This week's "Undercover Boss" Dina Dwyer-Owens, Chairwoman and CEO of the Dwyer Group, moves both heaven and earth on behalf of her employees and customers. Starting the day off as she usually does by attending Mass in a local church, she takes on the name "Faith" and goes undercover to mulch in 118 degree heat as a member of a grounds crew near Memphis. "Most CEO's have a bird's eye view of their companies, Dwyer Owens told me. "'Undercover Boss' gave me a worm's eye view."
Dwyer-Owens is only the second female executive to be featured on "Undercover Boss," which airs on Sunday nights at 8 on CBS. She (and a very a competent board, she's quick to point out) run the Dwyer Group, founded by her late father. It's a holding company for home improvement and repair brands like Aire Serv, Glass Doctor, Mr. Appliance, Mr. Electric, Mr. Rooter, Rainbow International, and The Grounds Guys.
Dressed in a chic yet comfy-looking black pant suit with gold trim for our interview in Pasadena's luxurious Langham Hotel, the mother of two doesn't look like the handy-man type, and she confesses that her lack of experience as a technician gave some on her board misgivings about her rise to the top of the company. "I told them, I'm the typical customer. Who better to understand what she wants from a service provider?"
The gender issue is an important to Dwyer-Owens. One of the "Undercover Boss" jobs that left the most profound impression involved working with a female repair technician, and she believes there aren't enough of them. "She had a great story," Dwyer Owens told me. "She and her husband called on one of my technicians for a home repair, and when the technician found out her husband was a firefighter, he suggested he might want to train to become a technician in his spare time." The fireman later told his wife that he wasn't particularly interested, but she revealed that she was. It seemed perfect for her, since she liked working with her hands and could do it easily while the kids were at school. Dwyer-Owens says the company only employs about one percent female technicians, but she'd like to see more.
She'd also like to see more veterans becoming franchise owners. "My father was in the army and thought it was important to support the troops when they came home," she says. Her company gives deep discounts on franchises to veterans, and they're working to see that veterans can use GI dollars to cover the training portion of the franchise fees. "We're working hard to make that happen," she says.
"My father gave me my work ethic, and my mother gave me my emotions," notes Dwyer-Owens, confessing she cries a lot in this episode. She gets teary-eyed as she recalls the entire "Undercover Boss" experience "What a joy to give these rewards to these people. Natural emotions just come flowing out."
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