It is not uncommon for parents to miss some of their children’s soccer or dancing practices because of their busy schedules. Too many parents spend long hours in the office every week, forcing them to be away from their children for a good part of the day. Tanna Marino, a resident of Texas, and her husband worked hard to support their children, and this was at the expense of quality family time. Their finances were not going well. Things were starting to get out of hand, when fortunately Tanna received a phone call that changed her life…..
1. Tanna Marino of Cypress, Texas, is the mother of four children and the wife of a firefighter.
She comes from a small town, and her family is the most important thing in her life.
2. She was a household appliance technician.
In fact, she was in charge of household appliances in repair and maintenance company called Mr. Appliance. She loved her job, but money was always scarce and she couldn’t spend enough time with her children. Then, one day, she received an unusual phone call…..
3. At the other end of the line, she was a television scout.
She asked Tanna if she would like to play in a reality TV pilot show. Tanna was amazed by the proposal.
4. The television scout didn’t reveal much about the show, other than the fact that it was called Don’t Quit Your Day Job.
After weighing the pros and cons, Tanna thought it might be a chance to earn much-needed extra income for the family.
5. So Tanna agreed to participate in the show.
When she showed up for the shoot on the first day, she met the film crew who would follow her everywhere while she was minding her own business. She was also to train a new employee named Faith Brown.
6. For Tanna, Faith appeared as someone who normally worked in an office.
She wore thick makeup, jewellery and long acrylic nails. Even though she wasn’t very well dressed in such a practical job, Tanna welcomed her.
7. It was obvious that Faith didn’t have much experience.
Tanna was patient and guided her through her routine. The cameras were running all the time, and Tanna concluded that the reality show was about training weird new employees.
8. For several days, the two women made house calls together.
Tanna showed Faith how to deal with each problem she encountered. Faith and Tanna got along well, and Tanna even took Faith home one afternoon to meet her family.
9. Faith met Tanna’s four children, as well as her husband Michael.
Faith was very touched by the welcome of each member of the family, but after that charming evening, Tanna admitted to Faith something very personal.
10. She told Faith that even though she and Michael had a job, the money was incredibly tight.
She would most likely need a second job to earn additional income. As a result, she would have to spend even more time away from her children. Obviously, this revelation broke Faith’s heart.
11. Tanna brought back memories for Faith….
Hearing Tanna struggle to stay active in her children’s lives reminded her of her father who was also very absent from her life. Now it was finally time for the mother of four children to know exactly what this reality show was all about.
12. After Don’t Quit Your Day Job completed the employee training portion of the show, the team told Tanna that they would go to Faith for the last segment.
However, when Tanna arrived later in the afternoon, Faith had short blond hair – and looked completely different.
13. She introduced herself as Dina Dwyer-Owens, the CEO of the company that owns Mr. Appliance!
She had spent the last few days in disguise with Tanna, learning from her and discovering what life on the front lines was like at work.
14. The television crew informed Tanna that there was no program called Don’t Quit Your Day Job.
It was actually a show called Undercover Boss, where bosses worked alongside their employees while being incognito to learn about their daily lives.
15. Dina was impressed by Tanna’s work ethic.
So the CEO gave Tanna $5,000 to run a program called “Women in the Trades” to help women who were learning a trade.
16. Dina also offered Tanna an amount.
She set up a $10,000 scholarship fund so that Tanna and Michael could start saving for their children’s college education. Tanna was in tears over Dina’s generosity, but it wasn’t even the biggest shock she was going to get…
17. The CEO gave a bigger gift to this brave mother.
While Tanna was smothering her tears, the CEO gave the mother another gift: a $25,000 cheque! Tanna was so shocked she almost fainted! Dina said the money was a personal gift from her.
18. Dina’s interest in participating in Undercover Boss was to be able to explore the company’s internal workings as a regular employee and not as a boss.
Fortunately, Tanna exemplified all the qualities that Dina was looking for in an employee, and she rewarded her for each one!
19. It must have been a very interesting experience for both women during the shooting.
Dina was able to see how Mr. Appliance was working from a completely different perspective, and Tanna was able to help a “new employee” gain valuable experience! Tanna couldn’t believe how generous Dina was. She thought she was just showing the ropes to a new employee, but it couldn’t have been further from the truth.
