Undercover Boss (2010) s06e05 Episode Script
Phenix Salon INC.
Since premiering to nearly 40 million viewers in 2010, more than 70 bosses Ow! My God! have posed as subjects on a fake show to get honest feedback from their employees.
All right.
It's been shocking.
A lot of people smoke pot.
It's been challenging.
It's not the homeowner's fault that I get paid peanuts.
But it's inspired them to change their employees' lives forever.
I've decided to invest around $3 million because of you.
Thank you.
For real? Like, this is real.
Without a doubt.
I am going to give you your own store.
Yay! Probably the best thing somebody ever did for me.
I have a check for $250,000.
Oh, my God.
Tonight, the latest boss to take on this challenge is Gina Rivera Who would you rather be married to? Gina.
Bring her back, please.
the president and founder of Phenix Salon Suites, a fast-growing, innovative salon franchise.
By going undercover We're gonna learn how to install a weave.
All right.
this former hairstylist will have her skills put to the test.
- Get it.
- Ow! It poked me.
We're gonna have poking.
You can do it.
I'm gonna just fix this for a second.
Wish I could see what this looked like right now.
Uh, no, you wouldn't want to.
And what will happen Communication, it sucks here.
It's terrible.
when things take a turn for the worse.
Ashley's gonna be helping me with your toes today.
Okay, awesome.
So That's right.
Are you ready? Get a grip on your blade.
You rush through it, they could be scarred for life.
Okay.
Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Phenix Salon Suites is one of the fastest-growing franchises in America.
This unique business has more than 50 locations, and generates $25 million a year in revenue.
Keeping this innovative company on the cutting edge is one woman.
My name is Gina Rivera, and I am co-founder and president of Phenix Salon Suites.
Phenix Salon Suites, how it's operated is that a salon professional can walk in, and they actually rent an actual suite, and it is their own business.
We don't just offer suites to hairstylists.
We have nail techs, we have massage therapy, we supply all of the equipment, and they pay us a weekly rent, and that's where we make our money.
Hey, Gina, the renderings of the new building just came in.
Oh, good.
Me and my husband, Jason, started Phenix Salon Suites in 2007.
I don't think I like that color, so kind of keep that lighter.
Okay.
I have been a stylist for 25 years, and I actually was working in a salon, and one day, Jason said, "There's a salon for sale.
Would you like to buy it?" My dream was always to have my own business, so about two weeks later, we opened up Phenix Salon.
We named it after my son, Phenix.
It just took off.
As of right now, we have 57 locations.
We are projected to be at 100 locations by the end of the year, and within five years, we will be at 500 locations.
You know, I love what I do.
I'm passionate about what I do, and I just feel really blessed.
My family's been in the hair industry since 1929.
Since I was seven years old, I was in my parents' salon, and we would sweep hair, and as I got older, I would shampoo for my dad.
My mother actually did hair as well, and we just had the most incredible relationship.
One day, just a couple years ago, she wasn't feeling good.
My dad said, "It's not good.
" It was stage four pancreatic cancer, and we were told, and she was told that she was gonna lose her life.
Jason and I had decided to open up our home to my dad and my mom, and she actually passed away in our home.
She taught us so much strength through her sickness that it taught me that it's not what you get dealt with in life, it's how you handle it.
Hey, Gene, how you doin', girl? Good.
This is what we're gonna use right here, huh? My father is 72 years old, and he still lives with us, does hair actively till this day.
Okay.
Dad, thanks for coming.
Well, who else would do this, huh? I want to go undercover because if we're gonna open up 50 more stores by the end of the year, I need to know what we can improve on and what we're doing right, too.
I feel like I look like mom in the '60s.
That's crazy, huh? While going undercover, I will be posing as Ashley, a married mother of two, competing to win a one-year apprenticeship with a celebrity stylist.
My salon professionals will have no idea that's it's Undercover Boss.
Oh.
You gotta do all this.
I know.
Hey, guys, what are we gonna do for dinner? Oh, my God.
Oh, my gosh.
Do you think I'm ready? I was like, "Who's that?" Yeah, you definitely don't look like a hair expert.
Definitely.
Who would you rather be married to? Gina.
Bring her back, please.
All right, guys, I gotta go.
We are a young company, and this is a very critical time for us, so we have to make sure that everything is working properly in order for us to keep growing.
Be careful.
Bye-ya.
See ya.
Today I'm in Boca Raton, Florida, and I will be working as a barber.
Barbering is a huge growth opportunity.
It's a growing trend, and I think having barbers that are coming into our locations now is just gonna make us that much better and grow that much faster.
Michele? - Hi.
- Hi.
I'm Ashley.
Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- All right.
Wow.
Yeah, you like it, right? Yeah, this is my little cabin, 'cause I deal with men, and been a barber for 20 years, so Well, here's our pride and joy right here.
I'm Chris.
This is Chris.
This is Ashley.
- Hi, cutie.
How are you? - I'm good.
And we're gonna go ahead and do the fade haircut on him.
I'm hoping you're familiar with the clippers and the different levels and stuff like that, correct? Yes.
All right, so we're gonna be blending the sides up.
I have never barbered before, but I have been a stylist for 25 years, so I'm not really worried.
Now, you see how the line's going like this? So what you're gonna do is kind of just keep bringing it.
But I start down here.
Okay, well, you're gonna do Well, you don't need to do that, okay? Well, hold this in the hand, and then you're just gonna hold his head.
There you go, perfect.
Okay, now, don't go higher than the line.
Keep it even.
Don't have it crooked.
Michele is so extremely meticulous and a perfectionist.
Okay, you went way too high up there, you see? Um, uh, I'm gonna just fix this for a second.
Even with her instructions, I was really screwing up his hair.
I wish I could see what this looked like right now.
Uh, no, you don't want to.
Okay, when you do it All right, I'm gonna actually hold you, and I'm gonna give you the exact stroke that you need for all of it.
It was absolutely 100% obvious that Ashley has never done a fade before.
All right, thank you.
So now, we're gonna do a straight razor shave, and it's a straight blade.
There is no protection on it, so it's definitely an art.
It's a skill, and you have to be able to master it.
Hey, Mike, how are you? Hey.
Knowing that I was gonna be doing a straight razor cut on someone's face, absolutely just made me want to throw up.
Breathe, because I'm gonna walk you through this.
So now we're gonna get one of our hot towels.
The part that's bent this way is going to go underneath his nose.
Oh, okay.
I'm gonna have to breathe.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm covering your mouth.
Yeah, it's okay.
Right.
There you go.
No, that's just fine.
Go ahead and pat that in.
Now, the next step is actually the blade work.
Okay.
Oh, my gosh, my stress level is through the roof right now.
I think my blood pressure has gone up by 200 points.
You're gonna go with the way the hair is going, okay? Okay.
Don't rush through it.
This is no joke.
You rush through it, they could be scarred for life.
Oh.
Get a grip on your blade.
This is the time you cannot make any mistakes.
- Okay.
- Ever.
Hold it like this, and you're just gonna go small.
Okay.
I wanted to absolutely faint.
Okay, now, we're gonna take this.
Okay.
Remember, you're gonna take this.
Okay.
I have never done a straight razor shave before in my life, and my stress level is through the roof right now.
Don't be scared.
Go down at an angle.
Keep going.
Oh, I'm getting close to the neck.
That's okay.
You're fine.
I was definitely a little bit nervous at first.
I'm gonna put a little bit of wet on there.
You're actually doing a pretty damn decent job.
But, surprisingly, I though Ashley did really well.
I was kind of impressed.
Look how good you did.
Like, seriously, woman.
I think you nailed it, kid.
I was so relieved when it was over, and I just have never been so happy to be done in my life, and that he's still alive.
So do you have children? - I have four.
- Wow.
I do have four.
It's a handful for sure.
And, you know, going through a divorce with them.
It's really, really difficult, but the thing about it is if I don't do this, then how am I gonna pay for the things that they want? My son Donovan, he's in band, and he absolutely loves it, but it comes with a cost to it, because then you're like, "Buddy, I gotta work tonight.
I'm sorry.
I'm not gonna get to your concert.
" or, "I'm not gonna do this.
" - You're so strong.
- It's tough.
I mean, my kids struggle with tons of stuff.
My one son, Sky, actually has JRA.
Oh, what is that? That's a rheumatoid arthritis.
It attacks the immune system.
You know, and they give him that estimate, like, "Oh, you're gonna be completely blind and in a wheelchair by the time you're 21.
" So he struggles with that thought process every day.
That must be so hard for you to work and have kids with You know, if I'm sitting there kind of like, "Man, you know, he's got this.
" And I take it down, he's gonna feed right off my vibe, and he's gonna be like, "Mom looks like she's upset about this, so that means it's true.
" Every setback, you have to have a positive follow-through.
Michele is such an amazing woman and an amazing mother that has a lot of struggles, and she's still down there, and she's still working.
I absolutely could fill all of my stores with people like Michele.
Well, let's go ahead and clean up our mess that we made.
I am in Las Vegas, Nevada.
I will be a nail tech today.
Las Vegas is a great market.
This is actually the third location that we have here, but this location is only 70% full, so I want to see what's going on in there and figure out how we can get those empty suites filled.
- G? - Yes? Hi.
I'm Ashley.
Hey! Oh, my gosh.
Finally, I get to meet you.
Come on back here.
I got a little gift for you.
You're good to go now.
All right.
This is a lot of stuff.
My goodness.
Ashley was probably a little bit overwhelmed coming into my room.
You bring 'em, I'll bling 'em.
She'll take a little bit of encouraging to be fat and sassy like me.
This is such a neat place.
Do you like it here? I love it.
I love it.
It's like owning your own salon without owning your own salon.
No overhead, you know.
What's up, G? Hi, I'm Ashley.
Oh, hi! Nice to meet you.
Ashley's gonna be helping me with your toes today.
Okay, awesome.
So It's all right.
Great, okay.
So let's get started.
I just was about ready to die.
Oh, girl.
If something's jacked up, you got to fix it.
Feet can be creepy.
Gel polish is like working with normal polish.
And we're gonna just tap, tap, tap, tap.
And then we'll push it in.
Are you ready? You ready for this? Okay.
I'm gonna take this opportunity to go to the rest room.
Okay.
I'll be right back.
All I kept thinking is, where have these feet been today? And I have to touch them.
This will definitely take practice.
Do you want to do a little bit there? Sorry.
I wish that Ashley would be a little more assertive.
Ooh! You know, you got to get in there and do it.
I don't quite have that tapping thing down.
She's just a little bit too timid for this big ol' bulldog.
Keep goin' you got it.
I just swallowed some.
How we doin'? You all done? I think so.
Okay, see this right here, how it's got a bald spot? You won't let your clients leave like that, right? Yeah.
I did not even realize how hard bling art is.
As long as they leave with perfection, you're good.
G is just such a great example.
She takes pride in what she does, she knows what she wants, and if it's not good, you'll have to redo it.
Fabulous.
- We'll see you next time.
- Okay.
- Nice to meet you.
- Bye.
Guess what we get to go do? We get to go have lunch.
- Oh, yes.
- Are you starving? I am.
Are you? I'm starving.
Let's do it.
Okay.
So I was noticing some of the empty suites.
I mean, is that hard? I mean Yes.
The owner, he's from New York, so he comes every now and then.
Does it worry you? Yeah, I talked with the owner, and let him know that I was concerned, you know, that this place may be shutting down.
I just I love it here, so This location is struggling.
Not having, you know, the owners here, that can be a huge problem.
We just need to reach out to the owners about some better ways that we can market and get these empty suites filled.
So how do you feel about today? I feel good and excited and everything, so I'm so amazed by you.
How long have you been doing this? Since 2007.
- I worked in the casino.
- Okay.
Slots, for 15 years, and so, you know, I was changing careers, and it took me two years to get through school, because I was a full-time mother.
So you have kids? - I do.
- Yeah.
I have one daughter.
So proud of her.
She's getting ready to go to law school.
Good for her.
She is actually gonna go to law school here.
She had a car accident about six months ago or so, and that made her really want to stay home next to family.
Really? Was she hurt? Well, she wasn't hurt, but it shook her, you know? 'Cause I just lost my mom back in September.
She had a car accident.
She was on her way to come see us, and, um she got hit by a semi truck driver, and, um, my sister lived through the accident.
- My gosh.
- But we lost mommy.
I am so sorry.
I get so emotional, it's hard for me to I lost my mother, too.
It's so hard.
I know.
I can relate to exactly where she's at and how she's feeling.
You know, it breaks your heart to see somebody go through that.
Okay, I cannot do this anymore.
Okay.
She throws her grief into what she does at work and is displaying that when times are tough, you just get up and dive into what you love to do, and it helps get you through.
Ready? Yeah.
She just was a true inspiration.
Coming up Is there any insight you can give me on the boss learns that not everyone is happy with her company.
Communication, it sucks here.
It's terrible.
And later Our surrogate had just crossed over the 25 week mark and said, "I have heartburn.
" We took her to the doctor just to be safe, and 20 minutes later, we had a one-pound baby.
she meets a courageous employee.
All five of those fingers are wrapped around this hand right here.
That just melts my heart.
Today, I am outside of Baltimore in Catonsville, Maryland, and I will be working with a cosmetologist.
After working with G yesterday and seeing so many empty suites, I'm anxious to go into this location so I can see what challenges they face and address them.
- Hi! - Hi.
- I'm Ashley.
- Hi, Ashley.
I am Felisa.
How are you doing today? Good.
How are you? I'm good, I'm good.
Okay, so today, we're gonna learn how to install a weave.
Oh.
So have you done a weave with anyone before? No, this is the first.
Okay, sounds fun, right? - Yeah.
- Okay! I'm panicking inside, because I'm not familiar with African-American hair, and I was getting hot and nervous and I just wanted to run.
Hi, Kita, how are you? Good.
How you doin'? This is Ashley.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
We're gonna be installing a weave on today.
Great.
I'm nervous.
All right, we have our foundation, and that's the corn rolling, and after that, we install the net using a needle and thread.
- Okay.
- Okay? It was written all over Ashley's face that she was surprised that she was gonna be installing a weave.
This is a bundle of Indian hair, okay? We're gonna insert the needle into the rest and pull it through.
And you see how that works - just like that? - Oh.
And to secure it again, you want to go ahead and looping and pulling through.
Okay.
So you want to try? Sure.
Jeez, this is harder than it It takes practice, huh? Yes.
Yes, it does.
I don't want to make you bleed.
It was disgusting.
Now, see, normally, they would be knocking at my door, telling me to turn the music down.
But the fact that everyone can hear what's going on in there, like say for instance, I was in her room, she can hear this conversation and feel like she's in the room with me.
If the door's even shut? If the door's even shut.
You can hear straight through the walls.
There's nothing inside of the walls to help control the noise.
The noise.
I was a little taken back with how noisy it actually was, and I'm definitely gonna look into making our locations a little bit more soundproof.
So let's try to have this done in about 60 seconds.
This whole thing? Yes, let's have that done in 60 seconds.
Starting now.
- You can do it.
- Are you serious? Yeah, let's get it.
- Get it! - Ow! I poked it.
We're gonna have poking.
We're gonna have poking.
You can do it.
Ashley needs to improve on consistency.
This is securing the thread and this is, spaced out too much.
Oh.
I was really wanting to please Felisa, and I just really stunk at it.
Make sure that it's not too spaced out.
Got ya.
Maybe in Yes, close together.
Let's go.
Keep it movin'.
Are you kidding me? It's been over 60 seconds, actually.
- Oh, it has? - Yes.
As far as the weave challenge, she definitely failed that challenge.
All right, so I'm gonna have my assistant take this over.
Okay.
On a scale of one to ten, I would evaluate Ashley's performance at a four.
How you feel about everything? I feel like there's a lot to learn, but I think that you've been a fantastic teacher, - and it's a lot to soak in.
- Thank you.
Is there any insight you can give me on what, you know if I were to open up my own salon, dos and don'ts? Communication.
Communication, it sucks here.
It's terrible.
Like, for instance, behind you is one of my dryers.
I had to purchase that on my own.
I was supposed be offered two dryers and two bowls.
I only got one dryer.
If I'm paying you monthly, I expect to receive what I'm supposed to be getting.
I take a lot of pride on communication, and it's frustrating when you hear that that need isn't being met.
I feel like it's a reflection on me, and I'm not gonna take it lightly.
You know my dream.
What's yours? My priority is my two daughters.
Oh, how nice.
Yeah.
Got them in private school, and I want to give them the world, you know? My mom gave me the world, my dad gave me the world, but it was something I was missing and lacking over the years, and that was family after my grandma passed away.
She is one of my most motivators behind this, because when she passed away, that's what made me change.
Because I wanted her to be proud of me, and once she left, I haven't gone back to her gravesite yet, because of the fact that I don't feel accomplished.
Tsk.
Sometimes, I let people get in my head, and I let them make me feel like I'm a failure.
Can't let fear get to you.
I could really relate to her in a lot of ways.
You know, her losing her grandma, who was such a huge inspiration to her, and I love the fact that she wants the best for her kids, and she's gonna work hard to make sure that her children get a good education.
She's the type of person that I want to make sure that we have around for a long time.
Okay, so let's go ahead and prep this next client.
Okay.
I am in Long Beach, California, and I will be working with a hairstylist today.
This is my last job, and this week has been eye-opening.
I've learned that with rapid expansion comes growing pains, so I decided to come to one of our most successful locations to see what they're getting right.
Are you Richie? - I'm Richie.
- I'm Ashley.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
Welcome.
I'm Richie Roman.
Ashley's appearance is a little stay-at-home mom.
My clients expect a little more fashion forward.
Right now, I think they're gonna be afraid to let their "mom" cut their hair.
Hello.
Hi, Sandra.
Come on in.
This is Ashley, my friend.
She's gonna be working with me today.
- I love your shoes.
- Thank you.
Have a seat, my dear.
If you don't mind getting me a cape from in there.
So I'm gonna be walking Ashley through a cut.
Now, with curls what we do is we want to make a nice, straight line going across here, so you're just gonna grab the curl in its entirety and just snip the tip off.
Okay.
At an angle, a 90-degree angle, one way or the other.
There you go.
Have you ever been to one of these? - No.
- A suite? They're interesting.
When I found out about these, I went to one they opened here not too far from here, and I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled with it.
I felt like it was a little mom and poppy.
The grand opening party had plastic tablecloths and balloon arches, and I thought, "Oh, wow, we're the future trendsetters here.
We should have people coming in to a fashion show, cocktail party, come get a free mini massage and know what the future is for your hair.
" So when I signed up, I didn't invite any of my clients to the grand opening.
I didn't want them to think we were going down.
I wanted them to think we were going up.
Right.
The details do matter.
Like Richie said, we're in the salon industry, and grand openings should be upscale, so I'm gonna take a hard look at how we can improve.
Hi, Nikki.
There would be our client Nikki.
I'm gonna do just a few highlights in your hair.
Now, when you do Nikki's hair, this is gonna shrink, this is gonna shrink, and this is gonna shrink, because they're curly, so when we apply her color, instead of going in here and slabbing on, you point it on, so that there's no one harsh line.
I love Richie.
Saturate this a little more.
He takes pride in what he does, and he's very knowledgeable, and it was fun learning something in an area that I thought I was okay in, but he made me even better.
Right from there, we dry.
Now, are you from the California area? No, Arizona.
Have you been here? Uh, California for the most part.
Two years ago, I moved to Georgia with my partner where he's from when we had our daughter, and it lasted about six months, and we turned right back around and came home.
It was not the place for us at this time.
Yeah.
When we had my daughter, she came 15 1/2 weeks early, so he stays home and does lots of physical therapy and speech therapy to get her caught up from the prematurity, but that's his full-time job, and then I handle this for us.
- You likee? - I do.
Here is your water.
Thank you, Nikki, we'll see you next time.
Thank you.
So now we just kind of grab everything, clean it up, wipe it down.
You know, you were talking about your daughter being premature.
My son was actually three weeks early, - not 15, you know.
- Yeah.
Our surrogate had just crossed over the 25 week mark and said, "I have heartburn, and it won't go away.
Really bad.
" We took her to the doctor just to be safe, and 20 minutes later, we had a one-pound baby.
They took us into the operating room, and the doctor, who was a very calm man, looked really scared and said, "Pray to whoever you pray to if you pray, but here we go," and then two minutes later, we had a baby.
And we had 128 days, six surgeries.
By the time she left the hospital four months later, she weighed 4 pounds, 3 ounces, and we just kind of liquidated everything cars, house, business.
Everything got liquidated to start over.
I was very poor as a kid, and we were homeless for a little while, for about two years, so for me, it was old hat.
I'd lost before, and I gained before.
My husband had never done that, and there's tons of debt still.
A little over $2 million in medical bills.
$2 million worth of bills? How did you guys I mean It's been two years now that we're just kind of slowly trying to find our bearings, and you just slowly and you're grateful for what you have.
It's been a long ride but it's been very, very Ohh! No sorrys, no sorrys.
It's survivor.
If anything, this is what we do.
Stand on it like a soapbox, and you survived it, instead of mm.
Richie has been through a lot, and I just was so impressed by, you know, his positive attitude and his drive to move forward.
This was her holding my hand.
Oh, my gosh.
All five of those fingers are wrapped around this hand right here.
Ohh! That just melts my heart.
I can't even imagine being in his shoes.
I'm just inspired by him.
Tonight, when I get out of here, I am going to go to the homeless shelter that I stayed at when I was a little kid.
Then we give them little makeovers.
You're welcome to come with me.
Oh, you're such a great person.
Good, good, good.
Good.
See, this is a blessing to me, because this shelter, the location, so much prettier.
Where we were, where the shelter used to be was on a very busy street, and everybody knew that was the shelter.
Oh.
So this just looks like a little house.
I love that.
All righty.
Going undercover and having this whole experience has been wonderful.
I like to come give you guys makeovers, because you, to me, are the wildflowers of the world.
Meeting these people in my locations and hearing their struggles that they're going through, and, you know, I cannot tell you what a blessing that they have been to my life.
There's the new you that you should see - Oh, wow.
- every time you see yourself.
It's really pretty.
There's so much that I can do to make things better to give these people a better place to work, and I'm gonna leave changed.
This has changed me in a lot of ways.
Take care.
Bye.
Coming up the boss reveals her true identity to her employees.
I'm Gina Rivera, co-founder of Phenix Salon Suites.
Wait, what? I'm confused right now.
How will they react when she changes their lives forever? I want to lift that burden from you so you never have to worry.
Today, all of the salon professionals have been invited to Los Angeles, California.
They think that they're coming to the set of the reality show to hear the final results.
Hi.
- Hi.
- How are you? Fine.
How are you? So tell me about your day with Ashley.
Um Ashley was pretty timid.
Well, I'm Gina Rivera, co-founder and president of Phenix Salon Suites.
No way! I was Ashley.
Wait, what? I'm confused right now.
You are on Undercover Boss.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my gosh.
You had me fooled.
Michele.
You made me feel so comfortable, and I loved hearing about your boys.
I mean, as a mother, I cannot imagine having four kids, working, a son that's failing health-wise.
I can't imagine the pressure.
It's tough.
My one son, Sky, actually has JRA.
You know, and they give him that estimate, like, "Oh, you're gonna be completely blind and in a wheelchair by the time you're 21.
" I want to make life easier for you, so I am giving you $10,000 What? No.
that you can use towards wheelchair ramps, wheelchairs, therapy, anything that you need that can help you out.
Holy cow.
Also, I am gonna pay your rent on your suite for a little over a year.
What the heck? Oh, my God.
Like, I just I can't believe all of this.
You have so much going on.
I mean, there's probably no vacation time for you.
There's no such thing.
So what I would like to do is fly you and your family to Maui Oh, my God.
to have an all-expense-paid vacation.
This isn't something that happens to, like, people like me.
I can't believe this.
When you're a mom, anything that can lighten that load is definitely gonna make it easier.
I'm so happy you think that I'm worth all this.
You are.
Mom doesn't have to worry about paying her weekly rent that she stresses out so much on.
This is insane.
You don't understand.
This doesn't happen.
This does not happen, like it's finally paid off.
I can't believe it.
G, I know the stress.
Sometimes a salon can shut down overnight.
So I was noticing some of the empty suites.
Does it worry you? Yes.
This place may be shutting down.
I want you to know we're gonna get that place 100% filled.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
And I want to help you thrive, so I'm gonna give you $5,000.
What?! What?! Towards buying your supplies, 'cause I know they must cost a lot.
Why, thank you.
Oh, my God.
Okay.
Wow.
When I was with you, I just connected with you on so many levels.
You have a daughter.
I do.
She is graduatin' in eight days with her bachelor degree.
So proud of her.
You must be.
And she'll go on to law school after that, after our cruise.
Our cruise is our big celebration for getting her bachelor degree at 20 years old.
So I want to help you enjoy it more, so I will be paying for your cruise.
What?! Oh, my gosh! I know it doesn't look like it, but I'm so happy, I'm so surprised.
You put everyone else first, and, I mean, law school, that must be so expensive.
So expensive.
Well, I want to give you $40,000 to help with your daughter's education.
Are you kidding me? Wow.
That's amazing.
For once, the big mouth has no words.
Being able to send my daughter to school without a bunch of student loans, this is gonna help so much.
I didn't even dream of this.
So amazing.
Felisa, you are so good at what you do.
Oh, my goodness.
Hoo! I can't imagine not having the equipment that you need.
Right.
I know that you were promised two dryers, and you only have one.
Right.
So I am gonna get you that dryer.
Thank you.
Thank you.
While I was there, you told me that people complain about the noise, so we're gonna go back in and do what we can to reduce the sound.
Thank you.
You taught me so much about hair weaves.
So let's try to have this done in about 60 seconds.
Are you serious? Yes.
Let's get it! - Get it! - Ow! I poked it.
We're gonna have poking.
We are gonna bring you to headquarters, and you will be helping us develop our African-American hair line.
Oh, my gosh.
And we are gonna actually name it after you Felisa.
Are you serious? And you are gonna get a percentage of every product that is sold.
Oh, my gosh.
I'm overwhelmed, and I'm trying to keep my tears from coming out.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
And I know you're a single mom with two girls.
Yes, I am.
And I know how hard it is to balance work and children, and I am gonna be giving you $10,000.
Huh?! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh, thank you.
And I know that you wanted to go back to your grandmother's grave, and I wanted you to be able to take that money and do something special for yourself.
Thank you.
No one understands, you know, how how much that lady really meant to me.
Thank you so much.
No, thank you.
Oh, my goodness.
Your children are the most important thing in your life, and you are struggling to give them the best and put them in a private school, so I am gonna be paying their tuition for two years.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, I could just hug you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
This is all so great.
Oh, my gosh.
I've never had anything like this happen to me before.
All my prayers have been answered.
My grandmother would be very, very, very, very proud of me.
Very proud of me.
Richie, I loved the fact that everything about you is fancy.
The grand opening party had plastic tablecloths, and I thought, "Oh, wow, we're the future trendsetters here.
We should have people coming in to a fashion show.
" I am gonna give you $5,000 to host a fundraiser for your daughter to help with medical bills.
Oh.
I don't do good with those things like that.
When you grow up the way I did, you don't like handouts, 'cause it makes you feel like it's a handout.
I don't want you to think it's a handout.
I'm giving that to you, and I want you to take it, and I want you to put the fanciest party.
I'll make it a fancy party for my baby.
- She deserves it.
- She deserves it.
You deserve it.
Thank you.
I don't know what else to say.
Thank you.
So she has so many doctor's appointments.
Lots.
She stays very busy.
So you have a lot of driving to do around town.
Yeah.
We figure it out.
You know, we have one vehicle right now, so we just kind of figure it out, and we just make it happen.
We'll carry her on my back if I have to.
Oh, yeah.
I am gonna take that burden off of you.
I am gonna buy you a car, so you do not have to Hold on.
Give me a minute, please.
Wow.
Wow.
You shared with me your struggles.
I can't imagine losing everything that I have over medical bills, and I don't want you to have to worry.
Thank you.
So what I want to do No more.
is I'm going to provide you a home.
A house? Up to $250,000 in value, so you never have to worry.
Wow, you guys.
I don't know what to say.
I don't know what to say.
I can't say anything.
Can I have a hug? Oh, you kidding? Oh, my God.
Nobody's ever done nice like that for me.
I can't I can't believe this.
Who does this? It's a lottery scratchy ticket that says, "Start over.
" We're gonna be able to dream, instead of just survive.
We're gonna get to thrive.
They gave me a car and a house.
What? They gave Tallulah a house.
Come here, Tallulah.
Tallulah, we won't be on the street, baby.
Oh, baby.
Going undercover and going into my salons, I thought it was all business, but I'm leaving behind people that have forever changed my life and have inspired me.
There's nothing in life that can take you down, and it's not about me.
It's about them.
Without them, I can't be who I am.
And I am so grateful to have them in my life.
How about you say, "Yay!"
All right.
It's been shocking.
A lot of people smoke pot.
It's been challenging.
It's not the homeowner's fault that I get paid peanuts.
But it's inspired them to change their employees' lives forever.
I've decided to invest around $3 million because of you.
Thank you.
For real? Like, this is real.
Without a doubt.
I am going to give you your own store.
Yay! Probably the best thing somebody ever did for me.
I have a check for $250,000.
Oh, my God.
Tonight, the latest boss to take on this challenge is Gina Rivera Who would you rather be married to? Gina.
Bring her back, please.
the president and founder of Phenix Salon Suites, a fast-growing, innovative salon franchise.
By going undercover We're gonna learn how to install a weave.
All right.
this former hairstylist will have her skills put to the test.
- Get it.
- Ow! It poked me.
We're gonna have poking.
You can do it.
I'm gonna just fix this for a second.
Wish I could see what this looked like right now.
Uh, no, you wouldn't want to.
And what will happen Communication, it sucks here.
It's terrible.
when things take a turn for the worse.
Ashley's gonna be helping me with your toes today.
Okay, awesome.
So That's right.
Are you ready? Get a grip on your blade.
You rush through it, they could be scarred for life.
Okay.
Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Phenix Salon Suites is one of the fastest-growing franchises in America.
This unique business has more than 50 locations, and generates $25 million a year in revenue.
Keeping this innovative company on the cutting edge is one woman.
My name is Gina Rivera, and I am co-founder and president of Phenix Salon Suites.
Phenix Salon Suites, how it's operated is that a salon professional can walk in, and they actually rent an actual suite, and it is their own business.
We don't just offer suites to hairstylists.
We have nail techs, we have massage therapy, we supply all of the equipment, and they pay us a weekly rent, and that's where we make our money.
Hey, Gina, the renderings of the new building just came in.
Oh, good.
Me and my husband, Jason, started Phenix Salon Suites in 2007.
I don't think I like that color, so kind of keep that lighter.
Okay.
I have been a stylist for 25 years, and I actually was working in a salon, and one day, Jason said, "There's a salon for sale.
Would you like to buy it?" My dream was always to have my own business, so about two weeks later, we opened up Phenix Salon.
We named it after my son, Phenix.
It just took off.
As of right now, we have 57 locations.
We are projected to be at 100 locations by the end of the year, and within five years, we will be at 500 locations.
You know, I love what I do.
I'm passionate about what I do, and I just feel really blessed.
My family's been in the hair industry since 1929.
Since I was seven years old, I was in my parents' salon, and we would sweep hair, and as I got older, I would shampoo for my dad.
My mother actually did hair as well, and we just had the most incredible relationship.
One day, just a couple years ago, she wasn't feeling good.
My dad said, "It's not good.
" It was stage four pancreatic cancer, and we were told, and she was told that she was gonna lose her life.
Jason and I had decided to open up our home to my dad and my mom, and she actually passed away in our home.
She taught us so much strength through her sickness that it taught me that it's not what you get dealt with in life, it's how you handle it.
Hey, Gene, how you doin', girl? Good.
This is what we're gonna use right here, huh? My father is 72 years old, and he still lives with us, does hair actively till this day.
Okay.
Dad, thanks for coming.
Well, who else would do this, huh? I want to go undercover because if we're gonna open up 50 more stores by the end of the year, I need to know what we can improve on and what we're doing right, too.
I feel like I look like mom in the '60s.
That's crazy, huh? While going undercover, I will be posing as Ashley, a married mother of two, competing to win a one-year apprenticeship with a celebrity stylist.
My salon professionals will have no idea that's it's Undercover Boss.
Oh.
You gotta do all this.
I know.
Hey, guys, what are we gonna do for dinner? Oh, my God.
Oh, my gosh.
Do you think I'm ready? I was like, "Who's that?" Yeah, you definitely don't look like a hair expert.
Definitely.
Who would you rather be married to? Gina.
Bring her back, please.
All right, guys, I gotta go.
We are a young company, and this is a very critical time for us, so we have to make sure that everything is working properly in order for us to keep growing.
Be careful.
Bye-ya.
See ya.
Today I'm in Boca Raton, Florida, and I will be working as a barber.
Barbering is a huge growth opportunity.
It's a growing trend, and I think having barbers that are coming into our locations now is just gonna make us that much better and grow that much faster.
Michele? - Hi.
- Hi.
I'm Ashley.
Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- All right.
Wow.
Yeah, you like it, right? Yeah, this is my little cabin, 'cause I deal with men, and been a barber for 20 years, so Well, here's our pride and joy right here.
I'm Chris.
This is Chris.
This is Ashley.
- Hi, cutie.
How are you? - I'm good.
And we're gonna go ahead and do the fade haircut on him.
I'm hoping you're familiar with the clippers and the different levels and stuff like that, correct? Yes.
All right, so we're gonna be blending the sides up.
I have never barbered before, but I have been a stylist for 25 years, so I'm not really worried.
Now, you see how the line's going like this? So what you're gonna do is kind of just keep bringing it.
But I start down here.
Okay, well, you're gonna do Well, you don't need to do that, okay? Well, hold this in the hand, and then you're just gonna hold his head.
There you go, perfect.
Okay, now, don't go higher than the line.
Keep it even.
Don't have it crooked.
Michele is so extremely meticulous and a perfectionist.
Okay, you went way too high up there, you see? Um, uh, I'm gonna just fix this for a second.
Even with her instructions, I was really screwing up his hair.
I wish I could see what this looked like right now.
Uh, no, you don't want to.
Okay, when you do it All right, I'm gonna actually hold you, and I'm gonna give you the exact stroke that you need for all of it.
It was absolutely 100% obvious that Ashley has never done a fade before.
All right, thank you.
So now, we're gonna do a straight razor shave, and it's a straight blade.
There is no protection on it, so it's definitely an art.
It's a skill, and you have to be able to master it.
Hey, Mike, how are you? Hey.
Knowing that I was gonna be doing a straight razor cut on someone's face, absolutely just made me want to throw up.
Breathe, because I'm gonna walk you through this.
So now we're gonna get one of our hot towels.
The part that's bent this way is going to go underneath his nose.
Oh, okay.
I'm gonna have to breathe.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I'm covering your mouth.
Yeah, it's okay.
Right.
There you go.
No, that's just fine.
Go ahead and pat that in.
Now, the next step is actually the blade work.
Okay.
Oh, my gosh, my stress level is through the roof right now.
I think my blood pressure has gone up by 200 points.
You're gonna go with the way the hair is going, okay? Okay.
Don't rush through it.
This is no joke.
You rush through it, they could be scarred for life.
Oh.
Get a grip on your blade.
This is the time you cannot make any mistakes.
- Okay.
- Ever.
Hold it like this, and you're just gonna go small.
Okay.
I wanted to absolutely faint.
Okay, now, we're gonna take this.
Okay.
Remember, you're gonna take this.
Okay.
I have never done a straight razor shave before in my life, and my stress level is through the roof right now.
Don't be scared.
Go down at an angle.
Keep going.
Oh, I'm getting close to the neck.
That's okay.
You're fine.
I was definitely a little bit nervous at first.
I'm gonna put a little bit of wet on there.
You're actually doing a pretty damn decent job.
But, surprisingly, I though Ashley did really well.
I was kind of impressed.
Look how good you did.
Like, seriously, woman.
I think you nailed it, kid.
I was so relieved when it was over, and I just have never been so happy to be done in my life, and that he's still alive.
So do you have children? - I have four.
- Wow.
I do have four.
It's a handful for sure.
And, you know, going through a divorce with them.
It's really, really difficult, but the thing about it is if I don't do this, then how am I gonna pay for the things that they want? My son Donovan, he's in band, and he absolutely loves it, but it comes with a cost to it, because then you're like, "Buddy, I gotta work tonight.
I'm sorry.
I'm not gonna get to your concert.
" or, "I'm not gonna do this.
" - You're so strong.
- It's tough.
I mean, my kids struggle with tons of stuff.
My one son, Sky, actually has JRA.
Oh, what is that? That's a rheumatoid arthritis.
It attacks the immune system.
You know, and they give him that estimate, like, "Oh, you're gonna be completely blind and in a wheelchair by the time you're 21.
" So he struggles with that thought process every day.
That must be so hard for you to work and have kids with You know, if I'm sitting there kind of like, "Man, you know, he's got this.
" And I take it down, he's gonna feed right off my vibe, and he's gonna be like, "Mom looks like she's upset about this, so that means it's true.
" Every setback, you have to have a positive follow-through.
Michele is such an amazing woman and an amazing mother that has a lot of struggles, and she's still down there, and she's still working.
I absolutely could fill all of my stores with people like Michele.
Well, let's go ahead and clean up our mess that we made.
I am in Las Vegas, Nevada.
I will be a nail tech today.
Las Vegas is a great market.
This is actually the third location that we have here, but this location is only 70% full, so I want to see what's going on in there and figure out how we can get those empty suites filled.
- G? - Yes? Hi.
I'm Ashley.
Hey! Oh, my gosh.
Finally, I get to meet you.
Come on back here.
I got a little gift for you.
You're good to go now.
All right.
This is a lot of stuff.
My goodness.
Ashley was probably a little bit overwhelmed coming into my room.
You bring 'em, I'll bling 'em.
She'll take a little bit of encouraging to be fat and sassy like me.
This is such a neat place.
Do you like it here? I love it.
I love it.
It's like owning your own salon without owning your own salon.
No overhead, you know.
What's up, G? Hi, I'm Ashley.
Oh, hi! Nice to meet you.
Ashley's gonna be helping me with your toes today.
Okay, awesome.
So It's all right.
Great, okay.
So let's get started.
I just was about ready to die.
Oh, girl.
If something's jacked up, you got to fix it.
Feet can be creepy.
Gel polish is like working with normal polish.
And we're gonna just tap, tap, tap, tap.
And then we'll push it in.
Are you ready? You ready for this? Okay.
I'm gonna take this opportunity to go to the rest room.
Okay.
I'll be right back.
All I kept thinking is, where have these feet been today? And I have to touch them.
This will definitely take practice.
Do you want to do a little bit there? Sorry.
I wish that Ashley would be a little more assertive.
Ooh! You know, you got to get in there and do it.
I don't quite have that tapping thing down.
She's just a little bit too timid for this big ol' bulldog.
Keep goin' you got it.
I just swallowed some.
How we doin'? You all done? I think so.
Okay, see this right here, how it's got a bald spot? You won't let your clients leave like that, right? Yeah.
I did not even realize how hard bling art is.
As long as they leave with perfection, you're good.
G is just such a great example.
She takes pride in what she does, she knows what she wants, and if it's not good, you'll have to redo it.
Fabulous.
- We'll see you next time.
- Okay.
- Nice to meet you.
- Bye.
Guess what we get to go do? We get to go have lunch.
- Oh, yes.
- Are you starving? I am.
Are you? I'm starving.
Let's do it.
Okay.
So I was noticing some of the empty suites.
I mean, is that hard? I mean Yes.
The owner, he's from New York, so he comes every now and then.
Does it worry you? Yeah, I talked with the owner, and let him know that I was concerned, you know, that this place may be shutting down.
I just I love it here, so This location is struggling.
Not having, you know, the owners here, that can be a huge problem.
We just need to reach out to the owners about some better ways that we can market and get these empty suites filled.
So how do you feel about today? I feel good and excited and everything, so I'm so amazed by you.
How long have you been doing this? Since 2007.
- I worked in the casino.
- Okay.
Slots, for 15 years, and so, you know, I was changing careers, and it took me two years to get through school, because I was a full-time mother.
So you have kids? - I do.
- Yeah.
I have one daughter.
So proud of her.
She's getting ready to go to law school.
Good for her.
She is actually gonna go to law school here.
She had a car accident about six months ago or so, and that made her really want to stay home next to family.
Really? Was she hurt? Well, she wasn't hurt, but it shook her, you know? 'Cause I just lost my mom back in September.
She had a car accident.
She was on her way to come see us, and, um she got hit by a semi truck driver, and, um, my sister lived through the accident.
- My gosh.
- But we lost mommy.
I am so sorry.
I get so emotional, it's hard for me to I lost my mother, too.
It's so hard.
I know.
I can relate to exactly where she's at and how she's feeling.
You know, it breaks your heart to see somebody go through that.
Okay, I cannot do this anymore.
Okay.
She throws her grief into what she does at work and is displaying that when times are tough, you just get up and dive into what you love to do, and it helps get you through.
Ready? Yeah.
She just was a true inspiration.
Coming up Is there any insight you can give me on the boss learns that not everyone is happy with her company.
Communication, it sucks here.
It's terrible.
And later Our surrogate had just crossed over the 25 week mark and said, "I have heartburn.
" We took her to the doctor just to be safe, and 20 minutes later, we had a one-pound baby.
she meets a courageous employee.
All five of those fingers are wrapped around this hand right here.
That just melts my heart.
Today, I am outside of Baltimore in Catonsville, Maryland, and I will be working with a cosmetologist.
After working with G yesterday and seeing so many empty suites, I'm anxious to go into this location so I can see what challenges they face and address them.
- Hi! - Hi.
- I'm Ashley.
- Hi, Ashley.
I am Felisa.
How are you doing today? Good.
How are you? I'm good, I'm good.
Okay, so today, we're gonna learn how to install a weave.
Oh.
So have you done a weave with anyone before? No, this is the first.
Okay, sounds fun, right? - Yeah.
- Okay! I'm panicking inside, because I'm not familiar with African-American hair, and I was getting hot and nervous and I just wanted to run.
Hi, Kita, how are you? Good.
How you doin'? This is Ashley.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
We're gonna be installing a weave on today.
Great.
I'm nervous.
All right, we have our foundation, and that's the corn rolling, and after that, we install the net using a needle and thread.
- Okay.
- Okay? It was written all over Ashley's face that she was surprised that she was gonna be installing a weave.
This is a bundle of Indian hair, okay? We're gonna insert the needle into the rest and pull it through.
And you see how that works - just like that? - Oh.
And to secure it again, you want to go ahead and looping and pulling through.
Okay.
So you want to try? Sure.
Jeez, this is harder than it It takes practice, huh? Yes.
Yes, it does.
I don't want to make you bleed.
It was disgusting.
Now, see, normally, they would be knocking at my door, telling me to turn the music down.
But the fact that everyone can hear what's going on in there, like say for instance, I was in her room, she can hear this conversation and feel like she's in the room with me.
If the door's even shut? If the door's even shut.
You can hear straight through the walls.
There's nothing inside of the walls to help control the noise.
The noise.
I was a little taken back with how noisy it actually was, and I'm definitely gonna look into making our locations a little bit more soundproof.
So let's try to have this done in about 60 seconds.
This whole thing? Yes, let's have that done in 60 seconds.
Starting now.
- You can do it.
- Are you serious? Yeah, let's get it.
- Get it! - Ow! I poked it.
We're gonna have poking.
We're gonna have poking.
You can do it.
Ashley needs to improve on consistency.
This is securing the thread and this is, spaced out too much.
Oh.
I was really wanting to please Felisa, and I just really stunk at it.
Make sure that it's not too spaced out.
Got ya.
Maybe in Yes, close together.
Let's go.
Keep it movin'.
Are you kidding me? It's been over 60 seconds, actually.
- Oh, it has? - Yes.
As far as the weave challenge, she definitely failed that challenge.
All right, so I'm gonna have my assistant take this over.
Okay.
On a scale of one to ten, I would evaluate Ashley's performance at a four.
How you feel about everything? I feel like there's a lot to learn, but I think that you've been a fantastic teacher, - and it's a lot to soak in.
- Thank you.
Is there any insight you can give me on what, you know if I were to open up my own salon, dos and don'ts? Communication.
Communication, it sucks here.
It's terrible.
Like, for instance, behind you is one of my dryers.
I had to purchase that on my own.
I was supposed be offered two dryers and two bowls.
I only got one dryer.
If I'm paying you monthly, I expect to receive what I'm supposed to be getting.
I take a lot of pride on communication, and it's frustrating when you hear that that need isn't being met.
I feel like it's a reflection on me, and I'm not gonna take it lightly.
You know my dream.
What's yours? My priority is my two daughters.
Oh, how nice.
Yeah.
Got them in private school, and I want to give them the world, you know? My mom gave me the world, my dad gave me the world, but it was something I was missing and lacking over the years, and that was family after my grandma passed away.
She is one of my most motivators behind this, because when she passed away, that's what made me change.
Because I wanted her to be proud of me, and once she left, I haven't gone back to her gravesite yet, because of the fact that I don't feel accomplished.
Tsk.
Sometimes, I let people get in my head, and I let them make me feel like I'm a failure.
Can't let fear get to you.
I could really relate to her in a lot of ways.
You know, her losing her grandma, who was such a huge inspiration to her, and I love the fact that she wants the best for her kids, and she's gonna work hard to make sure that her children get a good education.
She's the type of person that I want to make sure that we have around for a long time.
Okay, so let's go ahead and prep this next client.
Okay.
I am in Long Beach, California, and I will be working with a hairstylist today.
This is my last job, and this week has been eye-opening.
I've learned that with rapid expansion comes growing pains, so I decided to come to one of our most successful locations to see what they're getting right.
Are you Richie? - I'm Richie.
- I'm Ashley.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
Welcome.
I'm Richie Roman.
Ashley's appearance is a little stay-at-home mom.
My clients expect a little more fashion forward.
Right now, I think they're gonna be afraid to let their "mom" cut their hair.
Hello.
Hi, Sandra.
Come on in.
This is Ashley, my friend.
She's gonna be working with me today.
- I love your shoes.
- Thank you.
Have a seat, my dear.
If you don't mind getting me a cape from in there.
So I'm gonna be walking Ashley through a cut.
Now, with curls what we do is we want to make a nice, straight line going across here, so you're just gonna grab the curl in its entirety and just snip the tip off.
Okay.
At an angle, a 90-degree angle, one way or the other.
There you go.
Have you ever been to one of these? - No.
- A suite? They're interesting.
When I found out about these, I went to one they opened here not too far from here, and I'll be honest, I wasn't thrilled with it.
I felt like it was a little mom and poppy.
The grand opening party had plastic tablecloths and balloon arches, and I thought, "Oh, wow, we're the future trendsetters here.
We should have people coming in to a fashion show, cocktail party, come get a free mini massage and know what the future is for your hair.
" So when I signed up, I didn't invite any of my clients to the grand opening.
I didn't want them to think we were going down.
I wanted them to think we were going up.
Right.
The details do matter.
Like Richie said, we're in the salon industry, and grand openings should be upscale, so I'm gonna take a hard look at how we can improve.
Hi, Nikki.
There would be our client Nikki.
I'm gonna do just a few highlights in your hair.
Now, when you do Nikki's hair, this is gonna shrink, this is gonna shrink, and this is gonna shrink, because they're curly, so when we apply her color, instead of going in here and slabbing on, you point it on, so that there's no one harsh line.
I love Richie.
Saturate this a little more.
He takes pride in what he does, and he's very knowledgeable, and it was fun learning something in an area that I thought I was okay in, but he made me even better.
Right from there, we dry.
Now, are you from the California area? No, Arizona.
Have you been here? Uh, California for the most part.
Two years ago, I moved to Georgia with my partner where he's from when we had our daughter, and it lasted about six months, and we turned right back around and came home.
It was not the place for us at this time.
Yeah.
When we had my daughter, she came 15 1/2 weeks early, so he stays home and does lots of physical therapy and speech therapy to get her caught up from the prematurity, but that's his full-time job, and then I handle this for us.
- You likee? - I do.
Here is your water.
Thank you, Nikki, we'll see you next time.
Thank you.
So now we just kind of grab everything, clean it up, wipe it down.
You know, you were talking about your daughter being premature.
My son was actually three weeks early, - not 15, you know.
- Yeah.
Our surrogate had just crossed over the 25 week mark and said, "I have heartburn, and it won't go away.
Really bad.
" We took her to the doctor just to be safe, and 20 minutes later, we had a one-pound baby.
They took us into the operating room, and the doctor, who was a very calm man, looked really scared and said, "Pray to whoever you pray to if you pray, but here we go," and then two minutes later, we had a baby.
And we had 128 days, six surgeries.
By the time she left the hospital four months later, she weighed 4 pounds, 3 ounces, and we just kind of liquidated everything cars, house, business.
Everything got liquidated to start over.
I was very poor as a kid, and we were homeless for a little while, for about two years, so for me, it was old hat.
I'd lost before, and I gained before.
My husband had never done that, and there's tons of debt still.
A little over $2 million in medical bills.
$2 million worth of bills? How did you guys I mean It's been two years now that we're just kind of slowly trying to find our bearings, and you just slowly and you're grateful for what you have.
It's been a long ride but it's been very, very Ohh! No sorrys, no sorrys.
It's survivor.
If anything, this is what we do.
Stand on it like a soapbox, and you survived it, instead of mm.
Richie has been through a lot, and I just was so impressed by, you know, his positive attitude and his drive to move forward.
This was her holding my hand.
Oh, my gosh.
All five of those fingers are wrapped around this hand right here.
Ohh! That just melts my heart.
I can't even imagine being in his shoes.
I'm just inspired by him.
Tonight, when I get out of here, I am going to go to the homeless shelter that I stayed at when I was a little kid.
Then we give them little makeovers.
You're welcome to come with me.
Oh, you're such a great person.
Good, good, good.
Good.
See, this is a blessing to me, because this shelter, the location, so much prettier.
Where we were, where the shelter used to be was on a very busy street, and everybody knew that was the shelter.
Oh.
So this just looks like a little house.
I love that.
All righty.
Going undercover and having this whole experience has been wonderful.
I like to come give you guys makeovers, because you, to me, are the wildflowers of the world.
Meeting these people in my locations and hearing their struggles that they're going through, and, you know, I cannot tell you what a blessing that they have been to my life.
There's the new you that you should see - Oh, wow.
- every time you see yourself.
It's really pretty.
There's so much that I can do to make things better to give these people a better place to work, and I'm gonna leave changed.
This has changed me in a lot of ways.
Take care.
Bye.
Coming up the boss reveals her true identity to her employees.
I'm Gina Rivera, co-founder of Phenix Salon Suites.
Wait, what? I'm confused right now.
How will they react when she changes their lives forever? I want to lift that burden from you so you never have to worry.
Today, all of the salon professionals have been invited to Los Angeles, California.
They think that they're coming to the set of the reality show to hear the final results.
Hi.
- Hi.
- How are you? Fine.
How are you? So tell me about your day with Ashley.
Um Ashley was pretty timid.
Well, I'm Gina Rivera, co-founder and president of Phenix Salon Suites.
No way! I was Ashley.
Wait, what? I'm confused right now.
You are on Undercover Boss.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, my gosh.
You had me fooled.
Michele.
You made me feel so comfortable, and I loved hearing about your boys.
I mean, as a mother, I cannot imagine having four kids, working, a son that's failing health-wise.
I can't imagine the pressure.
It's tough.
My one son, Sky, actually has JRA.
You know, and they give him that estimate, like, "Oh, you're gonna be completely blind and in a wheelchair by the time you're 21.
" I want to make life easier for you, so I am giving you $10,000 What? No.
that you can use towards wheelchair ramps, wheelchairs, therapy, anything that you need that can help you out.
Holy cow.
Also, I am gonna pay your rent on your suite for a little over a year.
What the heck? Oh, my God.
Like, I just I can't believe all of this.
You have so much going on.
I mean, there's probably no vacation time for you.
There's no such thing.
So what I would like to do is fly you and your family to Maui Oh, my God.
to have an all-expense-paid vacation.
This isn't something that happens to, like, people like me.
I can't believe this.
When you're a mom, anything that can lighten that load is definitely gonna make it easier.
I'm so happy you think that I'm worth all this.
You are.
Mom doesn't have to worry about paying her weekly rent that she stresses out so much on.
This is insane.
You don't understand.
This doesn't happen.
This does not happen, like it's finally paid off.
I can't believe it.
G, I know the stress.
Sometimes a salon can shut down overnight.
So I was noticing some of the empty suites.
Does it worry you? Yes.
This place may be shutting down.
I want you to know we're gonna get that place 100% filled.
Thank you.
I appreciate that.
And I want to help you thrive, so I'm gonna give you $5,000.
What?! What?! Towards buying your supplies, 'cause I know they must cost a lot.
Why, thank you.
Oh, my God.
Okay.
Wow.
When I was with you, I just connected with you on so many levels.
You have a daughter.
I do.
She is graduatin' in eight days with her bachelor degree.
So proud of her.
You must be.
And she'll go on to law school after that, after our cruise.
Our cruise is our big celebration for getting her bachelor degree at 20 years old.
So I want to help you enjoy it more, so I will be paying for your cruise.
What?! Oh, my gosh! I know it doesn't look like it, but I'm so happy, I'm so surprised.
You put everyone else first, and, I mean, law school, that must be so expensive.
So expensive.
Well, I want to give you $40,000 to help with your daughter's education.
Are you kidding me? Wow.
That's amazing.
For once, the big mouth has no words.
Being able to send my daughter to school without a bunch of student loans, this is gonna help so much.
I didn't even dream of this.
So amazing.
Felisa, you are so good at what you do.
Oh, my goodness.
Hoo! I can't imagine not having the equipment that you need.
Right.
I know that you were promised two dryers, and you only have one.
Right.
So I am gonna get you that dryer.
Thank you.
Thank you.
While I was there, you told me that people complain about the noise, so we're gonna go back in and do what we can to reduce the sound.
Thank you.
You taught me so much about hair weaves.
So let's try to have this done in about 60 seconds.
Are you serious? Yes.
Let's get it! - Get it! - Ow! I poked it.
We're gonna have poking.
We are gonna bring you to headquarters, and you will be helping us develop our African-American hair line.
Oh, my gosh.
And we are gonna actually name it after you Felisa.
Are you serious? And you are gonna get a percentage of every product that is sold.
Oh, my gosh.
I'm overwhelmed, and I'm trying to keep my tears from coming out.
Thank you so much.
Thank you.
And I know you're a single mom with two girls.
Yes, I am.
And I know how hard it is to balance work and children, and I am gonna be giving you $10,000.
Huh?! Oh, my gosh! Oh, my gosh, thank you.
And I know that you wanted to go back to your grandmother's grave, and I wanted you to be able to take that money and do something special for yourself.
Thank you.
No one understands, you know, how how much that lady really meant to me.
Thank you so much.
No, thank you.
Oh, my goodness.
Your children are the most important thing in your life, and you are struggling to give them the best and put them in a private school, so I am gonna be paying their tuition for two years.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, I could just hug you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
This is all so great.
Oh, my gosh.
I've never had anything like this happen to me before.
All my prayers have been answered.
My grandmother would be very, very, very, very proud of me.
Very proud of me.
Richie, I loved the fact that everything about you is fancy.
The grand opening party had plastic tablecloths, and I thought, "Oh, wow, we're the future trendsetters here.
We should have people coming in to a fashion show.
" I am gonna give you $5,000 to host a fundraiser for your daughter to help with medical bills.
Oh.
I don't do good with those things like that.
When you grow up the way I did, you don't like handouts, 'cause it makes you feel like it's a handout.
I don't want you to think it's a handout.
I'm giving that to you, and I want you to take it, and I want you to put the fanciest party.
I'll make it a fancy party for my baby.
- She deserves it.
- She deserves it.
You deserve it.
Thank you.
I don't know what else to say.
Thank you.
So she has so many doctor's appointments.
Lots.
She stays very busy.
So you have a lot of driving to do around town.
Yeah.
We figure it out.
You know, we have one vehicle right now, so we just kind of figure it out, and we just make it happen.
We'll carry her on my back if I have to.
Oh, yeah.
I am gonna take that burden off of you.
I am gonna buy you a car, so you do not have to Hold on.
Give me a minute, please.
Wow.
Wow.
You shared with me your struggles.
I can't imagine losing everything that I have over medical bills, and I don't want you to have to worry.
Thank you.
So what I want to do No more.
is I'm going to provide you a home.
A house? Up to $250,000 in value, so you never have to worry.
Wow, you guys.
I don't know what to say.
I don't know what to say.
I can't say anything.
Can I have a hug? Oh, you kidding? Oh, my God.
Nobody's ever done nice like that for me.
I can't I can't believe this.
Who does this? It's a lottery scratchy ticket that says, "Start over.
" We're gonna be able to dream, instead of just survive.
We're gonna get to thrive.
They gave me a car and a house.
What? They gave Tallulah a house.
Come here, Tallulah.
Tallulah, we won't be on the street, baby.
Oh, baby.
Going undercover and going into my salons, I thought it was all business, but I'm leaving behind people that have forever changed my life and have inspired me.
There's nothing in life that can take you down, and it's not about me.
It's about them.
Without them, I can't be who I am.
And I am so grateful to have them in my life.
How about you say, "Yay!"