Undercover Boss (2010) s04e10 Episode Script
O'Neill Clothing
Male announcer: This week on Undercover Boss [Rock music.]
The CEO of O'Neill Clothing, one of the biggest action sports apparel companies in the world - What's up, dude? - Nothing, just chilling.
Right on.
Announcer: Goes undercover posing as a medical school dropout Done.
Announcer: His employees think he's on a reality show competing to win money to open his own surf shop.
- What's up, buddy? - You Jesus? - Yup, nice to meet you, man.
- Nice to meet you.
Announcer: By giving up his surfboard and skateboard to work in the field We've got a great selection of backpacks, one of which I'm wearing right now.
Okay.
Announcer: Toby finds out that not everyone is stoked about working at O'Neill You know, I wish I didn't have to keep clicking "enter.
" It gives you a lot of room to mess up.
Some of the designers are, like, real primadonnas.
You know, you're gonna pick up a girl on your first date, you wanna look like a man.
You don't wanna look like a five-year-old, like your mom picked this out.
Announcer: And how will he react to an employee's outrageous proposition? I know how to grow some really good weed if you [chuckles.]
If you're really interested.
If he's talking like that to a customer, we could be in some deep trouble.
Hell, yeah, man.
We can do something real nice.
Announcer: Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 4x10 - O'Neill Clothing Original air date February 22, 2013 Headquartered in Irvine, California, O'Neill clothing is one of the world's largest surf wear and youth lifestyle brands.
With annual revenues exceeding $200 million, overseeing this pipeline of action sports apparel is one man.
My name is Toby Bost, and I'm CEO of O'Neill Clothing, USA.
[Rock music.]
O'Neill is an action sports company.
We specialize in apparel and accessories.
- How's it going? - Good, how are you doing? We make everything from T-shirts to board shorts to bikinis.
If you can wear it, we make it here at O'Neill.
[Surf music.]
O'Neill has 60 years of surf history.
Jack O'Neill was an inventor.
He invented the wet suit.
He invented the surf leash.
He really figured out ways to market his brand uniquely as well, the future for the brand, it's gonna follow the same footsteps, and we're gonna be that true, true, true surf company.
You can find O'Neill in any core surf shop across the nation and worldwide.
Five years ago, we set out on a journey to get into the retail business, so we've opened 12 stores, and we're expecting to double the business over the next three to five years.
[Surf music.]
The stereotype of the surfer is kind of that Spicoli character that has a different terminology, like "dude" and "bro" and "stoked.
" - Hey.
- Hey, what's up? - What's up, dude? - Nothing.
- Just chilling.
- Right on.
Came down to check out the new line, so it looks good.
- Right on.
- That's cool.
- That's cool, so - sick.
- Cool.
- All right, right on.
- I'll see you later.
Both: - Later.
You know, I think that's a pretty close definition, but you don't have to be a surfer to wear the trends, to love the beach.
I grew up in Northern California.
I was supposed to be a doctor.
My father was a pretty high-profile orthopedic surgeon, but it wasn't for me, you know? I just had fallen in love with action sports at an early age, and I knew I didn't wanna wear a tie to work, and I wanted to have that fun, casual experience doing stuff that I loved and making money at it.
[Rock music.]
I started early on with a degree in business and literally went to work in a warehouse so that I could get my foot in the door in this industry.
From there, I went to no fear, to rip curl.
And then I got the call from O'Neill, and one day, I got the opportunity to be CEO.
I think they could've easily picked a fortune 500 guy.
You know, I had a lot to learn.
I'm 42, and I've been the CEO for seven years and have a lot of fun doing it.
[Ska music.]
Getting people stoked in the workplace is a high priority for me, and we wanted to add some fun to it.
You can bring your dog.
We have a skate park.
You can hit the gym.
I would describe myself as a hands-off manager.
[Laughter.]
Sketchy! There aren't a ton of rules, but the one that we live by is we wear what we make, and that's a rule I've taken home with me.
My four kids, they know the rule well.
Hello.
Who is it? - Hi, guys.
- Hey.
So I have three children from my first marriage London! And I have a fourth child with my new fiancee Lauren.
Oh, did you guys see her tooth? You got your first tooth! Toby's a really super involved father.
He does everything for his kids.
Hey, you wanna skateboard? Here.
- Yeah.
- Yay! He wants to make sure that everyone's having a good time, you know, make sure everything's just really rocking for everybody.
So you gonna miss me while I'm gone for the week? Yeah, for sure.
It's gonna be weird.
For sure.
Gonna try to transform into the total corporate coot.
Oh, my gosh, that's gonna be crazy.
That's so opposite from what you are.
- Yeah, for sure.
- For sure.
You have wax in your hair, yeah? Tons.
Going undercover, I'm looking for things that we can do better in order to market and sell this brand.
We want our brand to be number one.
If we're not the hottest brand on the block, I want the information as to how we would become just that.
Looks like I got some sweet plugs.
While undercover, I'll be posing as Frederick, a guy from Utah who's going through a mid-life crisis and wants to open a surf shop.
That's Frederick Wilson.
Done.
Throughout my undercover journey, my employees will be tricked into thinking they're on a hosted reality show in which they will work alongside Frederick and then decide whether he deserves to win funding from an investor to open his own surf shop.
So today we are at O'Neill Clothing store in Commerce, California.
The man pretending to be the host of the fake show will keep asking questions about whether Frederick deserves the money, so my employees will have no idea that this is secretly Undercover Boss.
Oh, my gosh! You look like you're from the '90s! [Chuckles.]
- Oh, my God.
- Right? Hi, London.
Oh, yeah.
Aw, I'm sorry.
She doesn't know who I am.
[Laughs.]
Let's go say bye to dad.
All right.
- Well, see you soon.
- Bye.
I'm excited, you know.
I'm really, really curious as to what we're gonna find out there, and it's a "do whatever it takes" attitude at this point.
Let's go.
- Bye! - Bye.
[Horn honks.]
[Rock music.]
I'm here in Las Vegas today at O'Neill's Outlet Store.
I'm gonna be working with a seasonal sales associate.
We need outlet stores so that we can move our past season stock, and seasonal sales associates are brought in during high traffic times, so these people are newbies.
- What's happening? - What's going on? Looking for Jesus.
Uh, he's right over there in the back to the right.
I'm really interested to get in there and see how much training has gone into seasonal sales associates and how much they really know about the business.
- What's up, buddy? - You Jesus? - Yup, I'm Jesus.
- I'm Frederick.
- Nice to meet you, man.
- Nice to meet you.
- You're the contestant? - Yep.
All right, cool, man.
Well, I'm here just to show you the ropes All right.
Show you how we do it around here.
[Whimsical music.]
Frederick looks like a high school principal, unfortunately.
He's got the collared shirt and, like, the khaki pants and the really dorky running shoes.
Like, but, I mean, he's got a badass moustache, that's for sure, so that's cool.
[Chuckles.]
How long have you been working here? Honestly, I've been here for, like, about a month.
- Oh, okay.
- Yeah, so pfft, I'm your trainer right here, buddy, so Yeah, all right.
You see a customer, just, "hey, what's up, guys?" So it's not like, "hey, welcome to O'Neill.
" No, it's not like, "hello, welcome to O'Neill, thank you.
" You just be like, "hey, what up?" This job is really not that hard.
I kinda do whatever I want.
I didn't mind the casual greeting, but I was probably expecting just a little bit more of a formal approach.
What's a rash guard? I'm gonna guess it's, like, maybe to prevent a rash from, like from, like, your wet suit.
Not sure.
Jesus got stuck on the rash guard.
"Protection from the elements.
" There it is, man.
You need to know exactly what these products are all about.
It's what we do.
Today's a Thursday, so it's kinda slow, so we're gonna swiffer, dust, and clean the mirrors and stuff.
- All right.
- Here you go, buddy.
- All right.
- I'll follow you.
I just gotta fix these, and I'll come back - and shout at you.
- All right.
[Upbeat music.]
I'm off tomorrow.
Jesus was messing around and not working.
He definitely came off very, very nonchalant.
It didn't seem like he was an employee of that store.
It's pretty spotless, buddy.
Frederick, he's a little stiff.
What about the front doors? You want me to do those too? Are you done with both mirrors already? - Yeah.
- Oh, sweet, dang.
You're friggin' fast, man.
So what did you do before this, man? I was in medical school, and I kinda dropped out of that.
Smart man.
You know, I'm here to try to win my own store.
Yeah, man.
It'll be a good experience for you.
You'll learn a lot.
Me, personally, I wouldn't stick a lot of this, like, this clothing, like, this type of clothes in here just because To me, that was just so out of left field.
Jesus had a ton of attitude, and he had a lot to say.
This style right here is just dead.
It's done, over with.
You would never see me wearing an O'Neill shirt.
He hates the clothes.
That's not a good fit for any retail store.
You know, you're gonna pick up a girl on your first date, you wanna look like a man.
You don't wanna look like a five-year-old, like your mom picked this out.
You're all set? You're all good with that? That's in earshot of a customer.
That's obviously a problem.
Is it mostly tourists that are coming in here? Yeah, that's why you really have to let them know, like, "hey," "I'm here for eight hours, better" "better hurry the @#$% up and get whatever you want" "'cause I got a date in 30 minutes" "with a badass bitch, you know what I mean?" He was acting like a punk, kind of hitting all those points that I just can't stand.
- All right, buddy.
- Nobody calls me "buddy.
" I'm just straight up lazy, man, like, uh Sorry, what was that? I know how to grow some really good weed if you [Chuckles.]
if you're really interested.
If he's talking like that to a co-worker, or worse yet, a customer, we could be in some deep trouble.
You have knowledge, in, like, "medicine," right? A little bit.
Have you ever thought about opening, like, a pot dispensary? You have knowledge in, like, "medicine," right? A little bit.
Have you ever thought about opening, - like, a pot dispensary? - No.
Really? I mean, talking about pot and dispensaries and marijuana? I mean, come on.
I mean, it would be a really good business.
I just don't know what to do with this kid right now.
I just want him to stop talking.
- Is that good? - Boom, there we go.
You picked up real quick on this one.
Yeah.
Hey, what does your tattoo say on your arm? - That is my mother.
- Uh-huh.
She was the one that raised me and taught me That's really cool.
How to be a man, man, straight up.
Right on.
Yeah, I'm really close to my mom.
I don't really have a father relationship.
- Uh-huh.
- But my dad's, um are your parents divorced, or? I'm 23.
They've been going at this for 23 years, you know? - Oh, really? - It's on, off, on and off.
Yeah, but my dad, he was never there for me, so it is what it is, and you become who you are by the experiences of your life.
Yeah.
I felt for Jesus.
He came up from a broken home.
I could feel, you know, that he's still struggling with whatever it is that was happening throughout his upbringing.
I'm young.
You have a lot of years on me, but I've learned a lot in my life, and, you know, what's outside of your control, you just can't control it.
I have a really hard decision to make with Jesus.
He did a lot of things wrong today.
How you doing, man? I'm gonna meet with him in a few days, and I'm gonna make a decision as to what his future will be with O'Neill.
[Rock music.]
Working with Jesus yesterday really upset me and left me with a lot to think about.
I know how to grow some really good weed if you [Chuckles.]
if you're really interested.
I hope the employee I meet today is a better representation of our company.
I'm at Massive Prints in Compton, California.
These guys are responsible for screen printing all of our T-shirts.
so this is obviously a very important partner for us.
I'm looking for Jorge.
Hey, it's me.
- Hey, I'm Frederick.
- Frederick.
So this is what we're going to be doing today.
I'm gonna teach you how to print this T-shirt.
- Wow, all right.
- Okay? I'm responsible to make it look good and straight and perfect, so customers can buy it.
All right, let's do it.
How do you keep track of all these colors? I've been doing this since I was 16 years old Wow.
So I can teach you some tricks.
Okay, great.
So grab the screen.
See, these are already marked.
Yeah.
The easiest way to do it is to use the film, and most of the time, they tell you the placement on it.
Uh, placement, placement.
They don't tell us placement.
If they don't tell us placement, we do it by eye.
There is another problem.
The problem with the designers they don't update.
We update every six months this book.
So the designer's supposed to tell you where to place the design on the T-shirt? Some designers leave it to yourselves.
Okay, that's what you give them.
See, center this.
I got a real quick sense that he makes a lot of his own decisions on the floor because, quite frankly, the instructions are not that clear.
Some of the designers are, like, real primadonnas, and some are real cool.
But communication with them is the key.
Yeah.
And I need to see what it takes.
When they change a color, a little box in the computer, and it changes the whole process in here, - you know? - Yeah.
This is a huge problem.
I'm definitely gonna have my designers down here more often working with Jorge because our brand's hands are in Jorge's hands.
I'm gonna print one, and you print the rest.
Okay.
What if I ruin the shirts? - Let's not do it.
- Okay.
- Press down - Got it.
And pull.
Seems easy.
Yeah, it looks good.
Make sure it's straight.
Looks straight to me.
Okay, so go ahead.
Yeah, let me try one.
[Electronic music.]
You gotta pay attention where I placed it before.
The next thing goes right here.
We go all the way in there, place it right on the edge.
Then, you print.
Remember, you gotta do it hard.
- Just - Press down and pull.
Yeah, perfect.
All you, dude.
I'm not here.
- Go ahead and do them.
- Okay.
[Whimsical music.]
Oh, I'm gonna ruin this shirt.
No doubt the hardest part of this is the alignment.
Jorge just makes it look super easy.
Oh, Frederick's doing pretty good so far.
- It's not straight.
- It's not.
See, this side is like that? - Yeah.
- We did a few missteps.
But he'll learn.
Remember, we gotta keep these lines from clogging.
- You need a little bit stronger - Pull harder? Should I bring one of the girls to do it? [Laughter.]
Jorge's great.
He's obviously been doing this for a really, really long time.
Yeah, there you go.
So it's pretty cool to be with Jorge getting the firsthand knowledge.
I'm pretty stoked right now.
Okay, we're done with that.
So let's go for a break, dude.
Let's do it.
Yeah.
Oh, man, that's hard work.
[Laughs.]
I work a lot of hours here.
Do you have kids, or? Yeah, I got kids.
I got six kids.
So when do you get to see your kids? - Weekends.
- Weekends? [Laughs.]
Yeah.
Huh.
You gonna eat something? Yeah, for sure.
Two carne asada tacos? The same for me.
So what are you goals on this if you win? - Oh, thank you.
- Hopefully, you win.
You know, just trying to do whatever I can to provide for my four kids.
Thank you.
How old are your kids? and then I have a baby girl that's seven months old.
Is your new baby healthy? Yeah, she's really healthy.
Yeah, yeah.
My baby is not healthy.
She's got a condition, Cornelia De Lange.
- Cornelia De Lange? - De Lange, yeah.
It's a real rare syndrome, and it's nasty.
Some of the kids don't grow limbs, and it's a mental retardation.
- Oh, man.
- And, you know, it's just hard, so we got my wife's gotta take care of her all the time.
I still gotta call the pharmacies about getting feeding bags, you know? So they're super expensive, or yeah, they're expensive.
It's just hard because you go through hard times, you know, to to uh, to get to I don't know.
It just scares me a little bit.
It's hard 'cause I work so much.
Yeah, you have a time commitment that you're making here with your daughter who's so sick at home.
That's gotta be really hard.
I work so much, and I love my daughter, you know? - Yeah.
- I love her with all my heart.
And she's the happiness, you know? She's the happiness on my life, you know? And sometimes, I struggle to make the ends meet, but you gotta enjoy the clouds.
It rains, so you can enjoy the rainbow, you know? - Yeah.
- [Chuckles.]
Yeah, so I mean, I can see from getting the experience on that press, you're really good at what you do, you know? You're probably of higher value than you think you are to this company.
- I love the company, you know? - Yeah.
- So ready to work? - Let's go.
Let's go.
[Soft rock music.]
What can I do for this guy? There's gotta be something that I can do.
Jorge had a really heavy story.
The challenges that he's dealing with at home, you know, I could really feel his pain, but he's got a super positive outlook on life.
I think people like Jorge are diamonds in the rough.
They're the unsung heroes in the organization, and you can't live without them.
Jesus is the polar opposite.
This guy crossed the line with me.
Have you ever thought about opening, like, a pot dispensary? Yes, we run a very fun, non-corporate environment, but at the same time, we have a certain way of carrying ourselves.
The inconsistencies I found really point out some of our growing pains.
We're gonna have to get this operation nice and tight so that we can go to the next level.
[Lightning crashes.]
[Rock music.]
How you doing today? Announcer: Coming up, Toby tries his skills on the sales floor.
Great backpack on today that's for sale, $44.
50 if you guys are interested.
Okay.
Announcer: And later If you say the word "mine," you have to hit ten push-ups on the spot.
Announcer: The boss learns some new training techniques.
Yeah, so mine oh, see? There you go.
Three, four, five, six.
Announcer: Toby Bost, the CEO of O'Neill Clothing, is a boss undercover in his own company.
I know how to grow some really good weed if you [Chuckles.]
if you're really interested.
Announcer: So far, his journey has not gone as planned.
Have you ever thought about opening, like, a pot dispensary? Really? I mean, talking about pot and dispensaries and marijuana? I mean, come on.
Announcer: His journey continues in California.
[Rock music.]
I'm here today in Anaheim, California, at O'Neill's flagship store.
I'm gonna be working with the assistant manager of retail.
Thank you so much for coming.
- Have a great day.
- Oh, thank you.
The managers of the store are really important.
They oversee all of the other retail associates, and they're really responsible for posting numbers for the day.
So do you want a full suit? 'Cause there's different types.
My last job in retail with Jesus was not a great experience, so I'm hoping today is a lot better.
- Hi.
- Hi, are you Desiree? - Yes.
- Frederick.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
So I have a couple different tasks - that we'll be doing today.
- Let's do it.
Okay.
So I'll bring you over here.
We'll do some merchandising on the floor.
Go through here.
So we're gonna work on this table right here.
All right.
So it's just trying to make it visually appealing.
Okay.
Incorporate the mannequins somewhere in here.
- Okay.
- And then there's skateboards and then this whole box down here.
- Just be creative.
- I'll give it a shot.
Okay.
[Whimsical music.]
All right, let's see how that looks.
How's it coming? I'm trying to make it all perfect.
Okay, so just, like, incorporate some of the skateboards somehow.
I mean, this table's pretty full.
How do I put skateboards on it? However you think they should go.
- Try it.
- Okay.
Desiree had her own playbook on the retail floor.
That's not gonna work.
We have a merchandising team that goes into our retail stores, sets up the displays, and really sets the tone for how we want our products to look.
So I was really surprised that Desiree didn't have any company guidelines for me to follow.
I tried to fit it all on the table, what do you think? - Here's an idea.
- Okay.
So one of the skateboards, it can be, like, leaning up against the mannequin somehow.
Really? I was concerned about the skateboard.
It was not secured, and it could've really hurt somebody.
- And that won't fall.
- Mm.
So I'm gonna make sure that our retail merchandising team is educating our staff so that everything is where it needs to be when it needs to be there.
You see how we've done backpacks? - We've stuffed them.
- Oh, okay.
I was recently doing our back-to-school sale, and pushing backpacks is something you need to do, so I had the sales associates wear backpacks.
Huh.
I was like, "okay, so sell two backpacks," "and you can take off yours," and it actually worked.
In that one day, we sold eight or ten backpacks, the most we sold.
I like that idea.
It's a really good idea.
Like, I always joke, "maybe I'll have you guys wear a wet suit," "and we'll see if we can sell wet suits like that.
" Oh, my God, that's pretty funny.
So you can stick on a backpack, and you can try to see if you can sell one.
Okay.
Pick a backpack, throw it on, and when customers come in, just be greeting them.
Okay, I'll give it a shot.
Yeah, that's what we usually do.
Go for it.
Did you guys need any help with anything? We've got a great selection of backpacks, one of which I'm wearing right now.
Sunnies, or oh, you got sunnies there.
Are there wallets here? Um, that's a good question.
When it came to selling the backpack for Frederick, he seemed a little shy.
Like, that doesn't really cut it.
Like, you have to be out there, outgoing.
Even if someone is coming in, and you're back here, well, you can yell, "hi, welcome to O'Neill!" - Okay.
- Just, like, you know yeah.
So just try and help that way.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
Let me know if you guys have any questions or need any help.
And I got a great backpack on today that's for sale, $44.
50, if you guys are interested.
Okay.
I like the fact that Desiree has come up with some really creative ideas to sell product.
Are there any other colors in these or just the light? I believe it's just the light.
The backpack concept was genius.
Having an employee have a competition in stores is what I love to see - There you are.
- Perfect, thanks.
So I'm gonna make sure we use that idea in other retail stores.
I got a great backpack on today that's $44.
50.
Okay.
If I sell it, I can take it off today.
- That's the - Okay.
We'll have a look and see what we got.
All right.
Frederick did not sell the backpack, so when it comes to Frederick owning his own store today, probably not.
- We can go have some lunch.
- Oh, all right.
It is lunchtime, so just take a little break in the back.
I'm starving.
So what made you decide to go through this change? You know, I really just found that it was time to really focus on four kids to support, and - Yeah.
- How about you? Do you have kids, or? I have a daughter.
She's five.
Are you married, or? I'm actually going through a divorce right now.
Oh, you are? - I'm not one to share much - Yeah.
But everything is for my daughter.
Especially as a single mother, I take a lot of sacrifices just so that my daughter can have what she needs.
Uh-huh.
As a single mother, Desiree obviously has a lot on her mind, so for her to be so focused on the business at hand is very impressive, but I would feel like, to date, we've been treating our retail team a little bit like a third party.
I need to make sure that all of our stores have the right training information and that it comes directly from corporate headquarters to take out the guesswork.
We should get back out there, right? - Yeah, right.
- [Laughs.]
Cool.
[Rock music.]
I'm almost at the end of my undercover journey, and I'm at the Citadel Outlet Malls in Commerce, California.
I'm gonna be working in the stock room today.
Being that this is our most busy store, I'm expecting to see a lot of stock in the stock room.
We better have the right products ready to go so that we can replenish our top sellers.
Hi, I'm looking for Michael? - He's in the back.
- Okay.
- I'm Frederick.
- Aw, I'm Mike.
- Nice to meet you, Mike.
- Nice to meet you too, man.
Today I'm just gonna teach you how to go about doing - stock here at O'Neill.
- Perfect.
A lot of clothes in here.
It's hard for me to picture Frederick in action sports.
He wasn't what I expected at all.
I'd probably say he likes to be at home in front of a computer, just a web surfer type of guy.
So are you ready to get started? - Let's do it.
- All right, cool, man.
Okay, so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna show you how to scan in the inventory.
Every time we scan something new, we're gonna have to press "enter" every time, so it can go to the next slot.
So I'll take one of these.
If you can just press "enter" for me every time I can scan something in, that would make things here a whole lot easier.
- Easy enough.
- Hell, yeah.
[Scanner beeps.]
Enter.
Yeah, just every time I scan something, just "enter.
" This is pretty tedious work.
You know, I wish I didn't have to keep clicking "enter.
" It gives you a lot of room to mess up, so Yeah, that makes sense.
The computer system's not working the way it needs to.
It's creating a lot of extra work.
You can tell we've outgrown that system.
- Separate by color? - Yeah, by style, exactly.
Okay.
I'll have you finish that up as I scan in the other two boxes.
- No problem.
- But, yeah.
Usually, like, what you see me doing right now, we never sit down and do stock.
The stock person needs to be able to take initiative.
Yeah.
We're a team here, you know? I like to go by, you know, the whole team motto.
You cannot say the word "mine.
" If you say the word "mine," you have to hit ten push-ups on the spot.
You know what comes with that word, just being selfish and stuff like that, you know? We should help each other to get better sales or anything like that, you know? - I like it.
- Yeah, so mine Oh, see? There you go, see? See, I'll just go ahead and hit my ten push-ups real quick.
Michael's great.
He's really passionate about his job.
Okay.
See, so the rule even applies to me.
You can tell he wants to do a really, really good job and work as hard as he can.
You ready to get started on something on your own? - Yeah, let's do it.
- Okay, here you go.
All right, you're on your own for now.
[Whimsical music.]
How's it going? Just so you know, all of our clothing is 40% off today.
This is such an important part of retail, but this is pretty tedious work.
Gotta be some ways to streamline this.
[Scanner beeps.]
- How's it going back here? - Just counting them up.
I know that part of it sucks, man, but the point of sales system needs an upgrade.
It's all right.
I'm gonna take responsibility and put the pressure on myself to make it run right.
The T-shirts that you scanned in, we're just gonna fold those.
So I'll just go over this one fold with the T-shirt real quick.
So open it up from the back, put it in the very center, fold the sleeve back.
Just make sure everything's straight.
Tuck this part of the shirt into here.
- All right.
- Okay? So tell me about yourself, man.
Why are you here, you know, just? Yeah, so I'm burnt out on, you know, medical school and just really wanted a change.
How about you? What's your story? The summer I graduated high school, we lost our house.
We lost our house, and we were all homeless.
I was homeless for about a whole year.
- Wow.
- I was lost, you know? I just graduated high school.
I'm supposed to be going to college and, you know, doing my thing, you know, doing big things, and I'm over here on the street, you know, sleeping on park benches, and I've been robbed by people that are supposed to be my friends, you know what I'm saying? Robbed me, like, at gunpoint Yeah.
And it was not the place to be for me.
- Yeah.
- I just moved back home.
Actually, man, my mom just got a new place.
She's out of work right now - Oh, yeah? - And I support my mom and my two younger siblings that stay at home.
You wanna get back in school, or? Yeah, I definitely want to get back in school.
What a heavy story, being on the street.
For Mike to be holding the responsibility that he does for his family, to see him working so hard, you know, driving that stock room, it's pretty amazing.
So let's take these out to the floor.
Oh, all right.
[Upbeat music.]
A big company like this can get away from you.
I found that this company got a little bit away from me this week.
Running a business, I just thought I had it all covered.
But really going undercover and getting out into the field, I realized how many things are disconnected.
I saw things that blew my mind.
People are creating their own standard procedures, working off their own policy.
Those are things that have to be fixed.
The casual beach lifestyle of surfing, it's amazing, but at the end of the day, we're still running a business.
I know now I have to be way more involved and really pay attention to the little things.
Otherwise, we're never gonna be successful.
[Sea gulls chirp.]
Announcer: How will the employees react when they find out Frederick is really the boss? My name's Toby Bost.
I'm CEO of O'Neill Clothing.
You're lying.
Announcer: And Toby finally gets his chance to confront Jesus about his bad behavior.
Do you really think Frederick should get into the weed business? Am I fired? The north shore of Oahu is so iconic for O'Neill.
This is where surfing was born.
I couldn't be ending my trip in a more special place.
The people that I worked with this week think they're coming to Hawaii to meet with an industry insider to rate my performance on the fake reality show.
Hello, hi, Desiree.
How are you? Fine.
Holy crap, man, you look different, I think, maybe, I don't know.
- Why is that? - Moustache fell off.
Sure did.
Yeah.
Do I look familiar to you at all? You look like Frederick.
So I gotta be honest with you.
- Yeah? - I'm not Frederick.
- You're not Frederick? - No.
Aw, come on.
My name's Toby Bost.
I'm CEO of O'Neill Clothing.
You're lying.
Nice to meet you.
[Laughs.]
Oh, wow.
Holy @#$%, that's crazy.
Have you ever heard of the show Undercover Boss? No freakin' way.
[Laughs.]
Well, that's mind-blowing, actually.
Jesus, do you really, really think that the style of O'Neill and our clothing is made for five-year-olds? Yeah.
I personally think you guys could do a little better than what you guys are doing right now.
So are you ready for some really honest feedback? Yeah, I guess.
Working with you, you are a liability.
- Really? - For sure.
If that's your opinion, I mean, it is what it is.
I never knew what was gonna come out of your mouth next.
Have you ever thought about opening a pot dispensary? No.
Do you really think Frederick should get into the weed business? I was just trying to give him advice.
I just really wanna ask you one question.
Am I fired? I'm not gonna fire you.
I'm not gonna let you off the hook.
I'm like you in a lot of ways.
I was 23 once too.
I got to party, but then I grew up a little bit.
You, to me, are at a turning point in your life, and the beauty of our company is we've got great advice for people just like you to really become something before you turn 30 and look back and say, "what happened?" - Where'd my life go? So here is what I want to do with you.
I wanna fly you out to Irvine for an entire week.
You're gonna work with me.
You're gonna work with a lot of my executives because I think it will help you.
Is that something you'd be willing to do? You think you can listen to what I'm saying? Um I guarantee it, 100%.
Your first conversation when you come out is gonna be with our senior vice president of human resources.
She's gonna help you understand the etiquette in the business place, and I think that'll be a really, really important first lesson for you.
I think that would help me.
I'm embarrassed because, you know, of everything I did, but not everybody gets this opportunity, so I'm gonna take it to the fullest.
I really do really do appreciate it.
So I'm gonna see you real soon.
I won't let you down.
When he first told me that he was the CEO of the company, my heart felt like it was gonna explode out of my shirt, and I was like, "oh, my God, I'm gonna get fired," and I've never had that father, like, advice.
Like, I've learned everything by myself, so I look up to him as a mentor.
Michael, I was really impressed with the way you handled yourself and just how creative you were in the work environment.
[Chuckles.]
Thank you, thank you.
I'm already moving on acquiring a new computer system to run all of our retail stores.
This is as a direct result of working with you and seeing all of the inefficiencies in our current software.
Oh, that would be cool.
I also wanted to let you know I've set up a $50,000 crisis fund to help families that work with us in need.
Oh, really? You inspired that change.
Man.
[Laughs.]
I don't know what to say.
Like, I really don't.
Your story is so compelling.
It's great to see that you were able to turn your life around, and I'm just so happy that you found a home with us at O'Neill.
I know the financial hardships you've gone through have been tough.
I've got a $10,000 bonus for you.
Oh, man.
You can't tell me that.
I never want you to be homeless again.
Can't wait to tell my mom, man.
Thank you.
My goodness.
You mentioned that maybe school could be in the cards for you.
When you're ready to go back to school, I've got $40,000 set aside for you.
You know oh, my goodness.
I wanna cry.
You know, it's man.
Thank you.
Really, like, really, thank you.
I don't know how to feel right now.
You know, it's like somebody, like, really cares.
You know, it's just I wanna have a sense of security.
I felt like that's what was given to me today.
Desiree, I learned a lot from you in Anaheim.
I thought it was genius that you made me wear a backpack around the store.
You really inspired, for me, how important it is to motivate our sales staff Mm-hmm.
And so there's a $50,000 bonus pool being put in place for the entire retail staff because of the performance and the great results that they've posted.
Oh, my goodness.
So because of some of the change that you've inspired at the company, I would like to do a few things for you.
I'm gonna send you and your daughter on an all-expenses-paid trip to the theme parks.
Thank you so much.
She would love that.
In addition, I would like to pay your rent for the next year Oh, my God.
Thank you! Gosh, I'm gonna cry.
[Laughs.]
- And I'm not done.
- No, you're not done.
I'm gonna be sending you home with a $20,000 bonus Oh, my God.
To really help you with your financial needs and raising your daughter.
Oh, my God.
[Sniffles.]
Thank you for everything.
You're welcome.
I really want to make sure that I make your path a little bit easier.
And you did.
Thank you so much.
This is just so generous and so kind.
It's about being happy at the end of the day, like I've always said, and today, I'm so happy.
Jorge, it was really, really special for me to have the opportunity to work side by side with you and get hands-on in the printing of a T-shirt.
I just want to thank you personally for helping the O'Neill brand be what it is today.
Yeah.
This is my passion.
I love printing T-shirts, you know? You know, one of the things that I saw blew me away.
The instructions that we sent over to you to print the shirts were incorrect, and you just knew exactly what to change.
Yeah.
You were actually doing our job for us.
Yeah.
I assure you that I'm gonna have every single one of the designers come for a visit with you.
Oh, that'll be great.
That'll be great.
I've worked with your print shop owner for a long time.
I called him up and told him just how important you are to O'Neill, and as a result, he's gonna give you a raise, and he's also gonna look at the rest of your benefits.
Wow, that's great.
That's great.
You've been looking out for O'Neill.
Now, it's time for us to really look out for you.
So, Jorge, we've come up with $40,000 to help you and your family.
[Laughs.]
That's a lot of money, man.
That's a lot of money.
[Laughs.]
I always put my best effort in.
I didn't expect it to pay off one day, but now, with this help, it's amazing.
[Laughs.]
[Sniffles.]
Ah, excuse me.
Oh, man.
Can I hug you? [Sniffles.]
Thank you, man.
I really appreciate what O'Neill is gonna do for me.
For me to be able to help my daughter is gonna be great, you know, 'cause that gives me the opportunity to do more for my family, and that's why I wake up every morning and go to work.
It's just all because of I love them, and I want them to know that I love them.
[Laughs.]
[Sighs.]
Oh, wow.
[Cries.]
Oh, my God.
[Soft rock music.]
Being undercover this week, I really got to see how the business operates.
I feel like we've been out of touch with our retail employees.
I know now that we can't let anyone exist on their own island.
What do we got going in here today? Some new board shorts.
I'm committed more than ever now to this brand and to a great team of employees.
Increase the stretch on this.
We increase the stretch and then the weight a little bit.
- Looking good.
- Yeah.
If I can really pull them in and connect the dots between corporate and the rest of the company, I think we're really going to create some magic.
The CEO of O'Neill Clothing, one of the biggest action sports apparel companies in the world - What's up, dude? - Nothing, just chilling.
Right on.
Announcer: Goes undercover posing as a medical school dropout Done.
Announcer: His employees think he's on a reality show competing to win money to open his own surf shop.
- What's up, buddy? - You Jesus? - Yup, nice to meet you, man.
- Nice to meet you.
Announcer: By giving up his surfboard and skateboard to work in the field We've got a great selection of backpacks, one of which I'm wearing right now.
Okay.
Announcer: Toby finds out that not everyone is stoked about working at O'Neill You know, I wish I didn't have to keep clicking "enter.
" It gives you a lot of room to mess up.
Some of the designers are, like, real primadonnas.
You know, you're gonna pick up a girl on your first date, you wanna look like a man.
You don't wanna look like a five-year-old, like your mom picked this out.
Announcer: And how will he react to an employee's outrageous proposition? I know how to grow some really good weed if you [chuckles.]
If you're really interested.
If he's talking like that to a customer, we could be in some deep trouble.
Hell, yeah, man.
We can do something real nice.
Announcer: Find out next on Undercover Boss.
Undercover Boss 4x10 - O'Neill Clothing Original air date February 22, 2013 Headquartered in Irvine, California, O'Neill clothing is one of the world's largest surf wear and youth lifestyle brands.
With annual revenues exceeding $200 million, overseeing this pipeline of action sports apparel is one man.
My name is Toby Bost, and I'm CEO of O'Neill Clothing, USA.
[Rock music.]
O'Neill is an action sports company.
We specialize in apparel and accessories.
- How's it going? - Good, how are you doing? We make everything from T-shirts to board shorts to bikinis.
If you can wear it, we make it here at O'Neill.
[Surf music.]
O'Neill has 60 years of surf history.
Jack O'Neill was an inventor.
He invented the wet suit.
He invented the surf leash.
He really figured out ways to market his brand uniquely as well, the future for the brand, it's gonna follow the same footsteps, and we're gonna be that true, true, true surf company.
You can find O'Neill in any core surf shop across the nation and worldwide.
Five years ago, we set out on a journey to get into the retail business, so we've opened 12 stores, and we're expecting to double the business over the next three to five years.
[Surf music.]
The stereotype of the surfer is kind of that Spicoli character that has a different terminology, like "dude" and "bro" and "stoked.
" - Hey.
- Hey, what's up? - What's up, dude? - Nothing.
- Just chilling.
- Right on.
Came down to check out the new line, so it looks good.
- Right on.
- That's cool.
- That's cool, so - sick.
- Cool.
- All right, right on.
- I'll see you later.
Both: - Later.
You know, I think that's a pretty close definition, but you don't have to be a surfer to wear the trends, to love the beach.
I grew up in Northern California.
I was supposed to be a doctor.
My father was a pretty high-profile orthopedic surgeon, but it wasn't for me, you know? I just had fallen in love with action sports at an early age, and I knew I didn't wanna wear a tie to work, and I wanted to have that fun, casual experience doing stuff that I loved and making money at it.
[Rock music.]
I started early on with a degree in business and literally went to work in a warehouse so that I could get my foot in the door in this industry.
From there, I went to no fear, to rip curl.
And then I got the call from O'Neill, and one day, I got the opportunity to be CEO.
I think they could've easily picked a fortune 500 guy.
You know, I had a lot to learn.
I'm 42, and I've been the CEO for seven years and have a lot of fun doing it.
[Ska music.]
Getting people stoked in the workplace is a high priority for me, and we wanted to add some fun to it.
You can bring your dog.
We have a skate park.
You can hit the gym.
I would describe myself as a hands-off manager.
[Laughter.]
Sketchy! There aren't a ton of rules, but the one that we live by is we wear what we make, and that's a rule I've taken home with me.
My four kids, they know the rule well.
Hello.
Who is it? - Hi, guys.
- Hey.
So I have three children from my first marriage London! And I have a fourth child with my new fiancee Lauren.
Oh, did you guys see her tooth? You got your first tooth! Toby's a really super involved father.
He does everything for his kids.
Hey, you wanna skateboard? Here.
- Yeah.
- Yay! He wants to make sure that everyone's having a good time, you know, make sure everything's just really rocking for everybody.
So you gonna miss me while I'm gone for the week? Yeah, for sure.
It's gonna be weird.
For sure.
Gonna try to transform into the total corporate coot.
Oh, my gosh, that's gonna be crazy.
That's so opposite from what you are.
- Yeah, for sure.
- For sure.
You have wax in your hair, yeah? Tons.
Going undercover, I'm looking for things that we can do better in order to market and sell this brand.
We want our brand to be number one.
If we're not the hottest brand on the block, I want the information as to how we would become just that.
Looks like I got some sweet plugs.
While undercover, I'll be posing as Frederick, a guy from Utah who's going through a mid-life crisis and wants to open a surf shop.
That's Frederick Wilson.
Done.
Throughout my undercover journey, my employees will be tricked into thinking they're on a hosted reality show in which they will work alongside Frederick and then decide whether he deserves to win funding from an investor to open his own surf shop.
So today we are at O'Neill Clothing store in Commerce, California.
The man pretending to be the host of the fake show will keep asking questions about whether Frederick deserves the money, so my employees will have no idea that this is secretly Undercover Boss.
Oh, my gosh! You look like you're from the '90s! [Chuckles.]
- Oh, my God.
- Right? Hi, London.
Oh, yeah.
Aw, I'm sorry.
She doesn't know who I am.
[Laughs.]
Let's go say bye to dad.
All right.
- Well, see you soon.
- Bye.
I'm excited, you know.
I'm really, really curious as to what we're gonna find out there, and it's a "do whatever it takes" attitude at this point.
Let's go.
- Bye! - Bye.
[Horn honks.]
[Rock music.]
I'm here in Las Vegas today at O'Neill's Outlet Store.
I'm gonna be working with a seasonal sales associate.
We need outlet stores so that we can move our past season stock, and seasonal sales associates are brought in during high traffic times, so these people are newbies.
- What's happening? - What's going on? Looking for Jesus.
Uh, he's right over there in the back to the right.
I'm really interested to get in there and see how much training has gone into seasonal sales associates and how much they really know about the business.
- What's up, buddy? - You Jesus? - Yup, I'm Jesus.
- I'm Frederick.
- Nice to meet you, man.
- Nice to meet you.
- You're the contestant? - Yep.
All right, cool, man.
Well, I'm here just to show you the ropes All right.
Show you how we do it around here.
[Whimsical music.]
Frederick looks like a high school principal, unfortunately.
He's got the collared shirt and, like, the khaki pants and the really dorky running shoes.
Like, but, I mean, he's got a badass moustache, that's for sure, so that's cool.
[Chuckles.]
How long have you been working here? Honestly, I've been here for, like, about a month.
- Oh, okay.
- Yeah, so pfft, I'm your trainer right here, buddy, so Yeah, all right.
You see a customer, just, "hey, what's up, guys?" So it's not like, "hey, welcome to O'Neill.
" No, it's not like, "hello, welcome to O'Neill, thank you.
" You just be like, "hey, what up?" This job is really not that hard.
I kinda do whatever I want.
I didn't mind the casual greeting, but I was probably expecting just a little bit more of a formal approach.
What's a rash guard? I'm gonna guess it's, like, maybe to prevent a rash from, like from, like, your wet suit.
Not sure.
Jesus got stuck on the rash guard.
"Protection from the elements.
" There it is, man.
You need to know exactly what these products are all about.
It's what we do.
Today's a Thursday, so it's kinda slow, so we're gonna swiffer, dust, and clean the mirrors and stuff.
- All right.
- Here you go, buddy.
- All right.
- I'll follow you.
I just gotta fix these, and I'll come back - and shout at you.
- All right.
[Upbeat music.]
I'm off tomorrow.
Jesus was messing around and not working.
He definitely came off very, very nonchalant.
It didn't seem like he was an employee of that store.
It's pretty spotless, buddy.
Frederick, he's a little stiff.
What about the front doors? You want me to do those too? Are you done with both mirrors already? - Yeah.
- Oh, sweet, dang.
You're friggin' fast, man.
So what did you do before this, man? I was in medical school, and I kinda dropped out of that.
Smart man.
You know, I'm here to try to win my own store.
Yeah, man.
It'll be a good experience for you.
You'll learn a lot.
Me, personally, I wouldn't stick a lot of this, like, this clothing, like, this type of clothes in here just because To me, that was just so out of left field.
Jesus had a ton of attitude, and he had a lot to say.
This style right here is just dead.
It's done, over with.
You would never see me wearing an O'Neill shirt.
He hates the clothes.
That's not a good fit for any retail store.
You know, you're gonna pick up a girl on your first date, you wanna look like a man.
You don't wanna look like a five-year-old, like your mom picked this out.
You're all set? You're all good with that? That's in earshot of a customer.
That's obviously a problem.
Is it mostly tourists that are coming in here? Yeah, that's why you really have to let them know, like, "hey," "I'm here for eight hours, better" "better hurry the @#$% up and get whatever you want" "'cause I got a date in 30 minutes" "with a badass bitch, you know what I mean?" He was acting like a punk, kind of hitting all those points that I just can't stand.
- All right, buddy.
- Nobody calls me "buddy.
" I'm just straight up lazy, man, like, uh Sorry, what was that? I know how to grow some really good weed if you [Chuckles.]
if you're really interested.
If he's talking like that to a co-worker, or worse yet, a customer, we could be in some deep trouble.
You have knowledge, in, like, "medicine," right? A little bit.
Have you ever thought about opening, like, a pot dispensary? You have knowledge in, like, "medicine," right? A little bit.
Have you ever thought about opening, - like, a pot dispensary? - No.
Really? I mean, talking about pot and dispensaries and marijuana? I mean, come on.
I mean, it would be a really good business.
I just don't know what to do with this kid right now.
I just want him to stop talking.
- Is that good? - Boom, there we go.
You picked up real quick on this one.
Yeah.
Hey, what does your tattoo say on your arm? - That is my mother.
- Uh-huh.
She was the one that raised me and taught me That's really cool.
How to be a man, man, straight up.
Right on.
Yeah, I'm really close to my mom.
I don't really have a father relationship.
- Uh-huh.
- But my dad's, um are your parents divorced, or? I'm 23.
They've been going at this for 23 years, you know? - Oh, really? - It's on, off, on and off.
Yeah, but my dad, he was never there for me, so it is what it is, and you become who you are by the experiences of your life.
Yeah.
I felt for Jesus.
He came up from a broken home.
I could feel, you know, that he's still struggling with whatever it is that was happening throughout his upbringing.
I'm young.
You have a lot of years on me, but I've learned a lot in my life, and, you know, what's outside of your control, you just can't control it.
I have a really hard decision to make with Jesus.
He did a lot of things wrong today.
How you doing, man? I'm gonna meet with him in a few days, and I'm gonna make a decision as to what his future will be with O'Neill.
[Rock music.]
Working with Jesus yesterday really upset me and left me with a lot to think about.
I know how to grow some really good weed if you [Chuckles.]
if you're really interested.
I hope the employee I meet today is a better representation of our company.
I'm at Massive Prints in Compton, California.
These guys are responsible for screen printing all of our T-shirts.
so this is obviously a very important partner for us.
I'm looking for Jorge.
Hey, it's me.
- Hey, I'm Frederick.
- Frederick.
So this is what we're going to be doing today.
I'm gonna teach you how to print this T-shirt.
- Wow, all right.
- Okay? I'm responsible to make it look good and straight and perfect, so customers can buy it.
All right, let's do it.
How do you keep track of all these colors? I've been doing this since I was 16 years old Wow.
So I can teach you some tricks.
Okay, great.
So grab the screen.
See, these are already marked.
Yeah.
The easiest way to do it is to use the film, and most of the time, they tell you the placement on it.
Uh, placement, placement.
They don't tell us placement.
If they don't tell us placement, we do it by eye.
There is another problem.
The problem with the designers they don't update.
We update every six months this book.
So the designer's supposed to tell you where to place the design on the T-shirt? Some designers leave it to yourselves.
Okay, that's what you give them.
See, center this.
I got a real quick sense that he makes a lot of his own decisions on the floor because, quite frankly, the instructions are not that clear.
Some of the designers are, like, real primadonnas, and some are real cool.
But communication with them is the key.
Yeah.
And I need to see what it takes.
When they change a color, a little box in the computer, and it changes the whole process in here, - you know? - Yeah.
This is a huge problem.
I'm definitely gonna have my designers down here more often working with Jorge because our brand's hands are in Jorge's hands.
I'm gonna print one, and you print the rest.
Okay.
What if I ruin the shirts? - Let's not do it.
- Okay.
- Press down - Got it.
And pull.
Seems easy.
Yeah, it looks good.
Make sure it's straight.
Looks straight to me.
Okay, so go ahead.
Yeah, let me try one.
[Electronic music.]
You gotta pay attention where I placed it before.
The next thing goes right here.
We go all the way in there, place it right on the edge.
Then, you print.
Remember, you gotta do it hard.
- Just - Press down and pull.
Yeah, perfect.
All you, dude.
I'm not here.
- Go ahead and do them.
- Okay.
[Whimsical music.]
Oh, I'm gonna ruin this shirt.
No doubt the hardest part of this is the alignment.
Jorge just makes it look super easy.
Oh, Frederick's doing pretty good so far.
- It's not straight.
- It's not.
See, this side is like that? - Yeah.
- We did a few missteps.
But he'll learn.
Remember, we gotta keep these lines from clogging.
- You need a little bit stronger - Pull harder? Should I bring one of the girls to do it? [Laughter.]
Jorge's great.
He's obviously been doing this for a really, really long time.
Yeah, there you go.
So it's pretty cool to be with Jorge getting the firsthand knowledge.
I'm pretty stoked right now.
Okay, we're done with that.
So let's go for a break, dude.
Let's do it.
Yeah.
Oh, man, that's hard work.
[Laughs.]
I work a lot of hours here.
Do you have kids, or? Yeah, I got kids.
I got six kids.
So when do you get to see your kids? - Weekends.
- Weekends? [Laughs.]
Yeah.
Huh.
You gonna eat something? Yeah, for sure.
Two carne asada tacos? The same for me.
So what are you goals on this if you win? - Oh, thank you.
- Hopefully, you win.
You know, just trying to do whatever I can to provide for my four kids.
Thank you.
How old are your kids? and then I have a baby girl that's seven months old.
Is your new baby healthy? Yeah, she's really healthy.
Yeah, yeah.
My baby is not healthy.
She's got a condition, Cornelia De Lange.
- Cornelia De Lange? - De Lange, yeah.
It's a real rare syndrome, and it's nasty.
Some of the kids don't grow limbs, and it's a mental retardation.
- Oh, man.
- And, you know, it's just hard, so we got my wife's gotta take care of her all the time.
I still gotta call the pharmacies about getting feeding bags, you know? So they're super expensive, or yeah, they're expensive.
It's just hard because you go through hard times, you know, to to uh, to get to I don't know.
It just scares me a little bit.
It's hard 'cause I work so much.
Yeah, you have a time commitment that you're making here with your daughter who's so sick at home.
That's gotta be really hard.
I work so much, and I love my daughter, you know? - Yeah.
- I love her with all my heart.
And she's the happiness, you know? She's the happiness on my life, you know? And sometimes, I struggle to make the ends meet, but you gotta enjoy the clouds.
It rains, so you can enjoy the rainbow, you know? - Yeah.
- [Chuckles.]
Yeah, so I mean, I can see from getting the experience on that press, you're really good at what you do, you know? You're probably of higher value than you think you are to this company.
- I love the company, you know? - Yeah.
- So ready to work? - Let's go.
Let's go.
[Soft rock music.]
What can I do for this guy? There's gotta be something that I can do.
Jorge had a really heavy story.
The challenges that he's dealing with at home, you know, I could really feel his pain, but he's got a super positive outlook on life.
I think people like Jorge are diamonds in the rough.
They're the unsung heroes in the organization, and you can't live without them.
Jesus is the polar opposite.
This guy crossed the line with me.
Have you ever thought about opening, like, a pot dispensary? Yes, we run a very fun, non-corporate environment, but at the same time, we have a certain way of carrying ourselves.
The inconsistencies I found really point out some of our growing pains.
We're gonna have to get this operation nice and tight so that we can go to the next level.
[Lightning crashes.]
[Rock music.]
How you doing today? Announcer: Coming up, Toby tries his skills on the sales floor.
Great backpack on today that's for sale, $44.
50 if you guys are interested.
Okay.
Announcer: And later If you say the word "mine," you have to hit ten push-ups on the spot.
Announcer: The boss learns some new training techniques.
Yeah, so mine oh, see? There you go.
Three, four, five, six.
Announcer: Toby Bost, the CEO of O'Neill Clothing, is a boss undercover in his own company.
I know how to grow some really good weed if you [Chuckles.]
if you're really interested.
Announcer: So far, his journey has not gone as planned.
Have you ever thought about opening, like, a pot dispensary? Really? I mean, talking about pot and dispensaries and marijuana? I mean, come on.
Announcer: His journey continues in California.
[Rock music.]
I'm here today in Anaheim, California, at O'Neill's flagship store.
I'm gonna be working with the assistant manager of retail.
Thank you so much for coming.
- Have a great day.
- Oh, thank you.
The managers of the store are really important.
They oversee all of the other retail associates, and they're really responsible for posting numbers for the day.
So do you want a full suit? 'Cause there's different types.
My last job in retail with Jesus was not a great experience, so I'm hoping today is a lot better.
- Hi.
- Hi, are you Desiree? - Yes.
- Frederick.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
So I have a couple different tasks - that we'll be doing today.
- Let's do it.
Okay.
So I'll bring you over here.
We'll do some merchandising on the floor.
Go through here.
So we're gonna work on this table right here.
All right.
So it's just trying to make it visually appealing.
Okay.
Incorporate the mannequins somewhere in here.
- Okay.
- And then there's skateboards and then this whole box down here.
- Just be creative.
- I'll give it a shot.
Okay.
[Whimsical music.]
All right, let's see how that looks.
How's it coming? I'm trying to make it all perfect.
Okay, so just, like, incorporate some of the skateboards somehow.
I mean, this table's pretty full.
How do I put skateboards on it? However you think they should go.
- Try it.
- Okay.
Desiree had her own playbook on the retail floor.
That's not gonna work.
We have a merchandising team that goes into our retail stores, sets up the displays, and really sets the tone for how we want our products to look.
So I was really surprised that Desiree didn't have any company guidelines for me to follow.
I tried to fit it all on the table, what do you think? - Here's an idea.
- Okay.
So one of the skateboards, it can be, like, leaning up against the mannequin somehow.
Really? I was concerned about the skateboard.
It was not secured, and it could've really hurt somebody.
- And that won't fall.
- Mm.
So I'm gonna make sure that our retail merchandising team is educating our staff so that everything is where it needs to be when it needs to be there.
You see how we've done backpacks? - We've stuffed them.
- Oh, okay.
I was recently doing our back-to-school sale, and pushing backpacks is something you need to do, so I had the sales associates wear backpacks.
Huh.
I was like, "okay, so sell two backpacks," "and you can take off yours," and it actually worked.
In that one day, we sold eight or ten backpacks, the most we sold.
I like that idea.
It's a really good idea.
Like, I always joke, "maybe I'll have you guys wear a wet suit," "and we'll see if we can sell wet suits like that.
" Oh, my God, that's pretty funny.
So you can stick on a backpack, and you can try to see if you can sell one.
Okay.
Pick a backpack, throw it on, and when customers come in, just be greeting them.
Okay, I'll give it a shot.
Yeah, that's what we usually do.
Go for it.
Did you guys need any help with anything? We've got a great selection of backpacks, one of which I'm wearing right now.
Sunnies, or oh, you got sunnies there.
Are there wallets here? Um, that's a good question.
When it came to selling the backpack for Frederick, he seemed a little shy.
Like, that doesn't really cut it.
Like, you have to be out there, outgoing.
Even if someone is coming in, and you're back here, well, you can yell, "hi, welcome to O'Neill!" - Okay.
- Just, like, you know yeah.
So just try and help that way.
- Okay.
- Yeah.
Let me know if you guys have any questions or need any help.
And I got a great backpack on today that's for sale, $44.
50, if you guys are interested.
Okay.
I like the fact that Desiree has come up with some really creative ideas to sell product.
Are there any other colors in these or just the light? I believe it's just the light.
The backpack concept was genius.
Having an employee have a competition in stores is what I love to see - There you are.
- Perfect, thanks.
So I'm gonna make sure we use that idea in other retail stores.
I got a great backpack on today that's $44.
50.
Okay.
If I sell it, I can take it off today.
- That's the - Okay.
We'll have a look and see what we got.
All right.
Frederick did not sell the backpack, so when it comes to Frederick owning his own store today, probably not.
- We can go have some lunch.
- Oh, all right.
It is lunchtime, so just take a little break in the back.
I'm starving.
So what made you decide to go through this change? You know, I really just found that it was time to really focus on four kids to support, and - Yeah.
- How about you? Do you have kids, or? I have a daughter.
She's five.
Are you married, or? I'm actually going through a divorce right now.
Oh, you are? - I'm not one to share much - Yeah.
But everything is for my daughter.
Especially as a single mother, I take a lot of sacrifices just so that my daughter can have what she needs.
Uh-huh.
As a single mother, Desiree obviously has a lot on her mind, so for her to be so focused on the business at hand is very impressive, but I would feel like, to date, we've been treating our retail team a little bit like a third party.
I need to make sure that all of our stores have the right training information and that it comes directly from corporate headquarters to take out the guesswork.
We should get back out there, right? - Yeah, right.
- [Laughs.]
Cool.
[Rock music.]
I'm almost at the end of my undercover journey, and I'm at the Citadel Outlet Malls in Commerce, California.
I'm gonna be working in the stock room today.
Being that this is our most busy store, I'm expecting to see a lot of stock in the stock room.
We better have the right products ready to go so that we can replenish our top sellers.
Hi, I'm looking for Michael? - He's in the back.
- Okay.
- I'm Frederick.
- Aw, I'm Mike.
- Nice to meet you, Mike.
- Nice to meet you too, man.
Today I'm just gonna teach you how to go about doing - stock here at O'Neill.
- Perfect.
A lot of clothes in here.
It's hard for me to picture Frederick in action sports.
He wasn't what I expected at all.
I'd probably say he likes to be at home in front of a computer, just a web surfer type of guy.
So are you ready to get started? - Let's do it.
- All right, cool, man.
Okay, so what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna show you how to scan in the inventory.
Every time we scan something new, we're gonna have to press "enter" every time, so it can go to the next slot.
So I'll take one of these.
If you can just press "enter" for me every time I can scan something in, that would make things here a whole lot easier.
- Easy enough.
- Hell, yeah.
[Scanner beeps.]
Enter.
Yeah, just every time I scan something, just "enter.
" This is pretty tedious work.
You know, I wish I didn't have to keep clicking "enter.
" It gives you a lot of room to mess up, so Yeah, that makes sense.
The computer system's not working the way it needs to.
It's creating a lot of extra work.
You can tell we've outgrown that system.
- Separate by color? - Yeah, by style, exactly.
Okay.
I'll have you finish that up as I scan in the other two boxes.
- No problem.
- But, yeah.
Usually, like, what you see me doing right now, we never sit down and do stock.
The stock person needs to be able to take initiative.
Yeah.
We're a team here, you know? I like to go by, you know, the whole team motto.
You cannot say the word "mine.
" If you say the word "mine," you have to hit ten push-ups on the spot.
You know what comes with that word, just being selfish and stuff like that, you know? We should help each other to get better sales or anything like that, you know? - I like it.
- Yeah, so mine Oh, see? There you go, see? See, I'll just go ahead and hit my ten push-ups real quick.
Michael's great.
He's really passionate about his job.
Okay.
See, so the rule even applies to me.
You can tell he wants to do a really, really good job and work as hard as he can.
You ready to get started on something on your own? - Yeah, let's do it.
- Okay, here you go.
All right, you're on your own for now.
[Whimsical music.]
How's it going? Just so you know, all of our clothing is 40% off today.
This is such an important part of retail, but this is pretty tedious work.
Gotta be some ways to streamline this.
[Scanner beeps.]
- How's it going back here? - Just counting them up.
I know that part of it sucks, man, but the point of sales system needs an upgrade.
It's all right.
I'm gonna take responsibility and put the pressure on myself to make it run right.
The T-shirts that you scanned in, we're just gonna fold those.
So I'll just go over this one fold with the T-shirt real quick.
So open it up from the back, put it in the very center, fold the sleeve back.
Just make sure everything's straight.
Tuck this part of the shirt into here.
- All right.
- Okay? So tell me about yourself, man.
Why are you here, you know, just? Yeah, so I'm burnt out on, you know, medical school and just really wanted a change.
How about you? What's your story? The summer I graduated high school, we lost our house.
We lost our house, and we were all homeless.
I was homeless for about a whole year.
- Wow.
- I was lost, you know? I just graduated high school.
I'm supposed to be going to college and, you know, doing my thing, you know, doing big things, and I'm over here on the street, you know, sleeping on park benches, and I've been robbed by people that are supposed to be my friends, you know what I'm saying? Robbed me, like, at gunpoint Yeah.
And it was not the place to be for me.
- Yeah.
- I just moved back home.
Actually, man, my mom just got a new place.
She's out of work right now - Oh, yeah? - And I support my mom and my two younger siblings that stay at home.
You wanna get back in school, or? Yeah, I definitely want to get back in school.
What a heavy story, being on the street.
For Mike to be holding the responsibility that he does for his family, to see him working so hard, you know, driving that stock room, it's pretty amazing.
So let's take these out to the floor.
Oh, all right.
[Upbeat music.]
A big company like this can get away from you.
I found that this company got a little bit away from me this week.
Running a business, I just thought I had it all covered.
But really going undercover and getting out into the field, I realized how many things are disconnected.
I saw things that blew my mind.
People are creating their own standard procedures, working off their own policy.
Those are things that have to be fixed.
The casual beach lifestyle of surfing, it's amazing, but at the end of the day, we're still running a business.
I know now I have to be way more involved and really pay attention to the little things.
Otherwise, we're never gonna be successful.
[Sea gulls chirp.]
Announcer: How will the employees react when they find out Frederick is really the boss? My name's Toby Bost.
I'm CEO of O'Neill Clothing.
You're lying.
Announcer: And Toby finally gets his chance to confront Jesus about his bad behavior.
Do you really think Frederick should get into the weed business? Am I fired? The north shore of Oahu is so iconic for O'Neill.
This is where surfing was born.
I couldn't be ending my trip in a more special place.
The people that I worked with this week think they're coming to Hawaii to meet with an industry insider to rate my performance on the fake reality show.
Hello, hi, Desiree.
How are you? Fine.
Holy crap, man, you look different, I think, maybe, I don't know.
- Why is that? - Moustache fell off.
Sure did.
Yeah.
Do I look familiar to you at all? You look like Frederick.
So I gotta be honest with you.
- Yeah? - I'm not Frederick.
- You're not Frederick? - No.
Aw, come on.
My name's Toby Bost.
I'm CEO of O'Neill Clothing.
You're lying.
Nice to meet you.
[Laughs.]
Oh, wow.
Holy @#$%, that's crazy.
Have you ever heard of the show Undercover Boss? No freakin' way.
[Laughs.]
Well, that's mind-blowing, actually.
Jesus, do you really, really think that the style of O'Neill and our clothing is made for five-year-olds? Yeah.
I personally think you guys could do a little better than what you guys are doing right now.
So are you ready for some really honest feedback? Yeah, I guess.
Working with you, you are a liability.
- Really? - For sure.
If that's your opinion, I mean, it is what it is.
I never knew what was gonna come out of your mouth next.
Have you ever thought about opening a pot dispensary? No.
Do you really think Frederick should get into the weed business? I was just trying to give him advice.
I just really wanna ask you one question.
Am I fired? I'm not gonna fire you.
I'm not gonna let you off the hook.
I'm like you in a lot of ways.
I was 23 once too.
I got to party, but then I grew up a little bit.
You, to me, are at a turning point in your life, and the beauty of our company is we've got great advice for people just like you to really become something before you turn 30 and look back and say, "what happened?" - Where'd my life go? So here is what I want to do with you.
I wanna fly you out to Irvine for an entire week.
You're gonna work with me.
You're gonna work with a lot of my executives because I think it will help you.
Is that something you'd be willing to do? You think you can listen to what I'm saying? Um I guarantee it, 100%.
Your first conversation when you come out is gonna be with our senior vice president of human resources.
She's gonna help you understand the etiquette in the business place, and I think that'll be a really, really important first lesson for you.
I think that would help me.
I'm embarrassed because, you know, of everything I did, but not everybody gets this opportunity, so I'm gonna take it to the fullest.
I really do really do appreciate it.
So I'm gonna see you real soon.
I won't let you down.
When he first told me that he was the CEO of the company, my heart felt like it was gonna explode out of my shirt, and I was like, "oh, my God, I'm gonna get fired," and I've never had that father, like, advice.
Like, I've learned everything by myself, so I look up to him as a mentor.
Michael, I was really impressed with the way you handled yourself and just how creative you were in the work environment.
[Chuckles.]
Thank you, thank you.
I'm already moving on acquiring a new computer system to run all of our retail stores.
This is as a direct result of working with you and seeing all of the inefficiencies in our current software.
Oh, that would be cool.
I also wanted to let you know I've set up a $50,000 crisis fund to help families that work with us in need.
Oh, really? You inspired that change.
Man.
[Laughs.]
I don't know what to say.
Like, I really don't.
Your story is so compelling.
It's great to see that you were able to turn your life around, and I'm just so happy that you found a home with us at O'Neill.
I know the financial hardships you've gone through have been tough.
I've got a $10,000 bonus for you.
Oh, man.
You can't tell me that.
I never want you to be homeless again.
Can't wait to tell my mom, man.
Thank you.
My goodness.
You mentioned that maybe school could be in the cards for you.
When you're ready to go back to school, I've got $40,000 set aside for you.
You know oh, my goodness.
I wanna cry.
You know, it's man.
Thank you.
Really, like, really, thank you.
I don't know how to feel right now.
You know, it's like somebody, like, really cares.
You know, it's just I wanna have a sense of security.
I felt like that's what was given to me today.
Desiree, I learned a lot from you in Anaheim.
I thought it was genius that you made me wear a backpack around the store.
You really inspired, for me, how important it is to motivate our sales staff Mm-hmm.
And so there's a $50,000 bonus pool being put in place for the entire retail staff because of the performance and the great results that they've posted.
Oh, my goodness.
So because of some of the change that you've inspired at the company, I would like to do a few things for you.
I'm gonna send you and your daughter on an all-expenses-paid trip to the theme parks.
Thank you so much.
She would love that.
In addition, I would like to pay your rent for the next year Oh, my God.
Thank you! Gosh, I'm gonna cry.
[Laughs.]
- And I'm not done.
- No, you're not done.
I'm gonna be sending you home with a $20,000 bonus Oh, my God.
To really help you with your financial needs and raising your daughter.
Oh, my God.
[Sniffles.]
Thank you for everything.
You're welcome.
I really want to make sure that I make your path a little bit easier.
And you did.
Thank you so much.
This is just so generous and so kind.
It's about being happy at the end of the day, like I've always said, and today, I'm so happy.
Jorge, it was really, really special for me to have the opportunity to work side by side with you and get hands-on in the printing of a T-shirt.
I just want to thank you personally for helping the O'Neill brand be what it is today.
Yeah.
This is my passion.
I love printing T-shirts, you know? You know, one of the things that I saw blew me away.
The instructions that we sent over to you to print the shirts were incorrect, and you just knew exactly what to change.
Yeah.
You were actually doing our job for us.
Yeah.
I assure you that I'm gonna have every single one of the designers come for a visit with you.
Oh, that'll be great.
That'll be great.
I've worked with your print shop owner for a long time.
I called him up and told him just how important you are to O'Neill, and as a result, he's gonna give you a raise, and he's also gonna look at the rest of your benefits.
Wow, that's great.
That's great.
You've been looking out for O'Neill.
Now, it's time for us to really look out for you.
So, Jorge, we've come up with $40,000 to help you and your family.
[Laughs.]
That's a lot of money, man.
That's a lot of money.
[Laughs.]
I always put my best effort in.
I didn't expect it to pay off one day, but now, with this help, it's amazing.
[Laughs.]
[Sniffles.]
Ah, excuse me.
Oh, man.
Can I hug you? [Sniffles.]
Thank you, man.
I really appreciate what O'Neill is gonna do for me.
For me to be able to help my daughter is gonna be great, you know, 'cause that gives me the opportunity to do more for my family, and that's why I wake up every morning and go to work.
It's just all because of I love them, and I want them to know that I love them.
[Laughs.]
[Sighs.]
Oh, wow.
[Cries.]
Oh, my God.
[Soft rock music.]
Being undercover this week, I really got to see how the business operates.
I feel like we've been out of touch with our retail employees.
I know now that we can't let anyone exist on their own island.
What do we got going in here today? Some new board shorts.
I'm committed more than ever now to this brand and to a great team of employees.
Increase the stretch on this.
We increase the stretch and then the weight a little bit.
- Looking good.
- Yeah.
If I can really pull them in and connect the dots between corporate and the rest of the company, I think we're really going to create some magic.