high-ranking corporate officer dons a disguise to infiltrate their own business. While inside,

they work alongside their employees in an effort to reinvigorate their brand's identity

and see what’s really going on. Skeptics believe that many aspects of the show are

fake or exaggerated, but producers and most of the show’s participants insist otherwise.

We've uncovered the truth.

Bosses choose their aliases

Undercover Boss uses the genius tactic of pretending to be some sort of "win your own

franchise" game show, complete with a fake host. All of this is to prevent employees

from figuring out the real deal. Amazingly, few workers see through the flimsy facade.

Maybe it's because in every episode, the boss has to wear a disguise to avoid being recognized.

According to a TV.com interview with producer Eli Holzman, the bosses are allowed to choose

their disguises. These usually involve wigs, makeup, and fake facial hair that looks like

it was purchased at a post-Halloween clearance sale. This leads us to believe the businesses

either choose the most gullible employees possible. Or, they actually know what's going

on but play along in hopes of being generously rewarded later on.

Workplace scenarios aren’t completely staged

One of the biggest questions people ask is whether the bosses’ on-the-job scenarios

are completely staged. The answer is no… and yes. According to Holzman, the show tries

to pick job scenarios that will look good on TV, but the bosses don't know exactly where

they're going to go. “They don't know exactly with whom they're going to work, because we

want them to have an authentic experience." Sometimes, that even includes getting fired…

by the employees.

"I have to, ya know, let you go."

"Just for that?"

"Ya."

Though the Emmy-winning series conducts recon of employees and workplaces to look for potentially

juicy opportunities, the resulting footage can still be pretty spontaneous. Bosses’

covers have been blown:

"You look like the President of Fatburger."

And there have been more than a few occasions when a boss broke cover to fire someone on

the spot. A particularly awful Boston Market employee named Ronnie was immediately canned

after this awful admission:

"I literally hate customers more than anything in the entire world."

Which was only slightly more terrible than this one:

"I'm like the Kim Kardashian of Boston Market. It's great. So..."

A worker at a Retro Fitness had such a terrible attitude that she eventually started dropping

f-bombs in front of the incognito CEO, effectively tendering her accidental resignation. Does

the show stage some of this stuff? Sure, but the consequences can be all too real.

Employees are carefully selected

Fans of the show will recognize that chosen employees often have some type of hidden similarity

to their boss. Both may have a family member coping with a similar illness, or have fallen

behind on their mortgage. While these coincidences aren't the specific reason employees are selected,

Holzman admits that they’re picky. The show will always choose the most interesting employees

to make it to air, whether their stories make you laugh or cry. Or just mad:

"I'm an ***hole. I'm a ****head. I'm harsh. I'm over the top. Fear equals respect. You're

gonna have to rule with an iron fist man."

The takeaway here: If you and your coworker are the best burger flippers in the kitchen,

make sure that he or she isn't secretly a war hero or stand-up comedian before Undercover

Boss shows up. And if they are, learn some really good jokes.

"Flying is simple. I am a flotation device."

Companies actually use the lessons they learn

Any time a terrible employee is featured on the show, you can count on the boss to talk

about creating some new type of training program. Audiences love to watch a branch manager geek

out on his staff, but is it just lip service?

Some companies have actually taken positive steps to drive change, such as providing a

financial incentive for employees to improve. Checkers CEO Rick Silva started giving bonuses

directly to employees on the front lines, and not just the branch managers. Dan DiZio,

CEO of Philly Pretzel Company, discovered a popular product after uncovering a rogue

franchise that was selling an unsanctioned pepperoni pretzel roll. DiZio wasn't pleased

with the free-wheeling franchise, but he also took its transgression as a sign he'd lost

touch.

Not every boss is thrilled

Some of the undercover bigwigs found their TV experience to be pretty rough. Steve Joyce,

CEO of Choice Hotels International, felt exploited by the show's producers. Joyce told The Wall

Street Journal that, "...they look for something personal to torture you with. For me, my mom

had died from Parkinson's a few years before. And I hadn't really dealt with it. So every

chance they got they brought that up.”

Joyce also felt the show made it look like he didn't know what it actually took to do

the job, despite the fact that he had worked his way up through the ranks. "They deliberately

sabotage you so you don't do well and you look stupid," he said. "They had me cleaning

the pool in Orlando in late June at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. It was like 110 degrees."

Joyce did say the experience forced him to confront his pent-up emotions regarding his

mother's death in a positive way, saying, "My mother made me promise to always have

a place for the family to get together for vacations. I bought a beach place two weeks

after that show." We're not sure that buying extra houses is a coping mechanism available

to everyone, though.

There are dozens of international spinoffs

Like a lot of American television, Undercover Boss started in the UK. Then it crossed the

pond to become a beefed-up version of the concept, which will never die so long as the

networks can still extract money from it. This is why CBS, TLC, and Oprah's OWN Network

have all carried the U.S. version of the show. They’ve also aired Undercover Boss: Abroad,

which features some of the many international versions of the programs.

One particularly memorable episode from our usually congenial northern neighbors, featured

Canadian CEO Rick Smiciklas breaking character and, well...

"No not come on! Employees come first! You are disrespectful to the brand, and you know

what, I'm gonna come in and I'm gonna make it right."

The Huffington Post asked Smiciklas how producers felt about him blowing the show's cover. "They

told me to! I said I can't go in there, I have a crazy temper. I don't need an assault

charge."

Despite the film crew’s instigation, no assault charges were issued and Smiciklas

said his business is doing better than ever thanks to the show.

Not the breast intentions

The most beloved part of every Undercover Boss episode is the ending. The head honcho

reveals his true identity and starts making it rain with cash, vacations, and college

tuition payments for deserving employees. It's a tearjerker every time, even if it is

a cheap emotional trick.

The reward concept seems straightforward, but CEO Doug Guller of Bikinis, a Hooters-style

bar and grill, didn’t really get the drift. As a reward, Guller offered one employee…

uh...

"Am I getting a free pair of boobies today?"

"Is that what you want?"

"Yesss, I want a full C."

But only if she stayed with the company for six more months, and was a “rockstar”.

He also fired an employee for not wanting to wear a bikini on international TV.

Wow. Even for reality TV, that's sleazy with an extra side of sleaze.

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