Undercover Boss

[jtt]

So, this new show is on, called Undercover Boss. If you havnt heard of it before, the show gets the President/CEO of major companies to go undercover in the entry level positions of the business. Last week, the CEO of Waste Management went undercover collecting trash and emptying porta-potties. This week, the CEO of H/o/o/t/e/r/s was featured, going undercover bussing tables and working with the managers in restaurants. Its really a great show, however I have noticed something interesting, and as a normal everyday guy who works these low level positions, I think this is a huge issue...
In both episodes, they have shown the CEOs houses, cars, living situation, etc. Its no surprise they are living lavish lifestyles, they have HUGE houses, and cars that are so expensive that If they were sold used (not even new!) they could pay off the

[hr]
of my own house. But then they go in and work these jobs in their own company, and have gotten fired. The CEO of Waste Management got fired when he was collecting trash, and the CEO of H o o t e r s got fired for not being fast enough when cleaning. These guys are not even qualified to work the most entry level positions, how can they be CEOs and presidents of the company? How do they get these jobs?
Anyways, Ive worked entry level jobs all my life, earning minimum wage, paychecks that cant even cover the most basic cost of living, feeling the sting of "upper management" and I see these guys cruising with jobs that they dont deserve.
There was once a guitar store chain that I worked in, and all of the upper management, and yes, even the current CEO of the company was originally hired as an entry level guitar salesmen. When I was first in training, I was still learning how the systems worked and the Vice President of the company, the whole company was visiting my store, and he showed me how to run a ticket and how to stock the guitar wall. I loved this company, and I loved that they only promoted internally. All the upper management knew what it was like to be in my shoes...

 

[aquaknight]

I don't necessarily see how it's completely unrelatable. I mean, if I had to pick strawberries, or cut sugar cane with a machete all day, I'm pretty sure I would get fired too.
The truth probably is that, yea, some of the CEO's, especially those in large companies, haven't ever had to do the manual type labor depicted in that show.
What a CEO does has nothing to manual labor though. CEOs have to jet to NYC, to speak at a major trade show for a day, maybe return home for a few hours, or a day or two, then off to Japan for a week, to wine and dine a group of investors. Large corporate CEOs are quite literally the face of the company. So yea, when times are good, they make a good bit of money, if the company isn't doing well, it's their tail on the line.
About the money, most CEO's salaries usually aren't all that much, pro athletes make far more on average. They make their money from stocks of the company, incentive to do well.

 

[jennythebugg]

after years of not having to do manual labor they have prolly just gone soft

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/3229247
I don't necessarily see how it's completely unrelatable. I mean, if I had to pick strawberries, or cut sugar cane with a machete all day, I'm pretty sure I would get fired too.
Exactly.
It's two entirely different skill sets. Conventional wisdom suggests that somehow being a CEO means that you have mastered every job in the company that falls below it, and that is simply not true. One might think that if you are the CEO of a restauraunt chain, that you should not only be able to be a waiter, but that because of how much you are paid, you should be a "better waiter" than anyone else out there. It's just two skill sets with two different pay scales that have a lot to do with the availability of the skill set.
It makes people feel good - especially those in low positions in the company - to think that the higher-ups couldn't do their job... it makes them feel valued, and a show that features this makes people want to watch.
What is more interesting TV?
A) a CEO gets a job as a waiter and does an excellent job, is commended by his/her "boss" and is valued by his/her colleagues as a valuable member of the team
B) a CEO gets off his "high horse," goes to do the job of the entry level people, and bumbles their way through it until they eventually get "fired."
It's a TV show. It could be staged to any extent to make it more marketable to the veiwers.

 

[nwdyr]

Its a show..... it is scripted.....its NOT real. I cant wait tables or cook on "the line" , but I was a district manager for a nation wide chain of restaurants. Upper management handles marketing , research and development , budgets etc... Nothing to do with everyday operations. That is why we have General managers and shift managers , they can jump on the line and cook if needed. All large corp.'s work the same way. Again , this is just another T.V. show , that is scripted. They just use real people as actors , much cheaper production costs , brilliant idea!

 

[reefkprz]

tv just doesnt get better does it it just keeps getting worse. I have an idea lets make a show about auto mechanics working on the stock market, hey your average mechanic may last a day. or better yet how about a show where waitstaff run fortune 500 companies. or maybe where brain surgeons fix cars...... "wrong skills" we'll call it and watch almost everyone get fired. sure some would probably be ok on the changover but for the most part no.
people like seeing the upper echelons fail. if they did the show in reverse took a laborer and put them in position to fail like they are doing to the ceo's the audience would be up in arms saying its not fair to excpect the little guy to do something he hasnt trained for etc.
good marketing and st4rategy on the parts of whatever networks set the show up.
this is why I stopped watching tv years ago.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by JTT
http:///forum/post/3229227
So, this new show is on, called Undercover Boss. If you havnt heard of it before, the show gets the President/CEO of major companies to go undercover in the entry level positions of the business. Last week, the CEO of Waste Management went undercover collecting trash and emptying porta-potties. This week, the CEO of H/o/o/t/e/r/s was featured, going undercover bussing tables and working with the managers in restaurants. Its really a great show, however I have noticed something interesting, and as a normal everyday guy who works these low level positions, I think this is a huge issue...
In both episodes, they have shown the CEOs houses, cars, living situation, etc. Its no surprise they are living lavish lifestyles, they have HUGE houses, and cars that are so expensive that If they were sold used (not even new!) they could pay off the

[hr]
of my own house. But then they go in and work these jobs in their own company, and have gotten fired. The CEO of Waste Management got fired when he was collecting trash, and the CEO of H o o t e r s got fired for not being fast enough when cleaning. These guys are not even qualified to work the most entry level positions, how can they be CEOs and presidents of the company? How do they get these jobs?
Anyways, Ive worked entry level jobs all my life, earning minimum wage, paychecks that cant even cover the most basic cost of living, feeling the sting of "upper management" and I see these guys cruising with jobs that they dont deserve.
There was once a guitar store chain that I worked in, and all of the upper management, and yes, even the current CEO of the company was originally hired as an entry level guitar salesmen. When I was first in training, I was still learning how the systems worked and the Vice President of the company, the whole company was visiting my store, and he showed me how to run a ticket and how to stock the guitar wall. I loved this company, and I loved that they only promoted internally. All the upper management knew what it was like to be in my shoes...
well, I was going to comment. but it seems like they've covered all the bases.

 

[pezenfuego]

I watched it yesterday and it turned out to be a fairly good show. I think that the reason Coby wasn't looked upon as a good individual by his workers has to do with the fact that the only reason he got the job was because of his father. I don't think it had as much to do with the fact that he doesn't visit enough.
His father on the other hand was very well known. This is probably because he worked to start the company and earned his position.

 

[bionicarm]

I think the intent of the show is to allow these CEO's and heads of major companies to go right down into the thick of their operations to see how things actually work. Many of these individuals that run these large organizations are clueless as to how things work at the 'labor level'. Yet, they sit in their hugh offices complaining about why the are losing profits. Take a look at this Hooter's guy. He inherited the job from his father, and really had no interest in taking the job in the first place. So he just sat in his corporate office in Atlanta, and let the business run itself. When he actually got out and looked at how the operation ran, especially his manufacturing plant, he realized how uninformed and out of touch he was with his employees. I think if the CEO's of all the Fortune 500 companies would try this 'experiment' with their own companies, we wouldn't have as many failures and problems with American companies like we do today.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by bionicarm
http:///forum/post/3229295
I think the intent of the show is to allow these CEO's and heads of major companies to go right down into the thick of their operations to see how things actually work.
I'm sorry, but I disagree. The point of the show is to provide entertainment value and ratings, not to provide some noble purpose. It's a fish out of water situation, one that has proven though decades to provide comedic entertainment.
Originally Posted by bionicarm
http:///forum/post/3229295
I think if the CEO's of all the Fortune 500 companies would try this 'experiment' with their own companies, we wouldn't have as many failures and problems with American companies like we do today.
Exactly. Any CEO or any upper managent type that wants to get in touch with the inner workings of his/her organization can do this at any time, they don't need a show to do it.

 

[stdreb27]

This show has a populist appeal, it is fun to watch the big dog do the peon's work.
Maybe I'm cynical, but there is no way they don't know or doesn't recognize their CEO. He's on the cover of everything.

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
http:///forum/post/3229312
This show has a populist appeal, it is fun to watch the big dog do the peon's work.
Maybe I'm cynical, but there is no way they don't know or doesn't recognize their CEO. He's on the cover of everything.
The last time I worked for a large corporation, it was Target. I had seen Bob Ulrich's picture, but I seriously doubt if he got a job as a Cashier working for me (I was a low level supervisor), I'd have recognized him.
It's a testament to how little attention the low level people pay to the folks in charge.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3229318
The last time I worked for a large corporation, it was Target. I had seen Bob Ulrich's picture, but I seriously doubt if he got a job as a Cashier working for me (I was a low level supervisor), I'd have recognized him.
It's a testament to how little attention the low level people pay to the folks in charge.
Maybe it was because they were in the process of restructuring, but when I worked for radioshack, we saw the CEO's face literally once or twice a week. I guess they would turn to the pro's when it came to talking us into bending over....

 

[scsinet]

Originally Posted by stdreb27
http:///forum/post/3229321
Maybe it was because they were in the process of restructuring, but when I worked for radioshack, we saw the CEO's face literally once or twice a week. I guess they would turn to the pro's when it came to talking us into bending over....
Ugh... were you around for the Fix 1500 thing?

 

[bionicarm]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3229304
I'm sorry, but I disagree. The point of the show is to provide entertainment value and ratings, not to provide some noble purpose. It's a fish out of water situation, one that has proven though decades to provide comedic entertainment.
Exactly. Any CEO or any upper managent type that wants to get in touch with the inner workings of his/her organization can do this at any time, they don't need a show to do it.
Any of these stupid reality shows that have deluged the major networks recently are going to twist things to keep the audience coming back. Maybe these CEO's are just doing it using a script. Getting on this show is free advertising for them. Not sure how scripting a CEO of a Waste Management company would increase revenues though (that was the first episode). As far as recognizing the guy, this Hooter's CEO did look quite different after shaving off his goatee and putting on glasses. However, he did put on the hair cover and mask when he went to his manufacturing plant, apparently because there were several people there that would've recognized him.

 

[jtt]

I agree that there are different skills required for some jobs, I dont know a thing about marketing or PR, but the simple fact is that they got fired from the entry level positions. I could understand if the hooter's guy got fired from managing a store, because he obviously has never done that before, or if the waste management guy got fired for crashing a garbage truck that he has never driven. But the jobs that they got fired from were ones that any 16 year old kid could do without any training or instruction without breaking a sweat. The waste management guy had to pick up trash, he had a trash bag and some gloves, and he was surrounded by garbage. This is not a "skill" that someone has or doesnt have. This is the most basic, entry level labor designed for anyone with hands and basic motor function. This is pick up that piece of garbage and wipe off that restaurant table with a cloth.
At the end of the day, it probably is total crap. But still interesting to watch.

 

[bionicarm]

Originally Posted by JTT
http:///forum/post/3229356
I agree that there are different skills required for some jobs, I dont know a thing about marketing or PR, but the simple fact is that they got fired from the entry level positions. I could understand if the hooter's guy got fired from managing a store, because he obviously has never done that before, or if the waste management guy got fired for crashing a garbage truck that he has never driven. But the jobs that they got fired from were ones that any 16 year old kid could do without any training or instruction without breaking a sweat. The waste management guy had to pick up trash, he had a trash bag and some gloves, and he was surrounded by garbage. This is not a "skill" that someone has or doesnt have. This is the most basic, entry level labor designed for anyone with hands and basic motor function. This is pick up that piece of garbage and wipe off that restaurant table with a cloth.
At the end of the day, it probably is total crap. But still interesting to watch.
You'd be amazed how many of these individuals who run companies, or even the average 'millionaire', that has lost touch with reality and the ability to perform even the basic meanial tasks. I have a lwayer friend who would call me up anytime he had a problem with his electronic equipment. He can't grasp the simplicity of hooking up a VCR, DVD player, or speakers. The guy is one of the best ambulance chasers in town, but has absolutley no clue when it come to performing tasks that involve logical thinking, or tasks that involve using your hands. He calls a plumber if the float on a toilet sticks. He calls an electrician if a light switch quits working. I asked him one time if he wanted to change the oil on his car, and he looked at me as if I were crazy.

 

[louti]

I only watched the first episode, but it seemed pretty scripted. It seemed that every employee he worked with just volunteered these deep personal stories to him. I mean, how often does that really happen. How many of you would discuss your whole personal life and invite a guy to dinner the first time you ever worked with him? It's an interesting premise, but like all reality shows, the extra drama the create just annoys me.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3229327
Ugh... were you around for the Fix 1500 thing?
No, but I was around when their phone sales went down. When they started playing muscial chair CEO's. Edmonson, that stupid woman and then Day. I started a few months before their long time CEO quit.
Originally Posted by louti
http:///forum/post/3229367
I only watched the first episode, but it seemed pretty scripted. It seemed that every employee he worked with just volunteered these deep personal stories to him. I mean, how often does that really happen. How many of you would discuss your whole personal life and invite a guy to dinner the first time you ever worked with him? It's an interesting premise, but like all reality shows, the extra drama the create just annoys me.
Well, they did think he was doing a show, just not as the CEO...