Undercover Boss (2010) s05e03 Episode Script
Donato's
Since the premiere of Undercover Boss, more than 60 bosses have given away nearly $6 million I have a check for $250,000.
Oh, my God.
And implemented sweeping company-wide changes As a company, we're actually gonna restore the 401K.
It's a $1 million expense.
To benefit the lives of more than 40 million employees.
Whoo! Some people, I just want to punch them in the face sometimes.
But not everyone deserved to be rewarded.
I know how to grow some really good weed if you're really interested.
It's not wrong of me to hate people.
Tonight, the latest boss to jump into the fire is Jane Grote Abell Hi.
Oh, man.
The chairwoman and owner of Donatos pizza, her family's 50-year-old business.
Hi, and welcome to Donatos, how can I help you? By going under cover I'm Cathy.
It's nice to meet you.
It's nice to meet you.
This boss finds the employees that keep her company rolling in the dough.
Cathy, you've got a pizza coming out to be cut.
Let's run up.
Let's run up, faster.
Just come through the brush.
Delivering on campus is fun.
I have a really good time doing it.
What happens when this boss finds one delivery driver with his own ideas about what makes a good tip? A lot of people smoke pot, and they will, like, invite me to come in for a little bit.
And if I'm not very busy and I don't need to be super focused really, then I'll kind of indulge.
You do not.
Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 5x03 - Donatoâs Original air date October 11, 2013 With a home base in Columbus, Ohio, and grossing $170 million a year Donatos is one of the most lucrative pizza chains in the country.
Topping this pizza empire and its 5,000 employees is one woman.
I'm Jane Grote Abell, and I'm the chairwoman of Donatos.
I think the main difference between Donatos and other pizza companies is that we're a family.
My dad, when he was a kid, knew he wanted to go into business.
And then by the time he was 18, he had an opportunity to buy a pizza place with $1,300.
My grandpa wanted him to name it Grote because that's our last name.
And my dad just knew that "Grote Pizza" probably wasn't gonna be that great of a pizza name, so he bought the name "Donatos" which means "to give a good thing.
" My dad's philosophy is to treat others the way you want to be treated.
It's the golden rule, and we try to carry that through our stores and our bakery and everything that we do.
I was a little girl growing up behind our very first restaurant, and literally, our front yard was 25 feet behind the back of the restaurant.
My brother and my sister and I, we would help mix the dough.
We would crack the eggs for the dough.
And my mom made the lasagna and the spaghetti sauce.
And my grandma made the meatballs and the sausage.
I mean, literally, to the point where my grandma always smelled like sausage, and I thought everybody's grandma smelled like sausage.
And I remember my dad saying, "Donatos is gonna be around the world one day," "and I don't just mean selling pizza.
" "We're gonna bring our principles to work with us.
" So I worked in the restaurants all through high school, and I attended the Ohio State University.
After I graduated from Ohio State University, I interviewed and I worked in our training department.
So I've never had a job anywhere else.
It might be embarrassing, but it's true.
In 1999, we started exploring, "what are the different ways to grow?" And we got a phone call out of the blue.
McDonalds wanted to meet with us, and they wanted to buy the whole company.
So it took us a long time to decide, but we finally came to the conclusion that we would sell to McDonalds as a subsidiary of McDonalds, and we grew fast.
And it became different.
It was corporate.
It was a different company.
And then McDonald's stock, in 2003, really hit a historic low.
And so they started getting a lot of feedback that maybe they should just focus on their core brand.
So when the rumor hit the street that McDonalds was going to close Donatos, my first immediate reaction was like, "come on, dad, we've got to buy the company back.
" Are you guys hungry? I'm starving.
I've only done one of these.
When Jane pleaded to buy the company back, I felt that she embodies everything that Donatos is about.
It's part of her DNA.
Ah! You burned a pizza finally.
Yes, he burned a pizza.
Oh.
After we bought the company back, I was in charge of lots of different areas of responsibility.
And I loved going to work.
And it was my family at work.
What I lost was my purpose, my soul at home.
I had a son in college and two young daughters.
And unfortunately, I found myself in a situation where our marriage was no longer gonna last, and we needed to part ways.
When I came to the conclusion that I had to make a change, I think the hard part about that was talking to my dad about it.
I was afraid to let him down, and the pivotal point was when one day, I can remember it, in his kitchen, and I said, "I just want to be a good mom.
" So he said, "no matter what you're faced with in life," "just love your way through it.
" Have you ever worn a wig before? On Halloween.
I think it's gonna be a challenge for me to go undercover.
I'm kind of the face of the company.
It's gonna be extremely hard to disguise me.
It looks like I have a big head.
So throughout my undercover journey, I'll be posing as Cathy Cooper, a rockabilly chick competing to open up my own restaurant.
My associates have been told they're on a different reality show.
They have no idea this is actually Undercover Boss.
That looks different.
Donatos is truly still my baby and my dad's baby.
So being able to go into the store in this disguise is my chance to find out whether or not our mission is alive.
Every single restaurant we open up has an opportunity to touch lives.
And so it's a mission beyond pizza.
What if I have to blow my nose? Hi.
Oh, man.
When it's a family business, and your dad starts something and builds it to be this this great company, there's a lot at stake.
I want to make sure our family legacy is alive and well in our stores, and that we are keeping up with competition and technology.
And that will ensure that our business is around for another 50 years.
Today I'm at our campus location at the Ohio State University, and I'm gonna be working as a delivery driver.
What can I get for you today, Mark? A delivery driver is a really important part of our business.
And the reason for that is they're actually taking our product to the customer's home.
So they have to be respectful.
They have to be courteous.
They have to drive within the guidelines of the law, because they're representing Donatos out on the road.
Hi, is Aaron here? Hey, how's it going? - That's me.
- Oh, hi.
Hey, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Are you my contestant? - I am.
I'm Cathy.
- Awesome.
I'm the delivery driver here.
I guess I should probably show you around then.
Yes.
Cathy's hot.
Cathy's good-looking.
I like her septum piercing.
I like the tats, the glasses, the black hair.
So she's got it going on.
This is our driver's station.
This is where we're gonna be taking the deliveries from.
Okay.
This is my driver's station here.
We're waiting on another driver to come in right now and get my back.
I was only in the store for just a couple of minutes.
He's talking to me about his job and what he's supposed to do.
And the manager behind him is just standing there staring at me.
Every driver's issued a bank as soon as we get rockin' and rollin', so that way you're gonna be able to make change when the customer gives you She looked at me eye-to-eye, and even with my brown contacts, I got that feeling that she was just like, "oh, yeah, I know something's going on.
" The tickets will print here where you make the food.
Once the food's printed off, we've got an individual here and a side order of breadsticks.
It makes me really anxious.
My adrenaline's going through the roof.
Will you excuse me for a minute? I feel like the walls are coming in.
Yeah, do you know where the manager went? 'Cause she's either figured me out, or she thinks something else is going on.
This is really high stakes.
Can I talk to you? Yeah.
So I feel like I only have a short period of time to make this work.
I've got to make sure that I pull this off.
Okay, I think I think you know I do.
Who I am.
Okay.
I could totally tell when you sized me up and down It was shocking.
It was shocking.
So because you know, I'm pulling you into my confidence here.
Have you told anybody at all? Yeah.
- You did? - I did.
Have you told anybody outside of the store? - No.
- Okay.
Can you do me a huge favor? I need you to play this whole competition thing up.
Thank you for calling Donatos on campus.
Aaron speaking.
Will this be a pickup or delivery? You need to get all their eyes off of me.
Okay.
And let me do the mission with Aaron.
'Cause we got a long time to go here.
Seriously, if this one thing is blown Yeah, no, I understand.
So it comes back down to you and me.
You got it? I'll try.
I'll try really hard.
I believe in you.
I know you can do it.
So you're with me, right? I'm with you.
So my plan is to go back in there and hopefully get out on the road as soon as possible.
Hi, Aaron.
Sorry about that.
Oh, hey.
I'm back.
We've actually got a couple of deliveries that are up now.
So we're just gonna go ahead and grab the ticket.
Take the bag up here.
So they put all the deliveries up here? Yeah.
Open it up, double-check it, make sure it's the right one.
And then we're just out the door.
Okay.
When we walked out of that store, I was like, "oh, thank goodness we're in this car," "and I don't think he has any idea who I am.
" I just took a deep breath, but then I was like, "I've got to stay in character.
" "Stay in character.
" When we get out there, it's gonna be fast.
We've got to grab the pizza, and we've got to get it up to the door.
Okay.
All right, so come up and watch what I do.
Okay.
You've got to run up here You run, huh? Get it up the steps.
You want to address the customer by their name and tell them the total.
Hey, what's up, Mark? How you doing? Good.
How are you? I'm pretty good.
All right, here's your pizza.
Just go ahead and double-check that.
It looks good.
All right, awesome.
It's $15.
68.
And you were gonna be paying with cash? Yep.
- All right, cool.
- Here you are.
- All right, thank you.
- Keep the change.
Awesome.
Thank you.
Appreciate it, Mark.
You have a good one.
Thanks.
I love that Aaron had a really great customer service balance with speed, and I still don't think he suspects a thing about how I really am.
All right, so I'm just gonna hop out here, then.
All right, now I'm actually gonna have you handle this one.
So here's your pizzas.
When you get in there, you're gonna want to set all that food down and make sure you don't tip it over while you're opening the bag.
Delivering pizzas was one of my favorite jobs when I was growing up.
But I've not delivered pizzas in 30 years.
All right, so I'm gonna give the customer a call again.
My phone's in my car, so Okay.
I'm gonna have to run out and grab that really quick.
Okay, I'll wait here for you.
Hi, did you order Donatos? Yes, I did.
- Hi, I'm Jane.
- Hi.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
Um Oh, my gosh.
I just said, "hi, I'm Jane," not even thinking about it.
Do you want to go ahead and check the order and make sure you have everything? Um Okay, that will be $83.
21.
Cathy's clearly never delivered a pizza in her life.
She was not very good the first time around.
She was slow.
She was very unsteady, very uneasy, clearly nervous.
Cool.
You can keep the change.
Awesome.
Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
All right, you have a good one.
I'm gonna need her to step it up with these next few deliveries, because I'm gonna get her to be the best delivery driver that she can be by the end of this night.
All right, so I'm gonna be a little harder on you this time.
I am going to time you.
So this should be a minute and a half.
Okay.
All right, so I'm starting now.
So let's run up.
Let's run up faster.
Just come through the brush.
I can't go through their garden.
Just guess it's this one.
Hi, how are you? Hi, I'm good.
I'm from Donatos.
And did you order a large pizza? I did.
Let me get your total.
It's $15.
18.
Perfect.
Keep the change.
Oh, thank you so much.
All right.
Thank you.
You have a wonderful evening and enjoy your food.
All right, now run.
I can't.
I have to go this way.
No, you've got to run through the mulch.
I know, but I can't.
Let's go.
Maybe she spent a lot of time in that garden.
All right, boom.
We're at a minute and 8 seconds.
That was good, right? That was epic.
That was actually See, I can go down the sidewalk.
That was really good.
Aaron's a perfect picture of what a delivery driver is.
He is fast.
He is nonstop.
The perfect delivery driver.
Delivering on campus is fun, though.
Like, I really I have a really good time doing it.
You can, like, encounter some really weird stuff.
Like what? A lot of people smoke pot, and they will, like, invite me to come in for a little bit.
And if I'm not very busy, and I don't need to be super focused really, then I'll kind of indulge.
You do not.
I can't think of another time I've been this disappointed.
And when you see so much hope and potential in someone, it feels like betrayal.
It's just one of the perks.
That concerns me, though, 'cause then you get back in your car and you drive, and you can't do that.
Well, it's not like I sit there and smoke for, like, 20 minutes.
Not only is it just not safe, it's illegal.
I wanted to take off my disguise and fire him right then.
A lot of people smoke pot, and they will, like, invite me to come in for a little bit.
And I'll kind of indulge.
You do not.
As Aaron is telling me that he's taking deliveries and every once and a while takes a joint someone offers to him, I want to express to him how serious this is.
And it's illegal.
And it's just not okay.
Are you against that? I am really against it.
I'm sorry.
I don't want to, like I don't want to disappoint you.
Especially you're getting behind the wheel.
But it doesn't really affect my abilities.
All right, we have to we'll talk about this more on the way back.
Ah, jeez, all right.
Let's go.
Come on.
We don't have time to chitchat.
Maybe it's not a big deal in his world, but he put a lot of people at risk.
I honestly didn't even want to get back in the car with him.
You actually did a really Should I drive back to the store? Should you drive back to the store? No.
Are you under the influence right now? No.
I don't do it often.
I got a little nervous.
Jeez, what do you think? I was just smoking in the store, and then I just went out on the road? Cathy got pretty angry with me.
Kind of lectured me like a mom.
Cathy needs to hit the bong and just chill out for a bit.
It's nothing that bad.
I think you're making it out to be, like, the devil's drug, the devil's weed.
Is it legal? Is it legal to smoke marijuana? - Yes or no.
- It's not, no.
It's not legal.
If my delivery driver did that, I would fire them.
Would you really? - Absolutely.
- Oh, wow.
Well I don't tell my bosses that I do that.
You can't tell my bosses that I do that.
Do you think if your bosses know, they would fire you? No.
Well maybe.
I don't know.
Potentially.
I'm really angry.
He jeopardized our entire company.
Not just that store, but all of our franchise partners.
He puts everybody at risk by being out on that road under the influence.
All right, let's get back in.
All right.
But he does his job very well.
He's a very good driver.
So I'm not sure what I'm gonna do.
Today I'm in Vienna, Virginia, and I'm gonna be working as an assistant manager.
After working with Aaron, who doesn't really demonstrate the values of someone that we want as part of our family, I'm really hoping today will be better.
Hi.
Are you Buffy? Hi, are you my contestant? I am.
I'm Cathy.
It's nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
Going undercover, I want to make sure that we are using the processes and the systems that my dad put in place 50 years ago so that we're doing the right things every single day in order to give our customers the best pizza.
- So you ready to get started? - I am.
All right, so Let me show you how to do this.
First thing we do is zero out our scale.
Everything we do gets weighed in here, because our company has determined what's the best, most perfect amount of sauce, cheese, and toppings so that our guests get the perfect pizza every time.
- Wow, okay.
- Okay? I think Buffy is doing a great job training me.
We cover every pizza edge to edge so that the guests can taste our toppings in every bite.
Not just showing me how to do it, but explaining why we do it.
This is your first priority back here, okay? The pizzas have to get made, because we have to get our guests satisfied.
So I'm gonna give this all to you.
- Oh, you're leaving me? - Yeah.
Just call me if you need me, okay? - Okay.
- All right, Cathy, good luck.
Thanks.
I've been making pizzas my whole life, so I'm confident about that.
Oops, I dropped one.
Cathy, you have pizza to cut.
Um You've got to come cut the pizza, okay? All right.
But as more orders started coming in, I did get flustered.
Cathy, you've got a pizza coming out to be cut.
Ah! Okay.
Ah! Oh, jeez, that's a lot of toppings.
You got any tickets for me? This is a lot of toppings.
I've got this one coming.
We need to get these going, so Okay.
Oh, I just knocked one down.
Cathy, you've got a pizza coming out to be cut.
Okay, okay, okay.
Cathy was awful at making pizzas today.
You know, it was her first day, but she was terrible at it.
I have a lot of pizzas coming out.
Okay, and these are actually timed orders.
So that's a good thing.
But this actually does bring up something.
We've got a great website, and it looks pretty, but it doesn't always function like it needs to.
So what happens? People put in specialty orders, like they don't want mushrooms on top of it, for instance.
We don't always get that instruction through our website.
Huh.
Okay.
When you have an assistant manager like Buffy who's that talented being hindered by an outdated online ordering system, that's a huge problem.
So that's one thing I will take back and make sure we talk to our I.
T.
department about.
Every day, come in with the mind-set that I'm gonna make somebody's day better, and that's what I try to, like, give everybody here.
You know what I mean? So how do you do that? You have to set the example for them and really be that, like, little Energizer bunny for your business.
I was getting teary-eyed just listening to Buffy talk.
It's almost unbelievable to walk into a store so far away from our home base, and hear the exact same mission and passion and love for the business that my dad started with 50 years ago.
So it completely blew me away.
Great job.
Let's take a break.
- You went through a lot.
- Good.
I'm tired.
- We needed a rest.
- I know.
For real.
Do you live by this Donatos? Where does your Actually, I live pretty far away.
I live about 40 miles from this store.
I don't even own the bed I sleep on.
The last two years have been a little rough for me, I was living in Augusta, Georgia.
I was the G.
M.
of a hotel there.
We decided to take a birthday party for you know, to fill up some of our banquet space and everything.
A young man, who was 19 years old, who worked for me, was watching the party that night, and this kid with a gun came up and shot, like, into the crowd and hit this kid that worked for me.
And he died right there in the lobby of the conference center.
And you know, it was it was, you know, a really big thing for me.
Not only did you know what I mean did I feel responsible for it 'cause I had taken the party.
He was 19, you know what I mean? I had to tell his mom that somebody who I was responsible for, you know, died, because of a decision I made to take this party.
Um, you know, so I couldn't I didn't want to keep my job any more, because I didn't want to be there and be reminded of it every day.
I couldn't in my head, I couldn't get over it, you know? I had some other personal things going on.
Like, my marriage was already, like, kind of rocky.
And even though we had these kids and everything, it just wasn't going right.
You know what I mean? So I looked for a job up here.
I ended up having to give up custody of my kids.
I lost everything.
I was just in a really bad place.
I was unemployed.
I didn't have my kids.
Not really knowing what I was going to do.
And then I saw the ad for Donatos, and I went ahead and sent my resume in, and it's been this amazing change for me.
I mean, like, it gave me a place where I could, like, plant and grow.
And that was the turning point for me.
People believed in me and helped me believe in myself again.
And You know.
I lost everything, and they gave me back everything.
So Wow.
Donatos has been very, very good to me.
Buffy shared with me what she's been through and the fact that she lost custody of her children.
Obviously, any mother that has children You ache in the pit of your stomach, because I could not imagine not seeing my kids.
And she didn't let it crush her spirit.
That takes a really strong person to do that.
My dad would be really, really, really proud.
Coming up Hi, welcome to Donatos.
The boss brings one of her own restaurants to a grinding halt.
Okay, I'm so sorry.
And later, the boss lays down the law with her delivery driver.
- You're upset with me? - I'm very upset.
Jane Grote Abell, the chairwoman and owner of Donatos Pizza, is a boss under cover in her own family business.
Hi, is Aaron here? - That's me.
- Oh, hi.
Her employees think she's a contestant on a reality show, hoping to win money to start her own business.
Cathy, you've got a pizza coming out to be cut.
Okay, okay, okay.
After a bump in the road A lot of people smoke pot.
And I'll kind of indulge.
You do not.
Her journey continues in Columbus, Ohio.
Today I'm back in Columbus, Ohio, and I'm gonna be working as a cashier.
$12.
58.
Working as a cashier is such an important position, because the cashier is the first impression our customers are gonna have when they walk in, and they're the last impression when our customers walk out.
Our associates have to make sure that they make the customer feel like they're guests in their own home.
And you have to have a smile, and you have to have a positive attitude all the time, even when something goes wrong.
Hello, welcome to Donatos.
How are you? I'm good.
I'm Cathy, and I'm looking for Kanisha.
Well, you found her.
Are you my contestant? - Yes I am.
- Nice to meet you.
Why don't you come back here? I can show you the register.
Okay.
Whenever you take an order, you click "add to order," and once they're done, you click "order summary.
" You tell them, "your total is $4.
69", "and it should be ready in about 14 minutes.
" Okay.
You want to try the next one all by yourself? The next customer by myself? Yes.
No worries.
I'm always right by your side.
I got your back.
I promise.
Hi, welcome to Donatos.
How can I help you? Okay.
That's the large, right? I'm sorry.
I'm training.
Okay.
So, um when I worked as a cashier, we actually wrote things down with a pen and paper.
And then you want to click "add to order.
" Oh.
Thank you.
Things have obviously changed dramatically.
Sorry.
So that makes me a little anxious.
And you give me a receipt.
Okay, I'm gonna give you a receipt.
There you go.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Hi, how are you doin' today? Hello.
May I have a large thin crust pepperoni? And I have to ask you, are those cherry blossoms on your arm? And a butterfly.
- Beautiful work.
- Thank you.
You're welcome.
Will this be for pickup or delivery? Or pickup or, yes, or here.
You got me all flustered.
I think Cathy is easily distracted.
She maybe sometimes gets overwhelmed or flustered.
There's a big line out there, so There is a big line out there? Now, you just made me nervous.
Do we have an order in for Fatasha? Tasha.
What was the last name? Fatasha.
Tasha.
I was just a little nervous for Cathy, because there was a long line there.
Um Let me get it for you right away.
Okay, I'm looking for stromboli, and I cannot find it.
Um, I'm sorry, I can't find stromboli on here.
Oh, you're fine.
She asked me for help a few times, but other than that, she kind of, like, found her way through the menu, and, you know, she fought through the rush.
So can you tell me what maybe, like, motivated you? I've been a single parent for a while, and so I've been doing waitressing and Kudos to you for being a single parent, 'cause the person I live with necessarily isn't my birth mother.
She's my great aunt, but she played both roles just like you had to.
Do you know your birth mother? My birth mother's actually incarcerated.
Wow, and how old are your brothers and sisters? My baby brother passed away.
Yeah, he was, um, he was 14, but, this is why I wear the green band.
It says "donate life.
" Because we donated his organs.
And we get letters from people that he's helped.
How did he pass away? He was playing basketball.
He passed out on the court, and he had basically, his main heart artery was blocked.
Oh, my gosh.
I mean, I think one of the reasons he had heart problems was because, basically, you know, she chose the pathway of doing drugs.
I mean, I'll be honest.
I definitely blamed her.
I think I think one of the hardest thoughts I would think like, "how could maybe, like, a mom do that do her kids?" Or "because of you, my brother is gone.
" That's a hard thing to deal with, sweetheart.
I feel overwhelmed.
The fact that this young woman has had such hardship in her life, it makes you value the upbringing that so many people do have.
I started working here right after that time, but even during that time, like, everyone, even though they didn't know me, they still kind of, like, was there for me and kind of, like, welcomed me with open arms.
Wow.
Like, I'm going to be a freshman in college.
I'm gonna major in biological sciences.
I just, I mean, I've got a bright future ahead of me, so I'm really excited.
Kanisha is a take-charge person.
I really truly admire her.
And for her to call this store her family, that's the reason for me when we said, "we have to buy the company back," "because people are counting on us," it's those examples right there.
Makes me never regret that decision.
Today I'm on the West Side of Columbus, and I'm gonna be working as an associate at our pickup window.
Years ago, when I was working in the restaurants, we didn't have the pickup window.
So it's kind of a new thing for really the pizza industry.
This store, particularly, has a very high percentage of drive-through.
So the most important thing they can do is make sure that they're greeting the guests but also making sure that order is accurate.
Hi.
I'm Cathy.
- I'm Tangee.
- Hi, Tangee.
Are you my contestant for the day? I'm your contestant.
I'll be training you on the window.
Okay.
This is our lovely, little, old computer.
We literally have to squint to look at the print on it.
Do they have new ones? At the other stores.
We haven't got updated yet.
Right off the bat, I see that the computer system at this store is a 30-year-old system.
So I need to make sure we get the new system in this store.
Does that beep mean there's a customer? Yes.
What's the name on your order? - Baker.
- Baker? So you can look it up here on last name? - Yes.
- Okay.
And then it tells you what it is? Thank you.
Have a nice evening.
And that's pretty much it.
So do you want to try and do this one, or do you want me to show you how to do it again? I would like you to show me.
I'm not ready.
My first impression of Cathy is she's not very confident.
Confidence is the key when it's coming to working in the restaurant business.
What's the name on your order? Harris.
Harris.
So you keep pulling up this screen before you go to the screen to put their name in? Yes.
So a large thin pepperoni? Yes.
Tangee's role is to train me today, and I'm kind of just standing here.
I have no idea what's going on.
How do you know that's their order? Because it has a ticket with their name on it.
Okay.
And here's your entire order.
There you go.
I have to keep asking for information, instead of her explaining it to me.
So it's frustrating me a little bit.
So it says, "thank the customer by name.
" - Yeah.
- Okay.
$3.
96 is your change.
Give me just a quick second for that, okay? You don't want to thank them by their name here? We do.
At the same time we don't, if it makes any sense.
What worries me, if Tangee were to train our new pickup window person, obviously, that person's gonna be confused.
You think you could probably do it next time? No.
Cathy's not wanting to do it.
She's not wanting to attempt to do it.
It's pretty much all just watching me do it.
How did you learn? Just watching and doing.
Really? I'm hoping she grows a pair so she can do this.
Thank you.
Have a nice day.
This is actually the easiest thing here.
The phones are a lot harder.
Good thing I don't have to be trained on anything else, huh? Yeah.
What's the name on your order? Norris.
Tangee interacts with the guests very well.
She opens the window immediately.
She checks the order to make sure it's right.
A coupon? Ooh, yay.
So I know she's capable of it, 'cause I can see her do it with the guests.
Then there you go.
Thank you.
Have a nice day.
What I'm not feeling from Tangee is a sense of warmth and family about this restaurant, and maybe she's not feeling that within.
So I was curious a little bit more about you.
Like, you don't feel like to me, like you really love what you do.
This isn't something I want to do 10, 20 years down the road.
Ah.
I want to go into veterinary medicine, and I want to be able to give back to my mother.
Why? What about your mom? About a year ago, my mom had a nasty divorce, which left us with nothing.
It's just you and your mom? Yeah.
Have to live paycheck to paycheck for both of us.
That's a lot of responsibility you have at 19.
I've had to have it since I was, like, 16.
Divorce is really hard.
And I think in relating with Tangee, it's the put on a tough exterior and maybe not always letting people get to know you because you don't want to get hurt.
About a year before the divorce, I lost my grandmother too.
She helped raise me.
She was a good lady? She really was.
I don't think Tangee knows what family really feels like.
And I want to make sure that when we have people in our store like Tangee that we have a better way to help them.
Because we believe that everyone that's part of Donatos is family.
Have a good day.
Enjoy your cheese pizza.
Coming up, the employees think they're going to decide whether or not Cathy deserves money to start her own business.
How will they react when the boss reveals her true identity? I'm the chairwoman and owner of Donatos.
You're upset with me? I'm very upset.
My week under cover has come to an end.
Cathy Cooper is finally gone, and I'm back to being Jane Grote Abell.
Today my associates have been called to a Donato's flagship restaurant.
They think they have been called here to give feedback on whether or not I deserve to win the money to start my own business.
They have no idea why they are really here.
- Hi.
- Hello.
So tell me how Cathy did.
She did okay.
She was scared.
Why do you think she was scared? She was afraid she was gonna mess up.
Do you recognize me at all? Cathy? Your voice sounds familiar.
- It does? - Yeah.
You're Jane Grote Abell.
I am.
Come again.
I'm the chairwoman and owner of Donatos.
Oh, wow, hi.
Oh.
- And I was Cathy.
- Oh, man, you were We are on Undercover Boss.
Oh, my God.
Okay.
Well, it's nice to meet you.
So, Aaron, when you told me you smoked pot on a job, I've never been so angry in my life.
That's never happened while I was working at Donatos.
You said you did it while you at Donatos working.
A lot of people smoke pot, and they will, like, invite me to come in for a little bit, and I'll kind of indulge.
Are you upset with me? I'm very upset.
I can't believe you would in your Donatos uniform Yeah.
ever make a decision to do something that's illegal.
I apologize for that.
Well, you know, I have to let you go as a delivery driver.
Really? But I want to make a deal with you, because I do like you.
You do a lot of the right things.
You are.
You're fast on your feet, and you are concerned about checking the order, and the importance of the customer, and calling them by name and engaging them.
So I'm gonna give you a second chance.
If you can take a drug test in 30 days Okay.
You can come back and work in the kitchen.
Wow, I really appreciate that.
All right, well, then we'll be in touch.
All right, great.
Jane could've fired me, and I'm glad that she's taking into account all of the positives in me, and I'm glad that she's giving me the opportunity that she's giving me.
- Don't let me down.
- I won't.
- Don't let yourself down.
- I'm not gonna let you down.
I thank her for giving me the chance that she's giving me, and I think in the long run, I'm gonna show her how much I appreciate it.
Buffy, you did an outstanding job.
Every day I come in with the mind-set that I'm gonna make somebody's day better.
Everything you did embodies who we are.
- Over the top.
- Thank you.
I heard you talk about our online ordering.
Yes, ma'am.
And how it can be cumbersome.
So I will fly you to Columbus so that you can help us make sure we've got a user-friendly system in the stores.
Oh, wow, okay, great.
Because I think you had a lot of great ideas.
Thank you.
So one other thing.
You're gonna be a general manager.
Are you kidding me? Congratulations.
Oh, my God.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Am I allowed to get up and give you a hug? You are.
Absolutely.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
Oh, my God.
That's so amazing.
I'm excited about it.
Also, you will get a $17,000 raise.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
I don't even know what to say.
Thank you so much.
You have no idea.
Thank you.
You guys have been so good to me from the beginning, and I can't I can't even imagine that there was more, but thank you so much.
This is this is really awesome.
Thank you.
I know things have been hard.
Yes, ma'am.
And you haven't been able to see your children like you would like.
So I want to give you $40,000 so you can help send them to college.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
That's amazing.
You're very welcome.
They're wonderful kids, and they're all gonna do great things.
They are.
Wow.
I'm sorry.
I also want you to know that for you personally, I want to give you $30,000 Oh, my God.
So you can have a place closer to work with your new job.
Oh, my God.
Thank you so much.
For the first time in a long time, I can just breathe.
This is this is amazing.
This is awesome.
Give me a hug.
Thank you so much.
I can't even describe, like, how much my life has just changed in the last 15 minutes.
This is absolutely overwhelming.
This is the stuff that dreams are made of.
All of my financial issues and everything that I stay up nights worrying about are just gone.
I feel like this is really gonna be the beginning of something fantastic.
Tangee, at very first, it was really hard for me to get to know you.
The past with me by experience with people, it's hard for me to come out.
And I appreciate you opening up to me personally.
And I appreciate how hard you work.
And while I was working with you on that clunky system that we have It's old.
So we're not only gonna put the new computer system in your store immediately, but we're gonna roll it out to the whole company.
Thank you.
I think it would be a really big improvement for us.
As we were in the dining room, I just I want to let you know how much I appreciate you opening up about your personal life.
You're a young lady who has faced a lot of challenges in life, and you're helping your mom, and you're working hard.
It's hard sometimes, though, with all of the stuff that you have on your shoulders, you never get a chance to be a kid, and I don't.
I want you to be a kid.
I want you to have fun.
So I would like to pay for you and your mom to take a vacation.
Do you think your mom would like it? I think she needs it more than what anybody ever would.
I think you deserve it too.
The other thing we're gonna do I would like to pay your bills and your mom's bills for one year.
I can help my mom out.
We can even be able to probably pay my tuition for me.
Well, we are actually gonna give you $10,000 to pay for your tuition to go to school.
Oh, my God.
What do you think? That's awesome.
Thank you.
I want to hug you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, my God.
She changed my life.
She I'm proud of you.
I didn't think I would ever have anything like this ever happen to me.
It feels great.
It feels wonderful.
Kanisha, you are an incredible young lady.
Oh, thank you.
And you did a great job training me.
Thank you.
So one of the things you talked to me about was your brother.
Yeah.
My baby brother passed away.
This is why I wear the green band.
It says "donate life," because we donated his organs.
So I want to sell the wristbands in our stores, and we're gonna have a collection with your brother's name on it, so we can give to Donate For Life.
I'm sorry.
Okay? I'm sorry.
I know my brother would like that, and it's just kind of, like, one of the things that I'm afraid of is maybe that people will forget about him, maybe his memory, and I just feel, like, that would make it even better and bigger.
I really do appreciate that.
Well, finally, because I know that you've overcome so much, and you chose to take a really good path in life by continuing your education, I want to give you $50,000 so that you can enjoy life and really focus on your future.
I'm sorry.
I think it's just 'cause I've never had someone be so nice to me.
I really I really, really appreciate that.
Thank you.
I'm just really I'm really grateful.
- Oh, man! - Give me a hug.
That was, like, definitely the biggest surprise of my life.
You just made my life a lot easier.
Good.
Honestly, it makes me really happy.
I feel like I can really focus on school and keep striving to make my dreams come true.
This won't just affect me today or affect me working at Donatos.
It affects the rest of my life.
Oh, my God.
And implemented sweeping company-wide changes As a company, we're actually gonna restore the 401K.
It's a $1 million expense.
To benefit the lives of more than 40 million employees.
Whoo! Some people, I just want to punch them in the face sometimes.
But not everyone deserved to be rewarded.
I know how to grow some really good weed if you're really interested.
It's not wrong of me to hate people.
Tonight, the latest boss to jump into the fire is Jane Grote Abell Hi.
Oh, man.
The chairwoman and owner of Donatos pizza, her family's 50-year-old business.
Hi, and welcome to Donatos, how can I help you? By going under cover I'm Cathy.
It's nice to meet you.
It's nice to meet you.
This boss finds the employees that keep her company rolling in the dough.
Cathy, you've got a pizza coming out to be cut.
Let's run up.
Let's run up, faster.
Just come through the brush.
Delivering on campus is fun.
I have a really good time doing it.
What happens when this boss finds one delivery driver with his own ideas about what makes a good tip? A lot of people smoke pot, and they will, like, invite me to come in for a little bit.
And if I'm not very busy and I don't need to be super focused really, then I'll kind of indulge.
You do not.
Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 5x03 - Donatoâs Original air date October 11, 2013 With a home base in Columbus, Ohio, and grossing $170 million a year Donatos is one of the most lucrative pizza chains in the country.
Topping this pizza empire and its 5,000 employees is one woman.
I'm Jane Grote Abell, and I'm the chairwoman of Donatos.
I think the main difference between Donatos and other pizza companies is that we're a family.
My dad, when he was a kid, knew he wanted to go into business.
And then by the time he was 18, he had an opportunity to buy a pizza place with $1,300.
My grandpa wanted him to name it Grote because that's our last name.
And my dad just knew that "Grote Pizza" probably wasn't gonna be that great of a pizza name, so he bought the name "Donatos" which means "to give a good thing.
" My dad's philosophy is to treat others the way you want to be treated.
It's the golden rule, and we try to carry that through our stores and our bakery and everything that we do.
I was a little girl growing up behind our very first restaurant, and literally, our front yard was 25 feet behind the back of the restaurant.
My brother and my sister and I, we would help mix the dough.
We would crack the eggs for the dough.
And my mom made the lasagna and the spaghetti sauce.
And my grandma made the meatballs and the sausage.
I mean, literally, to the point where my grandma always smelled like sausage, and I thought everybody's grandma smelled like sausage.
And I remember my dad saying, "Donatos is gonna be around the world one day," "and I don't just mean selling pizza.
" "We're gonna bring our principles to work with us.
" So I worked in the restaurants all through high school, and I attended the Ohio State University.
After I graduated from Ohio State University, I interviewed and I worked in our training department.
So I've never had a job anywhere else.
It might be embarrassing, but it's true.
In 1999, we started exploring, "what are the different ways to grow?" And we got a phone call out of the blue.
McDonalds wanted to meet with us, and they wanted to buy the whole company.
So it took us a long time to decide, but we finally came to the conclusion that we would sell to McDonalds as a subsidiary of McDonalds, and we grew fast.
And it became different.
It was corporate.
It was a different company.
And then McDonald's stock, in 2003, really hit a historic low.
And so they started getting a lot of feedback that maybe they should just focus on their core brand.
So when the rumor hit the street that McDonalds was going to close Donatos, my first immediate reaction was like, "come on, dad, we've got to buy the company back.
" Are you guys hungry? I'm starving.
I've only done one of these.
When Jane pleaded to buy the company back, I felt that she embodies everything that Donatos is about.
It's part of her DNA.
Ah! You burned a pizza finally.
Yes, he burned a pizza.
Oh.
After we bought the company back, I was in charge of lots of different areas of responsibility.
And I loved going to work.
And it was my family at work.
What I lost was my purpose, my soul at home.
I had a son in college and two young daughters.
And unfortunately, I found myself in a situation where our marriage was no longer gonna last, and we needed to part ways.
When I came to the conclusion that I had to make a change, I think the hard part about that was talking to my dad about it.
I was afraid to let him down, and the pivotal point was when one day, I can remember it, in his kitchen, and I said, "I just want to be a good mom.
" So he said, "no matter what you're faced with in life," "just love your way through it.
" Have you ever worn a wig before? On Halloween.
I think it's gonna be a challenge for me to go undercover.
I'm kind of the face of the company.
It's gonna be extremely hard to disguise me.
It looks like I have a big head.
So throughout my undercover journey, I'll be posing as Cathy Cooper, a rockabilly chick competing to open up my own restaurant.
My associates have been told they're on a different reality show.
They have no idea this is actually Undercover Boss.
That looks different.
Donatos is truly still my baby and my dad's baby.
So being able to go into the store in this disguise is my chance to find out whether or not our mission is alive.
Every single restaurant we open up has an opportunity to touch lives.
And so it's a mission beyond pizza.
What if I have to blow my nose? Hi.
Oh, man.
When it's a family business, and your dad starts something and builds it to be this this great company, there's a lot at stake.
I want to make sure our family legacy is alive and well in our stores, and that we are keeping up with competition and technology.
And that will ensure that our business is around for another 50 years.
Today I'm at our campus location at the Ohio State University, and I'm gonna be working as a delivery driver.
What can I get for you today, Mark? A delivery driver is a really important part of our business.
And the reason for that is they're actually taking our product to the customer's home.
So they have to be respectful.
They have to be courteous.
They have to drive within the guidelines of the law, because they're representing Donatos out on the road.
Hi, is Aaron here? Hey, how's it going? - That's me.
- Oh, hi.
Hey, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- Are you my contestant? - I am.
I'm Cathy.
- Awesome.
I'm the delivery driver here.
I guess I should probably show you around then.
Yes.
Cathy's hot.
Cathy's good-looking.
I like her septum piercing.
I like the tats, the glasses, the black hair.
So she's got it going on.
This is our driver's station.
This is where we're gonna be taking the deliveries from.
Okay.
This is my driver's station here.
We're waiting on another driver to come in right now and get my back.
I was only in the store for just a couple of minutes.
He's talking to me about his job and what he's supposed to do.
And the manager behind him is just standing there staring at me.
Every driver's issued a bank as soon as we get rockin' and rollin', so that way you're gonna be able to make change when the customer gives you She looked at me eye-to-eye, and even with my brown contacts, I got that feeling that she was just like, "oh, yeah, I know something's going on.
" The tickets will print here where you make the food.
Once the food's printed off, we've got an individual here and a side order of breadsticks.
It makes me really anxious.
My adrenaline's going through the roof.
Will you excuse me for a minute? I feel like the walls are coming in.
Yeah, do you know where the manager went? 'Cause she's either figured me out, or she thinks something else is going on.
This is really high stakes.
Can I talk to you? Yeah.
So I feel like I only have a short period of time to make this work.
I've got to make sure that I pull this off.
Okay, I think I think you know I do.
Who I am.
Okay.
I could totally tell when you sized me up and down It was shocking.
It was shocking.
So because you know, I'm pulling you into my confidence here.
Have you told anybody at all? Yeah.
- You did? - I did.
Have you told anybody outside of the store? - No.
- Okay.
Can you do me a huge favor? I need you to play this whole competition thing up.
Thank you for calling Donatos on campus.
Aaron speaking.
Will this be a pickup or delivery? You need to get all their eyes off of me.
Okay.
And let me do the mission with Aaron.
'Cause we got a long time to go here.
Seriously, if this one thing is blown Yeah, no, I understand.
So it comes back down to you and me.
You got it? I'll try.
I'll try really hard.
I believe in you.
I know you can do it.
So you're with me, right? I'm with you.
So my plan is to go back in there and hopefully get out on the road as soon as possible.
Hi, Aaron.
Sorry about that.
Oh, hey.
I'm back.
We've actually got a couple of deliveries that are up now.
So we're just gonna go ahead and grab the ticket.
Take the bag up here.
So they put all the deliveries up here? Yeah.
Open it up, double-check it, make sure it's the right one.
And then we're just out the door.
Okay.
When we walked out of that store, I was like, "oh, thank goodness we're in this car," "and I don't think he has any idea who I am.
" I just took a deep breath, but then I was like, "I've got to stay in character.
" "Stay in character.
" When we get out there, it's gonna be fast.
We've got to grab the pizza, and we've got to get it up to the door.
Okay.
All right, so come up and watch what I do.
Okay.
You've got to run up here You run, huh? Get it up the steps.
You want to address the customer by their name and tell them the total.
Hey, what's up, Mark? How you doing? Good.
How are you? I'm pretty good.
All right, here's your pizza.
Just go ahead and double-check that.
It looks good.
All right, awesome.
It's $15.
68.
And you were gonna be paying with cash? Yep.
- All right, cool.
- Here you are.
- All right, thank you.
- Keep the change.
Awesome.
Thank you.
Appreciate it, Mark.
You have a good one.
Thanks.
I love that Aaron had a really great customer service balance with speed, and I still don't think he suspects a thing about how I really am.
All right, so I'm just gonna hop out here, then.
All right, now I'm actually gonna have you handle this one.
So here's your pizzas.
When you get in there, you're gonna want to set all that food down and make sure you don't tip it over while you're opening the bag.
Delivering pizzas was one of my favorite jobs when I was growing up.
But I've not delivered pizzas in 30 years.
All right, so I'm gonna give the customer a call again.
My phone's in my car, so Okay.
I'm gonna have to run out and grab that really quick.
Okay, I'll wait here for you.
Hi, did you order Donatos? Yes, I did.
- Hi, I'm Jane.
- Hi.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
Um Oh, my gosh.
I just said, "hi, I'm Jane," not even thinking about it.
Do you want to go ahead and check the order and make sure you have everything? Um Okay, that will be $83.
21.
Cathy's clearly never delivered a pizza in her life.
She was not very good the first time around.
She was slow.
She was very unsteady, very uneasy, clearly nervous.
Cool.
You can keep the change.
Awesome.
Thank you very much.
You're welcome.
All right, you have a good one.
I'm gonna need her to step it up with these next few deliveries, because I'm gonna get her to be the best delivery driver that she can be by the end of this night.
All right, so I'm gonna be a little harder on you this time.
I am going to time you.
So this should be a minute and a half.
Okay.
All right, so I'm starting now.
So let's run up.
Let's run up faster.
Just come through the brush.
I can't go through their garden.
Just guess it's this one.
Hi, how are you? Hi, I'm good.
I'm from Donatos.
And did you order a large pizza? I did.
Let me get your total.
It's $15.
18.
Perfect.
Keep the change.
Oh, thank you so much.
All right.
Thank you.
You have a wonderful evening and enjoy your food.
All right, now run.
I can't.
I have to go this way.
No, you've got to run through the mulch.
I know, but I can't.
Let's go.
Maybe she spent a lot of time in that garden.
All right, boom.
We're at a minute and 8 seconds.
That was good, right? That was epic.
That was actually See, I can go down the sidewalk.
That was really good.
Aaron's a perfect picture of what a delivery driver is.
He is fast.
He is nonstop.
The perfect delivery driver.
Delivering on campus is fun, though.
Like, I really I have a really good time doing it.
You can, like, encounter some really weird stuff.
Like what? A lot of people smoke pot, and they will, like, invite me to come in for a little bit.
And if I'm not very busy, and I don't need to be super focused really, then I'll kind of indulge.
You do not.
I can't think of another time I've been this disappointed.
And when you see so much hope and potential in someone, it feels like betrayal.
It's just one of the perks.
That concerns me, though, 'cause then you get back in your car and you drive, and you can't do that.
Well, it's not like I sit there and smoke for, like, 20 minutes.
Not only is it just not safe, it's illegal.
I wanted to take off my disguise and fire him right then.
A lot of people smoke pot, and they will, like, invite me to come in for a little bit.
And I'll kind of indulge.
You do not.
As Aaron is telling me that he's taking deliveries and every once and a while takes a joint someone offers to him, I want to express to him how serious this is.
And it's illegal.
And it's just not okay.
Are you against that? I am really against it.
I'm sorry.
I don't want to, like I don't want to disappoint you.
Especially you're getting behind the wheel.
But it doesn't really affect my abilities.
All right, we have to we'll talk about this more on the way back.
Ah, jeez, all right.
Let's go.
Come on.
We don't have time to chitchat.
Maybe it's not a big deal in his world, but he put a lot of people at risk.
I honestly didn't even want to get back in the car with him.
You actually did a really Should I drive back to the store? Should you drive back to the store? No.
Are you under the influence right now? No.
I don't do it often.
I got a little nervous.
Jeez, what do you think? I was just smoking in the store, and then I just went out on the road? Cathy got pretty angry with me.
Kind of lectured me like a mom.
Cathy needs to hit the bong and just chill out for a bit.
It's nothing that bad.
I think you're making it out to be, like, the devil's drug, the devil's weed.
Is it legal? Is it legal to smoke marijuana? - Yes or no.
- It's not, no.
It's not legal.
If my delivery driver did that, I would fire them.
Would you really? - Absolutely.
- Oh, wow.
Well I don't tell my bosses that I do that.
You can't tell my bosses that I do that.
Do you think if your bosses know, they would fire you? No.
Well maybe.
I don't know.
Potentially.
I'm really angry.
He jeopardized our entire company.
Not just that store, but all of our franchise partners.
He puts everybody at risk by being out on that road under the influence.
All right, let's get back in.
All right.
But he does his job very well.
He's a very good driver.
So I'm not sure what I'm gonna do.
Today I'm in Vienna, Virginia, and I'm gonna be working as an assistant manager.
After working with Aaron, who doesn't really demonstrate the values of someone that we want as part of our family, I'm really hoping today will be better.
Hi.
Are you Buffy? Hi, are you my contestant? I am.
I'm Cathy.
It's nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
Going undercover, I want to make sure that we are using the processes and the systems that my dad put in place 50 years ago so that we're doing the right things every single day in order to give our customers the best pizza.
- So you ready to get started? - I am.
All right, so Let me show you how to do this.
First thing we do is zero out our scale.
Everything we do gets weighed in here, because our company has determined what's the best, most perfect amount of sauce, cheese, and toppings so that our guests get the perfect pizza every time.
- Wow, okay.
- Okay? I think Buffy is doing a great job training me.
We cover every pizza edge to edge so that the guests can taste our toppings in every bite.
Not just showing me how to do it, but explaining why we do it.
This is your first priority back here, okay? The pizzas have to get made, because we have to get our guests satisfied.
So I'm gonna give this all to you.
- Oh, you're leaving me? - Yeah.
Just call me if you need me, okay? - Okay.
- All right, Cathy, good luck.
Thanks.
I've been making pizzas my whole life, so I'm confident about that.
Oops, I dropped one.
Cathy, you have pizza to cut.
Um You've got to come cut the pizza, okay? All right.
But as more orders started coming in, I did get flustered.
Cathy, you've got a pizza coming out to be cut.
Ah! Okay.
Ah! Oh, jeez, that's a lot of toppings.
You got any tickets for me? This is a lot of toppings.
I've got this one coming.
We need to get these going, so Okay.
Oh, I just knocked one down.
Cathy, you've got a pizza coming out to be cut.
Okay, okay, okay.
Cathy was awful at making pizzas today.
You know, it was her first day, but she was terrible at it.
I have a lot of pizzas coming out.
Okay, and these are actually timed orders.
So that's a good thing.
But this actually does bring up something.
We've got a great website, and it looks pretty, but it doesn't always function like it needs to.
So what happens? People put in specialty orders, like they don't want mushrooms on top of it, for instance.
We don't always get that instruction through our website.
Huh.
Okay.
When you have an assistant manager like Buffy who's that talented being hindered by an outdated online ordering system, that's a huge problem.
So that's one thing I will take back and make sure we talk to our I.
T.
department about.
Every day, come in with the mind-set that I'm gonna make somebody's day better, and that's what I try to, like, give everybody here.
You know what I mean? So how do you do that? You have to set the example for them and really be that, like, little Energizer bunny for your business.
I was getting teary-eyed just listening to Buffy talk.
It's almost unbelievable to walk into a store so far away from our home base, and hear the exact same mission and passion and love for the business that my dad started with 50 years ago.
So it completely blew me away.
Great job.
Let's take a break.
- You went through a lot.
- Good.
I'm tired.
- We needed a rest.
- I know.
For real.
Do you live by this Donatos? Where does your Actually, I live pretty far away.
I live about 40 miles from this store.
I don't even own the bed I sleep on.
The last two years have been a little rough for me, I was living in Augusta, Georgia.
I was the G.
M.
of a hotel there.
We decided to take a birthday party for you know, to fill up some of our banquet space and everything.
A young man, who was 19 years old, who worked for me, was watching the party that night, and this kid with a gun came up and shot, like, into the crowd and hit this kid that worked for me.
And he died right there in the lobby of the conference center.
And you know, it was it was, you know, a really big thing for me.
Not only did you know what I mean did I feel responsible for it 'cause I had taken the party.
He was 19, you know what I mean? I had to tell his mom that somebody who I was responsible for, you know, died, because of a decision I made to take this party.
Um, you know, so I couldn't I didn't want to keep my job any more, because I didn't want to be there and be reminded of it every day.
I couldn't in my head, I couldn't get over it, you know? I had some other personal things going on.
Like, my marriage was already, like, kind of rocky.
And even though we had these kids and everything, it just wasn't going right.
You know what I mean? So I looked for a job up here.
I ended up having to give up custody of my kids.
I lost everything.
I was just in a really bad place.
I was unemployed.
I didn't have my kids.
Not really knowing what I was going to do.
And then I saw the ad for Donatos, and I went ahead and sent my resume in, and it's been this amazing change for me.
I mean, like, it gave me a place where I could, like, plant and grow.
And that was the turning point for me.
People believed in me and helped me believe in myself again.
And You know.
I lost everything, and they gave me back everything.
So Wow.
Donatos has been very, very good to me.
Buffy shared with me what she's been through and the fact that she lost custody of her children.
Obviously, any mother that has children You ache in the pit of your stomach, because I could not imagine not seeing my kids.
And she didn't let it crush her spirit.
That takes a really strong person to do that.
My dad would be really, really, really proud.
Coming up Hi, welcome to Donatos.
The boss brings one of her own restaurants to a grinding halt.
Okay, I'm so sorry.
And later, the boss lays down the law with her delivery driver.
- You're upset with me? - I'm very upset.
Jane Grote Abell, the chairwoman and owner of Donatos Pizza, is a boss under cover in her own family business.
Hi, is Aaron here? - That's me.
- Oh, hi.
Her employees think she's a contestant on a reality show, hoping to win money to start her own business.
Cathy, you've got a pizza coming out to be cut.
Okay, okay, okay.
After a bump in the road A lot of people smoke pot.
And I'll kind of indulge.
You do not.
Her journey continues in Columbus, Ohio.
Today I'm back in Columbus, Ohio, and I'm gonna be working as a cashier.
$12.
58.
Working as a cashier is such an important position, because the cashier is the first impression our customers are gonna have when they walk in, and they're the last impression when our customers walk out.
Our associates have to make sure that they make the customer feel like they're guests in their own home.
And you have to have a smile, and you have to have a positive attitude all the time, even when something goes wrong.
Hello, welcome to Donatos.
How are you? I'm good.
I'm Cathy, and I'm looking for Kanisha.
Well, you found her.
Are you my contestant? - Yes I am.
- Nice to meet you.
Why don't you come back here? I can show you the register.
Okay.
Whenever you take an order, you click "add to order," and once they're done, you click "order summary.
" You tell them, "your total is $4.
69", "and it should be ready in about 14 minutes.
" Okay.
You want to try the next one all by yourself? The next customer by myself? Yes.
No worries.
I'm always right by your side.
I got your back.
I promise.
Hi, welcome to Donatos.
How can I help you? Okay.
That's the large, right? I'm sorry.
I'm training.
Okay.
So, um when I worked as a cashier, we actually wrote things down with a pen and paper.
And then you want to click "add to order.
" Oh.
Thank you.
Things have obviously changed dramatically.
Sorry.
So that makes me a little anxious.
And you give me a receipt.
Okay, I'm gonna give you a receipt.
There you go.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Hi, how are you doin' today? Hello.
May I have a large thin crust pepperoni? And I have to ask you, are those cherry blossoms on your arm? And a butterfly.
- Beautiful work.
- Thank you.
You're welcome.
Will this be for pickup or delivery? Or pickup or, yes, or here.
You got me all flustered.
I think Cathy is easily distracted.
She maybe sometimes gets overwhelmed or flustered.
There's a big line out there, so There is a big line out there? Now, you just made me nervous.
Do we have an order in for Fatasha? Tasha.
What was the last name? Fatasha.
Tasha.
I was just a little nervous for Cathy, because there was a long line there.
Um Let me get it for you right away.
Okay, I'm looking for stromboli, and I cannot find it.
Um, I'm sorry, I can't find stromboli on here.
Oh, you're fine.
She asked me for help a few times, but other than that, she kind of, like, found her way through the menu, and, you know, she fought through the rush.
So can you tell me what maybe, like, motivated you? I've been a single parent for a while, and so I've been doing waitressing and Kudos to you for being a single parent, 'cause the person I live with necessarily isn't my birth mother.
She's my great aunt, but she played both roles just like you had to.
Do you know your birth mother? My birth mother's actually incarcerated.
Wow, and how old are your brothers and sisters? My baby brother passed away.
Yeah, he was, um, he was 14, but, this is why I wear the green band.
It says "donate life.
" Because we donated his organs.
And we get letters from people that he's helped.
How did he pass away? He was playing basketball.
He passed out on the court, and he had basically, his main heart artery was blocked.
Oh, my gosh.
I mean, I think one of the reasons he had heart problems was because, basically, you know, she chose the pathway of doing drugs.
I mean, I'll be honest.
I definitely blamed her.
I think I think one of the hardest thoughts I would think like, "how could maybe, like, a mom do that do her kids?" Or "because of you, my brother is gone.
" That's a hard thing to deal with, sweetheart.
I feel overwhelmed.
The fact that this young woman has had such hardship in her life, it makes you value the upbringing that so many people do have.
I started working here right after that time, but even during that time, like, everyone, even though they didn't know me, they still kind of, like, was there for me and kind of, like, welcomed me with open arms.
Wow.
Like, I'm going to be a freshman in college.
I'm gonna major in biological sciences.
I just, I mean, I've got a bright future ahead of me, so I'm really excited.
Kanisha is a take-charge person.
I really truly admire her.
And for her to call this store her family, that's the reason for me when we said, "we have to buy the company back," "because people are counting on us," it's those examples right there.
Makes me never regret that decision.
Today I'm on the West Side of Columbus, and I'm gonna be working as an associate at our pickup window.
Years ago, when I was working in the restaurants, we didn't have the pickup window.
So it's kind of a new thing for really the pizza industry.
This store, particularly, has a very high percentage of drive-through.
So the most important thing they can do is make sure that they're greeting the guests but also making sure that order is accurate.
Hi.
I'm Cathy.
- I'm Tangee.
- Hi, Tangee.
Are you my contestant for the day? I'm your contestant.
I'll be training you on the window.
Okay.
This is our lovely, little, old computer.
We literally have to squint to look at the print on it.
Do they have new ones? At the other stores.
We haven't got updated yet.
Right off the bat, I see that the computer system at this store is a 30-year-old system.
So I need to make sure we get the new system in this store.
Does that beep mean there's a customer? Yes.
What's the name on your order? - Baker.
- Baker? So you can look it up here on last name? - Yes.
- Okay.
And then it tells you what it is? Thank you.
Have a nice evening.
And that's pretty much it.
So do you want to try and do this one, or do you want me to show you how to do it again? I would like you to show me.
I'm not ready.
My first impression of Cathy is she's not very confident.
Confidence is the key when it's coming to working in the restaurant business.
What's the name on your order? Harris.
Harris.
So you keep pulling up this screen before you go to the screen to put their name in? Yes.
So a large thin pepperoni? Yes.
Tangee's role is to train me today, and I'm kind of just standing here.
I have no idea what's going on.
How do you know that's their order? Because it has a ticket with their name on it.
Okay.
And here's your entire order.
There you go.
I have to keep asking for information, instead of her explaining it to me.
So it's frustrating me a little bit.
So it says, "thank the customer by name.
" - Yeah.
- Okay.
$3.
96 is your change.
Give me just a quick second for that, okay? You don't want to thank them by their name here? We do.
At the same time we don't, if it makes any sense.
What worries me, if Tangee were to train our new pickup window person, obviously, that person's gonna be confused.
You think you could probably do it next time? No.
Cathy's not wanting to do it.
She's not wanting to attempt to do it.
It's pretty much all just watching me do it.
How did you learn? Just watching and doing.
Really? I'm hoping she grows a pair so she can do this.
Thank you.
Have a nice day.
This is actually the easiest thing here.
The phones are a lot harder.
Good thing I don't have to be trained on anything else, huh? Yeah.
What's the name on your order? Norris.
Tangee interacts with the guests very well.
She opens the window immediately.
She checks the order to make sure it's right.
A coupon? Ooh, yay.
So I know she's capable of it, 'cause I can see her do it with the guests.
Then there you go.
Thank you.
Have a nice day.
What I'm not feeling from Tangee is a sense of warmth and family about this restaurant, and maybe she's not feeling that within.
So I was curious a little bit more about you.
Like, you don't feel like to me, like you really love what you do.
This isn't something I want to do 10, 20 years down the road.
Ah.
I want to go into veterinary medicine, and I want to be able to give back to my mother.
Why? What about your mom? About a year ago, my mom had a nasty divorce, which left us with nothing.
It's just you and your mom? Yeah.
Have to live paycheck to paycheck for both of us.
That's a lot of responsibility you have at 19.
I've had to have it since I was, like, 16.
Divorce is really hard.
And I think in relating with Tangee, it's the put on a tough exterior and maybe not always letting people get to know you because you don't want to get hurt.
About a year before the divorce, I lost my grandmother too.
She helped raise me.
She was a good lady? She really was.
I don't think Tangee knows what family really feels like.
And I want to make sure that when we have people in our store like Tangee that we have a better way to help them.
Because we believe that everyone that's part of Donatos is family.
Have a good day.
Enjoy your cheese pizza.
Coming up, the employees think they're going to decide whether or not Cathy deserves money to start her own business.
How will they react when the boss reveals her true identity? I'm the chairwoman and owner of Donatos.
You're upset with me? I'm very upset.
My week under cover has come to an end.
Cathy Cooper is finally gone, and I'm back to being Jane Grote Abell.
Today my associates have been called to a Donato's flagship restaurant.
They think they have been called here to give feedback on whether or not I deserve to win the money to start my own business.
They have no idea why they are really here.
- Hi.
- Hello.
So tell me how Cathy did.
She did okay.
She was scared.
Why do you think she was scared? She was afraid she was gonna mess up.
Do you recognize me at all? Cathy? Your voice sounds familiar.
- It does? - Yeah.
You're Jane Grote Abell.
I am.
Come again.
I'm the chairwoman and owner of Donatos.
Oh, wow, hi.
Oh.
- And I was Cathy.
- Oh, man, you were We are on Undercover Boss.
Oh, my God.
Okay.
Well, it's nice to meet you.
So, Aaron, when you told me you smoked pot on a job, I've never been so angry in my life.
That's never happened while I was working at Donatos.
You said you did it while you at Donatos working.
A lot of people smoke pot, and they will, like, invite me to come in for a little bit, and I'll kind of indulge.
Are you upset with me? I'm very upset.
I can't believe you would in your Donatos uniform Yeah.
ever make a decision to do something that's illegal.
I apologize for that.
Well, you know, I have to let you go as a delivery driver.
Really? But I want to make a deal with you, because I do like you.
You do a lot of the right things.
You are.
You're fast on your feet, and you are concerned about checking the order, and the importance of the customer, and calling them by name and engaging them.
So I'm gonna give you a second chance.
If you can take a drug test in 30 days Okay.
You can come back and work in the kitchen.
Wow, I really appreciate that.
All right, well, then we'll be in touch.
All right, great.
Jane could've fired me, and I'm glad that she's taking into account all of the positives in me, and I'm glad that she's giving me the opportunity that she's giving me.
- Don't let me down.
- I won't.
- Don't let yourself down.
- I'm not gonna let you down.
I thank her for giving me the chance that she's giving me, and I think in the long run, I'm gonna show her how much I appreciate it.
Buffy, you did an outstanding job.
Every day I come in with the mind-set that I'm gonna make somebody's day better.
Everything you did embodies who we are.
- Over the top.
- Thank you.
I heard you talk about our online ordering.
Yes, ma'am.
And how it can be cumbersome.
So I will fly you to Columbus so that you can help us make sure we've got a user-friendly system in the stores.
Oh, wow, okay, great.
Because I think you had a lot of great ideas.
Thank you.
So one other thing.
You're gonna be a general manager.
Are you kidding me? Congratulations.
Oh, my God.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
Am I allowed to get up and give you a hug? You are.
Absolutely.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
Oh, my God.
That's so amazing.
I'm excited about it.
Also, you will get a $17,000 raise.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
I don't even know what to say.
Thank you so much.
You have no idea.
Thank you.
You guys have been so good to me from the beginning, and I can't I can't even imagine that there was more, but thank you so much.
This is this is really awesome.
Thank you.
I know things have been hard.
Yes, ma'am.
And you haven't been able to see your children like you would like.
So I want to give you $40,000 so you can help send them to college.
Thank you so much.
Thank you so much.
That's amazing.
You're very welcome.
They're wonderful kids, and they're all gonna do great things.
They are.
Wow.
I'm sorry.
I also want you to know that for you personally, I want to give you $30,000 Oh, my God.
So you can have a place closer to work with your new job.
Oh, my God.
Thank you so much.
For the first time in a long time, I can just breathe.
This is this is amazing.
This is awesome.
Give me a hug.
Thank you so much.
I can't even describe, like, how much my life has just changed in the last 15 minutes.
This is absolutely overwhelming.
This is the stuff that dreams are made of.
All of my financial issues and everything that I stay up nights worrying about are just gone.
I feel like this is really gonna be the beginning of something fantastic.
Tangee, at very first, it was really hard for me to get to know you.
The past with me by experience with people, it's hard for me to come out.
And I appreciate you opening up to me personally.
And I appreciate how hard you work.
And while I was working with you on that clunky system that we have It's old.
So we're not only gonna put the new computer system in your store immediately, but we're gonna roll it out to the whole company.
Thank you.
I think it would be a really big improvement for us.
As we were in the dining room, I just I want to let you know how much I appreciate you opening up about your personal life.
You're a young lady who has faced a lot of challenges in life, and you're helping your mom, and you're working hard.
It's hard sometimes, though, with all of the stuff that you have on your shoulders, you never get a chance to be a kid, and I don't.
I want you to be a kid.
I want you to have fun.
So I would like to pay for you and your mom to take a vacation.
Do you think your mom would like it? I think she needs it more than what anybody ever would.
I think you deserve it too.
The other thing we're gonna do I would like to pay your bills and your mom's bills for one year.
I can help my mom out.
We can even be able to probably pay my tuition for me.
Well, we are actually gonna give you $10,000 to pay for your tuition to go to school.
Oh, my God.
What do you think? That's awesome.
Thank you.
I want to hug you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Oh, my God.
She changed my life.
She I'm proud of you.
I didn't think I would ever have anything like this ever happen to me.
It feels great.
It feels wonderful.
Kanisha, you are an incredible young lady.
Oh, thank you.
And you did a great job training me.
Thank you.
So one of the things you talked to me about was your brother.
Yeah.
My baby brother passed away.
This is why I wear the green band.
It says "donate life," because we donated his organs.
So I want to sell the wristbands in our stores, and we're gonna have a collection with your brother's name on it, so we can give to Donate For Life.
I'm sorry.
Okay? I'm sorry.
I know my brother would like that, and it's just kind of, like, one of the things that I'm afraid of is maybe that people will forget about him, maybe his memory, and I just feel, like, that would make it even better and bigger.
I really do appreciate that.
Well, finally, because I know that you've overcome so much, and you chose to take a really good path in life by continuing your education, I want to give you $50,000 so that you can enjoy life and really focus on your future.
I'm sorry.
I think it's just 'cause I've never had someone be so nice to me.
I really I really, really appreciate that.
Thank you.
I'm just really I'm really grateful.
- Oh, man! - Give me a hug.
That was, like, definitely the biggest surprise of my life.
You just made my life a lot easier.
Good.
Honestly, it makes me really happy.
I feel like I can really focus on school and keep striving to make my dreams come true.
This won't just affect me today or affect me working at Donatos.
It affects the rest of my life.