The WORST episodes of Undercover Boss
Every episode of Undercover Boss ever, ranked from worst to best by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The worst episodes of Undercover Boss!
High-flying executives take extraordinary steps to ensure their companies are fighting fit by going undercover in their own businesses. This is the original UK series, which was later spun off into shows of the same name in other countries.
#1 - Carluccio's
Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/20/2014
Chief Executive Simon Kossoff goes undercover as his restaurant chain Carluccio's plans to double in size in five years. He's planning to spend £50 million and is keen to expose problems that could jeopardise successful growth. After scrubbing dishes and being run off his feet, Simon is shocked to discover branches struggling with chaotic kitchens, inefficient systems and demotivated staff, and is forced to consider whether Carluccio's should worry more about existing employees than expansion.
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#2 - Francesco Group Hairdressers
Season 4 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/23/2012
Former celebrity hairdresser Jacqui McIntosh, now a senior manager of The Francesco Group, is on a mission to find out why the company's profits are down. Even in recession, the health and beauty market is buoyant. But if Francesco want to expand and take on the major players, Jacqui needs to go undercover to find out where things are going wrong. But she's left reeling when she's turned away by staff who don't feel trained to wash and dry Afro-Caribbean hair. She also unearths empty salons, complacent stylists, ageing franchisees and an older clientele, and meets a desperate owner dealing with visits from debt collectors. It's not all bad though, as she's inspired by a young, visionary stylist, and moved by a franchisee passionate about his NHS work crafting wigs for patients. By the time she returns to Head Office Jacqui knows there's a lot of work needed if Francesco Group is to take on the industry leaders.
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#4 - YMCA
Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/12/2014
Senior director Bims Alalade investigates how a recent funding crisis is affecting the largest and oldest youth charity in the world. How have massive budget cuts of up to 80% impacted the organisation and the brand. Bims is worried that the YMCAs might be struggling to help youngsters in crisis. And once on the frontline, she's faced with the stark reality of sweeping cuts. She's appalled by facilities at breaking point, and shocked to find staff facing abuse. And when a young former resident of one of the housing projects breaks down in front of her it proves an unsettling experience.
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#5 - Andy Edge, Park Resorts
Season 1 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/18/2009
Andy Edge is a company director of Park Resorts, the second largest caravan holiday company in the UK. But with the tourism industry reeling from the recession and competition for customers fiercer than ever, Andy has made an extraordinary decision: to go undercover in his own business to find out what's really going on.
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#6 - Rowlands Pharmacy
Season 6 - Episode 4 - Aired 8/5/2014
With government funding down and competition increasing, pharmacy chain Rowlands has seen its turnover drop by £20 million. In a bid to differentiate his business from rivals and win new customers, managing director Kenny Black wants his 510 dispensaries to offer free health advice and excellent customer service. When Kenny goes undercover, there's a bitter pill to swallow: he discovers life-saving medicines out of stock and staff over-worked and under-appreciated. When a dedicated delivery driver is moved to tears by the job, Kenny's forced to consider if he has more to worry about than the bottom line.
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#8 - Martyn Birks, Poundworld
Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/9/2011
Martyn Birks, the director of Poundworld, goes undercover to discover why some of the budget chain's stores are failing to perform as well as expected, and why employee turnover is high. On paper the family run Poundworld is an outright success story. The company started life in 1974 from a Wakefield market stall and has since expanded to have branches nationwide. But the credit crunch has been a double-edged sword for Poundworld - the company has expanded to meet the demands of cash-strapped Brits, but without being able to raise their prices (above a pound) the profit margins are constantly being squeezed. Director Martyn Birks knows the company is having problems and that expansion has come at a price. With reports of unsettled and unhappy staff, who are working far beyond what they are paid to do, some stores are failing to perform as well as they have been, while employee turnover is high. Can Martyn find out what it will take to get Poundworld back on track?
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#9 - Kim Hamilton, The Blue Cross
Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/19/2011
The Blue Cross, one of the UK's leading animal welfare charities, undergoes the Undercover Boss treatment as Kim Hamilton takes a turn cleaning dog kennels and helping cats give birth. Having previously spent over 20 years climbing the ranks in banking Kim Hamilton now uses her business skills in the charitable sector. But ditching her suits for scrubs requires a different skill set, and hiding her identity from the staff and volunteers, who are the backbone of the charity, is even tougher. Can she pose as a volunteer without being unmasked, and what lessons will she learn that could shape the future of the charity?
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#10 - Kevan Collins, Tower Hamlets
Season 2 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/22/2010
Kevan Collins runs London's Tower Hamlets council at a time when the new government is slashing public spending. Kevan faces a huge challenge, he has to make huge cuts, £50 million over the next three years. But what does he cut and what does he save?
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#11 - Biffa
Season 5 - Episode 5 - Aired 7/29/2013
Chief Executive Ian Wakelin goes undercover in Biffa, the waste and recycling company. Biffa has been finding it increasingly difficult to turn muck into brass in these tough economic times. With debts in excess of a billion pounds when he joined, Ian's been wholly focused on restoring the company's flagging fortunes. Determined to maximise profits and pay back the company's remaining debts, he heads to the front line in search of ways to balance the books. After mucking in with his hard-pressed staff, and working in challenging conditions, Ian discovers that some feel they've been overlooked and dumped at the tip. But it's not just hard physical graft, as tears and trauma come to the fore. It's an experience that forces Ian to question whether the company's people should be his main concern and not its numbers.
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#13 - Oceana Nightclubs
Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/9/2012
The CEO of Britain's biggest nightclub chain, which includes well-known brands Oceana, Liquid, and Lava and Ignite, goes undercover in his own business. He's confronted with the results of cheap drinks promotions, but also meets dedicated medics and cleaners. In 2011, an accident at a Lava and Ignite venue resulted in the deaths of two customers and, with £100m debts, Luminar Group Holdings went into administration. A group of investors, led by 51-year-old nightclub veteran Peter Marks, bought certain nightclubs from the administrator, convinced they could restore the name Luminar to its former glory. But six months on some venues are struggling to attract customers in a recession. Peter goes incognito into the clubs to learn more about the company.
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#14 - Paddy Power
Season 4 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/16/2012
Company director William Reeve goes undercover on the shop floor of multi-million-pound gaming business Paddy Power. Famed for guerilla advertising and high profile ad campaigns, Paddy Power has grown from humble Irish origins to take on the big boys of British gaming. But when William goes undercover he unearths some shocking staff attitudes to punters. And when he's moved by a team rocked by repeated armed robberies, and a customer service agent dealing with racial abuse and suicide threats at work, William is forced to consider whether Paddy Power have more to worry about than just their customers.
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#15 - Pizza GoGo
Season 4 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/2/2012
In the first of the new series, Fouad Haghighat goes undercover in his dad's pizza delivery company to discover some shocking health and safety breaches, but also some inspirational workers. Thirty-year-old Fouad is preparing to take over Pizza GoGo, the UK's biggest home-grown pizza takeaway and delivery chain. His father built the business from scratch, but its future is now under threat. Many of the 97 franchises are struggling to compete with rival international food corporations, but Fouad's determined to safeguard his father's empire. His solution is simple - it's time to get tough with the wayward franchisees. But what he unearths when he goes undercover are empty stores, dangerous working conditions, and unanswered cries for help. He also meets a father and son team working tirelessly to make ends meet, and an inspirational franchisee who risked everything during the horror of the Tottenham riots. When the time comes to report back to his father at head office the way forward may not be as clear as Fouad first thought.
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#16 - Hyundai
Season 5 - Episode 3 - Aired 7/15/2013
Company director Ray Pope steps out from his cosy office and into very unfamiliar territory by going undercover on the shopfloor of multi-million pound car giant Hyundai. Having tripled car sales in only four years, Ray worries that the business might be creaking under the strain. After years behind a desk, he's finally getting his hands dirty, but unearths sales staff struggling to perform, mechanics so demoralised that they're leaving the company, and valets frustrated at unachievable targets. And when the boss heads to the company's largest operation, Tilbury docks, where they import 2500 cars a week, he's shocked to discover that dozens of cars are going missing.
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#17 - Andrew Withers, Southern Fried Chicken
Season 3 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/12/2011
Andrew Withers, boss of Southern Fried Chicken, goes undercover in his fast food franchise, and is shocked by what he discovers about the standards, staff, food and customers. Southern Fried Chicken was started by Andrew's father back in the 1960s and now has outlets across the UK. Andrew feels passionately that the SFC brand in the UK is in need of an overhaul, and feels himself at odds with the carefully constructed image he has spent years developing for the brand in 70 countries overseas. In the UK, SFC is associated with post-pub late night binge eats rather than seen as a family restaurant. Andrew spends time behind the counter to find out why the company's 200 UK franchises aren't living up to his expectations. Can he get his business back on track?
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#18 - Stephen Martin, Clugston Group
Season 1 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/25/2009
At just 42, Stephen Martin was recently appointed chief executive of the Clugston Group, a major force in construction, building roads, schools and supermarkets. But the industry is in crisis, so Stephen has decided to trade in his suit and expense account for a hard hat and a canteen lunch and, armed with a cover story, he visits his construction sites to work alongside his frontline employees.
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#19 - Quicksilver
Season 5 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/6/2013
Peter Harvey, boss of slot machine company Quicksilver, adopts a dramatic disguise and goes undercover in the hope of working undetected alongside his frontline staff. Hit hard by the smoking ban, the company has seen profits drop by a massive 30% and Peter is desperate to find new ways to attract more customers. Once undercover, the CEO is shocked at what he finds: a young female employee feels vulnerable working at night; a talented engineer with ideas has been told to 'shut up' by management; and venue staff feel so ignored by head office that many want to leave the company. The boss has to confront the reality, that it might not just be the company's dwindling profits he has to worry about but also his underappreciated staff.
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#20 - Moss Bros
Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/15/2014
Brian Brick, Chief Executive of high street clothing retailer Moss Bros, swaps his suit to go undercover to see how his cost-cutting, but profit-turning methods have impacted on frontline staff. In the five years since Brian became boss, he's turned the struggling retailer, that was once losing 10 million pounds a year, back into profit. While undercover, Brian's shocked to discover unmotivated employees, over-stretched delivery drivers, and staff so desperate to improve the look of their shop they're painting it themselves. After being moved by loyal workers undertaking massive commutes to hold on to their jobs, Brian's forced to question whether the staff should now be the business's main concern.
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#21 - Southwark
Season 5 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/22/2013
Eleanor Kelly, Chief Executive of south London's Southwark Council, wants to see how slashed budgets are affecting the borough's services, residents and an often under-appreciated staff. Cuts of nearly 100 million pounds have forced Eleanor to think outside the box. With 300,000 residents demanding round-the-clock services and pressure mounting as a result of an inquest into a tragic fire, the undercover CEO needs to discover if slashed budgets mean Southwark is failing its residents. But after years at the top, she's shocked at what she finds.
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#22 - DHL
Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 7/1/2013
Chief Executive Phil Couchman heads back to the frontline to work alongside his staff. Terrified of losing even a single customer to the competition, Phil aims to find out if workers are delivering the top notch service he expects. In the three years since Phil became boss, he's seen DHL's turnover reach a massive 800 million pounds. But rapid expansion brings its own problems. When the CEO goes undercover he discovers a stretched workforce and customer service staff who are tied up in red tape. Phil is moved by a courier who supports his family in Brazil but has no job security, another whose job is stretching his body to breaking point, and finally by couriers being paid unfairly. Phil is forced to consider whether DHL have more to worry about than just their customers.
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#23 - Kevin McCullough, npower
Season 3 - Episode 5 - Aired 8/2/2011
Chief Operating Officer Kevin McCullough goes undercover at npower, one of the UK's top utility companies. Npower is capable of generating up to 15% of the UK's power at any one time. But earlier this year, Which? magazine reported that just 27% of the company's customers said they were satisfied with the service. Kevin McCullough is responsible for over 8000 npower employees. A local lad done good, 45-year-old Kevin grew up in Yorkshire and started his career in 1984, shovelling coal at the plant. After all the bad press, Kevin admits that because `the company made me everything that I am today, when people criticise the hard work our employees put in - it hurts.' Undercover Kevin sees for himself what his employees have to put up with, working a spell on the busy customer service team. There's a mountain to climb to gain back the respect of customers and staff; will Kevin's spell undercover go any way to turning the business around?
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#24 - Stena Line
Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 8/6/2012
Gunnar Blomdahl, CEO of one of the UK's biggest ferry companies, Stena Line, goes undercover on some of his own fleet of ships to find out if the business is delivering its promise of convenient, efficient and relaxing travel. Stena has recently invested over one billion pounds in increasing the look and size of its operation, but Gunnar is worried that standards have slipped. What he discovers undercover shocks him - paying customers onboard a building site at sea, sub-standard customer service, and flawed design on a brand new superferry. When he meets foreign crew earning less than the UK minimum wage and staff dealing with the uncertainty of seasonal contracts he faces difficult moral questions, and is moved by a Filipino crew member coming to terms with the death of his daughter while working away from his family. When Gunnar returns to head office he's determined to make changes.
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#25 - Nikki King, Isuzu Trucks UK
Season 3 - Episode 4 - Aired 7/26/2011
Managing Director Nikki King goes undercover at truck dealers Isuzu Trucks UK. Nikki King, OBE, has worked her way up the business ladder in the male-dominated truck industry, but only started working `in a serious job' aged 40, following a divorce. In these tough economic times, will Nikki's return to the shop floor give her the insight and understanding to steer the company to greater success?
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