‘Undercover Boss’ tribute race part of Arlington Park opening
Since becoming a jockey valet in 1988, Kenny Rice has spent a lot of time in the Arlington Park winner’s circle.
His job has him there often to help collect the riders’ equipment when they dismount their horses after each race.
But when Arlington Park opens its doors to start its 2010 meet today, Rice will be in the winner’s circle for a very special moment.
Thanks to an episode of the CBS television series “Undercover Boss,” there will be a race run today in honor of Rice’s daughter Meghan Samantha, who was born with a heart defect and died in March 2009 at the age of 20.
While going undercover to work with Rice on his job at Arlington Park last summer, Churchill Downs Chief Operating Officer Bill Carstanjen bonded with the valet’s story about his daughter during the taping of the show.
Carstanjen noticed the picture of Rice’s daughter and then realized it was in memoriam.
Read the full story on Daily Herald
‘Undercover’ Boosts Brands?
YouGov’s BrandIndex examined three establishments featured on the hit program to learn if the exposure persuaded consumers that these were places they’d consider working for.
• 7-Eleven took a decent ride upward and has actually settled above where it was before the show aired.
• White Castle experienced a substantial leap over a three-week period, which has since tumbled close to pre-show levels.
• Hooters enjoyed a mild bump, only to settle back to its previous level.



Undercover Boss Looks to Wall Street Firms
Undercover Boss, CBS’ unexpected reality hit, is heading to Wall Street, according to the Wall Street Journal. The show has reportedly begun calling financial firms hoping to find a senior executive willing to appear on the show, in which CEOs go “undercover” to see what it’s like to be an low-level employee at their firms.
Source: NY Magazine
TV Ratings: Golf, ‘Undercover Boss’ give CBS a Sunday win
As so often happens, CBS coverage of a popular sporting event carried over into primetime through much of the country and both bumped and boosted the network’s entire primetime lineup. In this case, it was ending of the Masters, which pushed 15 minutes into primetime and added luster to what would have already been a solid Sunday win for the network.
In the 9 p.m. hour, CBS’ “Undercover Boss” (and a bit of “The Amazing Race” for much of the country) did an 8.3/13 and a 4.0 demo rating. The first hour of ABC’s two-hour “Brothers & Sisters” had a 5.8/9 for second. NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice” finished third, beating the 3.5/6 for FOX’s “Family Guy” and “American Dad,” which were second for the hour in the demo with a 2.9 rating.
Source: HitFix
‘Undercover Boss’ season finale recap: 1-800-Flowers wilts our sympathy
The season finale of Undercover Boss told us the thorny story of 1-800-Flowers. The show pumped up a rivalry between the two brothers who head up the company, Jim and Chris McCann. Jim (the CEO) asked Chris (the company president) to go undercover.
When we arrived at the show’s standard doling-out-the-rewards final segments, Undercover Boss seemed to address some of the criticisms that have aimed at the series. Instead of just giving Nciole, the employee lucky enough to come into contact with the (co-)boss, a raise, Chris announced an “incentive system” to be implemented for people throughout the company who exceed their goals.
Read the full recap on EW.
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- Brilliant PR Move for 1-800-FLOWERS.COM – Lessons from “Undercover Boss” (pamil-visions.net)
Marist alumnus is ‘Undercover Boss’ on season finale
Chris McCann, president and CEO of 1-800-flowers.com and a 1983 graduate of Marist College, goes undercover during the season finale of the CBS television show “Undercover Boss” on Sunday.
McCann’s turn on the show features an unexpected twist when his true identity is discovered by one of his employees.
“I am so grateful for CBS providing me with this exceptional opportunity,” McCann said in a prepared statement. “The opportunity to experience our company at all levels makes me a stronger leader and enables 1-800-flowers.com to continue to be the best in the business. Also, the show reaffirmed my appreciation for all our employees and their hard work — they are invaluable to us in our mission to help deliver smiles every day.”
Read the full story on Poughkeepsie Journal
TV Ratings: ‘Undercover Boss’ rules Easter Sunday for CBS
A holiday Sunday led to yet another low-rated primetime, but CBS’ lineup still triumphed, led by America’s love for the second half-hour of “Undercover Boss.”
In the 9 p.m. hour, CBS got a 7.3/12 for “Undercover Boss,” which also did a 3.9 demo rating. We’re a bit amused that “Undercover Boss” leaps from a 6.6/11 to an 8.0/13 half-hour to half-hour, as viewers tune in for the tear-filled ending. ABC’s “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” was up to a 5.2/9 in its second hour, better than the first hour of NBC’s “Celebrity Apprentice.” FOX was fourth with a repeat of “Family Guy” (2.7/4) and a new “Sons of Tucson” (1.9/3).
Source: HitFix
“Undercover Boss” Gets Emotional
Rick Arquilla, the president and COO of the plumbing and drain cleaning company Roto-Rooter, went undercover and saw the dirty part of his employees’ jobs – and revealed emotional parts of his own past – on Sunday’s “Undercover Boss.”
“This is probably more than I had bargained for,” the executive admitted after cramming a power water hose down a pipe leaking raw sewage in a New Orleans parking lot. When his co-worker, Chris, stepped away from the scene for a few minutes, Arquilla stopped working. Chris was surprised by his colleague’s lack of work ethic.
The revelation that Chris was a recovering alcoholic caused an emotional reaction for Arquilla, who admitted that his father, who had once worked on the factory floor at a Roto-Rooter plant, also battled alcoholism but died before he could turn his life around.
Read the full story on CBS News
Des Moines Rotor-Rooter welder on ‘Undercover Boss’
Dan Nicholson spends his days garbed in heavy protective gear, enduring sweltering temperatures while melding metal together for machine frames.
The 48-year-old is a welder at Roto-Rooter, the plumbing and drain cleaning service founded in Des Moines 75 years ago.
On Feb. 12, Nicholson was asked to teach Hank, a newbie, how to wield a fiery torch. He was up to the challenge — the Indianola native has trained six welders during his 13 years at the company.
But things were different with Hank.
“I had a real hard time teaching Hank how to weld. I told him that I had an easier time teaching my kids how to weld,” he said, adding that he taught his own brood when they were just 8 and 12 years old.
What Nicholson didn’t know is that Hank was really Rick Arquilla, president and COO of Roto-Rooter.
“I had no idea he was a white collar worker,” Nicholson said.
Read the rest of the story on Des Moines Register
Undercover Boss: Escaping GM’s Abusive Corporate Culture
BNET has an interview with Joel Manby, CEO of Herschand Family Entertainment, a privately held $300 million company with 10,000 employees and 24 theme parks around the country. Here are some of the Q&A:
Tobak: Tell me about the leadership culture at Herschend.
Manby: We have a common culture that we’re trying to create at all our properties. It’s a “servant leadership” culture; we have an objective of being a great place to work for great people. Servant leadership is actually a faith-based concept, but we adapted the behavior, not the faith. It has eight attributes that leaders are measured on. Half of their raise and bonus is based on how they go about their work, and half is based on hitting their numbers, so it creates a really strong culture. And as you know, every great company has a strong culture.
Tobak: So, what are the eight attributes?
Manby: Patience, kindness, honesty, humility, respectfulness, selflessness, forgiveness and commitment. You can dislike somebody, but you can still respect them, forgive them, and treat them with humility and honesty. We also have a phrase: “admonish in private, praise in public.” So you don’t embarrass people.

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