'Undercover Boss': Smoothie King CEO Wan Kim rewards hard-working store manager Skylar with franchise
It was just another day for Skylar, the store manager of a Smoothie King franchise in Texas. He was going about his day, making smoothies for customers, cleaning the premises and dreaming of owning his own Smoothie King franchise. But things quickly took a turn when a man named Sung Lee walked into his store. Sung Lee, who was actually Wan Kim, CEO of Smoothie King, walked in under a disguise of a person interested in opening a franchise of the popular smoothie bar. So, he explained to Skylar that he wanted to understand the ground-level operations better before taking on the opportunity of opening a franchise.
Skylar was more than happy to show Sung Lee around. He trained Sung on how to make a smoothie and also keep the premises clean. While interacting with Skylar, Sung took the opportunity to understand Skylar's views on some of the changes that Wan had introduced to the business such as slim blends. Unfortunately, Sung wasn't prepared for the answer he was about to hear. Skylar expressed his discontentment with the changes by pointing out how customers were unhappy and that was taking a hit on their revenue. He felt that the earlier version of smoothies was better and the owner shouldn't have brought in new changes.
Although Sung was far from pleased with Skylar's response, he appreciated the store manager's honesty. Sung learned that before bringing on any big changes, the employees must first be informed about it and also explained why these changes are important and the potential benefits of it. Sung was very pleased with Skylar's work ethics and his hustle. So he asked Skylar what drove him to work at the smoothie bar. Skylar then explained how he turned vegan after his mother and brother's untimely demise due to health issues. Skylar shared his passion for healthy food and lifestyle, and how Smoothie King was helping him follow and spread it to others. He also casually mentioned his interest in opening his own franchise, but still had a long way to go as he was still saving up money.
Sung left the store feeling inspired and impressed by Skylar's drive and passion. During the big reveal, when Sung shared his true identity, he also rewarded Skylar for all his hard work. Wan began by explaining how he should have made more effort to educate the employees about the new changes, then proceeded to give Skylar $75,000 for opening a franchise. Skylar was over the moon on hearing it. Wan then explained how passionate and driven employees like him are the backbones of the success of Smoothie King.
Fans were pleased to see Skylar's growth and congratulated him. A fan tweeted, "#UndercoverBoss I'm so happy for this young man." Another fan wrote, "YAY Skylar, good luck & success with your franchise! #UndercoverBoss." "Congrats to Skyler. #UndercoverBoss," shared a fan.
#UndercoverBoss
— Gregory D. Wilson (@Greggy757) October 24, 2020
I'm so happy for this young man. pic.twitter.com/yi5cTlT466
YAY Skylar, good luck & success with your franchise! 🙌🙏 #UndercoverBoss https://t.co/chp3eym4JZ pic.twitter.com/ZuuzQPSD5P
— Preciousheaven723 (@preciousheaven7) October 24, 2020
Smoothie King's Twitter page shared an update about the former store manager who was getting ready to open his second franchise. The update said Wan reportedly continue to mentor this young man after the filming was done.
'Undercover Boss' Season 10 airs every Friday at 9/8c only on CBS.