Undercover Boss - General Discussion

[Lizzing]

After I was utterly disgusted by this asshat onUB, I turn on the TV tonight to find he's bought significant time on my local Fox affiliate for the next several days (preempting my usual reruns that I do chores by) with half hour and hour long infomercials selling his "free" seminar in my city later this month.  Maybe I need to plan a protest or call the Consumer Protection Office?

[Lola16]

After I was utterly disgusted by this asshat onUB, I turn on the TV tonight to find he's bought significant time on my local Fox affiliate for the next several days (preempting my usual reruns that I do chores by) with half hour and hour long infomercials selling his "free" seminar in my city later this month.  Maybe I need to plan a protest or call the Consumer Protection Office?

That confirms that he only appeared on the show to boost sales. It's really disappointing that UB would have someone who is running a scam on the show. 

[tobeannounced]

Armando's gf's mother is a realtor in Texas (shocker) and has been defending him on FB.  Here's a photo of the mother, gf and their baby.  Yes, he has a baby with the gf.  Veronica divorced him on 2011.

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151798794160958&set=t.743685957&type=1&theater

Poor kid's name is Titan.  I predict many dollars spent on therapy visits for this poor kid.

[Lola16]

Poor kid's name is Titan.  I predict many dollars spent on therapy visits for this poor kid.

Ha!  Well, it seems that Titan has an older brother whom Armando calls "Wig".  Don't know what his real name is.  This is in addition to Mandoman (or Armando III) - the son he had with Veronica (the wife we saw on the flip show).

Edited February 8, 2015 by Lola16

[ethalfrida]

...preempting my usual reruns that I do chores by...

You and I have the same work plan!!!

[TV Diva Queen]

In the opening Armando says "If I get reincarnated, I want to come back as myself".  Later he's says something like "they want to see the boss, who is rich".  something like that.  

 

I'm going to have to google around and see what happened to Veronica.  I kind of liked her.  

[tobeannounced]

Re Veronica, if you go to the link for the fb page of Armando's girlfriend's mom that was posted earlier, the girlfriend and Veronica are friends, but she goes by Veronica, some middle name I can't remember, and initial M instead of a last name -  https://www.facebook.com/veromonique?fref=ufi&pnref=story

 

ETA:  I put in the link to make it easier.  I'll get back to work now :)

Edited February 10, 2015 by tobeannounced

[TV Diva Queen]

Thanks for the link. 

[Lola16]

There's more info in this thread

 

http://forums.previously.tv/topic/10478-house-flipping-shows/#entry806106

 

What's interesting is that they are all friends.  Good for Veronica.

[springtime]

All about the signature swirl!

 

Undercover Boss is good for those feeling like their life is rough.

 

It really let's viewers know that "Everybody is dealing with something!"

 

 

Edited February 14, 2015 by springtime

[Beach Party]

The cake decorator was a negative person, at least toward the UB.  She got a HUGE cash payoff. 

 

I wish the UB hadn't given money to the cupcake decorator guy with DUIs.  Don't reward stupidity. The francise gift with equipment was more than generous.  

 

The customer service rep with MS received $10,000 for prescriptions and $30,000 for upcoming medical expenses and probably used (some of) it to open her own business. 

Edited February 14, 2015 by Beach Party

[Brian Cronin]

"Customer service representative"? For serious? You gotta love the buzzwords companies love to use.

 

This was a huge step up from the awfulness of last week's episode, but they continue to use these really small franchised companies and it is a bit of a pain, since the company is so small that the audience isn't going to have as much of a connection to it.

 

Also, while franchise-based companies have long been the bread and butter of Undercover Boss, I am not a fan of them in general, since there is so little direct connection between the CEO and the people they're working with. She's not even really the BOSS of most of these people!

 

As for the boss's personality, she certainly was more than a bit anal about minor stuff. It is not so surprising that her family couldn't be around her any more. Is that Aunt in the beginning her REAL aunt? If so, that's pretty darn weird. 

 

Still, this was a pleasant enough episode overall and at least the CEO wasn't pressuring people into spending thousands of dollars to "learn" how to flip homes.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Brian Cronin

[FortKnox]

Here's a story from an employee who has been on the show.

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1drl10/ama_request_an_employee_who_has_been_on_the_show/c9tc78h

[Fostersmom]

So this show is just one big advertisement to sell franchises now, right? 
 
Gigi was a lunatic. OMG! The cashier, oops, I mean customer service representative, didn't follow Gigi's exact words when the customer walked through the door, she much be retrained immediately. Seriously, is she that delusional and that big of an egomaniac that she thinks her exact words must be said to every customer? It's one things to expect an employee to greet a customer, completely another to say the same trite greeting each and every time. Kinda creepy, too. I got her issue with the Gigi swirl or whatever she called it, but the guy's cupcakes looked a hell of a lot better than hers in the end. 

 

And yet again, the disguise makes someone look like a homeless crack head. How much of her stringy, fake ass hair ended up in the cupcakes? She's worried about a cashier not giving her an apron, but her hair is all over the place. Poor cashier probably didn't want to give her an apron just so customers didn't think she worked there. 

[jmonkey]

This episode was delicious. No, I've never heard of Gigi's either. But if they're going to do businesses I'm unfamiliar with, I'm glad they at least feature something like a cupcakery that appeals to my sweet tooth. While this show was lame and a return to the familiar formulaic status quo after the Armando Suave debacle, I always appreciate good food porn and those cupcakes looked really good, especially the ones the drunk driver made not using the signature swirl.

 

This CEO was okay. She seemed anal retentive, but I attribute that mostly to an act that she was putting on. I get her point about the signature swirl, sticking to the recipes how they're written, and legitimatizing employment with an apron, but lighten up with the canned greetings for customers. An employee should be able to personalize a greeting at least. At least give them that. The CEO lightened up considerably when she doled out the lavish rewards and even acknowledged that it was her fault that the cupcake decorator wasn't trained how to do the signature swirl and that maybe some of the recipes could be tweaked a bit.

 

One thing that I was surprised that wasn't addressed by the CEO was a better way to transport the cupcakes. They were transporting them in that small car and you could see the boxes getting smashed in that tiny trunk. I thought for sure she'd invest in a work van or special containers to protect the cupcakes as part of the rewards package. It seems too risky to depend on good driving considering the abundant potholes, bad drivers, and the need for abrupt stops out on the streets. And if Gigi's cupcakes are the main attraction of an event, then that really could put a damper on things if they get damaged in transit.

 

The cake manager's attitude is very similar to mine when I'm at work, so I can relate to her. No smiling and all business. She has a resting bitch face just like my resting douche face. She's clearly been through a lot and is worn out, but that's cool she's able to overcome her rough life and be a cake boss for Gigi. My favorite employee was the customer service representative. What a ray of sunshine she was. I've battled depression and suicide attempts myself, so I could relate to her as well and always think it's cool when someone can rise above those issues and try to be a positive example for others.

 

This episode, while kind of blah, was refreshing in the sense that I didn't feel like attacking my TV set with a baseball bat like last week. I came away from the episode touched instead of pissed off, so order has been restored. Of course I'm still curious who's picking up the tab for these generous gifts and why employees who have broken the law repeatedly, like the cupcake decorator, continue to be beneficiaries on UB. I know it makes for a good story, but I'd much prefer these rewards go to people who haven't resorted to being menaces to society despite their hardships.

Edited February 15, 2015 by jmonkey

[tobeannounced]

Armando Suave - snort.

 

All the ranting about the "signature swirl" had me googling DC Cupcakes.  Those loons used to rave about their signature swirl too.  Looks like theirs is more of a double swirl and not a triple swirl.  Whoo, crisis averted.

 

Are wooden cupcakes really a thing?

Edited February 15, 2015 by tobeannounced

[Fostersmom]

The decorator had 2 duis in what, 6 months? I will give him credit for cleaning up his act and learning from it. It did kind of surprise me that he's the delivery driver, but given the shoe box he was driving to deliver the cupcakes, it made sense they would need the decorator to deliver.

 

The girl with MS who was on her father's insurance, too bad Gigi didn't make sure she had her own insurance. But, for what it's worth, if her meds cost $24,000 a year (without insurance), I'm fairly certain the manufacturer would help with the cost. I have MS and the drug I took was $2500 a month, and that's one of the cheaper ones. It's also one of the first developed and was a once a week injection. There's new pills that are running up to $60,000 a year. I stopped doing the injections, they weren't doing anything for my MS and the pills are too new for me to trust, but all of the injectables have (most likely what she was taking) programs to help you afford your meds. Hell, they even offered to help me pay my co-pay even though it was only $20 a month (4 injections). I could well afford the $20 and didn't even consider it, but it was offered. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

This one is way up there on the bug-the-stew-out-of-me o' meter.  Not as bad as Armando or MAACO, but right up there.

 

This is one of the few UB's I've seen where the CEO's intention to play stupid as a way of testing the employees was most obvious.  It wasn't about her actually being incapable.  She clearly knew how to bake.  This is UB ju-jitsu and I do not like it.  

 

This CEO is also among the least graceful.  She is abrupt and forever calculating, to the detriment of the respect she ought to be paying to others' needs.  Yes, it takes an insane drive for franchisors to to make it in this world.  The problem is when it passes into a delusion that the biz is everything and all else is in fourth place, at best.  I suspect she will never lose the bitterness of her failed singing career and she will never really know any real fulfillment.

 

I'd dearly love to know how she thinks she thinks she can implement anything approaching 100% adherence to her five-inch think rules of operation manual.  If she had even basic secret customer programs in place, she would have known about the CSR script issue in Florida.  If she wanted top-to-bottom standardization, it would not come cheap.  She would have to pay for regional managers/directors who would be constantly going from shop to shop inspecting.  

 

She claimed 100 shops, grossing ~$420K each.  She thinks she can grow that by 50% and increase unit revenues by ~15% in a year?  Rotsa ruck.

 

My favorite moment was when the franchisee refused the order.  You want excellence?  Excellence costs.  Just who would be willing to come in on a part-time basis and live up to the demanding owner's level of perfection we saw?  One thing I would offer is delivery of a Saturday need on a Friday.  Just keep the cake refrigerated until needed and it would be just fine.     

 

One thing I noticed was that the basic cupcakes did not seem to be very big.  Do they charge $4/cake like the other cupcake places do?

 

Have any of you ever refused a Dairy Queen cone without their signature swirl?  I know I haven't.  ;)

Edited February 15, 2015 by Lonesome Rhodes

[jmonkey]

One thing I noticed was that the basic cupcakes did not seem to be very big.  Do they charge $4/cake like the other cupcake places do?

 

 

I looked it up online. The cupcakes are $3.25-$3.75 a piece. The cupcakes at my local cupcakery are only $2, but I'm sure the signature swirl is worth the extra cost. The nearest Gigi's from me is about a 2 1/2 hour drive in the next state over. I'd like to try it out, but not that badly.

Edited February 15, 2015 by jmonkey

[nottopbravo]

 

Courtland Gray, CEO of Peavey Electronics, works undercover at his audio company.

 

Here, so we don't have to wait for the mods.

[knitorpurl]

Well, that was depressing all around. There was really no upside for Peavey to be on this show as they had to be aware that their financials weren't going to keep the plant open and certainly weren't going to be able to make improvements from what they learned.

Instead they've revealed their CEO to be a jerk, their undercover COO to be clueless and got terrible PR by not only closing the facility that put two of the featured employees out of work, but haven't even paid them the rewards from the show!

[teebax]

Well, that was depressing all around. There was really no upside for Peavey to be on this show as they had to be aware that their financials weren't going to keep the plant open and certainly weren't going to be able to make improvements from what they learned.

Instead they've revealed their CEO to be a jerk, their undercover COO to be clueless and got terrible PR by not only closing the facility that put two of the featured employees out of work, but haven't even paid them the rewards from the show!

All of this and then some. Good God, that was really depressing and screwed up. They couldn't get CBS to step in and pay the rewards? Wow.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

What a fantastic ep!  How horrible for the folks out of a job.

 

Sometimes, the big, bad, company/owner, isn't fake crying, "Wolf!!"  There is a wolf.  I was so proud of the guy who had given his notice.  He saw reality and he fashioned a solution.  He wasn't just going to sit back and blame management. So he was outta there, one step ahead of the sheriff, as it were.  I hated that he got sucked up in the excitement of the show and the seeming change in the ownership's culture.  

 

Beyond the shock of the shutdown, I was thoroughly confused as to why the first guy was treated as a great asset.  Didn't he screw up the in-store show pretty badly?  What did I miss?

 

The biggest takeaway for me was the standard platitudes about "miscommunication" being the biggest impediment to fixing work situations were exposed for what they typically are:  BS.  There was no fixing the lousy economic realities facing the company.  Keeping the USA plant(s) open was pretty much impossible at any acceptable, for a US worker, level.  Yet here was Mr. COO, with the standard executive (and UB) solution:  cheap words.  Now, it would have improved things because, in my estimation, the workers would rather have had false hope.  They were told the real deal and they rejected it.  They just refused to believe it and resentments festered.  So...if the object of your message won't trust you, what ultimately  is the point of more talk?   

 

My personal favorite flashpoint when dealing with companies is health insurance benefits/coverages.  In fact, this is one of the things which was mentioned in the ep.  HR spends hours and hours and hours working on how to put lipstick on those pigs.  The "messaging" is the best well-educated technocrats can conjure.  The bottom line, literally every year, is less coverage at more cost to the employee.  I dare say this has been a universal phenomenon.  The company insists, just as the Peavey dude affirmed in this ep, that it is simply passing on costs not of their doing.  What happens?  Employees refuse to trust the companies are doing all they can.  Resentment.  Yet, the messaging is really good, and pretty much accurate.  But, someone has to be blamed, eh?

 

I do not believe for a nanosecond that any of the Peavey's wanted to outsource the first thing.  I didn't get the sense that they were callous.  Yet, they ended up letting some pretty great folks go anyway.  I am very pleased we got to see some of this play out.  I truly hope things turn around for those who were let go, and for the many, many, millions in our country who are facing some pretty grim economic realities.  Good on CBS for airing this one window of truth.

Edited February 16, 2015 by Lonesome Rhodes

[designing1]

 

There was really no upside for Peavey to be on this show as they had to be aware that their financials weren't going to keep the plant open and certainly weren't going to be able to make improvements from what they learned.

 

Sometimes, the big, bad, company/owner, isn't fake crying, "Wolf!!"  There is a wolf.  I was so proud of the guy who had given his notice.  He saw reality and he fashioned a solution.  He wasn't just going to sit back and blame management. So he was outta there, one step ahead of the sheriff, as it were.  I hated that he got sucked up in the excitement of the show and the seeming change in the ownership's culture.

 

Combine these two quotes and you have what I really hated: That the COO had to have known that further layoffs were, at best, not out of the question, yet lured that guy back in when he had a new, better job waiting for him. How about seeing if your company pulls through its difficulties, then reach out to your valued former employee with an even better offer to return. If the COO didn't know how shaky things were -- who's minding the store?

 

Granted I'm not a musician, but Peavey is yet another company I've never heard of. Are their products considered desirable in the music world? That one musician made some crack about the mic not working by saying "Peavey mic", as if that explained the poor performance.

[jmonkey]

This episode really peeved me. So what was the point of Peavey Electronics doing UB? To get on TV before the plant ceased American operations? Was it on good ol Hartley's bucket list to appear on the show? Lately UB has been featuring small, successful companies that are supposedly on the rise, but Peavey has obviously been dying a slow death. This episode was truly despicable and made me sick, but it's probably the most candid portrayal of a shady corporation that UB has ever featured. I will never understand why the higher-ups can't effectively communicate with the employees and give it to them straight.

 

They need to give them more than 60 days notice that the plant is closing. They know well in advance that there's potential for closure and when they find out, they should have the courtesy to inform the employees immediately and give them regular updates on the status of the company. Times are tough out there and finding another  job in 2 months isn't easy. I think many of the employees at the plant were holding on to false hope, and it would have been more responsible of corporate to tell the truth. How cowardly, yet common, of Hartley or Courtland to not deliver the bad news personally. I guess they have people for that. I mean, the writing was on the wall and Teresa articulated the problems with the company perfectly despite corporate's lack of communication. She was hoping for the best. It would've been too hard for her to leave a job she loves after 24 years. Michael already put his 2 weeks notice in and was ready to abandon that sinking ship.

 

What irritated me the most was that Courtland doled out all those lavish rewards and gave Michael an offer he couldn't refuse to stay with them. He knew damn well that A) Peavey wouldn't be able to pay out those rewards and B) that closure was a real possibility and he owed it to Michael to be honest. Courtland and Hartley thought Michael was such a great employee that they needed to keep, but greed got in the way and they didn't have the decency to let him go and explore better opportunities.  Nope, instead of doing the moral thing, Courtland had to have his special TV moment where he's giving out fake gifts from a company that can't afford to pay them.

 

On a brighter note, it was funny that Courtland and Ajay were wearing the same shirt. I guess Ajay was going for the aspiring rocker from the 80s look as well. I hope he has a job waiting for him at Peavey overseas when his visa gets denied due to lack of funds since I doubt Peavey will come through on that obligation either. Michael and Teresa are great people, and I hope they rebound and are able to do well for themselves. They deserve it.

Edited February 17, 2015 by jmonkey

[nottopbravo]

Best Undercover Boss disguise ever.   Wait.  That was his own beard.

 

 

This episode really peeved me.

 

Was that intentional?

 

 

Good for CBS for giving us the final story.

[ethalfrida]

OMG, how sad. How careless and unfeeling. Surely they must have made things right with the employees. That was incredibly depressing.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

 

The CEO and founder of a home security company has to face his fear of heights and experiences the stress of taking calls.

if his numbers are to be believed, they are only taking in $650/year per customer.  My guess is he way over-inflated the number of customers in his voiceover.   Online, their bare bones security system costs almost exactly $650.  I can;t imagine their cable TV and internet access is less than that.

 

I loved the intel we heard as to how salesmen undersell the imposition that installation entails.  I would hate like crazy having some 3rd party vendor like this drilling holes in my roof and/or the sides of my home.   I may have picked up on something that would also not exactly please me:  Being the provider of the high ground necessary for their neighborhood wireless.  Why would I choose to be a de facto cell tower?  

 

The call center lady was a wonderful example of a universal issue in corporations:  The further you are from generating revenue, the less you are compensated and valued.  If you are a pure cost?  You are the lowest of the low.   She was griping because sales folks made nice money and the customer care specialists don't even get verbal affirmations.  Yup.  Welcome to the real world of corporations.  The lesson?  Choose to do, and be, something of more value.  Simple.

 

I also loved that we saw just how cheap a company can be with the refusal to have already switched out a bad headset connection.  Classic penny wise/pound foolish approach!   Maybe y'all shouldn't have overpaid for that company and you could afford better systems (What a ridiculous low-tech inventory solution they used!) for operations?  Just a thought.   

 

I was shocked to see they drill into walls for the small sensors.  I would never choose a security company which used that method.  

 

I do wonder how long they chose to wait on the capital projects/upgrades he announced.  He knew.  The company knew.  They put off spending the cash.  

 

I thought it was ridiculous that he chose to wear the hat for the post-visit interviews.  Marketers never know when enough is enough, do they?  If viewers had not already had the name and logo and orange color imprinted, that hat wasn't going to do it, either.  

 

Well, I guess that's it for this season.  They took an interesting turn to micro-companies.  To me, those were much more real than most eps of previous seasons.  I look forward to more.

[jmonkey]

This episode wasn't bad I guess. Just another company I've never heard of with an out-of-touch CEO who can't do any of his employee's jobs and who promises to fix problems now they've been brought to his attention. It always boggles my mind how uninvolved these CEOs claim to be. How could this CEO never consider that his cable installers would need appropriate footwear while on a steep roof? And how could a company that's all about technology have such poor call quality at the call center and an archaic paper-based system at the inventory center? In regards to the poor call quality, I get better reception on my free cell phone. That was just awful. Heaven forbid their customers are relying on them during an actual emergency situation. I'm guessing that this CEO and all of the CEOs on UB are very aware of the issues in their companies, but ignorance is the safest route on UB. If the CEOs told the truth and said they knew about these issues already, then he or she looks bad for not doing something about it prior to the show. So they go ahead and play stupid for the benefit of the viewing audience and featured employees so they can redeem themselves and rectify the situation on TV. But they knew about these problems and just didn't want to spend money until they could appear on UB hoping that the exposure will help recoup some of the losses.

 

This CEO, Todd, was beyond generous. Considering that Vivint is worth an estimated $2 billion, I can definitely see the company being able to pay for these lavish rewards. I just don't understand why the black guy got $100 K and the teenage mom got $75 K while the call center lady only got $30 K. The call center lady was the one complaining about never receiving bonuses like those out in the field, and she got one of the smallest rewards. I guess Todd really didn't value her as much as the other employees. I can understand him wanting to make amends with the black guy since he wasn't allowed time off to be with his cancer-stricken wife, but there seemed to be a lot of disparity in the gifts given (as there usually is).

 

I knew since Todd is Mormon and that religion is big on family that the backstories featured would involve family issues. They all did. There was a dad fighting for the custody of his kid, a teenage mom who made something of herself, a widower struggling to get by after losing her husband to cancer, and an overworked man dealing with his cancer-stricken wife. They were all worthy recipients.

 

I'm not sure why Todd didn't cover his slip up better after he gave the cable installer his first name. He could've just said that Todd was his nickname. I'm not sure how the cable installer knowing that it was actually the CEO made him any less nervous. That would make me more nervous as an employee, especially with Todd almost falling off the roof. It wouldn't have been good to kill the CEO on UB.

 

The black guy was hilarious. I liked when Todd asked him "Do you know who I am?" during the reveal. And he said, "Scott Peterson!" And Todd said, "Close." That and him saying that he wanted give Todd a big kiss had me dying with laughter. All in all, it was a mediocre episode and season.

Edited February 22, 2015 by jmonkey

[webruce]

IMDB says he and Veronica divorced in 2011. Hope she and his son got a good settlement. He did not even say anything about being divorced and having children. On his flip show he told how his son was going to take over the business someday.

I remember him from his show "Flip This house." He used to yell at his brother and all that. Also the contractors and argue for the lowest bill.Then he sells the place for a rediculous price. You can see here that he knows almost nothing about working on homes. He let his hair grow, so he can pretend he is a rock star. He(Kevin Jones) kept asking what the people thought about himself (Armando Montelongo). He was sweating like mad doing just a little bit of work with Angel. He was getting frustrated he couldn't keep up and was pouting and breaking things. Angel was not happy. For him he will expand his business, which will bring Armando more money too. Also send him and his dad to the Kentuckey Derby.

At his seminar he did standout as rumpled and goofy. Then when his double came through like he was important and in some hot business call and just walked through they stopped looking at him. Maybe the reason they were staring was the UB camera was looking at him. And not because he maybe looked like Armando. The student Shannon paid as stated above, $46,000 to get to the seminar??? Crazy! But he will pay sisters $36,000 medical expenses, invest in her first flip up to $75,000 and give her $25,000 for repairs.

Sarah, She had troubles that Armandos people didn't send the schedules out soon enough to know when to work. So he fixed that 4 weeks ahead. He also promoted her to Director of Seminars and a pay raise. Pay parents expenses for a year and $12,000 for whatever. That isn't bad. She decided to buy ahouse.

Amanda, The old system hicup on the call center. Armando broke cover and told how they all should have called It to get it fixed. When I worked an IBM call center we had our supervisor handle that. And if we had to keep calling support, we gave up and did other things. Then the next shift(Days) had to worry about it. He told her he would get it fix. Made her the liason between him and the call center. For her frustration at that new possition she will get a 20 % raise. $5,000 to get her debt free, and $25,000 for family, She is now planning a dream vacation

[MrsEVH]

Watching the Retro fitness episode with the infamous Jacqueline. What a beotch.

[ethalfrida]

Here's a story from an employee who has been on the show.

http://www.reddit.com/r/IAmA/comments/1drl10/ama_request_an_employee_who_has_been_on_the_show/c9tc78h

Now that was a sorry piece of management...

[Fostersmom]

I just saw an article that one of these stores opened in Cleveland... because the new owners saw this episode. So now we know why these unheard  of companies are always highlighted. The new owners have a FB page and they posted they got 16 pallets of candy and had to enter it in the POS system. What the hell? How is that still a thing? The last time I heard of a store having to enter new product in a POS system, even for brand new stores, was literally in 1999 and right at the start of a career in retail management that I just moved away from last summer and I grand opened two entirely new chains to the state after 1999. All the merchandise was programmed and entered by the corporate office after that for all the stores I've worked in since 1999.  Honestly, I'm not sure this location will be there long, I don't know if it has the foot traffic to sustain such a store and there's other stores in the area that have plenty of nostalgic candies and either other things to bring customers in or a LONG time Cleveland reputation. I wish them luck, but the fact that the owners (and apparently Rocket Fizz) was surprised they had to have and pass an inspection by the health department, and then posted about it on FB, doesn't bode well. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Anyone at all surprised to learn that the site of the biker gunfight in Waco was a Twin Peaks bar?  Anyone further surprised at reports that the bar's management has not been cooperative with the authorities after the murderous shootings?

[Saylii]

Anyone at all surprised to learn that the site of the biker gunfight in Waco was a Twin Peaks bar? Anyone further surprised at reports that the bar's management has not been cooperative with the authorities after the murderous shootings?

Ha. I live in Austin and it's all anyone could talk about today. Apparently corporate Twin Peaks is pushing this all back on the franchise owner, but the whole name is just getting smeared by the police. They'll get sued I'm sure, but I doubt this derails anything but the Waco location which will probably never reopen.

[Jaded]

This episode is being rerun tonight on CBS. It's my first time seeing it and wow this guy doesn't seem to remember what he says even if it wasn't that long ago. I'd never heard of this store chain before. I don't think their in this part of the US though or if they are there are no locations near me.

[Bronzedog]

It was cute at the end the guy who got the money for a house tells his fiancé and she kind of smacks him in the head.

[Jaded]

Yes, the ending was cute. I'm glad the boss didn't seem to be a jackass at the end like some of the others that aired during the season. 

Edited May 23, 2015 by Jaded

[Bronzedog]

I just went to their website to see where in DC and Baltimore they are located, and, I won't be going to either location.

[friendperidot]

I hardly ever watch this show, only if there's nothing else on. Tonight I saw the Forman Mills episode and I wondered if the CEO ever met with bad employees. He did say at the beginning they didn't train and just got rid of people that didn't work out. I have seen a couple of episodes where someone got fired but most of the time, the "trainers" are excellent, mostly loyal employees. I've never worked at a place where all employees were excellent, loyal employees.

[JocelynCavanaugh]

This was a good episode, but Felisa drove me nuts with the flapping her hands around every time she got emotional. I also wondered how a company like this could afford so many generous gifts. 

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Boy, did they try to buffalo us!

 

The CEO did not instantly understand why the dishwasher was not given full time hours???  Fast food places were the first artists at limiting the numbers of FT folks!  Then the Obamacare regs came down and made FT peeps prohibitively expensive across the board, non-salary FT jobs disappeared.  Everywhere.  This underemployment is universal.  And this guy pretends to be shocked when he runs into a lowly dishwasher held back from FT hours.  

 

The server was also disingenuous as all get out.  Servers typically LOVE having bigger table/customer counts.  The friction is usually that they have too FEW.  You think she would willingly have given up that four-top when she had the 11-top?  Well, I hope y'all noticed she didn't do it.  Then, she didn't give a damn when the 4-top's food was sitting in the window getting cold.  She was all about making sure the big-money table was taken care of first.  Again - this is a universal issue in all of serverdom.  Yet, THIS one got rewarded with a scholarship AND a car?!!!!  Wow.  She is very likely the least deserving protagonist of all in the history of this show.  Double wow.  She would not even ASK someone to help get the food out!  

 

It is no coincidence whatever that each franchisee and manager we saw was cost-centric.  That is the entire game in fast and fast-casual food.   Any notions of people development and such are a farce.  They want and pay for automatons.  Have you seen how fast McDonalds whipped out self-order kiosks in the cities where the minimum wage skyrocketed?   Labor is a cost, not a value.

 

How much more direct did Red need to be about Sean's refusal to take action against Wes the "bully?"  We also were made to pretend that the first franchisee (was he also a Sean?) who was sitting right there with his manager, has never observed the crappy service and lack of team work?  This was all a revelation?  He flat told dude that "cost" was his touchstone during the outside meeting.  I would love to know how much he seethed when he was stuck in front of that camera to make CEO guy look like a caring person.  I'd bet anything that it took a lot for him to not laugh in his face.  

 

The bottom line is that dude knew these underlying issues were prevalent.  I am fully confident that when he pitches his franchises to potential investors, he does not flaunt the wonderful work environment and human advancement.   He most definitely talks about his low labor costs and profit margins which are a direct result of not hiring enough servers, and not running a dishwasher more than humanly necessary.

 

It was quite humorous as dude complained/whined that HIS company was not BWW!  Not a sports bar!!!!!!   It's better!  We cater to old people.  And to young families!!!!!!  Ugh.  That's opposite ends of the spectrum, my man.  Pick one.  LMFAO.  The concept, as I understand it, is to serve a higher-end of chicken wing, thus justifying a premium price.  The atmosphere wasn't even as nice as your basic fern bar/Applebees.   Everyone in T-Shirts?  Super classy, right?  

 

Finally, didja notice he wouldn't give his bestest new buddy FT hours as a dishwasher?  1)  They don't run a dishwasher even 6 hours a day, and/or 2)  If they reclassify his work as a "cook," there may be a way to legally retain his PT status.  He quite obviously has a low IQ.  Can he handle the complicated variety of short order cooking?   Let the man be what he most loves doing and excels at:  Cleaning!

 

All in all - it's great to have another season of UB! 

 

 

[auntiemel]

Wow, this CEO did *not* come off looking good, and neither did his company!

I could not stop cracking up when he kept insisting that those fairly standard white ceramic bowls they serve the food in were"China." It's like...OK, you're not a sports bar. Whatever. But it's not Downton Abbey up in here, either!!

[Jadzia]

I could not stop cracking up when he kept insisting that those fairly standard white ceramic bowls they serve the food in were"China."

I thought he must have been confused because they were "Made in China".

 

I was wondering why the waitress got so much more than the dishwasher. Especially since she said the place was just like Buffalo Wild Wings (quel horreur!)

[Fostersmom]

Um, given I've lived in Ohio my entire life, and in a city that's the 6th largest retail market in the entire state, but is much smaller than some major cities in Ohio, you'd think I would have at least have heard of this chain. I have also worked retail management in that city, and I can tell you, this chain would be a huge failure in my market and we have like every restaurant known to man up here. Their stupid schtick of we aren't a sports bar got old real fast. Here's the thing, plenty of people know the appropriate time to take their family to a sports bar. Noon, yes. Midnight, no. Dave and Buster's is built on it. Hell, I knew people who would take their kids to Hooters for lunch (not that I would recommend that, just on the misogyny alone). 

 

Good luck to Wes to getting and keeping another leadership role. He's a walking lawsuit waiting to happen. Too bad Sean seemed more than ok with possibly keeping him, other than the fact he did seem to understand the unspoken undertone of fire this ass or your franchise licenses are on the line. 

[backformore]

how strange that he kept saying they were NOT a sports bar, were SO different than Buffalo Wild wings.  The two places have almost identical menus.  And the website calls Wings & Rings "the ultimate sports dining experience"  - and has photos of young singles drinking beer and margaritas with their wings, along with photos of multiple tv screens playing sports events.   How exactly is that not like a sports bar?   Sounds like the only difference is the dishes. 

 

"we're nothing like Buffalo Wild WIngs"  means "we're exactly the same, except they have black plastic plates and we have white stoneware plates"

[Lonesome Rhodes]

Is the name "Shawnon" somehow synonymous with "witch" in some other language?  This one was a new level of sociopathy.

 

She told us what she was: A no-credential lady who was super-motivated to "succeed."  So, she did.  She well understood what corporate bosses value and boy, did she ever deliver!  She gave up her humanity and became a machine demanding that everyone else do the same.  Did it cost her a marriage?  (Yes, her bosses deserve the same harsh assessment.  None of this was done in a vacuum.)

 

More clearly than most, she showed us just how mendacious and demanding these CEO/COO-types are.  "THEY MUST BE BRAND AMBASSADORS!!!!!  What a joke.  The 1% telling us we are to invest sweat equity as they invest cash that they make enough to live well.  The work rules?  Absurd.  You pay for a mule, you get a mule.  You want ambassadors?  Treat us as such, and pay us as such.  Until then?  Shaddup!  /endrant

 

My favorite moment, and the one that truly showed how far she has gone?  In the reveal meeting with the GM who had called her "terrifying," she sat mute when the poor GM was thunderstruck with fear.  She made her experience horrible emotions.  Instead of instantly reassuring her, Shawnon played the classic power game of staying silent as the person on the other side was showing weakness.  Never mind the COO eventually was "nice."  It was in that powerful moment that her true self was seen.  I also loved the contempt/mistrust that the franchisee showed during the reveal.

 

I really liked Anthony.  He is pretty typical in my time living in Georgia.  Personal honor is a big deal.  Pride in work is pretty standard down there.  I wonder if I was at the same game Anthony was gifted.  It was the Yankees at Atlanta in late August.  A fan died in a fall from the upper deck just as A Rod was coming to bat.

 

I am loving how TPTB are showing us the warts on these bosses so very clearly this season!  

 

Finally...it is unpossible that those cookies are better than Mrs. Fields!!!!  But, I bet they are darn good.   

 

 

 

 

[TV Diva Queen]

Um, given I've lived in Ohio my entire life, and in a city that's the 6th largest retail market in the entire state, but is much smaller than some major cities in Ohio, you'd think I would have at least have heard of this chain. I have also worked retail management in that city, and I can tell you, this chain would be a huge failure in my market and we have like every restaurant known to man up here. Their stupid schtick of we aren't a sports bar got old real fast. Here's the thing, plenty of people know the appropriate time to take their family to a sports bar. Noon, yes. Midnight, no. Dave and Buster's is built on it. Hell, I knew people who would take their kids to Hooters for lunch (not that I would recommend that, just on the misogyny alone). 

 

Good luck to Wes to getting and keeping another leadership role. He's a walking lawsuit waiting to happen. Too bad Sean seemed more than ok with possibly keeping him, other than the fact he did seem to understand the unspoken undertone of fire this ass or your franchise licenses are on the line. 

Dont feel bad, I live in Chicago, where apparently there is one of these restaurants.  Never heard of it.  LOL   PS - We've been taking our kids to Hooters since they were in car seats, its really not a big deal.  

[TV Diva Queen]

My DVR cut off after the Anthony got his Yankee tickets, did he get anything else?  Did the young cute girl get a franchise?  

[Crucial]

The server was also disingenuous as all get out.  Servers typically LOVE having bigger table/customer counts.  The friction is usually that they have too FEW.  You think she would willingly have given up that four-top when she had the 11-top?  Well, I hope y'all noticed she didn't do it.  Then, she didn't give a damn when the 4-top's food was sitting in the window getting cold.  She was all about making sure the big-money table was taken care of first.  Again - this is a universal issue in all of serverdom.  Yet, THIS one got rewarded with a scholarship AND a car?!!!!  Wow.  She is very likely the least deserving protagonist of all in the history of this show.  Double wow.  She would not even ASK someone to help get the food out!

 

This was my immediate reaction to her as well. 

 

May be my negative nature but I think she is the type that complains about everything and needs the time off a lot (I've worked with so many like that).  The staff may have had her number and didn't jump to offer her help - she may have known they would not help.  When you complain about a large table and then ignore the 4-tops food.  She sure loved taking the food out - wonder how many times she was late getting back.