Tonight on CBS their Emmy award winning reality show, Undercover Boss continues with an all new Friday January 16, season 6 episode 6 called “EmpireCLS” and we have your weekly recap below. On tonight’s episode avid Seelinger, Chairman and CEO of EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services, a luxury chauffeured transportation leader that provides services in more than 700 cities worldwide, goes undercover to see if his company is running smoothly.
On the last episode, Gina Rivera, Founder and President of Phenix Salons INC., a franchise which offers independent salon and business professionals the opportunity to own and operate their own luxury salon suites, went undercover to see if it would color her perception of how the company was running. Despite 25 years of experience as a hair stylist, Rivera weaved her way through an unfamiliar hairstyle. Additionally, she tried to stay sharp when tasked with a straight razor shave, and is very uncomfortable when she’s told to take over a pedicure. Did you watch the last episode? If you missed it, we have a full and detailed recap right here for you.
On tonight’s episode as per the CBS synopsis, “David Seelinger, Chairman and CEO of EmpireCLS Worldwide Chauffeured Services, a luxury chauffeured transportation leader that provides services in more than 700 cities worldwide, goes undercover to see if his company is running smoothly. Following a 25-year break from chauffeuring, Seelinger finds it’s not as easy as he remembered, and he almost blows a gasket while working beside a dispatcher who doesn’t follow the motto, “the customer is always right.”
The show airs tonight at 8pm on CBS and we will be live blogging all the details. So don’t forget to come back and refresh your screen often for live updates.
Tonight’s episode begins now – Refresh Page often to get the most current updates!
Today’s #UndercoverBoss is chairman and CEO David Seelinger of EmpireCLS, an upscale transportation company. In Secaucus, New Jersey, we meet David. The company takes high end clientele to where they need to go with chauffeured services. It’s an international company that makes $50 million a year. He says they have celebs and the rich among their customers. They work in the US, London, Paris and Milan. They take people to their home, work, award shows and other big events.
David says he was a chubby kid who was bullied then developed a drug and alcohol addiction. He dropped out of high school in ninth grade and he tried to kill himself after he spiraled further downhill. He says he ended up in rehab and has now been sober more than 30 years. He says he’s grateful for the second chance. His first job out of rehab was as a driver and that’s how he learned the business. From there, he moved up to be a dispatcher then ran the company.
From there, he became a partner within a few years. He has two daughters, age 10 and 13. He and his wife have been separated about five years but they’re not divorced. He says it’s fine the way it is. He lives five minutes from his wife and daughters where they live in the dream home they built. The undercover is to get him back in touch with his employees. He tells them to make his hair long because he always keeps it really short.
He’ll be Sonny and they put long hair on him and cover his tattoos. He looks like a nerd with the shirt and bow tie. His daughters are in shock when they see how he looks. He tells them he has to go and start his gig. David says you’re only as good as your last ride and wants to make sure his employees haven’t lost touch with the critical customer service aspect. He’s in Las Vegas first to work with a driver.
He’s coming under the premise that he’s on a reality TV show. He meets with Jackie, a limo chauffeur. She thinks he doesn’t look spunky enough and looks more like a truck driver who put a suit on. She tells him to keep smiling no matter if they have drunks or whatever kind of people they get in the car. They go to pick someone up at the Mandarin and she tells him to smile. They pick up the couple to go to the Polo. She gets onto him about not hitting speed bumps so hard.
She thinks he’s done terrible on the drive and then he came in the wrong way. Jackie says he’s horrible, drives badly and doesn’t relax. The next client tries to chat with him but he’s not being engaging enough because he’s trying to focus. Jackie says he can’t multi-task and may cause a fatality. She says it’s a miracle he got any tips at all. She tells him to loosen him. He says he’ll try and she says he must. She takes over and chats up the people in the back who are partying. She tells them to have a good time.
They are going wild and Jackie chats up the college girls in the back. David says for a Vegas driver, she’s perfect and has a special touch. He thinks she should train all the chauffeurs. He asks if she likes the job and she says she loves it. She tells him she also works construction and holds flags to block traffic for jobs. She says she’s a single parent and had her daughter at 18. David says she has a great attitude and he wants to keep her.
They pick up their next client and he tries to be more chatty. He asks if they’re #ManHunting and one girl asks if he would recommend getting married. They ask if he’s married. He says he met and married his soul mate but they grew apart. Jackie says it was nice of him to open up and says that’s what people want and he should show off the real Sonny. He says he misses his ex-wife and she asks if he’d ever get married again. He says he made a mistake. Jackie asks what he did.
She asks if his marriage went down the drain because of his mistake. She says everyone makes mistake and says he needs to forgive himself for messing up. Jackie says he’s worried about his ex-wife but she’s not worried about him. He says Jackie gave him some good advice about moving on. He says he learned more than just the job from Jackie and she says it’s going to be all right.
David goes next to work with the Assistant Fleet Director in Vegas. He meets Swan and she tells him she does everything to do with the cars. She takes him out to the obstacle course but doesn’t like his bow tie and says he’s going to sweat. She tells him about the obstacle course to refresh drivers. She says 80 is passing and 100 is perfect. It’s breaking, obstacle avoidance and tight parallel parking. The first driver is there to take a test.
Swan says all the drivers are nervous. He crunches a cone and then another. The guy has already failed and Swan says he can still drive but needs more instruction. David asks how such a horrific driver can keep on the road. She says they make a recommendation to the person that assigns driver. David says he’s surprised they let him on the road since safety is a huge issue. He wants to get to the bottom of this.
Next they go to do some maintenance. An SUV won’t crank and they start with the battery first. She says she was from New York and gave up drinking years ago because booze was killing her. She says she moved to Las Vegas and was one of the ones that lost their home. He asks what her dream job is and she says she wants to rescue animals and talks about the animals she’s saved.
She says the Mirage has dolphins and wants to do this trainer for a day thing but it’s like $600. He says he hopes she gets to do it. He thinks Swan is awesome and a tough bird that never complains. He says he doesn’t like the way they certify drivers but says that’s not her responsibility. Next, he’s back in New Jersey working with dispatch. He’s working with Anthony.
He says he’s worried he’ll get caught since he’s at this location often. Anthony greets him and he shows him how they track drivers and make sure they’re there in advance. He points out one driver he says who’s late. He calls the guy and asks if he’s going to be on time. David says dispatching is a lot of juggling from customers to drivers. He lets David take a call.
He calls a driver who says he’s not going to be late and then he gets a call from a driver in New York who says he has an extra stop to make. Anthony takes back the headset and asks to talk to the driver. He asks the driver if it’s a big deal to make the quick stop. The driver says it’s out of the way. The customer gets back on and Anthony says the stop is not on the way.
David says it’s simple – the customer is always right and it’s okay to make a stop. Anthony argues with the guy and says he’s lying about it being on the way home and says he has to add an extra stop onto the charges. David is furious that he’s acting this way and is ready to let Anthony have it.- –
Anthony takes David out for a smoke and he says it’s a tough job because you don’t get a break and says it sucks. David asks if he likes the job and Anthony says the company makes millions but don’t look after their own except those at the top. He says he’s applied for 10 different positions and they’ve passed him by on every single one of them. Anthony says he’s not some slumpy worker.
David thinks Anthony is his own worst enemy because he doesn’t respect his coworkers. Next, David is out in LA to check on the drivers. He meets up with Frank, a town car chauffeur. He tells him to be sure and make eye contact, ask their preferred route and says they have to clean the car between clients. Frank cleans the rims, wipes down the car and vacuums. He tells David to be professional. The woman walk up and David gets her bag and asks her preferred route and she says no freeway.
The client complains that it’s bumpy and David slows up. She asks Frank if there are customers he won’t work with anymore. He says some people drink, smoke pot, have sex and one shot a porno. The woman seems interested in the conversation but David thinks it’s inappropriate and it could be misconstrued as harassment. He also wonders why he let a porno be shot in the car.
They drop her off and go pick up two ladies at Chanel in Beverly Hills. David is worried that Frank is going to be inappropriate. One girl says she’s nauseous in the car and Frank tells him to offer to put down the window for her. David says he thinks Frank just needs some re-education and otherwise is a good driver. He tells David that he loves driving and says it’s freedom and it makes him happy.
He tells David he used to be a huge drug addict and got down to nothing. He says no one trusted him and now he has trust and work. David says he’s also a recovering addict who’s been sober 28 years. He says he went to rehab. But Frank says he didn’t but his grandfather passed away and he wanted to get high at his funeral. He says he just wanted to leave and get a fix and that was what broke it for him.
He says he didn’t get to say goodbye to his grandfather and that’s his big regret. David says they bonded over talking about their addiction. David says he never thought he’d amount to anything but then he’s there and getting to ride around with Frank today. Frank says they have one more job and they head out again. David says his last couple of years have been challenging because of personal issues.
David says he used to walk around the office and talk to everybody but he got out of the habit and now wants to get back to it. Next, it’s the big reveal to the employees. David gets out of his disguise and is happy to lose the wig and the extra facial hair. It’s time for the #BossReveal. He asks Swan if he looks familiar and then explains he’s the CEO of the company. They are all shocked.
Jackie tells him it was an ugly wig. David tells him he came really close to ripping off his wig over the way he talked to the customer. He says he seems to like conflict. David says it has to stop. He says inside a professional office environment, you can’t act like that. He says he told David he was a victim and Anthony says he’s a victim of himself. David asks why.
He asks Anthony to talk to him. He tells David he’s never had a break and should be doing something better. He’s all teared up. David tells him he can excel and it’s not too late. He says he’s got to change and Anthony says a lot. David says he’ll work with him and he’ll mentor him about his future and he’ll write a plan for his future if he’ll do the work. Anthony promises and says it was an eye opener.
Anthony says it’s a great feeling knowing he has someone on his side. He next tells Swan he had a great experience with her and says he was glad she shared her personal story and her love for animals. He tells her he’s giving her $10k to donate to a charity of her choice. She says that’s great. He says he’s also going to give her $15k to take a trip where she can swim with dolphins and train them for a week.
She says it’s unbelievable and says the moon must be blue. He asks about her home and how she lost it. He says he’s giving her $30k to get back into a home. She says there’s a million ways to say thank you and none would be enough. She’s so deadpan yet very sincere. She says she’s in shock by his generosity and he asks to hug her.
Next up is Frank. David says he has a big issue about him talking about a porno filmed in his car and the way he talked in front of the woman. He says he’s going to send him to sexual harassment training. Frank says he feels real uncomfortable and is embarrassed. He says he can’t believe he told him he was an ex-drug addict. David tells him he’s a brother with the same disease and that they are the same.
David says he’s a great chauffeur and he says he has a hobby too. He says he’s into motorcycles because it helps him relieve stress. He tells Frank he’s giving him $10k to work on his low rider and another $20k to use for his mom, to pay bills or whatever he needs. Frank is floored and starts crying. He tells Frank he’s a really good guy. He tells David it doesn’t seem real and thanks him. They hug it out.
Frank says he’s a great man and he’s honored to work for him. He says this changed his life. He says he can help his mom with the money and can’t believe it. Jackie is next and David says she moves him. He tells her she’s good at what she does. He says he wants her to take her family on an all expense paid trip anywhere she wants to go. She starts crying.
Then he tells her that beyond what he learned about driving, something she said to him hit the nail on the head about him living in the past. He’s teared up now and says it took a weight off his shoulders. He starts crying and says she’s had a profound effect on his life in one day. She says he had one on hers too. She says there’s someone for everyone even if it’s a #PigWithAWig. She asks him to marry her.
He laughs and says he’s giving her $40k to do what she wants for her family or whatever she needs. She’s floored and just starts bawling. She tells him he’s changed her life and he tells her she’s changed his. They have a huge hug and a cry together. She says it’s a lifetime change for her and says she’s so happy she can’t stop crying.
Anthony is working on his customer service skills and happy to have a second chance. Swan bought a ranch in Arizona for her animals. Frank paid his mom’s medical bills and Jackie is taking her family on several trips with David’s generous gift of money. Aww… This was a great episode. He was the most emotionally involved boss I’ve seen. Loved it.
THE END!
PLEASE HELP CDL GROW, SHARE on FACEBOOK and TWEET THIS POST!
