Undercover Boss (2010) s06e12 Episode Script
Peavey Electronics
(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.
(Announcer) 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.
(Announcer) 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) The next boss to take on this challenge is Courtland Gray, chief operating officer of Peavey Electronics, stepson of legendary founder Hartley Peavey.
I'm gonna come up with a disguise.
What kind of disguise? A washed-up wannabe rock star.
That's not a disguise.
[Laughter.]
(Announcer) As the heir apparent to this audio empire That's not a good idea.
(Announcer) he works with the employees who keep his company rocking.
Feel like Mr.
Magoo.
I'm prepared to offer you - [Circuit board hisses.]
- Ooh.
- Smoke.
- Yeah.
I take that back.
It's 4 1/4 an hour.
Mm-hmm.
(Announcer) Along the way, this boss finds out that his products (Man) That sounds terrible.
(Announcer) are out of tune.
[Feedback squealing.]
(Announcer) And what will happen I actually haven't had a raise in eight years.
Huh.
(Announcer) when he meets employees who feel the company has left them behind? We've been downsizing a lot.
That's not unusual.
For two months, I put my two weeks' in this morning.
Come on.
Damn it.
Just want enough to survive.
(Announcer) Find out next on [Rock music.]
(Announcer) Headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi, Peavey Electronics is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the world.
Founded in 1965 by Hartley Peavey, Peavey Electronics rocketed to success amid the rock and roll boom of the 1970s and '80s.
Bands like ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey, Van Halen, Nirvana, and Soundgarden have shared the stage with Peavey gear.
Keeping this company rocking to the top of the charts is one man.
My name's Courtland Gray.
I'm the chief operating officer of Peavey Electronics.
[Rock music.]
When I graduated from college, I actually tried to get into the music industry.
So I've always had an interest in this side of the business.
I came to Peavey in 2001 to start a leasing division and was doing that for several years before became executive vice president and C.
O.
O.
Hartley Peavey is my stepfather.
He's the CEO.
And my mother, Mary, is president of Peavey Electronics.
Working with your parents can be a bit challenging.
Hi there.
- Hey, toots.
- Oh, y'all in a meeting? (Hartley) We're talking about the 50th anniversary.
I'm not saying we shouldn't do anything.
Let's have a committee.
[Laughs.]
Working for Hartley is great.
I mean, he's a great guy.
I've always been a maverick.
If the rest of humanity is going off in this direction, I tend to go off in that direction.
We can argue sometimes.
Yeah, that can happen.
To me, arguing is kind of a way of purifying your thinking.
I usually get indigestion after I have lunch with him.
I'm never satisfied.
(Courtland) It is hard to change the mindset on the way we need to do things.
I don't want to be a spoilsport.
I think we should put you in a dunking booth.
[Mary laughs.]
Just don't spend much money.
Of course not.
[Rock music.]
My dad started a music store in 1938, so as I grew up, my dad put me to work in his music shop.
And I told my family I wanted to be a guitar player.
So I kind of got an old piece of guitar and made it play.
Finally got good enough to get in a few little bands.
Every band always needs gear, and I would build the gear.
But back when I built all the equipment, they kicked me out.
So I looked in the mirror, and I said, "Sport, it looks like you're not gonna be a rock star, so what are you gonna do with the rest of your life?" And you know the rest of the story.
(Courtland) Peavey exploded onto the stage with the live music boom of the 1970s and continued to grow throughout the '80s and '90s.
But over the last 10, 12 years, we've had to close some factories, move some things overseas.
When I started, we were well over 1,000 employees.
We had multiple factories around the south.
And we've really scaled that back down now to the original one major manufacturing facility in Meridian.
Sadly, I don't think the U.
S.
population really cares if it's made in America anymore.
People end up buying with their pocketbooks, and if the price isn't competitive, your product will get overlooked.
The place I live, it was property that the company had, so I moved in.
It's in the middle of an industrial park, but it's a little oasis open space, big trees.
I have horses.
I have cats.
I have a greenhouse, my beehives.
[Bees buzzing.]
[Dramatic music.]
I find beekeeping pretty fascinating just the diversity of what goes on in a hive, the fact that every bee has a certain specific duty that it does, is really inspirational.
If my company operated like a beehive did, we would be miles ahead of where we are.
I think it's important for me to get in the factories and really get a better understanding of what's going on, what the impressions of the company are from the employees' level.
I don't think I'd get the full information if I was going in as me or if you were going in as you, so It's for sure that I couldn't go in as me.
Right.
I could have my head shaved and look like a Buddhist monk, and I open my mouth they'd all know who the hell I was.
I'm gonna come up with a disguise.
Need your participation.
What kind of disguise? A washed-up looking '80s wannabe rock star.
That's not a disguise.
[Laughter.]
Maybe not, but hopefully, we'll be able to fool them.
It sounds kind of far-out to me.
Well, we'll see what we can do.
So I think the Hollywood showroom would be a good location.
That's fine, as long as I don't have to go.
You should go.
Why don't you want to go? Court, I'm busy as a one-armed paperhanger.
All right, will you at least participate when I'm at Plant Three? Plant Three, I can help you with, but I'm not going to L.
A.
All right.
Here we go.
I'm slowly but surely trying to segue out of Peavey and give Courtland the reins of the company so I can go begin my bucket list before I get too damn old.
(Woman) What are we doing? An '80s rock star that never quite made it, so Okay.
(Courtland) As I get more responsibility in the company, I think it's critical that I understand exactly what's going on and what their perceptions are of the business and what they do.
It'll be challenging to try to fool a lot of folks.
I'll be going undercover as Kyle Simmons from Phoenix, Arizona, who's competing for a $250,000 cash prize.
I have a beard growing that I don't typically have.
So hopefully, the disguise will fool them.
One down.
I'm really not sure how our employees would describe me.
I think some of them might find me a little bit too curt or standoffish.
As C.
O.
O.
, it's more important to maintain separation between your relationship with your employees and your friends 'cause it can make it harder to manage them.
- Starting to feel it.
- Yeah? [Rock music.]
Today I'm at Peavey Hollywood showroom, and I'm gonna be working with one of our sales and tech support guys.
The Peavey Hollywood showroom's right on Guitar Row on the Sunset Strip.
It's a lot of cool, hip things going on.
A lot of great bands get started here, so it's exciting.
How you doing? Hey, man, I'm Kyle Simmons.
I'm here for Ajay.
Nice to meet you.
I'm Kenny.
- Kenny, good to meet you, man.
- Yeah.
Let me grab him for you.
Ajay.
(Courtland) One of the unique things about the Peavey Hollywood showroom is that we have a stage where we do live concerts with different bands around the area.
The bands get to try the gear.
It draws a crowd into the showroom.
So it's really important that this location lives up to the Peavey standard.
- (Ajay) Hey.
- Hey, man, how are you? - I'm good.
How are you? - Good, good, good.
- Ajay.
- Kyle Simmons.
How are you? - Nice to meet you.
- All right.
When I first saw Kyle, I was like, "Whoa.
We both are wearing the same clothes.
" I thought it was kind of, uh weird.
We are going to have a show later tonight, so before the band gets in here All right.
We generally use something kind of like this where you can put the guitar sideways.
All right, stacking guitars.
Here we go.
- Cool.
- I can handle it.
[Rock music.]
Who's that Hartley guy? Is he What's special about him? He used to make amps in his garage, and that's how the company started.
Huh.
Yeah.
All right.
One down.
You got to get Yeah.
Oop, oop, I got to get a hanger.
[Thud.]
It's better if you just put the guitar down, or you might kink it or scratch it.
All right.
All right.
(Ajay) When Kyle was putting up the guitars on display, I am really nervous he might put a scratch on it.
You see all this, like, hand marks? - Uh-huh.
- These are not good.
It doesn't look good.
Set it up, and then you can clean it right here.
Okay.
You need to move the amp, you can definitely move them.
- [Sighs.]
- [Amp reverberates.]
Oh, jeez, I'm just banging all over.
- You need a hand? - No, I'll get it.
Maybe he's having a bad day or something? I don't know.
That's not a good idea.
But it didn't feel he's here to win this.
[Groans.]
Oh, boy, that's a heavy one.
Yeah.
Have you worked in a music store before? No.
I had a band, played a little bit with some guys, so, you know.
What about you? I'm a guitar player, but I do mostly compose.
But I'm from a really small state in India.
Uh-huh.
So people don't think that you can earn a living from music.
- But music's your passion? - Yeah.
For example, I did a track for Mother's Day.
- You want to hear it? - Yeah, yeah.
Can you play it now, or I don't know.
Yeah, I can play it from my phone.
Just a second.
Let me grab this.
[Soft piano music.]
That's me.
- Oh, that's good.
- Yeah.
Thank you.
How'd you get interested in music? Here's my chance To make you proud And show you I can hold my own Against the crowd That's a great song.
I You like it? It was really shocking and surprising to find out that we had such a talent working at the store.
I mean, the track that he did was really nice, and he's donating anything that he makes with it to charity.
So I think it's a great project and a great song that he did.
So what would you do if you had to go back to India? Seriously, no idea.
I came here for college, and that gives me a certain kind of a visa, but my visa ends in November.
This is my last chance.
Well, I know.
- We got to get cracking on this.
- Yeah.
We need the guitar amplifier for the guitar, then we need a bass amp.
(Courtland) We've never had a real strong presence out here on the West Coast, so these concerts are important.
Not only do they bring people into the showroom, but they also expose the bands to our gear.
The bands are our customer base, so our reputation's at stake.
[Indistinct chatter, high hat clanging.]
[Thrumming bass.]
So, Kyle, this is Kansas City Bankroll.
Let me know if you guys need anything.
(Man) All right.
[Amp buzzing.]
[Playing guitar.]
[Low buzzing.]
Let's try it on the back.
[Buzzing continues.]
I'm up.
[Clicking.]
All right.
We're working on it.
[Guitar playing discordantly.]
[Man laughs.]
Well, I'm thinking, "Why can't our guys get the sound right?" Check, check, check, check, check.
[Feedback squealing.]
(Courtland) Just seeing it tumble out of control downhill [Feedback squeals.]
I'm embarrassed.
You know, is this the first [.]
damn time we've had a concert there? (Man) Man, that sounds terrible.
[Rock music playing.]
[Feedback squeals.]
[Dramatic music.]
Well, I'm thinking, "Why can't our guys get the sound right?" Couldn't hear the singer.
They knew it.
I knew it.
I think the audience knew it.
I'm pretty pissed off right now.
[Rock music playing.]
Blamed it on the microphone.
You know, I hear the opposite.
We have some good microphones.
[Feedback squeals.]
Then we had some feedback.
No one was at the board.
If we don't have good sound for the band, word's gonna get out.
They're gonna think Peavey's a "B" brand.
A little bit of a feedback issue.
(Courtland) What are we doing here? When I walked out of the store, I wanted to break something.
I'm irritated.
I'm tired.
I'm ready to go home, have a drink.
[Dramatic music.]
Today I'm pretty bummed out.
I'm not happy.
The last job I did, we had some trouble with the concert.
So today I'm in Meridian, Mississippi.
I'm at Plant Three.
This is our main manufacturing facility.
I'd like to see what's going on, because people really expect a rock-solid product out of Peavey, and this is where we double-check and make sure that that's the way the product is when they get it.
I really wanted Hartley to be a part of the undercover experience here at Plant Three.
Hartley's built this business, and this is where it all started, so it's important for him to get a better perspective on what happens day to day in the factory.
[Chuckling.]
Well, that's a good get-up.
They'll never recognize you.
We'll see how it goes.
So today I'll have this earpiece in.
You'll be watching on the monitor.
I'll be curious to see what people say.
I'm sure that there will be complaints.
"Woe is me.
" You can chime in and give me some ideas on what to say and things to talk about and look for.
You've never been at a loss for words before, so I You have never been at a loss for words before.
I've never Almost never.
- All right.
- [Laughs.]
I'll be watching you.
[Laughs.]
Today I'll be working in the circuit board facility.
Basically, the circuit board is the electronics of the product.
It's what makes it work.
So every circuit board technician and final inspection person really has to make sure everything's working right before it goes to final assembly.
Can somebody tell me where Thresa is? Let's have a party.
(Woman) Right over there.
That's her right there.
Thresa? - Thresa Jones? - That would be me.
- Oh, okay.
- [Laughs.]
- Hey.
- How are you? I'm Kyle.
Good to meet you.
I work here.
I've been working here for 24 years now, and I work on circuit boards.
I test 'em and repair 'em.
All right.
(Hartley) Test, test, test.
Hello.
Hello.
Test.
Test.
This is a grounding strap.
Hey, Court, cough if you can hear me.
[Coughs.]
Hey, scratch your nose if you can hear me.
[Laughs.]
This is a media matrix product.
It's basically a P.
A.
kind of system.
But we're gonna be testing this circuit board.
And you've got 73 seconds to test each board.
(Courtland) All right.
That enough time? No, it's actually not.
[Laughs.]
All right, we've got these cables, and you're gonna plug this ribbon cable into that connector.
Put my screws in here.
The reason I'm putting this screw in is because this is a grounding pad.
The more ground a circuit board has, the better.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
I was getting a little bit concerned when I saw all the little details that had to be done.
You see we have no signal up there 'cause we haven't put our input cards in yet.
All right.
(Courtland) You know, there were several different circuit boards that had to be assembled and then checked Plug this cable into the input board.
We have our signal light there.
Got to check all four of those.
and then disassembled.
And it was all supposed to be done in 73 seconds.
So you got to rebuild this thing every time you got to test 'em? - Yes.
- Interesting.
And set it on here.
Now, you want to try one? - You sure? - [Laughs.]
Okay, uh all right, pick a board, any board.
Now you get your board.
Mm-hmm.
Start timing you.
- Oof.
- [Laughs.]
All right.
So this one goes in first.
Mm-hmm.
- Oops.
- Oh, dear.
He doesn't seem like he's had a lot of experience dealing with circuit boards.
That is a quirky little cable.
Feel like feel like Mr.
Magoo up here.
Yeah.
[Laughs.]
I think you're doing very well.
I'm prepared to offer you 7 1/4 an hour.
You're at one minute already.
- Come on, now.
- [Laughs.]
- [Screw clicks.]
- Oh.
Forgot to test the other board.
Oh, hell.
I take that back.
It's 4 1/4 an hour.
Mm-hmm.
[Laughs.]
Everything in electronics is so fast-paced now.
- Except me.
- [Laughs.]
- [Circuit board hisses.]
- Ooh.
Yeah.
- Smoke.
- Yeah.
Kyle just didn't seem like he was detail-oriented.
It's pretty much fried, yeah.
You best not give up your day job.
(Thresa) Unplug that one and go to the next one.
And there's your signals.
- Saved it.
- [Laughs.]
If I was hiring for a technician position, Kyle probably would not be my first choice.
- 12 minutes and 3 seconds.
- Done.
- [Laughing.]
- [Sighs.]
Well Need a little bit of work on that area.
Well, it concerns me, the amount of time that they're taking.
Ask her how long it generally takes.
How long does it normally take you? It usually even takes me longer than the 73 seconds I'm allowed, but [Chuckles.]
I would suspect so.
I can probably do it in about a minute and a half to two minutes.
Not bad.
Not bad at all.
This girl actually knows pretty well what she's doing.
Well, we keep on going? Want to try another one? - Yeah.
- Let's do it.
I think 73 seconds is really not attainable.
We really should have a completely different process in the way that's tested.
Doing a manual build-up is just really impractical and inefficient.
You been working here how long? - 24 years.
- Oh, man.
I started out, actually, on the hand assembly line, then I moved up to being a technician.
And I went back to college and got my associate's in electronics along with raising five kids at the same time.
- Five? - Yes.
Oof.
(Courtland) So you want to do this? What's next for you? I would like to go back to school, because I would eventually like to be a manufacturing engineer.
Uh-huh.
(Thresa) This one is gonna go up here.
So we're gonna be done with this little project.
All right.
Have you ever soldered before? I've soldered a little bit.
- I've soldered a little bit.
- [Laughs.]
You're gonna take your soldering iron and touch your solder kind of at the same time.
And you see how the hole fills up? Yeah.
It helps if you actually get the lead hot and then just touch the solder to it.
Okay.
This company has been around for a while, right? (Thresa) Yes, pretty much.
Started working here right after I turned 18, and I'm still here.
- [Laughs.]
- All right.
Ask her, has she ever met Hartley? Does Mr.
Peavey come around? No, not really.
[Dramatic music.]
He don't really talk to me in general.
He'll talk to, like, the supervisors.
Yeah, I wish Peavey's had a little bit better communication between management and the employees.
Basically, when they cut us back to four days a week, they said it was gonna last for the month of March.
Well, it turned out to be the month of April too.
- So - Yeah.
I mean, obviously it's costing them money to keep the company going, and I appreciate that, because I'm really glad that I do have a job.
But there's just so many cutbacks everywhere.
After you were here 20 years, you would get an extra week's vacation.
Well, we don't do that anymore.
Yeah.
We used to have barbecues for us and stuff like that, but they've pretty much cut all that out.
Damn.
When I started going to school, they helped pay for it.
But then, well, you know, that's one of the cutbacks we had to do.
So I'm still paying on student loans.
Yeah.
Our health insurance goes up every year.
That's not unusual.
They don't give merit raises anymore.
I actually haven't had a raise in eight years.
Huh.
I was discouraged that she really didn't understand the big picture, and it has created discontent, which can spread pretty fast in this operation.
And everything is working its way to China.
All this has kind of unraveled and spun out of control as a result of a general lack of communication.
- You really don't - You don't know why? You really don't know from day to day I mean, I could come in tomorrow, and they could have the doors shut, so Really? If I don't get control of the situation, it really puts this company in jeopardy for the future.
You really don't know from day to day I mean, I could come in tomorrow, and they could have the doors shut.
Really? You know, she's pointing some things out that are credible, and it's frustrating.
Everything is working its way to China.
We've lost so many products, and that cut down a lot of jobs here.
This is the part that I really need to hear.
And now we're down to just the handful of people you see in here.
And they just cut back here and cut back there.
- This is my husband.
- Hey, Kyle Simmons.
How you doing? Good to meet you.
He does basically the same thing I do.
Families like this, they're relying on Peavey.
We've been downsizing a lot.
- Really? - Yeah.
The changes that we've had to make has an effect on their home life and, you know, what they can do on a regular basis.
I just wish they would fill us in a little more on how things are going.
(Courtland) She's right.
I think there have been some communication breakdowns.
I've got to be mindful of some of those things and work to be a better boss.
But at least he is keeping this place open, and that's I'm grateful for that, because I would like to at least be working here for another 10 or 15 years.
- [Laughs.]
- Yeah.
Eventually, one day, I would like to just get a motor home and travel and see different things.
Yeah.
All right, well, let me look at this, and did a mighty fine job.
All right.
Very frustrating, to say the least.
Well, she had a lot of issues with the business and the company.
You know, it was just Some improvements in communication, I think we can certainly make.
I would certainly agree with that.
You know, I assume sometimes that the supervisors and plant manager communicates with them.
I don't know that we're letting the supervisors and managers know.
Yeah.
So [Groans.]
[Train whistle blares.]
(Courtland) Today I'm back here at plant three in Meridian, Mississippi.
I'll be working with the group leader in Cabinet Assembly.
[Nail gun clicking.]
Cabinet Assembly is where we make our speaker enclosures, so I want to make sure that the guys are building a good, reliable product living up to the reputation that we have with our speakers.
If you are at a loss for words, just ask yourself, "What would Hartley say?" - That usually gets me in a lot of trouble.
- [Laughing.]
(Courtland) Working with Thresa, Hartley and I learned a few things that we just weren't happy about.
Good luck.
(Courtland) Morale just wasn't where it should be.
Get 'er done.
(Courtland) So today I want to see if the discontent has spread to some other departments.
Hey, I'm looking for Michael.
Michael Warthman.
Nice to meet you.
Hey, how are you? I'm Kyle Simmons.
- Good to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
You got any experience building anything with your hands? (Courtland) Yeah.
(Michael) All right, cool.
Right here we're gonna build the shelving cabinet.
This is gonna be the bottom, both the sides, and we're gonna attach the top.
Anywhere that wood touches wood, you want glue.
All right.
So you want to spread you enough glue down here to where you can squeeze out both sides.
(Courtland) All righty.
Have you ever used a nail gun before? A couple times, but not much.
You're lying.
[Laughs.]
Set it up like this.
When you shoot your gun, you don't want your fingers anywhere around here.
- [Nail gun clicking.]
- Start 1 inch to the end.
Then go every 3 to 4 inches.
(Hartley) Court, start asking him some questions about his job and how he feels about the company.
How many of these you do a day? We can do about Now that that part's done, we'll flip around and do the top piece.
That's where the logo will go.
(Courtland) How long you been working here? It'll be six years June 17th.
All right? Good place? I love it.
I love working here.
I like what I do.
When I started here, I was homeless and had nothing.
- Homeless? - Homeless, on the street.
That was six years ago.
I didn't have a dream when I came here.
My dream now is raising my family.
I want to do better for them than I was done.
Yeah.
(Hartley) This guy's salt of the Earth.
He's a keeper.
When I get done with it, I check it for squareness.
That thing's dead nuts on, man.
(Hartley) Amen, brother.
Quality.
(Michael) You think you can pull one of these off? Yeah.
(Michael) Just be careful.
Take your time and don't shoot yourself.
- (Courtland) All right.
- [Laughs.]
[Quirky music.]
You're not putting enough glue on it, sport.
All right.
There you go.
Oh, hell.
Let's see, uh [Nail gun clicks.]
He's slow-slow.
[Nail gun clicks.]
Court, I'm just glad I finally found something that you can do.
Aw, that's not right.
[Laughing.]
(Hartley) I don't think Michael's impressed.
Damn it.
(Michael) If I put Kyle on the line right now, it would slow down everybody.
He needs a lot of work and a lot of improvement.
- (Courtland) Something's upside down, huh? - [Hartley laughing.]
(Courtland) I don't think this is right.
He sucks.
[Laughs.]
Not coming out of there? Need a bigger hammer.
No.
[Chuckles.]
I've heard that before.
(Michael) Courtland Gray said, "I think we need a bigger hammer," to me about five years ago.
Have you met Mr.
Peavey yet? I haven't.
Nope.
No, no, no.
(Michael) I know he's a busy man.
(Courtland) Yeah.
(Michael) The more I engaged Kyle in conversation and the more he held eye contact with me I'm growing very suspicious.
Kyle, I think I'm gonna run to the bathroom real quick.
All right.
I got it.
[Dramatic music.]
[Nail gun clicks.]
Did Michael get disgusted with you and leave? Pretty much.
[Laughing.]
Lonnie, I'm not gonna say nothing, but, you know, if you look at the contestant really closely, I know it's Courtland.
You know why? Years ago, he said to me over there, "Looks like you need to get a bigger hammer.
" Standing over here, he said the exact same words to me.
(Hartley) Hey, Court.
Michael has made you.
He said, "I know who that guy is.
" You need to try to get it under control.
You're not undercover anymore.
He knows who you are.
[Nail gun clicks.]
All right.
Got a little frustrated? I couldn't remember which was front and which was back.
You're only 1/4 inch out of square.
Is that all right? Does that work? - No, no, no, no, no, no.
- No? Anything less than a 1/32 doesn't leave my department.
(Hartley) Court, you're gonna have to tell him now.
Michael's a pretty sharp dude.
So here's the deal.
Uh, I know that you're on to me.
Yeah.
Look, we're shooting an episode of Undercover Boss.
I figured that's the only thing it could be.
You said something to me years ago, and I'll never forget it.
"You need a bigger hammer.
" Oh, did I say that before, huh? You've said it plenty of times.
Then you said the exact same words to me.
That I did.
That I did.
And that sealed it for me.
I need your help on this, you know? You kind of have to keep the guys quiet.
You understand what I'm saying? Yeah.
You know, you really did a great job, and I'm glad to have you on board, and, you know I appreciate it.
I wish I had an army of you.
You don't know how much that meant coming from you to me.
And I hope you're not saying that just because I busted y'all.
No, not at all.
Not at all.
I really didn't realize or can't appreciate that just a simple compliment like that can go a long way.
I put my heart and soul into this.
And I mean that.
When every cabinet goes out, it's got my name on it.
I grew here at Peavey, you know? Three months after I started, I met my wife.
Roxanne works in the Speaker Department.
We got two beautiful kids now.
Man, they're my world.
Everybody in there's talking that we're gonna be shut down in a year and all this other stuff.
And it keeps me up at night, you know? I understand.
It wasn't until these last couple months of not working Fridays.
'Cause, you know, Roxanne wasn't working Fridays either.
For two months, so it got really tough.
It's still tough.
Yeah.
And then [Sighs.]
child care is another issue.
- Money.
- Yeah.
Do you still have student loans you're paying? - I do.
- Mm-hmm.
I'm probably in default, 'cause I haven't been paying on 'em.
And, you know Yeah.
Well, and my mom's living with me now too.
What's going on with that? She's - She's got dementia.
- Oh, wow.
That's why it's important for me.
Yeah.
I know you guys had to do what you had to do.
Yeah.
It's a fact.
And I don't know if you heard this or not, but I put my two weeks in this morning.
Come on.
Damn it.
'Cause I got a better job offer.
I mean, I just just want enough to survive.
Sure.
(Courtland) It was a pretty big disappointment to learn that he had just given a two weeks notice today.
And I think he's valuable here, and I'll do what I can to keep him.
You're the kind of guy that, you know, we need more of here.
I agree.
- I'm glad we had this time to talk.
- Me too.
(Courtland) Working in Plant Three I can see a lot of inefficiencies in the operation.
And it will be a challenge to make this a viable operation going forward.
But I hope we can keep it going.
Because, you know, we've got great people in there and I'd hate to lose 'em.
[Soft music.]
This experience has been a bigger challenge than I thought it would be.
There's a lot of miscommunication and lack of information on the company's direction.
It's frustrating to hear some of the perceptions out there.
From what I've encountered, most of the people that come to work at Peavey all have some issues at home, but they want to do a good job.
They're proud to do a good job.
And I respect that a great deal.
You know, there's a lot to worry about and a lot to consider.
There's a lot of responsibility and a lot of mouths to feed.
[Sighs.]
You know, that's That keeps you up at night.
You know, just making the right decisions to carry on is very important.
[Thud.]
(Announcer) How will the employees react when the boss reveals his true identity? I'm Courtland Gray.
I'm chief operating officer of Peavey Electronics.
Oh, my gosh.
[Laughs.]
- How are you? - Scared.
(Announcer) And later, Peavey makes a shocking announcement after the episode wraps filming that changes everything for Thresa and Michael.
I'm a little bitter.
(Courtland) The experience I've had has changed my viewpoint on the way you interact with employees.
I need to work on my communication skills and show greater appreciation for the people that work for us.
But we have a great company, great people, and it's exciting.
[Quirky music.]
Hello, Thresa.
- How are you? - Scared.
- [Laughs.]
- Scared? A bit.
[Laughs.]
I'm Courtland Gray.
I'm chief operating officer of Peavey Electronics.
Nice to meet you.
How did Kyle do? He needs a little work on putting his circuit boards in.
We kind of had a communications barrier.
What if I had told you that I was Kyle Simmons? Really? You're Kyle Simmons? You're on a show called Undercover Boss.
Oh, my gosh.
[Both laugh.]
Ajay, tell me about the live show.
We didn't come off with the greatest of flying colors there.
Yeah.
[Feedback squeals.]
(Man) Check, check, check.
Man, that sounds terrible.
The microphone that we were using started feeding back.
If I would have swapped the microphone, it would have been perfect.
Yeah, it was a little disappointing.
But I'm gonna make sure that Kansas City Bankroll can do another concert, and this time, we'll get it right.
Thank you.
One of the greatest things in the world is to share time with somebody who's passionate and talented, and you truly reflected that.
Thank you.
You're a big fan of Joe Satriani? He was a big influence, yeah, yeah.
I'd like to send you to the Joe Satriani camp.
So you get to spend the week with Joe Satriani and have some one-on-one time with him.
Wow.
You'll have all of your expenses paid for.
Hopefully, y'all can do some good stuff together.
Wow.
Thank you.
You know, the other thing that was a big concern for you was, you know, your visa.
It's a big concern.
You're a great employee, so we're gonna take care of all the cost and expenses related to the legal fees, which could be up to $10,000.
Is that gonna help you? It's going to help me a lot.
Thanks a lot.
I don't know what to say.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
You're a fantastic guy.
You're a true talent.
And, you know, we want to help you achieve your goals and dreams in the music industry.
I'd like to help you with equipment for your studio.
Would $15,000, $20,000 help you out? It would help a lot.
Seriously, like, I have no word for Every time when you say something, I just don't know what How to react.
[Chuckles.]
Thanks a lot.
I don't know what to say.
I never thought that someone would believe so much in me that would be willing to give his hard-earned money.
- Thanks.
- Thank you.
If I have to go back to India, I have to give away my musical dreams.
But by receiving all those reward, there is hope for me now.
It's going to give me the opportunity to be what I want to be.
(Courtland) Thresa.
You did a great job.
That was the first time I had ever put circuit boards together in one of our products.
I see that it's not the easiest process that we're doing right there.
I botched it up pretty quick, I think.
- Didn't I? Yeah? - [Laughs.]
- Oops.
- Oh, dear.
Feel like Mr.
Magoo up here.
Yeah.
- [Circuit board hisses.]
- Ooh.
Yeah.
Smoke.
The standard was, what, Yes.
[Laughs.]
What did I do it in? I think I - 12 minutes.
- 12 minutes, yes.
You know, we certainly need to improve upon that process.
Yeah.
I'm just glad you're not gonna fire me when we get back.
[Laughs.]
Why would you think that? I mean, I've been there for 24 years and I kinda know the last couple of months has been the worst.
You know, I think we've done a poor job of communicating.
Yes.
We have to, you know, communicate better, so so I know we had a program in place where we were paying for people to continue their education.
Yeah.
I know you were right in the midst of that when it got pulled.
I still owe about $5,000.
I know that must be hard, huh? Yeah.
Well, I'd like to take care of that for you.
That's great.
It's gonna help a lot.
One of the other things you mentioned is that you wanted to continue your education.
Mm-hmm.
I'd like to also help you with about $10,000 to continue that on and get the degree you need.
[Laughs.]
I'd appreciate it.
One other thing that you had mentioned was, you were disappointed about the third week of vacation being taken away.
Yeah.
I understand that that's, you know, disappointing for people.
But at the same time, you know, it's just one of the things the company needed to do at the time.
Nevertheless, I'd like to give you and your husband a third week of vacation this year.
You also said that you wanted to take an RV trip around the country.
Yeah.
So I'd like to pay all your expenses, up to $10,000, so you can have that dream and enjoy your time with your husband.
I'm I'm Just can't believe it.
[Chuckles.]
One of the things you said was, "Life is hard.
" Yeah, just keeping up with the bills, mostly, and making sure the kid's tuition's paid for school.
How many are going now? It's just the one now, and he's a senior, so Would it help you out if I pay you $10,000 for the last one to get through there? Yeah, yeah.
Think I'm dreaming.
- [Laughs.]
- Why? Things like that don't happen to me.
I appreciate it so much.
Thank you.
I'm the luckiest person in the world right now.
[Laughs.]
Everything's changed.
I mean, I just still can't believe it all.
I mean, I've always been proud of where I worked, and I've always been proud of what I did, but now I feel like I'm appreciated.
I just feel like I want to sit down and cry.
- Michael, you were a good teacher.
- Thank you.
I, you know, cracked out an amplifier not too bad.
Nah.
Well, you caught me on my journey as undercover boss.
I didn't mean to do that.
Need a bigger hammer.
I know it's Courtland.
He said, "Looks like you need to get a bigger hammer.
" I appreciate your focus on everything you do and Sure.
making sure we got the best quality product out there.
Sure.
I take pride in what I do.
Well, Hartley was watching as well.
[Chuckles.]
- He thought you did a great job.
- Awesome.
So I was disappointed to learn that you had given your two weeks' notice when we were working together.
Yeah.
You're the kind of guy I really want to keep at Peavey.
Can we work together to try to find the right number to keep you? Yeah.
I don't want to leave.
That does my heart good to hear.
Good.
Well, you know, you had mentioned a few things when we were talking.
You had some student loans and things like that.
I do.
I do.
Would it help you out if I contributed $10,000 to try to take care of those things? Sure.
Yes, sir.
Yes, it would.
That would help me out a great deal.
I'd also like to give you $5,000 to help start a college fund for your kids.
Oh, that's awesome.
I appreciate that.
Thank you, Mr.
Gray.
I really appreciate the fact the company's giving back.
That really helps my heart.
I know you have some other challenges at home Yeah.
with your children's daycare and your mother.
Well, she's not a challenge.
I mean, struggles, I guess.
Yeah.
I'd like to give you $15,000 to help take some of that burden off of you.
That that's awesome.
[Chuckles.]
I don't know what to say about that.
That's kind of life-changing right now.
I mean, it really is.
Uh [Sighs.]
I Thank you.
Thank you so much.
It is gonna change my life.
I can't even pay the rent right now, so this $30,000 is gonna help get me back on track.
It's gonna help keep me on track.
- Thank you, sir.
- Been a good experience, and - Oh.
- thanks for your support.
Thank you.
(Michael) There was no light at the end of the tunnel before, now there is, see? And that's huge.
(Reporter) Today's top story, Meridian-based Peavey Electronics is reorganizing in a move that will result in layoffs.
Since the show ended, we've had a hard look at Plant Three and decided to be competitive in the marketplace, it just doesn't make sense to continue on with a majority of our products uh, being made in the U.
S.
Many of the people working in Plant Three have been relocated into other positions at Peavey.
A lot of them were given (Thresa) Since I met with Courtland that day and he told me his true identity things have changed.
We got a 60-day notice telling us that they were gonna close the doors.
Courtland or Hartley or nobody was there to even tell us, it was just the HR man and the plant manager, so I feel like I was done wrong.
(Michael) When I got my notice, it was initially a layoff letter, and I had a job lined up, making considerably more money.
I lost my opportunity at the other job when I decided to stay with Peavey and I'm pretty pissed off.
And then three days before my last day Peavey offered me a job on a skeleton crew, so I took it because I needed it real bad.
But, uh, I want a career, I don't want a job.
This is a job.
Um.
[Muttering.]
I'm a little bitter.
My husband still has a job, but we don't know how much longer that will last.
It's it's gonna be a lot of change.
But I mean, I feel like this change might be good for me because I feel like I deserve better.
(Courtland) Making a decision like this is difficult.
You know, it affects a lot of people.
But, uh, at the end of the day it's something that is for the greater good of the business.
And, uh, I wish them all well.
- Oh, my God! (Announcer) have posed as subjects on a fake show to get honest feedback from their employees.
All right.
(Announcer) 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.
(Announcer) 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) The next boss to take on this challenge is Courtland Gray, chief operating officer of Peavey Electronics, stepson of legendary founder Hartley Peavey.
I'm gonna come up with a disguise.
What kind of disguise? A washed-up wannabe rock star.
That's not a disguise.
[Laughter.]
(Announcer) As the heir apparent to this audio empire That's not a good idea.
(Announcer) he works with the employees who keep his company rocking.
Feel like Mr.
Magoo.
I'm prepared to offer you - [Circuit board hisses.]
- Ooh.
- Smoke.
- Yeah.
I take that back.
It's 4 1/4 an hour.
Mm-hmm.
(Announcer) Along the way, this boss finds out that his products (Man) That sounds terrible.
(Announcer) are out of tune.
[Feedback squealing.]
(Announcer) And what will happen I actually haven't had a raise in eight years.
Huh.
(Announcer) when he meets employees who feel the company has left them behind? We've been downsizing a lot.
That's not unusual.
For two months, I put my two weeks' in this morning.
Come on.
Damn it.
Just want enough to survive.
(Announcer) Find out next on [Rock music.]
(Announcer) Headquartered in Meridian, Mississippi, Peavey Electronics is one of the largest audio equipment manufacturers in the world.
Founded in 1965 by Hartley Peavey, Peavey Electronics rocketed to success amid the rock and roll boom of the 1970s and '80s.
Bands like ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Journey, Van Halen, Nirvana, and Soundgarden have shared the stage with Peavey gear.
Keeping this company rocking to the top of the charts is one man.
My name's Courtland Gray.
I'm the chief operating officer of Peavey Electronics.
[Rock music.]
When I graduated from college, I actually tried to get into the music industry.
So I've always had an interest in this side of the business.
I came to Peavey in 2001 to start a leasing division and was doing that for several years before became executive vice president and C.
O.
O.
Hartley Peavey is my stepfather.
He's the CEO.
And my mother, Mary, is president of Peavey Electronics.
Working with your parents can be a bit challenging.
Hi there.
- Hey, toots.
- Oh, y'all in a meeting? (Hartley) We're talking about the 50th anniversary.
I'm not saying we shouldn't do anything.
Let's have a committee.
[Laughs.]
Working for Hartley is great.
I mean, he's a great guy.
I've always been a maverick.
If the rest of humanity is going off in this direction, I tend to go off in that direction.
We can argue sometimes.
Yeah, that can happen.
To me, arguing is kind of a way of purifying your thinking.
I usually get indigestion after I have lunch with him.
I'm never satisfied.
(Courtland) It is hard to change the mindset on the way we need to do things.
I don't want to be a spoilsport.
I think we should put you in a dunking booth.
[Mary laughs.]
Just don't spend much money.
Of course not.
[Rock music.]
My dad started a music store in 1938, so as I grew up, my dad put me to work in his music shop.
And I told my family I wanted to be a guitar player.
So I kind of got an old piece of guitar and made it play.
Finally got good enough to get in a few little bands.
Every band always needs gear, and I would build the gear.
But back when I built all the equipment, they kicked me out.
So I looked in the mirror, and I said, "Sport, it looks like you're not gonna be a rock star, so what are you gonna do with the rest of your life?" And you know the rest of the story.
(Courtland) Peavey exploded onto the stage with the live music boom of the 1970s and continued to grow throughout the '80s and '90s.
But over the last 10, 12 years, we've had to close some factories, move some things overseas.
When I started, we were well over 1,000 employees.
We had multiple factories around the south.
And we've really scaled that back down now to the original one major manufacturing facility in Meridian.
Sadly, I don't think the U.
S.
population really cares if it's made in America anymore.
People end up buying with their pocketbooks, and if the price isn't competitive, your product will get overlooked.
The place I live, it was property that the company had, so I moved in.
It's in the middle of an industrial park, but it's a little oasis open space, big trees.
I have horses.
I have cats.
I have a greenhouse, my beehives.
[Bees buzzing.]
[Dramatic music.]
I find beekeeping pretty fascinating just the diversity of what goes on in a hive, the fact that every bee has a certain specific duty that it does, is really inspirational.
If my company operated like a beehive did, we would be miles ahead of where we are.
I think it's important for me to get in the factories and really get a better understanding of what's going on, what the impressions of the company are from the employees' level.
I don't think I'd get the full information if I was going in as me or if you were going in as you, so It's for sure that I couldn't go in as me.
Right.
I could have my head shaved and look like a Buddhist monk, and I open my mouth they'd all know who the hell I was.
I'm gonna come up with a disguise.
Need your participation.
What kind of disguise? A washed-up looking '80s wannabe rock star.
That's not a disguise.
[Laughter.]
Maybe not, but hopefully, we'll be able to fool them.
It sounds kind of far-out to me.
Well, we'll see what we can do.
So I think the Hollywood showroom would be a good location.
That's fine, as long as I don't have to go.
You should go.
Why don't you want to go? Court, I'm busy as a one-armed paperhanger.
All right, will you at least participate when I'm at Plant Three? Plant Three, I can help you with, but I'm not going to L.
A.
All right.
Here we go.
I'm slowly but surely trying to segue out of Peavey and give Courtland the reins of the company so I can go begin my bucket list before I get too damn old.
(Woman) What are we doing? An '80s rock star that never quite made it, so Okay.
(Courtland) As I get more responsibility in the company, I think it's critical that I understand exactly what's going on and what their perceptions are of the business and what they do.
It'll be challenging to try to fool a lot of folks.
I'll be going undercover as Kyle Simmons from Phoenix, Arizona, who's competing for a $250,000 cash prize.
I have a beard growing that I don't typically have.
So hopefully, the disguise will fool them.
One down.
I'm really not sure how our employees would describe me.
I think some of them might find me a little bit too curt or standoffish.
As C.
O.
O.
, it's more important to maintain separation between your relationship with your employees and your friends 'cause it can make it harder to manage them.
- Starting to feel it.
- Yeah? [Rock music.]
Today I'm at Peavey Hollywood showroom, and I'm gonna be working with one of our sales and tech support guys.
The Peavey Hollywood showroom's right on Guitar Row on the Sunset Strip.
It's a lot of cool, hip things going on.
A lot of great bands get started here, so it's exciting.
How you doing? Hey, man, I'm Kyle Simmons.
I'm here for Ajay.
Nice to meet you.
I'm Kenny.
- Kenny, good to meet you, man.
- Yeah.
Let me grab him for you.
Ajay.
(Courtland) One of the unique things about the Peavey Hollywood showroom is that we have a stage where we do live concerts with different bands around the area.
The bands get to try the gear.
It draws a crowd into the showroom.
So it's really important that this location lives up to the Peavey standard.
- (Ajay) Hey.
- Hey, man, how are you? - I'm good.
How are you? - Good, good, good.
- Ajay.
- Kyle Simmons.
How are you? - Nice to meet you.
- All right.
When I first saw Kyle, I was like, "Whoa.
We both are wearing the same clothes.
" I thought it was kind of, uh weird.
We are going to have a show later tonight, so before the band gets in here All right.
We generally use something kind of like this where you can put the guitar sideways.
All right, stacking guitars.
Here we go.
- Cool.
- I can handle it.
[Rock music.]
Who's that Hartley guy? Is he What's special about him? He used to make amps in his garage, and that's how the company started.
Huh.
Yeah.
All right.
One down.
You got to get Yeah.
Oop, oop, I got to get a hanger.
[Thud.]
It's better if you just put the guitar down, or you might kink it or scratch it.
All right.
All right.
(Ajay) When Kyle was putting up the guitars on display, I am really nervous he might put a scratch on it.
You see all this, like, hand marks? - Uh-huh.
- These are not good.
It doesn't look good.
Set it up, and then you can clean it right here.
Okay.
You need to move the amp, you can definitely move them.
- [Sighs.]
- [Amp reverberates.]
Oh, jeez, I'm just banging all over.
- You need a hand? - No, I'll get it.
Maybe he's having a bad day or something? I don't know.
That's not a good idea.
But it didn't feel he's here to win this.
[Groans.]
Oh, boy, that's a heavy one.
Yeah.
Have you worked in a music store before? No.
I had a band, played a little bit with some guys, so, you know.
What about you? I'm a guitar player, but I do mostly compose.
But I'm from a really small state in India.
Uh-huh.
So people don't think that you can earn a living from music.
- But music's your passion? - Yeah.
For example, I did a track for Mother's Day.
- You want to hear it? - Yeah, yeah.
Can you play it now, or I don't know.
Yeah, I can play it from my phone.
Just a second.
Let me grab this.
[Soft piano music.]
That's me.
- Oh, that's good.
- Yeah.
Thank you.
How'd you get interested in music? Here's my chance To make you proud And show you I can hold my own Against the crowd That's a great song.
I You like it? It was really shocking and surprising to find out that we had such a talent working at the store.
I mean, the track that he did was really nice, and he's donating anything that he makes with it to charity.
So I think it's a great project and a great song that he did.
So what would you do if you had to go back to India? Seriously, no idea.
I came here for college, and that gives me a certain kind of a visa, but my visa ends in November.
This is my last chance.
Well, I know.
- We got to get cracking on this.
- Yeah.
We need the guitar amplifier for the guitar, then we need a bass amp.
(Courtland) We've never had a real strong presence out here on the West Coast, so these concerts are important.
Not only do they bring people into the showroom, but they also expose the bands to our gear.
The bands are our customer base, so our reputation's at stake.
[Indistinct chatter, high hat clanging.]
[Thrumming bass.]
So, Kyle, this is Kansas City Bankroll.
Let me know if you guys need anything.
(Man) All right.
[Amp buzzing.]
[Playing guitar.]
[Low buzzing.]
Let's try it on the back.
[Buzzing continues.]
I'm up.
[Clicking.]
All right.
We're working on it.
[Guitar playing discordantly.]
[Man laughs.]
Well, I'm thinking, "Why can't our guys get the sound right?" Check, check, check, check, check.
[Feedback squealing.]
(Courtland) Just seeing it tumble out of control downhill [Feedback squeals.]
I'm embarrassed.
You know, is this the first [.]
damn time we've had a concert there? (Man) Man, that sounds terrible.
[Rock music playing.]
[Feedback squeals.]
[Dramatic music.]
Well, I'm thinking, "Why can't our guys get the sound right?" Couldn't hear the singer.
They knew it.
I knew it.
I think the audience knew it.
I'm pretty pissed off right now.
[Rock music playing.]
Blamed it on the microphone.
You know, I hear the opposite.
We have some good microphones.
[Feedback squeals.]
Then we had some feedback.
No one was at the board.
If we don't have good sound for the band, word's gonna get out.
They're gonna think Peavey's a "B" brand.
A little bit of a feedback issue.
(Courtland) What are we doing here? When I walked out of the store, I wanted to break something.
I'm irritated.
I'm tired.
I'm ready to go home, have a drink.
[Dramatic music.]
Today I'm pretty bummed out.
I'm not happy.
The last job I did, we had some trouble with the concert.
So today I'm in Meridian, Mississippi.
I'm at Plant Three.
This is our main manufacturing facility.
I'd like to see what's going on, because people really expect a rock-solid product out of Peavey, and this is where we double-check and make sure that that's the way the product is when they get it.
I really wanted Hartley to be a part of the undercover experience here at Plant Three.
Hartley's built this business, and this is where it all started, so it's important for him to get a better perspective on what happens day to day in the factory.
[Chuckling.]
Well, that's a good get-up.
They'll never recognize you.
We'll see how it goes.
So today I'll have this earpiece in.
You'll be watching on the monitor.
I'll be curious to see what people say.
I'm sure that there will be complaints.
"Woe is me.
" You can chime in and give me some ideas on what to say and things to talk about and look for.
You've never been at a loss for words before, so I You have never been at a loss for words before.
I've never Almost never.
- All right.
- [Laughs.]
I'll be watching you.
[Laughs.]
Today I'll be working in the circuit board facility.
Basically, the circuit board is the electronics of the product.
It's what makes it work.
So every circuit board technician and final inspection person really has to make sure everything's working right before it goes to final assembly.
Can somebody tell me where Thresa is? Let's have a party.
(Woman) Right over there.
That's her right there.
Thresa? - Thresa Jones? - That would be me.
- Oh, okay.
- [Laughs.]
- Hey.
- How are you? I'm Kyle.
Good to meet you.
I work here.
I've been working here for 24 years now, and I work on circuit boards.
I test 'em and repair 'em.
All right.
(Hartley) Test, test, test.
Hello.
Hello.
Test.
Test.
This is a grounding strap.
Hey, Court, cough if you can hear me.
[Coughs.]
Hey, scratch your nose if you can hear me.
[Laughs.]
This is a media matrix product.
It's basically a P.
A.
kind of system.
But we're gonna be testing this circuit board.
And you've got 73 seconds to test each board.
(Courtland) All right.
That enough time? No, it's actually not.
[Laughs.]
All right, we've got these cables, and you're gonna plug this ribbon cable into that connector.
Put my screws in here.
The reason I'm putting this screw in is because this is a grounding pad.
The more ground a circuit board has, the better.
- Yeah.
- Okay.
I was getting a little bit concerned when I saw all the little details that had to be done.
You see we have no signal up there 'cause we haven't put our input cards in yet.
All right.
(Courtland) You know, there were several different circuit boards that had to be assembled and then checked Plug this cable into the input board.
We have our signal light there.
Got to check all four of those.
and then disassembled.
And it was all supposed to be done in 73 seconds.
So you got to rebuild this thing every time you got to test 'em? - Yes.
- Interesting.
And set it on here.
Now, you want to try one? - You sure? - [Laughs.]
Okay, uh all right, pick a board, any board.
Now you get your board.
Mm-hmm.
Start timing you.
- Oof.
- [Laughs.]
All right.
So this one goes in first.
Mm-hmm.
- Oops.
- Oh, dear.
He doesn't seem like he's had a lot of experience dealing with circuit boards.
That is a quirky little cable.
Feel like feel like Mr.
Magoo up here.
Yeah.
[Laughs.]
I think you're doing very well.
I'm prepared to offer you 7 1/4 an hour.
You're at one minute already.
- Come on, now.
- [Laughs.]
- [Screw clicks.]
- Oh.
Forgot to test the other board.
Oh, hell.
I take that back.
It's 4 1/4 an hour.
Mm-hmm.
[Laughs.]
Everything in electronics is so fast-paced now.
- Except me.
- [Laughs.]
- [Circuit board hisses.]
- Ooh.
Yeah.
- Smoke.
- Yeah.
Kyle just didn't seem like he was detail-oriented.
It's pretty much fried, yeah.
You best not give up your day job.
(Thresa) Unplug that one and go to the next one.
And there's your signals.
- Saved it.
- [Laughs.]
If I was hiring for a technician position, Kyle probably would not be my first choice.
- 12 minutes and 3 seconds.
- Done.
- [Laughing.]
- [Sighs.]
Well Need a little bit of work on that area.
Well, it concerns me, the amount of time that they're taking.
Ask her how long it generally takes.
How long does it normally take you? It usually even takes me longer than the 73 seconds I'm allowed, but [Chuckles.]
I would suspect so.
I can probably do it in about a minute and a half to two minutes.
Not bad.
Not bad at all.
This girl actually knows pretty well what she's doing.
Well, we keep on going? Want to try another one? - Yeah.
- Let's do it.
I think 73 seconds is really not attainable.
We really should have a completely different process in the way that's tested.
Doing a manual build-up is just really impractical and inefficient.
You been working here how long? - 24 years.
- Oh, man.
I started out, actually, on the hand assembly line, then I moved up to being a technician.
And I went back to college and got my associate's in electronics along with raising five kids at the same time.
- Five? - Yes.
Oof.
(Courtland) So you want to do this? What's next for you? I would like to go back to school, because I would eventually like to be a manufacturing engineer.
Uh-huh.
(Thresa) This one is gonna go up here.
So we're gonna be done with this little project.
All right.
Have you ever soldered before? I've soldered a little bit.
- I've soldered a little bit.
- [Laughs.]
You're gonna take your soldering iron and touch your solder kind of at the same time.
And you see how the hole fills up? Yeah.
It helps if you actually get the lead hot and then just touch the solder to it.
Okay.
This company has been around for a while, right? (Thresa) Yes, pretty much.
Started working here right after I turned 18, and I'm still here.
- [Laughs.]
- All right.
Ask her, has she ever met Hartley? Does Mr.
Peavey come around? No, not really.
[Dramatic music.]
He don't really talk to me in general.
He'll talk to, like, the supervisors.
Yeah, I wish Peavey's had a little bit better communication between management and the employees.
Basically, when they cut us back to four days a week, they said it was gonna last for the month of March.
Well, it turned out to be the month of April too.
- So - Yeah.
I mean, obviously it's costing them money to keep the company going, and I appreciate that, because I'm really glad that I do have a job.
But there's just so many cutbacks everywhere.
After you were here 20 years, you would get an extra week's vacation.
Well, we don't do that anymore.
Yeah.
We used to have barbecues for us and stuff like that, but they've pretty much cut all that out.
Damn.
When I started going to school, they helped pay for it.
But then, well, you know, that's one of the cutbacks we had to do.
So I'm still paying on student loans.
Yeah.
Our health insurance goes up every year.
That's not unusual.
They don't give merit raises anymore.
I actually haven't had a raise in eight years.
Huh.
I was discouraged that she really didn't understand the big picture, and it has created discontent, which can spread pretty fast in this operation.
And everything is working its way to China.
All this has kind of unraveled and spun out of control as a result of a general lack of communication.
- You really don't - You don't know why? You really don't know from day to day I mean, I could come in tomorrow, and they could have the doors shut, so Really? If I don't get control of the situation, it really puts this company in jeopardy for the future.
You really don't know from day to day I mean, I could come in tomorrow, and they could have the doors shut.
Really? You know, she's pointing some things out that are credible, and it's frustrating.
Everything is working its way to China.
We've lost so many products, and that cut down a lot of jobs here.
This is the part that I really need to hear.
And now we're down to just the handful of people you see in here.
And they just cut back here and cut back there.
- This is my husband.
- Hey, Kyle Simmons.
How you doing? Good to meet you.
He does basically the same thing I do.
Families like this, they're relying on Peavey.
We've been downsizing a lot.
- Really? - Yeah.
The changes that we've had to make has an effect on their home life and, you know, what they can do on a regular basis.
I just wish they would fill us in a little more on how things are going.
(Courtland) She's right.
I think there have been some communication breakdowns.
I've got to be mindful of some of those things and work to be a better boss.
But at least he is keeping this place open, and that's I'm grateful for that, because I would like to at least be working here for another 10 or 15 years.
- [Laughs.]
- Yeah.
Eventually, one day, I would like to just get a motor home and travel and see different things.
Yeah.
All right, well, let me look at this, and did a mighty fine job.
All right.
Very frustrating, to say the least.
Well, she had a lot of issues with the business and the company.
You know, it was just Some improvements in communication, I think we can certainly make.
I would certainly agree with that.
You know, I assume sometimes that the supervisors and plant manager communicates with them.
I don't know that we're letting the supervisors and managers know.
Yeah.
So [Groans.]
[Train whistle blares.]
(Courtland) Today I'm back here at plant three in Meridian, Mississippi.
I'll be working with the group leader in Cabinet Assembly.
[Nail gun clicking.]
Cabinet Assembly is where we make our speaker enclosures, so I want to make sure that the guys are building a good, reliable product living up to the reputation that we have with our speakers.
If you are at a loss for words, just ask yourself, "What would Hartley say?" - That usually gets me in a lot of trouble.
- [Laughing.]
(Courtland) Working with Thresa, Hartley and I learned a few things that we just weren't happy about.
Good luck.
(Courtland) Morale just wasn't where it should be.
Get 'er done.
(Courtland) So today I want to see if the discontent has spread to some other departments.
Hey, I'm looking for Michael.
Michael Warthman.
Nice to meet you.
Hey, how are you? I'm Kyle Simmons.
- Good to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
You got any experience building anything with your hands? (Courtland) Yeah.
(Michael) All right, cool.
Right here we're gonna build the shelving cabinet.
This is gonna be the bottom, both the sides, and we're gonna attach the top.
Anywhere that wood touches wood, you want glue.
All right.
So you want to spread you enough glue down here to where you can squeeze out both sides.
(Courtland) All righty.
Have you ever used a nail gun before? A couple times, but not much.
You're lying.
[Laughs.]
Set it up like this.
When you shoot your gun, you don't want your fingers anywhere around here.
- [Nail gun clicking.]
- Start 1 inch to the end.
Then go every 3 to 4 inches.
(Hartley) Court, start asking him some questions about his job and how he feels about the company.
How many of these you do a day? We can do about Now that that part's done, we'll flip around and do the top piece.
That's where the logo will go.
(Courtland) How long you been working here? It'll be six years June 17th.
All right? Good place? I love it.
I love working here.
I like what I do.
When I started here, I was homeless and had nothing.
- Homeless? - Homeless, on the street.
That was six years ago.
I didn't have a dream when I came here.
My dream now is raising my family.
I want to do better for them than I was done.
Yeah.
(Hartley) This guy's salt of the Earth.
He's a keeper.
When I get done with it, I check it for squareness.
That thing's dead nuts on, man.
(Hartley) Amen, brother.
Quality.
(Michael) You think you can pull one of these off? Yeah.
(Michael) Just be careful.
Take your time and don't shoot yourself.
- (Courtland) All right.
- [Laughs.]
[Quirky music.]
You're not putting enough glue on it, sport.
All right.
There you go.
Oh, hell.
Let's see, uh [Nail gun clicks.]
He's slow-slow.
[Nail gun clicks.]
Court, I'm just glad I finally found something that you can do.
Aw, that's not right.
[Laughing.]
(Hartley) I don't think Michael's impressed.
Damn it.
(Michael) If I put Kyle on the line right now, it would slow down everybody.
He needs a lot of work and a lot of improvement.
- (Courtland) Something's upside down, huh? - [Hartley laughing.]
(Courtland) I don't think this is right.
He sucks.
[Laughs.]
Not coming out of there? Need a bigger hammer.
No.
[Chuckles.]
I've heard that before.
(Michael) Courtland Gray said, "I think we need a bigger hammer," to me about five years ago.
Have you met Mr.
Peavey yet? I haven't.
Nope.
No, no, no.
(Michael) I know he's a busy man.
(Courtland) Yeah.
(Michael) The more I engaged Kyle in conversation and the more he held eye contact with me I'm growing very suspicious.
Kyle, I think I'm gonna run to the bathroom real quick.
All right.
I got it.
[Dramatic music.]
[Nail gun clicks.]
Did Michael get disgusted with you and leave? Pretty much.
[Laughing.]
Lonnie, I'm not gonna say nothing, but, you know, if you look at the contestant really closely, I know it's Courtland.
You know why? Years ago, he said to me over there, "Looks like you need to get a bigger hammer.
" Standing over here, he said the exact same words to me.
(Hartley) Hey, Court.
Michael has made you.
He said, "I know who that guy is.
" You need to try to get it under control.
You're not undercover anymore.
He knows who you are.
[Nail gun clicks.]
All right.
Got a little frustrated? I couldn't remember which was front and which was back.
You're only 1/4 inch out of square.
Is that all right? Does that work? - No, no, no, no, no, no.
- No? Anything less than a 1/32 doesn't leave my department.
(Hartley) Court, you're gonna have to tell him now.
Michael's a pretty sharp dude.
So here's the deal.
Uh, I know that you're on to me.
Yeah.
Look, we're shooting an episode of Undercover Boss.
I figured that's the only thing it could be.
You said something to me years ago, and I'll never forget it.
"You need a bigger hammer.
" Oh, did I say that before, huh? You've said it plenty of times.
Then you said the exact same words to me.
That I did.
That I did.
And that sealed it for me.
I need your help on this, you know? You kind of have to keep the guys quiet.
You understand what I'm saying? Yeah.
You know, you really did a great job, and I'm glad to have you on board, and, you know I appreciate it.
I wish I had an army of you.
You don't know how much that meant coming from you to me.
And I hope you're not saying that just because I busted y'all.
No, not at all.
Not at all.
I really didn't realize or can't appreciate that just a simple compliment like that can go a long way.
I put my heart and soul into this.
And I mean that.
When every cabinet goes out, it's got my name on it.
I grew here at Peavey, you know? Three months after I started, I met my wife.
Roxanne works in the Speaker Department.
We got two beautiful kids now.
Man, they're my world.
Everybody in there's talking that we're gonna be shut down in a year and all this other stuff.
And it keeps me up at night, you know? I understand.
It wasn't until these last couple months of not working Fridays.
'Cause, you know, Roxanne wasn't working Fridays either.
For two months, so it got really tough.
It's still tough.
Yeah.
And then [Sighs.]
child care is another issue.
- Money.
- Yeah.
Do you still have student loans you're paying? - I do.
- Mm-hmm.
I'm probably in default, 'cause I haven't been paying on 'em.
And, you know Yeah.
Well, and my mom's living with me now too.
What's going on with that? She's - She's got dementia.
- Oh, wow.
That's why it's important for me.
Yeah.
I know you guys had to do what you had to do.
Yeah.
It's a fact.
And I don't know if you heard this or not, but I put my two weeks in this morning.
Come on.
Damn it.
'Cause I got a better job offer.
I mean, I just just want enough to survive.
Sure.
(Courtland) It was a pretty big disappointment to learn that he had just given a two weeks notice today.
And I think he's valuable here, and I'll do what I can to keep him.
You're the kind of guy that, you know, we need more of here.
I agree.
- I'm glad we had this time to talk.
- Me too.
(Courtland) Working in Plant Three I can see a lot of inefficiencies in the operation.
And it will be a challenge to make this a viable operation going forward.
But I hope we can keep it going.
Because, you know, we've got great people in there and I'd hate to lose 'em.
[Soft music.]
This experience has been a bigger challenge than I thought it would be.
There's a lot of miscommunication and lack of information on the company's direction.
It's frustrating to hear some of the perceptions out there.
From what I've encountered, most of the people that come to work at Peavey all have some issues at home, but they want to do a good job.
They're proud to do a good job.
And I respect that a great deal.
You know, there's a lot to worry about and a lot to consider.
There's a lot of responsibility and a lot of mouths to feed.
[Sighs.]
You know, that's That keeps you up at night.
You know, just making the right decisions to carry on is very important.
[Thud.]
(Announcer) How will the employees react when the boss reveals his true identity? I'm Courtland Gray.
I'm chief operating officer of Peavey Electronics.
Oh, my gosh.
[Laughs.]
- How are you? - Scared.
(Announcer) And later, Peavey makes a shocking announcement after the episode wraps filming that changes everything for Thresa and Michael.
I'm a little bitter.
(Courtland) The experience I've had has changed my viewpoint on the way you interact with employees.
I need to work on my communication skills and show greater appreciation for the people that work for us.
But we have a great company, great people, and it's exciting.
[Quirky music.]
Hello, Thresa.
- How are you? - Scared.
- [Laughs.]
- Scared? A bit.
[Laughs.]
I'm Courtland Gray.
I'm chief operating officer of Peavey Electronics.
Nice to meet you.
How did Kyle do? He needs a little work on putting his circuit boards in.
We kind of had a communications barrier.
What if I had told you that I was Kyle Simmons? Really? You're Kyle Simmons? You're on a show called Undercover Boss.
Oh, my gosh.
[Both laugh.]
Ajay, tell me about the live show.
We didn't come off with the greatest of flying colors there.
Yeah.
[Feedback squeals.]
(Man) Check, check, check.
Man, that sounds terrible.
The microphone that we were using started feeding back.
If I would have swapped the microphone, it would have been perfect.
Yeah, it was a little disappointing.
But I'm gonna make sure that Kansas City Bankroll can do another concert, and this time, we'll get it right.
Thank you.
One of the greatest things in the world is to share time with somebody who's passionate and talented, and you truly reflected that.
Thank you.
You're a big fan of Joe Satriani? He was a big influence, yeah, yeah.
I'd like to send you to the Joe Satriani camp.
So you get to spend the week with Joe Satriani and have some one-on-one time with him.
Wow.
You'll have all of your expenses paid for.
Hopefully, y'all can do some good stuff together.
Wow.
Thank you.
You know, the other thing that was a big concern for you was, you know, your visa.
It's a big concern.
You're a great employee, so we're gonna take care of all the cost and expenses related to the legal fees, which could be up to $10,000.
Is that gonna help you? It's going to help me a lot.
Thanks a lot.
I don't know what to say.
- Thank you.
- You're welcome.
You're a fantastic guy.
You're a true talent.
And, you know, we want to help you achieve your goals and dreams in the music industry.
I'd like to help you with equipment for your studio.
Would $15,000, $20,000 help you out? It would help a lot.
Seriously, like, I have no word for Every time when you say something, I just don't know what How to react.
[Chuckles.]
Thanks a lot.
I don't know what to say.
I never thought that someone would believe so much in me that would be willing to give his hard-earned money.
- Thanks.
- Thank you.
If I have to go back to India, I have to give away my musical dreams.
But by receiving all those reward, there is hope for me now.
It's going to give me the opportunity to be what I want to be.
(Courtland) Thresa.
You did a great job.
That was the first time I had ever put circuit boards together in one of our products.
I see that it's not the easiest process that we're doing right there.
I botched it up pretty quick, I think.
- Didn't I? Yeah? - [Laughs.]
- Oops.
- Oh, dear.
Feel like Mr.
Magoo up here.
Yeah.
- [Circuit board hisses.]
- Ooh.
Yeah.
Smoke.
The standard was, what, Yes.
[Laughs.]
What did I do it in? I think I - 12 minutes.
- 12 minutes, yes.
You know, we certainly need to improve upon that process.
Yeah.
I'm just glad you're not gonna fire me when we get back.
[Laughs.]
Why would you think that? I mean, I've been there for 24 years and I kinda know the last couple of months has been the worst.
You know, I think we've done a poor job of communicating.
Yes.
We have to, you know, communicate better, so so I know we had a program in place where we were paying for people to continue their education.
Yeah.
I know you were right in the midst of that when it got pulled.
I still owe about $5,000.
I know that must be hard, huh? Yeah.
Well, I'd like to take care of that for you.
That's great.
It's gonna help a lot.
One of the other things you mentioned is that you wanted to continue your education.
Mm-hmm.
I'd like to also help you with about $10,000 to continue that on and get the degree you need.
[Laughs.]
I'd appreciate it.
One other thing that you had mentioned was, you were disappointed about the third week of vacation being taken away.
Yeah.
I understand that that's, you know, disappointing for people.
But at the same time, you know, it's just one of the things the company needed to do at the time.
Nevertheless, I'd like to give you and your husband a third week of vacation this year.
You also said that you wanted to take an RV trip around the country.
Yeah.
So I'd like to pay all your expenses, up to $10,000, so you can have that dream and enjoy your time with your husband.
I'm I'm Just can't believe it.
[Chuckles.]
One of the things you said was, "Life is hard.
" Yeah, just keeping up with the bills, mostly, and making sure the kid's tuition's paid for school.
How many are going now? It's just the one now, and he's a senior, so Would it help you out if I pay you $10,000 for the last one to get through there? Yeah, yeah.
Think I'm dreaming.
- [Laughs.]
- Why? Things like that don't happen to me.
I appreciate it so much.
Thank you.
I'm the luckiest person in the world right now.
[Laughs.]
Everything's changed.
I mean, I just still can't believe it all.
I mean, I've always been proud of where I worked, and I've always been proud of what I did, but now I feel like I'm appreciated.
I just feel like I want to sit down and cry.
- Michael, you were a good teacher.
- Thank you.
I, you know, cracked out an amplifier not too bad.
Nah.
Well, you caught me on my journey as undercover boss.
I didn't mean to do that.
Need a bigger hammer.
I know it's Courtland.
He said, "Looks like you need to get a bigger hammer.
" I appreciate your focus on everything you do and Sure.
making sure we got the best quality product out there.
Sure.
I take pride in what I do.
Well, Hartley was watching as well.
[Chuckles.]
- He thought you did a great job.
- Awesome.
So I was disappointed to learn that you had given your two weeks' notice when we were working together.
Yeah.
You're the kind of guy I really want to keep at Peavey.
Can we work together to try to find the right number to keep you? Yeah.
I don't want to leave.
That does my heart good to hear.
Good.
Well, you know, you had mentioned a few things when we were talking.
You had some student loans and things like that.
I do.
I do.
Would it help you out if I contributed $10,000 to try to take care of those things? Sure.
Yes, sir.
Yes, it would.
That would help me out a great deal.
I'd also like to give you $5,000 to help start a college fund for your kids.
Oh, that's awesome.
I appreciate that.
Thank you, Mr.
Gray.
I really appreciate the fact the company's giving back.
That really helps my heart.
I know you have some other challenges at home Yeah.
with your children's daycare and your mother.
Well, she's not a challenge.
I mean, struggles, I guess.
Yeah.
I'd like to give you $15,000 to help take some of that burden off of you.
That that's awesome.
[Chuckles.]
I don't know what to say about that.
That's kind of life-changing right now.
I mean, it really is.
Uh [Sighs.]
I Thank you.
Thank you so much.
It is gonna change my life.
I can't even pay the rent right now, so this $30,000 is gonna help get me back on track.
It's gonna help keep me on track.
- Thank you, sir.
- Been a good experience, and - Oh.
- thanks for your support.
Thank you.
(Michael) There was no light at the end of the tunnel before, now there is, see? And that's huge.
(Reporter) Today's top story, Meridian-based Peavey Electronics is reorganizing in a move that will result in layoffs.
Since the show ended, we've had a hard look at Plant Three and decided to be competitive in the marketplace, it just doesn't make sense to continue on with a majority of our products uh, being made in the U.
S.
Many of the people working in Plant Three have been relocated into other positions at Peavey.
A lot of them were given (Thresa) Since I met with Courtland that day and he told me his true identity things have changed.
We got a 60-day notice telling us that they were gonna close the doors.
Courtland or Hartley or nobody was there to even tell us, it was just the HR man and the plant manager, so I feel like I was done wrong.
(Michael) When I got my notice, it was initially a layoff letter, and I had a job lined up, making considerably more money.
I lost my opportunity at the other job when I decided to stay with Peavey and I'm pretty pissed off.
And then three days before my last day Peavey offered me a job on a skeleton crew, so I took it because I needed it real bad.
But, uh, I want a career, I don't want a job.
This is a job.
Um.
[Muttering.]
I'm a little bitter.
My husband still has a job, but we don't know how much longer that will last.
It's it's gonna be a lot of change.
But I mean, I feel like this change might be good for me because I feel like I deserve better.
(Courtland) Making a decision like this is difficult.
You know, it affects a lot of people.
But, uh, at the end of the day it's something that is for the greater good of the business.
And, uh, I wish them all well.