Undercover Boss on CBS

By Ally Matteodo

The delightful CBS series Undercover Boss once again wins our accolade as Best TV Show of the Week. Airing at 9:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, September 12th, the most recent episode exhibited purposeful and responsible entertainment.  In this reality program, the heads of large, successful corporations go undercover in their factories and facilities to learn firsthand what working for their companies feels like in the field.  This week, Larry O’ Donnell of Waste Management went undercover.  Waste Management, a company of 45,000 employees and 20,000 customers, is the largest trash and recycling company in North America.  Larry, the President and Chief Operating Officer of the company, posed as newcomer Randy Lawrence.  With the story that the cameras following him are for a television program documenting a first-time worker at Waste Management, Randy is trained at several Waste Management facilities.  His first stint is at a recycling facility in Syracuse, New York, under the training of Sandy.  Next, Larry tries his hand at collecting trash at the Central Landfill in Pompano Beach, Florida under the guidance of Walter.  Afterwards Larry goes back to upstate New York to receive instruction from Jaclyn, an overworked and underpaid employee at the High Acres Landfill in Fairport, New York.  Following this, Fred shows Larry how to clean toilets at fair grounds in Houston, Texas.  In his last undercover job, Larry wishes to see the face of his company, and performs trash hauls working as a helper to Janus collecting garbage in Rochester, New York.

Larry’s eyes are certainly opened after his experiences working in the field.  Some of the policies he developed himself on the corporate level have caused the workers much stress.  While working with Janus on trash hauls, Larry watches as she interacts with some of the customers; they love her and wait for her at the end of their driveways, and one of them even gives her some cream soda, her favorite beverage.  Yet due to the extreme emphasis on productivity, Janus cannot help but be abrupt as she jumps back into her truck, afraid she’s being watched by other Waste Management employees who follow her hauls from time to time in order to record her productivity.  Furthermore, Janus must urinate in a can while working, since using a rest room will take her off road and waste time.  In another instance, Sandy furiously runs to punch her time card; if the employees are late punching back in from lunch or for work, for every minute they are late they’re docked two minutes of pay.  Chagrinned and moved, Larry ultimately reveals his identity to the workers and vows to rectify the problems of Waste Management, claiming going undercover was one of the most important experiences of his life.  Indeed, this program encourages other executives to go undercover rather then sequestering themselves in the ivory tower of board meetings and conference rooms.  In addition, it’s a very humbling experience. Walter actually fires Larry when he fails to fill a trash bag every ten minutes.  Yet Larry doesn’t hold any hard feelings, enlisting the people who trained him to assist the company in things such as health care and creating a more female-friendly environment.  Jaclyn, a woman juggling the equivalent of three jobs and only being paid for one, is promoted to supervisor, placed on salary, and made eligible for a bonus.  Indeed, everyone benefits when their voices are heard, because when people feel they are appreciated and respected, they work harder for a company that treats them well, rather then harboring resentment and grudgingly working for a company because it’s their only option. 

Best TV Show of the Week

The Parents Television Council - www.parentstv.org