This week on Undercover Boss, we get an inside look on the Donatos Franchise. Viewers got to watch Jane Grotte Abell chairwoman of Donatos play Cathy a woman trying to learn the ins and outs of this pizza business so she can start her own.
Jane has never worked anywhere but at Danatos her father’s brainchild. When she was younger she helped with little task around the kitchen and as she grew older she took on the task of being on the wait staff, and delivery driver.
After years of success in the pizza business, the McDonalds franchise asked to buy Donatos and after a long deliberation Jane and her family decided to sell. McDonalds stock would fall exponentially in short time after selling to them so they decided to stick solely to McDonalds and building its brand. In the time McDonalds decided to sell Danatos, Jane contacted her father and convinced him to buy the franchise back. There they would be able to build the family atmosphere among the business like they once had.
Cathy’s first stop was the campus location at Ohio State the university she once attended. She worked with the deliveryman Aaron, who was very sufficient at his job.
There were two snags at this location; the first was the manager realizing who Jane was. After an extensive staring contest the manager noticed that she was Jane Abell chairwoman and owner of Danotos and told a few co-workers. Jane pulled her aside and asked for her to keep things quite so the mission can be completed.
The second snag was the deliveryman admitting to smoking pot on the job occasionally.
On Cathy’s second trip she got to experience making pizzas. She found that it was a very hard task, because she hadn’t done it in more than 30 years. Later she got a break and was able to sit down with Buffy who she was shadowing for the day.
Buffy told Cathy about a pervious hotel job where an employee was killed on her during a party she booked in their ballroom. She had to call and tell his mother, and quit the job because she didn’t want the daily reminder of this sad occasion. On top of that drama she was experiencing some sad realities at home and in her marriage. She was forced to give up her children and divorce her husband, and now works a Donatos and commutes 40 minutes everyday.
The snag at this job was that Buffy felt the online system was out of date.
Next Cathy takes on the cashier position, at the third franchise she visits. She works alongside Kensha taking and fulfilling orders. Cathy doesn’t prove to be too good at this job either but it's because she been an execute so long she’s a little out of touch.
Kensha reveals that her great aunt raised her, and that her baby brother passed away at age 14 due to a blockage in a main artery. The family donated her brother’s organs to patients in need and he’s been a vital part in saving the lives of others.
Lastly we meet Tangee who is the window attendant. She asks the customers their names, looks their orders up in the system and gives it to them. She’s very good at her job but not very good at being attentive enough to teach Cathy how to do it. It doesn’t help that Cathy is scared and is hesitant to learn.
Tangee has financial burdens of her own that she tells Cathy about during their day together.
The employees come to a meeting where they think they are going to tell someone about Cathy’s performance. But they are really here to learn about their performance in the company. Aaron was fired from his delivery position but Jane made him a deal that if he can pass a drug test he will still be able to work in the store. Kensha and Tangee have received money for college, and Kensha also got a new car. The gifts given also included a vacation, bills paid for a year, job training, and the store will now sale bands that raise money for others that need organs in Kensha’s brother’s name.