MovieChat Forums > Undercover Boss (2010) Discussion > Tristen is a mother

Tristen is a mother

posted 9 years ago by Sam-953-169285
25 replies | jump to latest

Many people like negativity. I know that, so no one needs to say they enjoy it when an employee is criticized and fired. I am asking if anyone except me does not like it.

In the beginning, Undercover Boss was a nice feel-good show. There was no criticism of employees. Then something happened; I think they discovered that people actually like it when people are criticized. Initially, the boss was understanding and supportive but that eventually was lost too.

In tonight's episode (Hamburger Mary's) the employee's income is dependent on commissions. I don't like it when someone tries to sell me something more than what I need just because it costs more and therefore giving them a higher commission, but I blame the business's use of a commission system.

Tristen (the waitress at Hamburger Mary's) is a mother that wants to provide for her family. It is totally understandable that she would want to get as high of a commission as she can; if the business does not want that to happen then they should not pay commissions. Yet they harass her (right?) to the point that she leaves because she tried to increase sales. If they don't want her to try to sell more then they should not pay commissions.

You don't need to respond if you enjoy seeing someone harassed like that. I know there are many people that do. Is there anyone else besides me that does not like it?

Also, at the end of the show, Tristen says that the only reason she behaved like that is because of the cameras. I wonder what they said to her before the cameras were on her; perhaps they intentionally set her up.

[–] vilafire 9 years ago

I will never eat at this reataurant. And I'm gay!

Shame on those fools. This poor waitress has to be thrown in the national spotlight to be surprised with "you're fired" and you stink at your job?

I think she has a lawsuit.

Of course they showered the twink with money and hugs.

By the way, I missed the beginning. Are the owners twins? So creepy, same haircuts and outfits and hats. Tell me they're not a couple.

Also, this is the first time I heard of this place and it looks like the franchise is in big trouble. Owners are pulling out. Probably because these guys suck.

[–] bertfleming 9 years ago

And the twins gave the ripe young male waiter a lot more than the Top Notch older Lesbian Bartender who it said also has left this Company!

[–] Sam-953-169285 9 years ago

Yes they are twins and they are also owners, at least of the franchise. I am not sure what you mean by "Owners are pulling out.". The twins bought the name "Hamburger Mary's" because it was doing poorly and they thought they would be successful with it.

I deleted something from my original post before posting it because I was not sure I knew how to say it. So please correct me if I say this in an inappropriate manner, I don't want to make a negative comment about anyone generally.

To the extent that Tristen is straight, she is not like them. I hope you understand what I mean. If they decided to harass her because of that (they might not be aware of doing that) then that is not good. That might not be the case, but at least it seems that way.

[–] misterbfd 9 years ago

I think she has a lawsuit.

For what? Florida is an employment-at-will state. She wasn't fired because of her appearance on the show, she was re-assigned to a different job. Her attitude seemed to me to be a pretty genuine representation of how she feels: she's a single mom, she wants her tips to be as large as they can be, so her primary focus is on upping the check average.

Like the brothers told her: there's nothing wrong with suggestive selling and trying to up your check average... but there's also a line that servers really need to stay on the correct side of, and she clearly crossed over that line multiple times.

[–] raymondhng 9 years ago

You missed the background information on them growing up in the South and the homophobia they experienced by constantly being called "the f-g twins". Also they went over the history of the restaurant where it got its start in San Francisco. They were made to look exactly the same because they were going undercover as one person. The beginning can be watched at http://www.cbs.com/shows/undercover_boss/video/7ACA3A87-A6E0-E0A6-8E99-AC61BA09E3DB/undercover-boss-hamburger-mary-s/

Hamburger Mary's was a unique place in the South of Market leather scene area of San Francisco here in the '70s. After a Saturday night out at the famous the Eagle bar still standing today just one block away or at several other bars and discos in the area, Hamburger Mary's was that one-of-a-kind funky place for Sunday brunch where you run into all your friends and then go back to the bars and discos for Sunday afternoon and evening if you still want to party. This was how Hamburger Mary's looked in the '70s. https://www.dnalounge.com/backstage/log/19xx/AAC-0694.jpg

And this is the current Google Street View of the intersection of 12th and Folsom now. https://goo.gl/maps/uC2JhWCZBY72 The hot pink front on the far right was the front entrance to the original Hamburger Mary's bar section and the hot pink front around the corner down the block was the back entrance. Across the street on the left in the corner of the lavender building was a higher-end brunch place were the hostess read off the menu in French to you and described every dish. Their strawberry daiquiris were so good, but I learned the hard way you should never have a strawberry daiquiri on an empty stomach.

Nowadays, Hamburger Mary's is no longer a unique place, but a corporatized franchisor with its own corporate cartoon character. Can Hamburger Mary's return to San Francisco? It has a place in far flung locations like Jacksonville, Florida, but it will be extremely difficult in San Francisco because we've passed ordinances restricting formula retail and Hamburger Mary's being a national chain qualifies as one. http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2014/02/07/will-hamburger-marys-return-to-san-francisco/ Also, food trucks with their Twitter followers are giving stiff competition to brick and mortar restaurants.

Ever since Alice Waters started the California fusion cuisine movement in the '70s, we can now eat Peruvian one day, Basque the following day, and Brazilian the next day. There's more to dining than just meat and potatoes. If you were to have dinner at a different restaurant each day in San Francisco, it will take you over ten years to dine at all of them. And then there will be a whole new set of restaurants after ten years.

And don't think putting a drag show at a burger restaurant will make it one-of-a-kind in San Francisco. We already have Asia SF http://asiasf.com/ just four blocks away where trans performers will serve you the best beignets around and they already have their own reality docuseries on the Fuse network. http://www.fuse.tv/shows/transcendent

[–] BugisStreetAnnie 9 years ago

Tristen was on Facebook saying the show was scripted and she was told to be rude to people. When they didn't get the right reaction they wanted from her the first time she had to retake the scene.

I always suspected it was staged and that's why I stopped watching it a few years ago. On cue they seem to start telling their sad stories on camera. To me, that always seemed totally unrealistic.

The reason I tuned in to this episode is because a friend used to go to the Hamburger Mary's restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida.

Do I drink because my dreams don't come true, or don't my dreams come true because I drink?

[–] Sam-953-169285 9 years ago

I have done my best to find anything like that. I can't. I am sorry, but unless I can find something authoritive about that, I can't believe it. It very well could be true but I need to have adequate evidence of it.

[–] BugisStreetAnnie 9 years ago

She is on Facebook as Tristen Catrett. She posted on the Undercover Boss Facebook page.

She was funny on UB last night. The way she said she told the customer you eat fish n' chips with your damn hands, not a goddamn fork. Something like that. On Facebook she will pretty much tell people to flip off.

Do I drink because my dreams don't come true, or don't my dreams come true because I drink?

[–] Sam-953-169285 9 years ago

Thank you very much, I found it. I posted many comments and likes. You should too.

[–] TorontoBlueJay 9 years ago

I've had many servers do the same thing. At the beginning, they will ask what appetizer(s) you want, push drinks on you, try to add things to your meal, and of course try to sell you very overpriced dessert, all for a higher tab, and a higher tip.

[–] raymondhng 9 years ago

It was Tristen's attitude about customers that she revealed to a "trainee's" first day that was so shocking.

[Customers] are gonna ask for it...because they are so dumb.

Customers are never right...especially here at Hamburger Mary's.

Contrast that horrible attitude with the one I got on my first day working at technical support for a hospital when a co-worker responded to another employee who was reluctant to do something outside of their regular job duties.

This is hospital. We all pitch in.

Then she recounted a time when she justified not getting silverware for a customer because the food should be eaten with one's fingers. In her frame of mind, the customer is wrong for wanting to use silverware on finger food.

All she ever cared about was money money money.

Don't drop those drinks! You're messing with my money!

I just care about my money! I don't give a f--- about his money!

Money money money money money money money money!

I counted her saying "money" 15 times.

Then when she upsells to a customer, she pushes (not suggests) the top dollar entree on the menu.

She was just a human adding machine keeping her eye only on the bottom line all the time. To hell with the customers.

[–] Sam-953-169285 9 years ago

She was told to say things like that. She would not normally.

In spite of that, the purpose of commission is to motivate people to sell more. If a company does not want their employees and representatives to sell more than the customer would otherwise purchase then they should not pay commissions.

[–] raymondhng 9 years ago

The producers did not write out a script that she had to memorize word-for-word and act it out. She is not a professional actress. She is a server. They may have told her to embellish it. But every single word out of her mouth came directly from her heart and mind.

If I was told by a camera crew to go against my nature and do something that would endanger my job, reputation, and livelihood, I would say "I'm not doing it".

She had every opportunity to refuse and the brains to say "no". She is not a trained monkey.

[–] Sam-953-169285 9 years ago

Undercover Boss and/or Hamburger Mary's should use that in their defense when they are sued, it will further aggravate the judge and/or jury against them.

As best as I understand things, they lied. I have read and I do believe that they did multiple takes of the relevant scenes because she was not negative enough. If that is true and then they criticize it in the show then that is terrible. Note that in the show Tristen said that she said those things for the camera. I interpret that as admission by the show that she was told to be that way. She says (and I believe her) that she was told to be bad and that they did multiple takes when it was not bad enough. No, she is not a professional actress but for the purposes of the show she was an actress and did a great job. Don't say she should not have said things that are not accurate; every actor does.

[–] raymondhng 9 years ago

She can seek legal recourse as much as she wants, but from what I see based on that 44-minute television program, she has a weak case.

Where is her inner voice or gut that is suppose to her that what she was doing in front of the camera was wrong?

If some television crew told me to say how stupid my computer users and clients are and intensify my delivery take after take, I'd tell them, "You're trying to get me fired. I'm not falling for that."

I also edit television for the past 13 years. Film/video editing does not create bad behavior out of nothing. It focuses on the behavior and puts it under a bright spotlight.

[–] Sam-953-169285 9 years ago

Things can be taken out of context and made to say something totally different. You know that but obviously you won't admit it so I won't expect to get you to admit the truth.

What about the George Zimmerman case as in "NBC: We're Sorry We Edited The Trayvon Tape To Make George Zimmerman Sound Racist" at:
http://www.businessinsider.com/nbc-apologizes-to-george-zimmerman-for-editing-a-911-call-to-make-him-sound-really-racist-2012-4

Editing can seriously distort the truth.

[–] raymondhng 9 years ago

I did not follow the Trayvon Martin incident, so I have no comment on that.

Of course things can be taken out of context. But editing will not turn an employee with the personality of Mother Teresa into the waitress from hell. Tristen already had a negative streak in her and prioritizes her income over customer service. Editing focused on that and brought it out.

Frankly, Tristen would be better suited working in a collections department or as a parking enforcement officer.

[–] Sam-953-169285 9 years ago

In other words, you are ignoring the Trayvon Martin incident because it is such a great example of the opposite of what you are saying.

[–] misterbfd 9 years ago

All of this "editing, schmediting" argument is moot. She has no case. She was re-assigned and then quit. Florida is an employment-at-will state. They could have straight-up fired her and she would have had no case.

[–] Sam-953-169285 9 years ago

If what I believe to be true is true then they lied to her and intentionally destroyed her reputation. All of your arguments would not help them (the Undercover Boss show and/or Hamburger Mary's) in a court of law.

[–] misterbfd 9 years ago

Sorry, but if you read the release she signed, you'll see that she has been notified that she may be portrayed in an unflattering way. She chose to agree to the terms of the broadcast release. If she didn't already agree, her segment would not have been aired. Therefore, she has entered into a binding contract in which she acknowledges that she might be portrayed in a negative way.

[–] Sam-953-169285 9 years ago

We are not judges. We don't know the details of what she said.

I have absolutely no way of knowing that anything you said is accurate. Do you have anything we can use to know that what you are saying is true? If what you are saying is true then people should know that the show is not anywhere near as spontaneous as they make us think.

[–] misterbfd 9 years ago

You can find the pdf copies of the UB participant agreements online.

[–] Sam-953-169285 9 years ago

I have no idea how to do that. Searching Google for "Undercover Boss participant agreements" does not help.

[–] Arvin-G-Borkar 8 years ago

I like it when employees are criticized; however, more for the managers and higher ups. They think they are TOO GOOD for the employees under them and then they see the CEO and are all like O_O...yeah...I will try to run it better or things could have been done better. No one knows if it really is run better, other than the ones where the manager or franchise owner is fired.

Businesses that pay commission do not really care for the employees. I am just going to put that out there. They all ready know they can train anyone and by not offering hourly, they are saving tons of money. Think about it! With each commission sale, you could be getting anywhere from 10-20% and so, if you quit, they have no wasted much on you and are into riling the next person that comes through the door.

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