Muzings From The Edge
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Sometimes it seems that I just don’t get it. Maybe I was born in the wrong dimension. There is a new reality television show which aired its first aired right after the Super Bowl called Undercover Boss. The first episode indicated some promise, with CEO of Waste Management Larry O’ Donnell going out amongst a few of his workers to see what real work was like. He seemed to be a nice enough guy and seemed to pick up a few things that might help some of his employees. It was certainly worth watching a second episode with a fellow named Coby Brooks who took over Hooter’s Inc. from his dad.
Ostensibly he was going undercover to determine what was going on at the employee level and to determine what, if anything could be done about their slumping sales. Well, Coby seems like a nice enough young man but having been in the restaurant business myself I think his dear old daddy should have started him at the bottom of the business to learn something about people. Now here is where I stick my neck out and probably get it chopped off. In one of the Hooter’s he was working he was to go out and promote the store with two of the girls who worked there. This involved wearing Hooter’s T shirts and giving away promotional certificates for food at the restaurant and talking to the people on the street. He was told by the two girls that they always had to wear a T shirt that was a size smaller than they would normally wear. If I have to explain this to anyone then I would also need to explain that the word Hooter’s has absolutely nothing to do with the damn owls they have on the shirts. Anyway, as they trying to hand out their free certificates he was surprised that a few men and most women refused them. The major reasons were (1) I wouldn’t take my family to dinner there, and (2) I think it is degrading to women. This seemed to genuinely puzzle him and I guess it is all a matter of perspective. In his voice over he did seem concerned because he did not seem to understand why these people saw Hooter’s as not being family friendly. I don’t know, maybe it’s because the average American family just doesn’t think about going to dinner in a bar that serves food with waitresses in short jogging shorts and T shirts one size too small.
Mr. Brooks, however, had another chance to redeem himself in his next undercover outing as a manager trainee in a Dallas area Hooter’s where he was being shown the finer art of running a restaurant by the store’s General Manager. The first task he was assigned was to “inspect the girls.” No big deal you say. Do they have the proper uniform; is it clean, do they look neat? No quite thorough enough according to the General Manager. “Look at their make up.” “Is it put on right?” (What, is he now the Avon lady?) “Check out how the uniform fits.” Mr. Brooks was obviously a bit uncomfortable with this. The peak of this performance came after the restaurant had finished its lunch rush and it was time to let some of the girls off for the afternoon. One of the girls spoke up and said she had school that afternoon. But, the General Manager had his own plans for determining who got off early. They had to play his “reindeer games.” This involved all the girls who wanted off early having to race with each other to see who could eat a plate of beans the quickest without using their hands. “Yeah, doggies.” To quote the General Manager who was really enjoying his power trip. It was a sight to see. Those attractive young women in their short jogging shorts, one size too small T shirts, pretty hair, and perfectly made up face smack dab in the middle of a plate of beans eating away in the middle of the restaurant so they could get off work early. Man, that manager was having a blast. Mr. Brooks, naturally seemed a bit upset.
At the end of the show the CEO’s always meet with the employees he has worked with and reveals his real identity and he tells them what he has learned about them and the company. I was really, really waiting until he got to the General Manager. I mean, since he didn’t break his cover and kick his ass to the curb right then, I knew there was a special place in hell waiting for this guy. I mean fun is fun but not at the expense of humiliating another person, especially your employees. And, c’mon, this CEO had just been told by customers that they thought his restaurant was demeaning to women. What could be more demeaning than making them behave like barn yard animals just to get off work early and laughing about it? And he did it not in the kitchen, or break room, but right out in the restaurant. I just sat back and waited for Mr. Brooks to pile drive a telephone pole up his butt and plant it in front of company headquarters for all to see.
Well, Mr. Brooks walks into the room, sits down and says to General Manager, “I understand your store owner has talked to you and you have agreed to be more respectful of your employees.”
WHAT?! Thank god I have cable box with a replay function so I can replay that. I know I heard that wrong. No. Either the replay function is broken or I heard it right. WTF!!!! If Mr. Brooks thought he had a public relations problem before that show he should have a damn nightmare now. While they did have a brief spot where the GM said he now saw the error of his ways and would change, I have serious doubts about curing that much maliciousness toward females with a stern ass chewing. Now before anyone jumps to this asshole’s defense by saying that this was a franchise store, etc, I have been there done that. That guy just showed the entire nation what Hooter’s thinks of its waitresses, and how little it has respect for them. The company can fire anyone whose behavior degrades the company’s image. I am sorry for my rant. I was never a big fan of Hooter’s before, but now they have an enemy. In my humble opinion Hooter’s wins this week’s Michael Vick Award for Restaurant Employers.
Right now life is tough for everyone and this little rant of mine is not intended to demean those good hard working folks at the Hooter’s establishments. But there is never an excuse for anyone to use their power of position to demean another person who is also trying to make a living during these tough times. It is especially odious when the person is doing it for his or her own sick pleasure. The young ladies that work at Hooter’s and similar establishments are someone’s daughter, sister, and/or mother. Treat them like they are yours.
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Truth and Oso a friend of mine who also saw that show says that this one of those guys that simply hate good looking females. Most likely in the past he has been rejected by girls like those who work at Hooter’s now and these girls are paying the price. It was just very clear to me that he was a sadistic bastard who would humiliate anyone who he thought would take it.
Assholes in charge? Yup!!! I fuckin’ get that!!
Horrible that asshole would demean women like that. And in his own sick way he’d likely deny it and claim the girls liked it too, everybody having fun.
What an arrogant prick.
I’ve always said it was never wise to put an asshole in charge. Yet an asshole almost always ends up in charge. It seems to be a requirement of far to many management positions.
TRUTH – Years ago, I was a Union rep., and I asked my Production Director at my place of employment, why all his supervisors were all utter pricks. He shrugged his shoulders and said, “who else can I get to come early, stay late, for no extra pay? Would you do it?” Kinda answered my question, all the supervisors/junior managers were unhappy, so they treated us, like they were treated.
Very true Holte. However, I think it seemed obvious to me that this guy was into showing off his power to the new guy as well in front of a camera. It seemed to me that he love his power trip over these ladies way too much. However, be it that he has a problem with attractive females or just gets off showing his power over people it is symptomatic of many of the problems with our society today. When people are down, step on them to keep them there.
Mike I had had the sudden urge to see him swimming in a vat of those damn beans.
As I mentioned in the email I saw this episode Bill, and Holte I have to shamefacedly admit that I was hoping for a “crash and burn,” and I agree. The way that manager treated those young women infuriated me. I would have had him fired the minute the show was over!
LAZER – These shows bring out the worst in people, and the audience seems to be waiting for a “crash and burn” situation, seeing people get angry or be humiliated has become a sport. American Idol is another example of the TV companies putting people front and center and watching them fail miserably. I can’t bear to watch them. It’s cheap TV, a lot less expensive than producing a quality drama that could be uplifting and enhance the spirit of the watching audience.