Andrew Simon was on "Undercover Boss"
Andrew Simon the Fremont Street Experience President and CEO went unrecognized in his appearance on “Undercover Boss.” In its 11th season, the CBS series sends disguised management types to the front lines to learn how their companies really work. The Fremont Street Experience Show is well worth watching and a real insight into the Fremont Street Experience.
The episode featuring Simon premiered at 8 p.m. Friday, January 14, and will subsequently stream on Paramount+ and CBS library. Simon was recorded over a 10-day span in late August through Labor Day.
He mopped the street, scraped gum from trash cans alongside the Fremont Street Experience cleaning crew,
and buckled passengers into the Slotzilla Zipline, and replaced lights in the Viva Vision LED canopy.
Simon was able to go undetected.
How does it work? according to Simon, "The No. 1 piece that has to work is to have as few people as possible know about it. You cannot have that secret known, or otherwise the whole concept is lost. So we had to make excuses as to why there was a film crew following me around. We told them it was under the guise of another documentary project, so it was not a hidden-camera show. That explained it to the employees who were wondering why we were acting a little strange. I was very cognizant when we signed up to do this show that I was going to stay somewhat lower profile. Normally, when I would go into a company, I would try to meet every employee, try to sit down with everyone get feedback from everybody."
It's funny how this show came about. Simon received a call one day saying the TV show, "Undercover Boss," wanted to come to Fremont Street Experience, and would Simon be interested. The call came about a month into the job for Simon, in October of 2020. Simon was unsure and brought the idea to the Fremont Street Board and said, “Hey, is this something we want to do?” This is something that could be good for the city, and something high-profile to show what people do at the Fremont Street Experience.
Scott Sibella was featured on the show eight years ago, when he was at the MGM Grand.
When an agreement to do the show, Fremont Street signed away all editing rights. Simon didn't see the show in advance, I have no idea what they did with it. 200 hours of content was reduced into a 40 minute "Undercover Boss." Fremont Street Experience was opened to the possibility of anything happening. And decided, “OK, they’re gonna see what they see.”
It was a learning experience and eye opener for Simon. So many these jobs are very physically demanding.
Simon discovered, "When I say physically demanding, I mean, like, very physically demanding. I’m not happy that they gave me a tiny T-shirt, and I’m sweating through it (laughs). But these jobs require lifting hundreds of pounds, working through heat and getting through large crowds."
