Ep 2. New York & Company

In season 8, episode 2 of Undercover Boss, New York & Company CEO, Greg Scott, goes incognito to observe the inner workings of his retail fashion business. New York & Company is a popular women's apparel and accessory line with over 425 retail stores across the country.

The episode begins with Scott disguising himself as a hulking, tattooed biker complete with fake tattoos on his arms and a menacing looking beard. He also darkens his hair. He then sets out to work in one of his stores as a new employee.

The first store he visits is located in a shopping mall where he meets his boss for the day, Shannon, who is a new manager that has been with the company for under a year. After some brief introductions, Scott is put to work at the cash register checking out customers.

As he works, Scott observes how Shannon handles her customers and offers suggestions on how to improve the shopping experience. He's impressed with her level of sincerity and engaging personality when it comes to interacting with customers.

Next, Scott travels to another store and meets another novice manager who's been with the company for just a few months. He continues to work as an employee in various store positions, including stocking, sales, and styling clothing. As he works, he closely observes how the managers interact with employees and hear their feedback on what they think the company could do better.

Through these observations, Scott is able to discover areas of improvement, some of which are quite significant. For example, one of the biggest issues he uncovers concerns the company's rewards program, which puts too much emphasis on credit cards and not enough on rewards. He also realizes that many of his store managers are not trained well enough to handle customer complaints and could use more guidance on how to improve the shopping experience.

Overall, Greg's experience is extremely humbling. He gets to know some of his employees and learns about their own struggles with working retail and being paid minimum wage. At one point, he even awards an employee who went above and beyond with a scholarship to pursue her dreams of becoming a registered nurse.

In the end, Greg Scott realizes that there is plenty of room for improvement within the company. He takes all the ideas, feedback, and suggestions back with him and implements changes that will help improve both the employee's experience and the customer's overall shopping experience.

Overall, this episode of Undercover Boss is a heartwarming and inspiring exploration of what it takes to truly run a successful retail business. While it is apparent that the company has its share of challenges, the way Scott and his employees work to tackle them is both inspiring and enlightening. So, it is a must-watch episode for all those who want to peek into the business world.