Undercover Boss (2010) s05e10 Episode Script
Massage Heights
Since the premiere of Undercover Boss, more than 60 bosses have given away nearly $6 million.
I have a check, $250,000.
Oh, my God.
And implemented sweeping company-wide changes As a company, we're actually gonna restore the 401.
It's a million-dollar 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.
Someone's not saying something.
Welcome to Moe's! I've had one minute of training.
If you can't do it, then you can't do it.
I know how to grow some really good weed, if you're really interested.
I'm talking, and you come back here.
"I need dipping, I need dipping.
" Y'all better chill.
Tonight, the latest boss to put it all on the line is Shane Evans Meet Tracy Reynolds.
You look creepy.
C.
O.
O.
and cofounder of Massage Heights.
Hi.
How's it going? Hi.
I've been expecting you, girl.
By going undercover Nikita? Hi.
Very nice to meet you.
- I'm a hugger.
Bring it in.
- Aww.
This no-nonsense boss will push to find the employees who keep her company running smoothly.
No, very gentle, gentle.
Oh.
How is the money here? It doesn't seem like it's worth it.
What happens when this businesswoman discovers there are more than a few kinks in the system? Do you think Massage Heights is consistent in every location? I won't say that.
If things don't pick up, I can't afford to work here.
Hit cancel.
Why is that? I don't understand.
Our computers are they're old, they're outdated.
Massage Heights came out with their own massage lotion.
It was terrible.
Find out next, on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 5x10 - Massage Heights Original air date December 13, 2013 Centered in San Antonio, Texas, and with 94 locations throughout the United States and Canada, Massage Heights is one of the biggest massage chains in north America.
Heading up this $70-million-a-year business and its 2,300 employees is one woman.
I'm Shane Evans.
I'm the C.
O.
O.
and cofounder of Massage Heights.
Okay, and what type of pressure were you looking for, light to medium or firm to deep? Massage Heights is a membership-based, therapeutic massage company.
We provide affordable, convenient, and professional therapeutic massage without the spa-like price.
In the next five years, we plan on doing 32 million massages.
Our growth projections are approximately And our next couple of years, we plan to grow to 300 locations nationwide.
We also have our own line of branded products to help the guest take the experience of Massage Heights home.
Massage Heights is just a really sexy business model.
That's why we've been so successful.
Growing up, my parents worked really hard.
They both had jobs and side businesses as well.
But they taught us the value of working hard, and we got an entrepreneurial spirit.
My parents were struggling financially, so that did make it hard to go to college.
So at that time, college just wasn't on my radar.
It wasn't important to me.
Now, it's one of my biggest regrets.
My husband and I founded Massage Heights in April of 2004, and we are truly a family business.
Hey, good morning, everyone.
How are y'all doing today? My brother Glenn is the CEO.
My husband handles our human resources.
My youngest brother Bret handles franchise development.
And then my mother Patricia is a paralegal and a senior executive assistant, so I see her every single day.
My dad, I was always close with, and, um, unfortunately, he is very ill with Parkinson's disease, and it has progressed very, very quickly.
We see him, but he's not able to carry on a conversation.
I know my dad is very proud.
I know by his smiles when we talk about business that he's very proud.
I think we're living the dream he had.
Good morning, Russell, how are you? I am absolutely embedded in everything that we do that makes Massage Heights the massage heights experience.
I want to get a meeting set up with the operations team today.
To me, Massage Heights is like my surname.
I'm Shane Evans, but I'm Massage Heights.
So right after lunch? How long are we gonna go get to school? Braydi, can you wait just I'm sorry, Russell, just a second.
Braydi, just give me a moment, okay? I'm also a full-time mom.
I don't miss out on the big things with my family, but sometimes Massage Heights takes over.
Thank you, girls, I appreciate that.
That was nice.
It's tough to balance the two things, because it's just as important to me as my family.
I need to look like - a stay-at-home mom from the midwest.
- Okay.
As a boss, I'd say I am a control freak.
I see everything.
When things are off, it drives me crazy.
Okay, is this supposed to come down right here? Yeah, it will be cut, don't worry.
Okay, okay.
The downside to being a C.
O.
O.
is not having the ability to get into the field as often as I like, and it's hard to know, as we're growing, if we're delivering a consistent guest experience each and every time.
So cute.
So not me.
Throughout my undercover journey, I'll be posing as Tracy Reynolds, a midwestern housewife from Chicago, Illinois.
Yeah, I think that's doing it.
My employees will think that they are on a hosted reality show, where aspiring entrepreneurs compete to win money to start up their own businesses.
They have no idea this is actually Undercover Boss.
Tracy Reynolds.
Oh, my God.
Meet Tracy Reynolds.
Wow.
You look creepy.
They're not gonna know who you are.
- Do you like my hair? - No.
If you see something dirty in a retreat, are you gonna freak out? Yes.
You're funny.
Thank you.
Going undercover, I am afraid of what I'm gonna find.
But I do want to fix things.
- Bye.
- All right, bye, baby.
- Love you.
- I love you too.
When things are bad, it's my responsibility.
- Bye.
- Love you! Today, I'm in Jacksonville, Florida, and I'm going to be working as a skin therapist.
Hi, Nikita? Hi.
Very nice to meet you.
- Hi.
I'm a hugger.
Bring it in.
- Aww.
Traditionally, Massage Heights has only provided massage services, but in the last six months, we've rolled out facials as well.
And I'd like to find out, you know, what's going well and what's not.
My primary duties include performing facials, the different skin care treatments.
- Here is the lovely treatment room.
- Oh, wow.
Right over here we have cleansers, and then we have our exfoliates.
Right here is the stuff that we use to help with extractions.
I really hope that Tracy loves squeezing at zits as much as I do.
I don't like extractions.
How can you not like extractions? They're my favorite part.
Ew.
Most aestheticians, myself included, like, the dirtiest girls in the world, and so it's a lot of fun for me.
I've been a picker ever since I was a little kid.
Like, you put something in front of me, if it's flaky, crusty, or scabby, I want to get at it.
Hello.
- Are you comfortable? - Yes, ma'am.
Very good.
What we're gonna do first is we're gonna start off with a pre-cleanse.
We'll just very gently massage this into her skin to prep her for her cleanse.
Mm-hmm.
Gently massage this around the four main regions of the face.
And, next, we're gonna prepare her exfoliate.
We just massage it in.
So now that we've given her a nice scrub, - we'll wrap her face up in a warm towel - Okay.
And wipe off the excess.
And, now, I'm gonna be preparing to perform a couple of extractions.
I'm not a dirty girl.
I don't like picking at things.
You take it with your fingers, and you actually push the skin apart, and then you come in together and you wiggle, and there it went.
Like we said, we push the skin apart and in.
Ah, see this is the point where for clients where it's like, I can't really tell them how much I'm enjoying it.
Yeah.
I don't see anything else that's gonna have to come out.
That actually wraps up our first facial.
Oh.
I generally don't like touching other people, so I hope Nikita doesn't expect me to be doing a facial today.
So this time, I'm gonna kind of let you take over.
Look to me for help, but for the most part, I'm gonna kind of gauge how much you were paying attention to my actions from the last facial.
And you'll be okay.
You'll be okay.
Okay.
I I can't do this on my own.
How are you feeling, Jessica? - Wonderful.
- Are you comfortable? - Yes, thank you.
- Okay.
We're just gonna put this here to protect your hairline.
Sorry, did I just pull your hair? Mm-hmm.
You already did that cheek, so you don't want to overstimulate her.
- Go ahead and treat the other side.
- Okay, okay.
Oops, I'm so sorry, my ring just turned around.
- Did I scratch you? - Mm-hmm.
Yeah, go ahead and remove your ring.
I'm gonna.
And use your sponges to remove the rest of the cleanser.
Seeing Tracy working on Jessica, I was like, oh, oh, I want to get in there and take over.
- Gentle.
- Sorry.
I get really nervous around the eyes.
I could see Tracy's hands shaking, and that's not good.
We need to have confidence.
Wrap her forehead.
- No, be very gentle, gentle.
- Oh.
Switch spots with me really quick.
Okay.
All right.
I am not convinced after today that Tracy is prepared to run a business.
Jessica, have a great afternoon.
- We really appreciate having you in today.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you so much.
- Very nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
Good-bye.
Giving a facial is really, really difficult.
It gave me an appreciation for what our skin therapists do.
So we're gonna geo things cleaned up.
Do you have to do a lot of cleaning and stuff too? When you don't have an appointment, then you're in the break room.
Yeah, doing this, or Doing this, cleaning.
We keep the laundry going.
We had two appointments today, and when I'm sitting back here and I see my schedule on the computer looking empty like that, I'm not getting paid.
Yeah.
Oh, what do you mean you're not getting paid? We get paid a commission per treatment.
Okay.
How do you do this as for a living? I actually I have a second job waiting tables at a sports bar.
- Mm-hmm.
- I don't want to have two jobs.
- I want to focus on this.
- Yeah.
I have about $25,000 in student loans from going to skin care school.
Yeah.
Those bills aren't getting paid.
Yeah, that's a bummer.
You can't live in survival mode for so long before it totally breaks you down.
Right.
If things don't pick up and my books aren't full, then I can't afford to work here.
- I love this company.
- You do? So I don't want to have to leave.
I'd hate to lose someone like Nikita.
She's a quality employee.
I want more people like her.
Unfortunately, with the number of appointments that she's getting currently, she can't afford to do that.
If we were able to get more people through the door, she wouldn't have to work all those extra hours as a waitress.
- These are the products that the therapists use.
- Okay.
Coming up, Tracy sniffs out one retreat that doesn't come up smelling like roses.
The Massage Heights massage lotion was terrible.
And later I was told I would have training, but then my training just kind of went out the door.
Hey, good morning, everyone.
Shane Evans, the C.
O.
O.
and cofounder of Massage Heights is a boss undercover in her own company.
Nikita? Hi.
Her employees think she's a contestant on a reality show, hoping to win money to start her own business.
How can you not like extractions? They're my favorite part.
Ew.
After a less than luxurious start, her journey continues.
Today, I'm in Rockville, Maryland, and I'm going to be working with a massage therapist.
I'm not sure to what degree.
I've never given a massage before, and I'm very nervous.
- Hi.
- Hey, nice to meet you.
- Very nice to meet you.
- I'm Colin.
I'm a massage therapist here at the retreat, and you'll be working with me today.
Okay, great.
Before we get started, I have something for you here.
Okay.
Tracy reminds me of a character from Edward Scissorhands, with the wild hair and the glasses, kooky glasses, she definitely stands out.
All right, our first client is here.
Just want to make sure she's okay.
Okay.
I'm the owner of a multi, multimillion-dollar massage company, and I've never massaged anyone before.
This is a crazy experience.
You just use your palm.
You can use your knuckles lightly.
- Everybody's different.
- Oh.
- Have you had a massage before? - Yes.
You have? Do you get them often? - No, no.
- No? When was the last one you had? Probably last year.
Is someone treating you today? - Yes.
- Is that right? Tracy, usually with the clients, um, you know, talking is fine, but I usually let them, if they lead you into conversation, you know, that's cool, but Okay.
I'm sorry.
Tracy is talking entirely too much.
You have to get the fingers here.
My hands always hurt from texting and emailing and things.
Ah, I think we can talk about that a little later.
Try to focus.
She needs to tone it down.
They're here to relax.
So you want to come and try? He says, you know, "it's your turn," and I'm like, "what?" All right, going down or going up? Ah, start going down.
Okay, from You want to set the pace, just a little slower.
- Just relax, yeah.
- Okay.
Oh, my gosh, I have my hands on someone.
I know I don't do this very good.
I can tell.
You're a little stiff, but You gotta relax.
So far, Tracy is doing so-so.
She could do much better.
Hi.
How are you? I'm Tracy.
I'm Ashley.
- Ashley, nice to meet you.
- Jamal, nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
Where's the other massage therapist? You're up.
Tracy seemed very shocked that I told her that she was going to be doing the massage.
She actually tried to push it off on another therapist.
I'm not ready.
Come on, let's try it out.
Ashley and Jamal, come on back this way.
- You'll be fine, you'll be fine.
- Oh, gosh.
- Jamal, I guess you're with me.
- Yup.
Yup.
I'm not sure what she expected.
You know, she came to learn for the competition.
Go grab your bottle there.
So the best way to learn to swim is to be thrown in with the sharks.
I was thinking, as I started massaging, like, oh, my gosh, I'm massaging I'm massaging, I'm actually massaging.
I'm massaging.
Oh, sorry.
That feel okay, Jamal? Yep.
This poor guy.
He's probably thinking, "this is terrible," "this is a terrible massage," but he keeps on telling me it's okay, so I'm good with that.
So y'all enjoy the rest of your day.
Definitely come back and see us.
Of course.
Most definitely.
I definitely will, thank you.
Tracy definitely needs a little more practice, but she adjusted well and finished off pretty good.
We have to hurry up.
We have about five minutes till the next client's here.
So that's what makes it difficult, because we don't just massage, you know.
Working with Colin was eye-opening.
This guy is working.
He's busting his tail.
We have a pregnancy massage.
In addition to massages, they have to set up their rooms.
They have to take the used linens off and replace them with new ones.
I don't know how they actually do this in five minutes.
Okay, the client isn't here just yet, - but they're on their way.
- Okay.
So it's a lot of hustle and bustle when it's busy.
Because when it's back-to-back, the time you lose, the client loses that time, because you can't extend their session.
- Right, and then they're mad.
- Exactly.
And that probably affects your paycheck, because they don't want to leave a tip, I'm guessing.
So how is the money here? The money isn't like, honestly, I probably won't be here too much longer - 'cause it doesn't seem like it's worth it.
- Uh-huh.
Kind of here just for the experience, you know? I want to open my business too.
Do you want to open a massage business? Yeah.
I came here today, to this retreat, because it has the highest employee retention in the company.
So I thought I'd come and find out something great.
Honestly, almost everybody here has a second job.
Do you have a second job? I have a second, third, and fourth.
Do you really? But instead, I'm hearing about a guy who's not busy enough.
He has three or four jobs to maintain his lifestyle.
It upsets me.
How long have you been doing massage? I'm actually just learning.
Am I doing better for you? You're not doing anything therapeutic yet.
Oh, jeez, I'm in trouble.
This time, you just get in there and use your body.
We don't try to muscle it.
TJ, what brought you to Massage Heights? Colin.
Colin did? So you followed him from somewhere else? - Yes.
- Yeah? So I guess if Colin were to leave, you would leave, huh? - That's a pretty good bet.
- Yeah? Retaining massage therapists is the most important thing, because our business is all about consistency.
We have to have happy employees to have happy guests.
So if they're unhappy, it's something I need to address.
So that's all you do is work? All I do is work.
Well, mostly work.
I spend a lot of time with my niece and nephew.
They're why I work so hard.
Your niece and nephew? Why are your niece and nephew so important to you? In 2006, my sister my older sister, she was actually killed, and and, uh Back in 2006, we both were working security, and I remember this particular night, the supervisor called me.
He said, "something happened, get to the office," and She was shot, and she was killed.
Turned out, it was the kids' father.
Oh, my gosh.
So That's terrible.
Yeah, so So are you taking care of those kids now? Yeah.
I've been there since they were born, so I've always been around.
I'm not going anywhere until they're adults.
Yeah.
Money doesn't really excite me, but I want to be successful, so the kids will be good.
Talking to Colin, I realized how precious life is and how precious family is.
I can't imagine anything like that happening.
I'd be heartbroken.
He's heartbroken, and then he still comes to work and heals people that are hurting.
That's very noble.
I think that might do it for the break.
Let's go back in and see what's going on.
All right.
Today, I'm in Houston, Texas, and I'll be working with a lifestyle consultant.
We're gonna do that at 10:00? - 10:00.
- All right.
Lifestyle consultant is responsible for all aspects of the front end of the business.
Consistency is so important to me, because the guests must know what to expect from Massage Heights as a brand.
- Hi.
- How's it going? - Hi, are you Kenny? - I am.
- Is it Tracy? - Hi.
I'm Tracy.
I've been expecting you, girl.
- Very nice to meet you today.
- You're so cute.
I'm looking forward to working with you.
Basically, I'm a lifestyle consultant.
- Okay.
- Aka, front desk.
- Oh, awesome.
- Basically, we are the muscle.
So, girl, you gonna be the muscle.
Let me see your muscles.
How you doing? That's better get it, girl.
- All right, so - This sounds exciting.
When Tracy walked in, I saw Peggy Bundy meets New Jersey housewife meets I don't know, like, she was cute, but I thought she kind of looked a little older to be in this competition.
Sorry I took so long.
Hey, look at you.
No problem.
- So we're about to restock.
- Okay.
As part of a lifestyle consultant, basically, we have to deal with products as well as restocking those products, and we've got to organize this, because it's looking like a hot mess in here.
Look at what I have set up over there, and basically you just scan through it real fast, and then come over here and try and mimic it.
Oh, jeez, really? There's not that many products up there.
All of our retail items have a place.
We have a schematic for everything.
It's something that we spend a lot of time and money on doing so that the stores will look really, really great to the guest.
Do you have some sort of diagram or something? That's gonna be your diagram.
Because over there I have it set up correctly.
So basically, look at that real fast, and come back over here and I want you to set that up, basically, for your client.
Wash milk spray, butter.
Salt, wash, milk, spray, butter.
Salt, wash, milk, spray, butter.
Milk, spray, butter.
Okay, butter goes here.
Okay, so I just want to see because I would do this different than you have it, because my retail background tells me that you always move the products to the closest part of the shelf.
What you see over there is what we want.
That shelf doesn't look very good to me.
Honey, don't try it.
Girl, we got ten minutes, all you got to do is make it presentable.
- Okay? - Okay.
I'm about my business, so you might be a diva with me, but I'm a bigger diva, and I will handle you.
Look one more time.
Salt, wash, milk, spray, butter.
Let me take a look at what you got over here.
Let's see.
Okay, you've used everything.
Yes.
Girl, you went to work.
You did good.
Give me one, girl.
Okay, great, yeah.
I'm not real sure why he would not have known that there is a schematic, but I would like to figure that out.
Okay, so these are the products that the therapists use.
Okay.
Immediately, I notice that the Massage Heights products are not the products that are being used.
Biofreeze, have you ever had that before? Ah That's what they're using on our clients.
In every Massage Heights retreat, they're supposed to be using a branded massage lotion that we created at corporate.
So that's a really good product? - Yeah, this is a good product.
- Okay.
The point is to provide a consistent guest experience.
At this retreat, they're not using that lotion, and I'm really concerned about that.
I need to find out who is ordering the wrong lotion and why.
Do you influence the product, maybe, that you use? Yes, we do.
Massage Heights came out with their own massage lotion for us back here Uh-huh.
It was terrible.
Yes.
This is the case of the massage therapists really running the show, dictating what is gonna happen, and what the consumer experience will be in my brand.
This is my worst nightmare.
Massage Heights came out with their own massage lotion for us back here.
Uh-huh.
It was terrible.
- It didn't - You couldn't do deep tissue.
- You cannot.
- Oh.
- It was just - And it smelled weird.
It smelled weird, yeah.
The smell was bad.
This is actually for doing massage, actual massage.
The body butters and stuff like that, it's just like a body lotion.
It's completely different.
We all hated it, and we all said, "we're not gonna use this.
" This is a big issue for me.
This is a huge deal.
So how do you make your money? I make hourly and off commission.
Okay, so your commissions are on the memberships.
- And they're also on - Mm-hmm.
As well as retail.
On the retail.
So how do you sell product if they're not experiencing it? That's a good one.
It is a little more difficult selling this one, as well as this body butter, because, like you say, - they're not experiencing that.
- Yeah.
The lotion differentiates us from other brands.
It is also what helps us sell retail.
It's a branding opportunity.
It's something for the guests to take home, to get them thinking about Massage Heights later.
Do you think that the Massage Heights is consistent in every location? I won't say that.
From what the clients tell me, we're not.
I'm struggling a little bit, trying to hold in my inner boss.
Consistency is key in growing a brand.
The brand recognition has to be there, and part of the branding is the actual product used.
Is everything good for you? Yeah, yeah, I'm learning a lot.
Today, I'm in Bradenton, Florida, and I'm going to be working as a retreat director.
The retreat director is the glue of the retreat.
They hold everything together.
- Hi.
- Hello.
I'm looking for Tori.
All righty.
I woke up this morning, and I started missing everyone.
I'm ready to get back home, but I went undercover to find the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I've learned a ton, but I can't stop now.
Hi, there.
- Hi, Tori? - Yes.
- I'm Tracy, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
I'm the retreat director here at University Park.
I am in charge of the back of the house and the front of the house.
I'm just making sure that everything is running smoothly for the business.
Okay.
So we have just a couple minutes before shift change.
We'll have nine new therapists coming in.
So we just need to wash the hot stones.
- Okay, do we need to do all of these, or - Yes.
Do you do this as a retreat director? If we need to.
If you have to do it, you do it.
If we're behind, we're behind.
We need to fill the lotion.
I'm gonna pull out the lotion for you.
All of these bottles have to be filled up.
What I noticed, as I'm filling lotion bottles, is that all of the Heights At Work massage lotions are being used.
At least they're using the right lotion.
Some places haven't been using our Heights At Work lotion, and I'm so happy this place is.
Messy.
Just go ahead and wipe it off.
We've got to move as fast as we can.
The therapists are going to be here - Oops! - oh in just a couple of minutes.
I'm sorry.
Tracy just seemed to be moving at her own speed.
It didn't really seem to click in her mind that, "okay, I need to speed up," it was turtle speed.
We ran out of time.
We need to go up to the front and start checking in our new guests and checking out the old ones, okay? Being enthusiastic, happy to see them.
We're inviting them into our home.
So let me go ahead and show you really fast how to check someone out.
How was everything? - Good.
- Good.
All right, let's get you checked out.
So you want to do this for me? Go to sale.
- Hit cancel.
- Okay.
Why is that? I don't understand.
A lot of pop-ups.
I don't know.
Try hitting okay.
This happened the other morning, where we could not get our computer system to open at all.
So this is where I will have to go check in the office.
I just have to reset all of the computers.
I struggled today with the computer systems.
The computer keeps crashing, and the guests are not happy.
Trying to manage the hardware problems, rebooting the computers, and also manage the guests that are coming out is a challenge.
Our computers, they're old, they're outdated.
These computers need an update.
I see why they're struggling.
Welcome to my office.
I'm wondering what kind of training I know you train people, but what kind of training did you get? When I accepted the position, I was told I would have training, but then my training just kind of went out the door.
So I had to just constantly be emailing other retreat directors, "hey, I'm so sorry" "to bother you, but I don't know what I'm doing.
" And at this point, I have so many questions.
This is upsetting to me.
If we want to see consistency, our retreat directors, the most important people, have got to receive the proper training.
She's been successful.
How much more successful would she be if she got the type of training she's supposed to have? Hey, Tori, how are you? - Good, how are you? - Surprise.
- This is my boyfriend Alex.
- Oh.
Tori's boyfriend Alex came and got us for lunch.
This is a good opportunity to get to know Tori and her boyfriend Alex a little better.
How's your guys' day going so far? I think it's good.
Good.
So how long have you been dating? About three years, almost three years.
About three years? You gonna get married? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah? - Absolutely.
Oh, that's really sweet.
The whole reason we came here to Florida in the first place was because of me.
Because I had been with Massage Heights for almost two years.
You were with Massage Heights? Yes, I was previously, and that's how Tori got the job at Massage Heights, because I kind of introduced her to the company.
Was it really hard when he left the company? Um, yeah.
It was weird.
So you left your entire family to come here.
Yeah, I did.
Tell me about your family.
Um She's got a huge family, and she's very, very, very, very close to them.
And you miss them? I'm very close to my mom.
Um, she had breast cancer three years ago, so she's been in remission the last two years.
Um, but she just continuously is having health problems.
She had heart surgery just a couple months ago.
How old is your mom? She's young.
She's 43.
Yeah, so she's gone through a lot.
Oh, wow.
That's really young.
Mm-hmm.
It's just hard.
It's hard to be away.
We talk about it every day, you know, if we had the opportunity to go back to Michigan, we would absolutely do it.
The thing that got me the most was that Tori's 21, the age of my oldest daughter, and her mother is my age.
It just kind of is a wake-up.
You know? Anything can happen to you at any time in your life.
Family is irreplaceable.
Sometimes I'll look back and think I've spent a lot of time building this company and not nurturing my relationships.
And that's sad, because you lose time.
Time is lost.
You can't go back.
So it was a pleasure meeting you.
Yes, very nice to meet you too.
Awesome.
I wish you the best of luck.
- Thank you.
Let's go.
- Awesome.
The employees think they're going to decide whether or not Shane deserves money to start her own business.
How will they react when the boss reveals her true identity? I'm not really Tracy.
What? You got me.
My week undercover has come to an end.
My undercover experience is finally over.
Tracy Reynolds is finally gone, and I'm back to being Shane Evans.
I'm at a Zen Garden in Washington, D.
C.
All of the people that I worked with think that they have been called here to give feedback on whether or not I deserve to move on to the next round of the competition.
They have no idea why they are really here.
- Hello.
- Hi.
How are you? Good.
How are you? - Doing well, thank you.
- Good.
What did you think about your time with Tracy? She surprised me.
I said, "girl, you better get it.
" So I hope she gets her little business.
Do you recognize me? Now I do Tracy? Should I recognize you? Are you Tracy? I was Tracy.
Yes, you were.
But I'm not really Tracy.
What? My real name is Shane Evans, and I am the cofounder and Chief Operating Officer of Massage Heights.
Good to meet you.
Okay.
You're on Undercover Boss.
Oh, wow.
Are you serious? I'm very serious.
You got me.
I'm shocked.
Kenny, you have a spunky personality.
Thank you.
Girl, you went to work.
- You did good.
- Okay.
- Give me one, girl.
- Great, yeah.
All right.
You have high energy.
- I loved that about you when I met you.
- Thank you.
I saw some things going wrong, though, in the retreat too, not just with you, that location is not using the Massage Heights specified operational lotions, and I think there's a possibility that we failed in education of that product line.
You know what? How do you make your money? - With the product.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, you get commissions, right, on retail sales? - Yeah.
And membership sales, right? So we're gonna send a crew out, and we're gonna give the front and back end some education.
That's because of you.
Girl, if I could scream right now, I would.
- You can scream.
- Whoo! It's crazy.
All right, well, Kenny, something else I would like to do is make your life better in the long run.
Aww.
So tell me about you.
My biggest thing right now is finances.
Right now, I'm not in school.
What would you go to school for? - Child psychology.
- Really? Yes, ma'am.
Why is that? I was actually, at one point in my life, in child protective services, and I had to start seeing a therapist.
He didn't have passion for it, he didn't care about me, and it could've helped me in the long run.
I want to help kids, because I didn't have someone help me.
I feel terrible for you for that.
Thank you.
And I have a very normal family life.
Um, I always have.
I'm very, very fortunate in that sense.
One of the things that I don't have is a college education.
Wow.
I'd like to give you $10,000 towards a college fund so that you can become the child psychologist that you want to be.
- And - Sorry.
It's okay.
Give me a hug.
Thank you.
I'm in shock.
Like, I'm literally overwhelmed.
But it's a good overwhelmed.
Now, give me the high five.
I know I asked for oh, my God.
This has taught me that there is a blessing for you, you just have to make sure to reach it.
And there's gonna be, you know, of course, struggles, but you can't let those struggles define you as a person.
There's so many things out there for me, and I'm proud, and I'm overwhelmed, and I'm just thankful.
Tori, I was so impressed with you.
You were absolutely amazing.
All right, let's get you checked out.
Hit cancel.
You guys had a lot of computer problems that day.
We always do.
Yeah, I'm going to invest in a brand-new computer system for the retreat.
That will be so helpful.
Also, the job that you did was without the formalized training that a retreat director typically gets.
So what I'm gonna do is bring you to corporate headquarters, and you're gonna learn to be the retreat director that you want to be.
Awesome.
That will make a huge difference for myself and for my team, I think, as well.
You guys both left your families to go from Michigan to Florida for a job.
How much do you miss them? A lot.
I was heartbroken when you told me about your mom.
Family is everything.
I'll tell you what, this week has been very hard.
I miss my children, I miss my husband, I miss my mom.
I would do anything to be back with my family.
Well, I've talked to your franchisee, and he would allow you to transfer back to the Massage Heights in Michigan.
That's amazing.
And I'd like to pay for your expenses for both of you to get back home.
And I'm going to ensure that you have a job at Massage Heights when you get there.
In addition to that, I'm going to give you $10,000 to help start a new life.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
It makes my stomach, you know, get all twisted, to think that this really just happened to me.
It's amazing.
I want to give you a hug.
Thank you.
It will be nice to be back with our families.
I can't wait to call my mom.
I know she's she's just gonna cry.
She wanted me to have the experience, but I know she's gonna be even more proud that I'm coming home and that I can still stay with the company.
Nikita, one of the things that impressed me about you most is that you're great with customers.
You're very patient.
Thank you so much.
We're gonna start off with a pre-cleanse.
We'll just very gently massage this into her skin to prep her for her cleanse.
You know, I was willing to do anything and everything that I needed to do to know more about skin therapy.
This is a new service for us.
And what I saw with you was you only had two appointments that day, and I know you can't make a living on that.
And I think that that might be a systemic problem.
So we are going to design an integrated marketing plan that will focus on bringing skin therapy prospects into the retreat.
We're going to spend $20,000 Wow.
To create some more opportunities for you to make money.
I think that would be a huge help.
It would be an enormous help.
There's one other thing.
We talked about the fact that you're trying to make ends meet.
How much was that student loan? - They're about $25,000.
- Okay.
I'm gonna take care of that for you.
Are you serious? I'm giving you $25,000 Oh, my God! To pay off your student loan.
Are you serious? I don't think I'm going to be able to keep it together right now.
That's a huge burden off my shoulders.
I ignore phone calls every day.
Thank you so much, Shane.
Thank you so much.
You're very welcome.
It doesn't even feel real right now.
Oh, my God, I told you I'm a hugger.
I want to hug you right now.
Come here.
When she said she was gonna help me with my student loans, for a second, I think my heart stopped beating.
Personally, this just makes me believe.
You know, when I was really about ready to call it a day and say that it wasn't worth it, it makes me so happy that I held on.
Colin, you gave me insight that I didn't have, because you were brutally honest.
You were you had no clue that it was me.
No, I didn't.
Probably won't be here too much longer.
It doesn't seem like it's worth it.
Uh-huh.
Almost everybody here has a second job.
Do you have a second job? I have a second, third, and fourth.
Do you really? You're a wonderful massage therapist.
I'm devastated to hear that you are thinking about leaving.
I want to help you because I know that if you understand the Massage Heights brand and what the business model was all about, that you're going to thrive as a massage therapist with us.
And so what I'd like to do is give you the same training that our franchisees get and teach you how to run a business.
Okay.
Our franchisees pay over $40,000 for this training, and I'd like to give it to you, all expenses paid.
I really appreciate that.
My real hope is that you're gonna want to stay with us, I'll be honest.
Because we need people like you.
You can't teach passion.
You have passion.
Thank you.
You shared with me a story about your sister.
You take care of her young children.
It's the hardest thing I've ever had to go through.
Honestly, if I didn't have the kids, I don't know what I would do.
They keep you going.
They keep me going.
Every time I think about it, it's like it just happened.
Well, learning about you has inspired us to start the Heights Family Fund, to help all of our employees across the nation with any hardships that they may have.
You're going to be the first recipient, and I'm going to give you $30,000.
I don't know what to say, other than thank you.
I think you deserve it.
I know you deserve it.
I thought I was just helping out a contestant.
I want to do backflips right now.
I want to give you a hug.
Give me a hug, then, come on, I'm a hugger.
Aww.
Thank you.
I feel like I'm floating a little bit.
Um, this is just unreal.
Nobody has ever given me even $1,000 before, let alone $30,000.
I am I'm shocked.
You know what? Good things happen to good people.
And you're good people.
I can't believe I didn't know that Well, I look forward to seeing you in the next few weeks.
I feel very grateful and very blessed about the opportunity to go to corporate for the training.
I'm an extremely happy massage therapist right now.
Hello? Hey, mom, guess what.
What? You wouldn't believe what happened today.
What? I am on Undercover Boss, and the person I was training is actually a cofounder for the Massage Heights.
- Really? - Yeah.
Here's the kicker, she gave me $30,000 cash.
Oh, my goodness.
$30,000? $30,000.
You know, it just goes to show, dreams do come true.
I've been working so hard, you know, just waiting for a breakthrough.
Oh, my goodness.
That's how I feel.
What?
I have a check, $250,000.
Oh, my God.
And implemented sweeping company-wide changes As a company, we're actually gonna restore the 401.
It's a million-dollar 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.
Someone's not saying something.
Welcome to Moe's! I've had one minute of training.
If you can't do it, then you can't do it.
I know how to grow some really good weed, if you're really interested.
I'm talking, and you come back here.
"I need dipping, I need dipping.
" Y'all better chill.
Tonight, the latest boss to put it all on the line is Shane Evans Meet Tracy Reynolds.
You look creepy.
C.
O.
O.
and cofounder of Massage Heights.
Hi.
How's it going? Hi.
I've been expecting you, girl.
By going undercover Nikita? Hi.
Very nice to meet you.
- I'm a hugger.
Bring it in.
- Aww.
This no-nonsense boss will push to find the employees who keep her company running smoothly.
No, very gentle, gentle.
Oh.
How is the money here? It doesn't seem like it's worth it.
What happens when this businesswoman discovers there are more than a few kinks in the system? Do you think Massage Heights is consistent in every location? I won't say that.
If things don't pick up, I can't afford to work here.
Hit cancel.
Why is that? I don't understand.
Our computers are they're old, they're outdated.
Massage Heights came out with their own massage lotion.
It was terrible.
Find out next, on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 5x10 - Massage Heights Original air date December 13, 2013 Centered in San Antonio, Texas, and with 94 locations throughout the United States and Canada, Massage Heights is one of the biggest massage chains in north America.
Heading up this $70-million-a-year business and its 2,300 employees is one woman.
I'm Shane Evans.
I'm the C.
O.
O.
and cofounder of Massage Heights.
Okay, and what type of pressure were you looking for, light to medium or firm to deep? Massage Heights is a membership-based, therapeutic massage company.
We provide affordable, convenient, and professional therapeutic massage without the spa-like price.
In the next five years, we plan on doing 32 million massages.
Our growth projections are approximately And our next couple of years, we plan to grow to 300 locations nationwide.
We also have our own line of branded products to help the guest take the experience of Massage Heights home.
Massage Heights is just a really sexy business model.
That's why we've been so successful.
Growing up, my parents worked really hard.
They both had jobs and side businesses as well.
But they taught us the value of working hard, and we got an entrepreneurial spirit.
My parents were struggling financially, so that did make it hard to go to college.
So at that time, college just wasn't on my radar.
It wasn't important to me.
Now, it's one of my biggest regrets.
My husband and I founded Massage Heights in April of 2004, and we are truly a family business.
Hey, good morning, everyone.
How are y'all doing today? My brother Glenn is the CEO.
My husband handles our human resources.
My youngest brother Bret handles franchise development.
And then my mother Patricia is a paralegal and a senior executive assistant, so I see her every single day.
My dad, I was always close with, and, um, unfortunately, he is very ill with Parkinson's disease, and it has progressed very, very quickly.
We see him, but he's not able to carry on a conversation.
I know my dad is very proud.
I know by his smiles when we talk about business that he's very proud.
I think we're living the dream he had.
Good morning, Russell, how are you? I am absolutely embedded in everything that we do that makes Massage Heights the massage heights experience.
I want to get a meeting set up with the operations team today.
To me, Massage Heights is like my surname.
I'm Shane Evans, but I'm Massage Heights.
So right after lunch? How long are we gonna go get to school? Braydi, can you wait just I'm sorry, Russell, just a second.
Braydi, just give me a moment, okay? I'm also a full-time mom.
I don't miss out on the big things with my family, but sometimes Massage Heights takes over.
Thank you, girls, I appreciate that.
That was nice.
It's tough to balance the two things, because it's just as important to me as my family.
I need to look like - a stay-at-home mom from the midwest.
- Okay.
As a boss, I'd say I am a control freak.
I see everything.
When things are off, it drives me crazy.
Okay, is this supposed to come down right here? Yeah, it will be cut, don't worry.
Okay, okay.
The downside to being a C.
O.
O.
is not having the ability to get into the field as often as I like, and it's hard to know, as we're growing, if we're delivering a consistent guest experience each and every time.
So cute.
So not me.
Throughout my undercover journey, I'll be posing as Tracy Reynolds, a midwestern housewife from Chicago, Illinois.
Yeah, I think that's doing it.
My employees will think that they are on a hosted reality show, where aspiring entrepreneurs compete to win money to start up their own businesses.
They have no idea this is actually Undercover Boss.
Tracy Reynolds.
Oh, my God.
Meet Tracy Reynolds.
Wow.
You look creepy.
They're not gonna know who you are.
- Do you like my hair? - No.
If you see something dirty in a retreat, are you gonna freak out? Yes.
You're funny.
Thank you.
Going undercover, I am afraid of what I'm gonna find.
But I do want to fix things.
- Bye.
- All right, bye, baby.
- Love you.
- I love you too.
When things are bad, it's my responsibility.
- Bye.
- Love you! Today, I'm in Jacksonville, Florida, and I'm going to be working as a skin therapist.
Hi, Nikita? Hi.
Very nice to meet you.
- Hi.
I'm a hugger.
Bring it in.
- Aww.
Traditionally, Massage Heights has only provided massage services, but in the last six months, we've rolled out facials as well.
And I'd like to find out, you know, what's going well and what's not.
My primary duties include performing facials, the different skin care treatments.
- Here is the lovely treatment room.
- Oh, wow.
Right over here we have cleansers, and then we have our exfoliates.
Right here is the stuff that we use to help with extractions.
I really hope that Tracy loves squeezing at zits as much as I do.
I don't like extractions.
How can you not like extractions? They're my favorite part.
Ew.
Most aestheticians, myself included, like, the dirtiest girls in the world, and so it's a lot of fun for me.
I've been a picker ever since I was a little kid.
Like, you put something in front of me, if it's flaky, crusty, or scabby, I want to get at it.
Hello.
- Are you comfortable? - Yes, ma'am.
Very good.
What we're gonna do first is we're gonna start off with a pre-cleanse.
We'll just very gently massage this into her skin to prep her for her cleanse.
Mm-hmm.
Gently massage this around the four main regions of the face.
And, next, we're gonna prepare her exfoliate.
We just massage it in.
So now that we've given her a nice scrub, - we'll wrap her face up in a warm towel - Okay.
And wipe off the excess.
And, now, I'm gonna be preparing to perform a couple of extractions.
I'm not a dirty girl.
I don't like picking at things.
You take it with your fingers, and you actually push the skin apart, and then you come in together and you wiggle, and there it went.
Like we said, we push the skin apart and in.
Ah, see this is the point where for clients where it's like, I can't really tell them how much I'm enjoying it.
Yeah.
I don't see anything else that's gonna have to come out.
That actually wraps up our first facial.
Oh.
I generally don't like touching other people, so I hope Nikita doesn't expect me to be doing a facial today.
So this time, I'm gonna kind of let you take over.
Look to me for help, but for the most part, I'm gonna kind of gauge how much you were paying attention to my actions from the last facial.
And you'll be okay.
You'll be okay.
Okay.
I I can't do this on my own.
How are you feeling, Jessica? - Wonderful.
- Are you comfortable? - Yes, thank you.
- Okay.
We're just gonna put this here to protect your hairline.
Sorry, did I just pull your hair? Mm-hmm.
You already did that cheek, so you don't want to overstimulate her.
- Go ahead and treat the other side.
- Okay, okay.
Oops, I'm so sorry, my ring just turned around.
- Did I scratch you? - Mm-hmm.
Yeah, go ahead and remove your ring.
I'm gonna.
And use your sponges to remove the rest of the cleanser.
Seeing Tracy working on Jessica, I was like, oh, oh, I want to get in there and take over.
- Gentle.
- Sorry.
I get really nervous around the eyes.
I could see Tracy's hands shaking, and that's not good.
We need to have confidence.
Wrap her forehead.
- No, be very gentle, gentle.
- Oh.
Switch spots with me really quick.
Okay.
All right.
I am not convinced after today that Tracy is prepared to run a business.
Jessica, have a great afternoon.
- We really appreciate having you in today.
- Thank you so much.
- Thank you so much.
- Very nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
Good-bye.
Giving a facial is really, really difficult.
It gave me an appreciation for what our skin therapists do.
So we're gonna geo things cleaned up.
Do you have to do a lot of cleaning and stuff too? When you don't have an appointment, then you're in the break room.
Yeah, doing this, or Doing this, cleaning.
We keep the laundry going.
We had two appointments today, and when I'm sitting back here and I see my schedule on the computer looking empty like that, I'm not getting paid.
Yeah.
Oh, what do you mean you're not getting paid? We get paid a commission per treatment.
Okay.
How do you do this as for a living? I actually I have a second job waiting tables at a sports bar.
- Mm-hmm.
- I don't want to have two jobs.
- I want to focus on this.
- Yeah.
I have about $25,000 in student loans from going to skin care school.
Yeah.
Those bills aren't getting paid.
Yeah, that's a bummer.
You can't live in survival mode for so long before it totally breaks you down.
Right.
If things don't pick up and my books aren't full, then I can't afford to work here.
- I love this company.
- You do? So I don't want to have to leave.
I'd hate to lose someone like Nikita.
She's a quality employee.
I want more people like her.
Unfortunately, with the number of appointments that she's getting currently, she can't afford to do that.
If we were able to get more people through the door, she wouldn't have to work all those extra hours as a waitress.
- These are the products that the therapists use.
- Okay.
Coming up, Tracy sniffs out one retreat that doesn't come up smelling like roses.
The Massage Heights massage lotion was terrible.
And later I was told I would have training, but then my training just kind of went out the door.
Hey, good morning, everyone.
Shane Evans, the C.
O.
O.
and cofounder of Massage Heights is a boss undercover in her own company.
Nikita? Hi.
Her employees think she's a contestant on a reality show, hoping to win money to start her own business.
How can you not like extractions? They're my favorite part.
Ew.
After a less than luxurious start, her journey continues.
Today, I'm in Rockville, Maryland, and I'm going to be working with a massage therapist.
I'm not sure to what degree.
I've never given a massage before, and I'm very nervous.
- Hi.
- Hey, nice to meet you.
- Very nice to meet you.
- I'm Colin.
I'm a massage therapist here at the retreat, and you'll be working with me today.
Okay, great.
Before we get started, I have something for you here.
Okay.
Tracy reminds me of a character from Edward Scissorhands, with the wild hair and the glasses, kooky glasses, she definitely stands out.
All right, our first client is here.
Just want to make sure she's okay.
Okay.
I'm the owner of a multi, multimillion-dollar massage company, and I've never massaged anyone before.
This is a crazy experience.
You just use your palm.
You can use your knuckles lightly.
- Everybody's different.
- Oh.
- Have you had a massage before? - Yes.
You have? Do you get them often? - No, no.
- No? When was the last one you had? Probably last year.
Is someone treating you today? - Yes.
- Is that right? Tracy, usually with the clients, um, you know, talking is fine, but I usually let them, if they lead you into conversation, you know, that's cool, but Okay.
I'm sorry.
Tracy is talking entirely too much.
You have to get the fingers here.
My hands always hurt from texting and emailing and things.
Ah, I think we can talk about that a little later.
Try to focus.
She needs to tone it down.
They're here to relax.
So you want to come and try? He says, you know, "it's your turn," and I'm like, "what?" All right, going down or going up? Ah, start going down.
Okay, from You want to set the pace, just a little slower.
- Just relax, yeah.
- Okay.
Oh, my gosh, I have my hands on someone.
I know I don't do this very good.
I can tell.
You're a little stiff, but You gotta relax.
So far, Tracy is doing so-so.
She could do much better.
Hi.
How are you? I'm Tracy.
I'm Ashley.
- Ashley, nice to meet you.
- Jamal, nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.
Where's the other massage therapist? You're up.
Tracy seemed very shocked that I told her that she was going to be doing the massage.
She actually tried to push it off on another therapist.
I'm not ready.
Come on, let's try it out.
Ashley and Jamal, come on back this way.
- You'll be fine, you'll be fine.
- Oh, gosh.
- Jamal, I guess you're with me.
- Yup.
Yup.
I'm not sure what she expected.
You know, she came to learn for the competition.
Go grab your bottle there.
So the best way to learn to swim is to be thrown in with the sharks.
I was thinking, as I started massaging, like, oh, my gosh, I'm massaging I'm massaging, I'm actually massaging.
I'm massaging.
Oh, sorry.
That feel okay, Jamal? Yep.
This poor guy.
He's probably thinking, "this is terrible," "this is a terrible massage," but he keeps on telling me it's okay, so I'm good with that.
So y'all enjoy the rest of your day.
Definitely come back and see us.
Of course.
Most definitely.
I definitely will, thank you.
Tracy definitely needs a little more practice, but she adjusted well and finished off pretty good.
We have to hurry up.
We have about five minutes till the next client's here.
So that's what makes it difficult, because we don't just massage, you know.
Working with Colin was eye-opening.
This guy is working.
He's busting his tail.
We have a pregnancy massage.
In addition to massages, they have to set up their rooms.
They have to take the used linens off and replace them with new ones.
I don't know how they actually do this in five minutes.
Okay, the client isn't here just yet, - but they're on their way.
- Okay.
So it's a lot of hustle and bustle when it's busy.
Because when it's back-to-back, the time you lose, the client loses that time, because you can't extend their session.
- Right, and then they're mad.
- Exactly.
And that probably affects your paycheck, because they don't want to leave a tip, I'm guessing.
So how is the money here? The money isn't like, honestly, I probably won't be here too much longer - 'cause it doesn't seem like it's worth it.
- Uh-huh.
Kind of here just for the experience, you know? I want to open my business too.
Do you want to open a massage business? Yeah.
I came here today, to this retreat, because it has the highest employee retention in the company.
So I thought I'd come and find out something great.
Honestly, almost everybody here has a second job.
Do you have a second job? I have a second, third, and fourth.
Do you really? But instead, I'm hearing about a guy who's not busy enough.
He has three or four jobs to maintain his lifestyle.
It upsets me.
How long have you been doing massage? I'm actually just learning.
Am I doing better for you? You're not doing anything therapeutic yet.
Oh, jeez, I'm in trouble.
This time, you just get in there and use your body.
We don't try to muscle it.
TJ, what brought you to Massage Heights? Colin.
Colin did? So you followed him from somewhere else? - Yes.
- Yeah? So I guess if Colin were to leave, you would leave, huh? - That's a pretty good bet.
- Yeah? Retaining massage therapists is the most important thing, because our business is all about consistency.
We have to have happy employees to have happy guests.
So if they're unhappy, it's something I need to address.
So that's all you do is work? All I do is work.
Well, mostly work.
I spend a lot of time with my niece and nephew.
They're why I work so hard.
Your niece and nephew? Why are your niece and nephew so important to you? In 2006, my sister my older sister, she was actually killed, and and, uh Back in 2006, we both were working security, and I remember this particular night, the supervisor called me.
He said, "something happened, get to the office," and She was shot, and she was killed.
Turned out, it was the kids' father.
Oh, my gosh.
So That's terrible.
Yeah, so So are you taking care of those kids now? Yeah.
I've been there since they were born, so I've always been around.
I'm not going anywhere until they're adults.
Yeah.
Money doesn't really excite me, but I want to be successful, so the kids will be good.
Talking to Colin, I realized how precious life is and how precious family is.
I can't imagine anything like that happening.
I'd be heartbroken.
He's heartbroken, and then he still comes to work and heals people that are hurting.
That's very noble.
I think that might do it for the break.
Let's go back in and see what's going on.
All right.
Today, I'm in Houston, Texas, and I'll be working with a lifestyle consultant.
We're gonna do that at 10:00? - 10:00.
- All right.
Lifestyle consultant is responsible for all aspects of the front end of the business.
Consistency is so important to me, because the guests must know what to expect from Massage Heights as a brand.
- Hi.
- How's it going? - Hi, are you Kenny? - I am.
- Is it Tracy? - Hi.
I'm Tracy.
I've been expecting you, girl.
- Very nice to meet you today.
- You're so cute.
I'm looking forward to working with you.
Basically, I'm a lifestyle consultant.
- Okay.
- Aka, front desk.
- Oh, awesome.
- Basically, we are the muscle.
So, girl, you gonna be the muscle.
Let me see your muscles.
How you doing? That's better get it, girl.
- All right, so - This sounds exciting.
When Tracy walked in, I saw Peggy Bundy meets New Jersey housewife meets I don't know, like, she was cute, but I thought she kind of looked a little older to be in this competition.
Sorry I took so long.
Hey, look at you.
No problem.
- So we're about to restock.
- Okay.
As part of a lifestyle consultant, basically, we have to deal with products as well as restocking those products, and we've got to organize this, because it's looking like a hot mess in here.
Look at what I have set up over there, and basically you just scan through it real fast, and then come over here and try and mimic it.
Oh, jeez, really? There's not that many products up there.
All of our retail items have a place.
We have a schematic for everything.
It's something that we spend a lot of time and money on doing so that the stores will look really, really great to the guest.
Do you have some sort of diagram or something? That's gonna be your diagram.
Because over there I have it set up correctly.
So basically, look at that real fast, and come back over here and I want you to set that up, basically, for your client.
Wash milk spray, butter.
Salt, wash, milk, spray, butter.
Salt, wash, milk, spray, butter.
Milk, spray, butter.
Okay, butter goes here.
Okay, so I just want to see because I would do this different than you have it, because my retail background tells me that you always move the products to the closest part of the shelf.
What you see over there is what we want.
That shelf doesn't look very good to me.
Honey, don't try it.
Girl, we got ten minutes, all you got to do is make it presentable.
- Okay? - Okay.
I'm about my business, so you might be a diva with me, but I'm a bigger diva, and I will handle you.
Look one more time.
Salt, wash, milk, spray, butter.
Let me take a look at what you got over here.
Let's see.
Okay, you've used everything.
Yes.
Girl, you went to work.
You did good.
Give me one, girl.
Okay, great, yeah.
I'm not real sure why he would not have known that there is a schematic, but I would like to figure that out.
Okay, so these are the products that the therapists use.
Okay.
Immediately, I notice that the Massage Heights products are not the products that are being used.
Biofreeze, have you ever had that before? Ah That's what they're using on our clients.
In every Massage Heights retreat, they're supposed to be using a branded massage lotion that we created at corporate.
So that's a really good product? - Yeah, this is a good product.
- Okay.
The point is to provide a consistent guest experience.
At this retreat, they're not using that lotion, and I'm really concerned about that.
I need to find out who is ordering the wrong lotion and why.
Do you influence the product, maybe, that you use? Yes, we do.
Massage Heights came out with their own massage lotion for us back here Uh-huh.
It was terrible.
Yes.
This is the case of the massage therapists really running the show, dictating what is gonna happen, and what the consumer experience will be in my brand.
This is my worst nightmare.
Massage Heights came out with their own massage lotion for us back here.
Uh-huh.
It was terrible.
- It didn't - You couldn't do deep tissue.
- You cannot.
- Oh.
- It was just - And it smelled weird.
It smelled weird, yeah.
The smell was bad.
This is actually for doing massage, actual massage.
The body butters and stuff like that, it's just like a body lotion.
It's completely different.
We all hated it, and we all said, "we're not gonna use this.
" This is a big issue for me.
This is a huge deal.
So how do you make your money? I make hourly and off commission.
Okay, so your commissions are on the memberships.
- And they're also on - Mm-hmm.
As well as retail.
On the retail.
So how do you sell product if they're not experiencing it? That's a good one.
It is a little more difficult selling this one, as well as this body butter, because, like you say, - they're not experiencing that.
- Yeah.
The lotion differentiates us from other brands.
It is also what helps us sell retail.
It's a branding opportunity.
It's something for the guests to take home, to get them thinking about Massage Heights later.
Do you think that the Massage Heights is consistent in every location? I won't say that.
From what the clients tell me, we're not.
I'm struggling a little bit, trying to hold in my inner boss.
Consistency is key in growing a brand.
The brand recognition has to be there, and part of the branding is the actual product used.
Is everything good for you? Yeah, yeah, I'm learning a lot.
Today, I'm in Bradenton, Florida, and I'm going to be working as a retreat director.
The retreat director is the glue of the retreat.
They hold everything together.
- Hi.
- Hello.
I'm looking for Tori.
All righty.
I woke up this morning, and I started missing everyone.
I'm ready to get back home, but I went undercover to find the good, the bad, and the ugly.
I've learned a ton, but I can't stop now.
Hi, there.
- Hi, Tori? - Yes.
- I'm Tracy, nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
I'm the retreat director here at University Park.
I am in charge of the back of the house and the front of the house.
I'm just making sure that everything is running smoothly for the business.
Okay.
So we have just a couple minutes before shift change.
We'll have nine new therapists coming in.
So we just need to wash the hot stones.
- Okay, do we need to do all of these, or - Yes.
Do you do this as a retreat director? If we need to.
If you have to do it, you do it.
If we're behind, we're behind.
We need to fill the lotion.
I'm gonna pull out the lotion for you.
All of these bottles have to be filled up.
What I noticed, as I'm filling lotion bottles, is that all of the Heights At Work massage lotions are being used.
At least they're using the right lotion.
Some places haven't been using our Heights At Work lotion, and I'm so happy this place is.
Messy.
Just go ahead and wipe it off.
We've got to move as fast as we can.
The therapists are going to be here - Oops! - oh in just a couple of minutes.
I'm sorry.
Tracy just seemed to be moving at her own speed.
It didn't really seem to click in her mind that, "okay, I need to speed up," it was turtle speed.
We ran out of time.
We need to go up to the front and start checking in our new guests and checking out the old ones, okay? Being enthusiastic, happy to see them.
We're inviting them into our home.
So let me go ahead and show you really fast how to check someone out.
How was everything? - Good.
- Good.
All right, let's get you checked out.
So you want to do this for me? Go to sale.
- Hit cancel.
- Okay.
Why is that? I don't understand.
A lot of pop-ups.
I don't know.
Try hitting okay.
This happened the other morning, where we could not get our computer system to open at all.
So this is where I will have to go check in the office.
I just have to reset all of the computers.
I struggled today with the computer systems.
The computer keeps crashing, and the guests are not happy.
Trying to manage the hardware problems, rebooting the computers, and also manage the guests that are coming out is a challenge.
Our computers, they're old, they're outdated.
These computers need an update.
I see why they're struggling.
Welcome to my office.
I'm wondering what kind of training I know you train people, but what kind of training did you get? When I accepted the position, I was told I would have training, but then my training just kind of went out the door.
So I had to just constantly be emailing other retreat directors, "hey, I'm so sorry" "to bother you, but I don't know what I'm doing.
" And at this point, I have so many questions.
This is upsetting to me.
If we want to see consistency, our retreat directors, the most important people, have got to receive the proper training.
She's been successful.
How much more successful would she be if she got the type of training she's supposed to have? Hey, Tori, how are you? - Good, how are you? - Surprise.
- This is my boyfriend Alex.
- Oh.
Tori's boyfriend Alex came and got us for lunch.
This is a good opportunity to get to know Tori and her boyfriend Alex a little better.
How's your guys' day going so far? I think it's good.
Good.
So how long have you been dating? About three years, almost three years.
About three years? You gonna get married? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
- Yeah? - Absolutely.
Oh, that's really sweet.
The whole reason we came here to Florida in the first place was because of me.
Because I had been with Massage Heights for almost two years.
You were with Massage Heights? Yes, I was previously, and that's how Tori got the job at Massage Heights, because I kind of introduced her to the company.
Was it really hard when he left the company? Um, yeah.
It was weird.
So you left your entire family to come here.
Yeah, I did.
Tell me about your family.
Um She's got a huge family, and she's very, very, very, very close to them.
And you miss them? I'm very close to my mom.
Um, she had breast cancer three years ago, so she's been in remission the last two years.
Um, but she just continuously is having health problems.
She had heart surgery just a couple months ago.
How old is your mom? She's young.
She's 43.
Yeah, so she's gone through a lot.
Oh, wow.
That's really young.
Mm-hmm.
It's just hard.
It's hard to be away.
We talk about it every day, you know, if we had the opportunity to go back to Michigan, we would absolutely do it.
The thing that got me the most was that Tori's 21, the age of my oldest daughter, and her mother is my age.
It just kind of is a wake-up.
You know? Anything can happen to you at any time in your life.
Family is irreplaceable.
Sometimes I'll look back and think I've spent a lot of time building this company and not nurturing my relationships.
And that's sad, because you lose time.
Time is lost.
You can't go back.
So it was a pleasure meeting you.
Yes, very nice to meet you too.
Awesome.
I wish you the best of luck.
- Thank you.
Let's go.
- Awesome.
The employees think they're going to decide whether or not Shane deserves money to start her own business.
How will they react when the boss reveals her true identity? I'm not really Tracy.
What? You got me.
My week undercover has come to an end.
My undercover experience is finally over.
Tracy Reynolds is finally gone, and I'm back to being Shane Evans.
I'm at a Zen Garden in Washington, D.
C.
All of the people that I worked with think that they have been called here to give feedback on whether or not I deserve to move on to the next round of the competition.
They have no idea why they are really here.
- Hello.
- Hi.
How are you? Good.
How are you? - Doing well, thank you.
- Good.
What did you think about your time with Tracy? She surprised me.
I said, "girl, you better get it.
" So I hope she gets her little business.
Do you recognize me? Now I do Tracy? Should I recognize you? Are you Tracy? I was Tracy.
Yes, you were.
But I'm not really Tracy.
What? My real name is Shane Evans, and I am the cofounder and Chief Operating Officer of Massage Heights.
Good to meet you.
Okay.
You're on Undercover Boss.
Oh, wow.
Are you serious? I'm very serious.
You got me.
I'm shocked.
Kenny, you have a spunky personality.
Thank you.
Girl, you went to work.
- You did good.
- Okay.
- Give me one, girl.
- Great, yeah.
All right.
You have high energy.
- I loved that about you when I met you.
- Thank you.
I saw some things going wrong, though, in the retreat too, not just with you, that location is not using the Massage Heights specified operational lotions, and I think there's a possibility that we failed in education of that product line.
You know what? How do you make your money? - With the product.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, you get commissions, right, on retail sales? - Yeah.
And membership sales, right? So we're gonna send a crew out, and we're gonna give the front and back end some education.
That's because of you.
Girl, if I could scream right now, I would.
- You can scream.
- Whoo! It's crazy.
All right, well, Kenny, something else I would like to do is make your life better in the long run.
Aww.
So tell me about you.
My biggest thing right now is finances.
Right now, I'm not in school.
What would you go to school for? - Child psychology.
- Really? Yes, ma'am.
Why is that? I was actually, at one point in my life, in child protective services, and I had to start seeing a therapist.
He didn't have passion for it, he didn't care about me, and it could've helped me in the long run.
I want to help kids, because I didn't have someone help me.
I feel terrible for you for that.
Thank you.
And I have a very normal family life.
Um, I always have.
I'm very, very fortunate in that sense.
One of the things that I don't have is a college education.
Wow.
I'd like to give you $10,000 towards a college fund so that you can become the child psychologist that you want to be.
- And - Sorry.
It's okay.
Give me a hug.
Thank you.
I'm in shock.
Like, I'm literally overwhelmed.
But it's a good overwhelmed.
Now, give me the high five.
I know I asked for oh, my God.
This has taught me that there is a blessing for you, you just have to make sure to reach it.
And there's gonna be, you know, of course, struggles, but you can't let those struggles define you as a person.
There's so many things out there for me, and I'm proud, and I'm overwhelmed, and I'm just thankful.
Tori, I was so impressed with you.
You were absolutely amazing.
All right, let's get you checked out.
Hit cancel.
You guys had a lot of computer problems that day.
We always do.
Yeah, I'm going to invest in a brand-new computer system for the retreat.
That will be so helpful.
Also, the job that you did was without the formalized training that a retreat director typically gets.
So what I'm gonna do is bring you to corporate headquarters, and you're gonna learn to be the retreat director that you want to be.
Awesome.
That will make a huge difference for myself and for my team, I think, as well.
You guys both left your families to go from Michigan to Florida for a job.
How much do you miss them? A lot.
I was heartbroken when you told me about your mom.
Family is everything.
I'll tell you what, this week has been very hard.
I miss my children, I miss my husband, I miss my mom.
I would do anything to be back with my family.
Well, I've talked to your franchisee, and he would allow you to transfer back to the Massage Heights in Michigan.
That's amazing.
And I'd like to pay for your expenses for both of you to get back home.
And I'm going to ensure that you have a job at Massage Heights when you get there.
In addition to that, I'm going to give you $10,000 to help start a new life.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
It makes my stomach, you know, get all twisted, to think that this really just happened to me.
It's amazing.
I want to give you a hug.
Thank you.
It will be nice to be back with our families.
I can't wait to call my mom.
I know she's she's just gonna cry.
She wanted me to have the experience, but I know she's gonna be even more proud that I'm coming home and that I can still stay with the company.
Nikita, one of the things that impressed me about you most is that you're great with customers.
You're very patient.
Thank you so much.
We're gonna start off with a pre-cleanse.
We'll just very gently massage this into her skin to prep her for her cleanse.
You know, I was willing to do anything and everything that I needed to do to know more about skin therapy.
This is a new service for us.
And what I saw with you was you only had two appointments that day, and I know you can't make a living on that.
And I think that that might be a systemic problem.
So we are going to design an integrated marketing plan that will focus on bringing skin therapy prospects into the retreat.
We're going to spend $20,000 Wow.
To create some more opportunities for you to make money.
I think that would be a huge help.
It would be an enormous help.
There's one other thing.
We talked about the fact that you're trying to make ends meet.
How much was that student loan? - They're about $25,000.
- Okay.
I'm gonna take care of that for you.
Are you serious? I'm giving you $25,000 Oh, my God! To pay off your student loan.
Are you serious? I don't think I'm going to be able to keep it together right now.
That's a huge burden off my shoulders.
I ignore phone calls every day.
Thank you so much, Shane.
Thank you so much.
You're very welcome.
It doesn't even feel real right now.
Oh, my God, I told you I'm a hugger.
I want to hug you right now.
Come here.
When she said she was gonna help me with my student loans, for a second, I think my heart stopped beating.
Personally, this just makes me believe.
You know, when I was really about ready to call it a day and say that it wasn't worth it, it makes me so happy that I held on.
Colin, you gave me insight that I didn't have, because you were brutally honest.
You were you had no clue that it was me.
No, I didn't.
Probably won't be here too much longer.
It doesn't seem like it's worth it.
Uh-huh.
Almost everybody here has a second job.
Do you have a second job? I have a second, third, and fourth.
Do you really? You're a wonderful massage therapist.
I'm devastated to hear that you are thinking about leaving.
I want to help you because I know that if you understand the Massage Heights brand and what the business model was all about, that you're going to thrive as a massage therapist with us.
And so what I'd like to do is give you the same training that our franchisees get and teach you how to run a business.
Okay.
Our franchisees pay over $40,000 for this training, and I'd like to give it to you, all expenses paid.
I really appreciate that.
My real hope is that you're gonna want to stay with us, I'll be honest.
Because we need people like you.
You can't teach passion.
You have passion.
Thank you.
You shared with me a story about your sister.
You take care of her young children.
It's the hardest thing I've ever had to go through.
Honestly, if I didn't have the kids, I don't know what I would do.
They keep you going.
They keep me going.
Every time I think about it, it's like it just happened.
Well, learning about you has inspired us to start the Heights Family Fund, to help all of our employees across the nation with any hardships that they may have.
You're going to be the first recipient, and I'm going to give you $30,000.
I don't know what to say, other than thank you.
I think you deserve it.
I know you deserve it.
I thought I was just helping out a contestant.
I want to do backflips right now.
I want to give you a hug.
Give me a hug, then, come on, I'm a hugger.
Aww.
Thank you.
I feel like I'm floating a little bit.
Um, this is just unreal.
Nobody has ever given me even $1,000 before, let alone $30,000.
I am I'm shocked.
You know what? Good things happen to good people.
And you're good people.
I can't believe I didn't know that Well, I look forward to seeing you in the next few weeks.
I feel very grateful and very blessed about the opportunity to go to corporate for the training.
I'm an extremely happy massage therapist right now.
Hello? Hey, mom, guess what.
What? You wouldn't believe what happened today.
What? I am on Undercover Boss, and the person I was training is actually a cofounder for the Massage Heights.
- Really? - Yeah.
Here's the kicker, she gave me $30,000 cash.
Oh, my goodness.
$30,000? $30,000.
You know, it just goes to show, dreams do come true.
I've been working so hard, you know, just waiting for a breakthrough.
Oh, my goodness.
That's how I feel.
What?