Undercover Boss - Chicago Cubs Recap

Sunday, November 7, 2010 - In this week's edition of Undercover Boss on CBS, Todd Ricketts, co-owner with his siblings of the Chicago Cubs, goes undercover as Mark Dawson, an unemployed roofer looking for work at Wrigley Field. As the youngest sibling, Todd wants to prove himself, and all the owners believe that finding out the strengths and weaknesses on the ground level for themselves will enable them to improve the club even more.

The Chicago Cubs draw three million fans to Wrigley Field every year, and the Ricketts family would like to break the over one-hundred year World Series drought, which, as Todd relates, is attributed to a curse given by a fan in 1945 because he wasn't allowed to bring his goat in to a game. Now Todd, if he can escape notice by any of his friends, will go undercover from boss to doing the basic jobs that make Wrigley Field tick. Todd jokes that this will make up for the jobs he avoided by going to college as he bids his wife and three young children goodbye in order to take up residence in an apartment that overlooks Wrigley Field.

Todd Ricketts first job as an Undercover Boss to the Chicago Cubs is Maintenance at Wrigley Field. He'll be working, as Mark Dawson, with Darryl. Darryl begins teaching him to hose down the bathrooms, add cleanser, sweep up the garbage, "slop-mop" the bathrooms and squeegee the water down the drains. Darryl finds Mark slow and timid; he tries to speed him up, and advises him to lose the attitude. Mark feels that he though he is working very hard, it is never good enough for Darryl.

He also discovers that the maintenance workers must use their own cell phones to coordinate their efforts, and on break, he finds a cluttered, messy break room. After breaking and spilling and making a mess of everything, Mark is fired by Darryl, but not before discovering that Darryl has worked for 24 years cleaning bathrooms for the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, as well as working the prized manual scoreboard.

Darryl reveals that his pride and motivation is his eight year old daughter, who is a talented swimmer. This reminds him of how much he misses his family, and he admits he'd enjoy having the families of the maintenance men come and meet each other. Darryl wishes there were a suggestion box for employee ideas, and Todd files this away, since he is very interested in tapping in to the experience of employees like Darryl. Then Darryl leaves to clean up all the damage Mark did, and Todd, aka Mark, is humiliated to have been fired from cleaning bathrooms in his own company.

Job Two for Undercover Boss Todd, posing as Mark, is selling hot dogs with Rocco, the last of a family who have worked in concessions at Wrigley Field for generations. Concessions brings in huge revenue for the Chicago Cubs, but it is hard work, as Mark discovers. The box is heavy, the selling must be aggressive, and working on commission means no breaks. Although Rocco tries to demonstrate the correct way to do the job, Mark blows it royally by secretly throwing away the last four hot dogs after slipping $20 in the box to pay for them. To compound the major faux pas, when he is caught by Rocco, he steadfastly lies about it, feeling that since he paid for them there is no harm done. Rocco, however, is disconcerted and sees right through Mark's ruse, obviously having no use for him after that.

Job Three consists of parking cars coming to Chicago Cubs games at Wrigley Field. Mark is working with Jose, who explains how important it is to line the cars up properly. Mark promptly lines them up crooked, which is going to make life hard for Jose when it is time for people to leave. In the middle of Jose's explanation, an old college friend of Todd's asks him what in the world he's doing parking cars now, and Todd, undercover as Mark, waves him off; as soon as he can, he disappears to explain, but this incurs Jose's displeasure. Mark also discovers that instead of the trailer that used to be provided for the parking attendants, there is a tiny shack. Jose tells him that he's taking classes in order to teach English as a second language, but he can barely afford the classes. Jose gives Mark a 6 out of 10 for his work.

Job Four is working with the grounds crew, headed up by Joe, to get Wrigley Field perfect for game quality. Such jobs as pulling a very heavy tarp over the field to guard against impending rain, spreading Turfix, raking it with a wire net pulled backwards, spreading grass seed, clipping shrubs, spreading mulch, and watering everything, grounds crew work is an art. Mark is told to spread the Turfix "chicken feed style," but he obviously has no clue what Joe is talking about and dumps it in clumps, which Joe derisively says might be ok for Little League. Grounds Crew Man Joe has recently gotten his Business Management degree and doesn't intend to stay at this 60 hour a week job doing grounds maintenance. His dream job, he confesses, would be in the front office for the Chicago Cubs.

Embarrassed about being fired by Darryl, Todd, Undercover Boss posing as Mark, remembers that Darryl also works on the manual scoreboard and decides to pay him a visit. He climbs up and surprises Darryl, who is gracious about seeing the man who "hindered rather than helping him" in the bathrooms earlier. But Mark is determined to redeem himself. He thoroughly enjoys the experience of sitting up behind the scoreboard, does creditably at changing the score, and assists Darryl in raising the "W" flag for the Chicago Cub's win that day.

This concludes Mark's experience as an Undercover Boss for the Chicago Cubs, and he transforms himself back in to Todd Ricketts, telling his siblings what he's learned about the sacrifices their employees make to be a part of the Wrigley Field family. He calls the employees he's met the past week to Wrigley Field and reveals that he's been undercover for the past week and that he really is an owner of the company.

He confesses to Rocco that he did throw out the hot dogs, and he decides to implement a new Employee of the Month award, with Rocco as the first winner. Rocco is gratified to learn that he'll have a plaque with his name on it, throw out the first pitch at a game, have a place of honor for himself and his family and receive $1,000. Rocco feels he has earned the award and is happy to receive it.

Joe is offered a job in the front office Marketing Department as a paid intern, and is very happy to contemplate a career with the Chicago Cubs. Jose will be given money to continue his education as well as a glowing letter of recommendation on Chicago Cubs letterhead so he can begin teaching sooner. Also, a trailer will be reinstalled for the parking attendants.

Darryl was thanked for allowing Todd to work with him doing the scoreboard, and is informed that a suggestion box will be placed for employees, and a break room will be cleaned and updated. Also, radios will be given to the maintenance crew to keep in touch while working. Todd also informs Darryl that he is going to have a Facility Crew Family Appreciation Day, but the thing that touches Darryl the most is paid swimming lessons for his daughter with a top coach. Darryl and his family are also invited to Arizona for spring training and says he finally feels like somebody cares for the first time in his career at Wrigley Field.

Todd tells all the associates about his week working as an Undercover Boss for the Chicago Cubs and admits he learned more than he thought possible from the front line employees. Todd Ricketts, after going Undercover as Boss of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, said that he thought his family would bring the idea of a family business with them, but discovered that there was already a Chicago Cubs Family before they ever got there, and he and his family are proud to be a part of it.

Sources:

Watching Undercover Boss - Chicago Cubs Episode on CBS

Wikipedia, Chicago Cubs