Undercover Boss USA

imagine

imagine

At the Start
Joined
May 2, 2003
Messages
685
On CH4 tonight at 8pm. Might be worth a look as tonioght it's an executive from a company managing a number of racecourses who is apparently scared of horses!
 
I hope the first job he gets is parade ring marshall, or the dope catcher, who has to accompany those going for testing at very close quarters! :lol:
 
Yes, Chief Operating Officer. What came out of his brief work experiences was that he realised that everything is not all about spreadsheets, which he, in his job, had been mesmerised by. He didn't have a clue about how most of the backstage staff truly love working at their jobs, they love racing and they want to be in it. The cleaning woman who cleaned two acre-sized floors all alone for $8 an hour, up til midnight and then had walk alone across a deserted and potentially unsafe car park, for example. She didn't expect a raise - and she wasn't disappointed. When she was 'promoted' to working at the more executive suites, she didn't get a red cent more for ensuring they were pristine from the windows to the carpets, the tables, the chairs brushed and God knows what else. Post-investigation, she's now in a full-time job at Churchill Downs, with a raise.

He learned some good life lessons, I think. The jockey's valet who treasures a picture of his daughter, who so wanted to be a jockey, but had a heart condition which killed her age 20. I doubt that Chief Ops would know what a valet did or whether there was any point to him - the racks of silks he pulled for each race were very impressive - and now Churchill Downs will run a race in the girl's memory for their first meeting.

He spotted enthusiastic, 100% dedication, often for very small or very insecure incomes. He realised he was out of touch with the human side of racing, fascinated by the huge casino about to go in at Calder, which he hoped would help to raise race prize money, but he hadn't a clue about the human side of the business at all.

Racing for Change could learn, too - if staff feel valued and appreciated for what they do, even a financial reward isn't always the answer. I'd hope he'll continue to make the rounds from time to time, chatting with different staff doing different jobs, seeing what they can do (without necessarily offering more money) to make them feel their efforts are worthwhile.
 
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Didn't mean to watch this, but watched the first few minutes and was glued to the set. The bit about the valet's daughter had me in tears. Surely no one can do a job properly if they don't understand the problems faced by the people they work with [as I hope one of my colleagues will find out tomorrow as I've got a few days off...]
 
That's you and me keeping Kleenex in profit, Moehat! One of our raceday colleagues is not doing very well with cancer, and I'm sure the course will stage a memorial race for him if he does finally succumb, which looks fairly inevitable. It doesn't cost the course a tap to do it, other than a small trophy, but it's the recognition behind it which counts.
 
Restores some of my somewhat jaded faith in human nature, but also upholds my [not jaded] belief that racing people are the best in the world. [goes away sobbing..again..]
 
I don't know how you find all these things, Aldaniti (or is that Miss Marple?), but thanks so much for that. There's Kenny Rice in his suit, tears in his eyes, and what a great tribute to a loved child on the big screen. "Shorty" Rice would've loved the day, wouldn't she? Very heart-warming without it being icky - there aren't captions, but I imagine the cheque for the $1,000 perhaps went to a heart charity? Well done, Churchill Downs Inc, and keep up the good work.
 
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