreciate it.
It's all the things that you do after the show that make this show great.
Management training, language training, promotion from within all came due to the experience on Undercover Boss.
Esmerelda, Tony, Buenas tardes! Both: Buenas tardes! Las uvas estan cultivando.
Estamos cultivando Chardonnay.
Muy bonitas.
Doing Undercover Boss is amazing how much it did change the culture of Kendall-Jackson and things that we do today.
And, uh, I would do it again.
I love it.
Whoa! Announcer: Over the years almost 60 corporate leaders have gone undercover in their own companies.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
[Crashes.]
- Slow down.
- All right, yeah.
Announcer: From the biggest names in travel and entertainment To some of the most recognizable fast food chains in the world.
- Hi, welcome to Subway.
- Hi, welcome to Subway.
Announcer: These bosses have traveled around the globe from Alaska to Mexico to work alongside their employees to get an unfiltered view of what really goes on behind the scenes.
This water is boiling! Lift me up! Oh! Oh! This was just totally bull@#$%.
Sometimes I feel like punching an eight-year-old.
Announcer: Some have been horrified to see some of the behavior and problems that exist.
Someone's not saying something.
Welcome to Moe's.
I don't like being yelled at.
I'm gonna go see your supervisor, and I'm gonna find out what's going on here at this call center.
When you go home at the end of the day and then you can't pay your bills, it's hard.
Announcer: However, most have been inspired by the hard-working individuals that make their company tick.
I really should've done a better job of really protecting them like, they should be enjoying this time in their lives.
My mom would be embarrassed of me not to help them more.
To me, the value I got from spending time with him wasn't about what I could learn about GSI, it's what I could learn about being a better person.
I want to recover those wage cuts over the next three years.
[Cheers and applause.]
Whoo! I'd like to pay for your daughter's college.
Oh, my goodness! [Laughs.]
I'd like to offer you $10,000 to pay off the loan debt that you have today and start fresh.
You kind of just changed my life a little now.
It's a lot, actually.
I want to cover all your education expenses.
My mom always told me hard work pays off, but this is this is this is crazy.
I would like to give you a new car.
[Sobs.]
Announcer: Tonight we will reconnect with some of the bosses whose lives have been changed the most by going undercover.
Today, Todd is being treated with respect.
Let's go.
Four.
Announcer: How have these CEOs' personal lives been forever affected? When you sent me that email, it really made everything worth it for me.
Announcer: And what big changes have these bosses made to their companies? I committed to doing six town hall meetings a year.
I've set up a crisis fund.
I have donated $1 million, and the company is matching that $1 million to make it $2 million.
[Cheers and applause.]
Announcer: Find out next on Undercover Boss: Epic Bosses.
Undercover Boss 4x17 - Epic Bosses Original air date May 17, 2013 This goes by so fast.
[Laughs.]
Announcer: On February 7th, 2010, a record-shattering number of viewers tuned in to watch Larry O'Donnell, president of Waste Management, go undercover in the very first episode of Undercover Boss.
Get it, Randy! Get it, Randy! Announcer: However, the most controversial episode in that first season featured Hooters.
All: Hi, welcome to Hooters! [Rock music.]
Announcer: Coby Brooks, the CEO of Hooters, went undercover and faced one of the most shocking employees in the history of the show.
- Scotty.
How are you? - Scott.
Jimbo.
The first girl that finishes her plate of beans will go home.
This is not okay.
Go! The jimbo incident, or the beans incident Whoo, doggie! Oh, they look tasty.
Helped us spur more programs to make sure the management didn't have those issues again, and we didn't.
Rookie.
When we were first approached to do the show I didn't know what to expect, I didn't know what I was gonna encounter.
Day one of shooting, I was nervous.
When you're out there doing live taping you don't know what's gonna be aired.
Want me to grab one of the girls, - get 'em to help you out? - No, I don't.
I got it.
I got it.
You don't know what's gonna come out of your mouth.
I will not be a Hooters girl.
I have the wrong parts.
[Laughs.]
Wanna switch? [Cheers and applause.]
Even with the negative parts, overall the Undercover Boss experience it was very positive.
I think that the morale was actually heightened, and everybody, you know, felt more of a sense of family.
Shortly after Undercover Boss aired my episode, Hooters was sold to an outside group.
Now I've started a new venture.
You know, it's doing something completely different.
Hey, ladies.
All: Hi.
Welcome to Twin Peaks! Thank you.
I am now the CEO and owner of Twin Peaks franchise in the Southeast.
- Mr.
Brooks.
- How we doing, Jer? How's the ship going? Everything well? Oh, outstanding.
Customers happy? Since the girls are here, they're always happy.
[Laughs.]
That is a good point.
The media use the term "breastaurant" for not only us but other chains.
We've never considered ourselves that.
We don't think that we fall into that category.
All: Twin Peaks is fantastic.
All right, let's go over the Orlando plans.
We got opening in five weeks.
There's 32 stores currently na you know, throughout the nation, and in the process of opening two more.
The hiring's doing really well.
We have, um our goal was 120 girls, and we're right about 90 right now.
I was able to keep a lot of my team together.
We're all rejuvenated, we're all back in it, and a lot of that I credit to my time on Undercover Boss.
If I could do it again I would.
It'd be harder to get away with it, but I think it'd be great for everybody to do it, with or without the cameras.
Announcer: Coby Brooks wasn't the only former Hooters executive to go undercover.
- Hey, hey.
- Hello, Kat.
- How are you? - Come on in.
Announcer: Kat Cole, the president of Cinnabon who got her start at Hooters, was the youngest boss to ever be featured on Undercover Boss.
Being on Undercover Boss was an awesome experience.
It was exhausting at times, but so much fun.
- Hello.
- Hello.
How are you? Announcer: When she went undercover, she met an employee who reminded her of herself when she started out.
Make sure they always get their receipt too.
Yup, I will.
And make sure you put some napkins in there too.
Okay.
There we go.
And 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.
- Okay.
- So you have to move the line.
After being on Undercover Boss I was inspired to reach back out to Mayra to bring her to our corporate headquarters to help her see what's possible for her.
- Hi.
- Hi.
How are you? - Good.
- So good to see you.
Since the show aired, I've been following Mayra very closely, and I've taken her under my wing.
We've certified her as a trainer, she's now teaching classes and workshops for us.
We are going to be tasting some of the chillatas that are coming out.
To have someone like Mayra with so much potential she could be setting in my seat one day.
Are there any challenges that you see with making the chillatas that you'd like the team to know? When I first tried making the oreo chillata, I blended the oreos with everything in the ice, and it came out, like, brown.
Yeah.
But it's really important to blend, like, for example, the peanut butter cups after you blend the ice 'cause then if not, it's gonna come out, like, brown.
Not pretty and white.
When you see her, her confidence and her drive, it's kind of an unstoppable combination.
And I hope that Cinnabon is able to help her get to wherever she wants to go next.
You can do anything you want.
I hope that I could be a small part of that in helping you see what so many of your options are.
This is amazing.
[Chuckles.]
Being on Undercover Boss also helped remind me how important it is to give back at every opportunity.
You mentioned that your mom had breast cancer.
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.
So today, we're also going to surprise Mayra with some plans we've put in place to help her raise funds for breast cancer research in honor of her mother.
All the proceeds from these cinnapacks that you sell in your bakeries can go into your fund on the days of your fundraiser.
Just want to take these home.
[Laughter.]
Since the show, I've gotten thousands of letters written in of people saying, "I was so inspired by Mayra," or, "I was so inspired by your story," and sharing their story with me.
Everyone can come into the bakery and see all the work that you're doing to raise funds for breast cancer.
That's so cool.
And that made it all worth it.
- Thank you.
- Oh, you're so welcome.
Announcer: Coming up What's your mortgage? I'm gonna pay off the mortgage.
Oh! Announcer: The most generous CEO in Undercover Boss history.
I'm setting up a trust for the kids.
$250,000.
[Sobs.]
Thank you.
Announcer: And later - Any advice? - Get skinnier.
Announcer: One boss makes an unbelievable transformation.
[Grunts.]
Flex it.
Let's go! Announcer: Over the years, bosses have given more than $4 million in rewards to deserving employees.
- What are your boys' names? - Daniel and Christopher.
Daniel was diagnosed with leukemia.
Some rewards have been truly life-saving.
Like the gift that Steve Phelps, Chief Marketing Officer of Nascar, gave to an employee with a sick child.
I really want to see Daniel get better.
Anything that the speedway hasn't covered from a financial standpoint travel expenses, any other medical things that are not covered we will cover for you.
- Really? - Yeah.
Um You know, I see Glen about once a month.
He goes over to Orlando every couple of weeks with Daniel for a treatment.
Daniel's well on his way to recovery.
That's just, uh That's a blessed thing.
So we're very happy about the progress that's going on there.
Announcer: The most generous boss of all also happens to be the only one to take the undercover journey twice.
During his two life-altering experiences, Steven J.
Cloobeck gave away more than $2 million.
I'm gonna put up $100,000 to start your business.
$100,000? I'm gonna give you $1.
3 million pesos to buy a new home.
That is a-a lot of money.
What's your mortgage? About 150,000, probably.
I'm gonna pay off the mortgage.
Oh! Undercover Boss changed my life forever.
- Hi.
How are you? - Good.
How are you? Good.
Are you enjoying yourself? We are.
I used to think a lot of time needed to be spent at our corporate offices.
And I realized it was all about being with our team.
Hey, where's Tommy? Good to see you.
Welcome back.
How are you? I learned it's important to take care of as many people as possible.
Everything good? I don't have to go undercover, 'cause we do some very special things for my team.
And I'm gonna do it when people don't expect it.
- Patrick.
- Mr.
Cloobeck.
Patrick is one of our executive chefs.
He and his wife have adopted special needs children.
What you guys have done is so selfless.
I'm setting up a trust for the kids.
$250,000.
My God.
Thank you.
I've arranged to have a special van made to transport the kids.
I'm gonna show you what it looks like.
Sir, thank you so much.
Well, it's my honor, pal.
Let's go check this out.
Being able to help your worldwide team there's not a greater feeling in the world than that.
- Thank you so much.
- Take care and enjoy.
On the first show, I really realized I had to be a better listener.
I had to listen to our guests, listen to our team members.
There was a time when financially it was a little tough.
I give my parents $100 a month just for, like, food.
Wow.
On the second show, I realized that I couldn't just continue to give to a couple of team members.
So during the second show I create a crisis fund to take care of all of my team members worldwide.
I've set up a crisis fund for all of our team members that may be in need.
I have personally donated $1 million of my own money to this crisis fund.
And the company is matching that $1 million to make it $2 million.
[Cheers and applause.]
The crisis fund has helped so many in our company.
There was a team member by the name of Jacob.
He works in one of our sales offices.
He was diagnosed with pretty extreme stage four cancer.
So the crisis fund came in, got him to the number one oncologist in Las Vegas.
The doctors put him on some experimental treatment and he's now cancer-free.
It's a miracle.
How you doing? Good.
How you doing, Stephen? I haven't seen Jacob in months and I wanna know where he sits with regard to his remission.
- So how you doing? - Good.
Really good.
Do you remember when you came in here? I had no hair the last time I was in here.
It was in the middle of chemo.
I do remember.
What'd the doctor say? Well, they told me that I'm good to go, and they are confident that if it ever came back they would re-treat it no problem.
- Wow.
That's pretty amazing.
- Yes, it is.
Without that help I would not be here today.
I would be dead without that clinical trial.
I had to get into that.
And I just really wanted to tell you thank you.
You being alive really is thanks enough.
Jacob is a shining, bright example of how important the crisis fund is to our team members.
- Thank you, Stephen.
- Thanks for coming in.
Appreciate it.
Before I did Undercover Boss, I was much more aggressive, much more arrogant, and today I'm very in touch with what's most important for my guests and what's most important for my team.
I've gotta be a new kind of leader, and I found that inside of me after doing Undercover Boss.
[Rock music.]
- Hi, welcome to Subway.
- Hi, welcome to Subway.
Announcer: Another boss who was inspired to make big changes within his company after going undercover is Don Fertman, Chief Development Officer of Subway Excuse me, I'm looking for Jessie.
Hi.
I'm Jessie.
Announcer: The highest-grossing company ever featured on Undercover Boss.
I first realized that I was on a unique journey when I walked into Jessie's store.
I got a lot of stuff to teach you.
We're about to get hit with the rush.
She handed me my uniform and she told me to get to work.
- Hey, uh - Yes.
You're being timed.
Okay, that was a - Subway club.
- Subway club.
American and Swiss.
- This is my first club ever.
- Three minutes.
I'm sweating, and I wanna make it look nice.
There's no such thing as a five-minute sandwich.
"There's no such thing as a five-minute sandwich.
" We say that to each other all the time now.
When I sat down with Jessie and she told me that she would never be able to talk to somebody at Subway corporate headquarters If you were gonna make the ultimate sandwich, what would you make? I would make a Cuban.
Would you ever suggest this to anybody? You know, I've never quite gotten a corporate big wig to let me bend his ear about that.
I thought this is a great opportunity for us to hear from our sandwich artists because they're the ones who can really tell us how to do things better.
Hey, look, it's Don.
- Hey, everybody.
- Hi, Don.
How are you all doing today? Undercover Boss prompted us to find more Jessies around the world who had great ideas the way Jessie did.
Go down the line and make your sandwich.
Bread's already cut.
Grab a plate.
We get sandwich artist ideas all the time.
- It looks so pretty.
- Very nice.
And we put them through a market test with our research and development department as a result of Jessie.
Jessie, I want to point out that my sandwich was finished before anybody else.
Didn't you start before anybody else, Don? [Laughs.]
I was a little nervous about discussing my alcoholism, but it just kind of came out.
I had an on-the-job meltdown and collapsed under a drug and alcohol problem.
I've been recovering now for 27 years.
As a result of that, I was amazed at the number of people who contacted me and have been helped by this.
Two days after Undercover Boss aired, I received an email from a man named Harold.
He told me that he had been sober for two weeks.
He was struggling, and he had just about given up.
Then he saw my story, and that gave him hope.
He's been sober two years, and he has found success in life.
I'm very very excited, because I'm going to meet Harold for the first time after two years.
It was absolutely wonderful to finally meet Harold.
- It's good to meet you.
- It's good to meet you.
To see his sincerity and how much what I shared truly touched him.
A difference you've made in my life.
When I watched your episode, Don, I had days of sobriety.
Not even weeks.
And I see that you're in charge of a multi-billion-dollar company.
When you admitted what you did on national television, that was really powerful for me.
You became a real serious role model for me.
I don't think you'll ever know how grateful I am to you and to Undercover Boss.
After doing that show, when you sent me that email, it really made everything worth it for me.
You helped me to see what this show meant.
I didn't ever expect you to answer.
No guy at the top is gonna talk to a little guy.
But it's not a little guy, you know, we're all the same.
You made me realize that.
We got to give each other hope.
This is just the beginning.
I certainly hope so.
I'm very grateful that my experience on Undercover Boss has enabled me to help other people all around the world and maybe even make the world a little bit of a better place.
Announcer: Sheldon Yellen, the CEO of Belfor, was another CEO who was inspired by his employees' dedication to the company despite their own struggles.
So I was homeless for a little bit.
And I lived in a boxcar from a train.
Imagine that.
And you're smiling every day.
- Yeah, I'm - You have a great attitude.
I'm glad I'm here.
[Laughs.]
I could be under a bridge, dead.
- And you wanna make them happy.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
Announcer: And along the way, he learned some things about himself he wanted to change.
In the past, I've always been in a private plane and with a chauffeur-driven car, in a nice hotel.
How are ya? Today I travel more modestly.
I'm very comfortable now in my taxicabs.
It's a different way of traveling for me.
I'm very capable of opening my own doors, very capable of carrying my own briefcase.
I think it's been a great experience, and it has brought me closer to where this company pulse is.
Since Undercover Boss, I often go out on the front lines today and I show up unannounced on a job site.
- Laura? - Nice to meet you.
Laura.
- Nice to see you.
Sheldon.
- Nice to see you too.
- Everything is good? - Yes.
Get to see what is really going on.
I get to hear what we're doing right, I get to hear what we're doing wrong.
Paperwork, what I've noticed is different in a lot of various offices that I've been to.
If you're trained one particular way, I feel you should everyone should be trained that way.
- We need more uniformity.
- Correct.
And my priorities have changed in that I get to be with the people.
Good to see you.
Everything's good? Everything's good.
- Got everything under control? - So far so good.
And I don't have to sit behind my desk and look at profit and loss statements and balance sheets.
I'm humbled to know that my partners are taking care of that.
You going to the Town Hall meeting tonight? - That I am.
- You are? - Yes.
- Okay, good.
On Undercover Boss, I committed to doing six Town Hall meetings a year.
I am making a personal commitment, from this day forward, to have six Town Hall meetings a year with hundreds of our people at a time and letting them know that I want to get to know them.
I do care.
He's just a terrific leader.
So help welcome our CEO Sheldon Yellen.
[Applause.]
The first thing I gotta do is just thank everybody for being here.
For those of you that are here with your families, I thank you guys for being here.
I'm gonna shut up and listen to your great stories.
I live in the greatest city as a General Manager The Town Hall meetings are so important to me because I get to sit and see and touch and feel some of the greatest people on earth.
Two months into my tenure here at Belfor, my wife, myself, and my family suffered a devastating loss.
My baby twins Laura and Freddy five months into her pregnancy, they passed away.
Here at Belfor I got a necessary paid-time leave of absence, I got a sympathy card with a personal check signed by you, Mr.
Sheldon.
So I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, sir.
[Applause.]
Since Undercover Boss, I get to go out and be as close as I can possibly be with our people.
I think it's made me a better person.
And I hope, and really hope, that it's made me a better leader.
Thank you all for your trust, for your belief, and God bless you and your families and all that you give up to be part of this family.
The biggest effect that Undercover Boss had on me was allowing me to become who I really am.
I stopped hiding behind that suit-and-tie image.
I stopped hiding in an office in Birmingham, Michigan.
I stopped being a CEO and became one of many Belfor people around the world.
Announcer: Coming up I'm CEO for this company.
You don't belong in that restaurant.
Right here, right now, we're gonna shut the restaurant down.
What will one CEO discover when he returns to a restaurant he shut down? And later - Hi.
- Hello.
Hello, Montana.
How are you? Announcer: A boss has an emotional reunion with a very special employee.
All that really matters is making a positive difference in the lives of the people I touch.
- Hi.
Allan? - Yeah.
- Roger.
How are you? - Hi.
Nice to meet you, Roger.
Announcer: Over the years, many bosses have gone undercover to connect with their frontline employees.
Wow.
- My name is Tom.
- Right.
How are you today, sir? It's not a "sir.
" Announcer: Like Mike White, CEO of Directv, who learned how important each and every employee is to the company.
When I did Undercover Boss I'd been with the company all of six months, and I felt that the experience really accelerated my learning.
- You want me to do it? - No.
The time I spent with the six individuals that I worked with was really an honor, because you may think you've got it all figured out, but more often than not they know a lot more than you do.
Announcer: But some have made personal changes as well.
Like Mitchell Modell, CEO of Modell's Sporting Goods That's you're carrying a lot around with you, partner.
Announcer: Who found that both he and his company needed to get in shape.
Are you working out with John? Uh, yeah.
5:15.
As a result of the journey that I experienced through Undercover Boss absolutely made me a better CEO.
I made a commitment, I put myself on notice to the world that I'm gonna lose weight, I'm gonna do it.
I realize I am such poor physical shape.
In order for me to make sure that I'm successfully passing on the torch to my kids, I have to make sure I'm in better physical shape as well as getting the company into shape.
After working that one week and going through all the laborious tasks and seeing how physically unfit I was and I couldn't even work a physical day for eight hours I was huffing and puffing.
At night I was physically exhausted.
I was humongous.
It was embarrassing.
I weighed 310 pounds, I felt lousy, I was just self-destructing.
All my friends, all my family members are saying, "what're you doing?" "You gotta lose weight, you gotta lose weight.
" Never listened to them.
Seriously, any advice? Get skinnier.
[Laughter.]
That would be a problem overnight.
And no matter what I did or tried to say, I could stand on my head, things were not getting through to Mitchell.
By going through the undercover journey, it made me reflect on my brother Michael who from day one was dealt with an incredible bad hand.
He had Crohn's when he was 13.
He had cancer when he was 18.
He had non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
And I'm saying to myself, I was given a good hand.
And why am I doing this to myself? - It's good, right? - It's great.
After seeing myself on TV and reflecting back on Michael, it was the tipping point.
And from that point on, I decided to hire a trainer.
Let's go, four! Use the muscle to get up, not momentum.
Get all the way up to the top.
Hold it! I'm not gonna kid you.
Those first couple of days, I'm saying, what am I doing? I can't do it.
Remember when we started this? You couldn't even get this buckled.
The first thing he did was he put these chains around my neck.
Let's check in on what you used to weigh.
And I go, "what are you doing? You're killing me.
" He goes, "no, let me put another one on.
" And that was 40 pounds, and 60 pounds, and 80 pounds.
I said, "John, I can't do this.
" "I can't breathe, I can't walk.
" He goes, "well, you're doing it to yourself.
" "You are gonna lose 80 pounds.
" And that was back in November.
And here we are.
You got rid of all this weight.
This is what you were carrying.
[Exhales.]
Every morning, I wake up at 5:00.
I'm on the treadmill for 15 minutes.
Going right to the weights.
All 12.
Good! We use the elastic bands, and I just feel so much better.
- Ah! - Flex it.
Let's go! - Ah! - Beautiful.
Nice set.
Whoo! When I went on Undercover Boss, I weighed 310 pounds.
[Struggling.]
Five months later, I now weigh 240 pounds.
Nice job.
Good work.
It's just an incredible, incredible journey.
I feel like the whole weight of the world is off my shoulders.
[Upbeat rock.]
Hey, guys, what's doing? Hey, Mitchell! How are you? My business life and my personal life are interconnected.
When you're in a family business, you have to have it in your veins.
Yesterday was the best day we ever had.
I saw that.
Unbelievable.
We've made tremendous changes in the entire organization, both at the store level as well as the distribution center.
So I'm here to see Kirk.
Here's Kirk now.
- How you doing, partner? - All righty, what's doing? Kirk was promoted, overseeing all the truck drivers.
I think that you shouldn't be a truck driver anymore.
I think you deserve to be a yard maintenance supervisor.
And he gives me an update on everything that's going on in the distribution center.
These are our new flat screens.
Oh, I love that.
And it shows us the daily productivity and how well we're doing with the numbers.
Some of the changes that I made in the distribution center is that we implemented an incentive program that all associates could achieve.
End of the quarter, there's a payout if we make our mark.
- So they're excited about that? - Yeah, extremely.
Great.
I have so much greater appreciation for our people.
We really opened up the lines of communication in our company.
How you doing? I'm spending half my time living in the stores.
In two months, I hit over 100 stores.
Looks great.
Yeah, a lotta changes came about.
And it's been such a short time.
The morale has changed.
I mean, you opened a lotta people's eyes.
The morale in the distribution center is incredible.
They truly know that we care about them.
I could honestly say for the first time, Michael, my brother, would be very proud that we're really walking the talk.
What I appreciate the most is the bridge that you drew between management and associates.
Because there was always like a wedge.
A lotta people have a lot of good ideas, they have a lotta information, but they're afraid to say anything.
It's impressive, what you did.
At the end of the day, we always wanna be cognizant of every dollar we spend.
But I was being penny wise, pound foolish.
What Undercover Boss really taught me is we've gotta reinvest.
Because if my associates are happy, we have a fighting chance of making our customers happy.
As a result of Undercover Boss, not only am I feeling personally healthier, I know the company is healthier.
The chains that were pulled off my neck when I was working out those same chains were lifted off the associates because they now hear that they have a voice that will be heard.
See, it just changed from a paycheck to a good job.
You know, that makes all the difference.
That's great.
Great seeing you.
- Yeah.
See you around soon.
- All the best.
We'll see you in a couple of weeks.
Let me walk you downstairs.
[Upbeat music.]
This is the kind of thing that we've gotta make sure happens.
Announcer: Mark Mallory, the Mayor of Cincinnati, was the only government official in Undercover Boss history to go undercover.
All right.
People still comment to me about the fat suit that I wore.
Okay.
Or about the dreads that I had in my hair or the beard and moustache.
Some people tell me I looked better with the hair on.
Okay.
When I was doing Undercover Boss, I was expecting to maybe find a lot of disgruntled employees.
I was expecting to maybe hear about how tough it is to be a city employee in this environment.
Good! Hey! What I ended up finding were people who were very committed to public service.
Right now, my oldest son, he's in a nursing home.
He's in a nursing home? Why? Yeah, he has cerebral palsy.
I really became focused and very invested in what I was doing when I was sitting in the cafe having coffee and donuts with the meter maid.
Nobody should ever go through that, you know? Leaving their child 'cause they can't take care of them.
I think, then, I started to realize this is beyond just doing a television show.
I'm actually affecting someone's life here.
I have some friends that want to help out Okay.
And buy you a van that has a wheelchair ramp in it.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
But it also brought to me a new commitment and a renewed commitment to public service.
[Hard rock music.]
All right.
Here we are.
Well, after Undercover Boss, I continued to go out and work with employees because I wanted to see what some of the other challenges were.
We have quite a few buildings that we gotta get demolished in a very short amount of time.
Okay.
Well, what do you say we get to it? Do I need some safety equipment? Yeah.
We got a hard hat here for you.
Today, I'm gonna be going to help demolish a house.
Yeah! Yeah, there you go! Building inspector! We have 500 or 600 buildings in the city of Cincinnati that are vacant, that need to be demolished.
- This handle here - Right.
Moves the moves the stick in and out.
These are blighted properties that need to be torn down and give us the opportunity to rebuild some of our community.
[Laughing.]
You're doing good.
When you have an experience like I've had on Undercover Boss, you get a new perspective that allows you to dig deeper, to go into some of the areas that you think you know that you don't really know.
I gotta tell you, this is kind of therapeutic.
[Laughing.]
It is therapeutic.
That was fun.
- Appreciate it.
- Yes, sir.
Anytime.
Thanks a lot.
Undercover Boss didn't just change my life, I think it changed the lives of a lot of mayors across the country.
I've heard from mayors that I see at our annual conferences who say that they have gone on jobs too because they saw me on the show.
That's a great feeling.
This looks great.
Announcer: When Dina Dwyer-Owens, CEO of the Dwyer Group, went undercover in her own company, she discovered that there was a great need to help women in the workplace.
In doing the Undercover Boss show, what I learned is that there are women out there who are incredible at working on the front line.
You are the epitome of what Don Dwyer would've looked for in one of our team members.
Thank you.
You're an incredible technician, and you're an incredible mother, and you're an incredible wife.
So what I'd like for you to do is have you spend time with me creating this new program.
And you'll help, you know, reach out maybe to women.
Are you willing to help me with that? Absolutely.
I think it would be fun.
It'll be a lot of fun.
I'm just a little country girl from nowhere.
You're an amazing country girl from nowhere.
Thank you.
Today, only about 4% of our front line team members are women.
So we've started a new program, and Tanna Marino is helping a committee bring more women into the trades.
These are all women-cut? These are all women-cut pants.
- Yeah.
- Are they all about the same? - All: Hi! - Hi, Dina.
- Hi, Tanna! - How are you? Good! Good, good, good.
Can't wait to see the uniforms.
I'm grateful that Tanna can now set an example for other women.
So she can show other women if I can do it, you can do it.
[Laughter.]
Since an early age, my dad grounded me in my faith.
I can almost hear him saying, "Dina, get out there and make a difference today.
" Ladies and gentlemen, Dina Dwyer-Owens.
Good morning.
Thank you, Diane.
I had an opportunity to speak to a catholic women's group.
And it was all about, how do you live your faith in the workplace? Some of you may know Don Dwyer.
Um, Don is my father and the founder of the Dwyer Group.
He began the Dwyer Group with what he coined his "code of values.
" My faith now has just gotten even deeper than what it was before.
Because what I heard, again, from viewers is that They were thankful that somebody at my level, running an organization as big as the Dwyer Group of companies, was willing to be honest and upfront about their faith.
- How are you, Pauline? - I'm good.
St.
Mary's.
I did see the episode that you were on.
- Did you? - Yes.
And it was such a good show.
Being invited to speak before groups, especially groups of faithful people, is very humbling, because who am I to speak to them? But I guess the good news is maybe I'm doing something right.
And I can only give God the credit for that that he's working through me to touch people's lives, 'cause at the end of the day, that's all that really matters is is what I'm doing making a positive difference in the lives of the people I touch? Announcer: Coming up Why would I wanna work for you with the way you talk to people inside there? I would say that you couldn't handle the job.
Announcer: One CEO returns to a restaurant he shut down when he went undercover.
My biggest concern is training.
- Announcer: And later - Hi, I'm Jake.
So How long have you guys, uh, worked here? Announcer: A boss faces his biggest challenge ever the language barrier.
Como le va en clase de ingles? Um I like to whip cream people in the face.
Announcer: Some bosses who've gone undercover have been confronted with situations that have required them to take drastic measures.
Yeahha-ha! You gotta try to call me tonight.
It's my duty to have a discussion [Yawning.]
About Jacqueline and her future.
That this is not how we run restaurants here.
I'm gonna go see your supervisor and I'm gonna find out what's going on here with this call center.
She blew it.
I'm about to just flip out here.
Announcer: Rick Silva, president and CEO of Checkers, was a boss undercover When he experienced every boss' nightmare So if you go on overtime, I can take you outside and beat you up, right? Announcer: A restaurant so bad it had to be shut down.
Why would I wanna work for you with the way you talk to people inside there? I would say that you couldn't handle the job.
I'm CEO for this company.
You don't belong in that restaurant.
Right here, right now, we're gonna shut the restaurant down.
It was a difficult decision to shut the restaurant down that night.
At that moment, I forgot the cameras were there.
I was in one of my restaurants and things weren't right.
I had an employee who wasn't happy, I had a manager who wasn't doing things right.
And it was my job to make them right.
I'm at that Checkers restaurant that I shut down when I was on Undercover Boss, and I wanna see how it's doing now.
Welcome, Mr.
Rick! How are you? Good.
Very, very good.
Welcome to my store.
We put a new manager at this restaurant.
His name is Leo and he has made very important changes to the restaurant.
When I was here with Undercover Boss show, my biggest concern was training.
How much training did we give you? I didn't get any training.
I trained myself.
So every single employee has gone through the training.
Every single employee.
Every single employee is trained and certified in every single position.
That wasn't what was going on when I got here that night with Undercover Boss.
- Value size orange? Sure.
- Thank you.
Thank you! - Thank you.
- You're welcome.
I love the feeling of teamwork.
I love the respect.
- Hey, Todd? - Hey! Good to see you! Always good to see you! That night when I was here, Todd was a team member and wanted to go back to school.
Why did you stop? It seems like you really love it.
I love to see you smiling like this.
This is a level of confidence that you didn't have that night when I was here.
I know.
I was so disappointed that night that Todd wasn't feeling comfortable in his restaurant.
How late can you stay? I would never let somebody talk to me like that.
I do it because I need to help my mom.
How's it make you feel? Like I'm worthless.
[Crying.]
I just wanted to work.
I just need a job.
Things have changed in the restaurant.
Everyone is a team now.
We're very supportive towards each other.
Everyone treats one another with the utmost respect.
I look forward to waking up in the morning and going to work now.
I'm very relieved to be able to come back and understand that today his manager is treating him with the respect that he deserves.
So tell me about you.
Right now, I'm striving to be shift manager.
I wanna talk about that, about your development.
One of the things that we offered you was the opportunity to go to school.
And I know you've been incredibly busy and haven't had a chance to take advantage of that opportunity.
But is there any way that you can get to that and get to school and start going? - Of course.
- Yes? Absolutely.
My mind hasn't changed about going to school.
Okay.
Most likely, I'll be going to school during the summer.
Honestly, that makes me more happy than everything that's happened in this restaurant.
I really wanna see if you can make that happen.
- We gonna shake on it? - Shake on it.
That's what I'm talking about.
Rick has made a big difference, and my life has changed dramatically since Undercover Boss.
I'm planning on going to culinary school during the summer time.
I'm honestly proud of myself since the show.
Today, I feel very confident.
I can speak up for myself, and I'm not afraid to say anything I have to say.
I appreciate him for everything he's done.
Hello! All: Hi.
[Laughing.]
I am so impressed with this restaurant.
You're number one in South Florida, you're number three in the entire company.
But what I saw in there, what I felt in there, that's what really gets me excited.
'Cause what I saw in there was teamwork.
I got a totally different feeling.
And that gives me confidence it'll keep getting better and keep getting better.
So I've decided that I wanna give this restaurant $15,000 to thank you for the incredible difference that I've seen here today.
'Cause I want everybody to get an extra bonus.
- That's amazing! - They deserve it.
Yes! That sounds great.
More money is always good, right? More money's better than less money.
- I like that, right? - Always.
The Undercover Boss experience has made me a better leader.
One of the things that I realized is that there's always more that we can do to support our employees so that they can improve their lives and really improve Checkers and Rally's for everybody's benefit.
All right, Leo, thank you.
Congratulations.
Good job! Number three.
On your way to number one.
All right, yes.
Thank you.
I love it! Announcer: When Rick Tigner, the president of Kendall-Jackson Wineries went undercover in his own company He discovered some serious problems.
Every job has its bull@#$% you gotta deal with.
My job just happens to have a lot of bull@#$%.
One of the most surprising, crazy days was obviously the day with Rene, the truck driver.
They tell you this or that or try to give you attitude, I mean, the first thing that comes to your mind is @#$% you.
No teamwork kind of a thing, or is there? [Laughs.]
I'm on team Rene.
For me to see individuals out there not working as a team frustrates me.
I don't believe you can be a team when you're just one person.
At the end of the day, @#$% customer service, @#$% all that.
Yeah.
I've had this problem with this guy a couple times now.
Like, you're an @#$%.
And, you know, tempers flare.
Ended up almost fighting the guy, it got really bad.
That was shocking.
I was mad almost the whole time.
But I learned a lot.
The one thing I talked about was concierge level of service.
And what I realized right away was we weren't providing concierge level of service.
Today, two years later, Rene no longer actually works for the company.
But we now have a code of conduct, now we have driver rules and regulations, we have a better morale inside the truck driving department that we have.
So it's a much better business today than before I met Rene.
[Soft acoustic guitar.]
During the shooting, one of the moment I had that was an "ah-ha" moment for me was actually in the field trying to communicate with our farm workers and the fact that we just couldn't communicate with it.
Hi, I'm Jake.
So How long have you guys, uh, worked here? Um, you'll be needing this.
It's English-Spanish dictionary.
Oh! Do you know Spanish? - I don't yet.
- You don't? I don't see the word "how" in here.
- That's the Spanish side.
- Oh.
Laura couldn't communicate.
I was trying to read from a book.
That was embarrassing.
The amazing part is we have done lots of fixes.
So, Fernando, what did you write? "Irma is working" - "Irma" - "On the table.
" "Is working.
" We do English classes for Spanish-speaking employees Como le va en clase de ingles? All: Muy bien Yes, yes, yes.
Okay, bueno.
We do Spanish classes for English-speaking employees.
So I'm learning some Spanish too.
- How am I doing? All: - Muy bien.
[Laughter.]
The great thing that we've done is we're bringing our English-speaking employees and our Spanish-speaking employees together for new-hire tours, new-hire orientations, management classes.
This is my first time I take this classes.
And, uh, I'm a truck driver.
That's the first company I work for they do this.
And I really appreciate it.
It's all the things that you do after the show that make this show great.
Management training, language training, promotion from within all came due to the experience on Undercover Boss.
Esmerelda, Tony, Buenas tardes! Both: Buenas tardes! Las uvas estan cultivando.
Estamos cultivando Chardonnay.
Muy bonitas.
Doing Undercover Boss is amazing how much it did change the culture of Kendall-Jackson and things that we do today.
And, uh, I would do it again.