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Translated By The Community Of WWW.MY-SUBS.COM

Since the premiere of Undercover Boss,

more than 60 bosses have given away nearly $6 million...

I have a check for $250,000.

Oh, my God.

...And implemented sweeping company-wide changes...

As a company, we're actually gonna restore the 401(K).

It's a million-dollar expense.

...To benefit the lives of more than 40 million employees.

Whoo!

Some people, I just want

to punch them in the face sometimes.

But not everyone deserved to be rewarded.

I know how to grow some really good weed

if you're really interested.

It's not wrong of me to hate people.

Tonight, the latest boss to put it all on the line

is Mike Bloom...

Okay, meet Mark.

Ay, yi, yi!

...President and C.O.O. of Family Dollar,

one of the most successful

discount retail giants in the country.

- Are you Chanel? - Yes, I am.

Hi, I'm Mark.

Oh, okay. So you ready?

- I think so. - Okay, let's see.

By going undercover...

Can't stop. Can't slow it down, let's go.

- I'm trying. Whoa! - Oh, oh, oh!

...This boss meets the people

who keep his prices low and profits high.

Whoa! That was terrifying.

This is what I do all day long.

Yeah, well, you know what, you're a special guy.

The company doesn't really think about us sometimes,

doesn't think about us little people in the store.

What will happen when this newly-hired boss

finds out not all of his employees are feeling

like they're part of the family?

A business doesn't have to be this disorganized.

We work hard here,

and it's really hurtful to not feel recognized.

- Yeah. - I don't like it.

And I do not see a career here at Family Dollar.

Find out next on Undercover Boss.

Undercover Boss 5x07 - Family Dollar Original air date November 8, 2013

Sync and corrections by atrn97g for www.MY-SUBS.com

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Family Dollar,

one of America's largest discount retailers,

offers name-brand products at low prices

and rakes in revenues of more than $10 billion a year.

- Thank you. - You're welcome.

You have yourself a great day.

Overseeing this retail giant's 7,800 stores,

11 distribution centers,

and 55,000 employees is 1 man.

Good morning. How are you?

- Fine, how are you? - Good.

I'm Mike Bloom, president

and Chief Operating Officer of Family Dollar Stores.

Family Dollar was started in 1959 by Leon Levine

right here in Charlotte, North Carolina.

When we first started, we sold textile overruns,

towels, shirts, sheets, pillows.

Nothing in the store was over $2.

By the 1970s, we had a couple hundred stores,

and we started trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Today, Family Dollar has 7,800 stores in about 45 states

and has transformed into more of a general store

where you can buy just about everything that you want.

Today, it's very cool to save money.

It's kind of like cheap chic.

The word "cheap" here at Family Dollar is a compliment.

I was born in Baltimore, Maryland.

My mom and dad, my two sisters, had a great childhood,

vacations at the beach, sports with my dad.

So I think I had a fairly normal childhood at the early stages.

But there was a point that my family went through a hard time.

My dad lost his job,

and that was a tough time for me,

watching him struggle.

The reason I have a community college degree

and not a four-year bachelor's degree

is because I made the decision to go to work

and, uh...

and do what I thought was right for me and my family.

And so that's something that I did.

Just having a community college degree

was something that weighed on me.

I knew that I was one step behind, in my mind,

from the beginning.

And I had to work harder and work smarter

and be more innovative and creative,

um, than the next person.

Prior to coming to Family Dollar,

I worked in the drugstore business.

I spent most of those years with CVS Caremark,

and I came to Family Dollar 20 months ago.

Hey, guys.

Hey, Mike.

What's happening?

As president and Chief Operating Officer,

I'm responsible for everything you see in the stores,

how product gets to stores, marketing.

My role is to take this organization

to the next level.

I'm a boss that likes to work hard and play hard.

I'm a water rat.

I love everything on the water,

whether it's fishing, boating, waverunners.

I used to play the drums.

If I could wave a magic wand, I'd like to be, like,

in a rock band or something.

I have a great family.

I have a great wife.

My wife and I, we are best friends.

What up, family?

Whether it's with my kids or my wife,

we're constantly joking and laughing and having fun.

Are you gonna do tattoos?

I'd like to do one.

Are you gonna be nervous?

- Are you gonna be... - Super nervous.

During the week, Mike is a workaholic.

But on the weekends,

he knows if he wants to have a wife that weekend,

he'd better give me the phone in my purse.

So that's what we do.

And that's hard.

So I know that he loves me.

How about a little business in the front, party in the back?

A little mullet?

That would look really funny.

I'm going undercover because Family Dollar is on the path

to double the number of stores in the next several years.

Have you ever had your hair colored before?

Never.

I've been with this company for 20 months,

and we've done a lot in those 20 months.

But I need to learn at the stores.

I need to learn at the distribution centers

because I'm responsible for taking this company

to the next level,

and I need to hear from the people

that are on the firing line every day how we can do that.

All right.

While undercover, I'll be posing as Mark,

an aspiring business owner competing to win money

to open his dream rock and roll bar.

My employees believe that they are on a show

that's not Undercover Boss.

Family, close your eyes.

Okay.

Okay, do not open them.

I'm scared.

- I kind of want to cheat. - No!

Okay, meet Mark.

Ay, yi, yi!

I'm an extremely competitive individual.

At Family Dollar, we don't want to be the second-place horse

in any race.

We want to be number one.

- See you, guys. - Bye!

And we will be number one.

Love you!

Today I'm in Stephenson, Michigan,

about ready to start my first job

as an assistant manager here in a rural Family Dollar store.

Hi, how are you?

Good. Is Lacey around?

- Yeah, you can find Lacey in the back. - Perfect.

It's important for me to truly understand the decisions

that we're making.

Are they right for Stephenson, Michigan?

- Are you Lacey? - Yes.

- I'm Mark. - Mark, nice to meet you.

- How are you? - Good, how are you?

I'm great.

I'm an assistant manager here at Family Dollar.

I've been with Family Dollar for three years.

Cool.

Do you know a lot about retail?

No, I know a lot about bars.

My first impression of Mark

was this hillbilly, rock-type person,

just the way he looked and his attitude and everything.

We have all of our stock back here.

We get it once a week.

Every single one of these boxes in here,

we're unloading by hand.

How many boxes come off the truck?

It's normally about 1,000 pieces.

It's a lot of work to do back here.

So I'm gonna take you and show you the process

of putting the stock away.

Okay.

So if you want to grab this u-boat here for me.

- Grab this one? - Yeah, that would be awesome.

It looks like they're gonna fall.

It'll be okay.

This weighs a ton!

Nothing breakable on there.

This is hand soap.

Hand soap here.

Just grab your knife and open it up, you know?

You cut that plastic.

Shove it back there.

- All right. - All right.

This is a lot of physical labor.

I'm sweating.

Is it always hot in here?

It's always, always this hot in here.

I just noticed I cut myself.

- Does that happen a lot? - No.

I'm a little bit concerned

that Mark already has a scratch on his arm.

He's been here ten minutes.

Is it time for break yet?

So you're a contestant, right?

I am. I'm in a bar business.

- Oh, that's what you want? - I want my own bar.

Okay.

I'm a classic rock and roll guy.

Sweet. Do you do guitar at all? Play guitar?

- Drums. - Okay.

- I do guitar. - Do you really?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's awesome.

So you always want the shelves to look full.

So how does this product get here?

When the company sees that one of our items is getting low,

they're supposed to send it to us.

Okay.

It's not the way it works. It's the way it should work.

The company doesn't really think about us sometimes,

doesn't think about us little people in the store.

Why is that?

Just because they send us stuff that we don't need,

like 30 bags of cat food a week.

I'll show you.

This will give you a feel for overstock, we call it.

If this stuff cannot fit on the shelf,

we shove it in the back room.

All this is gonna fit here? There's no way.

The company sends us tons and tons and tons.

Why?

That doesn't seem right.

No, it doesn't. Not at all.

I was really perplexed by the amount of inventory

that did not fit on the shelf.

More overstock.

Yes, all overstock.

It felt like 50% of the inventory

that I was putting out on the shelf

ended up going back.

I was shocked by that.

Another big thing is everything is all mixed up on the truck.

Like, all the lotions...

So that doesn't come off all together?

No. No, no, no, no, no.

That feels very inefficient.

And we talk about efficiency all the time.

So this is my worst nightmare.

Another big thing is everything is all mixed up on the truck.

Like, all the lotions...

So that doesn't come off all together?

No. No, no, no, no, no.

That doesn't make sense.

The distribution centers

have complete control of those things.

The store should not have to worry about it.

And that frustrates me.

We've got to make it easier for our stores.

A business doesn't have to be this disorganized.

But the company doesn't do a good enough job

with that for us.

With what? With what?

With making our job easier here.

Because we have a very, very short staff.

We have five women working here.

And we could use a lot more employees.

Five women total?

Five women total.

'Cause there's only two of us here at a time, usually.

Sometimes we work 13-hour shifts here,

14-hour shifts here.

Wow.

I seriously spend more time here than I do with my husband, so.

- Really? - Yeah.

We are overworked, understaffed.

Yeah.

And some of the times, we're working here alone,

but we still have to do this stuff, you know.

- It's tough. - It is really tough.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

We work hard here,

and it's really hurtful to not feel recognized, you know.

- Yeah. - I don't like it.

And I do not see a career here at Family Dollar.

What do you want to do?

I'm going to school for human services.

I have a year left.

Oh, okay.

I think about what Lacey and I have in common.

She's putting herself through college.

And I put myself through community college.

When I was her age,

I was thinking about where do I go next?

And how do I get there?

And she's thinking about the same thing.

Any other questions?

You look like you're doing super good, actually.

And I don't want to lose her.

Today I'm in Front Royal, Virginia,

at one of our highest-volume distribution centers.

And I'm gonna be operating a forklift.

The distribution center is an extremely busy operation.

And I'm working with the forklift operator

that's making sure that the product's getting

from one end of the distribution center

to the other on time

to make sure that product gets to the stores

and gets up on the shelves for our customers.

If the distribution center is not running efficiently,

it has an impact on every store the organization.

So I want to see just how efficiently our product moves

throughout the distribution center,

from point "A" to point "B."

How you doing?

Good, good. How you doing?

- Good. - How you feeling today?

I'm one of the contestants.

I'm here to work.

- Good. - I'm Mark.

- My name is Rosali Requeno. - Rosali?

Yes, yes.

So pleasure to have you here.

When I first met him, he gave me a hug.

That caught me actually a little off guard.

Don't worry, I'm an expert.

I've been teaching people for eight years.

Are you scared of heights?

A little bit.

It moves a little bit when you're up there.

But no worries.

My heart's pounding.

I'm experienced. I'll be with you.

I got you a new harness.

I wasn't expecting that.

I don't really like heights, so my heart really is beating.

Now once this is on, to go up,

it's got to be a green here.

- Okay. - You just press here.

You want me to press it?

Go ahead and press it.

You're doing it.

Look, look.

He says, "look up," and I tried to look up.

And this thing is going up.

And now we're one story, two stories.

That's about high enough for me.

You're doing really good.

Just keep pressing it.

We got still a long way to go.

Just continue going.

My legs are shaking.

Go more.

Whoa. Are you crazy?

Relax. You're doing fine.

No, no. No more.

I think he's testing me.

And I know I'm gonna fail this test.

All right, let's go down.

We kept going, and the thing's bouncing and shaking.

And that was terrifying.

Let's go down. It's time to go down.

I really want to go down.

I pick merchandise, then I open this gate.

Okay, good. Let's go down.

This is what I do all day long.

Yeah, well, you know what, you're a special guy.

Oh, my goodness.

Honestly, I'm a little nervous about him

being nervous about this kind of equipment.

That's a good sound.

We need Mark to be more confident.

Tell me about yourself.

- 16? - 16 years old.

I've been here in this warehouse for ten years.

I love it here. I think it's a great company.

What don't you like about your job?

- Wintertime. - Wintertime.

- You don't get enough money. - Yes.

You know, I have three kids.

- I have a wife. She doesn't work. - Okay.

- $18,000? - Yes.

That's the main reason

why my credit card went up.

In wintertime...

- So it's a struggle. - It's a struggle, yeah.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

Rosali's a ten-year team member,

and he's struggling because of something we did.

Are there any jobs in here that pay more?

- Or do they all pay the same? - Area manager.

So that's really what you want to do.

- I think I'm ready. - You think you're ready now?

I think I'm ready, yeah.

As I think about Rosali,

and I think about his loyalty,

I feel like we've let him down.

And I feel like we need to do what we can to fix that.

The end rider... this is called the end rider.

- Okay. - You will do this.

Okay.

You hop on, placing one foot here

- and one foot over there, like that. - Okay.

If you let the left foot go of the pedal,

- that's emergency brake, okay? - Yeah.

- You press it on, it means go. - Okay.

Watch what I'm doing, just follow me.

If I go here, it goes like that.

If I go like that, it goes the other way.

- See that? - I got it.

- Are you ready? - I'm ready.

You can do this.

There's not room for two of us on here.

No. I wish there was,

but there's not.

- You're nervous. - Yeah.

You're nervous? How do you think I feel?

I have run a forklift before.

I think I was probably 18 years old.

So it's been a while.

Go very slow, very slow.

I'm very nervous about it.

Hopefully I don't run into anything.

You're doing it.

You're doing really good.

That's excellent.

I think I'm getting it very quickly.

But I also think I have a really good teacher.

- You have done good. - Thank you.

This is the receiving docks.

And we're gonna move some merchandise

to the aisles to be put away.

Get it close to the other pallet.

Get it close to the other pallet.

Whoa.

Be careful. Okay.

Now you have five pallets.

Don't, like, kind of be jumpy, because they will fall.

Just be careful.

Be careful. Follow me.

See that stop sign? You got to stop and then beep.

- Yeah, I ran it. - You got to stop.

- Oh, you have to stop? - And then beep then go.

Mark, the stop sign, he was not stopping right.

And he was not beeping right.

- Feet, feet off. - Whoa.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Remember foot, foot.

Let go of the foot. Remember the foot.

I was a little nervous,

'cause one little mistake,

it'll take you to an accident.

Go ahead and take that pallet, Mark.

Go to aisle 80.

No!

Get it close to the other pallet.

- Uh-oh. - You've got to back up,

because you're all, like, all crooked.

So just come here. Follow me.

Come to me.

Now go forward.

Lift it up.

And go to aisle 80, all the way down there.

Whoa.

Park it right here.

- Place them right here. - I'm trying. Whoa.

Look behind you. Oh, oh, oh, feet off.

Come this way.

You turn it this way, it goes the other way.

You turn it that way, it goes... it's very confusing.

- I'm very frustrated right now. - Let me do it for you.

Get off. I'll show you.

Okay.

Okay.

I'm a little afraid about Mark.

He just gets too nervous and shaky about things,

which is very dangerous.

Mark, I got to tell you this.

I wouldn't be comfortable leaving you,

- like, alone, doing this. - Yeah.

I will have to, you know, let you go.

Just for that?

Yeah.

I'm sorry.

So all that, and I get fired

just for that one little mistake?

- Yeah. - Really?

Yeah.

I have to fire Mark for safety reasons.

I don't want him to have an accident

or hurt anybody else.

That's pretty... I'm pretty disappointed.

Yeah, I know. I... I feel the same way.

Hmm.

I wasn't expecting for him to tell me I was fired.

I mean, it's a little embarrassing.

But I'm glad to see that he takes safety so seriously.

Climbing out over the top.

Coming up, the boss is shocked

when one employee risks it all.

- You're really gonna go out there? - Yeah.

That is crazy.

And later, the boss

changes his employees' lives forever.

This isn't real.

Mike Bloom, the president

and Chief Operating Officer of Family Dollar

is a boss undercover in his own company.

Do you know a lot about retail?

No, I know a lot about bars.

His employees think

he's a contestant on a reality show...

Be careful.

...Competing to win money.

Uh-oh.

I will have to, you know, let you go.

- Just for that? - Yeah.

Yesterday, I was fired by Rosali.

But today I'm back at the Front Royal distribution center,

working alongside of a merge operator.

The merge operator controls 14 conveyor belts of merchandise

as they merge into one line to get loaded onto trucks

and sent to the stores.

Are you Rick?

- 10-4. - Are you Rick?

- Yup, I'm Rick. - Mark.

- How you doing? - How's it going?

What's merging?

This is scary-looking.

41,000 boxes?

- That's the company goal. - Okay.

My goal is different.

If that says 41, I want 51.

Okay. How long you been doing it?

102 cases per minute.

Why did it just change to 100?

It just changed to 100. It went down.

There's a jam.

I've been here 15 minutes when a box

jams on a conveyor belt.

Every time one of those boxes

gets jammed on a conveyor belt

and the system shuts down, that's time.

When you lose time in a distribution center,

that's inefficiency.

I'm gonna set my radio down.

So the whole thing's shut down.

Yep, shut down.

We're just completely stopped.

And now we're gonna really completely stop.

Climbing out over the top.

- You're really gonna go out there? - Yeah.

That is crazy. Crazy.

There's got to be an easier way than that.

I can tell you that.

That doesn't look safe to me.

I don't care how... He's got a harness.

He's hooked up.

If this is state-of-the-art,

those boxes shouldn't be getting jammed.

It's no wonder Lacey was complaining about the way

freight is shipped to our store.

Either we got the wrong boxes going through there,

or we got the wrong conveyor belt or something.

My question is, is there an easier way?

Is there something else we should be doing?

That doesn't feel very state-of-the-art to me.

Now we start everything back up.

See those scanners up top?

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

As these cases come through, it scans these labels.

His job is to make sure these labels are facing up.

What else is he doing?

That, I don't know.

Making sure they're single file.

He doesn't want them going side-by-side.

If he doesn't do his job,

the stores don't get what they need.

I'm gonna have you do his job.

- All right, I got that. - Real easy, right?

Easy.

All right, let's go.

- Piece of cake? - Piece of... this is nothing.

All right, you asked for it.

Let's see how you handle that, homey.

All right, can't stop. Can't slow it down.

Let's go.

Can't hold things back either while you're doing it.

Mark thought flipping cases was gonna be a cakewalk.

Uh-oh. Whoa.

That's a piece of cake.

He found out it wasn't as easy as it looks.

Why don't they just all come up

with the label in the first place?

- Missed some. - Uh-oh.

Piece of cake, easy.

We need a machine that does this, not people.

I got this, I got this.

Come on... you gave me something hard to do.

Come on.

I can give you a prime example of what he looked like.

I started from every place in this building

and then went upstairs.

Where do you go after merge operator?

Home.

I don't want to do anything else.

- Oh, you don't? - Yeah, I like doing that.

I've been offered the job before,

manager or whatever.

But boss is not for everybody.

- Yeah, I know, I know. - I have eight kids.

- Wow, wow. - Yeah, I got a lot of work there too.

I play a little music with some of my guys.

- We used to... - I play music.

Do you play music? What do you play?

That's what I play.

- You play the drums? - Yeah.

- Get out. - No.

That's what I play.

Well, you should come home,

meet the wife and kids.

I'll even let you hit on my drum set a little bit.

We'll jam together, actually.

- That would be fun. - Oh, I'd love it.

If you don't mind riding in a crappy car,

- you can ride with... - I got a crappy car.

Don't worry about it. I got a crappy car.

Rick invited me over to his house to play the drums.

And I haven't played drums since I was, like, 15 years old.

And he sounds like he's a serious drummer.

I'm more nervous at doing that

than I am about anything that happened

inside the distribution center today.

I'm scared to death.

Well, Mark...

All right. This is my humble abode.

Look at that.

- Wow. - Well, Mark, what do you think?

- I love it. - You love it?

I haven't met a drum set i didn't like.

Go ahead, let's hear you light it up.

Long live rock and roll, right?

Long live rock and roll.

You want to try it?

I broke out into about as much sweat as I did

when I was working in the distribution center today.

So I'm worried I'm about to blow my cover.

It's been a long time.

Take your time, brother, take your time.

Maybe Mark should practice his drumming skills

before he runs off telling people he's a drummer.

That's it, it doesn't get any better than that.

- That was a lot of fun. - I appreciate that.

- No problem. - That was fun. I appreciate it.

- I got some people I'd like to introduce you to. - Sure.

Ricky-do.

- What's up, Ricky? - Introduce yourself.

- That's Mark. - I'm Mark.

There's a couple others.

- How y'all doing? - - Good.

- How's dad's drumming? - It's all right.

The worst I've ever heard.

Really? Y'all want to be grounded, don't you?

Fantastic, fantastic.

I don't think I've ever been invited

to a team member's house

and had a chance to meet their family

and just spend some quality time outside of work.

So it was a pretty special moment.

- That was fun. - Really, thank you.

Today I'm at a Family Dollar in Clifton, New Jersey.

And I'm gonna be working with a training store manager.

Have a nice day.

We're opening 500 stores a year.

The training store manager has to make sure

that we have enough store managers ready

and able to run the new stores

that we're opening each year.

- Hi. - Are you Chanel?

- Yes, I am. - Hi, I'm Mark.

- Nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you as well.

Oh, okay. So you ready?

- I think so. - Okay, let's see.

First thing we're gonna do today is run the cash register.

- We're gonna run the register? - Yeah, absolutely.

Everything is really self-explanatory.

It's been a long time since Mike has run the register.

This is pretty fancy.

First things first of dealing with any customer

is to make sure we greet them.

- Okay. - Okay?

- Oh, scan and bag. - Yeah.

Oh, so it automatically... I don't have to push any buttons?

- No. - Okay.

Hi, welcome to Family Dollar.

- Hello. - Hi.

- Go. - Okay.

Okay, so since you're done now, you got to push total.

Your total is $25.31.

Thank you.

So it's gonna be 150 that you enter.

No.

- What did I do wrong? - It's okay. Enter the 100.

- And then press cash. - Oh.

And you see on the screen there?

It'll actually tell you the change

- that you're supposed to give the customer back. - Okay.

$93 and one penny.

Thank you. Sorry it took so long.

So what I'm gonna do now is,

I'm gonna step away from the register. Okay?

Don't go too far.

I promise I won't go far.

But if you need me, you can just hit this bell.

You think you'll be okay?

If not, I'm going to...

Right?

- Perfect. - Cool.

Hi, there. Welcome to Family Dollar.

How are you?

Uh-oh.

I rang it twice. Sorry.

- Yes? - It rang twice...

- I must've held it there too long. - That's okay.

So what we're gonna do is just press "item void."

The total is $10.70.

Oh.

I was not good at the register.

I was not good at the register.

Uh-oh.

If Mark was to ever be employed on my staff,

he would need a lot more training

than a lot of the newer people.

This bag thing doesn't work too well.

I noticed that there's not enough space

between where the bag hangs

and the actual shelf that it's on

so the product can sit.

These always fall off.

So 16.48.

16.48.

And then the screen for the register

is too far away from the customer.

The cashier is looking this way to the screen,

and the customer is sitting this way.

The cashier should always be

talking to the customer face-to-face.

So we need to fix that.

First things first. Great job.

- Did I do that right? - Yeah.

But just one thing I just want you

to always keep in your mind.

It's all about the customers.

Who's the most important thing?

- The customer. - And then?

- Sales. - There you go.

How long have you been here?

2 1/2 years. This is my passion.

Like, I have fun doing it.

And that's the only way

that you're gonna be able to open up.

Have fun. It's all up to you.

So you got promoted in 2 1/2 years?

Four positions in 2 1/2 years.

- That's awesome. That's cool. - It's awesome.

Chanel is on her game.

She's talking about sales.

She's talking about customer.

Now we're gonna go set up

what we will call a sidewalk sale.

She's very passionate.

I think she bleeds Family Dollar red.

So you're gonna do one u-boat of fans

and then one u-boat of coolers.

That's not good.

It's okay.

Uh-oh!

- Sorry. - It's okay.

You always want to put yourself

from a customer's point of view.

So, you know, you walk by and it's like,

"oh, these are really cool. You know what?"

"Let me see what else they may have inside."

We may not sell the cooler.

But we may make a sale somewhere else.

Hello. Hi, guys.

Would you like to buy a fan or a bottle of water?

Hi, there.

We have the coolers. They're $25.

Then you could check out... we have some clothing inside,

25% off and the bathing suits for children, 25% off.

- Thank you. - Okay? You're welcome.

I did want to touch base on just...

- how do you stay so upbeat? - Upbeat?

It's life.

I've been through a lot, growing up, a lot.

- I mean, I was a foster child. - Oh, you were?

So I didn't really have that homey feeling

that a lot of children have.

- It's been a challenge for me. - Yeah?

I kind of had to leave the system,

because I had a child.

- I was pregnant. - Oh.

- So they kind of kick you out. - So then what happened?

I went into the shelter.

And after that, I found my apartment.

I went to Berkeley college for a little bit.

Then I got pregnant with my second son,

- so I had to stop. - Okay.

And where do you live now?

Currently, right now, my living situation's a little awkward.

We're kind of in, like, my mother-in-law's,

like, their dad's mom's house.

- Are you married? - No.

- Oh. - Single mom.

- Yeah? Okay. - It could be a lot worse.

I could've had to go back in a shelter with three children,

but I didn't, thank God.

- So, you know, it's working. - Yeah?

But it's not about where you came from.

It's about where your plans are to go in life.

Yeah.

After spending a day with Chanel,

she might be one of the most positive,

uplifting people I've ever met.

Having my children at such a young age,

it made me mature a lot faster

- and it made me see life in a different view of it. - Yeah.

You know, I related to Chanel a couple of different ways.

We both had kids very young.

You know, I started college

and had to stop and take care of business, life.

You have kids, you know, and she's doing the same thing.

I could've been a statistic of society, you know.

But it's just... my son, like, when I first had him,

I remember he just looked at...

he didn't cry. He just looked at me.

And I was like, "I promise I'll never let you down."

- Absolutely. It's your drive. - You do it for the kids, right?

Absolutely.

I need to make sure that people like her

don't get lost in our system.

As I think about closing out this journey

and what I've learned,

I think about the word "family."

I was allowed to come

into people's personal lives and people's families

that I never would've had the opportunity to do

without going undercover.

And I found great people that aren't happy with us.

I found people that want to work

and want to make a career at Family Dollar

and don't feel they have the opportunity.

And to me, that's unacceptable.

I've got a lot of things to fix.

Coming up, the employees think

they're deciding if Mark deserves money

to open his own business.

How will they react

when the boss reveals his true identity?

I'm Mike Bloom. I'm the president

and Chief Operating Officer of Family Dollar Stores.

Oh, my God.

Today all of the employees have been called

to Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.

They think they're coming to the set of the reality show

to hear the final results.

But actually, I'm going to reveal my true identity.

How are you?

Hi.

My name is Rosali.

- Rosali, how are you? - Good. I'm fine, yeah.

- It's nice to meet you. - Oh, nice meeting you too.

- Tell me about Mark. - Mark.

Yes, Mark. I'll be honest with this.

I was expecting he was gonna be a little better.

I did have to fire him after failing,

you know, with this machine.

- Tell me about Mark. - I don't want to.

- Why? - 'Cause you look like Mark.

- I look like Mark? - Yeah.

Really? You got me uncomfortable.

You clean up awful nice.

You're Mike Bloom.

Really?

- Yes. - You're right.

Wow. Okay.

I knew that hair didn't fit you.

Lacey.

You got me a little bit nervous right now.

Yeah? Yeah?

I wanted to learn about our organization.

Mm-hmm. I feel really bad for saying the things

- that I've said about Family Dollar. - No, don't.

The company sends us tons and tons and tons.

Why? That doesn't seem right.

No, it doesn't.

Everything is all mixed up on the truck.

- I'm gonna be honest. - Sure, please.

I feel like the company doesn't think about

us small people inside the store.

And I feel like all Family Dollar employees

work really, really hard.

I need to do a better job, and...

I need to work with our distribution centers

to see if we can't get the distribution centers

to take some of that pressure off the stores.

Yeah.

My goal is to make things better.

I hope that's... yeah, I like that plan.

- Yeah? - Yeah, I do.

So, Lacey, I know you love music.

Yeah, I do.

I play and sing a lot of country.

- I didn't know you sang too. - Yes, that's my...

actually, singing's my passion more than guitar.

One of the things i want to do for you is,

I want to send you and your husband to Nashville.

Yeah?

Yeah. All expenses paid.

Take some time off.

Don't think about Family Dollar.

Go have some fun.

Thank you.

- One of the other conversations we had... - Okay.

- You're going to college. - Yes, I am.

Full-time college student, yeah.

I put myself through community college.

That's all I'm at right now is community college.

Good for you. But what I'm afraid

you're gonna do

is get your degree and leave Family Dollar.

I want you to get your degree and stay with Family Dollar.

- And I'm willing to pay you for that. - Okay.

I want to give you $5,000 a year,

and for every year you stay with Family Dollar,

up to three years, I'll give you $5,000 more a year.

Mm-hmm.

So that's up to $15,000.

And you get that degree in three years,

before you start running out to go someplace else.

Mm-hmm.

I want to try and help you find something in Family Dollar

that where you can use that talent.

- Okay. - And, in the meantime, every year you stay

I'm gonna give you $5000.

You've got nothing to lose, unless you leave.

I don't think I'm going to now.

Right, good. That's great.

- Yeah, I'm excited. - Good.

I'm super excited about it.

Mike does seem like he had a genuine heart

and that he does care for the employees.

- Thank you. - Thank you.

An opportunity like this doesn't come to people

in a small town where I'm from.

And a weight has been lifted off my shoulder,

because now I feel like everything I have worked for

may be for something now.

- Rosali, I loved working with you. - Thank you.

- I know you fired me. - Yeah.

But I deserved to be fired.

Place them right here.

I'm trying. Whoa.

Look behind you. Oh, oh, oh.

- Get off. I'll show you. - Okay.

Well, if anything I didn't teach right,

- forgive me for it. - No, no, no.

- You taught me very, very well. - Thank you.

So you told me about this debt that you have.

Yes, this debt going into bankruptcy, you know.

But I'm getting there.

- I want to help you get out of debt. - Okay.

- You have $18,000 in debt. - Yes.

You pay off $6,000, I'll pay off $12,000.

Oh, thank you, thank you.

This is really good.

I'm sorry, but I feel good about this.

- No, I'm glad. - Yes. Yes.

There's something else.

- I want to give you a financial planner. - Okay.

- Somebody that can sit down with you and your wife... - Okay.

and help you manage your money,

so that you don't get into this situation again.

Yes, yes. Thank you for that.

When I tell my wife, she's gonna be...

she'll be even happier than me.

There's one more thing.

You told me about your hours.

The hours are light this time of year.

I got a few checks with 25 hours.

- I see. - Yeah.

- Let me see if I can help you here too. - Okay.

We're gonna promote you into a manager-in-training position.

Oh, thank you.

And you won't have to worry about your hours.

This is a salary position.

And you're gonna get a 40% increase in salary.

Oh, thank you. Thank you.

- I'll do my best. - I know you will.

- I can do it. - I know you can.

Yes. Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you.

I'm a happy person.

But I'm even happier now.

- Thank you. - Let me give you a hug.

Having this salary, it'll change my life so much,

not only for me,

but I feel good about my kids, you know, for college,

so they can have a better life, a better job in their future.

So, Rick, you were incredible.

Well, thank you.

- I've been working at it for years. - Yeah.

I witnessed a lot of jams while I was there.

That is crazy.

Man, I thought you were spider-man

when you hooked yourself in and headed out there.

I was terrified you were gonna ask me to do it.

- Well, I thought about it. - I know you did.

You know, to invite me over to your house

to meet your family was really special to me.

And you got a little bit of drumming skills, you know.

- Not as much as you. - And I'm not that good, either.

But I try.

So I want to do something for you.

I want to send you to a rock and roll fantasy camp.

We're gonna fly you out to California,

where you're going to get a chance to play

with some of the best musicians in rock and roll.

Are you serious?

Oh, man. That's amazing.

It really is. I don't even know what to say.

Thank you. I don't even know what to say.

There's one more thing.

You said to me, "well, you can come on over"

- "if you're willing to get in an old, raggedy car." - Right.

So, Rick, I want to give you a new car.

You got to be kidding me.

I don't even know what to say.

Thank you. I appreciate it.

But I mean, good gracious.

My wife will definitely be surprised.

Of course, you know, she'll take that over, right?

I'm shocked.

That's the best way to explain it... shocked.

I'm getting a new car.

It's gonna make life a lot easier.

All right, thank you. I appreciate it.

Appreciate it.

To have your boss do the things that he has done for me,

that lets me know he values what I do at work.

You don't find that too often, so that feels great.

That makes it all worth the while.

Chanel, I learned so much from you,

- and I was so impressed with you. - Okay.

Who's the most important thing?

- The customer. - And then?

- Sales. - There you go.

You are what Family Dollar is all about.

- And you have such a bright future here. - Thank you.

I'd really like to do a couple things for you.

- Right now, you're living with your... - My mother-in-law.

- Your mother-in-law. - Yeah.

I want to pay for an apartment for you for a year.

I'm gonna give you $15,000 to do that.

I hope that takes care of rent

and your first month and security.

This isn't real.

Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

I see a lot of me in you and you in me.

We're a lot alike.

I married my high school sweetheart very young,

had a baby very young.

- I know you had a baby very young. - Yes.

And I went to two years of college

and got my associate's degree.

And I always worried that that was gonna be a problem for me.

I had to work harder

than the person with the four-year degree.

Yep.

- And it worked for me. - Yeah.

And it's gonna work for you, too.

- I can tell. - Thank you.

And I want to do something else for you.

We're gonna promote you.

I don't even have any more tears.

Your increase, effective immediately,

is a 40% raise.

This whole package is worth somewhere

in the neighborhood of $80,000.

Oh, my gosh.

And you deserve that.

Thank you.

The opportunities,

the doors you are being able to open for me...

there's no other word.

Like, I'm lost for words other than thank you.

You're welcome.

The struggle is... it's over.

My children are gonna have it a lot easier.

They don't have to fight.

They don't have to struggle.

I just want them just to enjoy life as a child, you know.

I never really got to do that.

Thank you so much.

You deserve it.

For Mike being able to give this to me,

so I can share this with my family,

honestly, the weight that's been taken off of me is phenomenal.

Sync and corrections by atrn97g for www.MY-SUBS.com