All language subtitles for Undercover Boss S8E01 Build A Bear

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

Tonight on Undercover Boss,

Sharon John, president and CEO
of Build-A-Bear Workshop...

You gonna be able to go
in and not be the boss?

That's gonna be tough.

Goes undercover in her own business.

- Welcome to Build-A-Bear.
- Wow, so exciting.

By joining her employees
on the front lines...

- Party has arrived.
- Are we having a party? Oh.

- Absolutely.
- Yay!

This baroness of bears...

- Oh, wow.
- Will meet the people

that keep her company
a beloved brand.

Oh, we're going all the way.

Get wacky 'cause he's
a really crazy monkey.

- Okay. Ahhh!
- Bye.

Oh, wait, hang on, hang on, hang on.

- Oh, we didn't pay?
- Yeah, we didn't check out.

Yeah, that would be important.

While undercover she'll find out

that making toys isn't child's play.

Ohh!

This is getting backed up.
Still gonna keep coming.

If you're not fast, then
everything falls back on you.

It looks like that rang twice,
so that's... let me check on that.

And what will happen

when her disguise starts
to unravel at the seams?

Is that part of the process?

She was, like, coming toward the hairdo.

I was scared to death.

Find out next on Undercover Boss.

Based in St. Louis, Missouri,

Build-A-Bear Workshop
is a global retail chain

where customers can design

and create their own stuffed toys.

With almost 400 locations,
more than 3,000 employees...

There is Fluffy.

And $400 million in revenue,

this family favorite has
been bringing joy to kids

since 1997.

Building this company
one bear at a time...

- Hey, how you doing?
- Good, how are you?

Is one woman.

My name is Sharon John, and
I am the president and CEO

of Build-A-Bear
Workshop.

Build-A-Bear Workshop is
the only retail experience

where consumers go
through an entire process

of choosing their furry friend,

picking a heart to put
into their furry friend,

stuffing their furry friend,

and then dressing and
customizing their furry friend.

Build-A-Bear Workshop
was founded in 1997

by Maxine Clark.

She had an idea where
she wanted children

to be able to make their
own special stuffed animals

and customize them exactly
the way they wanted.

The company grew very rapidly,

multiple stores all over America

and expansion into other countries.

Unfortunately, from 2008
until 2012 the brand

and the company actually experienced

a pretty rough road,
to the point that 22%

of our North American
doors were unprofitable.

Oh, we've got such a good...

In 2013 when I started
at Build-A-Bear,

it was time to reinvent the brand

and refresh it for the new
consumer, the new millennial.

Jen, what do you think
order's gonna be here?

Definitely our hot pink
with the gold accents.

I brought in a new CMO

to look at every aspect
of the marketing concepts.

In that process we developed

a brand-new store called
the discovery store

to bring in a new color palette

and a little bit of
refreshed look and feel

to make it more relevant
for today's consumers.

All right, let's talk a
little bit about Promise Pets.

One of the reasons I think I
was considered for president

and CEO of Build-A-Bear
was the recognition

that I could fix businesses
and turn around brands.

I graduated in advertising

from the University of Tennessee

and got my MBA from Columbia.

Most of my career has
been at big toy companies

or children's-focused
companies, from Mattel

to Hasbro to Stride Rite Children's Group.

I've taken some powerful brands

and in some cases historic brands

and been able to reinvent
them to much success,

so much so that I get the opportunity

to get the next thing that
isn't quite running right.

The interesting thing about
being a first-time CEO

is that it requires me to
live and breathe Build-A-Bear.

Fortunately for me, it is very close

to my own personality.

It's fun. It's engaging.

It's kid-focused.

It wants to stay young,

so it's not that far off from who I am.

I am pretty excited about it, actually.

I've been thinking about my disguise.

Are you gonna... you gonna run the stuffer?

I'm gonna try to run it.

I'm gonna try to run... no
idea how to run the stuffer.

Are you gonna be able to
go in and not be the boss?

I know that's gonna be
tough, but I'm gonna try.

I've been working on my persona.

I'm so excited about the future
of Build-A-Bear Workshop.

After three years at the helm,

the brand is stronger than it was even

at the height of the company in 2006, 2007.

- You ready to go?
- I'm ready to go.

So we're well-positioned
to move Build-A-Bear

to a very, very bright future.

- Bye.
- Bye-bye.

- Take care of the kids.
- Oh, yeah.

Who are we turning you into today?

It's, like, a alter ego,

so we definitely have to
fix... change the hair.

- We gotta change up the hair.
- Got some options here for you.

I think now is a great
time to go undercover

because we are in the middle

of changing the
trajectory of Build-A-Bear.

We have recently rolled out

our new discovery store formats,

and I really want to know
how the bear builders

feel about the new format,
the new service model,

and some of the other
changes that we've made.

Let's build some bears.

When I go undercover,
I'm going to be Jessie.

My employees will think I'm
on a different reality show.

They'll have no idea
it's really Undercover Boss.

Today I'm in Northridge, California,

and I'm going to be
working with a bear builder.

This location was upgraded to
our new discovery store model

just a few months ago.

Our discovery store represents

a new branding look
for Build-A-Bear,

but it also has a little
bit of a different process.

Our bear builders guide

our consumers through
the experience,

so I want to see how
our bear builders

are responding to the change.

- Hello, welcome to Build-A-Bear.
- Hi. Oh, wow, hi.

- Are you Jessie?
- Yeah, I'm Jessie.

- Oh, hello!
- Yeah, hi.

- My name is Leney.
- Laney?

- Leney.
- Leney.

- Leney, yes.
- Okay, got it. Yay.

I'm gonna take you through
this entire process today.

- Okay.
- A to Z.

So let's get you an apron,
and let's get started.

I'm a little nervous.

Oh, don't be. You're gonna do perfect.

Okay. All right.

It's a bunch of beautiful babies.

They're celebrating
back-to-school month.

Are we having a party?

We are having a party, absolutely.

Oh!

We have an hour to do
the whole, entire process,

and they must have a good time.

- Okay.
- That is what our main concern

is, is their experience goes bearrific.

- Bearrific?
- Yes.

Oh, that's so cute.

So now we're gonna prep for our party

'cause the kids are
gonna be here in a minute.

Oh.

So now we can just show you the stuffer.

All right.

I am nervous about
the stuffing machine.

It's harder than it looks,
and I've never mastered it.

I'm just gonna show you
how the stuffer works

so you don't freak out, okay?

Well, I'm freaking out already.

When the kids come up, you tell them,

"Okay, now step on the magical pedal."

And the stuffing comes right out of here.

Okay.

Oh, look it, party has arrived.

Hello, ladies. Welcome
to Build-A-Bear.

How are you guys doing
today? Are you excited?

- Yeah!
- Hi.

Yeah? We can get started with picking out

your special furry friend.

You have all the bears to select from.

Go ahead and pick your bear.

- She got a Pokémon.
- I picked this one out.

- Perfect, what a good choice.
- Oh, my goodness.

- Do we all have our bears?
- Yeah!

We know which ones we're getting?

Then we can head over to the stuffer.

When Leney says she's gonna
put me on the stuffer machine,

I'm... I'm a little frightened.

Here we go. Okay.

Do you know how to do this? All right.

- Ready?
- Okay, let's go.

Ohh!

She made it snow.

Like, all the stuffing

that should have been
inside that bear,

it was kind of everywhere.

It's in my mouth.

It's in my hair, and I'm like,

"I... I knew this would happen."

Yeah, slow it down!

But then I was scared to death.

She was, like, coming toward the hairdo.

Is that... is that part of the process?

I was frightened and
afraid that if she, like,

sort of pulled on it too hard
that my cover might be blown.

Ohh!

Slow it down!

She was, like, coming toward
the hairdo, and I'm like,

"Oh, it's all over. It's all over,"

but she just pulled out some of the fluff,

and we just moved on.

Mommy! Mommy!

Okay, can I do better this time?

- Maybe.
- You're gonna help me, right?

All right. All right.

- Are we ready?
- We made it!

- Don't forget his tail.
- Oh, yeah.

Just take your time, Jessie.

Just breathe. You got this.

Okay, look at that.

All right, give me a little more fluff.

Okay, that's good. Give her a squeezy.

Happy? We'll sew her up.

How many stitches do you think I need?

Tie it about ten times or so.

Did you go to Build-A-Bear
when you were young?

Absolutely.

I have been coming
to Build-A-Bear

since I was five or six.

My little sister, she had a
big impact on my job here too,

'cause we were in here all the time.

So were you here before
this was all, like...

This?

With the new stuffer and everything?

Yes. God, so emotional with it.

- Why?
- The old store was... you know,

it was my childhood, and
when you come to Build-A-Bear,

you come to be a kid again
and to relive your childhood.

Uh-huh. So you didn't
want to do the remodel?

No. Even eliminating the Fluff Me station

where they got to give
the bear an air bath...

Oh, yeah. It had emotion to it?

Yeah. We took that out, unfortunately,

and we put in a Smile For Me

where the kids stand against the wall

and take a picture with their bear instead.

But the parents take the picture, we don't.

- Oh, I see, yeah.
- So that's very misleading.

In this discovery store model
we are still looking for a way

for people to bond with their bears.

That's what really was happening

at the Fluff Me station.

And I think Leney's
making a good point,

that maybe the Smile With Me
station isn't working as well.

- All right, party kids...
- Oh, we're gonna go.

Party time. Okay.

All right, we get it out of our system.

You can get something that's on a hanger,

a cute little outfit and a pair of shoes,

and that's it, okay? Outfit and shoes.

Okay, guys.

And now you just follow them
and make sure they have fun.

That is so cute.

All of your bears' birthdays are today,

'cause you got to make them.

I think Leney, she's doing a great job

managing the organized chaos of the party.

If you want to hold
the other side, you can.

When the party was over,
the kids were so joyful.

Leney definitely exemplifies
the heart of Build-A-Bear.

So you seem to really enjoy,
you know, working here.

Oh, I love it.

And your little sister likes it too, right?

Oh, yeah, she loves it. She's like,

"I'll come in and clean, and, you know."

I'm like, "You don't clean at home."

Do you guys still live in the same house?

I'm living with my family.

Being at home with grandma,
that's special because,

you know, you never know how long you have.

- That's true.
- Oh, you know what?

We can actually... I'll show
you how we can fill the stuffer,

since there is a little bit of room.

Okay, okay.

We just take our bale that's back here.

Okay. So you said something about,

like, your grandma, you know,

you never know how long you're gonna have.

- I'm terrified.
- What's going on...

She has lupus.

So it's... it's nerve-racking, you know,

and it's really taken a toll on her.

Is that... like, that
would be your mom's mom?

No, that will be my dad's...

I don't talk to my mom or my mom's family.

She left about four years ago,

but mentally she was
never, like, here, you know?

- Oh, I'm sorry.
- My grandma raised me.

- What does your dad... I mean...
- He's disabled.

He doesn't work, so I have
three jobs to try and help.

- Oh, my goodness.
- I work all the time literally.

- You just work all the time?
- Yeah.

Leney is just a
couple of years older

than my oldest daughter,

and she has so much responsibility

on her shoulders,

and what's really amazing about that

is the spirit that Leney
brings to work every day.

She is what Build-A-Bear
is supposed to be.

Fluff is my new best friend.

Let's make sure it
doesn't enter your stomach

- again though, right?
- Yeah. Oh.

Today I'm in Whitehall,
Pennsylvania,

and I'm going to be
working with a bear builder

at one of our heritage stores.

I liked what I saw in
our discovery store

yesterday working with Leney,

but most of our stores are
still our heritage model.

I want to make sure that even the teams

that are in heritage stores
are getting the message

that we're changing and they understand

that these changes

are giving our company a new future.

- Hi.
- Oh, hey, are you Jessie?

- I am.
- Jessie. How are you?

- My name's nick.
- Hey, so nice to meet you.

It's good to meet you.
Welcome to Build-A-Bear.

- Wow, so exciting.
- Definitely, definitely.

Now what we're gonna start with, I guess,

is we're gonna have you run some register.

- Okay.
- So follow me.

- Thank you. All right.
- Follow me.

We'll grab you an apron.
We'll grab you a lanyard.

- All right.
- So first off,

these are our registers. We
got two of them right here.

The system is pretty basic.

I mean, if somebody
comes over with something,

you got a code on it. Scan the barcode.

- And then does that come up?
- And then on its own...

Is it ever... is it always right?

Yeah, it's... I mean, as
right as computers can be,

you know what I mean, but yeah.

And then once they're ready to go,

you just click total,

and then they'll pay with
their cash, credit cards...

Okay, and it's usually what?

It's usually debit and credit card.

Okay.

Dad. How you doing, Dad?

- I'm all right.
- Cool, cool, cool.

What do we got? Let me
see that tag there, bud.

That's the one.

- Look at him.
- Darth Vader bear.

- Darth Vader.
- You're ahead of the game.

Look at you go. So he's paying with a card,

so I click the total,

and then you just go to debit/credit,

and then the amount's
already gonna be right there.

- Mm-hmm.
- All right, now it's gonna ask

for your autograph 'cause you're famous.

All right, dad. This receipt's for you.

Be sure to come again to
see me real soon, okay?

I can help the next guest over here.

- Hi.
- Hi there.

- Think it's your turn now.
- Okay.

So... and that was good?
Did something good happen?

Yep, and then we have a dress.

All right, thank you.

- Thank you.
- All right, bye.

Oh, wait, hang on, hang on, hang on. So...

Oh, he didn't pay.

Yeah, we have to check out first.

Yeah, that would be important.

- Total.
- Thank you very much.

All right, bye-bye. Thank you.

Thank you.

This time you're gonna
try it without my help.

Okay. Can I help the next customer?

Guest, please? Hi, how are you?

- Hello, we're good.
- Okay.

Total is $75.26.

Is that right?

Oh, you know what happened?

It looks like that rang twice,
so that's... let me check on that.

- I'm sorry. Nick?
- Yeah.

The Chase is rung twice on here.

Oh, no. Let's fix that.
What do you say? Two...

- I'm so glad you caught that.
- That's okay. I'm just like...

- Item.
- Am I doing this right?

So now we have $53. Does that sound better?

Yes.

If Jessie is going to be ringing

the register under my
numbers with my name in there,

I'm definitely gonna want to keep a good,

close eye on what she's doing.

- And then...
- Me?

- Yep, okay.
- Okay.

There you go, and then swipe your card.

- I ripped it.
- It's nerve-racking for me.

Know what, that was pretty nerve-ra...

I mean, I almost sent that one couple out

without, you know, paying at all.

You know what? We caught
it. We're good to go.

- Everything's fine.
- Yeah.

- But you'll learn in time.
- All right.

Follow me over here. Check this out.

I think I should show you the whole process

of how we build a bear.

Oh, that's gonna be really helpful.

Take your pick.

- I love horses.
- Horses?

We're gonna go stuff that horse now.

- All right.
- I start with the legs.

Now what we're gonna do is grab
a heart right out of that bin.

- Okay.
- We're gonna give the heart

a kiss and shake it like this and say,

- "Wake up, heart."
- Wake up, heart.

And then we'll turn in a
circle like this carefully

and say, "Whee!"

Whee!

Working with Nick was really fun

because Nick made it fun

to go through every step and participate.

- This is sound station.
- Sounds.

All kinds of different sounds are on here.

Oh.

All right, so we're
gonna take one of these.

- Okay.
- Blue side down.

- Hey, that's pretty cool.
- Isn't that neat?

How does it know that
that's that? How did it know?

To be honest with you, I have no clue.

I don't know how it works,
to be honest with you.

Let's just say that it...
let's just say that it's magic.

So now we're gonna come over here.

Adding a sound to your bear
is not a new thing for us.

Our bear builders should
be able to explain this.

Okay, how many of these do you do?

I usually just do maybe two, maybe three.

Leney told me to put
ten knots in the bears.

All of these processes
should be consistent

between stores,

even between discovery
and heritage stores.

See how that... does
that look right to you?

- 'Tis perfect.
- Okay, good, and now we're done.

Not yet. We got to make
the birth certificate.

- Follow me over here.
- Okay.

All you do is take this tag, swipe it.

Now, what do you think
you want to name her?

I'm gonna name her Goldie.

Goldie, that's a good name.

So how long did it take
you to get this good?

I just... I just come here
and have fun, you know?

I just think it's a fun experience,

the sense of just that adolescence to it.

It's important to keep
that sense of imagination.

I want to be a filmmaker, for example.

- I want to make movies.
- Okay.

I apply the things I learned here

to everything that I...
everything in my outside life.

- Do you?
- Definitely.

Let's click the enter button.

Congratulations on making
your new furry friend.

- That's really cool.
- See, this reminds me of a...

this reminds me of an idea
that I had for Build-A-Bear too.

Oh, what's your idea?

Well, it's a
Build-A-Bear movie.

- Is it?
- It kind of incorporates a lot

of those older bears that we used to have.

I miss some of the original bears.

I remember we had Bearville.
It's got that involved in it.

- Wow.
- It's a little personal to me

'cause I grew up kind
of outcasted on the side,

a lot of issues because of my leg.

I was wheelchair-bound.

What was wrong?

It's a bone disease called Perthes disease.

Your hip gets all goofy because of...

because of clotting, and I
got one leg shorter than...

I got one leg shorter than the other.

- Oh.
- Actually, I did make

a teddy bear not that long ago.

Oh, wow, that's neat.

I made that bear as a personal reminder

to myself that it's okay to be different

and it's okay to think outside the box.

Nicholas is all about passion.

He's really enthusiastic.

He seems to love what he does.

I think he brings a
really special personality

to everything that he does.

Your official Build-A-Bear
Workshop birth certificate.

- Oh, great.
- Yep.

Coming up...

- Ooh, that's heavy.
- See how they coming down?

- Yep.
- You got to be fast.

Jessie can't get a grip...

This is getting backed up.

If you're not fast, then
everything falls back on you.

And I think I just messed this one up.

- Ay-ay-ay.
- And later...

This is our training guide,
so I have Build-A-Bear's way,

but I've switched up and
made my own little packet.

The boss meets an employee

who isn't playing by the rules.

I used to work in a restaurant.

I would have gotten in trouble

for not following what
the latest stuff was.

- Not following? Oh, yeah.
- What's the deal with that?

I'm in Columbus, Ohio, today,
and I'm going to be working

with a cherry picker
operator in our warehouse.

The warehouse is a critical
part of Build-A-Bear.

We have shipments to our stores

leaving this warehouse
almost every day.

We also fulfill our BuildABear.com orders

from this warehouse.

I really want to make sure

we're following the safety rules.

- Yes, ma'am.
- Hi, good morning.

I also want to make sure
we're being as efficient

and effective in our ability

to redistribute the products to our stores.

- Hey, how are you?
- Hey, hi.

- My name is Solomon.
- Hi, I'm Jessie.

We're gonna go over cherry
picking and then shipping.

I don't know what that is, so
you're gonna have to help me.

Cherry picking? We're gonna go pick boxes.

Okay. Sounds like fun.

And we're gonna be shipping the same thing.

Yeah, clothes and bears.

Now you ain't scared of heights, are you?

No, no, I'm good.

Long as you ain't scared of
heights then we'll be all right.

Okay, good. Let's get going.

- Now this is my cherry picker.
- Is that a cherry picker?

- Yeah, this is it right here.
- Okay.

Yeah. That's where you build your boxes at.

This is the only thing that
goes in the air, this part.

- It goes in the air?
- Yeah.

This almost will actually touch
the ceiling in certain aisles,

so you got to be careful
what aisle you go in.

Okay.

Anything other than that, it's okay.

So I would think, like, being careful...

- That's number one.
- Is really important.

That's number one, safety.

How do you know what you're
supposed to be doing today?

That's when you get the gun involved.

This is everything we can pick.

- Aisle 31, 30 and 25.
- 31, yes, yes.

I usually start high, in the high aisles

and just work my way down.

So you do it, like, sequentially?

Yeah. Now our thing is getting us safe.

Now we got to get safe.

Solomon must have said that
three, four, five times.

Safety first. It's
always safety first.

We got to make sure we're safe,

so that was a big thumbs up for me.

Now you want to jump on there.

- I got to get on there?
- Yeah.

This is up.

Oh, wow. You got to warn me!

Yeah.

Now we're gonna go to aisle 31. 31, 40.

Oh, you gotta tell me
when you're doing that.

Yeah. That's 42-11.

- This is 42-10.
- How many do you need?

So it's telling us scan one of them.

Now we're ready to go to aisle 30.

So now we got to go to 30-542,
so we going up right now.

- Oh, really?
- Oh, yeah, boom, going up.

We're driving it. We up, we up, we up.

- Oh, we're going all the way.
- Right here.

- Right... this guy?
- Yeah. But that was...

- So we got to get that box?
- Yep.

- I got it.
- You comfortable with it?

I got this, I can do this.
All right, I'm climbing in.

- Climbing in.
- I'm getting the box.

Get the box, set it there, climb back.

- And I'm climbing back.
- That's what I would do, smart.

- That's a smart way to do it.
- All right, good.

That's actually a speedy way, too.

That's... that's smart.
And we're out of here.

I got to hurry up and get picking done

so I can go to shipping and help them out.

- I got it. This guy.
- Yeah, see?

Now you telling me where it's at.

I loved the cherry picker.

I know I got to go to 43-22.
I'm already in my head.

I'm already counting, like, okay.

- Right.
- It's fun to me. I love it.

It's pretty zippy, and you
can turn it different ways.

Aisle 25, and I'm gonna have to go up.

This time we going all the way up there.

And I like being up high.

Gonna be able to see everything.

- Cool. I love it up here.
- Yeah.

I mean, being up there like that...

We're on top of the world.

And being able to see the whole warehouse

and all the boxes and
everything that's going on,

it's pretty magic, and
I've never been up there.

See, we got somebody else coming through.

We got Tayo. That's Tayo.

- How's it going, Tayo?
- How are you, man?

- You guys all know each other?
- Yeah, that like...

Build-A-Bear is a
family, straight-up.

- Build-A-Bear's a family?
- Build-A-Bear is a family.

It's not a job. That's why I love it here.

And then knowing it's for kids?

- Oh, yeah? That's cool?
- That makes it even better.

- Yeah, 'cause I have kids.
- You have kids?

How old are they?

My son is seven and my daughter is three.

That's awesome.

We pretty much wrapped up
everything with the picking.

It's time to change over to shipping.

Okay.

So this is where you put the boxes?

Yeah. They throw it on the line,

and this is where
they eventually come.

And they come down this, and
then we put them on a pallet,

and then they get on a truck or...

Yep, every box on this
line needs to be scanned.

Boom.

- So I can put this on?
- Yeah.

Now, you want to build,
probably, to the point

where you know you have other boxes coming.

Yeah. Okay, so scan some.

I'm gonna help you too as we go.

Now, this is fast. See, they keep coming.

- Oh, goodness.
- Ay-ay-ay.

No pressure.

Ooh, that's heavy.

- This is a mess.
- Yeah, this is just crazy.

You got to be fast, you know?

'Cause the lines get backed
up, and the bosses get mad

because they got to come
out and do extra stuff.

Speed and accuracy is definitely important.

This is getting backed up.

If you're not fast, then
everything falls back on you.

Jessie got to speed it up a little bit.

See how they coming down?

Yep. Both of these, right? You got those?

Yep, and nothing heavy goes on top.

- Got you.
- So this is a heavy box,

so I'm gonna go ahead
and set this to the side

'cause what happens is if
this was six-feet right now

and we had ten huge boxes,

we're gonna have to
rearrange the whole pallet.

I mean, like, you really got
to, like, undo it and re...

Yeah, the whole thing.

- But how could you fix that?
- Ain't no way.

When, you know, Solomon said,

"I don't think there's
any way to fix it,"

I'm definitely turning on
maybe there is a way to fix it.

Maybe there's a way to
think about the order

we shoot the boxes down.

So they're... are they excited
that you work here? They get it?

Oh, yeah, it's more my daughter.

My daughter is more excited.

Like, she's the younger one, so, you know,

she's into bears and all that.

Does she ever come down here and see you?

Well, they moved to Texas.

Hey, that's an important
piece of information, man.

I'm gonna go down. I just don't know when.

It got to be the right timing.

With this kind of been my...
almost, like, the first job

I really been hired on
full-time and benefits,

it's just like... then I
like it, the people here.

I don't want to go to Texas.

I love it here, but I'm
like, I miss my kids.

My dad wasn't in my
life, so now I'm like...

I kind of feel like I'm entitled

to be there for my kids,
you know what I mean?

Once you start your own family,

then that's your first priority.

So why did she move?

'Cause there's a lot more
opportunities in Texas.

I mean, problem is it's kind of...

it's a little more on the expensive side.

You kind of got to already
have money, 'cause I mean,

I live in Columbus, Ohio,
and I can tell you right now

where I live at it ain't nothing pretty.

- Yeah.
- You know what I mean?

I come to work with a
smile on my face every day

because I'm thankful for what I got,

but where I live at, it's not good.

I love this, what you got going on here.

Oh, yeah, this? You know, I do music.

I write music. I rap music.

I got a whole team full of people.

You... what do you do? You sing?

So this is it, 1st Degree Entertainment.

My music is, like, about my
past life and about my life,

so it's like, I don't share
it with a lot of people.

It's always touching to me

when you meet someone
that is working so hard

and has such a great spirit

and a great attitude,
so clearly, you know,

Solomon's a great
employee for Build-A-Bear.

So no matter how the
rest of the journey goes,

at least I know the
warehouse is in good hands.

Well, we got all this wrapped.
We need to go to the back.

- All right.
- Finish wrapping that up

so we can get out of here

and get these trucks out of here.

Okay.

Today I'm in Alpharetta,
Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta,

and I'll be working with
an assistant manager.

The assistant manager is a really

important role inside of
Build-A-Bear Workshop.

They have to know everything
about every process

because they have to teach those aspects.

- Kendall?
- Yes.

- Hi.
- Hi.

- I'm Jessie.
- Hi, I'm Kendall.

- It's nice to meet you.
- Hey, it's so nice to meet you.

I'm the assistant manager here.

I've worked here for eight years.

So are you ready to get started?

Uh, yeah.

All right, you can just
put your shirt right there.

I'll get you a locker in a little bit.

So I have some stuff here for you.

I train a lot of people.

- Okay.
- Just the summertime,

I trained 60 people.

- Wow.
- Yeah.

This is our training guide.

We kind of switched over to,
like, a new training guide.

We've changed
Build-A-Bear a little bit.

The person who
started Build-A-Bear,

- she's actually retired.
- Oh, okay.

So we had a new person step in,

and they have changed it all up.

So I'm gonna leave that there
'cause we'll refer back to it,

but I've switched up and made
my own little packet, so...

Oh.

When Kendall first started to show me

some of the training manuals,
I was a little concerned

because I would have
expected that the new

experience first manual
would have been the thing

that she would have kind
of guided me through,

not something that she's
created on her own.

What's the difference between the two?

They're kind of the same.

So why did they bother doing this

if this is the same thing?

It's... it's not really the...
it's just an upgraded version.

I don't know, I used
to work in a restaurant.

I would have gotten in trouble

for not following what
the latest stuff was.

Not following? Oh, yeah.

We are a company, and
there are certain aspects

that really do need to be followed.

What's the deal with that?

Because, like, even in the restaurant,

maybe I don't say the right thing, and...

It's definitely not like that.

It's more of just, like,

I have Build-A-Bear's way
and... which I always follow.

- Uh-huh.
- Everybody learns differently.

So that's kind of why
I've made my own packet.

It's all the same training,

'cause I would lose my job
if I didn't do it right.

- And we can't have that.
- Oh, that's right.

Been here too long.

All right, so what we're gonna do today

is we're gonna learn
about sales and smiles.

Kendall has created a
process that works for her.

She gave them sort of, like,
a Cliff's Notes version,

which is not a bad idea,
except I'd like to make sure

that we have a more standardized approach,

and that really falls on me.

All right, you ready to do some more?

- Okay.
- So this is FIB,

- which is First Impression Bear.
- Okay.

I'm gonna recite the
first impression to you,

then you're gonna repeat it back to me.

"Have you been to
Build-A-Bear before?

"No? Well, let me explain the process.

"For the price of your animal,
it includes the stuffing,

"the heart, the birth certificate,

the house, and the
picture at Smile For Me."

- The picture at Smile For Me?
- Mm-hmm.

Okay, I don't know what that means.

It's something new that we're starting.

"We also have sounds,
clothes, and accessories,

"so those are all extra. My name is Jessie.

If you have any questions,
just let me know."

Okay.

I like to tell all of my employees,

you just never know, really,
who you're impressing.

When I first started working here,

I met a little girl.

She was really standoffish at first,

but by the time she left,
you know, she hugged me.

Her parents were taking
pictures and everything,

and I just let them go not
thinking anything of it.

A couple weeks later the parents
emailed corporate telling us,

you know, how she was autistic
and how she's really, like,

standoffish towards people, you know,

and they were just
basically just thanking me,

and she still actually comes
back to see me to this day.

Oh, that would make you feel good, I think.

It's great. It's a good feeling.

- All right, you ready?
- I think.

- You got this. All right.
- Okay.

Kendall understands
who Build-A-Bear is

and how to take it seriously
that everyone has a story,

but you have to be
willing as a bear builder

to explore that story.

So you are standing here in this area.

- Okay.
- I'm gonna walk in.

All right, are you ready?

- I'm ready if you are.
- All right, let's do this.

Hey, have you ever been
to Build-A-Bear before?

No, I have not.

Okay, so let me take
you through the process.

Included in the cost of
the animal is the stuffing,

the birth certificate, the condo,

the, um...

oh, and the Smile With Me photo.

Pretty good. So do you
think you can do it now?

- I don't know.
- Oh, come on.

You need a little more confidence.

All right, so looks like
we have some customers.

You ready to go help them?

- Okay, great.
- All right.

All right. Oh, did you pick out a Poppy?

- Yes.
- Yes?

- Yes.
- Did you like her hair?

- I do, I love it.
- Yes, it's crazy right now.

- I'm a pink nut, yes.
- Are you? You're a what?

- A pink nut.
- A pink nut?

- Yes.
- Okay, that's great.

So this is our pinkiest of pink dresses.

Oh, I know, that's beautiful, but...

That's so pink.

- Yeah.
- It's really pink,

but you really like pink.

- Oh, I do.
- All right, yay.

Yay, Poppy.

She's so much fun.

All right, Miss Jessie. That was awesome.

I'm so proud. I think I'm, like, in shock.

I'm like, "What?" You did really good.

Thank you. So do you have a family?

Yes, I have a five-year-old,
a three-year-old,

and a
seven-month-old.

And I have a
five-year-old stepdaughter.

- You're like the Brady Bunch.
- Yeah, not yet.

- No?
- Not yet.

I don't know if I can handle any more.

I barely brush my hair as it is,

and my fiancé travels a
lot. He's in the Air Force.

Is he? You got to be busy, right?

I'm busy, yeah. I barely sleep.

Like, the really only thing I
do is I go get my nails done.

That's mommy time.

Well, they're pretty.
Is your family nearby.

My dad lives nearby. He's retired.

My mom passed away of
cancer when I was ten.

My mom actually died of cancer too.

- Oh, really?
- Yeah.

What kind of cancer did she have?

- She had breast cancer.
- You know, there's times,

like, even working in here,

that parents will come in with,
like, grandparents, you know,

just all the generations
of kids that are with them,

and I'm just like, "Oh, I
wish that was me," you know?

It's definitely... it's not easy.

And your goals
at Build-A-Bear?

I mean, I would love to
grow with the company.

It's a very welcoming company.

I thought Kendall did a great job today.

She was very conscientious
about training me.

I feel terrific about the
future of Build-A-Bear.

We have wonderful employees that
are dedicated to this company

and dedicated to the mission.

We're just gonna head over
here and just talk to them.

Hello. Did you find everything
you were looking for?

I think what I've learned about myself

is that to get to CEO
there's been a part of myself

that I've tried to hold back,

an exuberant, joyful part,

but this company needs me
to be, like, my real self.

Bye-bye.

Coming up...

Do I look familiar at all to you?

The boss reveals her true
identity to her employees.

I am the president and CEO
of Build-A-Bear Workshop.

How will they react?

This is Undercover Boss.

Ah, that is funny.

My undercover journey has now ended,

and it's time to get back to
Build-A-Bear headquarters.

I learned a lot, but
what's really meaningful

is we have employees
that really care,

and that's what makes
Build-A-Bear so special.

- Hi.
- How are you today?

I'm good. How did Jessie do?

She was really nervous.

Maybe she could have been a little louder.

Do I look familiar at all to you?

- Are you Jessie?
- I'm Jessie.

Oh, come on.

- Do you know who else I am?
- I don't.

Well, I'm Sharon John,
and I am the president

and CEO of
Build-A-Bear Workshop.

- Holy moly.
- This is Undercover Boss.

Ah, that is funny.

Oh.

Leney, you had so much spirit,
and you were so patient with me

when I totally messed up on the stuffer.

Ohh!

You also had some questions

about why we took the Fluff Me station away

and put the Smile With Me in.

We're looking into that right now.

I wanted you to know that.

That's amazing.

And you also shared with me

some of your personal situations,

and, you know, I'm a
mom of a 17-year-old,

and I can't imagine her

having some of the
responsibilities and burdens

that you have on you at this age,

so I want to give you $10,000

for you to do special things for yourself.

Wow, oh, my God. Thank you so much.

So you can think about what you can do

with all of that spirit

and beauty and amazing
capability that you have.

That's really amazing.

And I know that that sounds like,

"How am I gonna fit that
into my busy schedule?"

Well, we need to get you some time,

so I'm gonna give you $15,000 to make sure

that we're taking care of medical bills

for your grandma and your father,

and we're gonna set up a college
fund for your little sister.

Oh, my God.

Thank you so much.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my... you have no idea
how much that means to me.

You're so amazing.

Thank you so, so much.

I'm still in shock.

I've never gotten a break from life.

I thought it would take me a lifetime

to save up some money,

even, like, a couple hundred dollars.

This is gonna change
my life forever.

It's the most amazing thing
that's ever happened to me.

Nick, it was a pure
pleasure to learn from you.

I've never run the cash wrap.

- That's the truth.
- Yeah.

I can help the next guest over here.

- Bye.
- Oh, wait, hang on. So...

- Oh, he didn't pay.
- Yeah, we have to check out.

Yeah, that would be important.

So one of the things that
I've learned on this journey

is that there were a lot of inconsistencies

from the operational perspective.

Okay.

"How many times do I tie a knot?"

And so I know that there are things

that we can do at the
headquarters to make sure

that your jobs are easier
and better and more intuitive.

Oh, awesome.

So, Nick, I know you
want to pursue filmmaking.

- Right.
- So first I want to send you

on an all-expense-paid trip
to either New York or L.A.

to do a high-intensity film seminar.

Oh, wow. Well, thank you for that.

That's awesome.

You've been in school, and I'm sure you've,

you know, been paying for tuition.

Right, yeah, yeah, yeah.

And so I want to give you $5,000

for you to help make things
a little bit easier for you.

- Oh, my gosh, thank you.
- Yes, and then finally,

I'd like to give you $10,000

for whatever you need
for new film equipment.

Really? Oh, my gosh.

Thank you for that.

Oh, wow. That's crazy. Can I hug you?

- Yeah, you can hug me.
- Thank you so much for that.

I think that it's
crazy that Build-A-Bear

would be willing to help me,

you know, pursue what it is
that I want to do with my life,

and it's really nice just to
have someone believe in you.

I'm definitely blown away
by the whole experience.

Solomon, when you told me
you felt like Build-A-Bear

was a family, that was really special.

- How's it going, Tayo?
- How are you, man?

You guys all know each other?

Yeah, Build-A-Bear
is a family.

It's not a job. That's why I love it here.

You mentioned you have to unstack the boxes

and restack the boxes,
and that slows you down.

Right. Yeah.

So I'm gonna speak to my head of operations

and see if there's some other
ways to make the warehouse

even more efficient.

- That sounds great.
- Yeah.

- Definitely.
- So you also shared with me

a little bit about your music.

Yeah, I've been writing
music since I was 13.

So I have a few relationships
in the music industry,

and I'm gonna get a meeting for you.

That's amazing, yeah. Look at Jessie.

You also shared that you're
separated from your family.

- My family, yeah.
- Yeah.

So we wanted to make that
a little bit easier on you

and give you $10,000...

Whew.

For you to have an
all-expense-paid vacation

with your family.

That's nuts.

And a year's worth of flights

back and forth between Texas and...

Wow. Now you all spoiling me. Come on, man.

- And Ohio.
- That's crazy.

Well, one other thing
you sort of said to me

was you don't live in the best place.

Yeah.

What if we could move you
to a better part of Columbus?

What if we could, like,
move you to a neighborhood

where your kids would feel comfortable?

- That'd be crazy.
- What if I told you

I was gonna give you $20,000
so we could make that happen?

Crazy. That's crazy to me,

'cause I've watched the show,
and I'm thinking about...

like, I watched this
moment, you know what I mean?

It happening to me, like, this is crazy.

It's a blessing. I really appreciate it.

This is the biggest thing

that ever happened in my
life other than my children.

For my kids to be able to visit me

and I know they're safe and I know

they got somewhere to call
home when they come back here?

That's... that's crazy because I was

never really able to provide
for my kids like that.

My future looks beautiful now.

It's... it's lovely, man.

Kendall, one of the
things that I noticed is

that you'd created a separate manual

to help you with your training.

Yeah.

I have Build-A-Bear's
way, which I always follow,

but everybody learns differently,

so that's kind of why
I've made my own packet.

I love the initiative.

Oh, God.

And what you saw was a need,

so I think it'd be a really great idea

if we had a quick start manual.

I wondered if you'd be interesting

in helping us elevate

our training program
at Build-A-Bear.

I can't even breathe.

Yeah, I... I would love that.

There would be some compensation with that.

Thank you.

One of the things that you mentioned to me,

though, is, "There's so
much going on in my life

"that sometimes I don't even get to sleep,

but I always get my manicures."

I do, always.

So the first thing that
I want to do for you

is to take care of your
manicures for a year.

Shut up.

Yeah, we're just gonna make sure

you have the best nails in the company.

- Yay. That's great.
- Yay.

You also shared about your family.

You've met a wonderful man,
but he's in the Air Force.

- He's in the Air Force.
- So he's gone a lot,

and you're a working mom,

so for your upcoming wedding celebration,

I'd like to give you $10,000.

Oh, my gosh.

I was just talking to someone today

about I didn't know if I
was gonna be able to do it.

That's cool. Thank you.

You've dedicated yourself
to Build-A-Bear for years.

Think how many kids have
walked in the door of your store

and you made their day.

Thank you. That means so much to me.

I want to give you $40,000.

Oh, my God.

For a college fund for
all of your children.

I'm trying to, like...

It's okay.

You did an awesome job, and
you made me feel so good.

I can't handle this.

Thank you.

I'm excited for my future.

I'm excited for where I'm
gonna go with Build-A-Bear.

Before, it was dream just to have

the opportunity to
do what I was doing,

but now this is like... I could...

I... little old me, I just
would have never thought.

Sync and corrections by explosiveskull
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