Employee fired on "Undercover Boss" for ranting about customers

[PepperElf]

i told my bf about the episode and he pointed something out... that it was surprising the manager didn't know about the employee's attitude.

was he just hamming it up for the "reality show contest" or was he like this all the time?

cos if he's like that all the time it can mean that
1) the manager didn't know - which suggests he doesn't really know his employees very well
2) the manager did know - and for some reason let it flourish

either way, i suspect the corporation is going to be watching that manager for a while too.


Although this isn't the first time a CEO has taken action against someone.
Apparently the CEO of Checkers shut an entire branch down.

according to the article, the manager was reported as being abusive, even threatening to physically beat employees to keep them in line.
nice video clip of him trying to talk shit to the "new hire", saying that he HAS to scream at the people to keep them in line, and "How much experience do you have?" etc... until the CEO finally said, "I have over 20 years of experience..." and revealed who he was.

[lordlundar]

was he just hamming it up for the "reality show contest" or was he like this all the time?

Most likely hamming it up. During the reveal he was acting like a prima donna and at the end the note said he was in acting classes. I would put good money that he was hamming it up hoping for his "big break" and didn't realize that that attitude would shut him down.

[PepperElf]

course i always kinda wonder... haven't branch locations figured this out by now? Gee a camera crew and some "contest" (seems to be the usual ploy).

Although with some companies I can see why they have to pick people other than the CEO at least - cos many companies have highly visible bosses, especially within the company.

At my old job they'd have recognized the CEO if he'd come in for example...well the former CEO that is, he got fired . And with my department... It use to be a separate company, and the original owner of that company HAS come in from time to time.

[lordlundar]

They've been using the "reality show" gambit lately which works better given how many pop up every week.

As well the executive in question is usually very considerably disguised, often using Hollywood make up artists to do the job. Unless said CEO is recognized by body shape/size or bone structure, I'd put at best even odds on finding out.

That's not to say they're completely foolproof however, a number of executives have been caught out and either improvise on the fly or pull the person to the side and tell the employee in question to keep it hush hush.

[fireheart]

They've been using the "reality show" gambit lately which works better given how many pop up every week.

As well the executive in question is usually very considerably disguised, often using Hollywood make up artists to do the job. Unless said CEO is recognized by body shape/size or bone structure, I'd put at best even odds on finding out.

That's not to say they're completely foolproof however, a number of executives have been caught out and either improvise on the fly or pull the person to the side and tell the employee in question to keep it hush hush.

Usually it's a wig and a few prosthetics.

I remember when Gordon Ramsay did a similar gig on Hell's Kitchen where he dressed up and went undercover on the bus. He had this giant nose, long brown hair and slightly darker skin. NOBODY picked him out until he spoke! (and on a side-note Jean Philippe does an AMAZING impression of Chef Ramsay )

[tropicsgoddess]

I can understand that working in customer service is frustrating. But my thing is if you're gonna vent about it, be careful about it. You don't know who's gonna use what you say against you. Ronnie was an idiot, plain and simple, he deserved to be fired.

[Jester]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. The vast majority of my customers are anywhere from good to freakin' awesome. It is a very small minority of idiots, drunks, dirtbags, and shitheads that make me vent.

And in the customer service industry, people vent. That is not that unusual. I thought when I started reading the OP that the undercover boss in question heard an employee doing a usual vent, and she fired him. But clearly that was not the case.

The fact remains that Ronnie's attitude was completely unacceptable. And even if he was hamming it up for the cameras, as some have suggested, he was still under the impression that he was training a new hire. And so he is, in effect, training the new hire to hate customers, and why to hate them, etc.

I don't hate customers. I never have. I hate idiots. My bosses agree with me on this, and have no problem with me venting, privately, to them or other coworkers, about idiots we get. My coworkers and my management do the same.

Again, this is all standard. Ronnie's take on customer service was not. And if he worked for MY business and exhibited that attitude, he would be fired so fast his head would spin around faster than Linda Blair in "The Exorcist."

Whatever his deal was, looking for an acting break, exaggerating his position, or being genuine in his hatred for so many customers, Ronnie's attitude was unacceptable and toxic. He had to go. Hell, he even said after the fact that, while he might TELL his bosses that his attitude would change, in reality, it probably wouldn't.

I have no problem with his firing. None.

[smileyeagle1021]

I actually don't agree with what the CEO did with Ronnie... I think she should of fired him much sooner than she did. The moment he started about how much he hated old people and children, I'd shit can him on the spot, I wouldn't even wait for a break to go to the parking lot, I'd make a break to pull him aside, because at that point he has just admitted that he is likely to provide discriminatory service, which is a huge liability.
He wasn't saying "I hate it when people take a long time to order, it ruins the rythm we get going" or "It's frustrating when people don't read the menu, it makes us take more time than we should to help them"... neither of which is exactly positive statements, but they are legitimate complaints and are things that can potentially solved (perhaps by placing a menu by the door people can read before getting in line, which granted not everyone would use, but would at least reduce the number of people who have problems). I've heard people say some pretty horrible things on that show and not get in trouble, I heard one person say something like "I hate how impatient our customers are, it's not my fault that the computers are slow." They just criticized the customers they served, but they also revealed the deaper problem of a process flaw that was making them less productive, the CEO recognized the company's culpability in this and didn't take it out on the employee.

Also, as far as training goes, I've before gotten the customers suck spiel during training, but it was, and I am giving a direct quote
"The worst part about this job is dealing with the customers. Most of them are good people and pleasant to work with, but you are going to get a lot of people with a lot of unrealistic expectations. The rude ones are easy to deal with, you just have to remember that ultimately, you control whether or not they get a room, you have the power, and ultimately you will have the last word, so just stay calm and professional and remember that they'll get theirs in the end. It is the nice ones who are the problem, because you will want to help them, but you won't be able to. These are the ones that you will feel guilty about afterwards, and all you can do is keep saying to yourself in your head, 'they wanted more than you could reasonably offer, I gave them everything I could, I could do no more.' If you don't learn those two lessons on how to deal with people with unrealistic expectations, you won't last here."
I think if an undercover boss heard that they may be breaking character to promote them on the spot

[Irving Patrick Freleigh]

Not that I wish to hump a dead thread, but I saw a promo for this week's episode that features a similar employee.

Although from the clip the boss doesn't seem all that great.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

Not that I wish to hump a dead thread, but I saw a promo for this week's episode that features a similar employee.

Although from the clip the boss doesn't seem all that great.

Ooh, thanks for the heads up Irv! That boss does seem like a jackhole doesn't he?

[mjr]

Did anyone happen to read the comments underneath the article in the original post? You can tell there are some EWs and Special Snowflakes in there...not to mention probably some people who have never worked a day in retail or customer service in their lives.

[Jetfire]

Ooh, thanks for the heads up Irv! That boss does seem like a jackhole doesn't he?

That the Gym owner? He did come across a bit coarse to say the least. But that employee deserved to be canned too.

What's scary was there was a Employee Followup show last week.

The first guy (from BM) is apparently still unemployeed and has a chorus of 'friends' who think that he was completely mischaracterized and stuff from the show.

The woman from the gym is working at a Senior's Care facility now. I feel sorry for those seniors.

Undercover Boss Canada has an episode last season with a restaurant chain owner (Didn't recognize the chain but they were basically based in Ontario). One of the restaurants he went into, he was working with a manager in a branch in Ottawa, and he was shocked at how little they followed the Chain's guidelines. In that case, he ended up breaking character and de-franchising the restaurant right then and there, and told the Manager he was offering her a new job right away. (Very similar to the burger place (Sonic?) in an early season of UCB:USA )

[PepperElf]

trying to find clips of that fitness one now.
irony - the adverts before the clips.... They Might Be Giants? Fitting I guess considering it's dinosaurs in a city. (song "the guitar" iirc)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Zcfa97Chp4

[spoiler]
and holy fucking shit. She seriously tries to backtalk the boss AFTER the reveal?
that she tried to justify her foul language by saying "but I didn't know it was him [the ceo]". and that she somehow feels her behavior shouldn't be discussed in front of the CEO?
and she tries to make it sound like it's the ceo's fault for her behavior. what an immature bitch

[/spoiler]

[hinakiba777]

Wow Ronnie and Jacklin are both really horrible employees. I mean both of their attitudes and actions suck.

It is one thing to be in the break room having a little vent about a couple of bad customers you had that day, and the way those two acted. I mean, talking about how much he hates old people and kids? Or when the mother and her two kids are in line and he complains about it, while they are looking over the menu? It's just unacceptable.

I almost laughed when Jaclyn said that she wouldn't have acted that way if she had known that Eric was the CEO. I have known so many people like that, who act so great in front of the brass, but then are absolute pills around everyone else.

I fully admit that I have complained about customers when I was on break. But only specific ones, and never anywhere a customer could hear me. It's not that hard to be professional when you are on line, it's really not.

[PepperElf]

I almost laughed when Jaclyn said that she wouldn't have acted that way if she had known that Eric was the CEO. I have known so many people like that, who act so great in front of the brass, but then are absolute pills around everyone else.

I used that argument once. I think I was in grade school at the time.

(and no it didn't work)