Comments on: Undercover Boss

By: Noah Graff

Noah Graff — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:06:11 +0000

Hooters makes damn good wings!

By: Mike Duffin

Mike Duffin — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:23:45 +0000

My wife and I watched the show and found it very entertaining. I remarked that a “boss undercover” could never happen in a small business where bosses usually work with the guys on the floor and often know all the personal and family stuff. This appeared to be a unique happening in the corporate world because it WAS for a big company like WMI.
Joshua Alston, columnist for Newsweek, wrote a disparaging column about the show – probably because he thinks all bosses and corporations have no soul. He remarks, “We can all agree on one thing: CEOs are losers.” Well, Joshua, that’s not the norm in the small businesses I see and know in the precision machining industry. Maybe this is evidence of another gap in society, you know like gender and generation gaps. We have a business gap separating big and small businesses. Most entertainers, reporters, teachers and politicos see only the big business culture and have no idea how much fun can be had working in a small enterprise. Anyway, I sure plan to watch the next episode of Undercover Boss, even if Hooter’s food is not very good!

By: lloyd

lloyd — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:52:19 +0000

I found the show moving and interesting but I am cynical enough to know I was being manipulated. But so what, American Idol, Biggest Loser, Dancing With the Stars all play me and I willingly accept it because they do it so well.
From a media point of view Undercover Boss is quite important. This is product placement plus. This last show was worth millions to the Waste Management brand. For no money(maybe) WM got huge ratings behind the Super Bowl where companies paid $2.3 million per spot. I don’t know if there was a quid pro quo with CBS and WM but if this format strikes a nerve we will see a raft of similar programming. CNBC did a quai documentary on the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Did Time Inc pay? I would be shocked if there wasn’t some form of remuneration even if it was barter. But it was pretty good programming nevertheless.

By: Noah Graff

Noah Graff — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 22:04:28 +0000

Pure Ayn Rand!

By: Deborah Rudy

Deborah Rudy — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 21:52:09 +0000

I think there’s truth in what both of you are saying. A PR agenda? Definitely. Not that there’s anything wrong with it (to coin a Seinfeldism). That’s the beauty of capitalism. I wouldn’t want it any other way.

By: Noah Graff

Noah Graff — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:33:34 +0000

Well I guess their advertising worked on you Miles.:) You are applauding them for helping you realize how great their brand is. Bottom line, the company doesn’t do this for fun. They do it so they can make money. They may feel that treating their employees better helps the company make money. So the show helps them accomplish that too. Of course they don’t need TV cameras to go undercover. Don’t be naive. If you watch the interview I posted above with the CEO it becomes more clear that it has a PR agenda.

By: Miles Free

Miles Free — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 18:05:43 +0000

Noah, I think that is not so much about advertising (Does the guy who takes your trash or cleans your porta potties really need to advertise? I think not.) But I believe that there are “Bosses” who really want to share the magic of what their companies do. I use the term “the existential joy of ____” (enter your job title in the blank) to describe this. To outsiders, working in a machine shop is oily, noisy, dirty work. The craftsmen-professionals I deal with in our industry see it differently. They are making parts that are saving lives, making cars and planes go, or safely moving energy around. Waste Management wasn’t advertising, they were showing the very human “Existential Joys” of performing needed (but unglamorous) services to their customers. Yes, theirbusiness is picking up litter, picking up trash, and cleaning porta potties. They showed that they (and their people) have pride in their work, earn respect from their customers, and that even the guy who cleans the toilets and chases litter around the landfill has dignity and is worthy of our respect. It’s not advertising, it’s giving us a peek into the joy of their work. I applaud Waste Management for helping us realize that their brand is really people helping people.

By: Noah Graff

Noah Graff — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:16:00 +0000

Yes. I thought that too. However, giant corporations, and most businesses for that matter don't do things like this just because they think it would be interesting or fun. It's all about whether this will make them more money or not in the long run. Take a look at this puff piece interview done with the CEO of the company, O'Donnel's boss. You can tell that the channel actually run by Waste Management. He says "it's all about the people....blah blah blah." Of course what about the Jerk manager? :) Check this out.

By: Deborah Rudy

Deborah Rudy — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 17:07:44 +0000

You make a lot of good points. However, I’m going to hold off on deciding if this is a PR bonanza for the companies involved until I see Sunday’s upcoming episode. The promo’s at the end of last week’s show certainly didn’t depict Hooters in a very favorable light. Watching that manager force the waitresses to play his “reindeer games” by licking up food off their plates if they wanted to get off work early turned my stomach.

By: Daniel Wilkes

Daniel Wilkes — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 16:51:22 +0000

If this is real, it’s one of the most touching things that I have ever watched on TV. The young lady that he promoted and whos family he helped really broke my heart. The other time when he showed his daughter with Autism and refered back to the lady who gave the young women who was giving the garbage lady a bottle of POP. Then the guy with Kidney problems and how hard he worked. Then I can tell you I wish that I worked for this man.