All language subtitles for Undercover.boss.S03E08.x264-mSD.English-WWW.MY-SUBS.CO

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Male announcer:
This week on Undercover Boss,

the CEO of Yankee Candle,

the world's largest candle manufacturer,

poses as an out-of-work chef
looking to learn

about the retail business.

- I'm Dan.
- You're the guy, huh?

I'm the guy.

Should I put on my apron?
Definitely put on your apron.

Cool.
[Laughs]

Announcer: By working on the front lines,

this high-powered perfectionist
will see what it's really like

to burn the candle at both ends.
[Laughs]

Sorry about that.

Time to make the candles.

[Clank]

- Oh, man.
- That's the last thing we need,

is customers to get hurt... smashed jars.

The biggest pain, you know,
kids are gonna get messy.

Announcer:
But what will happen when he learns

that not all of his employees
share the same enthusiasm

for their jobs as he does?

They'll dip it a million times.

Leave you a mess like this.

Sometimes, I feel like punching
an eight-year-old.

Announcer: Find out next

on Undercover Boss.

Undercover Boss 3x08 - Yankee Candle (March 30, 2012)
Sync, corrected by atrn97g - www.MY-SUBS.com

[Entrance bell jingles]

Hello, welcome to Yankee Candle.

Announcer: Headquartered in
South Deerfield, Massachusetts,

Yankee Candle Company is
the largest candle manufacturer

in the world,

making more
than 200 million candles a year

and producing $730 million
in annual revenue.

Overseeing the 6,400 employees that keep

this business burning, is one man.

I'm Harlan Kent,

president and CEO of Yankee Candle.

Yankee Candle

started in 1969, by Mike Kittredge.

Mike was about 16 at the time.

So he melted some crayons
and made this fabulous candle.

One of the neighbors
asked if she could buy it,

he realized he had something,

and the rest is history.

Today we have about 550 stores.

Our sales last year were $730 million.

And our plan is just to build the business

to over a billion dollars.

You think of candles as just
something that you have

to decorate your home.

It's much more than that.

I think that we're really in
creating-emotions business...

is really what Yankee's all about.

I believe fragrance is a trigger

that then brings you back

to wonderful moments in your past.

People have true connections
to our candles.

- Hi, guys.
All: - Hi.

We evaluate over 2,000
new fragrances a year.

The first fragrance is holiday berries.

Okay.

There's a lot of science
that goes into candles.

You can't just add fragrance to a candle

and then it's gonna smell okay.

It's how that fragrance works
with the wax,

once you add a wick to that,

how that changes
the whole fragrance experience.

I'm getting a lot
of the earthy notes, are you?

Yeah, I love it.

Makes me think of staying in a nice hotel.

Oh, yeah.

Those are things, you know,
that I take very seriously.

I grew up in Greenwich, Connecticut,

with my parents and my sister.

It was certainly an affluent town.

I went to High School
at Phillips Exeter Academy,

then Dartmouth College.

My parents thought that it was
incredibly important

that my sister and I
really work hard in school.

And you certainly felt pressure.

You always really cared what
your parents thought of you.

So you always were trying to live up

to their expectations, and, um,

I was always trying to impress my dad.

I definitely didn't see
eye to eye with my dad always.

When I was a kid,

he thought it would be interesting

to get a pilot's license.

So he used to take us up in the planes

and practice stalls

and do all sorts
of crazy things like that.

He's fearless.

And he was very comfortable
living by the seat of his pants.

And I'm less of a risk taker than he is.

When I was gonna interview
for Yankee Candle,

I called my dad.

And he said,

"that's the stupidest idea
I've ever heard."

"Nobody's burning candles
on the dinner table anymore."

And I said, "dad, these aren't
those kind of candles."

"These are, like, fragrance candles."

And he goes, "well,
I don't know what those are,"

"but that sounds like a horrible business."

You know, he said his piece,
and then he left it up to me.

I don't want to fail at things

and I don't want to let my dad down.

Every day, I worry about that.

I've been CEO for two years now.

This is my first chance to be a CEO.

[Door shuts] I'm constantly worrying.

Are we doing all the right stuff?

What could go wrong?

One misstep could destroy your brand

if you don't do it the right way.

There's a lot of pressure.

You don't spend a lot of time sleeping.

Oh, nice catch.
[Laughs]

I'm incredibly lucky. I have a great wife,

and we've got three kids.

- What kind of defense is that?
- Too fast.

Things have worked out
really well for me, personally.

[Sizzling]
Oh, they're looking good.

Yup. Always been a foodie.

I went to cooking school
at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris.

So, Harlan, are you nervous

about what you're about to go through?

I'm incredibly nervous.

Harlan is very hard on himself.

- He's a perfectionist.
- Perfect...

just like a fancy Italian restaurant.

He sets very high goals
for himself and his company,

and he works really hard
to make those goals happen.

All right, guys, let's eat.

- Oh, man, that smells good.
- Mm-hmm.

I'm definitely going undercover

to help us be the kind of company

that I think we can be,

and that's a billion-dollar
candle company.

It would break my heart
if I walk into a store

and our associates are rude
or not approachable.

I want to see, firsthand,

are we really bringing that emotion,

in terms of how we're making our products

and how we're selling
our products in our stores.

While undercover,
I'll be posing as Dan Johnson,

a chef from Cincinnati, Ohio.

My coworkers will be told
that I am a contestant

on a reality TV show called
Second Chances,

where I'm given a second chance
at starting a new line of work.

Hey, Patty, Jack.

[Laughter]

Yeah?

I have to tell you,
you look a lot younger.

Hey, don't be touching my soul patch.

[Laughter] See you, guys.

Both: Bye, dad.

Today, I am in
South Deerfield, Massachusetts,

at our flagship store.

This is the most important store,

in terms of setting the tone,

for the Yankee Candle brand.

This is a great store for families.

We've got the husband and wife...

there's a lot of great products for them.

But there's also great things for kids.

We've got make-your-own-candle stations,

we've got wax hand station.

What I'm interested in seeing here...

is there a real focus on customer service?

Are people having fun
and are they feeling good?

Because when people are feeling good,

then they buy stuff.

I'm looking for Blaze.

We need to make this retail-tainment.

Are you Blaze?

- Yes.
- I'm Dan.

- Nice to meet you, Dan.
- Hey, how are you?

- Good, how are you?
- This is such a big place,

it took me a little bit of time
to get around here.

Understandable, understandable.

So I'm gonna be training with you today?

- Yes.
- Cool.

We're gonna do a few different things.

We're gonna do a wax hand,

which is just make a cast
of your hand out of wax.

It's definitely popular.

We're gonna do "dip your own candle,"

which you take the different colors,

put them over the wax...
kids really love it.

Great.

You're just taking uncolored wax

and you're dipping it
in vats of colored wax.

Guest comes up... you have the chart,

and the instructions to make a rainbow.

Over here, the biggest pain is just,

you know, kids are gonna get messy.

Hi, how are you?
You want to make a candle today?

- What's your name?
- Taylor.

Taylor? All right.

Done this before? Yeah? A professional?

- Very nice.
- Here? Okay.

Oh, is that a Christmas tree?

- Oh, that's so pretty.
- Nice.

Where are you guys from?

- Just north of Greenfield.
- Okay.

- Is that it?
- Thank you very much.

- Thank you.
- Absolutely, have a great day.

Those people were incredibly nice.

They're not all gonna be like that.

A lot of the times, you know,
they'll come up.

Little kid... they'll just kind
of want to make a mess,

do whatever. That's a pain.

Give me just a second,
I'm gonna be that hellish child.

They're gonna come up...

Oh, my God.

"I dropped it. Can I get another?"

"Well, no, you definitely
dropped that in there,"

"'cause, you know, [...]."

And there has been instances

where you're gonna want
to strangle and slap the kid.

[Laughs]

Oh, my...

To be completely honest with you,

I have the worst temper.

Can't stand in line at a supermarket

without getting pissed off
at the guy in front of me

for talking on the cell phone.

As much as, you know, you hate your boss,

hate that woman you're working with,

with the really high, screechy,
annoying voice,

you got to keep
that Yankee Candle big smile.

That's pretty much

the biggest part of the whole job...

is just making sure that you look happy

as much as you hate
whoever you're working with.

He's angry about some things.

I'm not sure what exactly it is
that's making him angry.

But that's not great
for all the rest of the team

who does think
that it's a great place to work.

They'll dip it a million times...

leave you a mess like this.

As bad as this comes across,

sometimes I feel like punching
an eight-year-old.

All right, come on.
We're gonna do some wax hands.

That'd be great.

Basically what happens
is we go back and forth

between wax and water,
a bunch of times, on your hand.

And we make a cast of your hand,
like this.

Bring it home, put it on the mantel...

whatever you want. Come around this side.

It'll be easier. Let's get this started.

Right down there.
Right up onto your wrist.

Whoa, that's cold. Phew!

- That is freezing in here.
- Yeah, take your hand out.

You're just gonna shake it off
just a little bit.

Just kind of scarecrow the elbow.

This hand relaxing... go into the wax.

Take it out.

- Find all the imperfections.
- Smooth it. Okay.

Just takes a little bit of practice.

Then you just have them figure out

whatever color they want.

And it's just like you're
putting their hand in this one.

The only difference is... It's colored.

So, you know, they get kind of nervous...

they don't see what it is.
See where it's going.

Just kind of explain
how it's the exact same thing,

exact same temperature.

It's a lot cooler,
'cause it comes out a color.

- It's the hulk.
- Absolutely.

So cool.

It's a weird situation
to throw yourself into...

throwing people's hands in wax,
that you've never met before.

- Okay.
- Keep that there.

It's odd.

You want to tug it just a little bit.

Big knuckles. It's my big knuckles.

No, it happens all the time.

Wouldn't say
I'm a specialist yet, but, uh,

usually it would come out
pretty and wonderful,

and you'd have a hand.

But that's basically the whole process.

- Cool, okay.
- Want to give it a try?

Yeah, sure.

Have some fun. I'll be around, all right?

All right. Who's getting their hands done?

It's a really awkward,
time-consuming process as it is.

It's quite chilly. [Guffaws]

So he's gonna suck at this.

You guys have got great hands.

These are some of the nicest
I've worked with.

Jake, what do you think?
How's this looking?

- They looking okay?
- Yeah.

Oh, perfect. Oh, you're doing great.

That was the hard part.

So let's turn your wrist over this way.

There we go. Look at that!

- Yay.
- Isn't that amazing?

- That is cool.
- Okay.

Okay, come on in.

He already looks like he knows what to do.

When this thing stands up,
you can put this on your mantel.

That came out perfect.

I can't put my finger
on what's going on...

You actually turned out
to have the perfect-sized hand.

But things just don't seem

to be fitting together naturally.

He seems too good at the situation.

- Want to go take a five?
- Sure, that'd be great.

Come on, man.
Both: [Grunting]

Wow, that standing up
gets tiring after a while.

Yeah, right?

So how long have you been doing this?

- Two years.
- Okay.

What about you? What's going on with you?

Had a restaurant, but, um,

- ended up having to close it.
- That's rough.

Just looking at some other ideas.

I mean, you're...
you're good at this, man.

He was in the restaurant business.

I don't know about anybody else,

but when I go to get a steak,

not too often is the guy like,

"hey, you want a wax hand with that?"

I mean, you seem unnaturally comfortable

- doing the stuff here...
- Hey, look...

to the extent that I... I can't shake it,

like you've done this before.

Kind of driving myself insane
in the fact that

I want to ask him about it,
'cause he does seem familiar...

- Well, yeah.
- Get back?

- Yeah, I guess.
- Let's go.

But at the same time,

I don't want to come out and be like,

"you're #$&* me, aren't you?"

All right, let's go see
if they need our help.

Oh, all orange. Nice.

Announcer: Harlan Kent,

CEO of Yankee Candle,

is a boss undercover in his own company.

Got a weird feeling about this.

Announcer: But maybe not for long.

Seems like he's really good at doing this.

He just doesn't look natural.

He's really suspicious.

I don't like deceiving him.

I'd feel a lot more comfortable
if I just say,

"here's who I am."

Hey, Blaze.

- How'd it go, man?
- Oh, it's good.

I want to talk to you straight,
for a second.

[Titters]
So my guess is, uh,

you have some ideas that
I probably might not be a chef

- who's come here from Cincinnati.
- Maybe a little.

Is that kind of the way it was going?

[Laughs] - Yeah.
- So, uh...

so my name is Harlan Kent.

I assumed it was you, Mr. Kent.

[Laughter]

You don't need to call me "mister."

I'm not that old.

But, um, when I listen as Harlan Kent,

I hear certain things.

When I listen as Joe Schmoe,

I hear a lot more real things,
in terms of what's going on.

It sounds like you've got stuff
that isn't working here.

I just told the CEO

that sometimes I feel like
punching an eight-year-old.

That's kind of like, okay, well,

it wasn't exactly what I was
expecting when I came to work.

If you're not even thinking,
"hey, this is great,"

or "there's stuff
that could be better here"...

I'd love to spend some time with you,

um, just catching up afterwards.

This is a job where you need
to be passionate about it,

or it's probably not necessarily
the best place for you.

Now is not the time and place

to have a conversation with Blaze,

but I'm gonna need
to talk with him some more.

Because I need to get
a lot more information

before I can make
an informed decision here.

You don't know me well enough,

but I really care about this
stuff, like, you have no idea.

- So have a good night.
- You too, man.

I'll talk to you soon.

Today, I'm at our plant
in Whately, Massachusetts,

and I'm gonna be working on the line.

This is our only plant at Yankee Candle,

so this is where 100%
of our candles are produced...

over 200 million candles a year.

The candles made here will wind up

in stores throughout the United States.

We also export all over the world.

I'm looking for Jose.

Okay.

What I really want to see is,
are we passionate

about quality,

in terms of how we're making
the product here?

And after getting discovered
by Blaze yesterday,

I'm really hoping my disguise holds up.

Excuse me, are you Jose?

Yes. How are you doing?

- You're the guy?
- I'm Dan. How are you?

- You're the guy, huh?
- I'm the guy.

Finally here to do your thing, brother.

- I am, I am.
- We're gonna be packing here.

We're working on the end of line seven.

We will pack the jars
that will come to us in the end.

- So first, here, right here.
- Good to go?

Yeah. You're gonna be
taking a quick look at labels.

Sometimes they might be
a little off-center,

but that's all right.

But if it's way too off-center,
just got to put it aside,

upside down.

And then you can give it
to the label operator

in a little bit.

Things that don't look right?
That's a big deal here?

Oh, just put yourself
in a customer's shoe.

What if, like, you bought this candle

and you get it like this.

I mean, you're kind of gonna ask yourself,

"well, I'm paying $14.99 for this candle."

"I want it to be good."

Yep, that sounds good.

Go ahead. Please give it a shot.

- Okay, so I've got...
- Pull it right there, yep.

You just throw it right in there, yep.

All right, in here.

Make sure there's six in there.

Oh, you got to be careful there.

Now, if that ever happens...
Check to see if I...

make sure that you see
if there's a crack in it.

'Cause if you cracked and you send it,

- that's a cracked candle.
- Jose was all over quality.

Right from the get-go,

everything was about quality.

That's the last thing we need
is customers to get hurt...

- smashed, charged.
- I want no cheaters.

I'm feeling good about that.

So how many of these can you do?

7,000 to 8,000 candles a day.
[Clank]

- 8,000?
- Yes.

So I'm gonna leave you alone for a minute.

I'll come back and check on you.

I'll do my best.

Oh, man.

The speed and pace of all
this stuff is really fast.

So lids were falling off left and right,

I couldn't make the boxes fast enough,

I was way backed up,

so this has been a little tricky for me.

Okay.

[Clinking]
You're killing me, here,

just killing me.

Dan is definitely letting
the jars pile up too much.

I mean, you've got to stay focused here.

You've got a disaster here.

I'm gonna help you out
a little bit here, Dan.

Try to... we're gonna get caught up here.

I am letting you down, bud, I'm sorry.

I think Dan came in here
with a little bit of cockiness,

but it kind of humbled him instantly

when the jars started piling up.

Some people come in and think
it is gonna be easy for them.

I did not think this was gonna be easy.

So what do you like about working here?

To be honest with you, man,
I think sometimes it's hard...

in a big company like this,

I think it's kind of hard to move up.

- Yes.
- I think it's kind of hard

to move up, because I'm not a kiss-ass.

I've kind of seen a lot where guys...

were pretty good at kissing ass...

and moved up in life, in this company.

- Playing the politician game.
- Is there a lot of politics?

Oh, lots of politics, my friend.

I think it takes a lot
of ammunition out of people.

When they feel that way,
they won't work as hard.

That's not a good thing at all.

You got to put 100% into it.

You got to put 100% into it.
That's what life is, man.

I mean, no one's gonna do it for you, man.

I would never take... what
I've been through in my life,

I wouldn't trade it.

My dad was a heroin addict.

He died at a young age.

I was 16... he died, in 1985, of AIDS.

He ended up catching AIDS
from shooting needles.

I have actually witnessed him
shooting needles.

14 to 16, we kind of dealt
with seeing him die slowly.

My mom was very heavy into selling drugs.

You know, can you imagine me
being a freshman in high school?

I'd get home from school,
I want to pour a bowl of cereal,

ATF breaks right into the doors...

front and back... boom.

What are you gonna do with that?

So who raised you then?

The streets. The streets raised me.

When I was 16, I was really fortunate...

I was in boarding school,

I was focused on my schoolwork.

I wasn't trying to survive.

These guys are fully masked,
and AK-47s in the backyard.

I'm a kid, man.

Imagine what that would do to my mind.

Jose hasn't had a whole lot
of positive role models

in his life.

I feel incredibly lucky
that I had my parents

and that I have my dad.

I've been given a tremendous amount.

I'm a really lucky person.

I think struggles teach you
how to just deal with life, man.

- In Lowell, Mass.
- Yeah.

Me and two partners of mine...

I was a former professional fighter...

we have just recently opened up
a mixed martial arts gym

in Greenfield, about a month ago.

We got a few students working out.

Hey, maybe, if you're interested,

after this, we could probably
head down there.

I could give you a nice little workout...

see if you got that mental toughness.

I would like to try that.

I'd probably think that was very cool.

So they don't give you grief
when you walk into the gym

smelling like frosted cinnamon?
[Laughter]

Can't be an animal all the time, right?

I guess.

- This is the end of the run.
- Okay.

Got to say, Dan,
you handled that pretty good.

Thank you for saying that.

- Send this through.
- Okay.

You tell the gentleman
this is the end of the run.

[Door squeaks] After you, my friend.

- This is it.
- This is incredibly cool.

Team Ravenous in action.

You should have seen this place
when we first looked at it.

It was nothing but dirt,
dead rats in the corner.

Good band of brothers, right here, man.

I mean, this is... we don't need
something really fancy.

What for? I mean, we're fighters.

This is gritty.

Where'd you get the money for that?

We actually had a couple
fundraiser parties,

- that we had last summer.
- Cool.

And we had a bunch of people
come in with raffle tickets...

- And that's how you bought...
Both: - The mats.

How we bought bags, but, um,

I'm just glad to have this, though.

Because if I can see
a kid going the wrong way,

I can introduce him to this,

and I just know he's gonna love it.

Today was fabulous for me.

I mean, Jose is a tremendous person.

These guys... it's all about hard work

and relying on yourself.

And I genuinely feel honored
and feel really lucky

that a guy who's as much of a stand-up,

quality guy like that
is working at Yankee Candle.

Announcer: Coming up...

We've got about 24 minutes to open.

Announcer: Harlan gets
up close and personal

with the dirty details of retail.

- How're we doing?
- Good.

Today, I'm in Peachtree City, Georgia.

I'll be working with one
of our store managers.

The Georgia market is
a more difficult market for us.

And this store, in particular,

is not doing as great as we would like.

So I'm not sure what all is going on here.

I'm interested in finding out

what's impacting this store's performance.

- Hi, how are you?
- I'm Dan.

Nice to meet you, Dan. I'm Megan.

- Come on in.
- Hi, Megan.

It smells great in here.

So we need to get the floor vacuumed

and make sure that everything looks good.

You're gonna want to push it up,
like that, so it'll roll.

You want to make sure to get
everything around the front,

'cause our guests,
when they first come in,

that's your only chance you have
to make that best impression.

It's on the side.

[Motor whirs]

Retail is details.

And it's the little things.

I'd like to make sure

that the experience that our customer has

is perfect every single time.

[Motor whir dwindles, then starts again]

[Motor stops and starts again]

[Motor dwindles to a stop]
Our day started off slow.

I think Dan's doing good.

He does need
to move a little faster though.

We might also want to grab a broom,

'cause we can see all
these cobwebs up front here.

We're gonna get the insides
of the big windows also.

Okay.

But go ahead and get all that swept out.

- I will, all right.
- Mm-hmm.

- Is this an old store?
- It is.

This store is over ten years old.

You know, it's been around
for quite a while.

I had a gentleman in my store,
the other day from corporate,

and I was trying to explain how,

when you're walking up on our store,

the first thing you see

is the cracks and the splits in the wood.

But it didn't seem that...

didn't seem like it wanted
to be listened to.

How the store looks is important.

I'm a type "A" guy, and this
is really, really tough.

It kills us, not to have
absolutely spotless,

spanking clean stores.

And I want to work really, really hard

to figure out how to get that fixed.

Let's take that on back to the bathroom,

- 'cause you're gonna need it.
- All right, I'm on it.

There is no job that is too low

for anybody at Yankee Candle to be doing.

[Entrance bell jingles]

How are you ladies doing today?

- Good, how are you?
- Doing good.

It's the job of everyone
to make that store look perfect.

Smells like real apple cider, doesn't it?

[Toilet flushes] It's already taken him

a little bit longer than it should.

And that's extra time
that he could be putting

towards another task.
How're we doing?

- Good. Not bad.
- Looking good.

You got it nice and spiffy. All right.

We're gonna go ahead
and get on one of the shelves.

We're gonna get it cleaned
and straightened.

And you're gonna need
to remember everything you see,

'cause you need to make sure

that you set it back
exactly the way you see it.

You don't want a customer
pulling for a jar

and having a big, old dust bunny
on the end of it,

come out in their face.

That's really not gonna
make 'em want to buy anything,

- so, yes.
- I don't know

what a dust bunny is, but that sounds bad.

[Clinking]

Okay.

Look at the shelves that are around it.

Do you notice anything different

between those shelves and your shelves?

There's a lot of space in them.

- That's right.
- That's a problem.

Yup.

That's what I was thinking
about the space.

I was going,
"why do I have so much space?"

Now, I know.

Gives you the ability
to house another six jars

and keep those out of the back room.

Everything's pulled forward to the front?

- Yep.
- Okay.

So we want to get the customers
to come into the store.

So it's always good
to entice them with coupons.

And don't be discouraged
if somebody tells you no.

- Okay. Hi, how are you?
- How are you, today?

Would you like a coupon
for Yankee Candle today?

- I'm good.
- Okay.

See? It's okay.

Don't get your feelings hurt.
It's all right.

All right, let's walk up this way

and see if we can drum up
a few more customers.

- Where are you originally from?
- Cincinnati.

But, um, it's been a tough economy.

I can definitely feel you on that one.

My husband and I,
we owned a tattoo studio.

People started cutting back.
Tattooing was a big one.

Not only that, but I have epilepsy,

so I can't drive.

Really. Have you always had it?

- Ever since you were a kid?
- No.

Um, it started happening

whenever I was about 19, 20 years old.

I was driving home,
one day with my nephew,

and I went through an intersection.

It was the last thing I remember.

I woke up in the hospital, later on.

I hit a phone poll doing 40 miles an hour

with my nephew in the car with me.

And it's a good thing he was in,
you know, a car seat

and he was buckled up.

But they're not sure
what causes my epilepsy,

and we haven't been able
to find a medication yet

that controls it properly.

So my husband drives me everywhere.

Oh, that must be real tough for him.

We live about 12 miles away,

so he's doing four trips a day.

So it is kind of hard on gas.

Megan is obviously a very strong woman.

Really impressive
in a lot of different ways.

She'd taken ownership of the store

and she was passionate

about wanting that store to look great.

Hey, would you guys like some coupons?

- Buy two candles, get two free?
- Okay.

[Train whistle blows]

Today, I'm gonna be working

as a second assistant sales manager

in Center Valley, Pennsylvania.

I'm looking for Dan.

Oh, he's right back in that room there.

Oh, great, thanks.

There's a lot of turnover in retail.

And it's really important to me
that we've got the best people

working in those jobs.

So I'm excited to see

if we're getting the right folks
into the right positions.

- Are you Dan?
- I'm Dan.

- Are you my trainee?
- I'm... I'm Dan. [Laughs]

- Oh, this is weird.
- It's a great name you got.

All right, so I'm the
second assistant manager here.

My job, basically,

is just making
sure everything's going fine,

you know, customer complaints...
just kind of running the show.

Today, we need to set up a new display.

- Ready to get started?
- Should I put on my apron?

You should definitely put on your apron.

Good.
[Laughs]

We have these things
called "planograms"...

is the name for 'em.

It's just a bunch of pictures
of how the display should be.

- Okay.
- It's easy to grasp.

Corporate has said,

"here's what the display
should look like."

We're going to be setting
that display up there.

But then where the rubber
meets the road here,

is when that team in the store

actually has to bring that to life.

On the planogram I gave you,

there's gift bags and gift boxes,

which we haven't actually gotten in yet.

- Oh, no.
- So what you need to do

is improvise it, and put
whatever you think looks good.

You have about a half hour to do this.

Yeah, it takes, you know, 10, 20 minutes,

but you'll have to get
the hang of things a little bit.

So...

Six inch... these big guys.

[Muttering]

[Clank]

Sorry about that. [Chuckles]

I was in a rush,

and I was trying to be
as careful as possible.

So this looks like this kind of goes...

here.

Dan didn't have a good sense of urgency.

He could have worked a lot faster.

That was a problem.

- So you are over time.
- Okay.

You can see, comparing
the picture to the display,

it's not 100% perfect.

Like that... that looks a lot emptier

- than it does on the picture.
- Right.

- But it'll have to do.
- Okay, well, thanks.

Thanks for cutting me
some slack with this.

It'll look even better
once we get the bags in.

It was interesting,
'cause when she sort of said

"hey, get this," I was looking back.

It's like, "do you have all
the stuff to make the display?"

Sometimes we don't.

Today was a big surprise.

It really is critically important

that the right stuff is in the store

to build the displays with.

Like, when stuff like that happens,

you sort of have to make the best of it.

We need to get that inventory
into the stores

and do it quickly.

That's gonna be one of the key things

I want to go back
and talk to the team about.

Um, so this is my favorite part...

- is selling to people.
- Okay.

How are you, today?

I see you're going all...
[Register beeps] all seasons in.

Dan brings a whole new approach

to selling Yankee candles,
that's for sure.

I will see you back with your coupons.

- Yes.
- Does it sound like a plan?

Have a yankee-candle-rific day.

- You're doing it.
- He's a little quirky,

um, but he's got a heart of gold.

So, for lunch today,

we'll be doing the Dan special.

[Microwave beeps]
Cool.

I don't think I've had
a microwave sandwich in a while.

It's time to live it up, today.

Yeah.
[Laughs]

Look at... look, this is so nice.

And during the summer,
kids come with their parents.

I can see why.

Have you got brothers and sisters?

I have two older brothers

who have moved out of the house, you know.

And right now, at the house,

it's me, my mom, and my little sister.

Is your dad, uh...

he, um, he passed away last June.

- Ugh.
- Um...

I am so sorry to hear that.

Yeah, he, um, had kidney failure.

It got really depressing
the last few months.

It kind of, like, kicked me into gear,

like, just seeing that. Like, being, like,

you know, my mom needs me.

She totally needed you. Oh, God.

- Yeah.
- That's very, very hard.

He was the best dad ever.

You know, if I could be
anything like he is,

- I... that's all I want, you know.
- Yeah.

I know the feeling, in terms
of trying to be like your dad.

- That's hard to do.
- And, and,

like, I need to help
my mom and sister, you know.

I need to be there for them, you know.

But, you know, the next few years,

while I'm in college,
it's just going to class

then coming to work afterwards,

you know, like, when do I study?

He'd be so proud of you.
He would be so proud of you.

I mean, he really would.

And I totally get how tough that must be.

Yeah.

I can't imagine losing your father.

I feel incredibly lucky that
my dad is as healthy as he is.

Listening to today's story

will probably mean I'll give him a call.

Well, thanks for the sandwich.

Anytime to anyone with my name.

- It's a Dan thing.
- Yep, it is a Dan thing.

[Birds chirping]

I'm feeling pretty, um, pretty different

now that this is drawing to an end.

So I've snuck into our fitness center.

I find that helps me organize my thoughts.

I came into this

wanting to only see
how our company was doing.

And what I really found out
was I'm not as nervous

about what it is that I'm doing,
as I was at the start of this,

because watching how
some young people have dealt

with adversity,

listening to the losses that they had,

of parents in their lives,

I'm not sure I, personally,
would have been able

to handle it as well as they have.

I walk away from this
feeling incredibly blessed.

Without my dad's help,
I never would have gotten

to where I am.

But I need to get myself ready
for a big conversation

that I need to have.

And it's gonna be difficult.

And somebody's definitely
not going to be happy.

While the life stories
of our employees are amazing,

I also had the opportunity
to learn a tremendous amount

about our company.

No more soul patch.

Today, all of our employees
have been called

to our flagship store
here at our headquarters

in Massachusetts. The employees believe

that they have the opportunity to weigh in

on whether they think
that I should stay as a chef

or be given a second chance
to pursue a new career.

Um, to be honest,

I don't know whether or not
he deserves a second chance.

Hey, Harlan.

- You're Harlan Kent.
- Have you met me before?

I have not met you,

but you have your CEO blog I read.

Okay, so you probably don't know,

- but I'm Dan Johnson.
- Dan. [Laughs]

- I'm "the man" Dan.
- Oh, my gosh.

I had you scrubbing our toilets.

I did scrub your toilets. I did.

Oh, my gosh.

Blaze, imagine meeting you here.

So, I was curious to catch up with you.

As you can imagine, Blaze,

using inappropriate language,
especially in a place

where you're trying
to create a great atmosphere...

that's just the wrong time, wrong place.

You're gonna want
to strangle and slap the kid.

Actually, other than
the situation at hand,

I never use inappropriate language.

Yeah, just drop it from your everyday use.

'Cause my sense was that
this was not something

that you were interested in
from a career perspective.

Not really.

It's a paycheck.

It's not, so much, the job in general.

It's, you know, it's hard
to act like a real human

when you need to make sure
that your emotions from home

don't show through.

Is everything okay at home with you?

That's a tough question.

I mean, my dad's definitely gone through

some very tough times,
but he's turned his life around.

Getting over alcohol and drug addition...

a very rough past.

And was that going on
when you were growing up, then?

Yeah.

I didn't realize quite

how difficult a hand you've been dealt.

That's tough to get through.

It's not like you can change it,

so you just got to work through it

and figure out what to do
to make yourself happy.

Have you got a role model
or somebody who can help you

with career advice, school advice,

things like that?

I just have, you know, advisors at school.

I don't feel the comfortableness

talking to 'em and asking 'em questions.

And that's hard. I mean, if you want to...

you don't have to do this
just 'cause I'm the CEO...

I'm offering this as a person
who's had the opportunity

to see a bunch of different things,

and would be more than happy to share

some of the lessons
that I've learned through that.

And I'd love to spend some time with you.

Definitely.

I've never had someone be like,

"I really want to help you."

I'm just trying to figure out a way

to help you do something where
you're psyched about doing it.

Yeah, that'd be great.

He was genuinely wanting
to help me figure out

what jobs I can do
that'll make me, you know,

excited to go to work,

rather than waking up and saying,

"oh, no, I have to go
to Yankee Candle today."

Jose, it was really impressive
working with you.

You were talking about the customers...

the customer want this,
the customer want that.

Those are things
that are super important to me.

I want to say thanks, 'cause
obviously you were listening

when folks were talking about
how important that stuff was.

There was one thing that we talked about

that definitely was
a little unsettling to me.

It's the kiss-ups in
the organization that get ahead.

I definitely feel like that... definitely.

In terms of who gets promoted
and who doesn't,

it isn't about the who you know,

it should be about what kind
of a job you can do.

And, as I said,
you've got tremendous skills.

I'd love it if you could bring
some of that passion

and some of that teaching
to other folks in the plant.

If you wouldn't mind, that would be great.

'Cause what I see you
as having potential for

is leading a team in some way.

I'd love that opportunity.
That would be great.

So one of the other things is,
is you coming

from a real tough family situation,

um, one of the things I'd like to do

is also give you $5,000

to use it however you like.

That's awesome.
I definitely appreciate that.

- That's awesome.
- $5,000 is for you.

What I'd like to do is make
a $10,000 investment

- in your gym.
- $10,000.

I know it's just getting off the ground,

but I think it's a really good cause,

and I think it's gonna have a big impact.

Man, those guys are gonna love that.

I want to go to the gym at some point.

Definitely welcome any time.

So if you could work
Yankee Candle, somehow,

into the gym name...
like "Team Yankee Ravenous"...

you know, that would be great.

I'm just kidding, I'm just kidding.

That's great, that's awesome.

Thanks very much. I really appreciate it.

Life was kind of hard for me, but, man,

definitely got hit
with a royal flush today.

- Thank you. Thanks for everything.
- Take care.

Life for me is definitely
gonna be different after today.

You know, like, hopefully,
I can help people the same way

one day, so...

Megan, you and I both share a passion

for the stores and how they look.

And it was music to my ears

when you were saying how much it hurt you

with the front of the store
not looking perfect.

So we're gonna renovate your store.
[Laughs]

Yay! Oh, my gosh.

The front of the store's
gonna look so pretty now.

What I'd also like to give you

is an all-expense-paid trip
for you and your family.

Are you for real?

Oh, my goodness.

The other thing I want to do is,

I actually sit on the board of directors

of two different hospitals.

And I would be happy

to use some of those connections

that I've got, in terms
of helping with your epilepsy.

Anything that has the chance
of helping me with this,

so I might be able to return back

to, at some point, a normal life?

Yes, I am totally open to that. Totally.

And I know it's incredibly expensive.

And, you know, what I would be happy to do

is provide for you $20,000
worth of medical expenses

and see if somebody's got some
new way to help you with it.

Thank you so much.

I've never had anything
like that ever happen before.

You're a good person.

Thank you. Thank you very much.

I try not to cry when
I get happy about something,

but I've never had anybody
be that generous before.

- Thank you.
- You're welcome.

I...

I think he needs a little set
of angel wings and a halo.

He's like a guardian angel.

I hear about treatments all the time,

but I know that I can't afford them.

It's wonderful.

I don't know what else to say.
It's wonderful.

This is probably a little
on the overwhelming side?

Uh, pretty much everything, yeah.

[Laughter]

Dan, you're a very nice, friendly guy.

But, more importantly, you're passionate,

and that really came across.

I have a passion for fragrance.

You do. [Laughs]

So I thought that was great.

Thank you so much.

Dan, I heard real clearly

how tough the passing
of your father has been.

Your positive attitude, Dan, is remarkable.

And it's the way my dad was, you know.

I can assure you

that your dad would be
incredibly proud of you.

I... I try.

I know it's raw for you, and...

tough for you, personally.

And that also can put
a huge financial burden

on a family.

Yeah.

So what I'd like to do
is give you $15,000.

[Guffaws]

To help your family,
and to help take care of them.

Wow.

I mean, what you're doing for my family,

I can never communicate how
thankful I will be forever.

Incredible.

You've got a lot of financial challenges.

Um, you're trying to figure out
how to pay for school.

What I'd like to do is,

is I'd like to give you $10,000... okay?...

to help you reduce your student loans.

I think you're doing
a really great job here.

Thank you so much.

You know, there's nothing more I want

than for my dad to see me, right now,

see everything that's happening.

I want to give you a hug.
[Laughs]

But, you know, I know that
he was proud of me at least.

I certainly have been inspired

by the life stories of our employees.

And I'm really looking forward

to getting a chance to reach out to my dad

and spend some time catching up with him,

as well as talking about
how much I appreciate him.

Dad, do you remember
when I was telling you

I was on my way to interview
at Yankee Candle

and you were telling me, why would I...

Yeah.

...be going to a candle company
of all things?

I remember very well.

Now that I obviously know

a great deal more
about the candle business

than I ever did know, I can imagine that

that was a very wise decision
on your part.

I'm feeling really lucky.

I've got the greatest job there is.

Things worked out really well,
and I'm really lucky to be here.

I'm eternally grateful
for the time that you spent

with giving me the lessons
and, more importantly,

the sacrifices you guys made.

Living up to your and mom's
expectations of me

has always been one of
the most important things to me.

Well, mom and I are as proud of you

as we could possibly be.

Sync and corrected by atrn97g
www.MY-SUBS.com