Not Sure What To Expect
Marino was working for a company called Mr. Appliance, a franchise of the Dwyer Group, an organization that provides repair and maintenance services. In 2011 she was invited to star in a television show pilot, but she was unaware at the time of what the show actually was.
ADVERTISEMENT
Don’t Quit Your Day Job
The would-be TV star agreed to appear in a show entitled Don’t Quit Your Day Job. However, it turned out that the program was actually an episode of the CBS program, Undercover Boss.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Secret Service
In this series, a top-level manager works anonymously with employees at the bottom of their company. In doing so, they learn all about their employees.
ADVERTISEMENT
Explaining The Situation
Marino explained the situation to the Houston Chronicle in 2013. She said, “I was told somebody would be working with me for the day. Basically, they would decide if they wanted to go back to their old career, or if they wanted to quit that and do something completely different.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Interested
Marino originally started working as a technician after her refrigerator broke. She had called someone from Mr. Appliance, who then tried to recruit her firefighter husband, Michael. However, it was Tanna, who had been a stay-at-home mom for five years, who was interested in the job.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Training
After applying successfully for the job, Marino began training as an appliance technician. A couple of years later, she was then filmed as an unknown woman shadowed her. The new worker had long dark hair and brown eyes and was introduced as Faith Brown.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Kept Under Wraps
It was kept under wraps that the mystery co-worker on those days was Dina Dwyer-Owens, chief executive of Marino’s firm. Dwyer-Owens had changed her hair and eye color so that employees from her own company couldn’t recognize her.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Definitely Not A Blue Collar Job
Marino shared her first impression of “Faith Brown” with the Houston Chronicle in 2013. She explained, “She had long fingernails, pearls on and long curly hair. My impression was that she probably came from working behind a desk, definitely not a blue-collar job.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
A Conversation That Would Change Her Future
But the two got on well during their two days working together. Marino described “Faith” as “very polite and very friendly” and even introduced Brown to her husband and four children. It was the conversation they had on this occasion that would change her future.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Absent Father
As a child, Dwyer-Owens’ father had been absent a lot as he developed his company, the Dwyer Group. She talked about this during the filming of Undercover Boss in 2012. She said, “Just thinking back, my father was amazing but he wasn’t home. It was rare that he was home, and we were all still awake.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Concerning
So the fact that Marino was considering getting a second job struck a chord with Dwyer-Owens. The undercover boss said, “One of my concerns in listening to Tanna is that her and her husband are working. Now she’s going to take on a second job.” Apparently, she couldn’t let that happen.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Struggling To Make Ends Meet
She knew what it was like to struggle to make ends meet, and this did not sit well with her. She wanted to do something to change this woman’s life.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Left Speechless
After filming, Marino was invited to her boss’s house for the show’s “big reveal.” It was here she learned just who had been shadowing her for days and also what the consequences of those two days would be. And the technician was left “speechless.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Emotional Scene
In an emotional scene, Dwyer-Owens’ voice broke as she gifted Marino a lump sum of $25,000, which she referred to “a cash reward for being you.” In addition, $10,000 was provided to set up a scholarship fund for Marino’s children.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Admiring Her Success
In particular, Dwyer-Owens said she admired Marino’s success in a predominantly male field. She made $5,000 available to Marino to create “Women in the Trades,” a program to help women employed in or studying the trades. This fund provides eligible women with money for fees, books, travel or tuition.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
What Values Are We Living Up To?
On the show in 2012, Dwyer-Owens explained her reasons for taking part in Undercover Boss. She said, “My goal in going undercover was to figure out how we were doing. Are we really living up to the values that my father founded the company on?”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Nothing But Praise
The executive continued with nothing but praise for the now emotional Marino before embracing her in a hug.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Incredible Technician
“You are the epitome of what Don Dwyer would have looked for,” Dwyer-Owens said. “You’re an incredible technician; you’re an incredible mother and an incredible wife.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Changed Her Life In Every Possible Way
Marino told the Houston Chronicle the money has changed her life in “every possible way.” She said, “The cash that was gifted to me allowed our family to get into a bigger home. I work from home now. I have flexible hours and the opportunity to spend time with my kids.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Didn’t Stop There
And the changes didn’t stop there. The opportunity for Marino to showcase her skills and ideas to Dwyer-Owens paid off. She was offered a position as a franchise consultant and is now in charge of the Women in the Trades program.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Facing Obstacles
This means Marino is actively recruiting women into the Dwyer group. Speaking to the Houston Chronicle, she said, “My biggest obstacle now has been trying to spread awareness of the scholarship program. We would truly love to have more women working in all the different brands.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Life-Changing Experience
Although Marino finds it odd that she now gets recognized in the street, her views on the changes in her life are positive, according to her interview with the Houston Chronicle. She said, “My experience as a whole has been phenomenal. I work for a great company doing what I love.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
What Next?
She continues to be passionate about her work, and has created an initiative for women from different backgrounds to come and train and be a part of the scholarship program. She feels strongly about giving back, and wanting women to get the opportunity she had through hard work and never giving up.