If you haven’t seen it, Undercover Boss
is a long-running CBS reality show where a
high-ranking corporate officer dons a disguise
to infiltrate their own business. While inside,
they work alongside their employees in an
effort to reinvigorate their brand's identity
and see what’s really going on. Skeptics
believe that many aspects of the show are
fake or exaggerated, but producers and most
of the show’s participants insist otherwise.
We've uncovered the truth.
Bosses choose their aliases
Undercover Boss uses the genius tactic of
pretending to be some sort of "win your own
franchise" game show, complete with a fake
host. All of this is to prevent employees
from figuring out the real deal. Amazingly,
few workers see through the flimsy facade.
Maybe it's because in every episode, the boss
has to wear a disguise to avoid being recognized.
According to a TV.com interview with producer
Eli Holzman, the bosses are allowed to choose
their disguises. These usually involve wigs,
makeup, and fake facial hair that looks like
it was purchased at a post-Halloween clearance
sale. This leads us to believe the businesses
either choose the most gullible employees
possible. Or, they actually know what's going
on but play along in hopes of being generously
rewarded later on.
Workplace scenarios aren’t completely staged
One of the biggest questions people ask is
whether the bosses’ on-the-job scenarios
are completely staged. The answer is no…
and yes. According to Holzman, the show tries
to pick job scenarios that will look good
on TV, but the bosses don't know exactly where
they're going to go. “They don't know exactly
with whom they're going to work, because we
want them to have an authentic experience."
Sometimes, that even includes getting fired…
by the employees.
"I have to, ya know, let you go."
"Just for that?"
"Ya."
Though the Emmy-winning series conducts recon
of employees and workplaces to look for potentially
juicy opportunities, the resulting footage
can still be pretty spontaneous. Bosses’
covers have been blown:
"You look like the President of Fatburger."
And there have been more than a few occasions
when a boss broke cover to fire someone on
the spot. A particularly awful Boston Market
employee named Ronnie was immediately canned
after this awful admission:
"I literally hate customers more than anything
in the entire world."
Which was only slightly more terrible than
this one:
"I'm like the Kim Kardashian of Boston Market.
It's great. So..."
A worker at a Retro Fitness had such a terrible
attitude that she eventually started dropping
f-bombs in front of the incognito CEO, effectively
tendering her accidental resignation. Does
the show stage some of this stuff? Sure, but
the consequences can be all too real.
Employees are carefully selected
Fans of the show will recognize that chosen
employees often have some type of hidden similarity
to their boss. Both may have a family member
coping with a similar illness, or have fallen
behind on their mortgage. While these coincidences
aren't the specific reason employees are selected,
Holzman admits that they’re picky. The show
will always choose the most interesting employees
to make it to air, whether their stories make
you laugh or cry. Or just mad:
"I'm an ***hole. I'm a ****head. I'm harsh.
I'm over the top. Fear equals respect. You're
gonna have to rule with an iron fist man."
The takeaway here: If you and your coworker
are the best burger flippers in the kitchen,
make sure that he or she isn't secretly a
war hero or stand-up comedian before Undercover
Boss shows up. And if they are, learn some
really good jokes.
"Flying is simple. I am a flotation device."
Companies actually use the lessons they learn
Any time a terrible employee is featured on
the show, you can count on the boss to talk
about creating some new type of training program.
Audiences love to watch a branch manager geek
out on his staff, but is it just lip service?
Some companies have actually taken positive
steps to drive change, such as providing a
financial incentive for employees to improve.
Checkers CEO Rick Silva started giving bonuses
directly to employees on the front lines,
and not just the branch managers. Dan DiZio,
CEO of Philly Pretzel Company, discovered
a popular product after uncovering a rogue
franchise that was selling an unsanctioned
pepperoni pretzel roll. DiZio wasn't pleased
with the free-wheeling franchise, but he also
took its transgression as a sign he'd lost
touch.
Not every boss is thrilled
Some of the undercover bigwigs found their
TV experience to be pretty rough. Steve Joyce,
CEO of Choice Hotels International, felt exploited
by the show's producers. Joyce told The Wall
Street Journal that, "...they look for something
personal to torture you with. For me, my mom
had died from Parkinson's a few years before.
And I hadn't really dealt with it. So every
chance they got they brought that up.”
Joyce also felt the show made it look like
he didn't know what it actually took to do
the job, despite the fact that he had worked
his way up through the ranks. "They deliberately
sabotage you so you don't do well and you
look stupid," he said. "They had me cleaning
the pool in Orlando in late June at 2 o'clock
in the afternoon. It was like 110 degrees."
Joyce did say the experience forced him to
confront his pent-up emotions regarding his
mother's death in a positive way, saying,
"My mother made me promise to always have
a place for the family to get together for
vacations. I bought a beach place two weeks
after that show." We're not sure that buying
extra houses is a coping mechanism available
to everyone, though.
There are dozens of international spinoffs
Like a lot of American television, Undercover
Boss started in the UK. Then it crossed the
pond to become a beefed-up version of the
concept, which will never die so long as the
networks can still extract money from it.
This is why CBS, TLC, and Oprah's OWN Network
have all carried the U.S. version of the show.
They’ve also aired Undercover Boss: Abroad,
which features some of the many international
versions of the programs.
One particularly memorable episode from our
usually congenial northern neighbors, featured
Canadian CEO Rick Smiciklas breaking character
and, well...
"No not come on! Employees come first! You
are disrespectful to the brand, and you know
what, I'm gonna come in and I'm gonna make
it right."
The Huffington Post asked Smiciklas how producers
felt about him blowing the show's cover. "They
told me to! I said I can't go in there, I
have a crazy temper. I don't need an assault
charge."
Despite the film crew’s instigation, no
assault charges were issued and Smiciklas
said his business is doing better than ever
thanks to the show.
Not the breast intentions
The most beloved part of every Undercover
Boss episode is the ending. The head honcho
reveals his true identity and starts making
it rain with cash, vacations, and college
tuition payments for deserving employees.
It's a tearjerker every time, even if it is
a cheap emotional trick.
The reward concept seems straightforward,
but CEO Doug Guller of Bikinis, a Hooters-style
bar and grill, didn’t really get the drift.
As a reward, Guller offered one employee…
uh...
"Am I getting a free pair of boobies today?"
"Is that what you want?"
"Yesss, I want a full C."
But only if she stayed with the company for
six more months, and was a “rockstar”.
He also fired an employee for not wanting
to wear a bikini on international TV.
Wow. Even for reality TV, that's sleazy with
an extra side of sleaze.
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