Other businesses may be more glamorous than plumbing and pipes, but in era of corporate scandals and out-of-touch CEOs who seem more concerned with their mansions and bonuses than their own employees, it’s nice to know there are still a few good guys at the top.Ĭonsider Arquilla’s comments when, after revealing his true identify, he calls together his team and, choking back tears, tells them, “You taught me how to do the work, but you also taught me how to be a better person, and for that I’m grateful.” You gotta’ love a guy who’s willing to shovel you-know-what so that he can better understand his people. He observes a tech spending a long day handling all his own jobs as he also fields questions on his cell phone from fellow technicians. He’s amazed when, at the end of the day, the man invites him to come along as he spends an evening coaching basketball for under-privileged kids.Īrquilla, who grew up in a blue collar town and whose own father was a factory worker, is overwhelmed with emotion as he observes firsthand just how much his employees care about their jobs, their customers, their families and their communities.ĭuring one scene when a welder who works at the Roto-Rooter manufacturing plant in West Des Moines tells trainee Hank (undercover Arquilla) that people are worried about losing their jobs, Arquilla is clearly humbled by how many families are dependent on the success of the organization he leads. He assists a technician who cuts his own commission so that a poor woman can afford much-needed repairs to her pipes. He works alongside the single mother customer service rep who’s behind on her mortgage and whose parents take care of her autistic son while she works nights. She trains him to be empathetic, telling him, “Your customers come first.” Posing as a fifty-something, blue-collar trainee named Hank allows Arquilla to relate to his employees in a way that CEOs rarely do. However, a few brave CEOs are going undercover to get the real dirt. Or in the case of Rick Arquilla, the raw sewage.ĭuring a recent episode of Undercover Boss, Arquilla, President and COO of Roto-Rooter ( traded in his tailored suit and wing tips for a denim shirt, safety goggles, and heavy rubber gloves to go uncover as a Roto-Rooter “trainee.”Īrquilla spent a week pulling sludge out of pipes, answering phones, and trying to figure out the dispatch system he designed. The scene where he yanks a nasty, mildewed washcloth out of a clogged tub drain is priceless. (View episode on CBS.com.)īut beyond the comedic value of watching a CEO cope with the demands of blue-collar work, the real beauty of the show is the emotional connection. But more often than not, senior leaders, particularly those at the top of the corporate food chain, don’t spend enough time in the trenches to get an unfiltered perspective of what happens on the front lines. Organizations say they want to know what goes on behind the scenes. Rick is married with three daughters and resides in the Cincinnati area.What do employees say and do when their boss isn’t watching? The show is currently airing in international markets and has already aired in Norway, Sweden, New Zealand and Australia. Rick may be best recognized as the featured "boss" on an episode of CBS Television's Undercover Boss program, which aired in the United States and Canada on Apand again on July 25, 2010. And in 1983, he was named Vice President and General Manager of Chemlawn Commercial Services in Columbus, Ohio. In 1981, he was named General Manager of Technical Industries, Inc. Three years later he accepted a sales position at Thompson & Hamilton, Inc. His first job after college was a sales position with The William Powell Company of Cincinnati. He is a graduate of The Ohio State University where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1975. He oversees the operations side of Roto-Rooter's service business and spends much of his time at branch locations working with general and regional managers to ensure that Roto-Rooter is providing top quality plumbing and drain service. Three years later, in 1999, he was promoted to his current position of president and chief operating officer. In 1996, Arquilla was promoted to senior vice president of operations. In 1989, Arquilla joined Roto-Rooter Services Company as vice president of the company's Central Region, a position he held during one of the company's most dramatic periods of growth. He is based at Roto-Rooter's corporate headquarters in downtown Cincinnati, Ohio. Rick Arquilla is the president and chief operating officer of Roto-Rooter Services Company, North America's largest provider of plumbing repair and drain services. President and Chief Operating Officer of Roto-Rooter Services Company
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