Undercover Boss

Really enjoyed the show. The CEO shows real life emotions, drills his employees to get "real life" situations and their feelings "out in the open". The employees that were fortunate enough to be on the program are TRUE HEROES in my opinion. These people ARE the majority of workers out in the field..and never get noticed. Its about time!


Although, from a Management and Business Level, its sad that it takes the CEO to go "undercover" to spy on his employees, management team, etc to find out what peopel REALLY THINK about their jobs. I suggest he fire all of his upper management and get some new blood in there. Ones that are not afraid to change things with the times. They are the ones who should be out in the field "probing" the managers and front line workers as well as their customer base to find out what problems are facing them and what is being done to correct them. The CEO has more demands on him/her and should be able to trust his Upper Management to find and resolve these conflicts and lack of leadership.


Promoting the lady that was wearing a hundred different hats on her job is NOT that uncommon. I wish MORE managers would recognize the work that their workers are doing. Managers...listen to your people!

I think it was awful that you exposed that young man that way. Either show his reckless behavior and help him rehabilitate, (because I think he was just talking fire him and don't show that part of the episode, you have possibly destroyed his working carreer for life. SHAME ON YOU

This show is now on my "must see" list for its insightful story telling regarding workers and management. In this first show, Larry O'Donnell, the C.O.O. of Waste Management, spent seven days under cover at different sites around the country and worked with front-line workers at each of them. The workers were told they were filming segments for a "new employee" video and had no idea they were actually training their boss of all bosses!





Mr. O'Donnell learned how to separate cardboard from the never-ending paper waste stream on a conveyer belt, pick up and bag paper on a windy hillside, weigh in trucks, keep office and personnel records, clean porta-potties, and dump trash into a garbage truck. Hard work, for all.





But O'Donnell's work didn't stop there. He went on to examine, and vow to change, those management policies that impacted negatively on his employees. It was fascinating to see how the reality of his policies affected him, and inspiring to see the changes he made.





Towards the end of the show, each featured employee met privately with Mr. O'Donnell at Waste Mangement Corporate Headquarters. There they learned his true identity and how much he appreciated learning from/with them. His appreciation extended to prmotions and some management policy changes.





I was particularly pleased to see that at the end of the show a synopsis was run regarding what each employee was currently doing.





Bottom line, the show gives me hope that we can have a working relationship between people, whether they be in labor or management, as long as there is respect on both sides. And to this reviewer, this show takes a giant step in that direction.





Hats off to CBS for another winner!

Breaking old and bad patterns is personal and that is what reaches out to me in every episode. When the boss declares his intent to go undercover, he knows he will discover some new things and need to make some necessary decisions. To the bosses' surprise, the experience goes far beyond. Making a commitment to unlearning old behavior is much of what drives success in any economy. Creating a connection between management and staff is priceless. Bottom line: Start making changes now. Life is not a dress rehearsal. Many thanks to the staff for bringing this program to television. I learn from and applaud every episode. Whether the boss is a man, a woman, black or white, we all understand the importance of what the boss is discovering.

Excellent Analysis @ Huffington Post.

We can't use links in these comments, so you'll have to go to the TV section of Huff Post, or search "Maddy Lederman" at Huff site.

This one is a must watch for me. What an awesome concept...I have often thought that companies would be more effective and productive if they understood the struggles and obstacles that the employees have to endure to get their job done successfully.I am so impressed with these CEOs who have taken their time and effort to invest in their employees and ultimately the future of their company. Kudos to these daring men who value their companies and their employees.





They should consider sending other execs to other stores in order to get a better perspective to truly ascertain their company's status. Every segment of the market has different obstacles and challenges and they need to understand it first hand so that they can make a bigger impact.

to start with having a "new" employee followed around with a camera crew is plain silly. the object of the show is interesting. the end of the show burns my hide, giving a select few employees trips to disney land, paying off hospital bills,giving them thousands of dollars. what about the rest of the people working in the company? every one of them deserve the same treatment that these few recieve. everyone (which is a generalisation) has something going on in their lives where they need help,they all work for to better themselves which in todays economy is very hard. when they show the ceo's multi-million dollar homes with their expensive toys. why doesn't the ceo impliment changes such as taking a paycut of themselves and the upper senior staff and distributing that to their hard working employees. now that would be a show to remember and maybe even a company to work for.

I can't believe how stupid this show is, A boss pretends to be an employee so him or her and a camera crew tell the employees that the new employee is taping a training video or another lie as bad and they doing the same crap over and over, after awhile most people would catch on to this so if a new employee with a camera crew came to their work they would say wait wait wait I dont believe this crap is real this is that stupid show undercover boss, I know most of these people are not that stupid they just are told to play along to get free stuff or they just want to be on TV, I know a guy that they pulled this crap at his work he had a camera crew with a new employee come there he started pointing out how this is bull crap and it was that stupid show and who that guy really is, the show told him just to play dumb, Comon people do you really think this crap is real if you watch this show and they came to your work and they did the same lie with a camera crew that you just seen on a stupid TV show over and over again wouldn't you know that it was bull crap and know it was just that stupid show or would you really be that stupid and fall for the crappy lie that they feed you even if its the same lie you just seen on that stupid show or would you just go along with it so you could be on TV like I'm sure alot of these people do or like my friend they just will tell you to play dumb so you don't spoil the story, Think about it people ask everybody you have ever known and ask them if they ever have had a new employee at their work and come in with a camera crew to do a training video or something that stupid go ahead ask anyone no one and I mean no one has ever had them had this happen but for some reason people believe this CRAP!!! on TV, If you really do believe this crap is real please send me a check made to cash or just send cash and I will sell you a brain I'll send you a fake plastic one but if you believe this show is real you wont know the difference anyway LOL I have an idea to prove how stupid this crap really is in the future if anyone has a so called new employee and they have a cam crew with them google your boss and hand them the pic and ask how stupid do you think we are then rip the stupid wig off maybe if enough people do this they will stop putting this crap on TV and pretending people are so stupid that they will fall for this crap anymore.

I worked at the Popeye's in Tomball, Texas....sure wished they had gone there!! Poorly operated and FILTHY!! Nastiest place I have ever been employed....while all the trainees try to get answers to questions that are work related the assistant manager is too busy looking at pornography with his 'boys' to answer simple, valid questions..Leeches in the cooler with the food and managers that wont throw it away due to costs!! If they were a legit deal they would return calls from corporate as they assure they will!! THEY DON'T CARE!! UNDERCOVER BOSS used to be one show I looked forward to watching but now I feel like it is probably staged and the stores they 'visited' really don't exist!! That lady should have gone to the root of the issue and that store should've been on the list of visits made...very disappointed with the fake persona that you guys claim to be real!! SHAME ON YOU UNDERCOVER BOSS!!!

That was the worse episode that I have ever seen on TLC UNDERCOVER BOSS. What a bunch of cheap skates I think they could of done a better job expressing their gratitude for the employees. They did absolutely nothing for their employees..... Really swimming classes for an 8 year old, or 1000.00 for the hot dog man and letting him throw the ball. They sucked!!!!

I saw prior episode of the Philadelphia pretzel and the CUB owners can take a class from that guy!!! DISGUSTING!!!!!!! A big boo for the Cub owners, they should of never been put on this show!!!!!!!

Just watched the Popeye's episode. If this programming is in any part "real", then the boss that was showcased here demonstrated the most clueless behavior in this series lineup to date. Lynne ( the boss) followed the tried and true storyline; going undercover, working in the trenches with employees and listening to them pouring out heartfelt stories of struggles in their lives, then calling them into corporate headquarters to reveal the true identity and demonstrate the depth that they have empathized with these people. One by one she sat with the employees and recounted their exemplary work habits and threw each some form of lifeline to help them personally overcome the hardships revealed earlier. She even offered mentoring and subsequent promotion to a trainer position, for a young man who had shared his opinion of corporate clowns. When she got to the maintenance guy that went way above and beyond on the job, even purchasing the proper cleaning supplies on his own, the guy that shared his experience of being left homeless by hurricane offered to make a church donation in his name, thank him for his service and send him on his way. Really, not even some simple compensation for the supplies he has been purchasing. I think she played to the cameras ok, but does not truly seem to get it. Corporate clown?

Watching Undercover boss, Squaw Valley. Nice of the wife of the CEO to slam the workers that he might have to "dumb it down" when working with his employees. It's amazing week after week how out of touch mgt is with there employees. The wife needs a good slap of what working is really about instead of being some spoiled wife of a rich guy. To funny.

I would love you to have spirit air lines on this show. It truly is the poorest run business in America! Add a web site to your site so we can nominate businesses!

This episode shows what is required for setting up DIRECTV. Having lived in UK I had SKY satellite tv and they have a similar system except they also use call centers in India. Directv is a great company and has some great packages. Nice to see a call center in America. The episode also highlighted how important television is to people. Great show showing what happens behind the scenes.





Excellent family entertainment-see "real life" workers training a new employee who turns out to be the CEO of the company and makes changes to all the lives he touched from the information they gathered while be uncover.

Retro Fitness is one of the best episodes that I have ever seen. It rivals with American Idol & The Apprentice, because it rewards the winners and reprimands or fires the big losers. It was more realistic, because it showed that not all employees are to blame for bad morality in a company, and that management is not untouchable when they do not do their job right. I hope you will continue down this same path in the near future !

Great show, each one has a message we bosses need to hear. We get caught up in the day to day issues running our companies, but we overlook the folks who back us up. No matter how much we make, the reason we do what we do. Caught up trying to fend off the economy is a big job, in my company I took no pay for 2 years as we when through tough times. This show has touched me in many ways, for that all I can say is thank you!

i just luv to watch undercover boss it is amazing that ceo's most of the time do not know what there employees are going through. but it makes me cry to see how they reward the employees after the undercover boss is over wow. wish undercover would visit mcdonalds in fajardo puerto rico so they could discover how some employees are treated just because they are young and sometimes the manager does not like them.

I just watched this company's Undercover Boss show and was appalled on how petty this CEO was at the end of the show. I know he can't please everyone , but giving the hardest, and most physical worker of his company which is a truck loader and gave him a lousy, lousy .25$ raise!!!!!!!!!! What planet does this CEO come from or maybe he just wanted to be cheap and condescending to the truck loaders who work for his company!!

Although I've had a few reservations about this show, as far as the set up, and follow through, I do enjoy watching.





Why I like this show:





1. It is fun to get a brief behind the scenes look at companies / businesses most of us probably take for granted.





2. Seeing a bigwig, go through the paces of a "regular" day to day job can be quite entertaining.





3. It is nice, hearing a boss express appreciation for his/her employees and seeing average people rewarded in some (usually meaningful) way for the work that they do, everyday.





What I hope is that the companies that participate, truly work towards bettering the work conditions of their employees, and follow through on the promises they make.

I enjoy this show... being an entrepeneur, a business manager, a successful company is definitely not easy. This show takes you into a company's lifestyle and lets you experience challenges and success with employees as they school their managers or vice versa on the job. This show is a hit in my book... I learned what it takes to value your coworkers and what you need to know to keep ideas fresh in your company. Perfect show for business majors and supply chain management majors!

I watch this show every week, from the first time it has come on. I look at this show and it makes me cry every time at the endings to think their are such wonderful companies and businesses out that that really care and feel for their employees'. I being a very ill person, have lost my job a month ago due to my illness due to missing too many days, I am now paying 600.00 a month for COBRA just so I have it because I am in possible need of another surgery and my prescriptions on my own would cost me close to 1500.00 or more a month. It is hard with one income, but I am fighting to do what I must do to find another job hopefully one I can do out of my home on days when I am feeling sicker I can stay home and work there. Of course I have had no luck thus far. This show has really made an impression on me that their are people out there who owns businesses who really care for their employees. HOORAY for them. Dedication is a great payoff for someone who cares. Again, I LOVE THE SHOW>>>>

Realy love your show and Kudos to the producer. Really would like to see Publix under the thumb, since the owner Mr. Jenkins has passed Soooo many changes, and NOT all for the best. Would like to see you all get one of the childen that owen the Bussiness to go under cover and see how Publix has changed. am sure they really are not aware of how the workers are treated now days. And NO i d not work for Publix. But People that are devoted to all the changes and never miss a day, still are treated lke dirt with not even a nickel raise in two years. Thank you for listing and so hope you ask the faimly that now owens Publix's to go under covrer in the busy stores here in sarasota. We are 50 mile from lakeland corporate office. Keep up the awsome work you all are dose give hope to us less forunate.

I have a challenge for the creators and honchos of Undercover Boss. They should get someone from the upper echelons of Family Dollar to do the show. Family Dollar was taken over by the son when his father retired. Now the stores are in turmoil because the son has a hobby of trying to make more money off the backs of the employees. The employees are having their hours slashed during the busiest part of the year. Holiday pay was sporadic, some stores received it while others didn't. They say don't stack the product too high, but there is no room to stack it at a safe height. It seems the new bosses have NO clue what they are doing. If Undercover boss get Family Dollar to do the show, i will eat my hat. If they come to eastern Ct. to do the show, I will eat a Family Dollar hat, with no salt nor pepper. but I know I'm safe due to the fact the bigiwgs at Family Dollar are chicken#*&@ and don't give a rats butt about the company.

I watch this show last night for the 1st time ever. I watched the Tilted Kilt episode. My friend said he always watches this show so as we chatted I too watched. For the owner of this establishment I must say you appear to me a very kind and caring man . I watched the show and fell in love with James and the other lady whose Dad is ill and she has an autistic child and another child. Mr. Owner of Tilted Kilt I for one am so pleased to have taken the time to watch this episode. I can not tell you what my heart feels because well the simplest way to explain is to have you climb in my heart and just feel yet I think you already do know. You know the young employee with the jokes ... you handle that in such a manner that LOOK this young lady went an got her EDUCATION completed from YOUR example and your words of encouragement... I am so honored to have seen this all of it Mr. Tilted Kilt ( sorry I 4got ur name) Thank you for helping them all I cried when I saw what happened with the way you were moved to help n encourage these people. Long live James -his triplets -wife n 10 year old son I believe he was . OHH Mr. KIlt can I do something for you? I mean something on a smaller scale ? I mean like lunch here in Colorado should you come here with your wife and or children or just you yet no funny bussiness - I must have your word on that or no lunch deals.ok?

I recorded the episode about the Philly Pretzel Factory. I think that CEO was the MOST generous Boss out of all of them that I have seen. He truly changed the people's lives.

What a wonderful company and person!

I've watched several episodes now and I'm so happy to see the CEO's of major companies learning what it's like as an everyday employee of their company. It's tough for us hourly employees to put our best foot forward everyday for companies that implement terms like cutbacks and down-sizing on regular basis. We are expected to take on more responsibilities and tasks all the time without being rewarded for it. Sometime we feel that the CEO's don't care about us and treat us as expendable commodities. For an example: I have been a waiter/bartender in the hospitality industry in Florida for 15 years now and have only gotten a raise when the state raises the minimum hourly rate, which isn't as often as the standard of living gets raised. Also, forget medical benefits. I have yet to work for a restaurant that cares enough about the welfare of its employees to offer any health benefits. We in the hospitality industry here in Florida make up 80% of Florida's job market and yet, I haven't been able to afford to see a doctor or dentist in over a decade. Things definitely need to change and this show is at the least starting to open the eyes of the CEO millionaires.