Dina Dwyer-Owens understands business. As chairwoman and chief executive officer of The Dwyer Group, she has successfully led the holding company of seven service-based franchise organizations—Aire Serv, Glass Doctor, Mr. Appliance, Mr. Electric, Mr. Rooter, Rainbow International and The Grounds Guys—since 1999. With more than 1,300 franchises in the United States, these groups provide repairs and other services to thousands of homes around the country. But Dwyer-Owens says that a company needs not just good business sense, but good values, to succeed. When the company marked its 30th anniversary last year, she realized she needed to see for herself if it was living up to the standards set by its founder, her father. Enter “Undercover Boss.” Dwyer-Owens contacted the reality show, in which high-ranking executives go undercover within their own companies to find out the truth about how their businesses work at the ground level, and signed up to pose as “Faith Brown,” a potential trainee in the trade business.
Dressed in a long, dark wig and pearls, she tries her hand at landscaping, replacing a water heater, repairing a stove, and installing an electrical outlet. Through the experience, she sought to learn not only about her business, but about the people on its front lines.
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