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 brands identity
and see what's really going on
skeptics believe that many aspects of
the show or faked are 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 Holtzman 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 that 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 Holtzman the show tries to
pick job scenarios that will look good
on TV but the bosses don't know exactly
where they're gonna 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 do you know let
you go just for that yeah
though the emmy-winning series conducts
recon of employees and work places to
look for potentially juicy opportunities
the resulting footage can still be
pretty spontaneous bosses covers have
been blown he looks like the president
of ever 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 custom
apparel which was only slightly more
terrible than this one I remember like
the Kim Kardashian across London it's a
worker at 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 staged some of this stuff
sure but the consequences can be all too
real employees are carefully selected
fans of the show will recognize the
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 husband admits that the 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 how about I'm a kid I'm
harsh I'm over the top fear equals
respect you're gonna have to roll an
iron fist
man let's take away 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 fine and simple I am a potentially
where companies actually use the lessons
they learn anytime 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
the staff but just lip service some
companies have actually taken positive
steps to drive change such as providing
a financial incentive for employees to
improve Checker CEO Rick Silva started
giving bonuses directly to employees on
the front lines and not just the branch
managers dan Desio CEO of Philly pretzel
company discovered a popular product
after uncovering a rogue
Chai's that was selling an unsanctioned
pepperoni pretzel roll Desio wasn't
pleased with the freewheeling 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'd 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 spin-offs like a
lot of American television Undercover
Boss started in the UK that crossed the
pond to become a beefed-up version of
the concept which will never die so long
as the network's can still extract money
from it this is why CBS TLC and Oprah's
own network of all carried the US
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
feature Canadian CEO Rick's meticulous
breaking character and well come on
employees come first you are
disrespectful to the brand and you know
what I'm gonna come in I'm gonna make a
right the Huffington Post asked Nikolas
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 crews instigation no assault
charges were issued and spica colas said
his business is doing better than ever
thanks to the show not the breasts
intentions the most beloved part of
every Undercover Boss episode is the
ending the head honcho reveals his true
identity and starts make
Rayne 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 Guler
bikinis a hooter style Bar and Grille
didn't really get the drift
as a reward Guler offered one employee
uh getting a free pair of boobies today
that what you want I will see but only
if she stayed with the company for six
more months and was a rock star 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
sleeves thanks for watching subscribe to
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