News

Subway CDO to go undercover

November 16, 2010

Subway's chief development officer Don Fertman is about to go incognito to get a pulse on the chain's day-to-day operations. Fertman will appear on CBS' reality show "Undercover Boss" at 9 p.m. Nov. 21.

During the show, he will catch a glimpse of how the restaurant works outside of his office at Subway's headquarters in Connecticut.

Fertman, who has been with Subway for 29 years, spent the day "undercover" as "John Wilson," baking bread, stocking ingredients, slicing vegetables, taking inventories and serving customers.

The transition from corporate executive to local employee was an assignment handed down to Fertman by Fred DeLuca, Subway president and co-founder, who thought he would be too recognizable to appear on the show.

"When Fred sent me undercover, I told him I wanted to catch people doing really good things," Fertman said. "I was not disappointed. I worked alongside many great store employees and came back with some terrific best practices which we will be sharing within the organization. After working with these folks, I can see why we continually are rated very high by consumers."

Fertman's assignment included working with the Rev. Duane, a store manager in Buffalo, N.Y.; Sherri, a store manager in Alabama; Efrain, a store manager in Florida; and Jessi, a Sandwich Artist in Florida.

"Taking advantage of a situation like the one presented on 'Undercover Boss' not only gives us a glimpse of what is happening on the front lines in the stores, but it provides consumers a look at how we operate," Fertman said.

Subway is not the first quick-service chain to appear on Undercover Boss. In March, White Castle's Dave Rife made the transition from company owner to entry-level employee.