All language subtitles for Undercover Boss 2x04 - Frontier Airlines (English)

Male announcer:
America is struggling

to shake off
the recession.

Public distrust
of wealthy CEOs remains high.

But more and more bosses
are looking

for radical ways to reconnect
with their workforce

in order to find out
what's really going on

in their companies.

Each week we follow the boss
of a major corporation

as they go undercover
in their own company.

Undercover Boss 2x04
Frontier Airlines
Original Air Date on October 17, 2010

This week, the President
and CEO of Frontier Airlines,

one of America's
top air carriers,

poses as an out-of-work welder

looking for
a new line of work.

My name's Richard Jacobs.

I'm here to train
with Sue this morning.

The boss will
trade in his private bathroom

for a clogged
airplane lavatory.

You do not want to get
dumped by this one.

That's nasty.

Come on, Richard.
I'm coming.

While working
on the front line,

he'll get an insider's look
at his own company.

The big airlines
do pay more.

I'm barely making ends meet.

And he'll discover
the unsung heroes

that make his business run.

If you woulda seen
all these guys, how they work,

you'd be so proud of them.

And you can tell
I get emotional.

How will
his coworkers react

when they find out
he's really the boss?

And how will
it change their lives?

I do feel like I'm gonna
be a better CEO

for the experience
that I had this past week.

Find out next on
Undercover Boss.

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

With its main hub
in Denver, Colorado,

Frontier Airlines offers more
than 650 flights a day

across the U.S.
and Central America.

Ladies and gentlemen,

we are doing a courtesy
pre-board at this time.

At the head
of this $1.6 billion business

is one man.

I'm Bryan Bedford, and I'm
the CEO of Frontier Airlines.

Hey, how we doing?
Good, good.

Probably by the time
I was early 30s,

I had worked in some
executive capacity

for seven different airlines.

We need to make sure
that we deliver the brand

and have fun doing it.

Mm-hmm.

And in 1999, I took a job

as CEO of Republic.

Republic acquired
Midwest Airlines,

and then shortly thereafter

Republic acquired
Frontier Airlines

after it filed
for bankruptcy.

After extensive research,

the three airlines will now
be known as Frontier.

There is a possibility
of layoffs with this sale.

But Frontier management says
the jobs of most employees

will be preserved.

Mergers are hard.

You know, merging two businesses
is stressful on employees.

We did three.

Rows one through four,
you may now board.

We're hearing a lot of,

"why do we have
different pay scales?"

And, "why do we have
different seniority lists?"

And, "why do we have different
policies and procedures?"

Well, it is overwhelming,

and Frontier Airlines
asked all of its employees

to take a 10% pay cut,
and it's tough.

But the fact is we've got
6,000 people who are working

that had we not done
what we did

would not be working today.

This is the perfect time
to go undercover

and really hear firsthand

what our employees
are thinking,

what they're feeling.

Ahh!

Oh!

My family is extremely
important to me.

You want to get thrown up?
Yeah!

We've got eight
beautiful children.

We sort of thought
a family between four and six

was right for us.

And so, like most Americans,

we practice, you know,
contraception

and didn't have
anymore kids.

And then we had this sort of
spiritual awakening.

Okay, go sit down, guys.

And we decided if we
were going to really trust

in God's Providence,
we needed to trust all the way,

and that includes
our marital life

and the size
of our family.

So who knows
what God's plan is for us?

In the name of the father,
and the son,

and the Holy spirit, amen.

The most important thing
for Bryan is his faith.

He puts God first
in his life,

and everything else
falls into place from there.

For all the souls
who have passed,

send their souls to heaven,
we pray.

Our family, growing up,
had crisis.

I had a five-year-old sister

who was killed
in a traffic accident.

It was very impactful.

I was six years old
when that happened.

I remember the day
that Theresa died.

I remember the sounds,
the smells.

I will never forget it.

That was probably
the first time in my life

I really started to pray.

Amen.

Okay.

We're going undercover.

What do we think?
You have hair.

Well, do you think
they'll recognize me?

Hi, Bella.

Is this your daddy?

Okay, guys.

Bye-bye.

I'm really excited
for him.

If this can help
the company in any way,

I think that's
really great.

I want to go undercover

because we're going
through this merger,

and my goal is to succeed as
an airline against the big guys.

While I'm undercover, I'll be
posing as Richard Jacobs,

an unemployed welder who's
looking to get a new start.

My coworkers will be told

that I'm participating
in a reality show

where I'll be one
of two candidates

competing for a job opening
at Frontier Airlines.

Father, son,
Holy spirit, amen.

All right.

Offering my labor
up to you, father.

Well, I hope I got
this thing on right.

In my job,
I travel a lot.

And nothing bugs me more

than when I get on
a dirty airplane.

If they don't care enough
to clean the plane,

it makes me wonder what else
isn't going on.

You know,
is the plane safe?

So I'm very excited about being
able to go undercover

with our aircraft
appearance team today

at our largest hub
here in Denver, Colorado.

How may I help you?

My name's Richard Jacobs.

I'm here to train
with Sue this morning.

Oh, hi, Richard.
I'm Sue.

Are you Sue?
Yes, I am.

Well, it's nice
to meet you.

You too.
Come around here, please.

Thank you.

Okay, here's your uniform.

Okay.
You need to put this on,

and we're gonna get busy
real fast.

With 165 arriving flights
each day,

I'm very curious to see
if we have enough time

and enough people
and tools and resources

in order to clean
these aircraft in a way

that would make me
feel good as a customer

to fly on our airline.

You ready to start the day?

I'm ready to get going.
Come on.

I can move quick.

Come on, Richard.

Now see, Richard,
we have to be here

when the aircraft get here.

We only have seven minutes
to get this plane out.

So what happens
if they come in late?

They give us five.

Roll out.

We have no time for mistakes.

We gotta get the lavs done,
the seats done.

All the trash
out of the pocket

and off the floor,
and vac.

Let me show you real fast.

Take the paper towels,
see here.

Here you go, here you go.

Clean it real fast.

Wipe the sink down.

Somebody look like
they spit in this one.

Okay, now I'm gonna show you
how to do seats real fast.

Five minutes?
Oh, we got five minutes left.

Okay, come on,
put that right there.

Come on.

All you do is cross
the seat belts.

Safety card in the front.

You do that side,
I'll do this side.

Hurry, guys, we got another
plane at the gate!

I just found that somebody

was actually living
in this chair here.

Yeah.

Come on, Richard,
back here!

Hurry, Richard!

You gotta hurry real fast,
real fast, come on.

I gotta get
under the seat here.

That's good.

Okay, there you go.
Put it in there.

Now get the trash,
get the trash.

Richard takes too long
to clean the toilet.

Hurry, hurry.

He's kinda slow,
but he's trying.

There you go.
Hurry!

Roll out.

Oh, look at me.

Is my wig coming off?

Same thing.
Come on, Richard!

I'm coming.

We got less than seven
minutes on this one.

I'm going.

Richard, that's all
you've done?

What's wrong with you?

It's been a long time since
I've had anybody yell at me

the way Sue's yelled at me.

You missed a seat.

Oh, I thought we were doing
one row aside.

No, you got to do
the whole thing!

I gotta do the whole thing?
Yeah!

What's wrong with you?

Maybe I'm just
too detail-oriented.

Well, that could be it,
Richard.

Okay, get it in, Richard,
get it in.

Hurry, Richard!

This one look a hot mess.

Oh, yeah.

Hurry.
Come on, Richard.

I was surprised that
you only have seven minutes

to clean each plane,
'cause frankly

I'm not sure
that's enough time

to really clean thoroughly.

Roll out!

Oh, I got a vomit cleanup.

Where the vomit cleanup at?

24.
I'll do it.

Come on, Richard.

In the back,
someone got a little sick.

I think he's from
another flight.

What seat?
22, 22.

Just in the aisle?
Yeah.

Where?

It should--
you can smell it.

I'll just give this a wipe.

You don't have
to do that, baby.

Let me show you something.

Richard, let me have this.
Sure.

No, not that rag.
This here.

Can everybody please close their
eyes and their mouth, please?

I think if you're
in aircraft appearance,

a person being sick on a plane,
that's your worst nightmare.

Okay.
Thank you.

We had a lunch,
didn't we?

I haven't had any lunch yet.

You haven't had a lunch?
Nope, I haven't--

ah, I have to get Richard
his union lunch!

Just gonna pray here.

You say God is good,
God is love.

Bless the cook, lord.

Bless aircraft appearance,

and hope we keep our jobs,
amen.

And our families.

Mm-hmm.

So do you have a family?
Mm-hmm.

I had two kids,

my daughter and my son.

How old are they?

My daughter is 29.

And I lost my son.

He was murdered at 21.

Oh, I'm so sorry
to hear that.

I moved to Colorado

'cause I thought it was
a safe haven.

Yeah, I was born
in Chicago.

I coulda stayed in Chicago.

I coulda protected him better
than I did here.

Oh, you can't blame
yourself for that.

I'm the mother cub.

I'm supposed to take care
of my child.

Am I correct or not?
Am I the one that shoulda--

you get a child
up to 21 years old,

you've done your job.

No.
You know?

Look, I've learned
a long time ago,

bad things happen
to good people.

You know, but you just
gotta believe in God,

trust in his plan,

and things always
seem to work out.

Oh, yeah.

Sue hasn't had
the easiest life.

Yet she comes to work
with a great attitude

and has an infectious attitude

that she shares
with others.

You got how many grandbabies?
One.

Just one? Let me see it.
Just got one.

That's her.

She looks like me.
She's pretty.

But, Richard, our lunch
is over with.

We got to get back to work.
Are you ready to get--

I'm ready
to get back to work.

What really impressed me
about Sue

was she was a great leader.

She really kept
her team motivated.

She was always laughing,

always very enthusiastic.

But I was taken back by
just how little time they have

to actually do the work.

I think we can do better.

You know, and I'm gonna
have to go back

and figure out
how we do better.

Is it a function of time,
tools, or more people?

Whoo! Roll out!

Coming up,

the boss has trouble
getting off the ground.

Departure time was
actually eight minutes ago.

And later...

This is where
everything comes out of,

the human waste.

The boss really
gets his hands dirty.

Wow.
Ah!

That's nasty.

Bryan Bedford,

President and CEO
of Frontier Airlines,

is a boss undercover.

His employees think he's
part of a television show

where two people are competing
for one open position

within a company.

His journey continues
in Oklahoma City.

I'm here today at
the Will Rogers World Airport,

which is one of
the smaller airports

in the Frontier network.

In a city that only has
four or five flights a day,

it's very important
that all of our employees

understand how to do
each of the different jobs,

and we call those employees
cross-utilization agents.

I'm here
to meet with Valerie.

I'm Valerie.
Hi, Richard, how are you?

Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you too.

If you'd just step back there
and change your clothes,

and we'll be on our way.
I'll be right back.

Thanks.
Okay.

I've actually never been
to Oklahoma City before.

So I'm very excited to train
as a cross-utilization Agent

to see if it's really
the most efficient way

to run our business.

We don't have
too much time up here,

but we have to head down
to the ramp.

So our flight is 50 minutes out,
so let's go.

So we cross-utilize.

We work
the ticket counter/ramp today.

And what we'll do
is we'll go downstairs

and get ready for that
flight coming in.

We want to marshal
the plane in.

And so you'll just stand by me,
and we'll marshal it.

And then we'll
go on from there

and help unload the plane

and get the bags
on the next cart,

and we've got 25 minutes.

Wow, that's a lot of work
to do in 25 minutes.

You'll do fine.

This whole cross-train job

literally covers
just about everything

that goes on
at the station.

Is it hot enough for you?

Okay, am I ready to do it?

I don't know.
How do you feel?

So when they're coming in,

is there anything other
than this part here?

Yeah.
Oh, there is?

I really wanted to marshal
the plane in by myself today,

but I think Valerie realized
that I wasn't ready.

I'll be like, "no, stop."

So she let me
stand behind her.

You always got to be sure
that they can see you.

When we do this part here,
stay away from the engine.

You got it.

Any particular way
you put these in?

We do it with the handle
facing out.

Okay.

Lots of bags.
It's very physical.

The bags weigh a lot,
and there are a lot of them.

Now we get the bags
on the next plane.

And then we just count
these bags going up.

Three.

If we count the bags wrong,

it could be
a major disaster.

It all--doing in the weight
and balance of the plane.

Are you still
counting the bags?

Oh, no.

Valerie asked me
how many bags I put on,

and of course
I was like, "huh?"

How many did you send up?
One, two, three, four.

Four?
Yeah.

That's five.

There's no way we could
make a mistake.

If anything should happen,

that person that's counting
the bags will be charged

with how many lives
were on that plane.

This is 17.

17, okay.
So how many bags--

I'm counting now.
That's 18.

19.
18.

Getting kinda warm
out here now, huh?

It's hot.

Gotta be in pretty good
shape for this.

You could tell that he's
kinda feeling that heat.

If I can handle it,
he can handle it.

We can go ahead
and disconnect the air hose.

If you say so.

You're the boss.

Extremely hot out here.

But it was also
just physically demanding.

And we're gonna
close this latch.

It's easy to take
hard work for granted,

that people
will just do it.

It's another thing
to get out of the office

and experience it
side-by-side.

Well, rolling something up

seems like it's not
terribly difficult,

but if there's a way
to mess it up,

I'm sure I'll do it.

That's it.

So we'll go upstairs now and
see if there's any gate checks.

Okay.

I don't feel exactly like
I smell like a Rose right now.

No.

You know,
after working on the ramp,

you work up
a pretty good sweat.

And then you come back inside,

and you don't really feel
like you're

at the top of your game
when you're gonna go out

and stand in front
of customers.

Now we're just gonna
check them in.

Did you have any bags
to check in, sir?

I'm self-conscious about
sweating a lot

and perhaps not smelling
particularly good.

Spent two weeks here

in your hottest weather,
I think.

That's not
the professional image

that we want to put forth
to our customers.

So there's clearly a downside
to this cross-training concept.

So that's something
I need to look into.

Okay.
Thank you very much.

Thank you.
Have a good flight.

All right, well, that's
our unaccompanied minor fee.

So let's go in the back
and take a break.

Okay, all right.
Okay.

So are you originally
from Oklahoma City?

I moved from Hawaii here,
and being a single mother,

it was kind of hard
to start off.

You know, there was a time
when I first moved here

that my kids were
having egg sandwiches

almost every day.

And, you know, you sit there
and you just cry,

and you're like, "okay, how am
I gonna do this," you know?

Wow.
Yeah.

But then when, for me,

I get into the word
and I read the word,

and I know that my strength
comes from the lord.

So your faith really helps
you through these tough times?

He has.

He--he's been there with me
all the time.

Amen.

I mean, I always said,

you know,
when you're down,

like in the bottom
of the barrel,

and then the lord just kinda
make a way for you,

that I would do the same.

And that's the reason why
I went to a full-time ministry,

to take care of the needy,
to help the homeless, and--

that's really neat.

It's, like,
every other Saturday,

when I'm off or when I can.

And, um, taking clothes,
taking food,

and even if it's
a t-shirt or socks.

It sounds kinda crazy,
'cause my happiest times

has been out on the streets
and handing out food.

That doesn't sound
crazy at all.

I really enjoyed working
with Valerie today.

And not just because
she was a great employee,

but she's a woman
of tremendous faith.

If it wasn't for him,

I could not have done
what I've done.

A woman who has endured
significant hardships

and challenges in her life,

and yet her whole focus
continues to be

on giving to others.

I mean, she was just truly
an inspirational human being.

That's an amazing witness.

Thank you so much
for sharing that with me.

You're welcome.

Great day.

And the son and Holy spirit,
amen.

I met a really cool lady
today, Valerie,

who shared just an awesome
faith witness with me.

Here is a woman
who's gone through

lots of personal sacrifice
and struggle.

And yet she
is just so joyful

in her desire
to give to others.

And that comes
from a strong faith.

Maybe a little reading
before bed.

To really understand

how faith became
so impactful to me,

you really have to go back
to my sister's passing.

I think when we get challenged
with crisis in our life,

there are two ways
we can go.

We can turn away from God,
blame God,

or we can turn to God,

"strengthen me, help me,
get me through this."

Well, where will
you lead me tonight, lord?

At Frontier Airlines,

we pride ourselves on being
a whole different animal.

And what that means
is providing

a better and different
flying experience

for our customers.

Simply put,
we want to be the airline

for people who hate airlines.

Today I'm going undercover

as a Frontier Airlines
flight attendant.

How you doing?
I'm good. Richard.

Richard?
Nice to meet you.

My name's Tui.

Before we get started,

we're gonna have you
put in a uniform.

I'm very excited
to go undercover today

and experience firsthand
whether we're delivering

that better and different flying
experience for our customers.

We're gonna head to the gate.
Hustle, right.

Yeah, we don't want
to be late, do we?

Yeah, they're waiting
for us so...

So where are we going today?

Well, we're gonna go
to San Diego.

San Diego?

"Californ-I-a," yes.

Hey, guys,
how you doing?

Thank you.
Thank you.

The flight attendant
position is critical,

not just for the safety
and security of our customers,

but also in order to keep
the airline running on time.

If one plane departs late,
this could cause other flights

to be delayed over the course
of the day.

You're gonna be helping
the customers with their bags.

You're gonna greet them.

So get the passengers
on first.

Get out on time.

That's what
we're looking for.

Okay.
Okay?

Hi.
Hello.

Need any help?

So, Richard, Richard,

just go ahead and stay
in the middle,

and then just help them.

Hello.
What you looking for?

15-a.

Oh, you are so close.

Let me get that for you.

You look like you got
your hands full.

Did you have
a good flight out to Denver?

Well, great.

How are you?
How we doing?

Broncos, all right.

Are we gonna have
a good team this year?

Richard is slowing me down.

He's too focused
talking to passengers.

San Diego's not bad.

We have to speed up
the process

so we could get outta there.

Richard, talking is okay.

Just hustle it.

Departure time was actually
eight minutes ago.

Oh, my goodness.
We gotta hustle.

Yeah.

Please, take your seats.

Sorry we're running
a little late.

All right, guys,
we really gotta hustle.

We gotta get a flight going.

Ma'am, what row are you in?

15.

Take our seats, guys.

I felt frustrated that
I wasn't keeping up the pace.

We gotta get this plane out.

Please take your seats.

Sorry we're running
a little late.

All right, guys,
we really gotta hustle.

We gotta get a flight going.

Apologize for
the minor delay here.

Looks like we're getting
ready to light the candle here.

All right.

Okay, let's do the
safety demo.

Okay.

Just listen
to whatever she says.

Good luck.

In order to perform
the safety briefing,

our flight attendants
receive special training.

However, I did get a chance
to practice alongside Tui.

Thank you
for choosing Frontier.

Our aircraft is equipped
with six emergency exits.

There are two door exits
in the front

and two door exits
in the rear of the cabin.

The safety presentation,

you really don't have
that much to remember.

Should there be
a loss of cabin pressure,

oxygen masks
will automatically drop

from the compartment
above your seat.

So you'd think an idiot
like me could get that right,

but I felt like it was
a little discombobulated.

Please adjust your mask
before assisting a child.

Whoops, missed that part.

Okay, so we're gonna
work the cart.

You're gonna be in charge
of the liquor.

Oh, thanks, man.
So go easy.

Check if your hair's okay.

Got no boogers
and everything's okay.

What am I supposed
to look at?

Well, just make sure
your hair--

oh, here's a mirror.

All right, well,
I need a haircut.

Excuse me, sir.

Cart coming through.
Elbows, knees, elbows, knees.

Hey, I got a question.

Do you normally give them
the napkin first?

Give them
the napkin first,

and then the drink,
and then the smile.

Sir, can I offer you
something to drink?

A bottle of scotch?

Yes.

And I apologize.

Cranberry juice
with ice.

Okay.
A little bit.

Ahh.

Richard,
he's a very people person.

So, you know, he's always
talking, all the time.

Do you do fist bump?

Yeah.

It's a good thing,
but it is also a bad thing.

I don't know.

Colts still look good to me.

We're on a time here.

We're trying to get this going
before we land.

And one more.

Thank you very much.

We'll be landing shortly.

Ladies and gentlemen,
now we're gonna

turn off our lights
with our magic powers.

Tui has a lot of fun
with the customers.

He does tricks and things.

So Tui's doing a great job.

Ladies and gentlemen,
we appreciate your assistance

in preparing the cabin
for landing.

Please be sure
that your seat belts

are securely fastened.

We'll be landing shortly.

Thank you very much.

One of the things
I wanted to learn today

was whether or not
our flight attendants

understood
the Frontier brand promise.

It was a good day.
Yes, it was.

Enjoyed the flight.
Oh, yeah.

So I was reading
the side of the plane,

and I see this
"whole different animal."

And I know there's
animals on the tails,

but what does that
"whole different animal" mean?

We do it way different
from other flight attendants.

And we have great crews.

You know, we get
a lot of compliments

from passengers that
flown our competitors,

and they say, "oh, I haven't
heard Frontier before.

Hey, man,
you guys are so nice."

You know, even if they're
just coming

and they're having
a bad anniversary,

I say, "no, we're gonna
make it right.

"Come on,
you spent all that money.

"I want to accommodate you.

What can I do to help you
enjoy your flight?"

In taking to Tui,
he really go it.

I mean, he really understand
that better and different

is how we're gonna
succeed as an airline

against the big guys.

So how do you get--how do
you do your schedules?

How does that work?

I work almost
six days a week.

Here?
Yes, here at Frontier.

I'm still barely
making ends meet.

I dj on the side,

and also I do luau
on the sides.

No kidding.

My son,
which is in college,

so I have seven at home,
but one in college.

But I still, you know,

I put some money
in his bank account,

just whatever he needs.

I said, "if you don't
go to college,

"you're gonna be hustling
like daddy.

You're gonna
have three jobs."

Mommy's doing two jobs,
and, you know--

that's a big sacrifice.

It's a sacrifice,
but you know what?

It's our responsibility,
and they come first.

As a father
of eight children,

I could certainly
relate to Tui.

He represents that character
of self-sacrifice

and really wanting
to make sure

that he's working hard
to lift his kids up

to a better life.

I don't know
what you get paid,

but I imagine that
the bigger airlines

must pay a lot more,

the big airlines
do pay more.

And do you feel like
you're being treated fairly?

You know, uh,
if I'm speaking honestly, um--

you should.

Okay, well,
I think we're not

asking a whole lot.

We're not asking
for a raise.

We just ask for what
we've been cut off.

What's that mean?

They took 10% away.

We just want the 10% back.

Who took it away?

The company.
Just a lot of cutbacks.

And we understand.

Speaking everybody here
at Frontier Airlines,

we just want fairness.

Tui shared a lot with me

about his perceptions

of the merger.

I mean, he was pretty vocal

about wanting to get

their pay cuts that they took
in bankruptcy restored.

So that was a little bit
of a hard feedback.

On a typical summer day,
32,000 passengers

come through
Frontier Airlines' Denver hub.

Now those flights
have to be serviced.

And service
doesn't just mean

removing bottle
and pop cans.

Service also means cleaning out
the aircraft lavatories.

Excuse me,
are you Hector?

Yeah, how you doing?
Nice to meet you.

I'm Richard.
Nice to meet you too.

Training with me today?

Yes, I'm trying
to get a job.

First thing
I want you to do

is change your uniform.
Okay.

Our lav truck drivers

remove about
1,400 gallons of waste

over the course
of a typical day.

So I'm really looking forward
to going undercover

to see how efficiently
we're doing the job

in order to keep the airline
moving on time.

Hey, you look good.

Man, you look pretty good.
Thanks.

Our job
is lavatory service.

We go out there,
we drain the lav,

and flush the whole
system down,

and put fresh blue juice in

so it smells April fresh
up there.

Imagine the flight attendants
like that too.

Oh, yeah.

They call you back
quite a few times

if you don't do it right.

So we're gonna get it done
right the first time,

not the second time.

Okay.

Let's get ready
to rock and roll.

So how many flights a day

does Frontier
have outta here?

About a hundred-and-some
planes.

And you're talking
lots of poo-poo.

Lots of poo-poo.

And you've got
your blue juice hose.

Blue juice hose
goes open, close.

Very important you hear that
click when you put it up there,

'cause if you don't
put it on right,

it'll popped off
and you're gonna get sprayed

with blue juice.

Has that ever happened
to you?

Yes.
Oh, no.

Same thing
with the dump valve.

Dump valve is open, closed.

You do not want to get
dumped by this one.

Safety's number one.

I don't know if he has
his tetanus shot.

I do, so I'm safe.

This is where everything comes
out of, the human waste.

Open this end, and you can
see what I'm talking about.

Yeah, I can smell
what you're talking about.

Right.

Now touch the lever.

Oh, right.

Now when you're taking off,

the first thing you do
taking off

is the blue handle
goes back up.

If you don't, you're gonna
keep on dripping down.

It's a $10,000 fine

if the f.A.A.
Or the city catches you.

You're never quite sure
what's gonna happen

when you open up the panel

and start pulling
some of those valves.

When you're like this,
you want to be very careful

you don't get dumped on.

Nope.

Nope.

What?

Make sure it's open.

I was very nervous
about my first lav dump.

Flip that lever.

Blue handle.

If you do the job
in the wrong order...

Go ahead.
Or if you rush,

the consequences
are pretty severe.

There you go.

Watch that orange hose.

It can pop off on you.
Keep an eye on it.

New guys always tense up.

They don't think
of what they're doing.

Blue handle.
No!

That's why I stay back
four to five feet.

Ah.

What'd I tell you
about the wind?

That's nasty.

It's an entertaining job
at some points.

If you're
an entry-level person,

I mean, how does
the pay and benefits work?

I mean, me, I make more
money by working extra hours.

Is that a big burden
on your family,

to have to pick up
extra time?

Yeah, they don't like
when I work late.

They don't, they don't.

Do a lot of folks pick up
a lot of extra time?

Yeah, a lot of people
pick up shifts here like crazy.

We took pay cuts and everything
to save the company.

If you woulda seen
these people, man,

you woulda seen all these guys,
how they work.

You'd be so proud.

And you can tell,
I get emotional.

Oh, yeah.
It's--

you know, it gets--
it's a family.

We got a bunch of hard-working
guys out here.

They bent over backwards,
you know, for this airline.

They did
everything they could,

and the did it,
they saved it.

You hope they looked down,

and they showed
their appreciation

by giving them something back,

which I wish they would.

Just show
a little appreciation.

Show you, hey, look what
you've done for us.

"Thank you" is a great word.

But you got families
to feed,

and the economy, gas,
everything going.

You need a little bit more,
you know?

Yeah.

It is thought-provoking
to think how many people

are on the edge out there,

and that's a real problem
in this country today.

You can read it in the paper.

You can read about 14 million
unemployed Americans.

But it's different when you're
sitting across the table

from somebody
who's living with that,

and yet, you know,
what they want in return

from their company
isn't all that much.

Tomorrow I get
to return to my job

as the CEO
of Frontier Airlines.

And when I think about
the 11,000 people

that are counting on us
to make this business work,

it makes you want to work
just as hard as they are

to make sure
that their sacrifices

and their enthusiasm
is rewarded.

Coming up,

Bryan summons his employees
to company headquarters.

I'm not confused at all
about what I want to say

about the evaluation
for Richard.

How will they react

when he reveals
his true identity?

I'm actually
Bryan Bedford,

the CEO
of Frontier Airlines.

After a week undercover,

my journey has finally
come to an end.

I think
what surprised me most

is the love that the employees
have for this company.

It's unbelievable,

and quite frankly
it was unexpected.

But it really made
an impact on me.

I really want to share
my undercover experience

with my senior management team

so that we can all benefit
from what I've learned.

Hello.

Hello.

Welcome back.
Good to be back.

Believe me, I'll tell you,

I don't know
where to begin.

From many
different perspectives,

our airline's doing okay,

but we've got
a lot of work to do.

So I got an opportunity

to be an aircraft
appearance person.

Worked with this gal
by the name of Sue.

Daniel, you schedule
the airplanes.

So you know they're here
for 45 minutes.

So there's really
a very short window of time.

And while I think they're doing
the best job they can,

I gotta tell you,

I don't feel like we're
delivering the product

the way we should.

So that's something I'd like
to see us work on.

Cross-utilization Agent.

Anybody heard
that term before?

Above and below.

Above and below wing.

Yeah, but I could
sort of understand

if it was
above the wing one day

and below the wing
the next day.

No, it's all in one flight.

At 115 degrees on the ramp
in Oklahoma City,

you know, after throwing
bags on the airplane,

to then want to go upstairs

and sit in front
of your customer,

can she do it?
Sure.

But did she feel
she was really presenting

the Frontier brand?

Uh, no.

Is that something
that you can come back

with some suggestions on?

Absolutely.

We've got a lot of good
employees out there,

and it's just amazing
how many people we have

that are the primary
wage-earner.

You know,
so that 10% pay cut

just keeps,
you know, resonating

all the way through
how impactful

that must have been
for our employees.

They are struggling.

You know, and I think
we as senior management team,

we should want
to get out there

and help our co-workers
who are in greater need.

I mean, that was probably
the most impactful experience

that I had
over this past week.

So I'd really like
to see us go out there

and walk the talk now.

Can I count on you?
You can count on us.

Okay, great.
Thank you.

All of the employees
I've worked with this week

have been called
to headquarters

to supposedly vote
for one of the two guys

competing for the same job.

They have no idea
why they're really here.

I'm not confused at all
about what I want to say

about the evaluation
for Richard.

It's weird,
'cause you pick the wrong one,

then you have a guy out there
with no money

to feed his family.

If it came to a choice,

hire both of them.

♪ ♪

hey, good afternoon.

Good afternoon.

Do you know who I am?

Does this help?

What's your real name?

I'm actually Bryan Bedford,

the CEO
of Frontier Airlines.

Oh, lord.

You tricked me.

Hold me down, y'all.

Are you serious?

Yeah.
Oh, my God.

Valerie, it was just
great meeting you

and to see what
you do every day.

But the thing that
really, really impacted me,

just the hardships
that you've endured.

I mean, it's just--
it's an amazing story

for a single woman
to have to be so strong.

And yet you still
find the need

to give back to others.

Valerie, what I'd like to do

is give $10,000 to you

to donate to the charity
of your choice.

Really?

Really, yeah,
for your charity.

Oh, wow.

So--'cause I think
you can do

some really awesome work
with that.

You want to go
on the streets with me?

I will be
on the streets with you.

We will serve together.

That's awesome.

I used to dream,
"oh, lord, I want to do this,

and I want to do that,
but the funds aren't there."

With this $10,000,
we can just, you know,

bless other people.

I do believe in miracles,
always--always will.

I always will believe
in miracles.

Hector, you got
a tough job, man.

You know, so--
it's not that bad.

Maybe it sounds
worse than it is.

No, it sounds
exactly what it is.

But, you know,

you're a great trainer.

Like I always say,

if you go in there
with a great attitude,

no matter what you do,

you'll make
a wonderful day happen.

I thought it was
a great philosophy.

Well, I'd like
to figure out a way

to leverage your enthusiasm
and your passion

for our airline

and your courage to stand up
for your co-workers,

and create a forum

where perhaps maybe
you can go in

and talk to our
new-hire classes.

You know, where you can,
you know,

tell them, you know,
what you do and how you do it.

Anything for fellow
workers and employees,

yeah, I don't mind.

'Cause I'd do anything
for these guys.

I believe you.
I believe that you do.

And I saw it firsthand.

You know, you pick up
a lot of guys' shifts.

You know, it seems like
you work an awful lot.

I'm just curious,
when was the last time

you and your wife
had some vacation time and--

once in a while,
not much.

Well, I'd like to pay
to send you guys

on a week-long vacation.

Whoo!

And I'll pick up
the tab for that,

so you pick
someplace nice,

someplace you and your wife
can get away,

and I'll make sure Frontier
gives you the week off.

Thank you.
That's beautiful.

I really appreciate that.

The last time I went
on vacation

was about seven years,
maybe eight years ago.

It's very generous,

and coming from the heart,
it's great.

It's a great feeling.

Sue, I really felt
a connection with you.

I mean, you welcomed me
into the airline.

You were very giving for me
and forgiving.

"Richard!
Hurry up, Richard!"

I never hear,
"richard, hurry up, Richard."

You did--

I enjoyed it though.

You know,
you shared some things

that really touched me,

when you shared with me
that you lost your son.

And I gotta tell you,

that--that really hit me.

My parents lost a child.

I can only imagine the pain
that you had to go through.

And, you know,
I've been thinking,

you know, what can we do
and how can we help you?

And I don't--there's nothing
that we can do

to make up for the loss but--
no, no one can.

But what I'd like to do,

I'd like to dedicate
one of our aircraft to Andre.

Oh, that'd be so sweet.

I'd like to do that.

And I'd like you
to pick your animal

for that plane

so that you can
have a part of him

with you every day.

Oh, that's so--

the other thing
you shared with me

was a picture of your
19-year-old granddaughter.

Yeah.
And the relationship

that you want
to have with her.

So what I'd like
to do for you

is send you on a cruise

with your granddaughter.

Oh, my goodness.

You have made my day.
You have made my--

I didn't think nobody

would ever do nothing
like this for me.

That's nice.

To see a tail on a plane
that he told me to pick,

every time I see that plane,

I'm gonna say,
"there go Andre.

There go Andre."

Because he will never

get to see
what we see today.

This is a beautiful day.
It's a beautiful day.

Tui, out of all
the people I talked to,

you're the one who just
nailed the brand promise.

You're the one guy who could
really articulate to me

what it meant
to be better and different.

And that's why I would
like to create

a new branding committee,

and I'd like
to make you the chairman

of that committee.

And I think if we can
harness that energy,

if somehow we can take
that inspiration,

you know,
that you create,

we'll be an unstoppable force.

Yes, for sure.

Another thing that I would
like to do for you personally,

as a father of eight
I know the struggle,

and we talked about
your son is in college

and books and tuition
are expensive.

I'd like to contribute
$20,000 to help you

get your kids
into college, man.

'Cause I think
that's important.

Is that okay?

Thank you.

'Cause you're just awesome,

and I really enjoyed
working with you,

and I want to keep
working with you.

I want to be part
of your life,

and I want us to go
to greater heights here, man.

Thank you, Bryan.

Appreciate that.

Just so shocked.

My son's in college,
and it's so hard.

I'm just so grateful
to receive that blessing

from him.

I just want the best
for my children.

Ladies and gentlemen,
the CEO of Frontier Airlines,

Bryan Bedford.

Yeah! Whoo!

Thank you very much.

I know each of you
are expecting

to get an update
of our second quarter

financial performance.

But I've actually asked you
to come here today

for an entirely
different reason.

For the past week,

I've been working undercover
at Frontier Airlines.

I really want show
just a couple of clips

of some of the jobs
I was privileged to do

and some of the folks that
I was privileged to work with.

So let's take a look.

Okay, let's do
the safety demo.

Our aircraft is equipped
with six emergency exits.

Yeah, I felt like it was
a little discombobulated

with where I was supposed
to be pointing.

Come on, Richard.

There you go.
Hurry, hurry.

He's kinda slow,
but he's trying.

Wow, that's nasty.

When I started this undercover
journey a week ago,

I took it as sort of
a business assignment.

You know, I had a mission.

But I have to tell you,

I got so much more
out of this experience

than what I expected
going into it.

I know that our employees

had to endure a 10% pay cut.

And I could see firsthand

how the pay cuts
were impacting people.

Which is why everybody
on the senior management team

was uniform that this is
something that we need to do,

and it's the right time
to do it.

I want to recover those wage
cuts over the next three years.

Yeah! Yeah!

Whoo!

And I gotta tell you,

it's not gonna stop here.

So I want to thank Sue,
Hector, and Valerie, and Tui.

Thank you for educating me.

Thank you for the gift
that you've given me,

to understand what it means

to be a Frontier Airlines
employee.

And God bless you all.

Go, Bryan!

This week, I had
the most amazing journey.

This certainly puts a face

to all the decisions that
I'll be forced to make now.

That touched me very deep.

It's a great feeling
to have someone that cares.

To get the 10% back,
it means a big deal financially.

It means he cares about us.

He cares for this company.

He cares for our future,

and he also definitely
cares for our family.

You can't not be changed
by this experience.

I mean, it'll be a part
of the fabric

of who I am as a person
and certainly as an executive.

So no doubt in my mind,

I'll be a better representative
for our employees

in all of our
boardroom decisions.

♪ ♪

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

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scenes from our next episode.