99er Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Oh I know why a few companies would have declined, Disney, Busch and Cedar Fair. But the others I am still thinking would have been fine. While Merlin is not American, they have properties in America including one of the most well know products at Legoland. PARC is not well know outside the enthusiast community but then again, neither is the last company featured on Undercover Boss. I had never heard of it before and now that I think about it, I can't even remember the name of it. Some distribution company of some sorts. PARC still has properties all across America, including the NASCAR parks. I'm not saying Herschend was a bad choice, just curious about the other companies. I guess we'll probably never really know who else was asked, if any. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Just so everyone knows, this will not air at 9pm like it normally would. Due to NCAA tourney, it will be 30 minutes later. At least here it is eastern time. Might be different for you west coast people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larrygator Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 They probably only want successful CEO's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsasamccormick Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 YES! I Thought i missed it but it comes on in 9 minutes! Very Excited to watch! I'll take notes and post my thoughts when its over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BJS1981 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Well, 10 till 10 and so far, they've done Stone Mt. Park and Silver Dollar City. Â And gee.... a person who works at a theme park who's addicted to RCT.... imagine that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itsasamccormick Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 This was one of my favorite episodes yet. I learned several things about the company, and instead of boring you with my opinions I'll tell you what i learned  About Company -Largest family owned theme park company. -300 million dollar company -22 properties, 9 states -Attendance down -Froze wages -Christian owned  About him -Family man -Former Auto industry CEO -Struggled with alcohol problems  Changes made/ Ending -talked about expanding duck tour -Help man with flooded house/ 10,000 financial aid -Gave Mercedes raise/ Helping buy things for her house -Gave College money to (name?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitrofan Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I just watched the show. It was pretty good, and they sure did make Herschend look good.  I almost died when that guy pulled out his laptop with RCT3 though. lol  -Gave College money to (name?)  I think it was Albert. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathbydinn Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I just watched the show. It was pretty good, and they sure did make Herschend look good. I almost died when that guy pulled out his laptop with RCT3 though. lol  I didn't catch that! Who was playing? I also thought it was a very good show and I hope that he can use the experience to help all of the employees not just the ones he worked with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taytig Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I was impressed with the show in general. I really liked how the CEO just didn't solve eveyone's issues on the spot with a lot of cash, a new house etc. He gave people things to help (like money and things for the house), but also made them feel appreciated and that they a valuable members of the company. I like how he decided to create change for the better, yet he celebrated the things that make Herschend the company that it is. I have more respect for this family of businesses now. Â Also having been on the front lines in this type of business - I am glad he was able to appreciate how hard people work and that they truly are the magic that makes his company successful. All to often, people in higher management positions either forget what the front lines are like, or they simply do not know. Congrats to Joel for taking the time to understand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitrofan Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I just watched the show. It was pretty good, and they sure did make Herschend look good. I almost died when that guy pulled out his laptop with RCT3 though. lol  I didn't catch that! Who was playing? I also thought it was a very good show and I hope that he can use the experience to help all of the employees not just the ones he worked with.  Remember that guy at Silver Dollar City who scanned tickets and worked with strollers? When they had a break he talked about how he wanted to be CEO and pulled a laptop out of his L O C K E R with a RCT3 design of a coaster he wanted Herschend to build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deathbydinn Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 ^ Oh yeah, I was on here during that part and want paying very close attention. Now that I re-watched it I think it's very cool that an employee would do that. Most of the time the workers are just kids who need money so I think it's very cool that he cares about the park that much and that he designs something specifically for it. If only at the end Joel told him he would build it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitrofan Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 ^ Oh yeah, I was on here during that part and want paying very close attention. Now that I re-watched it I think it's very cool that an employee would do that. Most of the time the workers are just kids who need money so I think it's very cool that he cares about the park that much and that he designs something specifically for it. If only at the end Joel told him he would build it. Â I thought that Joel would at least tell him he could meet with someone from the company who works on attraction design. Joel seemed impressed when he saw the design. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nagro5 Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Was anyone else looking in the background for unseen concept art when Joel said that he was actually the CEO, or am I the only one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitrofan Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Was anyone else looking in the background for unseen concept art when Joel said that he was actually the CEO, or am I the only one? Â I saw stuff, but I didn't really think much of it. I'll look more closely when CBS posts the episode online tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tntornadox Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 All I saw were concepts for attractions already done... Snow Mountain and Adventure Mountain at Dollywood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
99er Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 I doubt any concept art for future attractions would have been hanging in a random office. That stuff is typically not out in the open, even within the design office. Not to mention that if anything like that was laying out, it would have been put away before any camera was let into the building. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Starr Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 The moment that made this show was definitely when Albert whipped out RCT2 during his break. The coaster went underwater, and Joel Manby seemed fascinated by it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy Baby Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 Yesterday CBS's new show Undercover Boss involved the CEO of Herschend Family Entertainment going undercover to a few of their properties and actually trying to work as a regular employee. It was pretty good and now I kinda want to go to Silver Dollar City where most of the show was filmed at. Did anyone else get to see the episode?? If not, I am pretty sure that it will be On Demand by Comcast. Let me know if you saw the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mechanic Posted March 29, 2010 Share Posted March 29, 2010 This episode is already available online at www.cbs.com/primetime/undercover_boss/ I think this show is very good overall. It's good to see company executives gaining appreciation for how dedicated their employees are, and for them to experience firsthand how important people realize it is to make a favorable and lasting impression on their customers. Despite their own personal challenges, they show up and give the company their all, day in and day out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrownStreak Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 PARC is not "popular" enough (Would you have ever heard of Magic Springs/Darien Lake/Elitch Gardens if you were not an Enthusiast; Everyone has heard of Dollywood and Branson MS.) Â Branson is in Missouri (MO), not Mississippi (MS). Â Anyways, I want to know if he worked in more jobs than they showed or was he targeted at the "sad story" employees by management OR does HFC just happen to have a disproportionate number of employees with huge problems? I vote for the 3rd one Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SharkTums Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 A few of us TPR'ers watched this episode together and we weren't too impressed. Â First off let me say that I LOVE Herschend as a company and they run some of my favorite parks in the country. Â However I feel the show is quickly going down hill and is way less an interesting show about a CEO coming in and really listening and making good changes to a 'let's find some hard luck stories and make those peoples lives better'. Â Plus we got this weird vibe from the CEO, that he really didn't care too much and seemed to have no qualifications to be CEO other than the fact that he was a previous CEO. Â The best part was seeing Silver Dollar City and getting excited to go there again in a few months! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chickenbowl Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 The whole show is contrived. For example, how the real employees that he meets with have a horrible background story (flooded house, no college money) that the CEO then helps them overcome. It is ridiculous. I think the specific employees were picked by the producers, to bring in an emotional side; so the show isn't real in that sense. But I do like SDC and it looks really neat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidcoaster 2 Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 This last episode did seem very scripted.... Â While it is great to see CEOs do this I think it would have a better result with out the TV cameras following him/her.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gforce532 Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Talk about being scripted. I think with how Albert seemed to be so intrested in the theme park industry and wanting to become CEO. I think he should have been able to tell who he was even with the beard and glasses. Just my thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
austinlee Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 I think the show is contrived and scripted too. Would any of these CEO's, on any episode, actually pick out employees and help them this much if they weren't on TV? I really doubt it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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