Undercover Boss on CBS

By Ally Matteodo

Aired after Super Bowl XLIV and enjoying one of the biggest lead-ins ever, Undercover Boss wins the title of Best TV Show of the Week.  Though the premiere aired immediately after the Super Bowl about 10:15 p.m. ET February 7th, the usual time of Undercover Boss will be 9:00 p.m. ET Sundays.  In this reality program the heads of large, successful corporations go undercover in their factories and businesses to learn firsthand what working for their companies feels like in the trenches.  The first company boss who goes undercover is Larry O’ Donnell of Waste Management, a company of 45,000 employees and 20,000 customers and the largest trash and recycling company in North America.  Larry, the President and Chief Operating Officer of the company, posed as newcomer Randy Lawrence.  Under the guise of the cameras following him being for a television program documenting a first-time worker at Waste Management, Randy is trained at several Waste Management facilities.  His first stint is at a recycling facility in Syracuse, New York, under the instruction of Sandy.  Next, Larry tries his hand at collecting trash at the Central Landfill in Pompano Beach, Florida with the guidance of Walter.  Afterwards Larry goes back to upstate New York to receive instruction from Jaclyn, an overworked and underpaid employee at the High Acres Landfill in Fairport, New York.  Following this, Fred shows Larry how to clean toilets at fair grounds in Houston, Texas.  In his last undercover job, Larry wishes to see the face of his company, and performs trash hauls working as a helper to Janus collecting garbage in Rochester, New York.          

Larry’s eyes are certainly opened after his experiences working in the field.  Some of the policies he himself developed on the corporate level have caused much hardship for his workers.  While working with Janus on trash hauls, Larry watches as she interacts with some of the customers.  They love her and wait for her at the end of their driveways, and one of them even gives her some cream soda, her favorite beverage.  Yet due to the extreme emphasis on productivity, Janus cannot help but be abrupt as she jumps back into her truck, afraid she’s being watched by other Waste Management employees who follow her hauls from time to time in order to record her productivity.  Furthermore, Janus must urinate in a can while working, since using a rest room will take her off road and waste time.  In another instance, Sandy furiously runs to punch her time card; if the employees are late punching back in from lunch or for work, for every minute they are late they’re docked two minutes of pay.  Chagrined and moved, Larry ultimately reveals his identity to the workers and vows to rectify the problems of Waste Management, claiming that going undercover was one of the most important experiences of his life.  Indeed, this program encourages all bosses to interact with their employees, rather than sequestering themselves in the ivory tower of board meetings and conference rooms.  In addition, it’s a very humbling experience; Walter actually fires Larry when he fails to fill a trash bag every ten minutes.  Yet Larry doesn’t hold any hard feelings, enlisting the people who trained him to assist the company in things such as health care and creating a more female-friendly environment.  Jaclyn, a woman juggling the equivalent of three jobs and only being paid for one, is promoted to supervisor, placed on salary, and becomes eligible for a bonus.  Indeed, everyone benefits when their voices are heard, because when people feel they are appreciated and respected, they work harder for a company that treats them well, rather than harboring resentment and begrudgingly working for a company because it’s their only option.

Best TV Show of the Week

The Parents Television Council - www.parentstv.org