# Undercover Boss - Whole season discussion.



## TonyTheTiger (Dec 22, 2006)

As there's no thread for last Friday's show, I'll assume there's not enough interest for a per-episode thread, so this can cover all aired episodes.

I thought the Mitchell Model's mustache was the most fake I've ever seen. How he fooled anyone with it, I'll never know. I wasn't surprised that he got called out in the CT store.

The biggest surprise was the generosity in giving $250,000 tax paid to the last girl along with a promotion giving her a $14k raise! I have to admit that I'm not sure this was in line with others and I thought it was more of a publicity stunt than a genuine attempt to help. I know she was living in a homeless shelter with three kids, but there are better ways to help her than to give her what amounts to a small lottery win.


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## omnibus (Sep 25, 2001)

Well yeah........then again Modell's is a big family owned? chain and the good will and name recognition from that gesture is invaluable.

Also, if you've seen Mitchell or his picture before, no disguise could hide his features especially to an assistant manager or higher.


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

One thing that crossed my mind is I would suspect that the number of people living in homeless shelters anywhere near a Modell's applying for jobs there is going to go WAY up.

I don't remember if she was from New York or where she was from, but I hope she can get a decent place for $250,000, and handles it all well. That's a lot to toss on someone who's not used to handling that kind of thing in her personal finances. Hopefully the person who is going to help her with that is trustworthy and good at what they do!


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

Yeah, that $250k thing was outrageous. Give her a raise and $50,00 down payment on a modest house. But $100k into a college fund for her kids. But not a $250k lottery cash windfall.


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

Only seen the show a few times -

How do they explain the camera men following the boss everywhere? The employees must suspect something is up, yes?


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## TonyTheTiger (Dec 22, 2006)

The staff are told that the "contestant" is taking part in a competition to win money to start a new business and are trying out entry-level positions. In previous series, they were people who were trying a different career path after being laid off.

Early in this episode, they actually showed what the camera crew looks like.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

They say the CEO (in disguise) is part of a reality show of people losing their job and getting back into the job market. What they rarely show is that they also take another "contestant" through the same jobs on a different day to make it more believable. At the end, they think they are being asked who should "win" and did better at their job.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

TonyTheTiger said:


> Early in this episode, they actually showed what the camera crew looks like.


Yeah, I don't think they've done that before.

I sure hope this is a permanent change, but I hated the "whew, that was hard.. let's take a break, sit down at a table, and I'll tell you my entire life's sob story and why you should give me $20,000 at the end of the show" segments. They didn't do this for Model's... I hope it's gone for good. Just show them in those jobs, meeting employees, hearing chatter and complaints, etc. And dispense with all the fakeness like "hello. Here's your uniform for the day".


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

I'm glad they changed the reality show cover story.. I think they'll have to do it each season at least.


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## dbranco (Nov 20, 2003)

TonyTheTiger said:


> I thought the Mitchell Model's mustache was the most fake I've ever seen.


Agree! And every time the they showed him talking to his employee after pulling off half the mustache I fixated on that and couldn't stop laughing.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

scooterboy said:


> Only seen the show a few times -
> 
> How do they explain the camera men following the boss everywhere? The employees must suspect something is up, yes?


you must FF thru the show! in the beginning they did a much more detailed explanation of the contestant thing even showing the fake host


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

Hank said:


> They say the CEO (in disguise) is part of a reality show of people losing their job and getting back into the job market. What they rarely show is that they also take another "contestant" through the same jobs on a different day to make it more believable. At the end, they think they are being asked who should "win" and did better at their job.


i always feel bad for the other contestant even though i realize it's probably a stage hand or something ....but to keep it legit they have to go thru the same stuff as the other person dont they?

or do they just say oh there is no contestant number 2 and give a bogus reason why not?


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## TonyTheTiger (Dec 22, 2006)

newsposter said:


> you must FF thru the show! in the beginning they did a much more detailed explanation of the contestant thing even showing the fake host


You must FF thru the previous posts, too!!


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## scooterboy (Mar 27, 2001)

newsposter said:


> you must FF thru the show! in the beginning they did a much more detailed explanation of the contestant thing even showing the fake host


I don't record it, I only watch it when I happen upon it live. So it's very likely I've never seen the beginning of an episode.


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

We still enjoy the show, but at some point this fake out stuff is not going to work. Folks will be like, "A reality show huh?..Riiiight...he's the CEO right??"


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## Honora (Oct 16, 2006)

omnibus said:


> Well yeah........then again Modell's is a big family owned? chain and the good will and name recognition from that gesture is invaluable.
> 
> Also, if you've seen Mitchell or his picture before, no disguise could hide his features especially to an assistant manager or higher.


I certainly won't forget what Mitch looks like. A couple of days after this show, I'm stuck sitting on the bus waiting to get into the Lincoln Tunnel and there is Mitch (normal and disguised) staring at me from the side of the truck next to us.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

the blond at the kilt is an example of people i cannot comprehend ....they are missing a part of their head between their brain and their mouth...doing a 2nd bad joke after a 1st and that reaction was plain stupid

wish he would have fired her on the spot...probably in any other scenario a boss would have. 

iwonder if that one depressing bar was in a bad part of town or if they were just there on a boring tuesday night...the employees loved their jobs so much!


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

newsposter said:


> the blond at the kilt is an example of people i cannot comprehend ....they are missing a part of their head between their brain and their mouth...doing a 2nd bad joke after a 1st and that reaction was plain stupid


You have to realize these clips are _highly_ edited to allow the producers to tell the story they want to tell. I suspect they had her on tape telling these jokes at different times to different people, and had several camera angles of the customers' reactions... so they just spliced it together to make it look alot worse than it really was.

But yeah, that doesn't make her any less of an idiot.

Damn cute, though. WOW.

I wish I could have heard the punch lines to her jokes.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

A couple of good reads:

http://www.undercoverwaitress.com/2012/11/titled-kilt-deleted-scene.html

http://www.undercoverwaitress.com/2012/11/under-cover-analyzed.html


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Has anybody ever heard of this place?


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

Not until this show. There aren't any around here.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

the family values speech didnt hold much weight with me...he may indeed want it more 'wholesome' but dressing like that is not wholesome at all


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## phxrising (Nov 15, 2012)

Did anyone catch the Undercover Boss episode of Tilted Kilt? I missed the show and didn't record it.

Tilted Kilt's national headquarters is down the road from me in Tempe, Arizona. There was an article in the newspaper talking about this upcoming Undercover Boss episode.


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## omnibus (Sep 25, 2001)

phxrising said:


> Did anyone catch the Undercover Boss episode of Tilted Kilt? I missed the show and didn't record it.
> 
> Tilted Kilt's national headquarters is down the road from me in Tempe, Arizona. There was an article in the newspaper talking about this upcoming Undercover Boss episode.


 http://www.cbs.com/shows/undercover_boss/


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## FireMen2003 (Apr 1, 2004)

newsposter said:


> iwonder if that one depressing bar was in a bad part of town or if they were just there on a boring tuesday night...the employees loved their jobs so much!


If memory serves right, the second bar was in Alpharetta, GA. It is pretty affluent area of town here.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

phxrising said:


> Did anyone catch the Undercover Boss episode of Tilted Kilt? I missed the show and didn't record it.


A WHOLE BUNCH OF MESSAGES RIGHT ABOVE YOURS WERE TALKING ABOUT THAT VERY EPISODE.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

Hrm, this time they showed even more of the fake TV reality show thing.

I wonder if that guy who asked if it was Undercover Boss saw himself on the show.


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## Turtleboy (Mar 24, 2001)

Hank said:


> Damn cute, though. WOW.
> 
> I wish I could have heard the punch lines to her jokes.


They're Google-able.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

Turtleboy said:


> They're Google-able.


Yeah, I found the jam/jelly one (pretty offensive from a server!), but forgot the other one.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

giving someone a franchise is a lotta dough......

..................


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## Flop (Dec 2, 2005)

Giving of the franchise is free (they're just waiving the fees, but it costs them nothing). If they think he'll be successful, they'll more than recoup the initial franchise fee. Building the store for him, however, is pricey.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

i dont own a chain but to me loss of possibly 6 figures of revenue 'costs' me something

but maybe the fees are cheaper than ritas and other ones i have investigated before


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## Turtleboy (Mar 24, 2001)

Has there ever been anyone who was fired for being a bad employee? I haven't seen all of the episodes, but it seems even the bad ones are offered counseling and money.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

i wanna say one for sure..but i am not sure

or maybe they stayed a bit then quit because they knew they wouldnt make it

i googled fired and while they doesnt answer your question, if true it's very wrong to go this far in scripting!

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20100214190550AApYJwi


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## Flop (Dec 2, 2005)

newsposter said:


> i dont own a chain but to me loss of possibly 6 figures of revenue 'costs' me something
> 
> but maybe the fees are cheaper than ritas and other ones i have investigated before


It's revenue they would not have received though. He was saving to open a bakery (at some point in the indeterminate, but likely distant future), not a Cinnabon franchise. Waiving the franchise fee costs them nothing, and if he is successful they have years of future revenue to collect.


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## lew (Mar 12, 2002)

Hank said:


> Yeah, that $250k thing was outrageous. Give her a raise and $50,00 down payment on a modest house. But $100k into a college fund for her kids. But not a $250k lottery cash windfall.


My memory is Mitch said he had a check for her, not necessarily to her, and she'd be meeting with his fiance person. I don't think they literally put 250K in her bank account.



Worf said:


> Hrm, this time they showed even more of the fake TV reality show thing.
> 
> I wonder if that guy who asked if it was Undercover Boss saw himself on the show.


Every year they change the fake reality show story. My memory is past years they shot the entire season before the first show aired.



Flop said:


> It's revenue they would not have received though. He was saving to open a bakery (at some point in the indeterminate, but likely distant future), not a Cinnabon franchise. Waiving the franchise fee costs them nothing, and if he is successful they have years of future revenue to collect.


Assuming the franchise is in a desirable location waiving the franchise fee involved an opportunity cost. Cinnabon didn't write a check but giving the franchise may have cost them a check.

The companies are getting a lot of TV time for a relatively modest cost. Probably worth it even if they literally had to write a check in the amount of the franchise fee.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

Turtleboy said:


> Has there ever been anyone who was fired for being a bad employee? I haven't seen all of the episodes, but it seems even the bad ones are offered counseling and money.


It sure seems like at least one was fired, or at least left the company soon after.. I seem to remember it was a low level employee totally badmouthing the place. yes I'm being vague since I don't remember. But a guy in his early 20s maybe.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

why did i feel the resort owner is just flashing his cash around? they are huge sums of money but just something about him seems more about the money. but i do like his ideas

but for some reason this show just is getting over the top with the amts of money given out. i cant put my finger on why

i dont own a hotel but i think youd have to be a moron to NOT know that a place you buy that has been in BK for years would be kept well? 

so the prewiring of the hotel room? that is just lucky he got that room when he checked in eh?  makes me wonder if he brought in his own dusy and dirty stuff to make a big deal out of stuff. 

paying an employee to leave the company and start his own business was a good one, i never saw that coming. id figure he would want the guy to stay and promote him or something.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

That guy definetly gave the vibe that he wants to be famous or at least recognizable. why else would he go on twice?


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

more aptly, why did they let him on twice? maybe they ran out of badly run companies?


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## Flop (Dec 2, 2005)

The guy was a ****** the 1st time around. I didn't bother to watch him a 2nd.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

I thought he was entertaining, but yeah, WAY too easy on giving out loads of money.. Wow, he's gotta be hella rich.


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## lew (Mar 12, 2002)

mattack said:


> I thought he was entertaining, but yeah, WAY too easy on giving out loads of money.. Wow, he's gotta be hella rich.


The average cost of a 30 second commercial on CBS is just over $115,000. The value of a one hour "infomercial" far exceeds the money being giving out.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

i also thougth the wife at the dinner table in the beginning was dressed a bit over the top ..but then again it must be the image she wanted to display


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

lew said:


> The average cost of a 30 second commercial on CBS is just over $115,000. The value of a one hour "infomercial" far exceeds the money being giving out.


You think CBS is paying for all of it? He said out of his own pocket.

(Yes, the show ends up being an infomercial for whatever company's CEO covered that week.)


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## Flop (Dec 2, 2005)

mattack said:


> You think CBS is paying for all of it? He said out of his own pocket.
> 
> (Yes, the show ends up being an infomercial for whatever company's CEO covered that week.)


I think he meant that, for the company, giving away a lot of cash is worth more than if they spent that cash on 1 or 2 commercials since they are getting an hour long infomercial out of it.


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## marrone (Oct 11, 2001)

How scripted this show is I have no idea.

But I really wonder how they manage to find people who all have a sob story. Yeah, I mean all of us probably have issues of some sort, but it seems really odd that just about every one of these employees have huge problems...and they just happen to be the ones picked to be on the show.

On a related note, I really question how comfortable these employees are with bashing their high end bosses on national TV (when they gripe about this and that). I might be willing to share those concerns with a new hire, but certainly not in front of a camera crew! That seems a little fishy to me.

-Mike


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## lew (Mar 12, 2002)

Flop said:


> I think he meant that, for the company, giving away a lot of cash is worth more than if they spent that cash on 1 or 2 commercials since they are getting an hour long infomercial out of it.


Exactly.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

the muzak guy just seemed VERY contrived, his questions literally were searching for reasons to give out money. do you want to go to college, what could help you out money wise etc etc.

this seemed more scripted than ever. 

fear or ladders was pretty funny though. proves the boss cant do the work of the employees half the time. 

i cannot believe they bid out jobs without an onsite visit!


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

Thanks for bumping. Yeah, much if it seemed like he was reading a script (the voiceovers,etc). Actually, it seemed like one big infomercial for Mood Media/DMX, Planet Fitness, that Mexican restaurant, and I think there was one other. Doling out $10k per person sounds good to me, but $30k and $40k each? That's bound to make some other people really pissed off. The CEO also looked like a b-school tool (I should know, I went to a top b-school and know many, many people like him -- total asshats). 

Also, I'm glad they've moved away from the "let's take a break, and tell me your sob story" to just asking a few basic questions and concentrating more on the job itself. Also glad they dropped "here's your uniform for the day" as well as the big company-wide group hug afterwards.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

it may have been edited that way but it almost seemed like he was home between jobs? playing tennis? 

while i definitely wouldnt give a blank what my coworkers thought, getting XX,000 bucks from the boss has to make you a target for a lotta unwanted attention


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

newsposter said:


> the muzak guy just seemed VERY contrived, his questions literally were searching for reasons to give out money. do you want to go to college, what could help you out money wise etc etc.


Which episode featured Muzak? The last one I watched was Fast Signs, but I'd want to watch Muzak. Both my BIL and sister work for them at corporate, originally when the company was based in Seattle. They relocated to Charlotte, NC when the corporate office moved, the company gave them a substantial amount for relocation. They used it for the down payment on their house.

My gosh, that's been about 10 years now.

Greg


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

It's "Mood Media" now.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

even the boss said muzak has a bad connotation, so they changed it


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

Hank said:


> It's "Mood Media" now.





newsposter said:


> even the boss said muzak has a bad connotation, so they changed it


That still didn't answer my question. 

Greg


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## andyw715 (Jul 31, 2007)

Jan 4th episode


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

newsposter said:


> even the boss said muzak has a bad connotation, so they changed it


But tons of the hardware they showed still used the Muzak name, so I wonder if they still use the name for their products.

It was the most recently aired episode.


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## Chapper1 (Jan 2, 2004)

mattack said:


> But tons of the hardware they showed still used the Muzak name, so I wonder if they still use the name for their products.
> 
> It was the most recently aired episode.


My company uses this service for all of our locations and any service calls are called into and referred to Muzak


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## lew (Mar 12, 2002)

The owner of the local Mexican restaurant knew the owner of Mood Media was coming in as part of Undercover Boss. I read the show people wouldn't let the owner,or anyone else, near the CEO. This was written in local websites.

This episode was different. The employees seem to be reasonably well paid with reasonable working conditions and with employees doing a good job. There didn't seem to be any real issues. OK employees of the newly bought company not always remembering to refer to their company as Moodmedia isn't the same as problems in other episodes.

Maybe I'm too cynical but I thought the CEO was all but reading a script when he had his reconciliation with his father. I'd be surprised if they wound up having much to do with each other.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

The father was probably just an actor.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

after reading an article yesteday, i want Dish to be next on this show


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

the front desk of a KOA place looks like a miserable place to work. i understand the concept of everything in one place but if i want a pack of gum, waiting in line behind someone checking in doesnt sound like fun

love how he gave the one girl 50K and she promptly quit to go after her dream. 

i guess his point with using one cleaner for windows as well as toilets is that one is too strong or too weak for the one use? just hope they use different rags for toilet vs faucets


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

Anyone watch the Boston Market ep?

The behavior of the 1st guy was just unbelievable. I'm not surprised she had to fire him.


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## Donbadabon (Mar 5, 2002)

^ Especially since he knew he was on camera. If anything he should be on his best behavior, knowing his bosses would see the tape. But the way he acted, he seemed to think it was ok to say those things out of earshot of the customers.


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## cwerdna (Feb 22, 2001)

^^^
Yeah, no kidding. At first, I too thought he was trying to be funny or something, but it sure seemed like he meant it and was just clueless.

I at least learned about Boston Market's rapid expansion and then bankruptcy. I never kept up w/news about them but know that due to some bankruptcy while I was in WA state, the Boston Market that I lived near went away.


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## loubob57 (Mar 19, 2001)

That guy really wasn't cut out to work in a business dealing with the public.

I guess they get everyone to sign releases before they shoot the video...


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

" Ronnie is considering working at a beauty shop."

VERY appropriate.


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## marrone (Oct 11, 2001)

I really wonder how much of this is faked and real. Would people REALLY say stuff like that when they have a camera in the face? Even though they might not know it's Undercover Boss, don't they know their boss and their boss's boss might see it?

Oh wait, I just posted that in December! LOL! Hey, at least I'm consistent! Still curious about that.

-Mike


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## Grasshopper AZ (Apr 29, 2005)

*i cannot believe they bid out jobs without an onsite visit*![/QUOTE]

I missed this before.

It wasn't always this way.

I have a lot of insight into the way Mood/DMX/Muzak work. I have been in and around the background music business for most of my life. My sister went to work for a Muzak when she was in highschool. She ended up working there for almost 17 years. During those years thier loction ws bought by a bigger franchisee and eventually Muzak corporate. I eventually worked for them during the summers. back then they had sales people who went out and surveyed the job and worked with the engineers to spec the job out.

Until a year and a half ago I was a Field Operations Manager for DMX. By this point due to the closings of most of the local offices and relocating most of the office staff to Austin, most of the local sales people were laid-off. There were between 10 and 15 sales people for the whole country. I would constantly have jobs come across my desk thta nobody had ever checked the job site.

Most of the time the labor would end up costing us 3-4 times more than the sales person charged (No wonder both DMX and Muzak had to seek bankruptcy protection)

Like I said, I left DMX a year and a half ago. I still work closely with alot of the people there as I was hired by a customer to manage av projects. During the filming there were alot of cameras around for several weeks. They filmed a lot more people than were shown on TV. I know both of the DMX employees that were on. They can't even disclose when the truth was revealed to them. From what they said the NDA is extremely restrictive.

The "Boss" they had on is the CEO of Mood Worldwide in Toronto. He really doesn't have much to do with the day to day operations in the states. The merger of these three companies has been extremely messy. I know the DMX employees still have thier jobs but the Muzak could very well have lost thiers. Muzak has had a lot of lay-offs the last few months.


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## gchance (Dec 6, 2002)

Grasshopper, you're echoing exactly what my sister has told me. Her husband kept his job, but she lost hers. In June, she'll be looking for work, after 16 years at the company. She's doing as well as can be expected, but the treatment of the employees is pretty crappy, especially after Undercover Boss.

Incidentally, she says they did the show after hours, and one of the studios they toured is one her husband works in roughly 6 hours a day.

Greg


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

this show is like cops, it makes me realize there really are messed up people in this world. i guess he needs to go to a retraining camp on when to keep your mouth shut. ratings gold for the show though. 

every piece of pie must look the same or corporate gets on us!


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

He clearly had some repressed anger and self-esteem issues and needs some serious professional help.

I wonder how much he earned for just being on the show?


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

they pay people on reality shows?????


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

I'm sure everyone on the show gets something. Yes, people get paid in exchange for signing an NDA and/or other contracts.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

Hank said:


> I'm sure everyone on the show gets something. Yes, people get paid in exchange for signing an NDA and/or other contracts.


i never figured that with a show like this. stuff like survivor and BB yes, but not this show.

i guess it's his severace pay


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

no discussion about the foul mouthed trash? did she have glasses on that blinded her to the cameras? or blinded her to who her bosses were? people like this are fascinating to me because while i fully understand why she could have not known this was her boss at the gym, she knew once he introduced himself who he was.

i guess some people arent instilled with right and wrong growing up? how can you think saying F no to a customer is a good way of doing business? i love that the customers stood up to her! 2 points for them! 

i also wonder what her friends are like. she would be a fascinating study and i agree with the boss that until she opened her mouth, she was a wonderful woman. 

lets hope she doesnt reproduce. and who would hire her after seeing this show? hopefully everyone sees the show! 

i dont even remember anyone else..she's so filled up my mind. except one girl got a boatload of money


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## TonyTheTiger (Dec 22, 2006)

They are showing a special on May 10th (or was it 17th?) highlighting 'epic' employees!

The blurb at the end of the show said to watch it to find out what happened to Jackie.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

well the fast food restaurant where the guy was fired on the spot has to be epic


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## JLucPicard (Jul 8, 2004)

newsposter said:


> i dont even remember anyone else..she's so filled up my mind. except one girl got a boatload of money


I thought Megan was pretty hot (the redhead), and I have to go back and look at what kind of heels she might have been wearing at her CEO meeting, but she was pretty tall, too! The room got a little dusty for me when he was telling her what he wanted to do for her.

Good for the other girl getting to see her mom. Those things make me happy (which, I suppose is part of the point of the show), but I still can't get past a part of my brain that tells me it's all staged and wondering how spontaneous some of those reactions actually are.

As soon as they showed the blurb about Jackie on May 10th, I immediately had to check my to do list to make sure it was set to record! (yes, I just now watched LAST weeks ep  )


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

Yeah, It's remarkably surprising how they _always_ seem to find employees with family troubles and/or financial troubles and/or wanting to complete some schooling. I know that's a very wide swath of people, but still, they always find some dramatic story with every single employee, so the reveal is that much better TV.


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## TiVo'Brien (Feb 8, 2002)

Hank said:


> Yeah, It's remarkably surprising how they _always_ seem to find employees with family troubles and/or financial troubles and/or wanting to complete some schooling. I know that's a very wide swath of people, but still, they always find some dramatic story with every single employee, so the reveal is that much better TV.


Yes, I noticed that, too. I'm betting they must do research prior to shooting on which employees will make for the most drama.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

The first house in the Orkin episode was beyond gross, I don't know how people live like that and would show their faces on TV.


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## TiVo'Brien (Feb 8, 2002)

JFriday said:


> The first house in the Orkin episode was beyond gross, I don't know how people live like that and would show their faces on TV.


The wife seemed a pretty offended to be told her house was a roach-ridden disaster case. Denial isn't just a river in Egypt. 

I can't believe anyone could let their house get that bad without doing anything about it a looong time ago!


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## Alfer (Aug 7, 2003)

What's worse is KIDS lived in that filth! I can't believe they didn't get child services called out on that one.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

JFriday said:


> The first house in the Orkin episode was beyond gross, I don't know how people live like that and would show their faces on TV.


i felt like i was watching cops because at least then you dont know someone will be in y our house. but they invited the cameras in....even if the service is free (which i doubt), who would NOT be embarrassed about at least that kitchen counter. i just hope they staged this for the show and it wasnt real.

also the guy was very tactful and saying you just keep cleaning up and we will keep on spraying. i think i would have pulled up with a dumpster and went to town. it is impossible to get rid of anythign with all that trash around.

i wish shame and class could be taught in schools.

i guess this gets them out of ever hosting thanksgiving though


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## andyw715 (Jul 31, 2007)

they need to burn that house down.


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## aaronwt (Jan 31, 2002)

There are plenty of houses with literally crap and other things inside. I can't count the number of very expensive houses I went into in the late 80's to early 90's when I worked at Orkin. Sure the first level you went into usually looked fine, but many times the upper and lower levels looked disgusting. One even had dozens of piles of dog crap that had new and old piles that had been there for months. And this was in very expensive houses over twenty years ago. Like houses valued at 750K to over 1 million back then. I was always amazed at some of the things we saw behind the scenes that did not match the personna that people were projecting.


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## newsposter (Aug 18, 2002)

sooo she's learned her lesson to not say things? was she saying her job was at an altzheimers facility where she watched over 35 people? i dont even wanna joke about that. 

and early education? if she thinks gym members are stupid, little kids are even stoooopider! i can see her now, hey stupid dont you know your times tables by now, you are 5! geez um , even a monkey can do that

i forgot the one guy gave 250K to that girl for a house, i'm glad they had this followup. it's also funny the boston market guy isnt gay and people thought he was. sadly his friends seem to be just as pathetic he was unless they edited the comments down. laughing at what he said was just not funny at all. it's mortifying. his gf was very cute too..get her better glasses lol. 

was that lady with the airconditioned house in mexico? the house just seemed out of place in America. then again i'm no expert.


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## JFriday (Mar 20, 2002)

The lady's house was in Cabo, I'm pretty sure she worked at a Timeshare.

That guys gayer than gay, he just doesn't want to admit it yet.


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## GDG76 (Oct 2, 2000)

I'm pretty sure with at least three episodes they've started to use fake plants as bad employees. I can't even watch it anymore since they are so obvious.
So sick of the make-a-wish format too. Since every week is the same, it feels scripted. I'd rather get a more documentary look at being a CEO. Hire an actor who can actually go undercover and be a real employee and use that info...


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## getreal (Sep 29, 2003)

GDG76 said:


> I'm pretty sure with at least three episodes they've started to use fake plants as bad employees. I can't even watch it anymore since they are so obvious.
> So sick of the make-a-wish format too. Since every week is the same, it feels scripted. I'd rather get a more documentary look at being a CEO. Hire an actor who can actually go undercover and be a real employee and use that info...


I agree. I gave up on this show after the consistently ridiculously awful wigs and moustaches and beards for disguises. Quit insulting our intelligence, producers! I would much rather see an actual documentary than a scripted and heavily produced "reality" show.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

It's been this way ALL ALONG.

Even though every show is basically the same (though either with this one or the one before, MOST of the things the guy gave away were FAR less luxurious than some people are given), I still think it's entertaining.

Someone PROVE that they're plants. I also think it would be entertaining to see an episode of the 'fake' reality show they are supposedly doing.


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

I think there's a lot of CEO one-upmanship going on - I think at the beginning they had to ask people to participate, and now they're lining up to do the same thing. 

And I'm betting some of the stuff is paid for by CBS as well (have you seen the ratings? Not great, but among the best for a Friday prime time show). Especially on the public utility ones where they're not allowed to use taxpayer money for those perks. I'm betting the "donor" is actually CBS.

Heck, the ad rates are still pretty robust for it.


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## Hank (May 31, 2000)

Which ones were actual public utilities? I don't recall any like that.


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## mattack (Apr 9, 2001)

25 2-16 06/Mar/11 City Of Cincinnati 
31 2-22 01/May/11 University of California, Riverside 

That's my quick skim... maybe I missed some..

the one in a couple of weeks sounds interesting:
70 5-09 22/Nov/13 Undercover Boss: BUSTED!


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## Worf (Sep 15, 2000)

I thought there were more, but apparently that was the Canadian spinoff (creatively called Undercover Boss Canada) which did 3 public organizations.

Either way, they always have a "donor".


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