Undercover Boss (2010) s06e11 Episode Script
Gigi's Cupcakes
Since premiering to nearly more than 70 bosses Oh, 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.
The latest boss to take on this challenge is Gina Butler This looks like I made 'em at home.
the CEO and founder of Gigi's Cupcakes, one of the fastest-growing competitors in this billion-dollar cupcake industry.
By going undercover So no, no, no, that's wrong.
this former country singer turned cupcake queen My goodness.
will have her skills put to the test.
Stop.
- Go get another cake.
- Ah.
Push it.
- Ooh! - There you go.
Pfft.
Oh, no! What fell? Her journey goes off the rails when she discovers the employees aren't following her recipe for success.
So you see this tab? It's a variation to the recipe.
We tweaked it.
What the fondant? I have failed at being a CEO in many ways.
All this next on Undercover Boss.
Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Gigi's Cupcakes is quickly rising to the top to become one of the country's most successful bakeries, with 1,000 employees and a hundred stores spread across 23 states.
This $42 million a year company is led by one woman.
My cupcakes are the best things you'll ever put in your mouth.
My name is Gina Butler, and people call me "Gigi.
" I'm the founder and CEO of Gigi's Cupcakes.
I had wanted to be a singer/songwriter of country music since I was seven.
About 18, I started singing at a lot of clubs.
I was born in Oklahoma.
But I knew really to hone my skill and my craft I needed to move to Nashville.
Big city Late nights Blue moon and red taillights So after my mom had a little breakdown after I told her I'm leaving, I moved to Nashville.
Knew no one.
Didn't have a place to live.
And I had $500 to my name.
But when I left for Nashville, I knew I wouldn't be back.
I was gonna stay.
I started cleaning houses during the day full-time, and then I would sing at night at every honky-tonk, downtown Nashville, old folks' home, biker bar, fair.
Whatever it was, I'd be there, we'd have a gig.
I always thought that I would just clean houses until my "music career" took off.
I never intended to almost clean houses for 20 years, but I did.
I think I was about 30, 32, where I'm like, "This isn't gonna work.
" What am I gonna do? I'm a failure.
When you have to pick yourself up and there's no one to pick you up, it's just you, it's time to create.
But let's create something new.
So my brother went to New York City, stood in line at a cupcake shop for two hours, and he called me while he was in Central Park and said, "These cupcakes aren't as good as yours and mom's.
You should make a cupcake shop in Nashville.
" And I remember, I had my cleaning gloves on, I was in a little small bathroom cleaning, I was on the phone, and I thought, what if? Why not? So I went ahead and took out $100,000 cash advance loans on my credit cards and just went for it.
The day before it opened, I had $33 left in my checking account.
My mom was there cleaning.
My dad was there putting the chairs together for me.
I put on my little apron, I opened my doors, and a little line formed, and people started trickling in.
And it just took off from there.
My dad would help with the build-outs, and my brother would help go on the road with me, and my mom helped with the recipes, and that's how Gigi's Cupcakes was formed.
It's very difficult to be in business with family.
As we've grown, we've had differences of opinions of things, and I've had to bring on people that have better experience than my family has had.
And they totally disagree.
And now we're not really on speaking terms, and that kills me inside.
The cupcake business has become very competitive, so if we want to rise to the top we have to continue to set ourselves apart.
We've already cornered a big piece of the cupcake market with 98 stores from Phoenix to Florida.
A year from now, we hope to frost our way to 150 stores and $75 million in cupcake sales annually.
Consistency is the key to any success as far as franchising.
- Is this the pink lemonade frosting? - Mm-hmm.
I don't know if I like that color.
What makes Gigi's Cupcakes unique is that I have the most amazing frosting.
My signature Gigi Swirl is so amazing.
It's what sets us apart.
And so you want that to be the same so people go, "Oh, that's a Gigi's cupcake.
" And when the swirl looks not right, I freak.
This looks like I made 'em at home.
Let's rethink that swirl.
All right, Kendall, you wanna help mommy? You wanna put it in there for mommy while I get the sugar? It's hard to raise a business and a daughter at the same time.
I'm a sole provider, single mom.
It's been a real challenge.
She's gone with me on the road most every place.
This recipe is from your grandmother.
We'll be opening stores, and she'll be in my arm, and I'll be swirling a cupcake, and she'll be right with me.
Ooh, it spilled on my shirt.
That's all right.
I'm nervous about this.
Are you? What are you thinking? Ah, I'm thinking I need to be different.
So let's start.
My face is on every wall, and my voice is on our radio.
So I have gotten a retainer, so it'll kinda slur my speech a little bit so they won't recognize my voice.
Fabulous.
While undercover, I'll be posing as Candace Plinkett, a single mother competing to win money to start my own business.
Getting homelier as the seconds tick by.
I know, that's The employees have no idea this is actually Undercover Boss.
I'm going to have to be very passive and demure and not act like myself at all.
Who is that? I'm Candace Plinkett from Bakersfield, California.
- I look like a total freak.
- Oh, my God.
You are hideous.
What do you think mama looks like? A monster.
- Monster? - A monster! Give mama a kiss good-bye.
- I don't want you to go.
- I know, honey, but I'll be back.
Aunt B, you wanna take her? When you have your name on a sign and your picture on a wall, the pressure is unbelievable.
Wish me luck.
I have put everything into Gigi's Cupcakes my heart, my soul, my passion.
Everything.
Love you.
I'll see you soon.
The time is now to figure out what we're doing well and what we're doing wrong.
Right now, at 100 stores, before we get to 250, we have to know what's going on so we can get better and we can grow.
Today I'm going undercover as a cupcake decorator in Charlotte, North Carolina.
I'm ready to go.
Let's do this.
Gigi's employees are expected to do many jobs, whether you're delivering cupcakes, working the front counter, or you're in the back swirling.
Hi, welcome to Gigi's.
Hi.
I'm looking for Jason.
The perfect decorator would be someone who can multitask, who has consistency, has a great attitude, and gets the job done.
- Hey.
- Candace? - Yes, hi.
- Hey, I'm Jason.
- Jason, nice to meet you.
- It's nice to meet you.
When Candace walked in, kinda had to take a double take.
She kinda reminded me of my grandma.
She just didn't strike me as that type of person who would want to start their own business.
We're gonna go ahead and get you an apron, - if you wanna grab one.
- Okay.
All right.
- These are our wooden practice cupcakes.
- Okay.
These are our pastry bags.
The first cupcake we're gonna be doing today, it's the Chocolate Turtle.
The way the Turtle Cupcake is actually decorated is like it's two dollops.
Down, up.
What in the world? Where's the Gigi Swirl? Our signature swirl.
He stacked, I swirl.
Is that the Gigi Swirl? Yeah, that's the Gigi Swirl.
Is that the Gigi Swirl? Yeah, that's the Gigi Swirl.
- Not bad for the first one.
- Okay.
This is not the Gigi way.
Jason does not have my swirl right.
He stacked, I swirl.
The swirl is so important.
It's vital to what we are as Gigi's.
I was freaking out.
Okay.
Wow.
That's pretty much that right there.
No, no, no.
You're supposed to individually put the cupcakes over the sprinkle bin and then set 'em down.
These ones get drizzled with caramel.
No! Wait a minute.
You're supposed to poke a hole in all of them, fill 'em with caramel.
This is your fudge.
You're gonna do the opposite way.
There are things in that store we've got to fix.
- Wow.
- I'm gonna go ahead and do my 12, and I want you to do your 12.
- Two dollops.
- Two dollops.
- You're gonna press down.
- Two dollops.
Oh, my stuff's coming up from the top.
- That's okay.
- What did I do wrong? You cut your bag in half, and you squeeze from the middle of your bag.
- Up, up, up.
- Up, up.
Now press down and keep squeezing.
I was a little worried.
She was struggling.
Her cupcakes were a little rough.
It's okay.
So out of the 12 cupcakes you did, I would probably put up five or six of them.
Right now I would not hire Candace as an employee of mine.
We are going to be going on a wedding delivery.
Oh.
She ordered about 120 big cupcakes and a cake topper.
- That's a big order.
- So Yeah.
I'm not driving, am I? - You are driving.
- Oh! Wow.
Okay.
So you're all set.
My gosh, so you have to really be careful.
Mm-hmm.
I'm comfortable driving cupcakes around sometimes in a city I know, but it is still nerve-racking.
- What I want you to do is kinda - Little nervous.
You're good.
Take a left up here.
Oh, and really quick too, just be careful slamming on your brakes like that.
Right.
Just because of the cupcakes.
I'll be mindful of that.
Just watch Oh, it's okay.
Oh, goodness.
Hitting all the potholes.
Oh, goodness.
Every 30 seconds she hit a pothole.
"Oh, I'm sorry.
I hit another pothole.
" "Damn, I hit a pothole.
" Oh, darn it.
How many potholes are in this city? I got $500 worth of cupcakes in the back of this car, and I was gonna have an accident in my pants.
Just gotta watch out for corners and kinda treat it as another human being in the back of your car almost.
Okay.
Ahh! Oh, my gosh.
Oh, no.
What fell? Oh, my gosh.
I gotta get out and check those cupcakes.
The cupcakes are good.
Mm.
I was like, "Oh, thank goodness.
" I could have ruined the bride's wedding day.
Make it look nice.
As if this was your wedding - What I would expect.
- What you would expect.
- Okay.
- Exactly.
I was so surprised to see Jason's passion and his responsibility.
He cares.
If you want, you can put that one right here.
My opinion of Jason changed.
He hasn't been trained properly himself.
So how is he supposed to be able to train me? Good job.
Let's take a break.
Thank you.
Awesome.
Let's go.
But the pride he takes, I can't train that.
Tell me a little bit about you.
I'm a single mom.
So I work really hard.
I've had some some tough things.
Some bumpy roads? I've had some potholes.
But I think we've all had our mess-ups in the past, so Mm-hmm.
Had some run-ins with the law.
- Really? - Yeah.
I got two DWIs in six months.
Oh, goodness.
- That sucks.
- Made some bad choices in my life.
But Gigi's basically gave me another opportunity, a second chance, and I take that with great responsibility.
I love, love my job.
You know, with all that trouble that I got in, it set me back financially with lawyers and Hmm, I bet.
I'm 30 years old.
I think it's time to grow up - and time to act - Be responsible.
Be responsible and act my age.
I just thought it was so cool that he had taken his mistakes and learned from them, and he wants to better himself.
I really related to that because Gigi's Cupcakes gave me a second chance, and it's so nice that it can give other people a second chance also.
Your dreams? Before Gigi's, I wanted to open up my own wedding cake shop.
Oh.
So you wanna own your own bakery or? Oh, it's definitely a Gigi's now.
- Really? - Yeah.
I take such pride in that, and I'm It just gave me chills.
I was so happy.
It made my heart happy.
Let's get out of here, and let's go finish up at the store.
- Sounds good.
Okay.
- Awesome.
Let's go.
Today I'm in Atlanta, Georgia, and I'll be working as a baker.
Yesterday was somewhat of a nightmare, as I realized Jason didn't know how to do the Gigi Swirl correctly.
How are you today? I'm good.
I'm here to see C.
Okay, sure.
Come on back.
Consistency in the franchise world is the most important thing you can do.
If you're not consistent in all your system, you're in trouble.
I'm C.
Hi, Candace.
I'm the head baker here at Gigi's Cupcakes.
Nice to meet you.
Candace came off to me as, like, a hippy.
Like, she believes in, like, trees have feelings and stuff like that.
Not what I was expecting.
Yeah.
All right, are you ready? - I'm ready.
- All right.
So I'm gonna show you how to make a frosting.
Six pounds of butter.
Wow, that's a lot.
And then six pounds of cream cheese.
Cream cheese frosting is our heaviest and most technical frosting ever, 'cause either it can go bad or it can go good.
- Grab the butter.
- Grab the butter.
Throw it in the mixer.
- All right.
- So it's a back and forth movement.
- Gotta be - You're never still.
Just being fast.
Ah.
Just grab it, yeah.
C is sweet, but she's tough.
So don't be afraid to grab that butter.
Never leave your trash on the table.
Never leave my trash on the table.
She's a stickler about cleanliness, training, multitasking.
Now throw that butter in there.
Ah, yep.
- Just continue opening it.
Yep.
- Ahh! Right, hmm.
You know, don't waste the money.
It's not that hard to open butter.
And so now we're gonna go back to the recipe.
Okay.
- So you see this little tab right here? - Yeah.
It's a variation to the recipe.
Normally it says 12 scoops.
- We're gonna add 13.
- "We" as far as Gigi's? This recipe is manufactured at Gigi's Corporate.
They test it out.
But we've also - we've also - Tweaked it? When they send it Yeah, we tweaked it.
Well, I did in the store.
Why? It's perfect with 12 scoops of powdered sugar, honey.
Trust me.
I know this.
So corporate sent it wrong? They didn't send it wrong.
We just It just We like our stuff firmer.
Okay.
I have personally tweaked these recipes myself.
I don't need you to come in and say that we need more powdered sugar in there.
No, you don't.
You just need 12 scoops.
Powdered sugar.
And so I'm gonna show you - Go ahead, open it.
- Okay.
That's not gonna give you 13.
- Okay.
- We're at the bottom of the barrel.
Okay.
- So we're gonna refill this bin.
- Okay.
And so these bags are 50 pounds.
Oh.
So do we have a man to do it or No, no, we do everything.
Everything! Wow.
You be the man.
You lift this.
It's not that heavy.
My goodness.
Yep.
There you go.
- There you go.
- Jeez.
- There you go.
- Okay.
It's not that heavy.
Okay.
You're gonna gut it just like a fish.
Oh, my goodness.
Yep.
So I'm just gutting it like a fish.
Gutting it like a fish.
Oh, you need to be stronger than that.
Just Go ahead.
You're not gonna The knife the knife isn't that - that Yeah.
- Oh, wait No.
Yeah, there you go.
Oh, there we go.
- Now stop.
- Okay.
Push all that powdered sugar in.
Go ahead, push it.
- Ooh! - There you go.
Pfft.
There you go.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
And that's filling up a powdered sugar bag.
That is.
Candace was horrible.
No, just dump it in there.
- You don't even Just dump it, yeah.
- Okay.
Just You don't need to shake it.
Just She just didn't get it.
Oh, darn it.
- Yep, that's way too much milk.
- Agh.
You're going too fast.
You're gonna have powdered sugar just go real slow.
Start it real slow.
Okay.
I would personally tell her to go home and not call her back.
- It looks pretty.
- Yeah.
Now just imagine this spatula is a cupcake.
Gonna turn that upside down.
We have not had a complaint in the two years I have been here.
- Whoa, that's a lot to take pride in.
- And so Yeah.
So now we're gonna dump the trash.
C is very good at training.
But I am concerned that there are some tweaks we're gonna have to make with this location.
There's a couple things that just weren't done right.
- So we're gonna go this way.
- Okay.
So, like, do you feel like this was good or bad? I don't think in your eyes I did very good.
- But you're a stickler.
- Yeah, I mean I mean, you're And I'm glad.
I mean, I'm really glad.
I mean, I've been like this for forever.
I mean, a year ago I was diagnosed with M.
S.
Wow.
And they told me that I had to quit my job.
I couldn't feel anything.
I lost all function in my legs.
Oh, my goodness.
I could not walk.
Wow.
They told me I was gonna be walking with a cane.
- And this was when? - A year ago.
A year ago? - Yeah, and I'm - It's a miracle.
Yeah, and I'm here today And you're working and lifting all that stuff? And I'm working and lifting and standing and Just, just go for it.
Like, just do not let anybody tell you that you cannot do something.
That's good advice.
I needed to hear that.
So now I live with my mom, and I help out with bills, and my medicine is, like, 2,400 a month and I'm sorry, how much? After your co-pay or before your co-pay? Before my co-pay.
They pay, like, a half of it, and I have to come up with the rest.
- You're tough as nails.
- Yeah.
Not only in the kitchen.
Yeah, that's what I'm trying to make out of you.
When someone's diagnosed with that at such a young age, you would feel like she'd just want to crawl in her bed and give up, but her attitude is, "No, I'm fighting this.
I'm going for it.
" And I love that.
That's a fighter.
So let's go in here and finish up this cleaning.
Okay.
Coming up People tell me I'm intimidating and a little mean.
the boss fails at Cake Decorating 101.
Stop.
Go get another cake.
- Ugh.
- Do it again.
It's beautiful.
It's not.
And later My mom died when I was ten.
Really? So I was suicidal.
the boss meets an upbeat employee with a troubled past.
I don't care if the world knows, because it's gonna change someone's life.
Today I'm in Houston, Texas, and I'll be working in the cake department.
We're new at this cake business, and this store does cakes better than anyone in our system.
Hi.
I'm here to see Cheryl.
I wanna see what they're doing right, and I wanna take it and apply it to the other stores.
Candace? - Yes.
- Hi.
I'm Cheryl.
Cake decorating isn't really my forte, so I'm not gonna have to pretend that I'm clueless.
It's just gonna come naturally.
I'm the cake manager here.
I kinda do everything.
People tell me I'm intimidating and a little mean.
But I try not to be.
I'm just very strict, and I have high standards, so Cheryl is pretty blunt.
I appreciate you telling me that up front, and I don't see Candace as a type that can run her own company.
I definitely think that she's far too timid.
I already torted some tiers, which just means cutting the layers in half.
I'm gonna have you fill them, trim them, and then crumb coat them.
I don't know what that is, but you'll show me.
I'm gonna tell you.
All right.
So what you're gonna do first And this is a very, very stiff buttercream.
Is it like that for a reason? Mm-hmm, to keep the filling in, 'cause you'll get little bulges on the side of your cake.
And then you take your buttercream, and you just level it out.
- Wow.
Quick.
- Okay? Do the next tier.
And the same thing.
How many cakes do you sell a week? We take anywhere between 20 and 30 cakes.
Okay.
Thank you for calling Gigi's in the Woodlands.
This is Cheryl.
How can I help you? Hi, I wanted to place a cake order.
Um, it's gonna be for this Saturday.
- For this Saturday? - Yes.
No, I am fully booked already.
We book up really, really quickly on the weekends.
I'm sorry, you are not too busy to do that cake.
What the fondant? That is not acceptable.
Why would you turn down a cake? There's no one else to help me.
She needs help so she can never turn down business.
Oh, my goodness.
Yep, just start on the edge and turn the turntable.
You'd rather have too much and take it off than have not enough and have to add.
Right in the middle, level, and turn your turntable.
So I need to level it? Always.
Is it level? Eh Hmm.
I was trying not to jump in, but it's incredibly frustrating when you're taking this awesome cake, you're watching somebody just destroy it.
- It's leaning a little.
- It is leaning.
If you can't make it clean and straight and level, then you're gonna have a crap cake.
Turn the turntable.
Does it look straight? - No.
- Okay, stop.
Go get another cake.
Ugh! - Do it again.
- It's beautiful.
Do it again.
It's not.
Candace's cake was unsuitable.
It doesn't fit my standards for the store.
Just do it better this time.
I cannot feel for the life of me that she would be the one to win this competition.
My whole life is on the line of winning this.
Now move on.
Move on.
Why would it be your whole life? Well, I'm a single mom and Yeah? And my husband left me when she was four.
My first marriage was terrible.
Torture? He was very, um, verbally abusive, so I'm sorry.
A decade of terribleness.
And, you know, I got my kids out of it.
I have three from my previous husband and three from my current husband.
Wow.
I only see my husband, Jason, for, like, 20 minutes, 'cause I work at, like, and I work until two or three in the afternoon, and then I go home, and I see him, and then he goes to work.
You're that busy here? We are that busy here.
- You need to hire someone else.
- Yeah.
The reason why they are doing so well with cakes is because they have a stickler in the back doing the cakes to perfection.
I'm gonna show you how to fondant a cake.
Grab the sides of the rolling pin.
And she's a genius in her own right.
Flip it all the way over.
But she has got to have a day off.
We have got to find someone to take her place on one day.
I know I didn't do a good job on it.
It's not great.
Can we put flowers on it? I don't think there's enough flowers in the world that would cover all this up.
Today I'm in Gainesville, Florida, and I'll be working as a customer service representative.
There you go.
$6.
22.
A customer service representative is the face of Gigi's the second a customer walks in the door.
I'm relying on these people to sell my dream.
There you go, sir.
On my journey so far, there's been some consistency issues, so I've been consistently frustrated.
So I'm hoping today I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Hi there.
Welcome to Gigi's.
Hi, I'm Candace.
- Hi! - I'm looking for Jannette.
I'm Jannette.
Nice to meet you.
You can come on back with me.
- How are you? - I'm great.
- How are you? - Good.
Today you're gonna help me work the front.
So the customers will come in.
You'll greet them just the way that I did.
Hi there, welcome to Gigi's.
But you wanna give them like Don't be afraid to say, "Hi, welcome.
" You know, just be who you are.
- Okay.
- That's the biggest thing.
Hi there! Welcome to Gigi's.
See? Just like that.
Hi hi.
Welcome to Gigi's.
Walk up to them.
All you gotta do is, like, ask 'em if they have any questions.
Do you have any questions about the cupcakes? Oh.
Candace was very shy.
Oh, goodness.
Hi there, welcome to Gigi's.
Hi, welcome to Gigi's.
She was very timid.
You know, she wasn't confident, you know? It's, like, yours, you know? You're here, but you have to own it.
- Um, no.
- To be Are you sure? Yeah, I can We don't Yeah, I don't think you do.
But you're good.
"You don't need an apron.
" I need to look the part! Give me a frickin' apron.
I don't I don't look like I'm part of Gigi's now.
Okay, let me go see if we have one in the back for you.
I don't know.
I just don't wanna Yeah, it's okay.
Yeah! I'll go see if we have one for you.
Okay.
Momma wants an apron.
Hello? Pfft.
Ugh.
Just was another little red flag.
Hey, here you go.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Now I feel more complete.
Okay, now look at me.
Hi there, welcome to Gigi's.
How are y'all doing today? Awesome, great.
Thank you.
Jannette is not properly trained.
She says, "Hi, welcome to Gigi's.
" Hi there, welcome to Gigi's! Hi.
It's, "Hi, welcome to Gigi's.
Have you been here before? "Well, thank you for coming back.
Let me tell you about our specials today.
" Hi.
I want the wedding cake and the crumb cake.
Yes, ma'am.
How's your day going so far? Awesome.
But the bright side is Jannette has something you can't teach.
She has a unique ability to connect with people.
Hi! How are y'all doing today? - Good.
- Awesome.
She has energy and passion.
That's something that's not easy to find.
You have to be customer-minded.
You have to love them.
You have to let them know, "Okay, how would they feel?" That was music to my ears.
Ahh I was like, that's it.
So what made you want to do this? Like I just really wanna own my own business.
- Okay.
- I want something that's mine.
And it's been a real really big challenge, - but I need to grow more.
- Right, yeah.
What are your dreams? I love children.
So I'm gonna go to school to be a family counselor.
'Cause I'm, like, a girl that grew up out of nothing.
- Really? - Truthfully, yeah.
Like, my family was poor, you know? Like, we lived off food stamps.
That's just what we did, you know? And my mom died when I was ten.
Really? So I was depressed, I was suicidal.
I've tried to commit suicide three times.
So I was in the hospital quite a bit.
Do you have any scars? No.
I have this one.
But I can use this to help somebody else.
People that are depressed, I talk to them.
And it's okay, because I'm open with it, and I don't care if the world knows, because it's gonna change someone's life.
Jannette had a very troubled past.
But the bright side is that she's learned from it, and she's so passionate about helping other people now.
So we're done with this, so we're gonna go to the back and get the mop and stuff like that.
I haven't ever experienced that pain.
But when her mom died, I can't imagine what that would feel like.
Because I can at least call my mom and tell her I love her still, even though we've had some problems.
And and there's still enough time, and she's still here on this earth, that maybe we could heal things.
I'm so blessed that I had the opportunity to go undercover.
There's a lot more work than I thought there was to do, and I'm so frustrated about that.
I've failed at being a CEO in many ways.
Oh, man.
I'm gonna go back into the office, and we are going to make a difference.
These things are going to be fixed, or I am going to every store and fixing them myself.
I have to let some painful things go that I've experienced with my family in the last couple years, going through this business and growing out of this business with them.
It's so important for me to heal these wounds that I've maybe caused in some ways.
Coming up, the employees think they're going to decide whether or not Candace deserves money to start her own business.
How do you think Candace did? Candace.
She didn't listen.
She didn't follow direction.
How will they react when the boss reveals her true identity? You've been on Undercover Boss.
- Ah! - Okay.
Holy [.]
.
My week undercover has finally come to an end, and I've learned there is a bunch of room for improvement.
But we have great people that work for us.
So how do you think Candace did? Candace.
Do you think she would be a good business owner? Um, I don't think so.
She didn't listen.
She didn't follow direction.
Well, I was Candace.
Okay.
But I'm not Candace any longer.
I'm Gigi, the founder and CEO of Gigi's Cupcakes.
You've been on Undercover Boss.
Ah, no I have not.
Yes, you have.
Jannette, I was so sad to know that you had lost your mom at such a young age.
You overcoming the things you've overcome is amazing.
I've tried to commit suicide three times.
So I was in a hospital quite a bit.
Coming from that scar to having so much joy, I want to help you.
I want to give you $5,000 just to help get you on your feet.
Thank you.
I'm so proud of you, that you're going back to school.
So I want to give you $15,000 towards your education.
Thank you so much.
I'm really excited about your new beginning.
Wow.
God, I'm gonna hug you.
Thank you.
Oh, this is so amazing.
I don't know, it's, like, Thank you.
And I'm just so proud of you.
She's paying for my school.
And I was so worried about that, you know? Oh, it's just awesome.
Jason, it, uh, shocks me to see how many inconsistencies we have in our store.
The swirl of the cupcakes, you plopped it.
You didn't swirl it.
Down, up.
It's two dollops.
But that's my problem.
That's my fault.
Because if you were trained properly, I know that you could absolutely execute.
So I want to pay for you to come to Nashville to train for two weeks and learn all the right Gigi's way.
I'll be working with you.
You could come to the original Nashville store.
That is amazing.
Thank you.
I was really saddened to hear about your troubled past, but I was so happy to hear that you were turning it around, you were making a new start for your life.
Well, to help further your dreams and help with your financial burden, I wanna offer you $30,000.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
I see such great potential in you.
I truly do.
And I think if you can continue to stay on the right path - and keep your nose clean - Yeah.
stay out of trouble, and when you're ready, I want to pay for your franchise fee and all of your equipment to start your own Gigi's.
No way.
Yeah.
Oh, my God.
That's worth almost $100,000.
You're serious? - I'm serious.
- Wow.
I believe in you.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Ohh.
This is an opportunity of a lifetime.
I am not gonna mess this up.
I mean, I just like, "Yes, I finally get my chance.
" Cheryl.
You are truly one of the best cake decorators I've ever seen.
Well, thank you.
On most of the jobs I went on, I had to pretend like I didn't know what I was doing.
With you, I didn't have to pretend to be nervous.
I was just really nervous.
Go get another cake.
Ugh! - Do it again.
- It's beautiful.
Do it again.
It's not.
I see greatness in you.
Thank you very much.
I was blown away to hear that you work so many hours seven days a week.
- You do 30 cakes a week? - Yeah.
I realized you need some help.
Yes, I do.
So I will make that happen.
That sounds awesome.
That sounds amazing.
Also I feel like your talents are underutilized in the Gigi's system.
So I want to fly you to Nashville - three times a year - Wow.
and give you a raise, and I want you to head the Creative Cake Team.
Damn.
That's very exciting.
I'm very excited.
- Good, good.
- Yes.
Working with you, I realized you don't spend a lot of time with your family.
No.
- 'Cause you have to work.
- Yeah.
And so I wanna send you and your entire family on a one week's fully paid dream vacation.
Oh, my God.
Holy [.]
.
I don't even know what to say.
So I think the kids will really enjoy their vacation.
I think they will.
I think I will as well.
I can't even begin to know what it would be like to be a mother of six and having to work seven days a week, I can't imagine what that stress is for you and your husband.
I'd like to offer you $50,000 as a gift to help relieve your bills.
Okay.
I don't even know what to say.
Can I hug you? - Yes.
- Oh, my God.
I am incredibly happy that somebody has finally seen the effort that I put forth into my work and my passion.
I'm so excited to know you as me.
Oh, God.
It's just an amazing, amazing opportunity for all of us.
C I was so impressed by you.
Thank you.
I took away from that day, - no one should whine.
- Mm-hmm.
Because you work your butt off.
I try.
And so these bags are 50 pounds.
Oh.
So do we have a man to do it or No, no, we do everything.
Everything.
You did such a great job in the kitchen, but there were a few things that weren't done the Gigi's way.
We need to work on some of the tweaking of the recipes.
That concerned me a lot, that you all had taken into your own hands - tweaking the recipes.
- Yes.
I knew you didn't know me then when you were tweaking my recipe.
Yeah, yeah, no.
But I'm not upset.
We need to maybe tweak some of the recipes.
I'm open to looking at that.
So I want you to come to Nashville for a week so I can bring you into the original Gigi's store and train with you, so I can give you the tools for success.
Awesome.
You have such passion, but you live with so much pain.
What motivates you? I know that I can't let multiple sclerosis stop me.
I just I can't.
I just wake up every morning, and I thank God that my legs are still working, my arms are still working, and it's just not me to quit.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
I'm so impressed with your hard working drive.
Thank you.
And I want to give you $10,000 just for your personal expenses.
Just because you're you.
Just because you deserve it.
I'm, like, speechless.
I'm, like, never speechless.
I don't have anything to say right now.
I told myself I wasn't gonna cry today.
I wasn't expecting to cry either, but my dad just told me, um, he lost his job, and insurance isn't gonna cover my medicine anymore.
So that's pretty pretty awesome that you're doing that.
I can get the best.
You just found that out? Wow.
Well, C, I want to give you $30,000 to help cover your medical bills for the year.
Thank you.
I can't take away your pain, but I can take away the burden of bills for a year.
Thank you.
- Can I give you a hug? - Yes.
This is, like, I just Yeah.
It's just awesome.
- I'm gonna see you soon.
- Yeah.
- You're coming to Nashville.
- Yeah.
My heart is pounding out of my chest right now.
I was, like, really excited and happy.
I had to make some business decisions in the beginning that created space between me and my family Hi, Mom.
It's me.
I just wanted to know if you wanted to talk.
and now I realize that family is the most important.
Just give me a call when you can.
I love you.
Bye.
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.
The latest boss to take on this challenge is Gina Butler This looks like I made 'em at home.
the CEO and founder of Gigi's Cupcakes, one of the fastest-growing competitors in this billion-dollar cupcake industry.
By going undercover So no, no, no, that's wrong.
this former country singer turned cupcake queen My goodness.
will have her skills put to the test.
Stop.
- Go get another cake.
- Ah.
Push it.
- Ooh! - There you go.
Pfft.
Oh, no! What fell? Her journey goes off the rails when she discovers the employees aren't following her recipe for success.
So you see this tab? It's a variation to the recipe.
We tweaked it.
What the fondant? I have failed at being a CEO in many ways.
All this next on Undercover Boss.
Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Gigi's Cupcakes is quickly rising to the top to become one of the country's most successful bakeries, with 1,000 employees and a hundred stores spread across 23 states.
This $42 million a year company is led by one woman.
My cupcakes are the best things you'll ever put in your mouth.
My name is Gina Butler, and people call me "Gigi.
" I'm the founder and CEO of Gigi's Cupcakes.
I had wanted to be a singer/songwriter of country music since I was seven.
About 18, I started singing at a lot of clubs.
I was born in Oklahoma.
But I knew really to hone my skill and my craft I needed to move to Nashville.
Big city Late nights Blue moon and red taillights So after my mom had a little breakdown after I told her I'm leaving, I moved to Nashville.
Knew no one.
Didn't have a place to live.
And I had $500 to my name.
But when I left for Nashville, I knew I wouldn't be back.
I was gonna stay.
I started cleaning houses during the day full-time, and then I would sing at night at every honky-tonk, downtown Nashville, old folks' home, biker bar, fair.
Whatever it was, I'd be there, we'd have a gig.
I always thought that I would just clean houses until my "music career" took off.
I never intended to almost clean houses for 20 years, but I did.
I think I was about 30, 32, where I'm like, "This isn't gonna work.
" What am I gonna do? I'm a failure.
When you have to pick yourself up and there's no one to pick you up, it's just you, it's time to create.
But let's create something new.
So my brother went to New York City, stood in line at a cupcake shop for two hours, and he called me while he was in Central Park and said, "These cupcakes aren't as good as yours and mom's.
You should make a cupcake shop in Nashville.
" And I remember, I had my cleaning gloves on, I was in a little small bathroom cleaning, I was on the phone, and I thought, what if? Why not? So I went ahead and took out $100,000 cash advance loans on my credit cards and just went for it.
The day before it opened, I had $33 left in my checking account.
My mom was there cleaning.
My dad was there putting the chairs together for me.
I put on my little apron, I opened my doors, and a little line formed, and people started trickling in.
And it just took off from there.
My dad would help with the build-outs, and my brother would help go on the road with me, and my mom helped with the recipes, and that's how Gigi's Cupcakes was formed.
It's very difficult to be in business with family.
As we've grown, we've had differences of opinions of things, and I've had to bring on people that have better experience than my family has had.
And they totally disagree.
And now we're not really on speaking terms, and that kills me inside.
The cupcake business has become very competitive, so if we want to rise to the top we have to continue to set ourselves apart.
We've already cornered a big piece of the cupcake market with 98 stores from Phoenix to Florida.
A year from now, we hope to frost our way to 150 stores and $75 million in cupcake sales annually.
Consistency is the key to any success as far as franchising.
- Is this the pink lemonade frosting? - Mm-hmm.
I don't know if I like that color.
What makes Gigi's Cupcakes unique is that I have the most amazing frosting.
My signature Gigi Swirl is so amazing.
It's what sets us apart.
And so you want that to be the same so people go, "Oh, that's a Gigi's cupcake.
" And when the swirl looks not right, I freak.
This looks like I made 'em at home.
Let's rethink that swirl.
All right, Kendall, you wanna help mommy? You wanna put it in there for mommy while I get the sugar? It's hard to raise a business and a daughter at the same time.
I'm a sole provider, single mom.
It's been a real challenge.
She's gone with me on the road most every place.
This recipe is from your grandmother.
We'll be opening stores, and she'll be in my arm, and I'll be swirling a cupcake, and she'll be right with me.
Ooh, it spilled on my shirt.
That's all right.
I'm nervous about this.
Are you? What are you thinking? Ah, I'm thinking I need to be different.
So let's start.
My face is on every wall, and my voice is on our radio.
So I have gotten a retainer, so it'll kinda slur my speech a little bit so they won't recognize my voice.
Fabulous.
While undercover, I'll be posing as Candace Plinkett, a single mother competing to win money to start my own business.
Getting homelier as the seconds tick by.
I know, that's The employees have no idea this is actually Undercover Boss.
I'm going to have to be very passive and demure and not act like myself at all.
Who is that? I'm Candace Plinkett from Bakersfield, California.
- I look like a total freak.
- Oh, my God.
You are hideous.
What do you think mama looks like? A monster.
- Monster? - A monster! Give mama a kiss good-bye.
- I don't want you to go.
- I know, honey, but I'll be back.
Aunt B, you wanna take her? When you have your name on a sign and your picture on a wall, the pressure is unbelievable.
Wish me luck.
I have put everything into Gigi's Cupcakes my heart, my soul, my passion.
Everything.
Love you.
I'll see you soon.
The time is now to figure out what we're doing well and what we're doing wrong.
Right now, at 100 stores, before we get to 250, we have to know what's going on so we can get better and we can grow.
Today I'm going undercover as a cupcake decorator in Charlotte, North Carolina.
I'm ready to go.
Let's do this.
Gigi's employees are expected to do many jobs, whether you're delivering cupcakes, working the front counter, or you're in the back swirling.
Hi, welcome to Gigi's.
Hi.
I'm looking for Jason.
The perfect decorator would be someone who can multitask, who has consistency, has a great attitude, and gets the job done.
- Hey.
- Candace? - Yes, hi.
- Hey, I'm Jason.
- Jason, nice to meet you.
- It's nice to meet you.
When Candace walked in, kinda had to take a double take.
She kinda reminded me of my grandma.
She just didn't strike me as that type of person who would want to start their own business.
We're gonna go ahead and get you an apron, - if you wanna grab one.
- Okay.
All right.
- These are our wooden practice cupcakes.
- Okay.
These are our pastry bags.
The first cupcake we're gonna be doing today, it's the Chocolate Turtle.
The way the Turtle Cupcake is actually decorated is like it's two dollops.
Down, up.
What in the world? Where's the Gigi Swirl? Our signature swirl.
He stacked, I swirl.
Is that the Gigi Swirl? Yeah, that's the Gigi Swirl.
Is that the Gigi Swirl? Yeah, that's the Gigi Swirl.
- Not bad for the first one.
- Okay.
This is not the Gigi way.
Jason does not have my swirl right.
He stacked, I swirl.
The swirl is so important.
It's vital to what we are as Gigi's.
I was freaking out.
Okay.
Wow.
That's pretty much that right there.
No, no, no.
You're supposed to individually put the cupcakes over the sprinkle bin and then set 'em down.
These ones get drizzled with caramel.
No! Wait a minute.
You're supposed to poke a hole in all of them, fill 'em with caramel.
This is your fudge.
You're gonna do the opposite way.
There are things in that store we've got to fix.
- Wow.
- I'm gonna go ahead and do my 12, and I want you to do your 12.
- Two dollops.
- Two dollops.
- You're gonna press down.
- Two dollops.
Oh, my stuff's coming up from the top.
- That's okay.
- What did I do wrong? You cut your bag in half, and you squeeze from the middle of your bag.
- Up, up, up.
- Up, up.
Now press down and keep squeezing.
I was a little worried.
She was struggling.
Her cupcakes were a little rough.
It's okay.
So out of the 12 cupcakes you did, I would probably put up five or six of them.
Right now I would not hire Candace as an employee of mine.
We are going to be going on a wedding delivery.
Oh.
She ordered about 120 big cupcakes and a cake topper.
- That's a big order.
- So Yeah.
I'm not driving, am I? - You are driving.
- Oh! Wow.
Okay.
So you're all set.
My gosh, so you have to really be careful.
Mm-hmm.
I'm comfortable driving cupcakes around sometimes in a city I know, but it is still nerve-racking.
- What I want you to do is kinda - Little nervous.
You're good.
Take a left up here.
Oh, and really quick too, just be careful slamming on your brakes like that.
Right.
Just because of the cupcakes.
I'll be mindful of that.
Just watch Oh, it's okay.
Oh, goodness.
Hitting all the potholes.
Oh, goodness.
Every 30 seconds she hit a pothole.
"Oh, I'm sorry.
I hit another pothole.
" "Damn, I hit a pothole.
" Oh, darn it.
How many potholes are in this city? I got $500 worth of cupcakes in the back of this car, and I was gonna have an accident in my pants.
Just gotta watch out for corners and kinda treat it as another human being in the back of your car almost.
Okay.
Ahh! Oh, my gosh.
Oh, no.
What fell? Oh, my gosh.
I gotta get out and check those cupcakes.
The cupcakes are good.
Mm.
I was like, "Oh, thank goodness.
" I could have ruined the bride's wedding day.
Make it look nice.
As if this was your wedding - What I would expect.
- What you would expect.
- Okay.
- Exactly.
I was so surprised to see Jason's passion and his responsibility.
He cares.
If you want, you can put that one right here.
My opinion of Jason changed.
He hasn't been trained properly himself.
So how is he supposed to be able to train me? Good job.
Let's take a break.
Thank you.
Awesome.
Let's go.
But the pride he takes, I can't train that.
Tell me a little bit about you.
I'm a single mom.
So I work really hard.
I've had some some tough things.
Some bumpy roads? I've had some potholes.
But I think we've all had our mess-ups in the past, so Mm-hmm.
Had some run-ins with the law.
- Really? - Yeah.
I got two DWIs in six months.
Oh, goodness.
- That sucks.
- Made some bad choices in my life.
But Gigi's basically gave me another opportunity, a second chance, and I take that with great responsibility.
I love, love my job.
You know, with all that trouble that I got in, it set me back financially with lawyers and Hmm, I bet.
I'm 30 years old.
I think it's time to grow up - and time to act - Be responsible.
Be responsible and act my age.
I just thought it was so cool that he had taken his mistakes and learned from them, and he wants to better himself.
I really related to that because Gigi's Cupcakes gave me a second chance, and it's so nice that it can give other people a second chance also.
Your dreams? Before Gigi's, I wanted to open up my own wedding cake shop.
Oh.
So you wanna own your own bakery or? Oh, it's definitely a Gigi's now.
- Really? - Yeah.
I take such pride in that, and I'm It just gave me chills.
I was so happy.
It made my heart happy.
Let's get out of here, and let's go finish up at the store.
- Sounds good.
Okay.
- Awesome.
Let's go.
Today I'm in Atlanta, Georgia, and I'll be working as a baker.
Yesterday was somewhat of a nightmare, as I realized Jason didn't know how to do the Gigi Swirl correctly.
How are you today? I'm good.
I'm here to see C.
Okay, sure.
Come on back.
Consistency in the franchise world is the most important thing you can do.
If you're not consistent in all your system, you're in trouble.
I'm C.
Hi, Candace.
I'm the head baker here at Gigi's Cupcakes.
Nice to meet you.
Candace came off to me as, like, a hippy.
Like, she believes in, like, trees have feelings and stuff like that.
Not what I was expecting.
Yeah.
All right, are you ready? - I'm ready.
- All right.
So I'm gonna show you how to make a frosting.
Six pounds of butter.
Wow, that's a lot.
And then six pounds of cream cheese.
Cream cheese frosting is our heaviest and most technical frosting ever, 'cause either it can go bad or it can go good.
- Grab the butter.
- Grab the butter.
Throw it in the mixer.
- All right.
- So it's a back and forth movement.
- Gotta be - You're never still.
Just being fast.
Ah.
Just grab it, yeah.
C is sweet, but she's tough.
So don't be afraid to grab that butter.
Never leave your trash on the table.
Never leave my trash on the table.
She's a stickler about cleanliness, training, multitasking.
Now throw that butter in there.
Ah, yep.
- Just continue opening it.
Yep.
- Ahh! Right, hmm.
You know, don't waste the money.
It's not that hard to open butter.
And so now we're gonna go back to the recipe.
Okay.
- So you see this little tab right here? - Yeah.
It's a variation to the recipe.
Normally it says 12 scoops.
- We're gonna add 13.
- "We" as far as Gigi's? This recipe is manufactured at Gigi's Corporate.
They test it out.
But we've also - we've also - Tweaked it? When they send it Yeah, we tweaked it.
Well, I did in the store.
Why? It's perfect with 12 scoops of powdered sugar, honey.
Trust me.
I know this.
So corporate sent it wrong? They didn't send it wrong.
We just It just We like our stuff firmer.
Okay.
I have personally tweaked these recipes myself.
I don't need you to come in and say that we need more powdered sugar in there.
No, you don't.
You just need 12 scoops.
Powdered sugar.
And so I'm gonna show you - Go ahead, open it.
- Okay.
That's not gonna give you 13.
- Okay.
- We're at the bottom of the barrel.
Okay.
- So we're gonna refill this bin.
- Okay.
And so these bags are 50 pounds.
Oh.
So do we have a man to do it or No, no, we do everything.
Everything! Wow.
You be the man.
You lift this.
It's not that heavy.
My goodness.
Yep.
There you go.
- There you go.
- Jeez.
- There you go.
- Okay.
It's not that heavy.
Okay.
You're gonna gut it just like a fish.
Oh, my goodness.
Yep.
So I'm just gutting it like a fish.
Gutting it like a fish.
Oh, you need to be stronger than that.
Just Go ahead.
You're not gonna The knife the knife isn't that - that Yeah.
- Oh, wait No.
Yeah, there you go.
Oh, there we go.
- Now stop.
- Okay.
Push all that powdered sugar in.
Go ahead, push it.
- Ooh! - There you go.
Pfft.
There you go.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
And that's filling up a powdered sugar bag.
That is.
Candace was horrible.
No, just dump it in there.
- You don't even Just dump it, yeah.
- Okay.
Just You don't need to shake it.
Just She just didn't get it.
Oh, darn it.
- Yep, that's way too much milk.
- Agh.
You're going too fast.
You're gonna have powdered sugar just go real slow.
Start it real slow.
Okay.
I would personally tell her to go home and not call her back.
- It looks pretty.
- Yeah.
Now just imagine this spatula is a cupcake.
Gonna turn that upside down.
We have not had a complaint in the two years I have been here.
- Whoa, that's a lot to take pride in.
- And so Yeah.
So now we're gonna dump the trash.
C is very good at training.
But I am concerned that there are some tweaks we're gonna have to make with this location.
There's a couple things that just weren't done right.
- So we're gonna go this way.
- Okay.
So, like, do you feel like this was good or bad? I don't think in your eyes I did very good.
- But you're a stickler.
- Yeah, I mean I mean, you're And I'm glad.
I mean, I'm really glad.
I mean, I've been like this for forever.
I mean, a year ago I was diagnosed with M.
S.
Wow.
And they told me that I had to quit my job.
I couldn't feel anything.
I lost all function in my legs.
Oh, my goodness.
I could not walk.
Wow.
They told me I was gonna be walking with a cane.
- And this was when? - A year ago.
A year ago? - Yeah, and I'm - It's a miracle.
Yeah, and I'm here today And you're working and lifting all that stuff? And I'm working and lifting and standing and Just, just go for it.
Like, just do not let anybody tell you that you cannot do something.
That's good advice.
I needed to hear that.
So now I live with my mom, and I help out with bills, and my medicine is, like, 2,400 a month and I'm sorry, how much? After your co-pay or before your co-pay? Before my co-pay.
They pay, like, a half of it, and I have to come up with the rest.
- You're tough as nails.
- Yeah.
Not only in the kitchen.
Yeah, that's what I'm trying to make out of you.
When someone's diagnosed with that at such a young age, you would feel like she'd just want to crawl in her bed and give up, but her attitude is, "No, I'm fighting this.
I'm going for it.
" And I love that.
That's a fighter.
So let's go in here and finish up this cleaning.
Okay.
Coming up People tell me I'm intimidating and a little mean.
the boss fails at Cake Decorating 101.
Stop.
Go get another cake.
- Ugh.
- Do it again.
It's beautiful.
It's not.
And later My mom died when I was ten.
Really? So I was suicidal.
the boss meets an upbeat employee with a troubled past.
I don't care if the world knows, because it's gonna change someone's life.
Today I'm in Houston, Texas, and I'll be working in the cake department.
We're new at this cake business, and this store does cakes better than anyone in our system.
Hi.
I'm here to see Cheryl.
I wanna see what they're doing right, and I wanna take it and apply it to the other stores.
Candace? - Yes.
- Hi.
I'm Cheryl.
Cake decorating isn't really my forte, so I'm not gonna have to pretend that I'm clueless.
It's just gonna come naturally.
I'm the cake manager here.
I kinda do everything.
People tell me I'm intimidating and a little mean.
But I try not to be.
I'm just very strict, and I have high standards, so Cheryl is pretty blunt.
I appreciate you telling me that up front, and I don't see Candace as a type that can run her own company.
I definitely think that she's far too timid.
I already torted some tiers, which just means cutting the layers in half.
I'm gonna have you fill them, trim them, and then crumb coat them.
I don't know what that is, but you'll show me.
I'm gonna tell you.
All right.
So what you're gonna do first And this is a very, very stiff buttercream.
Is it like that for a reason? Mm-hmm, to keep the filling in, 'cause you'll get little bulges on the side of your cake.
And then you take your buttercream, and you just level it out.
- Wow.
Quick.
- Okay? Do the next tier.
And the same thing.
How many cakes do you sell a week? We take anywhere between 20 and 30 cakes.
Okay.
Thank you for calling Gigi's in the Woodlands.
This is Cheryl.
How can I help you? Hi, I wanted to place a cake order.
Um, it's gonna be for this Saturday.
- For this Saturday? - Yes.
No, I am fully booked already.
We book up really, really quickly on the weekends.
I'm sorry, you are not too busy to do that cake.
What the fondant? That is not acceptable.
Why would you turn down a cake? There's no one else to help me.
She needs help so she can never turn down business.
Oh, my goodness.
Yep, just start on the edge and turn the turntable.
You'd rather have too much and take it off than have not enough and have to add.
Right in the middle, level, and turn your turntable.
So I need to level it? Always.
Is it level? Eh Hmm.
I was trying not to jump in, but it's incredibly frustrating when you're taking this awesome cake, you're watching somebody just destroy it.
- It's leaning a little.
- It is leaning.
If you can't make it clean and straight and level, then you're gonna have a crap cake.
Turn the turntable.
Does it look straight? - No.
- Okay, stop.
Go get another cake.
Ugh! - Do it again.
- It's beautiful.
Do it again.
It's not.
Candace's cake was unsuitable.
It doesn't fit my standards for the store.
Just do it better this time.
I cannot feel for the life of me that she would be the one to win this competition.
My whole life is on the line of winning this.
Now move on.
Move on.
Why would it be your whole life? Well, I'm a single mom and Yeah? And my husband left me when she was four.
My first marriage was terrible.
Torture? He was very, um, verbally abusive, so I'm sorry.
A decade of terribleness.
And, you know, I got my kids out of it.
I have three from my previous husband and three from my current husband.
Wow.
I only see my husband, Jason, for, like, 20 minutes, 'cause I work at, like, and I work until two or three in the afternoon, and then I go home, and I see him, and then he goes to work.
You're that busy here? We are that busy here.
- You need to hire someone else.
- Yeah.
The reason why they are doing so well with cakes is because they have a stickler in the back doing the cakes to perfection.
I'm gonna show you how to fondant a cake.
Grab the sides of the rolling pin.
And she's a genius in her own right.
Flip it all the way over.
But she has got to have a day off.
We have got to find someone to take her place on one day.
I know I didn't do a good job on it.
It's not great.
Can we put flowers on it? I don't think there's enough flowers in the world that would cover all this up.
Today I'm in Gainesville, Florida, and I'll be working as a customer service representative.
There you go.
$6.
22.
A customer service representative is the face of Gigi's the second a customer walks in the door.
I'm relying on these people to sell my dream.
There you go, sir.
On my journey so far, there's been some consistency issues, so I've been consistently frustrated.
So I'm hoping today I'll be pleasantly surprised.
Hi there.
Welcome to Gigi's.
Hi, I'm Candace.
- Hi! - I'm looking for Jannette.
I'm Jannette.
Nice to meet you.
You can come on back with me.
- How are you? - I'm great.
- How are you? - Good.
Today you're gonna help me work the front.
So the customers will come in.
You'll greet them just the way that I did.
Hi there, welcome to Gigi's.
But you wanna give them like Don't be afraid to say, "Hi, welcome.
" You know, just be who you are.
- Okay.
- That's the biggest thing.
Hi there! Welcome to Gigi's.
See? Just like that.
Hi hi.
Welcome to Gigi's.
Walk up to them.
All you gotta do is, like, ask 'em if they have any questions.
Do you have any questions about the cupcakes? Oh.
Candace was very shy.
Oh, goodness.
Hi there, welcome to Gigi's.
Hi, welcome to Gigi's.
She was very timid.
You know, she wasn't confident, you know? It's, like, yours, you know? You're here, but you have to own it.
- Um, no.
- To be Are you sure? Yeah, I can We don't Yeah, I don't think you do.
But you're good.
"You don't need an apron.
" I need to look the part! Give me a frickin' apron.
I don't I don't look like I'm part of Gigi's now.
Okay, let me go see if we have one in the back for you.
I don't know.
I just don't wanna Yeah, it's okay.
Yeah! I'll go see if we have one for you.
Okay.
Momma wants an apron.
Hello? Pfft.
Ugh.
Just was another little red flag.
Hey, here you go.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
Now I feel more complete.
Okay, now look at me.
Hi there, welcome to Gigi's.
How are y'all doing today? Awesome, great.
Thank you.
Jannette is not properly trained.
She says, "Hi, welcome to Gigi's.
" Hi there, welcome to Gigi's! Hi.
It's, "Hi, welcome to Gigi's.
Have you been here before? "Well, thank you for coming back.
Let me tell you about our specials today.
" Hi.
I want the wedding cake and the crumb cake.
Yes, ma'am.
How's your day going so far? Awesome.
But the bright side is Jannette has something you can't teach.
She has a unique ability to connect with people.
Hi! How are y'all doing today? - Good.
- Awesome.
She has energy and passion.
That's something that's not easy to find.
You have to be customer-minded.
You have to love them.
You have to let them know, "Okay, how would they feel?" That was music to my ears.
Ahh I was like, that's it.
So what made you want to do this? Like I just really wanna own my own business.
- Okay.
- I want something that's mine.
And it's been a real really big challenge, - but I need to grow more.
- Right, yeah.
What are your dreams? I love children.
So I'm gonna go to school to be a family counselor.
'Cause I'm, like, a girl that grew up out of nothing.
- Really? - Truthfully, yeah.
Like, my family was poor, you know? Like, we lived off food stamps.
That's just what we did, you know? And my mom died when I was ten.
Really? So I was depressed, I was suicidal.
I've tried to commit suicide three times.
So I was in the hospital quite a bit.
Do you have any scars? No.
I have this one.
But I can use this to help somebody else.
People that are depressed, I talk to them.
And it's okay, because I'm open with it, and I don't care if the world knows, because it's gonna change someone's life.
Jannette had a very troubled past.
But the bright side is that she's learned from it, and she's so passionate about helping other people now.
So we're done with this, so we're gonna go to the back and get the mop and stuff like that.
I haven't ever experienced that pain.
But when her mom died, I can't imagine what that would feel like.
Because I can at least call my mom and tell her I love her still, even though we've had some problems.
And and there's still enough time, and she's still here on this earth, that maybe we could heal things.
I'm so blessed that I had the opportunity to go undercover.
There's a lot more work than I thought there was to do, and I'm so frustrated about that.
I've failed at being a CEO in many ways.
Oh, man.
I'm gonna go back into the office, and we are going to make a difference.
These things are going to be fixed, or I am going to every store and fixing them myself.
I have to let some painful things go that I've experienced with my family in the last couple years, going through this business and growing out of this business with them.
It's so important for me to heal these wounds that I've maybe caused in some ways.
Coming up, the employees think they're going to decide whether or not Candace deserves money to start her own business.
How do you think Candace did? Candace.
She didn't listen.
She didn't follow direction.
How will they react when the boss reveals her true identity? You've been on Undercover Boss.
- Ah! - Okay.
Holy [.]
.
My week undercover has finally come to an end, and I've learned there is a bunch of room for improvement.
But we have great people that work for us.
So how do you think Candace did? Candace.
Do you think she would be a good business owner? Um, I don't think so.
She didn't listen.
She didn't follow direction.
Well, I was Candace.
Okay.
But I'm not Candace any longer.
I'm Gigi, the founder and CEO of Gigi's Cupcakes.
You've been on Undercover Boss.
Ah, no I have not.
Yes, you have.
Jannette, I was so sad to know that you had lost your mom at such a young age.
You overcoming the things you've overcome is amazing.
I've tried to commit suicide three times.
So I was in a hospital quite a bit.
Coming from that scar to having so much joy, I want to help you.
I want to give you $5,000 just to help get you on your feet.
Thank you.
I'm so proud of you, that you're going back to school.
So I want to give you $15,000 towards your education.
Thank you so much.
I'm really excited about your new beginning.
Wow.
God, I'm gonna hug you.
Thank you.
Oh, this is so amazing.
I don't know, it's, like, Thank you.
And I'm just so proud of you.
She's paying for my school.
And I was so worried about that, you know? Oh, it's just awesome.
Jason, it, uh, shocks me to see how many inconsistencies we have in our store.
The swirl of the cupcakes, you plopped it.
You didn't swirl it.
Down, up.
It's two dollops.
But that's my problem.
That's my fault.
Because if you were trained properly, I know that you could absolutely execute.
So I want to pay for you to come to Nashville to train for two weeks and learn all the right Gigi's way.
I'll be working with you.
You could come to the original Nashville store.
That is amazing.
Thank you.
I was really saddened to hear about your troubled past, but I was so happy to hear that you were turning it around, you were making a new start for your life.
Well, to help further your dreams and help with your financial burden, I wanna offer you $30,000.
Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
I see such great potential in you.
I truly do.
And I think if you can continue to stay on the right path - and keep your nose clean - Yeah.
stay out of trouble, and when you're ready, I want to pay for your franchise fee and all of your equipment to start your own Gigi's.
No way.
Yeah.
Oh, my God.
That's worth almost $100,000.
You're serious? - I'm serious.
- Wow.
I believe in you.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
Ohh.
This is an opportunity of a lifetime.
I am not gonna mess this up.
I mean, I just like, "Yes, I finally get my chance.
" Cheryl.
You are truly one of the best cake decorators I've ever seen.
Well, thank you.
On most of the jobs I went on, I had to pretend like I didn't know what I was doing.
With you, I didn't have to pretend to be nervous.
I was just really nervous.
Go get another cake.
Ugh! - Do it again.
- It's beautiful.
Do it again.
It's not.
I see greatness in you.
Thank you very much.
I was blown away to hear that you work so many hours seven days a week.
- You do 30 cakes a week? - Yeah.
I realized you need some help.
Yes, I do.
So I will make that happen.
That sounds awesome.
That sounds amazing.
Also I feel like your talents are underutilized in the Gigi's system.
So I want to fly you to Nashville - three times a year - Wow.
and give you a raise, and I want you to head the Creative Cake Team.
Damn.
That's very exciting.
I'm very excited.
- Good, good.
- Yes.
Working with you, I realized you don't spend a lot of time with your family.
No.
- 'Cause you have to work.
- Yeah.
And so I wanna send you and your entire family on a one week's fully paid dream vacation.
Oh, my God.
Holy [.]
.
I don't even know what to say.
So I think the kids will really enjoy their vacation.
I think they will.
I think I will as well.
I can't even begin to know what it would be like to be a mother of six and having to work seven days a week, I can't imagine what that stress is for you and your husband.
I'd like to offer you $50,000 as a gift to help relieve your bills.
Okay.
I don't even know what to say.
Can I hug you? - Yes.
- Oh, my God.
I am incredibly happy that somebody has finally seen the effort that I put forth into my work and my passion.
I'm so excited to know you as me.
Oh, God.
It's just an amazing, amazing opportunity for all of us.
C I was so impressed by you.
Thank you.
I took away from that day, - no one should whine.
- Mm-hmm.
Because you work your butt off.
I try.
And so these bags are 50 pounds.
Oh.
So do we have a man to do it or No, no, we do everything.
Everything.
You did such a great job in the kitchen, but there were a few things that weren't done the Gigi's way.
We need to work on some of the tweaking of the recipes.
That concerned me a lot, that you all had taken into your own hands - tweaking the recipes.
- Yes.
I knew you didn't know me then when you were tweaking my recipe.
Yeah, yeah, no.
But I'm not upset.
We need to maybe tweak some of the recipes.
I'm open to looking at that.
So I want you to come to Nashville for a week so I can bring you into the original Gigi's store and train with you, so I can give you the tools for success.
Awesome.
You have such passion, but you live with so much pain.
What motivates you? I know that I can't let multiple sclerosis stop me.
I just I can't.
I just wake up every morning, and I thank God that my legs are still working, my arms are still working, and it's just not me to quit.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
I'm so impressed with your hard working drive.
Thank you.
And I want to give you $10,000 just for your personal expenses.
Just because you're you.
Just because you deserve it.
I'm, like, speechless.
I'm, like, never speechless.
I don't have anything to say right now.
I told myself I wasn't gonna cry today.
I wasn't expecting to cry either, but my dad just told me, um, he lost his job, and insurance isn't gonna cover my medicine anymore.
So that's pretty pretty awesome that you're doing that.
I can get the best.
You just found that out? Wow.
Well, C, I want to give you $30,000 to help cover your medical bills for the year.
Thank you.
I can't take away your pain, but I can take away the burden of bills for a year.
Thank you.
- Can I give you a hug? - Yes.
This is, like, I just Yeah.
It's just awesome.
- I'm gonna see you soon.
- Yeah.
- You're coming to Nashville.
- Yeah.
My heart is pounding out of my chest right now.
I was, like, really excited and happy.
I had to make some business decisions in the beginning that created space between me and my family Hi, Mom.
It's me.
I just wanted to know if you wanted to talk.
and now I realize that family is the most important.
Just give me a call when you can.
I love you.
Bye.