Undercover Boss (2010) s01e01 Episode Script
Waste Management
Male announcer: The economy is going through tough times.
Many hardworking 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.
Each week, We follow the boss of a major corporation As they go undercover in their own company.
This week the boss of america's largest trash company, Waste management-- A $13 billion business With 45,000 employees And 20 million customers.
He is going to trade His executive office and expense account For a hard hat and a bagged lunch.
He'll assume a new identity.
- Good morning, randy.
I'm janice.
Nice to meet you.
Announcer: And pose as a new recruit.
- Do you know when we get paid? - The job you're gonna be doing Is cleaning toilets.
- Taking too long, randy.
Taking too long.
- Ha! Gotcha.
- Glad you came to waste management, But you just don't have it.
- He's the only person that's ever fired me In my whole career.
Announcer: By working on the front line, He'll find out what's really going on Inside his company.
- 'cause it's corporate, That's the way they want it, And that's it.
- This is us, huh? Announcer: He will find the good.
- Get it, randy! Get it, randy! - He takes a nasty job And he turns it into something fun.
Announcer: He will find the bad.
- I had to punch back in Or I get docked.
Announcer: And he'll discover the unsung heroes That make his company run.
- I made this up all by myself.
- I'm sorry.
I didn't think I'd be having emotional issues Riding on the back of a garbage truck.
Announcer: At the end of his time undercover, He will reveal his true identity.
- I'm actually larry o'donnell, President of waste management.
- Oh, my goodness! - Ha ha! Announcer: Their lives will be changed.
- I'm so impressed.
Pretty nice pay increase for you.
He has a problem right now.
Are you gonna get that done for me? Announcer: How will the experience affect him? - I thought I had a pretty good understanding, But boy, was I wrong.
Announcer: Find out next on undercover boss.
Announcer: Waste management Is the largest trash and recycling company In north america.
At the helm of the $13 billion business Is one man--larry o'donnell.
- Well, my title is president and chief operating officer, And in that role I'm responsible For all of our operations in the company.
I've had a lot of nice opportunities come my way That's allowed me to progress in my career.
Certainly the paycheck helps.
I'm not gonna complain.
I've been very fortunate.
At the same time, It's a lot of responsibility.
But family is the most important thing in my life.
- I knew from the minute I met larry He would be somebody and do important things.
- I find a lot of strength in my wife.
She's just a remarkable individual.
Then my son, he's the joy of my life.
Great kid.
Nice shot.
- Wow.
- I want to take my hat off, if I want to.
- You can take it off if you want.
- Yeah.
- Let me tell you a little bit about my daughter.
She was born totally normal.
During a routine test, She threw up and aspirated, And that caused a lot of brain damage.
It was really the result Of a doctor not following proper procedure.
We brought her home Thinking we were bringing her home to die.
Why did you get up so early? - Because I want to see you.
- As a result of what happened to linley, I never want to work at a company That I'm responsible for Where people don't know How to follow the proper procedures.
I think that's probably one of the reasons That I take safety so seriously.
Give me a kiss.
Mwah.
So I think we're gonna have a pretty big group today.
I think most people are in town.
We're about to go in To our weekly senior leadership meeting.
I'm going to tell them I'm gonna go into their operation undercover.
It's gonna be a big surprise.
I'm sure everyone is wondering what is going on here.
Well, uh, what I'm gonna be doing, I'm actually going to go out into the operations, Into the field, And I'm going to go undercover.
- He serious? - This is gonna give me the opportunity To really see what it's like To work at waste management.
I'm sending out targets and cost-cutting goals From my office.
I want to see if the targets Are realistic on the ground.
If I'm able to pull this off, I may be able to revolutionize some of our processes.
It could make us more efficient, Which can mean saving jobs, And that's what I'm looking for.
- All right.
- Love you.
- Sounds good.
Love you.
- All right.
- Be safe.
- While I'm undercover, I'll be posing as randy lawrence, A construction worker Who's being followed by a tv crew.
People will think I'm shooting a small tv show About trying out entry-level jobs at waste management.
I'll be traveling location to location And staying at budget motels As if I really am an entry-level recruit Who's new to town.
Home sweet home.
[alarm beeps.]
Starting my first day In a job I've never done in my life.
I wanted to choose a recycling facility As my first job.
I want to make sure That we're being as efficient as we possibly can So that we can keep recycling A viable line of business.
Hi, I'm randy.
- Good morning.
I'm sandy.
- Sandy, nice to meet you.
- Okay.
I got your clothes all ready.
Get changed and then come back out to see me.
- Okay.
I've really got to remember To stay undercover and be that first-time employee.
- All right, we need to get the earplugs in.
These here are sleeves, Because there are sometimes needles.
- So there's needles out there.
- Yes.
We do get needles up on the line.
- I see.
- Okay, are you ready? - What exactly am I gonna be doing? - You're gonna be picking trash, Cardboard, recyclables off the line.
- Can I ask you something? - Yeah.
- Do you know when we get paid? - We get paid on thursdays.
Cardboard.
Trash in yellow.
Blue Blue--blue what? - Recycle.
- All right.
Yes.
- All right, all right.
- [laughs.]
Okay, I'm gonna let you try it, And I'll stand bind you.
- Okay.
- All right, clothes are trash.
Yup, those are trash.
Oh, you got to pick up cardboard.
- That's trash.
Oh, cardboard.
Okay.
- Cardboard.
- I'm seeing that.
- Trash.
That's garbage.
Diapers are trash.
Cardboard.
- I'm missing it again? Whew.
This goes pretty fast.
- Oh, no, that ain't fast.
This is the slowest line I have in here.
- Oh, no.
- Yeah.
- You got to be kidding.
This goes by so fast.
Wow.
Just trying to keep up With all the different things that are going by.
This is unbelievable.
And then you're looking for cardboard.
You have to get that off, Because it'll jam the equipment.
I was sweating bullets, Because I know how expensive that equipment is.
I missed it.
I missed it.
[buzzer buzzes.]
- I would just send 'em all to lunch.
We're jammed from one side of that belt to the other.
- Okay.
I'll send 'em all to lunch.
Cardboard line plugged up down there.
Uh, randy, we're gonna take our half-hour punch lunch Right now.
- Okay.
- Okay? Some big piece of cardboard or something got in there.
So, um - I tried to grab it.
It was way out there underneath a bunch of trash, And I saw the corner of it, And I tried to lift it, You know, to catch it with one hand, And I missed it, So I hope I didn't mess something up.
I don't think I'm very good at this job, So that's--that's a little frustrating for me.
And I know I was putting the wrong thing-- You know, I grabbed-- - [exclaims.]
- What's happening? - Right on time.
Whew.
I had to punch in.
I only have a half-hour lunch.
I had to punch back in Or I get docked.
- You get in trouble? - I can get docked two minutes Every minute that I'm late.
- Doesn't seem very fair.
- That's the way kevin does it.
- Where is he? - He's sitting right here in his office.
There's cameras up there, So he's watching us constantly.
- Is that the most frustrating thing to you? - I wish they didn't have it.
- The policy is for every minute that you're late, You're docked two.
You know, I'm president and chief operating officer.
I ought to know about things like this.
This is precisely Why I wanted to go undercover.
[buzzer buzzes.]
- Come on, randy.
- I'm coming.
- Yup.
Get your coat on.
Vest on.
- All right.
It's almost like you're on an amusement ride.
When you get off, you can hardly walk.
- We're gonna go downstairs now.
You're done for the day.
- I hope to be invited back.
Really appreciate the time.
I'm gonna sleep well tonight.
I had no idea that this job Was gonna be so physically demanding And mentally exhausting.
My back is hurting like you wouldn't believe.
I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to go To the next location tomorrow, But it's gonna be tough.
Announcer: Coming up, larry gets fired For the first time in his career.
- Oh, no, randy.
You went and lost all your paper.
Announcer: And later, larry learns The harsh realities of life on the road.
- When you're a female out here working on the garbage truck, This is our outhouse.
- All of a sudden, it hits me.
She's peeing in this can.
Announcer: Larry o'donnell, President of waste management, Is undercover in his own company.
His employees think he's being filmed For a documentary About someone trying out entry-level jobs.
[alarm beeps.]
- I don't care what job you're in.
That first day is the hardest day Of your career in that job.
When I woke up this morning, I was tired, 'cause I probably only got About four hours' sleep last night.
Announcer: Larry might be tired, But his undercover mission must go on.
Today he's at a landfill in florida.
- Hi, I'm randy.
- I'm walter.
How you doing, randy? - Hey, walter.
Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
Today you'll be working for me.
We'll be picking litter On the south--west side of the hill.
- Okay.
- And we got a lot of paper blowing everywhere.
Every ten minutes, you should have a bag Filled and ready to go.
Let's get with it.
- Let's go.
- All right.
This is what you'll be doing, Picking papers from side to side, Going up, working yourself up the hill.
- I think I can handle that.
Is there any technique I need to know about, or--? - What kind of technique you want? You just picking up paper.
- Well, I figured you're pretty experienced at this.
Is best to do it by hand, or use this, um, or--? - It's not a big deal.
Just sticking holes in paper, picking it up.
That's the way you do it.
- And is there any trick To keep the trash from blowing out of the bag? - Yeah, let's go, randy.
Just go.
Just take off.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
He kind of got nerves there for a while, Asking all these questions.
It's not rocket science.
Just come out here and pick paper up.
Very easy job.
All right, I'll be seeing you later.
- Yes, sir.
I'll do it exactly how you showed me.
Oh, man.
This is tough.
[static crackles.]
- hey, randy.
Hey, randy.
[whistles.]
Talk--talk to me, randy.
- Walter, this is randy.
Can you hear me? - 10-4, randy.
What you got there? Three, four of them little bags full by now? - Yes, sir.
Maybe just a half.
- Tighten up.
Let's get it done.
- Right now the trash is just Kicking my you know what.
- The bag does have a hole in the top, doesn't it? Taking too long, randy.
Taking too long.
- Oh, man.
- How many bags did you fill up? - Well, I've got one down there, And I've got this one, uh, Probably about halfway full.
- So basically telling me That you haven't done much, right? - Well - That what you're saying? - I can tell walter's not too happy with me.
- Randy, you're not cutting the mustard.
Let's go to lunch.
- Okay.
- Okay.
- Do I just follow you now? - Follow me, randy.
Let's go.
- Yes, sir.
You've been here a long time? What else do you do away from work? - I'm on dialysis, And that take up three days-- Three nights, anyway.
- Wow.
- I lost the functions in my kidneys.
- I would have never guessed That you had that kind of health issue.
I've been marching up and down those hills picking up trash.
You come marching up there.
How do you do all that? - I let my spirit tell my body What's gonna happen, What I'ma do and what I'm not gonna do.
Because if let the body tell me what I'm gonna do, I'm not gonna do very much.
- You have such a positive attitude.
Do you work with other people on dialysis? - I would like to, But long as I can work And I'm able to work, I'ma work.
When I see a perfectly healthy person Dragging around, And I can go out there and work circles around him, And he can't do this kind of-- Now that--that really pisses me off there.
Because I wish I was healthy.
You should be able to do more than I do.
If I can go out there And fill two bags in ten minutes, I'm expecting you to do three bags in ten minutes.
- You gonna let me go back out after lunch? - I'm thinking about it.
Think you can do better? All right, I'm gonna be timing you.
- I'm getting after it.
- Ten minutes.
This is gonna be the most important ten minutes In your life, randy.
Get it in the bag, randy.
Get it in the bag.
Randy, you trying to flunk this test? - No, sir.
- Dig in, dig in.
Got five more minutes.
That's it.
Suck it up, randy.
Suck it up.
Let's go.
- Yes, sir.
- One bag every ten minutes.
I can do that.
- Aah.
Got you.
- Three minutes, randy.
- Yes, sir.
- Ah, you ain't got close To having a whole bag yet, randy.
Oh, no, randy.
You went and lost all your paper.
- Oh Got you.
All right, all right.
There you go, randy.
That's it.
That's it.
What you think? - I don't think I'm very good.
- Well, I I second the motion, randy.
Nice working with you.
I'm glbd you came to waste management to try it out, But you just don't have it.
- I felt miserable out there in that wind, Knowing I was not getting the job done.
Walter is the only person That's ever fired me in my whole career.
- Today I'm at high acres landfill.
It's in upstate new york.
We've always run our landfills with a small staff.
I want to come to see if our cost-cutting measures Have taken effect.
The manager here, jeff richardson, I know.
I've met him before.
But I'm gonna go in And I'm gonna see if I can pull this whole thing off One more time.
Hello, sir.
- Larry o'donnell.
How are you? - Fine.
How are you? It's critical that nobody knows That larry's on site today.
- Gotcha.
- Don't talk to anybody about it.
- No, I won't.
I won't.
- I really need your help.
- You got my word.
You got my word.
- I'm ready to get started.
- You're gonna be working with jaclyn.
She's kind of the hub of the wheel.
- Okay.
- And the glue of the site, if you will.
- Hi.
- Hi, jaclyn.
Randy.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- You wore boots, buddy.
- Should I not wear boots? - That's all right.
Hope you can keep up.
Let's go.
- Okay.
- We're gonna go down to the admin building.
I'm a sneaker girl, Because I'm always usually running.
I work down there.
I'm doing all the admin.
Here we go.
- What is your job title? - Well, I have a couple of job titles, actually-- Office manager, Administrative assistant to jeff richardson, Scale operator, scale supervisor, All of the accounts payable, Receivable, payroll.
- So you just gonna show me one thing at a time, or--? - I never do one thing at a time.
- Okay.
- All right.
Then I usually go into the mailroom.
- Okay.
- Any incoming mail gets opened by myself.
I pay all the bills.
- It looks like a lot to me.
- Well, it's not much to me.
- You do walk fast.
- And then we're gonna pop back down to the scale.
- Do you ever feel overwhelmed? - Well, I did the first week.
- So you know how I feel right now? - I know exactly how you feel.
I'm gonna teach you how to run these scales.
- Wow, they're coming in.
- Nowe're gonna put in this trailer.
Hit the down button.
Tab.
- Oh.
- Over.
That's okay.
Over.
Over again.
Arrow over to the left.
Left.
- That's my other left.
- F7.
Okay.
Enter.
- There is a lot to know here.
I don't know how she keeps up with it all.
The phone's ringing.
I'm trying to enter stuff in the computer.
That is taking multitasking To a whole new level.
It is many, many, many tough jobs, And I don't know how you do 'em all And how you keep it all straight.
- They know that they can count on me for that kind of stuff, And it's not about how much I make.
But, I mean, I make the same amount of money for admin.
You know, and now doing dual roles Or triple roles or quadruple roles, I don't even know how many, You know, I stayed at the same amount.
Life is, I guess, what you make of it.
- Yeah.
- And I want to work hard And I want the most out of life that I can get.
I'm alive.
That's the most important thing.
I've experienced a lot of health problems in my life.
By the time I was 21, I had a total hysterectomy.
- Wow.
- Battled five forms of cancer Before I was 25.
- Are you serious? - Dead serious.
- Dang.
- I'm not that average Someday I'm gonna run this place.
- I don't doubt it.
- Are you from around here? - No, I'm not.
I've just moved into the area.
- Well, you know, after work here, You're welcome to come to dinner at my house And meet my family.
- Tonight? I would love to do that.
I look forward to it.
- All right.
Then we will see you later.
[doorbell rings.]
- Open the door, kayla.
Hi, how are you? - Hey, jaclyn.
- Oh, thank you.
- Brought you a little something.
- Well, thank you.
This is my husband, kurt.
- Are those for me? - Randy, how you doing? - Kurt? - Yes.
- Hi, nice to meet you.
- Andrew.
- Andrew, nice to see you.
Pretty proud of your mom? - She does a lot of things, And she always puts me before her, And she's not selfish.
- And you basically have three families here - Mm-hmm.
- Living with you.
- Mm-hmm.
- All depending on you.
- Mm-hmm.
Yep.
- How do you do it? - I just do what I have to do, What has to be done.
No matter what it takes Or how many hours in a day, I do it.
We moved in about five years ago.
- Yeah.
- But with, you know, the The house got reassessed, And the taxes just went [whistles.]
Through the moon.
It's currently up for sale, But, you know, ideally I'd love To stay in this home.
It's--it was my dream home.
- Yeah.
- And I don't work as hard as I work to give it up.
Everything in that backyard Is everything I ever wanted.
- Yeah.
- It's a great house.
But it's our home.
- Yeah.
- And to take our home from us is - You know, that did-- I--I felt bad for her.
Um, I--I really did.
- So I'm not sleeping well.
I'm thinking about jaclyn, And, uh, I can't leave here.
I've got to go to another location.
I can't leave without at least getting the ball rolling On doing something to solve this problem.
So at the risk of blowing my cover, I'm gonna contact jeff.
Announcer: Coming up, larry takes action.
- Looks like she's doing the job of a bunch of people.
- We, uh, are short a couple of people.
- Um, I'd like to try to help her.
Announcer: Larry o'donnell, A boss undercover in his own company, Has found an employee That is overworked and underpaid.
Troubled by jaclyn's situation, He breaks cover to confront her manager.
- Jeff? - Yes.
- Hey, this is larry.
Can you meet me right now? Uh, where's the most convenient place? Over by the hauling company in the parking lot? I don't want to blow my cover.
You found me.
- Hiding out? - Hiding out.
I don't know if you even know this or not, But jaclyn was so nice, She invited me last night To dinner with she and her family.
- Yeah, she's a great girl.
She's a great girl.
- Did you know that her father lives with her? - And her sister and her brother-in-law? Yes, that's right.
- I mean, it looked like They were sort of having Some financial difficulties over there With so many people Living over there and depending on 'em.
Looks like she's doing the job Of, you know, a bunch of people.
- Uh, we, uh-- we, uh - Are you short on people right now, or--? - We are short a couple of people.
- I really want to watch her career.
I'd like to see her kind of move along in the organization, And I'd like to try to help her.
- I've got some ideas, And, you know, I'll roll 'em up to you next week.
- Okay, take care.
- Thanks.
- Take care.
See ya.
Announcer: Satisfied he has dealt With the jaclyn situation, Larry leaves for his next destination And his next undercover job in texas.
Today larry o'donnell will be working at a carnival ground.
- I'm the new employee.
- How you doing? Gilbert cortez, waste management.
- Gilbert, nice to see you.
- Want to have a seat? The job you're gonna be doing is cleaning toilets.
These toilets don't flush.
So when somebody goes in that toilet, Whatever they leave stays behind, And that's what you're gonna have to be dealing with.
Driver's name is fred porchet.
- Fred.
- Freddy g? - Hey, fred.
- There he is right there.
- Let's do it.
How long you been doing this? - I've been doing it for ten years.
We're like hunters.
We see our prey.
We creep up on it.
Never know what you might see.
We don't know what's in here, But we know it's trouble.
This is destiny.
- That's it, man.
- [laughs.]
- That's--that's what we're here for.
- That's what we're here for.
- Okay, so what-- is there a technique I use, Or I just stick this baby in there? - Push it in there.
- Like that? Mix it up nice.
- Yeah, mix it up.
The softer it is, The better it'll go in through the hose.
- I got you.
- You might want to close the valve for a minute And let it build up a little pressure.
- You know, I'm gonna do what you told me.
- Yup.
- First I'm gonna get it-- - Yeah, stir it up a little bit.
- We got power now.
- Yeah, we got power now.
- Okay.
We're getting 'er done.
- Getting it down now? Phase two, you put that in that bucket right there.
Yeah, hit the floor a little.
- He needs to be vacuuming, You need to be scrubbing, or vice versa.
- Right.
- 'cause we're running out-- We got about eight minutes to get out of here.
- Okay.
- This is a tough job.
I'll tell you that right now.
There's a lot more to this Than I really thought.
- We found the diaper.
- That's it.
- Hey.
- Yeah? - You guys are doing good, But we got to get to v.
I.
P.
Here in about two minutes.
Thank you.
- Okay.
- Here we go.
- Make it dance, randy.
Make it dance.
That's good.
That didn't come from a human.
There was an animal in here.
Man, you do a good job.
I like you.
Just like that.
- That's it.
- We're good.
It ain't just a job.
It's an adventure.
I call it the battlefield of poop.
I say good soldiers endure.
Even if you get a little splatter on you, You're wounded, but you keep going.
Your productivity, as far as your speed, Just a little bit faster.
'cause we want to do at least - 15 in an hour? - 15 in an hour.
- Wow.
I wasn't anywhere close to that.
- I got so much more to do, man, and finish my route.
I'd like to work with him some more, Because I see the potential in him.
I definitely think he has a future here.
- I kept trying to figure out What motivates him.
He takes a job that most people would consider nasty, And he turns it into something Just funny and fun.
If we could all be that way, What a great company we would have.
[alarm beeps.]
Today I'm going on a trash collection route, Because that's the public face of the company.
I want to experience what our employees experience.
How is the communication Between our front-line employees And our managers? - Good morning, randy.
I'm janice.
Nice to meet you.
Welcome to the team.
- Thank you.
- I'm gonna show you what your job Basically is gonna be for the day.
Let's get out there and pick up some trash.
- Let's go.
- All righty.
- So how many houses will we do today? - I have a little over 300.
- 300? - Yes.
- This is gonna be a little crazy.
- All righty.
Put it right in front of it.
Bring it up just a little bit.
No, no, no, just a little bit closer to the truck.
All right.
Just relax.
You'll get it.
Don't get frustrated.
All righty.
You got it.
All right.
- That just messed up our productivity.
- Eh.
No, no, no.
Okay, remember what I said.
It's just, like We're supposed to do our route the same way every day, And, hell, I could be out there 12 or 13 hours, And they just like, "what are you doing out there?" We're working, for crying out loud.
From what we're all to understand, If something comes up and we don't agree with it, That's the way corporate wants it, So that's how it's gonna be.
- This is us, huh? I've probably been the one at corporate That's driving productivity, And I feel terrible that I've created something That is causing her to not enjoy her job.
Announce it's not just upper management That's the problem for janice.
She also feels undermined By her direct supervisors.
- They have the white pickup trucks.
Each supervisor is assigned to one.
- Mm-hmm.
- And sometimes they will come out and watch you.
- Think they're around watching us right now? - It's possible.
It's absolutely possible We're being watched right now.
Oh, yeah.
Okay, there's a white pickup truck Down the street right there.
- We have route managers That go around and they do these observations.
I don't want our drivers, though, To feel like they're being spied upon, Because that's not what this is all about.
- It is a good company and everything, But I don't really believe That they are very female-friendly here.
When you're a female out here working on a garbage truck, This is our outhouse.
That's our little pee pot.
- That's it.
- That's it.
You obviously can't keep Breaking off route all the time To go use the restroom.
That would add all kinds of time onto the route.
Every time I have to go to the bathroom, I'd have to break off route, and - Wow.
You pee in a can? You okay with that? - Well, I guess I have to be.
- I mean, I was just struck.
How do our female drivers Deal with being out on the road, You know, when nature calls? I feel like a male chauvinist or something.
I mean, I've never thought about it.
- I'll introduce you to my favorite customers.
There's some people that look forward to me every week, And they'll come out.
They'll be waiting for me.
Oh, my gosh.
- Look at that.
- This is my favorite soda right here.
- Cream soda.
That's so nice of you.
Our customers don't see me.
They see janice.
She wants to spend time with the customers, But at the same time, She's got to hit these productivity targets.
I've created a policy That is taking her off track.
- This is my new helper, randy.
- Hi, how are you? - This is karen.
- Karen, nice to meet you.
Randy.
- Uh, I wanted to say, JaniceIs a good worker.
She is a goodTo talk to.
- Isn't that nice? - Well, thank you for all this.
- And on time to pick up our garbage.
- You made our day.
- I made this up all by myself.
- Did you really? Wow.
- I did not expect this today.
- Wow.
- Well, thank you for saying that.
And it's customers like you that keep me going.
- Yes.
- When I saw karen come out with that note, I could only think of my daughter, And, uh, it touched me.
I'm sorry.
Didn't think I'd be, you know, Having these kind of emotional issues Here riding on the back of a garbage truck.
I had no idea.
The way we're approaching productivity, I didn't realize what impact That that's having on our drivers.
It came right out of my office.
It came from me.
I want to fix that.
- Coming up, larry takes back the corporate reins And reveals his true identity.
- Oh, my goodness.
- Oh, my god.
- You clean up good.
Announcer: Larry o'donnell has spent The past seven days undercover in his own company.
His journey has finally come to an end, And now it's time to reveal his true identity.
- I'm gonna approach the whole way I do my job differently.
I don't want to be doing things That are gonna cause disruption or frustration.
I have got to change the way I go about my own job.
Announcer: As larry's journey comes to a close, He calls together the members of his senior leadership team To discuss his week undercover.
- I think the things I've learned Could change the way we do business forever.
I worked at one of your recycling facilities, pat, In syracuse.
Our employees, if they're late, They get docked in pay Two minutes for every one minute that they're late.
I'm glad I discovered that.
The way the policy has been implemented, It--it's just not right.
I was working as a helper On a residential collection truck, And my driver was talking about, you know, productivity.
We've all talked about it, But that's one that, you know, I felt like I owned that one.
Look, productivity is important, But we need to find a way that we can balance You know, not making the good drivers Feel like we're spying on 'em.
I want to go over What some of the next steps could be, And make things better For our frontline employees.
So that's the game plan.
I'm gonna bring in each person that I worked with, One at a time, And reveal my true identity to 'em.
- I just don't know why I'm here in florida.
I would like some answers.
- I'm a little scared, a little nervous.
You know, when you don't know what's ahead of you, You don't know.
Wha--! - Oh, my goodness! My helper, randy.
- It's randy.
- Oh, my goodness.
Randy.
- Hello.
- You know who I am? - Yes.
- Who? - Randy.
- I'm actually larry o'donnell, President of waste management.
- You're kidding me.
- I'm serious as I could be.
- Oh, my god.
This is-- - Is it all coming clear now? - Yes! - How--how you picked-- I wouldn't think You clean up good.
- Now I'm really nervous.
Oh, my goodness.
- What are you nervous for? I wanted to experience What it's like to do so many of the jobs That are vital to the way we operate every day, So I could learn-- what is it like? You know, what are the challenges in these jobs? I wanted to be a better manager.
I learned a heck of a lot.
Fred, the positive approach And e positive attitude that you bring Makes such a big difference.
How could we tap into that excitement And maybe help others in our company Begin to share that kind of excitement? - Thank you.
Thank you.
- I'd like to invite you to come up And speak to our senior leadership team.
- Yes, sir.
I accept that, and I'll put everything I have into it.
Oh, my god.
This is--oh, my god.
This is just--oh, my god.
I'm so happy, larry.
- Come on over here.
- Ha ha! I'm honored.
And it is a privilege.
A privilege.
Man, the president? Come on, now.
- Janice, there was one thing That just hit me like you shot me right in the head.
You kept saying houston and corporate.
You know who you were talking about? - I have no idea.
- You were talking about me.
- Oh, okay.
- I got to experience firsthand The frustration that some of the decisions that I've made Are causing you and other drivers.
- Exactly.
- But what I'm gonna commit to you Is I got to get that fixed.
And so we want to form a task force And talk about how can we make this an environment That works for you.
- I appreciate that.
I really do.
That means a lot to me as well.
We made a commitment, And there's--so I'm gonna holdim to that.
I'm gonna remember this day forever.
This is awesome.
I mean, really, this is really awesome.
- Walter, your personal story Really touched me.
You've been on dialysis for 19, Almost 20 years? And yet you have such a positive attitude, The way you go about your life.
I'd like to create a program here Where you can get some paid time off To try to help some of these folks going through treatment, Because you figured out a way to live this way.
You're a motivational kind of guy.
- Thank you.
Means a lot.
Most people in that position, that high, You know, you never see 'em.
They won't take the time out to come down, To see what you're doing, Or even say hello.
- I really appreciated working with you, And when you and I were having lunch, You got up and bolted out of the lunch room.
You have to clock back in exactly on 30 minutes.
Well, I knew that wasn't our policy.
That really bothers me.
So I'm gonna talk to kevin about it And we're gonna get that fixed.
- Well, I appreciate you coming out and trying it out.
- I'm a little concerned about kevin.
He has a problem right now, So it needs to be fixed.
Hey, kevin.
- Hello.
- Larry o'donnell.
- Nice to meet you.
- I understand you had somebody Working at your recycling facility last week.
- Yes, we did.
- Did you meet the employee? - No, I did not.
- Would it surprise you to hear it was me? - Uh - One of the reasons I've done this Is I want to understand What things are causing frustration with our employees.
I've seen the way you ended up implementing Our policy about What frustration it's causing.
You know, if they're three minutes late, We don't penalize them.
And that seems to be the thing That is just really frustrating.
- Sure.
- I think we can figure out a better way to do it Than what we're doing.
Can I count on you to get that done? - Okay.
I don't think that's something that can't be done.
All right.
- All right? - Yep.
- Okay.
Jaclyn, your personal story really hit me.
You're doing several people's jobs right now.
You don't complain about it.
You just get the job done.
- Mm-hmm.
- So we're gonna put you on a salary.
We're gonna take you off hourly, We're gonna make you a supervisor.
And then you need to go hire your replacement So you can do more, So you can take on more responsibility.
That's not everything.
You're gonna become bonus eligible, And that's gonna result In a pretty nice pay increase for you.
- I--I don't know what to say.
- Your family gonna be proud of you? - Oh, I think so.
One word, and that's just "unbelievable.
" Can't really describe it, Because all my hard work Has been noticed.
Announcer: Now that larry has revealed his true identity, It's time to share his undercover experience With the entire company.
- Please welcome our president and c.
O.
O.
, larry o'donnell.
[cheering, horns honk.]
- Larry! - Thanks a lot.
I'm larry o'donnell, And for the last seven days, I've been undercover at waste management.
And I met some great people when I was out there.
Let's take a look.
- I call it the battlefield of poop.
Get it, randy! There you go.
- Good morning.
How are you? And you're going to work, I see? [cheers and applause.]
- What is your job title? - Well, I have a couple of job titles, actually.
- Taking too long, randy.
Taking too long.
Nice working with you.
I'm glad you came To waste management to try it out, But you just don't have it.
[laughter.]
[cheers and applause.]
- You know, in my role, There's a lot of policies that I've put out there, And you all have to live with 'em.
I feel more of a connection With the folks that do The really hard jobs at this company.
I'm gonna be a different manager, Because now I have a whole new appreciation Of the impact of some of my decisions Can have on you folks.
- That he was gonna have a change of heart For us out there in the trenches, That really made a change in my life right there, Just to hear that coming from the top.
- Tears came to my eyes.
I was overwhelmed.
I really was.
- Today was just amazing, And I really feel good about what we accomplished.
This an experience that I think is really gonna change my life.
Many hardworking 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.
Each week, We follow the boss of a major corporation As they go undercover in their own company.
This week the boss of america's largest trash company, Waste management-- A $13 billion business With 45,000 employees And 20 million customers.
He is going to trade His executive office and expense account For a hard hat and a bagged lunch.
He'll assume a new identity.
- Good morning, randy.
I'm janice.
Nice to meet you.
Announcer: And pose as a new recruit.
- Do you know when we get paid? - The job you're gonna be doing Is cleaning toilets.
- Taking too long, randy.
Taking too long.
- Ha! Gotcha.
- Glad you came to waste management, But you just don't have it.
- He's the only person that's ever fired me In my whole career.
Announcer: By working on the front line, He'll find out what's really going on Inside his company.
- 'cause it's corporate, That's the way they want it, And that's it.
- This is us, huh? Announcer: He will find the good.
- Get it, randy! Get it, randy! - He takes a nasty job And he turns it into something fun.
Announcer: He will find the bad.
- I had to punch back in Or I get docked.
Announcer: And he'll discover the unsung heroes That make his company run.
- I made this up all by myself.
- I'm sorry.
I didn't think I'd be having emotional issues Riding on the back of a garbage truck.
Announcer: At the end of his time undercover, He will reveal his true identity.
- I'm actually larry o'donnell, President of waste management.
- Oh, my goodness! - Ha ha! Announcer: Their lives will be changed.
- I'm so impressed.
Pretty nice pay increase for you.
He has a problem right now.
Are you gonna get that done for me? Announcer: How will the experience affect him? - I thought I had a pretty good understanding, But boy, was I wrong.
Announcer: Find out next on undercover boss.
Announcer: Waste management Is the largest trash and recycling company In north america.
At the helm of the $13 billion business Is one man--larry o'donnell.
- Well, my title is president and chief operating officer, And in that role I'm responsible For all of our operations in the company.
I've had a lot of nice opportunities come my way That's allowed me to progress in my career.
Certainly the paycheck helps.
I'm not gonna complain.
I've been very fortunate.
At the same time, It's a lot of responsibility.
But family is the most important thing in my life.
- I knew from the minute I met larry He would be somebody and do important things.
- I find a lot of strength in my wife.
She's just a remarkable individual.
Then my son, he's the joy of my life.
Great kid.
Nice shot.
- Wow.
- I want to take my hat off, if I want to.
- You can take it off if you want.
- Yeah.
- Let me tell you a little bit about my daughter.
She was born totally normal.
During a routine test, She threw up and aspirated, And that caused a lot of brain damage.
It was really the result Of a doctor not following proper procedure.
We brought her home Thinking we were bringing her home to die.
Why did you get up so early? - Because I want to see you.
- As a result of what happened to linley, I never want to work at a company That I'm responsible for Where people don't know How to follow the proper procedures.
I think that's probably one of the reasons That I take safety so seriously.
Give me a kiss.
Mwah.
So I think we're gonna have a pretty big group today.
I think most people are in town.
We're about to go in To our weekly senior leadership meeting.
I'm going to tell them I'm gonna go into their operation undercover.
It's gonna be a big surprise.
I'm sure everyone is wondering what is going on here.
Well, uh, what I'm gonna be doing, I'm actually going to go out into the operations, Into the field, And I'm going to go undercover.
- He serious? - This is gonna give me the opportunity To really see what it's like To work at waste management.
I'm sending out targets and cost-cutting goals From my office.
I want to see if the targets Are realistic on the ground.
If I'm able to pull this off, I may be able to revolutionize some of our processes.
It could make us more efficient, Which can mean saving jobs, And that's what I'm looking for.
- All right.
- Love you.
- Sounds good.
Love you.
- All right.
- Be safe.
- While I'm undercover, I'll be posing as randy lawrence, A construction worker Who's being followed by a tv crew.
People will think I'm shooting a small tv show About trying out entry-level jobs at waste management.
I'll be traveling location to location And staying at budget motels As if I really am an entry-level recruit Who's new to town.
Home sweet home.
[alarm beeps.]
Starting my first day In a job I've never done in my life.
I wanted to choose a recycling facility As my first job.
I want to make sure That we're being as efficient as we possibly can So that we can keep recycling A viable line of business.
Hi, I'm randy.
- Good morning.
I'm sandy.
- Sandy, nice to meet you.
- Okay.
I got your clothes all ready.
Get changed and then come back out to see me.
- Okay.
I've really got to remember To stay undercover and be that first-time employee.
- All right, we need to get the earplugs in.
These here are sleeves, Because there are sometimes needles.
- So there's needles out there.
- Yes.
We do get needles up on the line.
- I see.
- Okay, are you ready? - What exactly am I gonna be doing? - You're gonna be picking trash, Cardboard, recyclables off the line.
- Can I ask you something? - Yeah.
- Do you know when we get paid? - We get paid on thursdays.
Cardboard.
Trash in yellow.
Blue Blue--blue what? - Recycle.
- All right.
Yes.
- All right, all right.
- [laughs.]
Okay, I'm gonna let you try it, And I'll stand bind you.
- Okay.
- All right, clothes are trash.
Yup, those are trash.
Oh, you got to pick up cardboard.
- That's trash.
Oh, cardboard.
Okay.
- Cardboard.
- I'm seeing that.
- Trash.
That's garbage.
Diapers are trash.
Cardboard.
- I'm missing it again? Whew.
This goes pretty fast.
- Oh, no, that ain't fast.
This is the slowest line I have in here.
- Oh, no.
- Yeah.
- You got to be kidding.
This goes by so fast.
Wow.
Just trying to keep up With all the different things that are going by.
This is unbelievable.
And then you're looking for cardboard.
You have to get that off, Because it'll jam the equipment.
I was sweating bullets, Because I know how expensive that equipment is.
I missed it.
I missed it.
[buzzer buzzes.]
- I would just send 'em all to lunch.
We're jammed from one side of that belt to the other.
- Okay.
I'll send 'em all to lunch.
Cardboard line plugged up down there.
Uh, randy, we're gonna take our half-hour punch lunch Right now.
- Okay.
- Okay? Some big piece of cardboard or something got in there.
So, um - I tried to grab it.
It was way out there underneath a bunch of trash, And I saw the corner of it, And I tried to lift it, You know, to catch it with one hand, And I missed it, So I hope I didn't mess something up.
I don't think I'm very good at this job, So that's--that's a little frustrating for me.
And I know I was putting the wrong thing-- You know, I grabbed-- - [exclaims.]
- What's happening? - Right on time.
Whew.
I had to punch in.
I only have a half-hour lunch.
I had to punch back in Or I get docked.
- You get in trouble? - I can get docked two minutes Every minute that I'm late.
- Doesn't seem very fair.
- That's the way kevin does it.
- Where is he? - He's sitting right here in his office.
There's cameras up there, So he's watching us constantly.
- Is that the most frustrating thing to you? - I wish they didn't have it.
- The policy is for every minute that you're late, You're docked two.
You know, I'm president and chief operating officer.
I ought to know about things like this.
This is precisely Why I wanted to go undercover.
[buzzer buzzes.]
- Come on, randy.
- I'm coming.
- Yup.
Get your coat on.
Vest on.
- All right.
It's almost like you're on an amusement ride.
When you get off, you can hardly walk.
- We're gonna go downstairs now.
You're done for the day.
- I hope to be invited back.
Really appreciate the time.
I'm gonna sleep well tonight.
I had no idea that this job Was gonna be so physically demanding And mentally exhausting.
My back is hurting like you wouldn't believe.
I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to go To the next location tomorrow, But it's gonna be tough.
Announcer: Coming up, larry gets fired For the first time in his career.
- Oh, no, randy.
You went and lost all your paper.
Announcer: And later, larry learns The harsh realities of life on the road.
- When you're a female out here working on the garbage truck, This is our outhouse.
- All of a sudden, it hits me.
She's peeing in this can.
Announcer: Larry o'donnell, President of waste management, Is undercover in his own company.
His employees think he's being filmed For a documentary About someone trying out entry-level jobs.
[alarm beeps.]
- I don't care what job you're in.
That first day is the hardest day Of your career in that job.
When I woke up this morning, I was tired, 'cause I probably only got About four hours' sleep last night.
Announcer: Larry might be tired, But his undercover mission must go on.
Today he's at a landfill in florida.
- Hi, I'm randy.
- I'm walter.
How you doing, randy? - Hey, walter.
Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
Today you'll be working for me.
We'll be picking litter On the south--west side of the hill.
- Okay.
- And we got a lot of paper blowing everywhere.
Every ten minutes, you should have a bag Filled and ready to go.
Let's get with it.
- Let's go.
- All right.
This is what you'll be doing, Picking papers from side to side, Going up, working yourself up the hill.
- I think I can handle that.
Is there any technique I need to know about, or--? - What kind of technique you want? You just picking up paper.
- Well, I figured you're pretty experienced at this.
Is best to do it by hand, or use this, um, or--? - It's not a big deal.
Just sticking holes in paper, picking it up.
That's the way you do it.
- And is there any trick To keep the trash from blowing out of the bag? - Yeah, let's go, randy.
Just go.
Just take off.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
He kind of got nerves there for a while, Asking all these questions.
It's not rocket science.
Just come out here and pick paper up.
Very easy job.
All right, I'll be seeing you later.
- Yes, sir.
I'll do it exactly how you showed me.
Oh, man.
This is tough.
[static crackles.]
- hey, randy.
Hey, randy.
[whistles.]
Talk--talk to me, randy.
- Walter, this is randy.
Can you hear me? - 10-4, randy.
What you got there? Three, four of them little bags full by now? - Yes, sir.
Maybe just a half.
- Tighten up.
Let's get it done.
- Right now the trash is just Kicking my you know what.
- The bag does have a hole in the top, doesn't it? Taking too long, randy.
Taking too long.
- Oh, man.
- How many bags did you fill up? - Well, I've got one down there, And I've got this one, uh, Probably about halfway full.
- So basically telling me That you haven't done much, right? - Well - That what you're saying? - I can tell walter's not too happy with me.
- Randy, you're not cutting the mustard.
Let's go to lunch.
- Okay.
- Okay.
- Do I just follow you now? - Follow me, randy.
Let's go.
- Yes, sir.
You've been here a long time? What else do you do away from work? - I'm on dialysis, And that take up three days-- Three nights, anyway.
- Wow.
- I lost the functions in my kidneys.
- I would have never guessed That you had that kind of health issue.
I've been marching up and down those hills picking up trash.
You come marching up there.
How do you do all that? - I let my spirit tell my body What's gonna happen, What I'ma do and what I'm not gonna do.
Because if let the body tell me what I'm gonna do, I'm not gonna do very much.
- You have such a positive attitude.
Do you work with other people on dialysis? - I would like to, But long as I can work And I'm able to work, I'ma work.
When I see a perfectly healthy person Dragging around, And I can go out there and work circles around him, And he can't do this kind of-- Now that--that really pisses me off there.
Because I wish I was healthy.
You should be able to do more than I do.
If I can go out there And fill two bags in ten minutes, I'm expecting you to do three bags in ten minutes.
- You gonna let me go back out after lunch? - I'm thinking about it.
Think you can do better? All right, I'm gonna be timing you.
- I'm getting after it.
- Ten minutes.
This is gonna be the most important ten minutes In your life, randy.
Get it in the bag, randy.
Get it in the bag.
Randy, you trying to flunk this test? - No, sir.
- Dig in, dig in.
Got five more minutes.
That's it.
Suck it up, randy.
Suck it up.
Let's go.
- Yes, sir.
- One bag every ten minutes.
I can do that.
- Aah.
Got you.
- Three minutes, randy.
- Yes, sir.
- Ah, you ain't got close To having a whole bag yet, randy.
Oh, no, randy.
You went and lost all your paper.
- Oh Got you.
All right, all right.
There you go, randy.
That's it.
That's it.
What you think? - I don't think I'm very good.
- Well, I I second the motion, randy.
Nice working with you.
I'm glbd you came to waste management to try it out, But you just don't have it.
- I felt miserable out there in that wind, Knowing I was not getting the job done.
Walter is the only person That's ever fired me in my whole career.
- Today I'm at high acres landfill.
It's in upstate new york.
We've always run our landfills with a small staff.
I want to come to see if our cost-cutting measures Have taken effect.
The manager here, jeff richardson, I know.
I've met him before.
But I'm gonna go in And I'm gonna see if I can pull this whole thing off One more time.
Hello, sir.
- Larry o'donnell.
How are you? - Fine.
How are you? It's critical that nobody knows That larry's on site today.
- Gotcha.
- Don't talk to anybody about it.
- No, I won't.
I won't.
- I really need your help.
- You got my word.
You got my word.
- I'm ready to get started.
- You're gonna be working with jaclyn.
She's kind of the hub of the wheel.
- Okay.
- And the glue of the site, if you will.
- Hi.
- Hi, jaclyn.
Randy.
- Nice to meet you.
- Nice to meet you.
- You wore boots, buddy.
- Should I not wear boots? - That's all right.
Hope you can keep up.
Let's go.
- Okay.
- We're gonna go down to the admin building.
I'm a sneaker girl, Because I'm always usually running.
I work down there.
I'm doing all the admin.
Here we go.
- What is your job title? - Well, I have a couple of job titles, actually-- Office manager, Administrative assistant to jeff richardson, Scale operator, scale supervisor, All of the accounts payable, Receivable, payroll.
- So you just gonna show me one thing at a time, or--? - I never do one thing at a time.
- Okay.
- All right.
Then I usually go into the mailroom.
- Okay.
- Any incoming mail gets opened by myself.
I pay all the bills.
- It looks like a lot to me.
- Well, it's not much to me.
- You do walk fast.
- And then we're gonna pop back down to the scale.
- Do you ever feel overwhelmed? - Well, I did the first week.
- So you know how I feel right now? - I know exactly how you feel.
I'm gonna teach you how to run these scales.
- Wow, they're coming in.
- Nowe're gonna put in this trailer.
Hit the down button.
Tab.
- Oh.
- Over.
That's okay.
Over.
Over again.
Arrow over to the left.
Left.
- That's my other left.
- F7.
Okay.
Enter.
- There is a lot to know here.
I don't know how she keeps up with it all.
The phone's ringing.
I'm trying to enter stuff in the computer.
That is taking multitasking To a whole new level.
It is many, many, many tough jobs, And I don't know how you do 'em all And how you keep it all straight.
- They know that they can count on me for that kind of stuff, And it's not about how much I make.
But, I mean, I make the same amount of money for admin.
You know, and now doing dual roles Or triple roles or quadruple roles, I don't even know how many, You know, I stayed at the same amount.
Life is, I guess, what you make of it.
- Yeah.
- And I want to work hard And I want the most out of life that I can get.
I'm alive.
That's the most important thing.
I've experienced a lot of health problems in my life.
By the time I was 21, I had a total hysterectomy.
- Wow.
- Battled five forms of cancer Before I was 25.
- Are you serious? - Dead serious.
- Dang.
- I'm not that average Someday I'm gonna run this place.
- I don't doubt it.
- Are you from around here? - No, I'm not.
I've just moved into the area.
- Well, you know, after work here, You're welcome to come to dinner at my house And meet my family.
- Tonight? I would love to do that.
I look forward to it.
- All right.
Then we will see you later.
[doorbell rings.]
- Open the door, kayla.
Hi, how are you? - Hey, jaclyn.
- Oh, thank you.
- Brought you a little something.
- Well, thank you.
This is my husband, kurt.
- Are those for me? - Randy, how you doing? - Kurt? - Yes.
- Hi, nice to meet you.
- Andrew.
- Andrew, nice to see you.
Pretty proud of your mom? - She does a lot of things, And she always puts me before her, And she's not selfish.
- And you basically have three families here - Mm-hmm.
- Living with you.
- Mm-hmm.
- All depending on you.
- Mm-hmm.
Yep.
- How do you do it? - I just do what I have to do, What has to be done.
No matter what it takes Or how many hours in a day, I do it.
We moved in about five years ago.
- Yeah.
- But with, you know, the The house got reassessed, And the taxes just went [whistles.]
Through the moon.
It's currently up for sale, But, you know, ideally I'd love To stay in this home.
It's--it was my dream home.
- Yeah.
- And I don't work as hard as I work to give it up.
Everything in that backyard Is everything I ever wanted.
- Yeah.
- It's a great house.
But it's our home.
- Yeah.
- And to take our home from us is - You know, that did-- I--I felt bad for her.
Um, I--I really did.
- So I'm not sleeping well.
I'm thinking about jaclyn, And, uh, I can't leave here.
I've got to go to another location.
I can't leave without at least getting the ball rolling On doing something to solve this problem.
So at the risk of blowing my cover, I'm gonna contact jeff.
Announcer: Coming up, larry takes action.
- Looks like she's doing the job of a bunch of people.
- We, uh, are short a couple of people.
- Um, I'd like to try to help her.
Announcer: Larry o'donnell, A boss undercover in his own company, Has found an employee That is overworked and underpaid.
Troubled by jaclyn's situation, He breaks cover to confront her manager.
- Jeff? - Yes.
- Hey, this is larry.
Can you meet me right now? Uh, where's the most convenient place? Over by the hauling company in the parking lot? I don't want to blow my cover.
You found me.
- Hiding out? - Hiding out.
I don't know if you even know this or not, But jaclyn was so nice, She invited me last night To dinner with she and her family.
- Yeah, she's a great girl.
She's a great girl.
- Did you know that her father lives with her? - And her sister and her brother-in-law? Yes, that's right.
- I mean, it looked like They were sort of having Some financial difficulties over there With so many people Living over there and depending on 'em.
Looks like she's doing the job Of, you know, a bunch of people.
- Uh, we, uh-- we, uh - Are you short on people right now, or--? - We are short a couple of people.
- I really want to watch her career.
I'd like to see her kind of move along in the organization, And I'd like to try to help her.
- I've got some ideas, And, you know, I'll roll 'em up to you next week.
- Okay, take care.
- Thanks.
- Take care.
See ya.
Announcer: Satisfied he has dealt With the jaclyn situation, Larry leaves for his next destination And his next undercover job in texas.
Today larry o'donnell will be working at a carnival ground.
- I'm the new employee.
- How you doing? Gilbert cortez, waste management.
- Gilbert, nice to see you.
- Want to have a seat? The job you're gonna be doing is cleaning toilets.
These toilets don't flush.
So when somebody goes in that toilet, Whatever they leave stays behind, And that's what you're gonna have to be dealing with.
Driver's name is fred porchet.
- Fred.
- Freddy g? - Hey, fred.
- There he is right there.
- Let's do it.
How long you been doing this? - I've been doing it for ten years.
We're like hunters.
We see our prey.
We creep up on it.
Never know what you might see.
We don't know what's in here, But we know it's trouble.
This is destiny.
- That's it, man.
- [laughs.]
- That's--that's what we're here for.
- That's what we're here for.
- Okay, so what-- is there a technique I use, Or I just stick this baby in there? - Push it in there.
- Like that? Mix it up nice.
- Yeah, mix it up.
The softer it is, The better it'll go in through the hose.
- I got you.
- You might want to close the valve for a minute And let it build up a little pressure.
- You know, I'm gonna do what you told me.
- Yup.
- First I'm gonna get it-- - Yeah, stir it up a little bit.
- We got power now.
- Yeah, we got power now.
- Okay.
We're getting 'er done.
- Getting it down now? Phase two, you put that in that bucket right there.
Yeah, hit the floor a little.
- He needs to be vacuuming, You need to be scrubbing, or vice versa.
- Right.
- 'cause we're running out-- We got about eight minutes to get out of here.
- Okay.
- This is a tough job.
I'll tell you that right now.
There's a lot more to this Than I really thought.
- We found the diaper.
- That's it.
- Hey.
- Yeah? - You guys are doing good, But we got to get to v.
I.
P.
Here in about two minutes.
Thank you.
- Okay.
- Here we go.
- Make it dance, randy.
Make it dance.
That's good.
That didn't come from a human.
There was an animal in here.
Man, you do a good job.
I like you.
Just like that.
- That's it.
- We're good.
It ain't just a job.
It's an adventure.
I call it the battlefield of poop.
I say good soldiers endure.
Even if you get a little splatter on you, You're wounded, but you keep going.
Your productivity, as far as your speed, Just a little bit faster.
'cause we want to do at least - 15 in an hour? - 15 in an hour.
- Wow.
I wasn't anywhere close to that.
- I got so much more to do, man, and finish my route.
I'd like to work with him some more, Because I see the potential in him.
I definitely think he has a future here.
- I kept trying to figure out What motivates him.
He takes a job that most people would consider nasty, And he turns it into something Just funny and fun.
If we could all be that way, What a great company we would have.
[alarm beeps.]
Today I'm going on a trash collection route, Because that's the public face of the company.
I want to experience what our employees experience.
How is the communication Between our front-line employees And our managers? - Good morning, randy.
I'm janice.
Nice to meet you.
Welcome to the team.
- Thank you.
- I'm gonna show you what your job Basically is gonna be for the day.
Let's get out there and pick up some trash.
- Let's go.
- All righty.
- So how many houses will we do today? - I have a little over 300.
- 300? - Yes.
- This is gonna be a little crazy.
- All righty.
Put it right in front of it.
Bring it up just a little bit.
No, no, no, just a little bit closer to the truck.
All right.
Just relax.
You'll get it.
Don't get frustrated.
All righty.
You got it.
All right.
- That just messed up our productivity.
- Eh.
No, no, no.
Okay, remember what I said.
It's just, like We're supposed to do our route the same way every day, And, hell, I could be out there 12 or 13 hours, And they just like, "what are you doing out there?" We're working, for crying out loud.
From what we're all to understand, If something comes up and we don't agree with it, That's the way corporate wants it, So that's how it's gonna be.
- This is us, huh? I've probably been the one at corporate That's driving productivity, And I feel terrible that I've created something That is causing her to not enjoy her job.
Announce it's not just upper management That's the problem for janice.
She also feels undermined By her direct supervisors.
- They have the white pickup trucks.
Each supervisor is assigned to one.
- Mm-hmm.
- And sometimes they will come out and watch you.
- Think they're around watching us right now? - It's possible.
It's absolutely possible We're being watched right now.
Oh, yeah.
Okay, there's a white pickup truck Down the street right there.
- We have route managers That go around and they do these observations.
I don't want our drivers, though, To feel like they're being spied upon, Because that's not what this is all about.
- It is a good company and everything, But I don't really believe That they are very female-friendly here.
When you're a female out here working on a garbage truck, This is our outhouse.
That's our little pee pot.
- That's it.
- That's it.
You obviously can't keep Breaking off route all the time To go use the restroom.
That would add all kinds of time onto the route.
Every time I have to go to the bathroom, I'd have to break off route, and - Wow.
You pee in a can? You okay with that? - Well, I guess I have to be.
- I mean, I was just struck.
How do our female drivers Deal with being out on the road, You know, when nature calls? I feel like a male chauvinist or something.
I mean, I've never thought about it.
- I'll introduce you to my favorite customers.
There's some people that look forward to me every week, And they'll come out.
They'll be waiting for me.
Oh, my gosh.
- Look at that.
- This is my favorite soda right here.
- Cream soda.
That's so nice of you.
Our customers don't see me.
They see janice.
She wants to spend time with the customers, But at the same time, She's got to hit these productivity targets.
I've created a policy That is taking her off track.
- This is my new helper, randy.
- Hi, how are you? - This is karen.
- Karen, nice to meet you.
Randy.
- Uh, I wanted to say, JaniceIs a good worker.
She is a goodTo talk to.
- Isn't that nice? - Well, thank you for all this.
- And on time to pick up our garbage.
- You made our day.
- I made this up all by myself.
- Did you really? Wow.
- I did not expect this today.
- Wow.
- Well, thank you for saying that.
And it's customers like you that keep me going.
- Yes.
- When I saw karen come out with that note, I could only think of my daughter, And, uh, it touched me.
I'm sorry.
Didn't think I'd be, you know, Having these kind of emotional issues Here riding on the back of a garbage truck.
I had no idea.
The way we're approaching productivity, I didn't realize what impact That that's having on our drivers.
It came right out of my office.
It came from me.
I want to fix that.
- Coming up, larry takes back the corporate reins And reveals his true identity.
- Oh, my goodness.
- Oh, my god.
- You clean up good.
Announcer: Larry o'donnell has spent The past seven days undercover in his own company.
His journey has finally come to an end, And now it's time to reveal his true identity.
- I'm gonna approach the whole way I do my job differently.
I don't want to be doing things That are gonna cause disruption or frustration.
I have got to change the way I go about my own job.
Announcer: As larry's journey comes to a close, He calls together the members of his senior leadership team To discuss his week undercover.
- I think the things I've learned Could change the way we do business forever.
I worked at one of your recycling facilities, pat, In syracuse.
Our employees, if they're late, They get docked in pay Two minutes for every one minute that they're late.
I'm glad I discovered that.
The way the policy has been implemented, It--it's just not right.
I was working as a helper On a residential collection truck, And my driver was talking about, you know, productivity.
We've all talked about it, But that's one that, you know, I felt like I owned that one.
Look, productivity is important, But we need to find a way that we can balance You know, not making the good drivers Feel like we're spying on 'em.
I want to go over What some of the next steps could be, And make things better For our frontline employees.
So that's the game plan.
I'm gonna bring in each person that I worked with, One at a time, And reveal my true identity to 'em.
- I just don't know why I'm here in florida.
I would like some answers.
- I'm a little scared, a little nervous.
You know, when you don't know what's ahead of you, You don't know.
Wha--! - Oh, my goodness! My helper, randy.
- It's randy.
- Oh, my goodness.
Randy.
- Hello.
- You know who I am? - Yes.
- Who? - Randy.
- I'm actually larry o'donnell, President of waste management.
- You're kidding me.
- I'm serious as I could be.
- Oh, my god.
This is-- - Is it all coming clear now? - Yes! - How--how you picked-- I wouldn't think You clean up good.
- Now I'm really nervous.
Oh, my goodness.
- What are you nervous for? I wanted to experience What it's like to do so many of the jobs That are vital to the way we operate every day, So I could learn-- what is it like? You know, what are the challenges in these jobs? I wanted to be a better manager.
I learned a heck of a lot.
Fred, the positive approach And e positive attitude that you bring Makes such a big difference.
How could we tap into that excitement And maybe help others in our company Begin to share that kind of excitement? - Thank you.
Thank you.
- I'd like to invite you to come up And speak to our senior leadership team.
- Yes, sir.
I accept that, and I'll put everything I have into it.
Oh, my god.
This is--oh, my god.
This is just--oh, my god.
I'm so happy, larry.
- Come on over here.
- Ha ha! I'm honored.
And it is a privilege.
A privilege.
Man, the president? Come on, now.
- Janice, there was one thing That just hit me like you shot me right in the head.
You kept saying houston and corporate.
You know who you were talking about? - I have no idea.
- You were talking about me.
- Oh, okay.
- I got to experience firsthand The frustration that some of the decisions that I've made Are causing you and other drivers.
- Exactly.
- But what I'm gonna commit to you Is I got to get that fixed.
And so we want to form a task force And talk about how can we make this an environment That works for you.
- I appreciate that.
I really do.
That means a lot to me as well.
We made a commitment, And there's--so I'm gonna holdim to that.
I'm gonna remember this day forever.
This is awesome.
I mean, really, this is really awesome.
- Walter, your personal story Really touched me.
You've been on dialysis for 19, Almost 20 years? And yet you have such a positive attitude, The way you go about your life.
I'd like to create a program here Where you can get some paid time off To try to help some of these folks going through treatment, Because you figured out a way to live this way.
You're a motivational kind of guy.
- Thank you.
Means a lot.
Most people in that position, that high, You know, you never see 'em.
They won't take the time out to come down, To see what you're doing, Or even say hello.
- I really appreciated working with you, And when you and I were having lunch, You got up and bolted out of the lunch room.
You have to clock back in exactly on 30 minutes.
Well, I knew that wasn't our policy.
That really bothers me.
So I'm gonna talk to kevin about it And we're gonna get that fixed.
- Well, I appreciate you coming out and trying it out.
- I'm a little concerned about kevin.
He has a problem right now, So it needs to be fixed.
Hey, kevin.
- Hello.
- Larry o'donnell.
- Nice to meet you.
- I understand you had somebody Working at your recycling facility last week.
- Yes, we did.
- Did you meet the employee? - No, I did not.
- Would it surprise you to hear it was me? - Uh - One of the reasons I've done this Is I want to understand What things are causing frustration with our employees.
I've seen the way you ended up implementing Our policy about What frustration it's causing.
You know, if they're three minutes late, We don't penalize them.
And that seems to be the thing That is just really frustrating.
- Sure.
- I think we can figure out a better way to do it Than what we're doing.
Can I count on you to get that done? - Okay.
I don't think that's something that can't be done.
All right.
- All right? - Yep.
- Okay.
Jaclyn, your personal story really hit me.
You're doing several people's jobs right now.
You don't complain about it.
You just get the job done.
- Mm-hmm.
- So we're gonna put you on a salary.
We're gonna take you off hourly, We're gonna make you a supervisor.
And then you need to go hire your replacement So you can do more, So you can take on more responsibility.
That's not everything.
You're gonna become bonus eligible, And that's gonna result In a pretty nice pay increase for you.
- I--I don't know what to say.
- Your family gonna be proud of you? - Oh, I think so.
One word, and that's just "unbelievable.
" Can't really describe it, Because all my hard work Has been noticed.
Announcer: Now that larry has revealed his true identity, It's time to share his undercover experience With the entire company.
- Please welcome our president and c.
O.
O.
, larry o'donnell.
[cheering, horns honk.]
- Larry! - Thanks a lot.
I'm larry o'donnell, And for the last seven days, I've been undercover at waste management.
And I met some great people when I was out there.
Let's take a look.
- I call it the battlefield of poop.
Get it, randy! There you go.
- Good morning.
How are you? And you're going to work, I see? [cheers and applause.]
- What is your job title? - Well, I have a couple of job titles, actually.
- Taking too long, randy.
Taking too long.
Nice working with you.
I'm glad you came To waste management to try it out, But you just don't have it.
[laughter.]
[cheers and applause.]
- You know, in my role, There's a lot of policies that I've put out there, And you all have to live with 'em.
I feel more of a connection With the folks that do The really hard jobs at this company.
I'm gonna be a different manager, Because now I have a whole new appreciation Of the impact of some of my decisions Can have on you folks.
- That he was gonna have a change of heart For us out there in the trenches, That really made a change in my life right there, Just to hear that coming from the top.
- Tears came to my eyes.
I was overwhelmed.
I really was.
- Today was just amazing, And I really feel good about what we accomplished.
This an experience that I think is really gonna change my life.