Undercover Boss – Roto Rooter episode
Last night’s Undercover Boss involved Rick Arquilla, the President and COO of Roto Rooter. Roto Rooter is a large company that has been in business for 75 years and services about 90% of the population throughout the world.
This episode was rather unique in that Mr. Arquilla’s father used to work in a manufacturing plant and because of his dislike of what he was doing became an alcoholic that affected Mr. Arquilla deeply. How do I know this? Because this episode not only featured all the wet, disgusting stuff that his technicians do, it also featured Mr. Arquilla weeping and crying throughout the episode. Gosh I didn’t realize that he was a sensitive guy.
I understand his grief about his alcoholic father and his effect on him, but his employees also have their drama in their life. Most of the undercover work was located in and around New Orleans, LA. Did the producers pick this area because of the devastation that took place from Hurricane Katrina? Did the producers want to find some very devastating drama in the town that would make the viewers weep and cry just like Mr. Arquilla? It seems that people there are going on with their lives just fine.
What I found interesting is that the technicians are paid on commission. So the pricing for their services are not set in stone, just whatever they can get from the customer. That is why Henry in New Orleans dropped his price from $1,200 to $500 to work for a poor older woman’s drain problem. Next time you have a problem, negotiate the price to fix it.
Mr. Arquilla found his sole mate who was a recovering alcoholic and drug addict. More weeping and crying and bonding with this guy.
The funniest job Mr. Arquilla did was in the call center/dispatch. He designed the color-coded system used in the call center. But Mr. Arquilla is color blind! Glad he is in the front office and not in the call center.
Finally, he did try a job in the manufacturing plant and found out that people there were afraid that the company would outsource their jobs. He assured them that he would keep manufacturing in Des Moines, Iowa and not outsource the plant. Once again, we had a weepy moment from Mr. Arquilla with this one.
The season finale is next week with 1-800 Flowers. Now that would make me weep, cry and sneeze!
Until later,
Linda
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