All language subtitles for Undercover Boss - Herschend Family Entertainment S1 EP7 (U.S. TV Series)

Male announcer: The economy
is going through tough times.

Many hard-working Americans
blame wealthy CEOs,

Out of touch
with what's going on

In their own companies.

But some bosses are willing
to take extreme action

To make
their businesses better.

-- Sync by elderman --
-- for www.addic7ed.com --

Each week,
we follow the boss

Of a major corporation

As they go undercover
into their own company.

This is John.

He's gonna be
working with you today.

This week,
the CEO of America's largest

Family-owned
theme park company

Poses as a new recruit.

Oh, you're a rookie?
Yes.

I am a rookie.

Whoa.
Okay, hold on.

The boss will
trade in his executive office

And expense account
for a beard,

Some boots, and a quacker.

No quacker, no ride.

It was rough.

We still got quite a bit of work
to do.

The biggest thing is that
you never know

What's gonna happen
when you come in.

You know you wanna help,

But you can't always
help everybody.

And he'll discover
the unsung heroes

That make his company run.

And I am so thankful
that I went through

This experience.

Find out what happens

In the most emotional reveal
of the season.

Next on Undercover Boss.

Undercover Boss 1x07
Herschend Family Entertainment
Original Air Date on March 28, 2010

Herschend Family Entertainment

Is the largest family-owned
theme park company in America,

Boasting some
of the most exciting attractions

From amusement parks,
aquariums,

And sightseeing tours
across the country.

At the apex of this
$300 million company is one man.

I'm Joel Manby,
and I'm CEO

Of Herschend Family
Entertainment.

We manage 22 properties
in nine states.

I've been CEO
for eight years now.

I grew up
in Battle Creek, Michigan,

And we had
a very humble upbringing.

We never had much money.

We lived in
a very, very small house.

I shared a bedroom
with my brothers,

And my parents lived
in the kitchen.

What I remember
is how hard my dad tried

To make a living,
and I think it's one reason

I'm kinda driven
to try to make sure

I provide for my family.

Cheater!

I have a wonderful family

Of six of us in total.

I have four daughters,
including little Annie

From an orphanage
in China.

I put a huge priority
on being with my kids,

But it hasn't always been
that way.

I've made huge mistakes
as a dad and a leader.

In the auto industry--

I started right
after undergraduate school.

Eventually became the CEO
of SAAB North America

At a very young age.

I was working so hard

And was so disconnected
from my family

That I literally had
a breakdown or just a meltdown.

I actually started drinking
too much.

It progressively got worse.

And his time for us
got more and more limited.

Markie, my wife, finally held
up the white flag and said,

"this is not
what I signed up for."

It was a very difficult decision
to leave the auto industry,

But I actually feel like

I was called to come to
this company.

My own religious belief
and Christian values and ethics,

They've helped me get through
a really, really rough period

Of my life,
and Herschend Entertainment

Is owned
by a Christian family,

So they try to bring
faith principles

Into the workplace.

I relish that.

This recession
has been incredibly difficult.

Attendance is down across
the board at all properties,

And we've had to make
some really difficult decisions.

We froze wages.

We just want to make sure our
folks are still taken care of

And feeling good about us
and the company

And what we do.

And I want to get
that unfiltered look.

That's why I want
to go undercover.

Bye, daddy.
Bye.

See you, guys.
Have fun.

See ya.
Bye, dad.

When I go undercover,

My name's gonna be
John Briggs.

And I'm gonna be a new recruit
to our company

Who was just laid off
from the auto industry.

I'm gonna grow a beard,
and I'm gonna cut my hair

And so forth, so...

I'll be telling my coworkers
that I'm being followed

By a TV crew documenting
what it's like to try out

Entry-level jobs
at Herschend.

You'll be in room 106.

I will miss my family a lot,

But I think it's important

To improve and change
for the company.

I'm here at Stone Mountain Park
in Atlanta, Georgia,

Georgia's number one
attraction.

And I specifically want to see
the Ride the Duck operation.

It's very important 'cause
it's about 5% of our revenue.

The duck captain is not part
of the experience.

He is the experience.

He's the one person

Interacting with the guests
that makes it or breaks it.

So it's really important to me

To see how they perform.

Hey. How are you?

Pretty good.
Good to meet you.

I'm John Briggs.
This is your uniform.

Restroom is right there
to your right.

I'll be right here waiting
on you when you get back.

All righty.
Thank you.

Now this is the duck.
This is an amphibious machine

Used in world war ii.

Captain Howard!
Yes, sir, boss.

Now this is captain Howard,
better known as Tiny.

Captain Howard, this is John.
How are you doing? I'm John.

He's gonna be
on our staff here.

Is he funny?
That's the question.

Yeah, that's the question.
We'll see.

I think I need to learn
from you.

Okay, well, come on. I'm gonna
show you a couple things.

This is the cockpit,
as we like to call it.

This is your place
of business.

You've got
three main responsibilities:

You're gonna drive this duck,
you're gonna talk to people,

And you're gonna play
some music for 'em.

It's all about jokes
and having fun.

Unlike the normal tours
that you would go on,

This is more of a show.
Okay.

I want to see you really--
how you interact with the kids.

Follow my lead,
and you'll see how I do it.

Like I said, for me,
it's the fun

Of the show
that's gonna make them happy.

So, but I'm gonna show you
how this goes down.

Should we do it?
Yeah. Are you ready?

3:00 duck!

Hey. How you doing?

Let me take your ticket.
What's your name?

Clara.
Clara.

May I have your ticket,
please?

What's your name?
Colette.

Colette.
Oh, I love that name.

All ready to go.

Make sure you guys get
a quacker

As you get on the duck,
all right?

Everybody gets a quacker.

no quacker, no ride.

this is where you're gonna get

A chance to see what I do.
Okay.

You gotta watch
what I'm doing here.

This is some serious stuff here,
okay?

All right.
All right, folks!

Little fella coming through

Right here
in the middle of the duck.

All right. Excuse me, guys.
Pardon me.

All right.

All right. Okay.

Let's see if I can
get this thing started here.

All right.

I want you guys to look
right over to your left here

And also introduce the mountain
to everybody.

Oh, yeah.

Does everybody know
about the mountain?

Well, it is 100--
what'd you tell me?

100 feet wide--
it's 100 feet high.

190 feet wide.

It's 60 feet deep.

I know you're training now.

Let me just explain real quick.

The mountain itself actually
spreads over five miles, guys,

Five miles around.
Wow.

And from top to bottom,
832 feet, from bottom to top.

All right.
The mountain itself is actually

In the Guinness Book
of world's records.

It's the largest piece
of exposed granite

In the whole entire world.
Wow.

Right there. That's what we're
looking at, all right, guys?

Are y'all ready to go
into the water?

Yeah!

All right. Guys, I'll tell you
what I'm gonna do.

As I get around this corner,

I'm gonna get this duck going
about 90 miles an hour.

We're gonna hit that water,
we're just gonna slide

Across the other side.
How's that sound to y'all?

Don't worry
about a thing, folks.

You'll all be fine.

It's simple.
I am a flotation device.

all right.

Please put your hands
in the air, guys.

Yeah!

All right, guys, everybody
say, "go, captain, go!"

Go, captain, go!

Yeeee-haw!

That was fun,
wasn't it?

Howard was just a blast.
He has such a rare talent.

I mean, he is really
into what he does.

I need a volunteer.

Who's gonna be
my first volunteer?

All right, have a seat there,
big guy.

We're gonna turn
this thing around

And start heading back
to the other way.

Are you ready?
Yeah.

Here we go.
You're driving.

You're in control.
Go, captain, go.

He kind of becomes a kid.

All right, let's give a hand
to captain Howard

For getting us out safe.

How he kind of acts
and the faces

And how he looks at 'em.

All right, captain Howard.

This was just a lot of fun.

The kids were really
having fun.

We have other
ride the duck locations.

It just made me wonder
if he's ever seen other tours

Or if other captains
from other markets

Have ever come here
because I think

They can really learn something
from each other.

Coming up,
Joel comes face-to-face

With an employee
who's gunning for his job.

I would like to be CEO

Of Herschend properties.
Who's in that job now?

Joel Manby is our CEO.

And later, Joel gets
his feet wet and his boss.

Whoa. Sorry, man.

Joel Manby, CEO of
Herschend Family Entertainment,

Is undercover
in his own company.

His coworkers think he's being
filmed for a documentary

About someone trying out
entry-level jobs.

His journey continues
in Branson, Missouri.

I'll be working two jobs here
at Silver Dollar City.

Silver Dollar City
is a very unique theme park.

It is one of our flagship parks,

And it's been in existence
for 50 years.

It is based
back in the 1880s.

I really wanted to come
to Silver Dollar City

Because we have the reputation

As the friendliest theme park
in the world.

I want to know
how they pull that off,

So I'm gonna work
the front gate.

That is the first impression

That the guest gets
of this whole experience.

Hi.
Hi, I'm deanna.

Hi, deanna. John.
Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you.

We're gonna go introduce you
to Albert.

You're gonna be working
with him today.

All right. Great.

Good morning, Albert.
Hey.

Hey.
Good morning.

This is John Briggs.
John. Nice to meet you.

My name is Albert.
Nice to meet you.

He's gonna working
with you today, okay?

Good deal.
All right.

Have a great day, guys.
All right, great.

Good to meet you.

You got a couple of things
for your outfit

That we still need
to get ya.

Let's see here.

Perfect.
Are we choking you yet?

No. We're good.

Here we go, John.
That work?

The only rule is
you can't look better than me.

Come on over here, John.
We'll get you on a turnstile.

Okay, let's do it.

This is all about
their first impressions.

So it's really
a fun experience.

So it's pretty simple.

All you got to do is call
someone over for a ticket.

Right over here, guys.

Scan their ticket,
and the turnstile unlocks.

All right.
And hand back their ticket.

Wanna give it a shot, John?

I guess so.
There you go.

I can help you over here,
sir.

Ma'am, I can take your ticket
over here.

She's already through.

I can help you
over here, ma'am.

Anybody?
We want to always interact

With our guests.
All right.

You want to make 'em
feel welcome.

This is the first thing
they see in the morning.

So if they don't feel welcome
when they come in,

They're not gonna feel welcome
in the park.

We can never help our guests
too much.

Tickets right here, folks.

Thank you. Come on through.
Have a great day.

How are you today, ma'am?
I'm fine.

It's a gorgeous day,
isn't it?

Right over here, folks.
I can get your tickets.

There you go.
You come on through.

Have a great day, all right?

A season pass holder.
All right.

And just make sure
to check her I.D.

You're from Maine? All right,
good to have you here.

Gonna match the name
with the name.

Come on in, sir.

Okay, John, let's go ahead,
and you can come over here,

And we can keep things
flowing smoothly.

I like that.
That's fun.

Yeah, it's a lot of fun.

You get to interact
with the guests.

And it's one of the biggest
parts of my day

'cause I love interacting
with people.

Okay, John, well, we're in the
back of the stroller booth here.

And we need
to just keep stocking.

Okay.
Grab a double stroller there,

Couple of 'em.

One of our main goals is to keep
this area out here stocked.

So that when
they sell strollers,

The guests can come over here
and grab 'em.

If we get a flood of people,

Then we'll be hurting
if we don't get this stocked.

There's a couple of ways you can
knock down a stack of strollers.

Holy cow.

You can't hurt
the strollers,

So don't be afraid
of the strollers.

Just watch out for yourself.

And we're just gonna go ahead
and stockpile

Over here for right now.
Okay.

Will we go through all these
in one day?

Well, we sure hope to today.

Saturday's usually
a pretty busy day.

And let's go ahead and knock
some more down back here.

Just a very fast-working guy.

It's hard to keep up
with him.

So, Albert, how long
have you worked here?

This is my sixth year
on park.

Sixth year.
Yes, sir.

So you were here
since you were fif--

14.
14?

Yes, sir.
Mom said, "get a job,"

So I listened.
That's how that works.

Wow.

Yeah, we could use
another double stroller

And a couple
of single strollers.

And now we're ready
for the next rush of people.

Let's go into
the break room here,

And we'll have ourselves
some lunch.

All right.
That sounds good.

I grew up at this park.

I've been on this park
since I was two years old.

I have all these ideas

About theme parks
and stuff.

It's not just a place I work.
It's my passion too.

I love
the theme park industry.

I'd really like to get
into designing if I could.

You know, if that's something
that I'm led to.

Design attractions, yeah.

I've been working
on a couple designs,

And I've got some,
if you wouldn't mind seeing 'em.

No, I wouldn't mind
at all.

So this one is set
on Lake Silver,

The man-made lake
here at the park.

You're underwater at this point.

You're underwater
at this point.

Do other coasters go
underwater like that?

To my knowledge,
there's not a coaster

That goes underwater.

So that's another benefit
to it.

You want to go to
a design school?

I don't know yet.
That's the problem,

Is that I come
from a pretty poor family.

We weren't well off
in any sense.

And so I have to work
to go to school.

And I'm trying to go to school
for work.

I'm just doing ten hours
this semester

And then working 40-plus hours
a week also.

Oh, wow.
What do you think

The ideal job is here?

Um, I would like
to eventually be a CEO

Of Herschend properties.

Who's in that job now?

Joel Manby is our CEO.
Mm-hmm.

He is an awesome guy.

I think that's--that's
something within your control.

I just know by seeing
the type of person you are.

You've been fun to work with.

But that's what this park
is all about.

I don't even feel
like you're my boss.

Exactly,
but at a point,

I'm gonna have to become
your boss again,

'cause we got
to go back to work.

I know we got
to go back to work.

I think our break's over with.

I have a lot of emotion
for Albert.

I really respect his passion
and energy.

If you want to be
an employee of this park,

The more you know
about the park,

The better you're gonna be
at your job.

Albert does overwhelm me
a little bit,

But that's great,
'cause you can channel that.

And it definitely makes me
want to try to help in some way.

I saw in Albert
a little bit of myself.

I grew up poor
like he did.

He may be no different
than I was at that point,

But I got a few breaks
along the way.

I still remain nervous
to do each job

And maybe be found out,

But even Albert mentioned
my name as if, you know,

"maybe Joel Manby would look
at my ideas."

I'm sitting right there
in front of him.

It just--wow,
that really blew me away.

Got up at 3:30 this morning,
which has never happened before.

I don't know why and how people
choose to do these jobs

So early in the morning.

It's just totally different
than my normal, everyday job.

So I think it's gonna be hard.

Well, here I am
back at Silver Dollar City.

This was ranked
the cleanest park in America,

And so I really wanted
to come

To see how in the world
we get this place so clean.

My name's Richard.

Hi, Richard.
I'm John.

Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.

All right, we're gonna kick it
in high speed.

This morning,
the park opens at 9:30.

All right.

It's gonna be fast-paced.
Okay.

So I hope you're feeling
energetic this morning.

Well, I'm good to go.
All right.

Always put the hose
behind your back

And grip it
with the other hand.

You wanna flush
the streets really good.

So just open it up.

All right,
now I'm gonna let you wash.

Okay.
Is it this--is it the red one?

No.
The black one.

You turn--turn the black.

Whoa.

Whoa.
Thing gets heavy.

See that dry spot?
Yup.

Just hose it down
just a little better

Down through there.

There's leaves over here
you'll need to get.

Yeah, I keep missing 'em.

How comes there's still leaves
where I do it?

It's actually harder
than it looks.

He had to keep telling me
to go back

And hit those spots
I was missing.

So do you think
you could do this every morning?

I'm not sure about
the getting up part.

You get used to it.

I've been here
going on 12 years.

Now we'll shut it off
and drop a section of hose.

There's gonna be less hose
to drag around.

What you do is you just take it,
kink it,

And put your foot on it.

All right.

All right.
Just keep it kinked tight.

When I release the pressure,
just shake that loose.

'kay!

I'm pulling it apart now.

Okay!
I'm trying.

Richard.

Uh-oh.
Uh-oh.

I think my hose is leaking.

Come back behind you here.

Whoa.
Sorry, buddy.

Don't get my boss wet
on the first day.

I'm telling you.
He's already got me wet.

Whoops.
You might just stay behind me.

Okay. Sorry.

So how did--
how did you come to work here?

Well, actually, I worked
in commercial construction,

And I wanted something
different

Where I could be home
every night with my family.

Which, I have five kids.

You have five kids?
I have five kids.

I adopted two.

I have four girls.

Four girls.
All right.

And we actually
adopted one too,

So we have something
in common there.

We were blessed as parents

And didn't want to see some kid
go through life

Without parents,
you know.

Right.
It doesn't seem right.

Well, it isn't right,
really.

There's a lot of kids
out there

That needs a chance
in life.

They really do.

I'm really impressed
with Richard.

He's a hard worker,
cares about his family.

To add two kids, the fact
that he took all that on,

Just shows you the huge heart
that the guy has.

So are you actually living
in the area right now?

I'm actually in a hotel,
just kind of checking it out.

Where do you live?
I live in Galena.

'cause, two years ago,
we lost our house in a flood.

Did you have all five
of your kids,

Your adopted kids too,
at the time?

Yup. It was rough.

We actually lived
in a pop-up camper at first.

We didn't have a place
to go right then, so...

I can't believe you lost
all your stuff like that.

It must have been really hard
to start over.

I had to go in
and gut everything out.

So we still got
quite a bit of work to do.

You're a hard-working man.

I was overwhelmed
hearing that.

His whole home
being wiped out from a flood.

Everything is gone.

And he's still working
his way through that.

We have started
a financial assistance program.

We use it
to assist employees in need.

One thing
I'm really frustrated with

Is Richard didn't seem
to apply for it,

So we can't help him,
and we can't help others

If they don't,
and that's a problem.

Well, I say,
you done pretty good

For your first time.

Well, thank you.
You really did.

I had a good instructor
who had some patience.

Well, I don't know
about that.

I'm just proud
that we have a guy like that

Working in this company,
I really am.

Coming up,

Joel gets a dose of
his workers' reality.

This job is a gamble.

This is hard for me,
to never know

What's gonna happen
when you come in.

And later, Joel meets
his toughest boss yet.

Make sure
you get up here too.

Make sure
you don't put so much water.

You got to take pride
in what you do.

Joel Manby,

CEO of Herschend Family
Entertainment,

Continues his undercover journey
inside his own company.

I'm going to work
on the showboat Branson belle.

The showboat's
over 14 years old,

It attracts hundreds
of thousands

Of people a year,
and they come

From all over the country.

It's a highly timed experience
where you have

To get people on that boat,
serve them,

Watch a show.

It's very precise,

And I wanna go out
and make sure

Our guests' experience
is still holding up

And obviously look for ways
to grow attendance as well.

Jennifer, this is John.

John, this is Jennifer.
Hi, Jennifer.

Hi.
How are you? Nice to meet you.

She will be working
with you today.

Go get your uniform ready
and get dressed.

All righty.
Okay.

I've never served before,
so are you a good trainer?

I'm gonna try my best.
Okay. Thanks.

Here we go.

You ready for this?
Yeah, I'm ready.

All right.
This is John.

He is gonna be
helping me serve today.

How are you?
Yeah, this is his first time,

So I'm gonna help him out.

Oh, you're a rookie?
Yes.

I am a rookie.

Regular for you, sir?
Please.

Everybody all set?
You good?

Everybody all set with drinks?
I'm gonna get that coffee.

Do you want anything
in this glass?

Do you want water
or anything cold?

Timing is everything
for us.

Do you have a watch
or a phone?

I have a watch.
Okay.

It's 11:55.
Is it really?

Yeah.

Have you ever carried
a tray before?

No, I haven't.
Well, it's all about balance.

So just find your balance.

And we're just all gonna just
kind of parade

Through the very front row
where we just were.

Ladies and gentlemen,
coming out of the back part,

Serving 75,000 pounds
of salad a year.

There you go.

The dressing
is already on top for you.

You can go ahead and place
a couple down.

Hello.

Did I hear we need
some more dressing over here?

You got it.

Our dinner course comes out
at 15 after.

I think I'm doing okay.
I wish I'd worn an undershirt.

I'm sweating like crazy.

But I'm also nervous
that I'm gonna drop something.

Okay, now push your hand
towards the center as it goes.

I've got this. You're good.
Yup.

Keep pushing it
towards the center.

Whoa.
Okay. Hold on.

Can you breathe?

It's almost over.
I'm sweating.

she's very efficient,

But she has that rare talent
that she can be efficient

And really friendly
at the same time.

How's your ice cream?

Very good.
Yeah, that's my favorite.

That's a great trait
in this business.

Some of the ladies
are loving him.

He's adorable,
so they're like, "hi."

You know.
You did a good job.

Oh, thank you
very much.

Thank you.

We're done.
We're just gonna go on break.

This is when we get
to eat our lunch

And just kind of hang out.

Hey, I'm kind of busy.
What's going on?

She's sick.
What do you mean, like, sick?

Did she puke sick or?

Just tell her
to stay in her bed.

No, she needs
to stay in her bed

And just stay at home
and...

okay.

All right, well, thanks
for letting me know.

Okay. Bye.

My daughter, she's sick.

How many children
do you have?

I have two.
Ten and seven.

Wow.
I married an army man.

We're divorced now.

How is it raising two kids
with this kind of a job?

Oh, it's actually
really challenging,

And we've been trying to get
the corporation

To actually get
a childcare facility

Because, with all these parks
and the weird hours

That we work, it's--
we can't get

A normal babysitter
9:00 to 5:00.

But the biggest thing is,

In the recession right now,

We're not filling
the boat anymore.

We usually have
twice as many people.

Yeah.

And we rotate
through the boat.

That's how we get a station.

And when we rotate
to the back of the boat,

And there's no people
sitting in your station,

We get sent home.
I see.

So I would have my child
at the babysitter

And then have to go turn around
and go pick him right up again,

Pay them
for having them watch them

For a couple of hours, and then
not make any money myself.

And that happens all the time.
All the time.

This job is a gamble.

Never know what's gonna happen
when you come in.

It really is
a catastrophic issue.

Day in and day out,

She can't get
her childcare covered.

And so, for people
in that situation,

We ought to have some kind
of assistance for them.

All righty.
It was a pleasure.

Thank you. Yeah, it was
a pleasure meeting you.

You take care.
Yeah. Good luck to you.

Hope to see you soon.

I'm here in Camden

Heading in to
my last undercover job

At our Adventure aquarium.A

We just purchased
these aquariums,

So not only is it
a brand-new business,

But I don't know
the people very well.

It's a very
concentrated experience

With a lot of kids
in a small area.

And they do a good job, but I
want to see how that's done.

And I want to learn
how they do what they do.

Hi.
Hi. Are you John?

I am John.
I'm Melissa.

We have a lot of groups outside,
and I want to get you started

'cause we need your help.
Is that okay?

That's okay.
Can you show me what to do?

So we're gonna head
straight up the stairs here,

And you're gonna learn
how to do touch tank.

So this is a normal day,
John.

This is what it normally
looks like up here, so...

This is Mercedes, John.

Hi, Mercedes.
Hi, how are you?

Excuse the wet hands, but hi.

That's all right.
I'm John.

John's new to the team,
Mercedes,

So I hope you can show him
what we do up here.

Sure.
Great.

Jump on in.
All right, I'm jumping in.

As soon as the kids come up,
I let them know

Everything is touchable.

They have to take
their two fingers and stroke.

They can't poke or pick up.
Okay.

That's a leather sea star.

This creature right here
is a green surf anemone.

The kids love it 'cause
it sticks to your fingers.

Anenome?
Anemone.

All right, anemone.
A-nem-on-e.

Tell me the species difference
again, though.

'cause I drew a blank.
This one is a sea ochre.

And they all are sea ochres.

Now just touch him
with two fingers like this.

It's a sea cucumber.

No, they're
two different species.

It's--I don't think
it's asleep.

So, John,
we have to get ready

To do some cleaning.
Okay.

So we're gonna be washing
the tanks.

So--and you want to wipe
in a circular motion

'cause you don't want
to leave scratches.

Okay.
Or marks.

What happens if guests come up
while I'm on it?

Just keep working?
You can step aside, yeah.

And do I go up really high.
Speedy, speedy, speedy.

All right, all right.
Come on, come on, come on.

I think you missed a spot.
I know.

It's really hard
to get all the spots

'cause there are
so many fingerprints.

You got to take pride
in what you do.

Let's come on over here.

This looks really nasty.

There's actually a smudge
right above your head here.

Make sure you get up here too.

Put some more muscle into it.

Have you ever done cleaning
like this?

Ever?

Right up in here.
Yeah. Golly.

Make sure
you don't put so much water.

'cause it leaves
a smeary mark.

That doesn't look so good.

It just looks smudgy.
Let me see.

Yeah, that's better.

As soon as you're cleaning it,
somebody comes along

And touches it.
No excuses.

No excuses.
You can get this.

I'm slow, and I think
I'm not very good,

'cause I keep missing spots.

And she keeps coming in
after me,

So I feel
a little embarrassed.

She was faster than me
and better.

You know,
she obviously cares a lot,

Which, you know, that kind
of picks up my performance

And makes me wanna
do better.

So you do this,
and you work the touch pool.

Yup. I work in accounting
in the finance department,

I also do events, hosting.

Also the touch-a-shark tank
where you saw me.

Wow.
Yeah.

You're busy.
I do pretty much a little bit

Of everything here.

So, Mercedes, how long
have you been here?

It'll be two years
in January.

Oh, wow.
Yes, I've been here

For two years,
and it went by so fast.

Jump right on in.

So tell me more
about what you were saying.

You're kidding me.

And my son was
about one years old.

Where were you
actually living?

We were staying
in his school.

It was a private daycare,

And we were sleeping
on the floor.

And it wasn't because
of my resume or work ethic.

Nobody would hire me.

It was just really hard times,

And the only thing
that kept me going

Was my son running up to me
and smiling.

Like, he never knew, you know,
we were homeless

Or we were going through
hard times.

Kids don't know that stuff.

They just are kids.
You know, they're innocent.

And I finally got
the job here.

This place was, like,
a lifesaver for me.

So...
Wow.

Ever since then,

I've just been saying yes
to everything

And accepting every opportunity
this place has to offer.

Whether it's cleaning,
whether it's filing,

Whether it's greeting
a guest

Or hosting a party.

Wow.
That's really impressive.

I think the more you know,
the better.

Yeah.
The pay comes later.

You know?
Yeah.

It's really humbling
to see what she's been through.

The attitude to just do it all
on your own

Like she did,

It's just so amazing to me.

In this experience, you know,
you just see

So much pain,
and you just think, why--

You know, why does it have
to be like this?

And, you know,
you want to help,

But you can't always help
everybody.

It's just--
man, what an amazing person.

What an amazing person.

I feel worn down.

I've kind of felt overwhelmed
seeing all this.

Because I had never done
the frontline jobs,

I could not possibly have
the appreciation for it.

I am feeling, not just reading
about or hearing about,

I'm feeling
how good our people are

And how important
their jobs are.

And how incumbent it is
on me as a leader

To make sure
it stays that way.

It's gonna make me
a better leader.

It's gonna make me stronger
and even more dedicated

Than I even am today.

Coming up,
Joel summons his employees

To headquarters.
Where am I going?

What is this all about?

I'm a little nervous.

How will they react

When Joel reveals
his true identity?

I'm actually Joel Manby,

And I'm CEO
of Herschend Entertainment.

My experience has come
to an end now, and I'm gonna

To report back to my team
and tell them

What I learned
while I went undercover--

The good and the bad.

Well, thanks, everybody,
for coming together.

And, as you know,
I'm back.

Welcome back.
From my little trip. Thanks.

It's good to be back.

It was just
an incredible experience.

It was
more physically exhausting

And more emotionally
exhausting

Than I anticipated.
Wow.

And there's some things
that I want to talk through

That--that we need to fix
and we need to do better.

The overriding thing is
we have financial assistance

For our employees, and,
almost without fail,

The people I talked to
had not applied for it

Even when they had huge needs.

Do we know why they
didn't apply for assistance?

Do they not know about it?

No one wants to apply
for financial assistance, right?

And so somehow we have got
to figure out

How to market that better,

How to get people
to apply more easily.

I don't have all the solutions,

And I want your guys' input
into that,

As we normally operate.

The second
kind of overarching thing was

We have to find a way
to serve single parents better.

They are a significant part
of our workforce,

And, as you go back out
to your properties,

Just keep an open ear
to that.

I sure would like to have
concrete results

Out of what we learned
from this experience.

So I really appreciate it,
and thanks for your--

Your listen to all this.

Thank you.
Great.

Now it's time for me
to reveal my true identity

To each of the people
I worked with

Over the past week.

I'm in the dark right now

And feeling like,
"wow, where am I going?

What is this all about?"

I'm a little nervous

'cause I don't know
what to expect.

Hey. How you doing?

John Briggs.
John. Yes, John.

Good to see you.

hi.

John. Yeah.

Hey.
How are you doing?

Good. How are you?
Just fine.

I'm not actually John Briggs.

You're not John?

Well,
I'm actually Joel Manby,

And I'm the CEO of,
of Herschend Entertainment.

No.

That was you.
Okay.

Whoa, so you--
it's my boss's boss?

Well, yeah.

Wow.
Man.

So that was a pretty good--
you got me.

I was John Briggs.

Oh, man.

I never worked
the frontline jobs at Herschend.

I really wanted
to work the frontline jobs,

And I didn't want people
to know who I was

Because, whenever they know
who I am,

I get treated differently.

And even though I feel badly
that we had to do

The disguise,
and you didn't really know,

That was the only way
I could get the real experience.

that's cool.

That's pretty cool.

Captain, first of all,

I just have never seen

Anybody transform themselves
like you transformed themselves.

All righty, folks,
little fella coming through.

I tried to interact
with the kids.

But you, in some senses,
became a kid.

For me,
this is an opportunity

To touch somebody else's life,

To wake somebody up,
you know,

To get somebody going,

And hopefully
they'll have a good day from me,

And that's what I'm trying
to do, so...

Can we take some of that magic
and put it at other,

Other ride-the-duck locations
in other cities?

I'd like to see you be able
to go and help teach them

Some of what you have.
I would love to do that.

Let's make it happen.

I'm there.
All right. Great.

No problem.
I really appreciate you.

Wow.
This is, like, what?

It's just amazing.

I'm--I can't wait to go home
and tell my girl about it.

To me, Jennifer, I was
impressed with your work ethic.

What you did is really put
a face to being a single parent.

I wanted to do something
about it, so what we're gonna do

Is expand our financial
assistance program,

And we're gonna allow
childcare.

So you can take that worry
out of your life,

At least
from a financial standpoint.

That would be great.

It's like a huge weight...
Tchh.

Yeah. I hope you can continue
on a positive track.

And I really admire
what you've done.

Well, thank you.
Appreciate that.

It's the one thing
I struggle most with.

So it's gonna feel amazing

To not have to worry
about it as much.

I can't even explain to you.

Richard, you are
a very special man.

And you have
a really special heart.

Thank you.

And we're very lucky
to have a man like you.

Well, thank you.
I appreciate that.

That story about losing
your home really touched me,

And what I'd like to do

Is, for your home,
allocate the full $10,000

Of catastrophic funds
that we have available

To help you redo your house.

And then we're gonna take

The citizens
of Silver Dollar City

On a day off
and come to your house

So we can fix it up.

And something that'll take you
over a year to get done,

Maybe we can get done
in one day.

I don't know what to say now.

Well, I appreciate that.

You don't have
to say anything.

You got me good, I just--

I've never dreamed
about something like this

Ever happening.

So it's gonna be
a big relief.

Mercedes, you're just
an incredible worker.

The more you know,
the better.

Yeah.

The pay comes later,
you know?

Even though you have
every reason

To have a very different
attitude.

There's a couple things
I want to do.

First thing we want to do
is give you an immediate raise.

Oh, god.

Oh, lord.

I don't believe
this is happening.

I'm sorry.

Oh, my god.
You okay?

Yeah, I'm fine.

Oh, my god.

In honor of you making
that huge move

From being homeless
into a new apartment,

We're gonna come with you
to your apartment

And we're gonna
inventory with you

Everything that you need.

And you just
tell us what you need,

And then we're gonna
take care of that.

I hope you're with us
for a long time.

Who knows, maybe we can see you
get into your own home.

Wow, that would be great.

And I want to see you
achieve your dreams, okay?

Thank you.
All righty.

Thank you so much.

I feel like
I'm on top of the world.

Like, this is amazing.

Wow.

You're trying
to work full-time,

And you're trying
to go to school at night.

You've inspired me to, uh,

Start a scholarship program.

I should tell you you're
gonna be the first recipient.

You're gonna get to go
to school full-time.

So you don't
have to work all day.

You don't have
to go to school at night.

We're gonna actually pay you

Your 40-hours-a-week salary
while you go to school.

That's amazing.

Well, you deserve it.

All we ask is that you,
you know, in the summertime

When you're not going
to school full-time--

Back to work?
Come back to work.

I would love to.

You can't keep me
away from the place.

We need a lot of people
like you,

With your kinda passion,
your kinda enthusiasm.

First thing I'm calling
is my parents.

I'm gonna be jumping up and down
while I'm telling 'em,

And I'm gonna hear my dad.

I know he's gonna be
so proud.

Good afternoon.

I'm really excited
to talk about what happened,

'cause it was
once-in-a-lifetime,

And I just can't wait
to tell 'em about it.

Here's our CEO,
mr. Joel Manby.

My name's Joel Manby,
and for the last week

I went undercover
at our great company.

And so, we thought
we'd uhow you a little bit

Of the experience
of what I went through

With some of these
great folks down here,

And we're gonna start
in Branson, Missouri.

What you do
is just take it, kink it,

And just take this loose.

I'm--

Richard.

The ladies are loving him.
He's adorable.

So they're like, "hi."

Thank you very much.

What do you think
the ideal job is here?

A CEO.

Who's in that job now?

Joel Manby is our CEO.

We talk a lot about

Creating
a great guest experience.

But I have to say,
I had no idea

How great you guys are

And how passionate you are
about your jobs,

About each other,
and about the company.

And I am so thankful that
I went through this experience,

Because I have an absolutely
renewed passion

And appreciation

For what you all do
on the front line.

I just could not be
more proud of you.

So thank you very much
for what you do,

And thanks
for coming today.

I am just so glad
that I did this.

And I have to say,
it's the greatest single week

And greatest work experience
I've ever had.

-- Sync by elderman --
-- for www.addic7ed.com --

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