This week on “Undercover Boss,” the boss was CEO of the Loehmanns department store. This store is sort of like a Marshalls or TJMAXX. This franchise, which started 92 years ago, looks for bargains on high-end clothing from places here in the United States and other fashion capitals across the world.
In this episode we meet Steven Newman an openly gay man, who goes undercover to find out the on goings of his business. His disguise throws everyone for a loop especially because his interest was supposed to be in fashion but he didn’t look to fashionable.
Newman’s first venture was into his Costa Mesa store where he would shadow the lingerie specialist Catherine. Catherine was very well versed at her job. She was very personable and made the ladies feel very comfortable, her knowledge of lingerie made shopping a lot easier for the store’s customers. She felt it wired that a man would be helping in this section but told Henry the CEO’s persona’s name to use his charm and it seemed to work for him.
The duo would later become comfortable enough to share personal stories and we learn that Catherine went to school for fashion and enjoys it very much. She also tells Henry that she and her husband went in on a restaurant that ended up not doing well consequently leaving them with a great debt.
Following his time at the store in Costa Mesa, he headed to the E-Commerce warehouse where he would follow Robert around learning the ends and outs of sending out online orders and stocking returns. Roberts first task for him was to try to fulfill a few online orders in fifteen minutes, lets just say that he wasn’t to good at it.
It was effortless for Newman to see that this isn’t an easy job and Robert was doing it well. We would later find that Robert was a father of two small children that he barely gets to see. He arrives to work extra early and ends up leaving really late and his children are usually sleep during those times.
The nation’s capital was Newman’s next stop he visited Keisha to get a taste of Visual Merchandising. His time in the DC store wasn’t a pleasant one. He felt Keisha was too pushy and didn’t really teach him what he needed to do. Rather she shouted commands and moved faster than he would have liked her to.
During their personal time Keisha reveals that she has Lupus and other aliments, so he commended her for being a single mom and still coming to work even though she was sick but really wished she’d be more positive.
Our last store is where we meet Personal Shopper Alesandra. This lady is very energetic, enthused, and positive about her job and personally has inspired me. She and her husband were working jobs where they were well off but they didn’t love. They eventually left those careers to find better fitting professions and Loehmanns was hers.
Her workspace was very ideal for a great personal shopper and she went above and beyond her call of duty. She used her personal phone to send out emails updating the stores valued customers. She sends pictures of new merchandise and really took the time to get to know them and their style. She didn’t take no for an answer with one customer. The lady just knew she wasn’t going to like a skirt Alesandra picked but tried it on and ended up buying.
When Newman revealed himself, he was truly a blessing to everyone’s life. He gave an uncountable amount of monies that include college funds, money for medical expenses, a car, debt, phones, Ipads, and an all expense paid vacation. This show really is a testament to the fact that you never know whom you will come in contact with. Be kind to the least of people, and hard work truly pays off even if you don’t feel it instantly.
Images from CBSPRESSEXPRESS