Undercover Boss (2010) s06e10 Episode Script
Armando Montelongo
(male announcer) Since premiering to nearly 40 million viewers in 2010, more than 70 bosses - [snap.]
- Oh, my God! (announcer) Have posed as subjects on a fake show to get honest feedback from their employees.
All right.
It's been shocking.
- [cow moos.]
- A lot of people smoke pot.
(announcer) 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.
- [sobs.]
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.
(announcer) Tonight the latest boss to take on this challenge is Armando Montelongo Oh, my God.
If I died, I would want to be reincarnated as myself.
[laughs.]
(announcer) The self-confident CEO of Armando Montelongo Companies, one of the leaders in real-estate investment education in America.
When do all millionaires take action? (all) Now! (man) No! (announcer) In order to remain undercover, this real-estate kingpin will have to pull out every trick in his book.
(Armando) I'm such a big figure in my company, so I brought in a body double to help pull off part of this undercover mission.
Hey, bud.
Ready to roll? So just everything's like this.
Round circles.
(man) I need the money in the account.
Got it? What the hell? That looks like me.
That's crazy.
It tends to just hiccup sometimes.
(announcer) But what will happen when this house-flipping hotshot finds that his company isn't passing inspection? A lot of the new people that work here worry if they even still have a job.
Yeah.
- The damn system's still down, huh? - Yes.
We're losing money.
I can't wait anymore.
Do you guys know who I am? (announcer) Find out next on Undercover Boss.
(announcer) Operating out of San Antonio, Texas, real-estate mogul Armando Montelongo is the single largest house flipper in America.
Flipping 400 homes each year and leading educational seminars across the country, the Armando Montelongo Companies bank $75 million annually.
Building this empire from the ground up is one man.
I'm Armando Montelongo, CEO of the Armando Montelongo Companies.
I have the most amazing life.
If I died, I would want to be reincarnated as myself.
It is beyond great to be Armando.
My company is focused on real-estate investments and teaching people how to buy houses, flip 'em, and make large profits from it.
Interest rates are low.
Buyers are in the market.
(Armando) Our first contact with our students is through an infomercial.
From that time, they call into our call center.
Our representatives at the call center secure their seat for one of our free live events.
We teach you how to go after these the houses that have already been foreclosed on.
Then to be able to reach the next level, the next status, they have to invest thousands of dollars to go into a three-day event Welcome to the wolf pack.
Where we teach them how to do real estate in that marketplace.
As real-estate investors, we make our money when we (all) Buy, buy, buy! Because time is (all) Money! All right, here we go.
Everybody wants to know, like, "That guy's rich.
How did he do it?" You're in a room with a rich guy saying, "Here's exactly how I did it.
" When you look at people who have changed this world, it is the leaders of industry, the Rockefellers, the Jobs, the Gates, and I know that the Montelongo name could be right up there with each and every one of them.
In 2009, people were running out of real estate.
It's like people running out of a house that's on fire, but I'm like a fireman, and I ran into the fire to the worst market, where everyone said you couldn't do it, and I started flipping houses.
I would take a house that was old and run-down, fix it up, and sell it for a profit.
I went from flipping one to two houses every few months to flipping 25 houses a month and becoming America's number-one house flipper.
And then I decided to share my knowledge with the world by teaching people how to make money in real estate just the way I do, through my real-estate seminars.
I've gone from living in a garage on food stamps to becoming a multi-multimillionaire.
I am the epitome of the American dream.
My team that I travel with is critical to me.
I will take my director of seminars, Jillian, take my assistant, Bryana.
My bodyguard, Devon, he's been SEAL trained.
He's the best of the best.
It's been reported before that my net worth is over $200 million.
When you reach that financial status, you need somebody to watch your back.
I'll take my girlfriend, Whittney.
She's beautiful, and she's lovely, and we live together.
Can we get a shirt? It takes an army to make all this stuff happen.
Bam.
The press, many times, will wonder, "Hey, can you really teach people how to flip houses?" But I say, "[.]
the press," because the only people who can judge me are my students.
I need to know what markets that we're gonna be going into for the teams next week.
Okay.
The Better Business Bureau has gone out there and given us an unfair rating.
We've touched 1.
5 million lives.
We have 146 complaints.
The greatest companies in the world on their greatest day couldn't imagine customer service like this.
We have LA and Riverside.
The market is so hot right now, and there's so much competition.
We'll show 'em how to get way ahead of it.
Our events are like rock concerts [cheers and applause.]
And I'm the rock star of this rock concert.
(Armando) I don't care if you are rich or if you are poor, man or woman, I will teach you how to be successful in the next three days.
[cheers and applause.]
If people ask me, "Are there other systems out there?" My answer is, "None that freakin' matter.
" The reality of the situation is I worked hard.
I've become a multi-multi-multimillionaire.
[engine revving.]
- Oh, my God! - [laughs.]
And you know what? I'm not gonna apologize for my success.
Can I just buzz your head and take your hair? The reason why I'm going undercover is because my company took a huge leap from $0 to $75 million in three years.
Now we're poised to grow from $75 million to $100 million and go international, and so I need to see the intimate-most workings of my company to understand, what are the problems that lie before me that I can't see from my office? And then we'll do things - that make my eyebrows look less intense.
- Mm-hmm.
While undercover, I'll be posing as Kevin Jones, a middle-age man from Santa Barbara, California.
I got a big nose.
I got a giant head.
I got big lips.
I got big teeth.
So this is going to be the most difficult Undercover Boss ever to pull off.
[laughter.]
Oh, God.
I'm Kevin, Kevin Jones.
[laughing.]
(Devon) Look at the sandals.
I love it.
There's gonna be second looks, for sure.
What I have to do is I have to just keep my body language low, tone it down, keep my hands to my sides.
Just give me a little [both talking at once.]
[laughter.]
I'll see you.
Bye, guys.
- Take it easy.
- Bye.
(Armando) Today I'm in Orlando, Florida.
I'm gonna be working as an electrician in one of the houses that I will be flipping.
Flipping is the backbone of my business.
- Hey, how's it going? - Good.
Is Angel here? Yeah, just go through the front door.
Now I flip 400 houses a year, and so I have very, very little interaction with my tradespeople, and so working undercover will allow me to see, are my contractors as efficient as they possibly could be? - Hi, are you Angel? - Yes.
- Kevin Jones.
- Good to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
I'm owner of AMA Electric, and I'm gonna be your instructor for today.
Nice.
Good grief.
What did they give me? When I first saw Kevin, I was a little concerned by his size and his weight.
We're fast-paced.
We got to get the job done.
This guy ain't gonna move.
He's gonna be slow.
And I'm gonna have to ride him like a mule.
We got this contract here with the Armando Montelongo Company.
We're here to restore the electric to top-notch condition.
All we're doing today is we're gonna remove these outlets and ceiling fans.
So we're gonna install new ones that are up to code.
Let's get to it.
Let me show you exactly what we're gonna do.
We're just gonna take this cover off.
Then you're gonna take the screws out, okay? Mm-hmm.
Now you're just gonna pull it and twist.
Pull and twist.
And then take the ground wire off.
Unscrew it, take it off, so later we can start testing them.
- You think you got it? - I got it.
Okay.
You been doing houses like this, the flip houses, long? Yeah, yeah, man.
Let's go, to the next one.
Move on to the next.
Come on.
Kevin, we've got to get these done quick.
(Armando) When Angel first started pulling the outlets, it looked really, really easy, but it's a lot of hard work.
I'm trying to get these copper wires and pull 'em.
It's like handling broken glass.
It just cuts, cuts, cuts.
I have 'em all over my hands.
(Angel) Did you eat your Wheaties this morning? Put some muscle into, Kev.
Come on.
Time is money, Kev.
Time is money.
This is hard work, man.
Keep moving.
Let's go.
Hot as hell.
Looks like you're fading on me, Kev.
Don't fade on me, buddy.
We still got a long day to go.
He started getting slower, and he's sweating harder, and now he's cutting corners.
He wants to cut wires.
All right, now you got to strip those wires.
I need some copper to do my testing.
Angel is no angel of mercy.
This is my personal hell.
Let's move over to the ceiling fan.
This should be relatively easy.
We're gonna take down the whole thing.
We're gonna make it quick.
Move this over to the side like that.
Now you got access to the screw.
All right.
- Why don't we just, like - Huh? Why don't we just, like, rip it off? No, don't do that.
You're messing up the sheetrock, then, dude.
I'm not gonna pay to repair sheetrock.
I'm not gonna get back-charged by Armando.
No, Kevin.
(Armando) when I went into the job, I thought, "I'm gonna be, like, the electrician of the day," but then it's hot, and it's frustrating.
(Angel) No, you're getting frustrated.
- No.
- I'm getting it.
No, you ain't getting it.
That's destroying it.
- [clatter.]
- Got it.
Not the right way, that's for sure.
He starts to really throw a temper tantrum like a two-year-old.
Is that gonna solve the problem for you? 'Cause guess what.
You're just creating a bigger problem for me.
Now I've got to replace that box.
Now that's costing me more time, all right? - All right.
- Let's move on.
Collapse the ladder so you make it easier to walk.
Take the glass globe.
Secure the glass.
Then secure the lightbulb.
No! I mean, if that's how you're gonna act, you know, here's the door.
Go.
Take the glass globe.
Secure the glass.
Then secure the lightbulb.
No! I mean, if that's how you're gonna act, you know, here's the door.
Go.
Clean up the glass.
(Angel) I told him, "You got to secure the glass.
" What does he do? He didn't secure it.
Well, guess what.
That costs us money.
This sucks.
If Kevin was working for me, I'd have to fire him quickly, in a minute, because it just I don't put up with that kind of stuff.
Take a little breather.
Take a little five.
(Armando) It's hard work.
You know what? It makes you stronger, man.
Through adversity is how you succeed.
When I bought the business, early 1990, I took some hard lumps.
I had to claim personal bankruptcy.
For ten years, I had to pay that, paying interest on loans 23%.
It took you ten years to get out of that.
It took me ten, and let me tell you something some depressing times.
So there's sacrifices, and there's prices you got to pay.
I don't want my children doing this.
I want my children to "Hey, go on into college, and go study something else.
" The next generation's got to be better than you.
Otherwise, then what's the sense? - Legacy.
- That's right.
You know, the only thing I ever got from my father when I graduated was his signature on a car loan.
There's no amount of gold that can measure to what that man gave me, because guess what.
Started building my credit.
Was able to buy that business.
That means a lot to you, though.
Damn right it does.
He's 76 years old, man.
He is still the first man on the job and the last man to leave, and that's the example by which I lead my life.
(Armando) It's really, really refreshing to see somebody who absolutely loves what they do, and if I had an army of Angels, then I wouldn't be flipping 400 houses a year.
I would be flipping 4,000 houses a year.
It would be awesome.
It would Armando and his army of Angels.
Let's continue on.
We still got a lot of work to go.
- Let's get at it.
- All right.
- Let's get at it.
- Let's go.
(Armando) Today I'm in Riverside, California, where I'll be speaking at one of my advanced seminars.
Here we go.
[cheers and applause.]
When I come onstage, it's a grand entrance.
We have video screens, and we have music.
The crowd's up.
They're cranking.
They're ready for their lives to be changed.
It is a rock star event happening.
[cheers and applause.]
Where's the wolf pack at? [crowd howls.]
These students have paid to see Armando teach them how to flip houses.
How many of you guys know it's absolutely critically important to change how you think if you want to be rich.
Raise your hand.
To be able to experience that world of a student is something that I've always wanted to do, but have never been able to pull off before now.
Guys, it's been a great morning.
Have you learned a lot? (all) Yes! Then I will see you guys this afternoon.
See you guys.
[cheers and applause.]
Today I'm going undercover as a student.
[cheers and applause.]
It's really critical for me to go undercover as a student, because that's the only way I'm gonna be able to figure out how I can better help them out.
So to stay undercover, I have to be smart.
Hey, bud.
You ready to roll? - Yeah, let's do this.
- Good.
All right, let's go.
(Armando) I've got a body double.
- Switch out some jewelry here.
- Okay.
My body double is going to be milling around so that no one knows that I've gone missing.
Don't get too used to these, all right? The key to this whole thing is confidence and the walk.
- Confidence and the walk.
- Right.
I never shake my head this way.
My head's always shaking this way.
This is gonna be the look sunglasses, hair, and the walk.
Bam, just like this.
All right? Here we go.
I want to get the chain.
- What about the, you know - Yeah.
So just Everything's like this.
Round circles.
Perfect.
(man) Look, man, I need the money in the account right now.
Actually, for a minute, like, it fools me for a moment.
- Got it? - That looks like me.
That's crazy.
- All right, man.
- All right, Armando.
Go knock it out, all right? - All right.
- Will do.
(Armando) I'm nervous as hell right now, because it's time for me to go in, and 400 eyeballs are gonna be on me, the same 400 eyeballs that were just looking at me up onstage.
(man) All right, so extra demo is how much? $1,000.
Big difference, right? Let's go over here.
One thing we had a discussion was basements, like waterproofing, and I see a lot of French drains being put in too.
Do you have a price for French drains or resurfacing, repainting everything? (man) It'll typically cost you about $3,000.
(Armando) I'm starting to get a little anxious because I feel like people are starting to look over at me.
(man) Open canvas you remember Armando talking about that? Skim on open canvas.
(Armando) Luckily, though [door opens.]
Bam, here comes my body double to throw 'em off the trail.
Look, man, you said it was gonna be there.
I need the money.
Got it? We don't want that.
All right, yeah.
There's the man.
Nice.
We never go in there and put new landscaping, because by the time your buyers go into your backyard, their mind's already made up.
(Armando) So far, so good.
Just clean it up, make it look nice.
My staff is giving my students the concise information that my system points out.
(man) What we're gonna do right now is we're gonna break.
It's very important that you guys are back in your seats, because Armando's gonna come back, and you don't want to miss what he's gonna teach.
All right, guys? Since we just got released on dinner break, I think this is a good time for me to go and try to get to know some of my students better.
- Hi, Kevin Jones.
- Hi, how are you? - Shannon.
- I'm Bob.
- Bob, nice to meet you.
- I'm Sharon.
It feels amazing to be able to meet people and not be recognized.
So you want to flip houses.
I do.
I want to make some money.
- I do.
- I'd like that.
Normally, my students meet me as Armando, and so they want to come up and hug me, but at this level, you learn so much more about what my students expect from this company.
- You ever done real estate? - No.
And everybody keeps talking about this Armando guy, this Armando guy.
You got big expectations for this guy? Yeah, definitely.
What do you want to get out of this? I want her to stop working.
That's the main thing.
- She's your mom? - Yes.
- You want to retire her? - Yeah.
You think he can really teach you how to do that? - Definitely.
- I put my money in it.
I certainly hope so.
(Armando) From talking to students, I realized how high the stakes are for us as a company to help them make their lives better.
My family we have a dream to kind of build a little fortune together.
and it makes me want to delve into this deeper - Want to go get a bite to eat? - All right.
Yeah, that sounds good.
Because the students are the soul of this company.
With no students, there is no company.
So what did you think of today? I enjoyed the breaks that we had of getting up and dancing.
- You like the dancing? - Yeah.
'Cause I'm a bartender.
I'm always up.
I'm running around and doing stuff, so Why did you pick this? - Well, I picked this - This Armando dude? Well, there's always real estate to be purchased and sold.
I just don't know how to do it, and speaking with my mom, when we were talking about this I mean, we did research, and he just felt right.
Okay, if you went out there and flipped houses and did this stuff, like, what would you do with the money? Well, I hate to see my mom suffer.
When my father died, he didn't leave much to help out with the family.
Mm-hmm.
I actually moved in with my mother to help out financially.
My mother's almost 70.
She works three days a week.
But she also has to put money aside for my sister, who is mentally ill.
She lives in a halfway house where there's other people like her, and there's somebody to make sure she's on her meds.
What's that like for you? - It's upsetting, you know? - Mm-hmm.
At first, I felt It's like you lost a sister, 'cause it's like a death, but she's still walking around.
You know, she's still alive, and you're, like And you see glimpses of of just fun stuff.
Mm-hmm.
Anyway I pushed my mother, even though she's like, "I'm not sure.
" And I'm like, "We need to do this," you know? Did you pay a lot of money to get here? - Yeah.
- Really? - I think we paid $46,000.
- Whoa.
Yeah, I mean, that's not including airfare and, you know, hotel and stuff.
Wow.
(Armando) I know the investment that it takes to come to my event.
- We found credit cards and savings - Wow.
so we invested a lot.
And some people say, "Well, Armando, "if you're changing people's lives, why don't you just put it on the Internet for free?" It's very scary.
Well, the average college education right now is $120,000, and in one weekend, I give people the opportunity to have, own, and run their own business.
Yeah.
If it doesn't work out, then what happens? I can't I'm not gonna say that.
I can't.
I can't do that.
I can't put myself there.
I don't want to feel that.
The pressure that she feels is something that I felt for years before obtaining my financial success.
It makes me want to make sure that she's gonna make it all the way through.
- We better get back, all right? - Yes, you're right.
It is time.
(announcer) Coming up I'm Kevin.
Christine, how's your dog? Kevin does his best to get with the program.
(woman) What would make you think that that person had a dog? I told you to act natural.
And later Does it make you want to pull your hair out? At times.
The boss learns a hard lesson from one employee that was left high and dry.
[voice breaking.]
I've been very frustrated sometimes, but I try to keep pushing forward.
(Armando) Today I'm in Riverside, California, to experience my free-preview events as a room director.
These free events are absolutely critical to the success of the entire organization, because this is the first step of entering the Armando System.
Prospective students attend these free events, where we give them a short presentation on what our real-estate program is all about, and I want to make sure that the system that I put in place is being done the Armando way.
- Hi, there.
- Hi, Kevin Jones.
Kevin, nice to meet you.
I'm Sarah.
- Nice to meet you.
- How are you doing? Good.
My first impression of Kevin is that he really needs a haircut.
He looks disheveled, a little dirty.
Like, I wouldn't really necessarily want to run my hands through his hair.
I'm the room director here at Armando Montelongo.
We're doing a preview event.
- All right.
- All right? Put me to work.
Let's go outside, and we'll start our registration process.
We have a registration list already in the system, so I just literally need to just check their name off.
They want to come in and feel taken care of, so we're gonna make them feel that way.
We're gonna introduce ourselves, be confident.
Ask them a little bit about themselves to make them open up a little bit.
Ask them what they do for a living, if they have children or dogs.
If they don't have kids, they like talking about their pets.
And that will help kind of build up, like, rapport.
- Rapport, right.
- Okay.
Hi, are you here for the real-estate event? - Yes.
- Come on over.
How are you? - Good.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- What's your name? - Christine.
- Kev I'm Kevin, Christine.
How's your dog? (Sarah) Kevin seemed very awkward communicating with people.
What would make you think that that person had a dog? You told me to ask about the dogs.
I told you to act natural.
He didn't really know what to say, wasn't acting natural.
(Sarah) I'm gonna get you a couple name tags here.
You're welcome.
Maybe he doesn't know what natural is.
You're mumbling a little bit, so you need talk a little bit louder.
- (Armando) Hi.
- Hi.
I'm Kevin.
(Sarah) He's got serious communication problems.
Not too bad.
He's just a weirdo.
(man) All right, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
On behalf of Armando Montelongo, we'd like to welcome and congratulate you guys for coming out today.
All right, so we're gonna get started.
We got a great trainer here for you today.
Please come on in.
So I'm just gonna evaluate based on what you've done so far.
You seem a little antisocial.
You're not sounding very confident.
These people, when they come up, they want you to be confident and pretty much tell them what to do, so it's really important that we kind of take the lead.
We need to get in there, though, and start trying to get some real-estate packages sold and get their training started.
Yep.
The county keeps those fees because they do all the paperwork.
They send all those registered letters.
The whole point of this is we're trying to get people to purchase a $1,500 real-estate package.
It can really help change their lives.
If they get involved in this program, they have to do it now, or else the chance is gone.
They can call our office at a later date, but the price is gonna go up to $3,000.
Thank you very much.
If you guys haven't spoke to anybody yet, come on back.
Well, let's see.
How about we come talk to this couple right here.
Those two.
- Hi, I'm Kevin.
- Hey, how you doing? Good, how are you? So are you guys interested in doing more real estate? - So this Armando guy, he's rich, right? - Oh, yeah.
It seems like if you listen to somebody who's rich, you'll make money at least.
I don't have to be rich.
No, you just make some money.
I'd rather be where Armando is, of course.
You still can be.
It's never too late.
- I tell everyone that.
- Yeah.
(Armando) Sarah's doing a great job right now of relating to some of my students.
(Sarah) We'll teach you how to do all of that at the three-day training.
(Armando) when it comes to the free-preview events, there's multiple hurdles that have to be overcome.
We would need you guys to get involved today.
Is that something you can do? Every time a student's saying, "Listen, I need to go talk to my son" We have to give you guys the $1,500 today? Or, "Right now is a tough time for me" I would still have to actually get the physical check from you.
It would have to be dated today.
Our job, number one, is to help those students get over the mental hurdles If you put the effort in, you're gonna get your money back one way or another.
Oh, that's good.
(Armando) That they can do this, get rid of the excuses, and then figure out how to attend our three-day workshop.
You need to talk to your parents about financially getting involved? Okay, got you.
Okay.
(Armando) Sarah did a great job, and she really, really has the system down pat of the free-preview events.
(Sarah) So how do you feel you did today? I feel like I started really, really slow, but as time went on, I felt like I began to come out of my shell a little bit.
Yeah.
What kind of jobs did you have before here? I was an event planner, but the pay definitely wasn't as good, so this job it has really helped me with my family.
I send money home to my mom and dad.
Family's a huge a huge thing for me, so to not be able to help them would break my heart, 'cause I think they're counting on me.
Is that a lot of pressure? It is a lot of pressure, but it makes me feel more compelled to do well at my job.
So, if there's one thing you would change about your job and what you do, what would it be? If I could change any one thing in the company, I think the schedule maybe knowing where you were going a couple weeks in advance.
I know a lot of the new people that work here worry if they even still have a job, because they're like, "Oh, my God, "I don't have a schedule.
Am I not getting a paycheck that week?" So it's a huge stress to a lot of people out here.
(Armando) That really, really hit home for me, because I know what it's like not to know where my next check's coming from.
So it's hard to plan your life when you don't know if you're getting a paycheck.
Yeah.
That's something that I have to, have to fix, because I can't just preach, "Let's help people.
" I have to start with my employees.
We have a few more things to do, so let's head back.
We'll break down and get out of here.
Sounds good.
(Armando) Today I'm at the Armando Montelongo headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, where I'll be working in my own call center.
(woman) I'm calling with the Armando Montelongo Real Estate Seminar.
(Armando) The last job, I learned a lot about my organization and what I need to change, and I'm excited about today, because I have a system for everything that I do, from flipping the houses to how we approach our students on free live events to how we talk to the students in the call center.
And so I need to make sure that my brand is being represented the right way.
Hi, I'm looking for Amanda.
I'm Amanda.
You must be Kevin.
- Kevin Jones.
- Hi, Kevin.
I am one of the team leads here at Armando Montelongo Seminars.
So what we do here is we take inbound phone calls as well as making calls for these leads to go to our free-preview events.
As a team lead, I overlook about 15 to 16 people.
I make sure the quality is there on the phone calls, the professionalism is there.
They have a 200-call-per-day quota that they need to hit, so I make sure that they hit those as well.
All right, so I already have you set up to go in your system.
We have a CRM system, and that's where we get our list from.
So you'll click on Phoenix, which pulls up the list of everyone who's supposed to be in attendance to that event.
- A lot of people.
- Yes.
So, as you can see, you have a lot of people that are not attending, but you also have people that have rescheduled, that canceled, so you want to try to talk them into going, because this is a life-changing event.
So we'll go to the next person, which is Cindy, and then you're gonna say, "Hi, Cindy, this is Kevin with Armando Montelongo Seminars.
" - And you have a script there also.
- [line trilling.]
Hi, Cindy, this is Kevin Jones with Armando Montelongo Seminars free live event, and I'm calling in reference to the event you registered for on 7/18.
[chuckles.]
As I'm training Kevin, I'm a bit worried that he's not catching on the way that I thought he would.
So the seats are filling up fast, so I wanted to let you know your seats are reserved.
(Amanda) He definitely needs to just be a little more enthusiastic on the phone calls.
Remember, Armando believes this is the first step to financial freedom.
All right, so you don't have to sound so scripted.
You want to make it your own.
So what you're gonna do is, you're gonna go "next," and then Go ahead and just hit "recover Webpage.
" Sometimes with so many systems being going in here with the same program, it tends to just hiccup sometimes.
(Armando) All of a sudden, our system goes dead, and all I'm watching is spinning and spinning and spinning, and now my entire business is at a standstill.
I felt powerless.
What do we do when this happens? (Amanda) We just wait for it.
It's not an issue that we can resolve in here.
It is an IT issue.
(Armando) How often does this happen? If we're really in here pumping, it'll happen maybe twice or so a day.
(Armando) This stuff's going on twice a day in my company, and it's not getting back to me.
I'm incredibly upset right now.
We are losing money.
The biggest problem in all of this is the managers have just gotten used to this system underperforming.
Like, this is not okay.
- The damn system's still down, huh? - Yes.
Does it make you want to pull your hair out? At times.
Makes me want to pull my hair.
We keep going.
We work through it, though.
(Armando) The thing that's shocking me and, frankly, really, really upsetting me is, no one's doing anything about this.
What the hell? I can't wait anymore.
This problem has to be fixed now.
I can't even think about the things that you're telling me right now.
Do you have any idea who I am? I'm This is Armando.
Do you guys know who I am? And do you guys realize that I've been here undercover? I'm doing an episode of Undercover Boss.
The reason why I'm doing this is to get to know my business better, what we do right and what we do wrong And and this call center we have a major problem.
And when our systems are down, you guys got to be calling IT.
You got to be all over it.
Like, don't just have 'em fix it upstairs.
Bring 'em down here and have one of 'em here until it's fixed.
You got to let me know what tools you guys need.
All right? - And let's you and I sit down and talk.
- Okay.
(Amanda) He wants truth.
He wants to know what's going on in his company.
I feel like I'm speaking for everybody that's in there in that call center right now, and I'm definitely gonna take the opportunity.
You told us in there, you know, "Go When something happens, you go speak to IT yourself.
" That's something that I would like to do, but I never felt like I could, you know? I felt like I would be stepping out of boundaries if I was to do that.
I think the call center doesn't get as much attention as the other departments get from you.
They call the call center "the hood.
" [both laugh.]
That's not good.
Why do they call Why do they call it "the hood"? We just don't get the type of attention that all the other departments get.
Sometimes it's good to hear it from the horse's mouth, 'cause we do work hard in there.
We work really hard.
I saw that today, for sure.
As you've seen, we have a lot of system issues in there.
And they're trying to call list and make sure they're hitting their daily quota numbers, and they can't because of system issues like that.
(Armando) I feel terrible.
I feel like this is not an Amanda problem.
This is not a call center problem.
This is an Armando problem.
Ultimately, it's my fault.
When, like, you guys don't hit your numbers and that affects your bonus, your commissions what's that like? I've been very frustrated sometimes.
[voice breaking.]
I I've been very frustrated sometimes, but I try to keep pushing forward, 'cause it's like this company has helped me a whole lot, and I try to show that I appreciate everything the company has done for me.
You know, I feel like we're not a family anymore, 'cause we don't communicate to the other departments.
We barely even speak, you know.
That's a tough pill to swallow, that one.
You know, I don't know how I'm going to fix this.
I know that I have a lot of work to do.
(Armando) Amanda really gave me a lot of insight about not just the call center but the company, in general, and I've neglected my employees.
So many people come to work for my company because they want to be close to me, because they want to be able to rub elbows with a rich guy, and the problem is I've stopped rubbing elbows, and I've stopped being that dude next door they can hang out with.
It definitely hurts knowing that the family I built, that my baby doesn't feel like a family anymore.
It's falling apart.
Thank you.
Thank you.
(announcer) Coming up the employees think they're going to decide if Kevin deserves to win the grand prize.
How will they react when the boss reveals his true identity? I'm the CEO of the Armando Montelongo Company.
- Yes.
- But I'm also Kevin.
Oh! All right.
(Armando) When I started this journey, I thought we were failing, and I think I've gotten away from that.
I hate that I've gotten away from it because I do give a damn about these people, and so I have to figure out ways to show 'em that I care.
- Hi, Armando.
- How are you? - Good.
- Good.
- So - Oh, wow.
How'd Kevin do? Not so great.
He didn't like to look me in the eye much.
Very socially awkward.
Needs a lot of help.
Well, you know who I am.
I'm the CEO of the Armando Montelongo Companies.
Yes.
But I'm also Kevin.
Oh, my God.
All right.
You're on Undercover Boss.
Oh! [chuckling.]
Maybe lose some of that gut for you.
[both laughing.]
It could work off.
I could work it right off.
- There you go.
- I'd love that.
Sarah, talking to somebody when they're coming up for the first time and meeting a total stranger Hi, are you here for the real-estate event? How are you? - You put 'em at ease.
- Thank you.
One of the things that you mentioned to me was that everyone's scared.
They wonder, "Am I not being scheduled because they don't like me?" Or, "Am I getting fired?" It's very stressful.
Because of you, you guys, from now on, will all be scheduled four weeks out, and you will have certainty that you will have a job.
That is fabulous.
Our director of seminars speaks very, very highly of you.
- I think you're terrific.
- Thank you.
I'm going to be giving you a promotion.
I'm moving you to the front end director of seminars, where you're the one who's running all the teams on the free-preview events.
Thank you.
I would love that.
And give you raise with it.
Oh, my God, that's great.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
- You're welcome.
That's amazing.
You said you take care of your family.
Right.
Well, for the next year, I'm going to take care of your parents' living expenses.
Oh, my God.
Are you really? That is great.
That'll make them so happy.
It'll make me happy.
It'll take a lot of pressure off.
And there's one more thing.
I'm gonna give you $12,000.
Oh, my God.
That's crazy.
Maybe I'll go to Greece.
I have no idea.
But thank you so much.
That's amazing.
And if you go to Greece, I'll take care of all your rooming there.
That's amazing.
Thank you so much for everything.
(Sarah) I'm super excited about the future.
I mean, I'm very grateful about the promotion.
I'm very grateful about the money given to me.
But seriously, the happiest thing giving that money to my parents.
I swear to God, the best thing ever.
Angel, you worked me.
[laughs.]
You worked me like nobody's worked me in a long time.
[laughs.]
(Angel) Keep moving.
Let's go.
Put some muscle into it, Kev.
Come on.
[laughs.]
I built myself from nothing, - and you're rebuilding yourself.
- Mm-hmm.
I want to help you grow your business.
Right now you do about 50 houses a year.
Yeah, something like that.
I'm giving you a contract for over half a million dollars where you're going to be able to expand your electrical-contracting work immediately.
[exhales deeply.]
Awesome.
[sighs, chuckles.]
That's pretty awesome, man.
And there's one more thing.
One of the things that I can tell that really, really resonates with you is your father.
If I could just be half the man he is, I'd be all right.
- Where does he live? - He lives in Queens.
And he loves the horses.
He loves betting the thoroughbreds.
So you'll never get him out of Queens, because Aqueduct and Belmont are right there.
Well, there is somewhere else there's horses.
There's horses in Kentucky.
So next year, I'm gonna send you and your father on an all-expenses-paid vacation to watch the horses in Kentucky race the Derby.
Really? [laughing.]
Oh, that is awesome, dude.
That [laughs.]
That's awesome.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
(Angel) All this generosity means a lot to me.
- Thank you.
- All right.
My pleasure.
My goal is to make sure that my children get a good education and expand the business to give them something so they can be proud of "Hey, man, that's my dad.
" Shannon, when we met, I got to learn a lot about you.
I actually moved in with my mother - to help out financially.
- Mm-hmm.
She also has to put money aside for my sister, who is mentally ill.
It's hard to be the one that everyone depends upon.
Yeah, it is a challenge.
So what I'm going to do is I'm going to pay for your sister's living expenses, up to $36,000.
Ah.
[chuckles.]
Well, thank you.
My mother will be very happy.
I'm happy.
Thank you.
Well, I think that you are an incredibly hard worker, and I love I absolutely love your positive attitude.
So you just found yourself a brand-new investor.
I did? I'm going to finance the purchase price of your first flip, up to $75,000.
[sniffles.]
Thank you.
I'm also going to finance your repairs, up to $25,000.
Oh, okay.
So I'm gonna give you a $100,000 loan to do your first flip with no interest.
Oh, yeah? And you get to keep 100% of the profits.
Yay.
Thank you very much.
I totally feel like I'm dreaming right now.
- All right, thank you.
- Thank you.
My family and I did put a lot on the line, and I feel that our dreams can actually be fulfilled.
I'm very excited.
I can't wait to get it started.
Amanda, when I stood up and I got upset about what was going on, that was not your fault.
You guys got to be calling IT and have one of them here until it's fixed.
And because of our experience together, I'm fixing the computer system right now.
- You did this.
- Oh, man.
That's gonna be so much better.
[sighs.]
They're gonna be so happy.
And I need a liaison between the row and the call center and myself.
I can do that.
And because of that, I'm giving you a 20% raise.
Oh.
Oh, man.
Thank you.
[crying.]
I appreciate it.
It makes me feel like I know I'm gonna be able to make it, you know.
Like, I've Sometimes I feel like my head is barely above water, you know? How much in debt do you think you are? At least 5, $5,000.
Well, Amanda, you're no longer in debt.
I'm wiping your debt free.
[sniffles.]
I never came into this company expecting anything that I get out of it, but I've gotten so much more than what I what I expected.
And I appreciate it.
I'm also going to give you an additional $20,000.
[sobbing.]
I don't even know where to start with $20,000.
(Amanda) Man, I've been living paycheck to paycheck, so it's like a weight taken off of my shoulders.
Like, I just feel like I'm free.
- All right? - Thank you so much.
It gives me that confirmation, like, "Amanda, you can go far, you know.
"Despite what you're going through, you can go really far.
" I'm thankful.
There's no other words.
- Oh, my God! (announcer) Have posed as subjects on a fake show to get honest feedback from their employees.
All right.
It's been shocking.
- [cow moos.]
- A lot of people smoke pot.
(announcer) 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.
- [sobs.]
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.
(announcer) Tonight the latest boss to take on this challenge is Armando Montelongo Oh, my God.
If I died, I would want to be reincarnated as myself.
[laughs.]
(announcer) The self-confident CEO of Armando Montelongo Companies, one of the leaders in real-estate investment education in America.
When do all millionaires take action? (all) Now! (man) No! (announcer) In order to remain undercover, this real-estate kingpin will have to pull out every trick in his book.
(Armando) I'm such a big figure in my company, so I brought in a body double to help pull off part of this undercover mission.
Hey, bud.
Ready to roll? So just everything's like this.
Round circles.
(man) I need the money in the account.
Got it? What the hell? That looks like me.
That's crazy.
It tends to just hiccup sometimes.
(announcer) But what will happen when this house-flipping hotshot finds that his company isn't passing inspection? A lot of the new people that work here worry if they even still have a job.
Yeah.
- The damn system's still down, huh? - Yes.
We're losing money.
I can't wait anymore.
Do you guys know who I am? (announcer) Find out next on Undercover Boss.
(announcer) Operating out of San Antonio, Texas, real-estate mogul Armando Montelongo is the single largest house flipper in America.
Flipping 400 homes each year and leading educational seminars across the country, the Armando Montelongo Companies bank $75 million annually.
Building this empire from the ground up is one man.
I'm Armando Montelongo, CEO of the Armando Montelongo Companies.
I have the most amazing life.
If I died, I would want to be reincarnated as myself.
It is beyond great to be Armando.
My company is focused on real-estate investments and teaching people how to buy houses, flip 'em, and make large profits from it.
Interest rates are low.
Buyers are in the market.
(Armando) Our first contact with our students is through an infomercial.
From that time, they call into our call center.
Our representatives at the call center secure their seat for one of our free live events.
We teach you how to go after these the houses that have already been foreclosed on.
Then to be able to reach the next level, the next status, they have to invest thousands of dollars to go into a three-day event Welcome to the wolf pack.
Where we teach them how to do real estate in that marketplace.
As real-estate investors, we make our money when we (all) Buy, buy, buy! Because time is (all) Money! All right, here we go.
Everybody wants to know, like, "That guy's rich.
How did he do it?" You're in a room with a rich guy saying, "Here's exactly how I did it.
" When you look at people who have changed this world, it is the leaders of industry, the Rockefellers, the Jobs, the Gates, and I know that the Montelongo name could be right up there with each and every one of them.
In 2009, people were running out of real estate.
It's like people running out of a house that's on fire, but I'm like a fireman, and I ran into the fire to the worst market, where everyone said you couldn't do it, and I started flipping houses.
I would take a house that was old and run-down, fix it up, and sell it for a profit.
I went from flipping one to two houses every few months to flipping 25 houses a month and becoming America's number-one house flipper.
And then I decided to share my knowledge with the world by teaching people how to make money in real estate just the way I do, through my real-estate seminars.
I've gone from living in a garage on food stamps to becoming a multi-multimillionaire.
I am the epitome of the American dream.
My team that I travel with is critical to me.
I will take my director of seminars, Jillian, take my assistant, Bryana.
My bodyguard, Devon, he's been SEAL trained.
He's the best of the best.
It's been reported before that my net worth is over $200 million.
When you reach that financial status, you need somebody to watch your back.
I'll take my girlfriend, Whittney.
She's beautiful, and she's lovely, and we live together.
Can we get a shirt? It takes an army to make all this stuff happen.
Bam.
The press, many times, will wonder, "Hey, can you really teach people how to flip houses?" But I say, "[.]
the press," because the only people who can judge me are my students.
I need to know what markets that we're gonna be going into for the teams next week.
Okay.
The Better Business Bureau has gone out there and given us an unfair rating.
We've touched 1.
5 million lives.
We have 146 complaints.
The greatest companies in the world on their greatest day couldn't imagine customer service like this.
We have LA and Riverside.
The market is so hot right now, and there's so much competition.
We'll show 'em how to get way ahead of it.
Our events are like rock concerts [cheers and applause.]
And I'm the rock star of this rock concert.
(Armando) I don't care if you are rich or if you are poor, man or woman, I will teach you how to be successful in the next three days.
[cheers and applause.]
If people ask me, "Are there other systems out there?" My answer is, "None that freakin' matter.
" The reality of the situation is I worked hard.
I've become a multi-multi-multimillionaire.
[engine revving.]
- Oh, my God! - [laughs.]
And you know what? I'm not gonna apologize for my success.
Can I just buzz your head and take your hair? The reason why I'm going undercover is because my company took a huge leap from $0 to $75 million in three years.
Now we're poised to grow from $75 million to $100 million and go international, and so I need to see the intimate-most workings of my company to understand, what are the problems that lie before me that I can't see from my office? And then we'll do things - that make my eyebrows look less intense.
- Mm-hmm.
While undercover, I'll be posing as Kevin Jones, a middle-age man from Santa Barbara, California.
I got a big nose.
I got a giant head.
I got big lips.
I got big teeth.
So this is going to be the most difficult Undercover Boss ever to pull off.
[laughter.]
Oh, God.
I'm Kevin, Kevin Jones.
[laughing.]
(Devon) Look at the sandals.
I love it.
There's gonna be second looks, for sure.
What I have to do is I have to just keep my body language low, tone it down, keep my hands to my sides.
Just give me a little [both talking at once.]
[laughter.]
I'll see you.
Bye, guys.
- Take it easy.
- Bye.
(Armando) Today I'm in Orlando, Florida.
I'm gonna be working as an electrician in one of the houses that I will be flipping.
Flipping is the backbone of my business.
- Hey, how's it going? - Good.
Is Angel here? Yeah, just go through the front door.
Now I flip 400 houses a year, and so I have very, very little interaction with my tradespeople, and so working undercover will allow me to see, are my contractors as efficient as they possibly could be? - Hi, are you Angel? - Yes.
- Kevin Jones.
- Good to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
I'm owner of AMA Electric, and I'm gonna be your instructor for today.
Nice.
Good grief.
What did they give me? When I first saw Kevin, I was a little concerned by his size and his weight.
We're fast-paced.
We got to get the job done.
This guy ain't gonna move.
He's gonna be slow.
And I'm gonna have to ride him like a mule.
We got this contract here with the Armando Montelongo Company.
We're here to restore the electric to top-notch condition.
All we're doing today is we're gonna remove these outlets and ceiling fans.
So we're gonna install new ones that are up to code.
Let's get to it.
Let me show you exactly what we're gonna do.
We're just gonna take this cover off.
Then you're gonna take the screws out, okay? Mm-hmm.
Now you're just gonna pull it and twist.
Pull and twist.
And then take the ground wire off.
Unscrew it, take it off, so later we can start testing them.
- You think you got it? - I got it.
Okay.
You been doing houses like this, the flip houses, long? Yeah, yeah, man.
Let's go, to the next one.
Move on to the next.
Come on.
Kevin, we've got to get these done quick.
(Armando) When Angel first started pulling the outlets, it looked really, really easy, but it's a lot of hard work.
I'm trying to get these copper wires and pull 'em.
It's like handling broken glass.
It just cuts, cuts, cuts.
I have 'em all over my hands.
(Angel) Did you eat your Wheaties this morning? Put some muscle into, Kev.
Come on.
Time is money, Kev.
Time is money.
This is hard work, man.
Keep moving.
Let's go.
Hot as hell.
Looks like you're fading on me, Kev.
Don't fade on me, buddy.
We still got a long day to go.
He started getting slower, and he's sweating harder, and now he's cutting corners.
He wants to cut wires.
All right, now you got to strip those wires.
I need some copper to do my testing.
Angel is no angel of mercy.
This is my personal hell.
Let's move over to the ceiling fan.
This should be relatively easy.
We're gonna take down the whole thing.
We're gonna make it quick.
Move this over to the side like that.
Now you got access to the screw.
All right.
- Why don't we just, like - Huh? Why don't we just, like, rip it off? No, don't do that.
You're messing up the sheetrock, then, dude.
I'm not gonna pay to repair sheetrock.
I'm not gonna get back-charged by Armando.
No, Kevin.
(Armando) when I went into the job, I thought, "I'm gonna be, like, the electrician of the day," but then it's hot, and it's frustrating.
(Angel) No, you're getting frustrated.
- No.
- I'm getting it.
No, you ain't getting it.
That's destroying it.
- [clatter.]
- Got it.
Not the right way, that's for sure.
He starts to really throw a temper tantrum like a two-year-old.
Is that gonna solve the problem for you? 'Cause guess what.
You're just creating a bigger problem for me.
Now I've got to replace that box.
Now that's costing me more time, all right? - All right.
- Let's move on.
Collapse the ladder so you make it easier to walk.
Take the glass globe.
Secure the glass.
Then secure the lightbulb.
No! I mean, if that's how you're gonna act, you know, here's the door.
Go.
Take the glass globe.
Secure the glass.
Then secure the lightbulb.
No! I mean, if that's how you're gonna act, you know, here's the door.
Go.
Clean up the glass.
(Angel) I told him, "You got to secure the glass.
" What does he do? He didn't secure it.
Well, guess what.
That costs us money.
This sucks.
If Kevin was working for me, I'd have to fire him quickly, in a minute, because it just I don't put up with that kind of stuff.
Take a little breather.
Take a little five.
(Armando) It's hard work.
You know what? It makes you stronger, man.
Through adversity is how you succeed.
When I bought the business, early 1990, I took some hard lumps.
I had to claim personal bankruptcy.
For ten years, I had to pay that, paying interest on loans 23%.
It took you ten years to get out of that.
It took me ten, and let me tell you something some depressing times.
So there's sacrifices, and there's prices you got to pay.
I don't want my children doing this.
I want my children to "Hey, go on into college, and go study something else.
" The next generation's got to be better than you.
Otherwise, then what's the sense? - Legacy.
- That's right.
You know, the only thing I ever got from my father when I graduated was his signature on a car loan.
There's no amount of gold that can measure to what that man gave me, because guess what.
Started building my credit.
Was able to buy that business.
That means a lot to you, though.
Damn right it does.
He's 76 years old, man.
He is still the first man on the job and the last man to leave, and that's the example by which I lead my life.
(Armando) It's really, really refreshing to see somebody who absolutely loves what they do, and if I had an army of Angels, then I wouldn't be flipping 400 houses a year.
I would be flipping 4,000 houses a year.
It would be awesome.
It would Armando and his army of Angels.
Let's continue on.
We still got a lot of work to go.
- Let's get at it.
- All right.
- Let's get at it.
- Let's go.
(Armando) Today I'm in Riverside, California, where I'll be speaking at one of my advanced seminars.
Here we go.
[cheers and applause.]
When I come onstage, it's a grand entrance.
We have video screens, and we have music.
The crowd's up.
They're cranking.
They're ready for their lives to be changed.
It is a rock star event happening.
[cheers and applause.]
Where's the wolf pack at? [crowd howls.]
These students have paid to see Armando teach them how to flip houses.
How many of you guys know it's absolutely critically important to change how you think if you want to be rich.
Raise your hand.
To be able to experience that world of a student is something that I've always wanted to do, but have never been able to pull off before now.
Guys, it's been a great morning.
Have you learned a lot? (all) Yes! Then I will see you guys this afternoon.
See you guys.
[cheers and applause.]
Today I'm going undercover as a student.
[cheers and applause.]
It's really critical for me to go undercover as a student, because that's the only way I'm gonna be able to figure out how I can better help them out.
So to stay undercover, I have to be smart.
Hey, bud.
You ready to roll? - Yeah, let's do this.
- Good.
All right, let's go.
(Armando) I've got a body double.
- Switch out some jewelry here.
- Okay.
My body double is going to be milling around so that no one knows that I've gone missing.
Don't get too used to these, all right? The key to this whole thing is confidence and the walk.
- Confidence and the walk.
- Right.
I never shake my head this way.
My head's always shaking this way.
This is gonna be the look sunglasses, hair, and the walk.
Bam, just like this.
All right? Here we go.
I want to get the chain.
- What about the, you know - Yeah.
So just Everything's like this.
Round circles.
Perfect.
(man) Look, man, I need the money in the account right now.
Actually, for a minute, like, it fools me for a moment.
- Got it? - That looks like me.
That's crazy.
- All right, man.
- All right, Armando.
Go knock it out, all right? - All right.
- Will do.
(Armando) I'm nervous as hell right now, because it's time for me to go in, and 400 eyeballs are gonna be on me, the same 400 eyeballs that were just looking at me up onstage.
(man) All right, so extra demo is how much? $1,000.
Big difference, right? Let's go over here.
One thing we had a discussion was basements, like waterproofing, and I see a lot of French drains being put in too.
Do you have a price for French drains or resurfacing, repainting everything? (man) It'll typically cost you about $3,000.
(Armando) I'm starting to get a little anxious because I feel like people are starting to look over at me.
(man) Open canvas you remember Armando talking about that? Skim on open canvas.
(Armando) Luckily, though [door opens.]
Bam, here comes my body double to throw 'em off the trail.
Look, man, you said it was gonna be there.
I need the money.
Got it? We don't want that.
All right, yeah.
There's the man.
Nice.
We never go in there and put new landscaping, because by the time your buyers go into your backyard, their mind's already made up.
(Armando) So far, so good.
Just clean it up, make it look nice.
My staff is giving my students the concise information that my system points out.
(man) What we're gonna do right now is we're gonna break.
It's very important that you guys are back in your seats, because Armando's gonna come back, and you don't want to miss what he's gonna teach.
All right, guys? Since we just got released on dinner break, I think this is a good time for me to go and try to get to know some of my students better.
- Hi, Kevin Jones.
- Hi, how are you? - Shannon.
- I'm Bob.
- Bob, nice to meet you.
- I'm Sharon.
It feels amazing to be able to meet people and not be recognized.
So you want to flip houses.
I do.
I want to make some money.
- I do.
- I'd like that.
Normally, my students meet me as Armando, and so they want to come up and hug me, but at this level, you learn so much more about what my students expect from this company.
- You ever done real estate? - No.
And everybody keeps talking about this Armando guy, this Armando guy.
You got big expectations for this guy? Yeah, definitely.
What do you want to get out of this? I want her to stop working.
That's the main thing.
- She's your mom? - Yes.
- You want to retire her? - Yeah.
You think he can really teach you how to do that? - Definitely.
- I put my money in it.
I certainly hope so.
(Armando) From talking to students, I realized how high the stakes are for us as a company to help them make their lives better.
My family we have a dream to kind of build a little fortune together.
and it makes me want to delve into this deeper - Want to go get a bite to eat? - All right.
Yeah, that sounds good.
Because the students are the soul of this company.
With no students, there is no company.
So what did you think of today? I enjoyed the breaks that we had of getting up and dancing.
- You like the dancing? - Yeah.
'Cause I'm a bartender.
I'm always up.
I'm running around and doing stuff, so Why did you pick this? - Well, I picked this - This Armando dude? Well, there's always real estate to be purchased and sold.
I just don't know how to do it, and speaking with my mom, when we were talking about this I mean, we did research, and he just felt right.
Okay, if you went out there and flipped houses and did this stuff, like, what would you do with the money? Well, I hate to see my mom suffer.
When my father died, he didn't leave much to help out with the family.
Mm-hmm.
I actually moved in with my mother to help out financially.
My mother's almost 70.
She works three days a week.
But she also has to put money aside for my sister, who is mentally ill.
She lives in a halfway house where there's other people like her, and there's somebody to make sure she's on her meds.
What's that like for you? - It's upsetting, you know? - Mm-hmm.
At first, I felt It's like you lost a sister, 'cause it's like a death, but she's still walking around.
You know, she's still alive, and you're, like And you see glimpses of of just fun stuff.
Mm-hmm.
Anyway I pushed my mother, even though she's like, "I'm not sure.
" And I'm like, "We need to do this," you know? Did you pay a lot of money to get here? - Yeah.
- Really? - I think we paid $46,000.
- Whoa.
Yeah, I mean, that's not including airfare and, you know, hotel and stuff.
Wow.
(Armando) I know the investment that it takes to come to my event.
- We found credit cards and savings - Wow.
so we invested a lot.
And some people say, "Well, Armando, "if you're changing people's lives, why don't you just put it on the Internet for free?" It's very scary.
Well, the average college education right now is $120,000, and in one weekend, I give people the opportunity to have, own, and run their own business.
Yeah.
If it doesn't work out, then what happens? I can't I'm not gonna say that.
I can't.
I can't do that.
I can't put myself there.
I don't want to feel that.
The pressure that she feels is something that I felt for years before obtaining my financial success.
It makes me want to make sure that she's gonna make it all the way through.
- We better get back, all right? - Yes, you're right.
It is time.
(announcer) Coming up I'm Kevin.
Christine, how's your dog? Kevin does his best to get with the program.
(woman) What would make you think that that person had a dog? I told you to act natural.
And later Does it make you want to pull your hair out? At times.
The boss learns a hard lesson from one employee that was left high and dry.
[voice breaking.]
I've been very frustrated sometimes, but I try to keep pushing forward.
(Armando) Today I'm in Riverside, California, to experience my free-preview events as a room director.
These free events are absolutely critical to the success of the entire organization, because this is the first step of entering the Armando System.
Prospective students attend these free events, where we give them a short presentation on what our real-estate program is all about, and I want to make sure that the system that I put in place is being done the Armando way.
- Hi, there.
- Hi, Kevin Jones.
Kevin, nice to meet you.
I'm Sarah.
- Nice to meet you.
- How are you doing? Good.
My first impression of Kevin is that he really needs a haircut.
He looks disheveled, a little dirty.
Like, I wouldn't really necessarily want to run my hands through his hair.
I'm the room director here at Armando Montelongo.
We're doing a preview event.
- All right.
- All right? Put me to work.
Let's go outside, and we'll start our registration process.
We have a registration list already in the system, so I just literally need to just check their name off.
They want to come in and feel taken care of, so we're gonna make them feel that way.
We're gonna introduce ourselves, be confident.
Ask them a little bit about themselves to make them open up a little bit.
Ask them what they do for a living, if they have children or dogs.
If they don't have kids, they like talking about their pets.
And that will help kind of build up, like, rapport.
- Rapport, right.
- Okay.
Hi, are you here for the real-estate event? - Yes.
- Come on over.
How are you? - Good.
- Hi.
- Hi.
- What's your name? - Christine.
- Kev I'm Kevin, Christine.
How's your dog? (Sarah) Kevin seemed very awkward communicating with people.
What would make you think that that person had a dog? You told me to ask about the dogs.
I told you to act natural.
He didn't really know what to say, wasn't acting natural.
(Sarah) I'm gonna get you a couple name tags here.
You're welcome.
Maybe he doesn't know what natural is.
You're mumbling a little bit, so you need talk a little bit louder.
- (Armando) Hi.
- Hi.
I'm Kevin.
(Sarah) He's got serious communication problems.
Not too bad.
He's just a weirdo.
(man) All right, good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.
On behalf of Armando Montelongo, we'd like to welcome and congratulate you guys for coming out today.
All right, so we're gonna get started.
We got a great trainer here for you today.
Please come on in.
So I'm just gonna evaluate based on what you've done so far.
You seem a little antisocial.
You're not sounding very confident.
These people, when they come up, they want you to be confident and pretty much tell them what to do, so it's really important that we kind of take the lead.
We need to get in there, though, and start trying to get some real-estate packages sold and get their training started.
Yep.
The county keeps those fees because they do all the paperwork.
They send all those registered letters.
The whole point of this is we're trying to get people to purchase a $1,500 real-estate package.
It can really help change their lives.
If they get involved in this program, they have to do it now, or else the chance is gone.
They can call our office at a later date, but the price is gonna go up to $3,000.
Thank you very much.
If you guys haven't spoke to anybody yet, come on back.
Well, let's see.
How about we come talk to this couple right here.
Those two.
- Hi, I'm Kevin.
- Hey, how you doing? Good, how are you? So are you guys interested in doing more real estate? - So this Armando guy, he's rich, right? - Oh, yeah.
It seems like if you listen to somebody who's rich, you'll make money at least.
I don't have to be rich.
No, you just make some money.
I'd rather be where Armando is, of course.
You still can be.
It's never too late.
- I tell everyone that.
- Yeah.
(Armando) Sarah's doing a great job right now of relating to some of my students.
(Sarah) We'll teach you how to do all of that at the three-day training.
(Armando) when it comes to the free-preview events, there's multiple hurdles that have to be overcome.
We would need you guys to get involved today.
Is that something you can do? Every time a student's saying, "Listen, I need to go talk to my son" We have to give you guys the $1,500 today? Or, "Right now is a tough time for me" I would still have to actually get the physical check from you.
It would have to be dated today.
Our job, number one, is to help those students get over the mental hurdles If you put the effort in, you're gonna get your money back one way or another.
Oh, that's good.
(Armando) That they can do this, get rid of the excuses, and then figure out how to attend our three-day workshop.
You need to talk to your parents about financially getting involved? Okay, got you.
Okay.
(Armando) Sarah did a great job, and she really, really has the system down pat of the free-preview events.
(Sarah) So how do you feel you did today? I feel like I started really, really slow, but as time went on, I felt like I began to come out of my shell a little bit.
Yeah.
What kind of jobs did you have before here? I was an event planner, but the pay definitely wasn't as good, so this job it has really helped me with my family.
I send money home to my mom and dad.
Family's a huge a huge thing for me, so to not be able to help them would break my heart, 'cause I think they're counting on me.
Is that a lot of pressure? It is a lot of pressure, but it makes me feel more compelled to do well at my job.
So, if there's one thing you would change about your job and what you do, what would it be? If I could change any one thing in the company, I think the schedule maybe knowing where you were going a couple weeks in advance.
I know a lot of the new people that work here worry if they even still have a job, because they're like, "Oh, my God, "I don't have a schedule.
Am I not getting a paycheck that week?" So it's a huge stress to a lot of people out here.
(Armando) That really, really hit home for me, because I know what it's like not to know where my next check's coming from.
So it's hard to plan your life when you don't know if you're getting a paycheck.
Yeah.
That's something that I have to, have to fix, because I can't just preach, "Let's help people.
" I have to start with my employees.
We have a few more things to do, so let's head back.
We'll break down and get out of here.
Sounds good.
(Armando) Today I'm at the Armando Montelongo headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, where I'll be working in my own call center.
(woman) I'm calling with the Armando Montelongo Real Estate Seminar.
(Armando) The last job, I learned a lot about my organization and what I need to change, and I'm excited about today, because I have a system for everything that I do, from flipping the houses to how we approach our students on free live events to how we talk to the students in the call center.
And so I need to make sure that my brand is being represented the right way.
Hi, I'm looking for Amanda.
I'm Amanda.
You must be Kevin.
- Kevin Jones.
- Hi, Kevin.
I am one of the team leads here at Armando Montelongo Seminars.
So what we do here is we take inbound phone calls as well as making calls for these leads to go to our free-preview events.
As a team lead, I overlook about 15 to 16 people.
I make sure the quality is there on the phone calls, the professionalism is there.
They have a 200-call-per-day quota that they need to hit, so I make sure that they hit those as well.
All right, so I already have you set up to go in your system.
We have a CRM system, and that's where we get our list from.
So you'll click on Phoenix, which pulls up the list of everyone who's supposed to be in attendance to that event.
- A lot of people.
- Yes.
So, as you can see, you have a lot of people that are not attending, but you also have people that have rescheduled, that canceled, so you want to try to talk them into going, because this is a life-changing event.
So we'll go to the next person, which is Cindy, and then you're gonna say, "Hi, Cindy, this is Kevin with Armando Montelongo Seminars.
" - And you have a script there also.
- [line trilling.]
Hi, Cindy, this is Kevin Jones with Armando Montelongo Seminars free live event, and I'm calling in reference to the event you registered for on 7/18.
[chuckles.]
As I'm training Kevin, I'm a bit worried that he's not catching on the way that I thought he would.
So the seats are filling up fast, so I wanted to let you know your seats are reserved.
(Amanda) He definitely needs to just be a little more enthusiastic on the phone calls.
Remember, Armando believes this is the first step to financial freedom.
All right, so you don't have to sound so scripted.
You want to make it your own.
So what you're gonna do is, you're gonna go "next," and then Go ahead and just hit "recover Webpage.
" Sometimes with so many systems being going in here with the same program, it tends to just hiccup sometimes.
(Armando) All of a sudden, our system goes dead, and all I'm watching is spinning and spinning and spinning, and now my entire business is at a standstill.
I felt powerless.
What do we do when this happens? (Amanda) We just wait for it.
It's not an issue that we can resolve in here.
It is an IT issue.
(Armando) How often does this happen? If we're really in here pumping, it'll happen maybe twice or so a day.
(Armando) This stuff's going on twice a day in my company, and it's not getting back to me.
I'm incredibly upset right now.
We are losing money.
The biggest problem in all of this is the managers have just gotten used to this system underperforming.
Like, this is not okay.
- The damn system's still down, huh? - Yes.
Does it make you want to pull your hair out? At times.
Makes me want to pull my hair.
We keep going.
We work through it, though.
(Armando) The thing that's shocking me and, frankly, really, really upsetting me is, no one's doing anything about this.
What the hell? I can't wait anymore.
This problem has to be fixed now.
I can't even think about the things that you're telling me right now.
Do you have any idea who I am? I'm This is Armando.
Do you guys know who I am? And do you guys realize that I've been here undercover? I'm doing an episode of Undercover Boss.
The reason why I'm doing this is to get to know my business better, what we do right and what we do wrong And and this call center we have a major problem.
And when our systems are down, you guys got to be calling IT.
You got to be all over it.
Like, don't just have 'em fix it upstairs.
Bring 'em down here and have one of 'em here until it's fixed.
You got to let me know what tools you guys need.
All right? - And let's you and I sit down and talk.
- Okay.
(Amanda) He wants truth.
He wants to know what's going on in his company.
I feel like I'm speaking for everybody that's in there in that call center right now, and I'm definitely gonna take the opportunity.
You told us in there, you know, "Go When something happens, you go speak to IT yourself.
" That's something that I would like to do, but I never felt like I could, you know? I felt like I would be stepping out of boundaries if I was to do that.
I think the call center doesn't get as much attention as the other departments get from you.
They call the call center "the hood.
" [both laugh.]
That's not good.
Why do they call Why do they call it "the hood"? We just don't get the type of attention that all the other departments get.
Sometimes it's good to hear it from the horse's mouth, 'cause we do work hard in there.
We work really hard.
I saw that today, for sure.
As you've seen, we have a lot of system issues in there.
And they're trying to call list and make sure they're hitting their daily quota numbers, and they can't because of system issues like that.
(Armando) I feel terrible.
I feel like this is not an Amanda problem.
This is not a call center problem.
This is an Armando problem.
Ultimately, it's my fault.
When, like, you guys don't hit your numbers and that affects your bonus, your commissions what's that like? I've been very frustrated sometimes.
[voice breaking.]
I I've been very frustrated sometimes, but I try to keep pushing forward, 'cause it's like this company has helped me a whole lot, and I try to show that I appreciate everything the company has done for me.
You know, I feel like we're not a family anymore, 'cause we don't communicate to the other departments.
We barely even speak, you know.
That's a tough pill to swallow, that one.
You know, I don't know how I'm going to fix this.
I know that I have a lot of work to do.
(Armando) Amanda really gave me a lot of insight about not just the call center but the company, in general, and I've neglected my employees.
So many people come to work for my company because they want to be close to me, because they want to be able to rub elbows with a rich guy, and the problem is I've stopped rubbing elbows, and I've stopped being that dude next door they can hang out with.
It definitely hurts knowing that the family I built, that my baby doesn't feel like a family anymore.
It's falling apart.
Thank you.
Thank you.
(announcer) Coming up the employees think they're going to decide if Kevin deserves to win the grand prize.
How will they react when the boss reveals his true identity? I'm the CEO of the Armando Montelongo Company.
- Yes.
- But I'm also Kevin.
Oh! All right.
(Armando) When I started this journey, I thought we were failing, and I think I've gotten away from that.
I hate that I've gotten away from it because I do give a damn about these people, and so I have to figure out ways to show 'em that I care.
- Hi, Armando.
- How are you? - Good.
- Good.
- So - Oh, wow.
How'd Kevin do? Not so great.
He didn't like to look me in the eye much.
Very socially awkward.
Needs a lot of help.
Well, you know who I am.
I'm the CEO of the Armando Montelongo Companies.
Yes.
But I'm also Kevin.
Oh, my God.
All right.
You're on Undercover Boss.
Oh! [chuckling.]
Maybe lose some of that gut for you.
[both laughing.]
It could work off.
I could work it right off.
- There you go.
- I'd love that.
Sarah, talking to somebody when they're coming up for the first time and meeting a total stranger Hi, are you here for the real-estate event? How are you? - You put 'em at ease.
- Thank you.
One of the things that you mentioned to me was that everyone's scared.
They wonder, "Am I not being scheduled because they don't like me?" Or, "Am I getting fired?" It's very stressful.
Because of you, you guys, from now on, will all be scheduled four weeks out, and you will have certainty that you will have a job.
That is fabulous.
Our director of seminars speaks very, very highly of you.
- I think you're terrific.
- Thank you.
I'm going to be giving you a promotion.
I'm moving you to the front end director of seminars, where you're the one who's running all the teams on the free-preview events.
Thank you.
I would love that.
And give you raise with it.
Oh, my God, that's great.
Thank you.
- Thank you.
Thank you.
- You're welcome.
That's amazing.
You said you take care of your family.
Right.
Well, for the next year, I'm going to take care of your parents' living expenses.
Oh, my God.
Are you really? That is great.
That'll make them so happy.
It'll make me happy.
It'll take a lot of pressure off.
And there's one more thing.
I'm gonna give you $12,000.
Oh, my God.
That's crazy.
Maybe I'll go to Greece.
I have no idea.
But thank you so much.
That's amazing.
And if you go to Greece, I'll take care of all your rooming there.
That's amazing.
Thank you so much for everything.
(Sarah) I'm super excited about the future.
I mean, I'm very grateful about the promotion.
I'm very grateful about the money given to me.
But seriously, the happiest thing giving that money to my parents.
I swear to God, the best thing ever.
Angel, you worked me.
[laughs.]
You worked me like nobody's worked me in a long time.
[laughs.]
(Angel) Keep moving.
Let's go.
Put some muscle into it, Kev.
Come on.
[laughs.]
I built myself from nothing, - and you're rebuilding yourself.
- Mm-hmm.
I want to help you grow your business.
Right now you do about 50 houses a year.
Yeah, something like that.
I'm giving you a contract for over half a million dollars where you're going to be able to expand your electrical-contracting work immediately.
[exhales deeply.]
Awesome.
[sighs, chuckles.]
That's pretty awesome, man.
And there's one more thing.
One of the things that I can tell that really, really resonates with you is your father.
If I could just be half the man he is, I'd be all right.
- Where does he live? - He lives in Queens.
And he loves the horses.
He loves betting the thoroughbreds.
So you'll never get him out of Queens, because Aqueduct and Belmont are right there.
Well, there is somewhere else there's horses.
There's horses in Kentucky.
So next year, I'm gonna send you and your father on an all-expenses-paid vacation to watch the horses in Kentucky race the Derby.
Really? [laughing.]
Oh, that is awesome, dude.
That [laughs.]
That's awesome.
Thank you.
Appreciate it.
Thank you.
Thank you very much.
(Angel) All this generosity means a lot to me.
- Thank you.
- All right.
My pleasure.
My goal is to make sure that my children get a good education and expand the business to give them something so they can be proud of "Hey, man, that's my dad.
" Shannon, when we met, I got to learn a lot about you.
I actually moved in with my mother - to help out financially.
- Mm-hmm.
She also has to put money aside for my sister, who is mentally ill.
It's hard to be the one that everyone depends upon.
Yeah, it is a challenge.
So what I'm going to do is I'm going to pay for your sister's living expenses, up to $36,000.
Ah.
[chuckles.]
Well, thank you.
My mother will be very happy.
I'm happy.
Thank you.
Well, I think that you are an incredibly hard worker, and I love I absolutely love your positive attitude.
So you just found yourself a brand-new investor.
I did? I'm going to finance the purchase price of your first flip, up to $75,000.
[sniffles.]
Thank you.
I'm also going to finance your repairs, up to $25,000.
Oh, okay.
So I'm gonna give you a $100,000 loan to do your first flip with no interest.
Oh, yeah? And you get to keep 100% of the profits.
Yay.
Thank you very much.
I totally feel like I'm dreaming right now.
- All right, thank you.
- Thank you.
My family and I did put a lot on the line, and I feel that our dreams can actually be fulfilled.
I'm very excited.
I can't wait to get it started.
Amanda, when I stood up and I got upset about what was going on, that was not your fault.
You guys got to be calling IT and have one of them here until it's fixed.
And because of our experience together, I'm fixing the computer system right now.
- You did this.
- Oh, man.
That's gonna be so much better.
[sighs.]
They're gonna be so happy.
And I need a liaison between the row and the call center and myself.
I can do that.
And because of that, I'm giving you a 20% raise.
Oh.
Oh, man.
Thank you.
[crying.]
I appreciate it.
It makes me feel like I know I'm gonna be able to make it, you know.
Like, I've Sometimes I feel like my head is barely above water, you know? How much in debt do you think you are? At least 5, $5,000.
Well, Amanda, you're no longer in debt.
I'm wiping your debt free.
[sniffles.]
I never came into this company expecting anything that I get out of it, but I've gotten so much more than what I what I expected.
And I appreciate it.
I'm also going to give you an additional $20,000.
[sobbing.]
I don't even know where to start with $20,000.
(Amanda) Man, I've been living paycheck to paycheck, so it's like a weight taken off of my shoulders.
Like, I just feel like I'm free.
- All right? - Thank you so much.
It gives me that confirmation, like, "Amanda, you can go far, you know.
"Despite what you're going through, you can go really far.
" I'm thankful.
There's no other words.