Disturbing "Undercover Boss" Episode

[mcarty1]

I was really disturbed after watching an episode of "Undercover Boss".....where the boss of a company dons makeup and other clothing and goes to work as an average employee to see how his or her company is actually doing and how their employees feel about the company. They also see if there are problems great or small and how they can fix them.

Tonights episode was about Peavey Electronics in Meridian, Mississippi.
It really made me sad how the employees told of layoffs, things going to China...etc.

And the the COO of peavey (With hartley Peavey the owner listening in on a hidden mic the dressed up COO was wearing) was listening to these people and Peavey did really help them at the end of the show....and I thought....well that is great! Not so fast.....four months after the filming of the episode they said that Peavey electronics shut down the part of the plant the COO was given a job in....he did board assembly in one part , and cabnet assembly in another. Yet Peavey decided to shut down this plant because they said they wanted to focus on "other things" I guess that sold better.

I understand economics and if a company is not making enough money in one area, they usually shut it down and jobs are lost....still....it is not easy when you see these people on a TV show and they are just ordinary people just trying to get by....pay bills etc. and now some are going to be out of work because Peavey decided to shut down the plant and move the jobs overseas! One guy that was there HAD a job waiting for him and had turned in his notice THAT DAY and Hartley said...he wanted to keep him.....he was also one of the ones that was laid off when that part of the plant closed...and this guy had another job, but because he stayed with the company after they asked him to....he is now going to be out of work! I do not think that is very fair. (Yes I know, life is not fair....but this guy gave up a job that paid better....had longer hours and benifits.....but aftter he turned it down....four months later he is out of work!)

I know that a lot of jobs that used to be in the USA have moved overseas....but it just seems to me there should be a way to turn this thing around!

 

[CoreyT]

I saw that episode last year on YouTube, and one reason why I will not own any Peavey products.

 

[tonyvenn]

I will never buy Peavey because let's be honest...they have a stupid logo.

You really want that pointy 70's era abomination displayed while you're trying to learn the solo from "Material Girl"?

You might as well be playing bass in a wedding band in Spokane.

 

[andy474x]

One of my former bandmates had a 6505 head that needed some preamp tubes replaced, when we got in to do so I saw the sockets mounted to this flimsy circuit board, which flexed every time a tube was put in or taken out. Couldn't believe such a poor design exists in such a popular amp.

The thing about Peavey is, I think they try too hard to make budget friendly gear, at least when it comes to guitar amps. The 6505 is a very good sounding rock and metal amp, and the Classic series could be a viable alternative to the Fender Hot Rod line IMO, except for their crappy speakers and probably poor internals. Maybe not the pinnacle of tone, but I think they sound good. But, Peavey cheaps out so bad, they take themselves right out of the running. If I were in the market for either of those types of amps, I would consider Peavey products for their tone, but I'd be too scared of them falling apart! Whereas PRS amps are more expensive because the company has a focus on quality, not just tone and price, and it's worth it! I have a lot of respect for Paul and the PRS team for innovating and expanding their line to include amps and S2's, thus creating jobs in Maryland making quality products. Peavey, on the other hand, despite my opinion that their stuff sounds ok, it's still junk in my mind.

From my purely uneducated standpoint, if Peavey could build a better product, and market themselves well enough to be rebranded as a quality manufacturer, they could charge enough to keep those jobs in the US. I think it would be fair for their prices to be 70% of what a comparable PRS amp would be, for example on a 6505 vs an Archon. As it stands now, at $xxxx, the 6505 sounds good, but sure makes me wonder what the heck is going on inside that box.

And, yeah, update that stinkin logo!!!

 

[NomadMike]

In the distant past Peavey was all about tough, well built products at a good price. Really good value. Somewhere along the way they lost that thread which was made them to begin with.

 

[Ovibos]

As a bass playing kid, I had a Peavey bass combo (TKO?) that I dragged around. It was ridiculously heavy, no casters, and waaaay underpowered. Replaced it with a tiny GK150 and only lost a tiny bit of volume.

 

[Bill SAS 513]

Yup...I remember really tough, HEAVY gear that could be thrown down steps and still function...Quality has really declined with them...

 

[bricel24]

As a bass playing kid, I had a Peavey bass combo (TKO?) that I dragged around. It was ridiculously heavy, no casters, and waaaay underpowered. Replaced it with a tiny GK150 and only lost a tiny bit of volume.

Ha. I also have a TKO 115 that I've been lugging around the last few years each time I move.... that s**t is a tank!! Thankfully it's now permanent here in my small rehearsal space at home.

 

[Kazz]

I think that show is just a clever way to do PR and make the participating companies and "bosses" look like they really care about their employees, issues they've been getting bad press about, etc. when most of them really don't.

It's still interesting to get a glimpse behind the scenes at different places, but I'd take it all with at least a handful of salt.

 

[drdoom8793]

Dang, that's sad. My first 3 or 4 amps were all Peavey, from a cheap modeling amp to a Triple X half stack. I loved all of them for what they were. But I won't support a company like that.

 

[mezzio]

I remember seeing that episode a while ago, and honesty made me kinda angry. I think what irked me the most is they promised struggling employees with a bit of relief and never paid out.

 

[Parralax view]

Sometimes you buy a product, and the impression of that product lasts a lifetime with you. So be it for Peavey. I once owned a brand new Peavey Musician stack. I could have had a Super reverb, a twin, an old 70's Marshall, but they were staid, old looking and not all shiny and stainless like the Peavey. It claimed 300 SS watts, and was loud if not anything else. It was a terrible, unreliable amp that I kept maybe 4 yrs. In a divorce proceeding, I was forced to sell my gear and give her half. In a monumental display of spite and stupidity, I sold my entire rig for around 500 bucks. 69 tele thin line, Guild S-100 and that amp, the amp went to a guy playing a turkish instrument for backing up a belly dancer.

Point being, Peavey has a long list of never again players. While I know their present product is much better and more reliable, that particular action by the COO was driven by probably word alone instead of need. Maybe I was wise to never have another no matter how much better.

 

[Mixstar]

Putting spies in to a work situation would, I'm certain, bring all kinds of industrial action, there are laws against such things in the UK.

If my chief operating officer, who I kindly pay many thousands of pounds or dollars to run my company, doesn't know what's going on within the company and employees and had to resort to this nonsense he'd be the very very first out of the door.

 

[Parralax view]

The issue here is that it was for a stupid reality show shown here regularly. Thin skin and all that forced the loss of many jobs.

 

[Mixstar]

Yes understood but my point is how has the management at Peavey gotten away with it? "Reality show" or not you can't do it. So, as far as I see it, it wasn't "real reality" it was contrived reality for TV and the employees must have known about it. I can't see any other way it could have been done and how did they get away with firing people because of it? Maybe the US employment laws are different than the UK/Europe?

I'm not on about works email and resource monitoring by the way

 

[mcarty1]

Yes understood but my point is how has the management at Peavey gotten away with it? "Reality show" or not you can't do it. So, as far as I see it, it wasn't "real reality" it was contrived reality for TV and the employees must have known about it. I can't see any other way it could have been done and how did they get away with firing people because of it? Maybe the US employment laws are different than the UK/Europe?

I'm not on about works email and resource monitoring by the way

I do not know why you think a boss cannot spy on his own workers to see how his company or they are doing?? There is nothing immoral or illegal in that at all....why you think so is beyond me! It happens all the time. You actually think if people knew every time they were going to have a visit by the boss, everything would not be perfect? OF COURSE IT WOULD! Then they would never be able to find any problems. (Even though there would be problems) a lot of bosses (not all) are usually trying to find the problems to correct them and they cannot DO THAT if they walk in there as themselves. People would put up a front. And no matter what you think, there is no law in the US to say otherwise. I knew of a woman at Krogers (grocery store here in the US) that tried to sue krogers because they had cameras everywhere. She asked a lawyer and the lawyer told her that NO she could not sue them for that if they were in the workplace ....as long as they were not in a private place like the bathrooms, but they can have one outside the bathrooms....to see if people are carrying in things to steal. Not everything is in black and white dude.

But back on topic....yeah I thought that Peavey really went downhill since the 1970's when they began. Back then it was about making products that would last....not this cheap crap they produce today. I still remember the CS 400 and a CS 800 power amps that our church had way back in the day...as people said....those things were built like a tank! But heavy as one too!

 

[Mixstar]

There's a slight difference between a boss turning up on spec in his suit and a boss purposely disguising him/herself and turning up on spec to fool the workers in to thinking he was one of them and, obviously, getting 'insider info' verbally. Lot's of places have CCTV and monitor email, internet usage and phone calls etc. but it must be made public knowledge that's what they are doing. That won't have the effect described in the OP though. The need is to talk to the workers face to face and, as you rightly say, they will get nothing if they turn up in a normal fashion. That's a problem for the employer to worry about, they can monitor workers via CCTV etc. if they so wish but dressing up isn't an answer.

 

[Michael_DK]

A bit unrelated, but if management deems it necessary to "spy" on workers, I'd say theres a management problem...