A millionaire undercover boss who runs one of the largest car dealerships in the UK has never sold a vehicle in his life.
Robert Forrester is Chief Executive of Bristol Street Motors which has grown from 33 to 109 dealerships across the country.
Forrester is the CEO of Vertu Motors, which acquired the 100-year-old Bristol Street Motors in 2007 for £40m and has expanded since.
It is now a £3 billion business which sells a car every four minutes but the CEO has never actually sold one himself, the Mirror reports.
He said: "I've been in the business 20 years but I have never done a customer facing role.
"Some people would probably say I have no idea what it's like on the shop floor."
During the pandemic, 139 dealerships were closed, 5,000 staff were furloughed and £20 million was lost within two months.
However, the CEO then decided to purchase 30 new dealerships and invest millions of pounds of shareholders' money.
Now, Robert has appeared on TV show 'Undercover Big Boss' to try and understand whether now is the right time to grow further.
In the show, he disguises himself as history lecturer called Tom Gough who is looking for a career change because of Covid-19.
He pretends that he is being featured in a documentary about people undergoing a career change because of coronavirus.
In Nottingham, Robert starts working with salesman Gervan to find out whether customers are returning to the business.
The team league tables with high performing salespeople in green and those not hitting their targets in red to single them out.
The undercover boss is impressed by Gervan's sales technique, his relationship-building and how he makes sure they get the right car.
However, he has trouble replicating the employee and is criticised for not being upbeat enough and for not making a sale.
Gervan admits the job can be stressful and while targets are a good idea on paper, they can be difficult when you're struggling.
He also explains that the managers are under pressure themselves and that they can often end up taking it out on the staff.
Gervan says he once had trouble selling a car for nine days while having personal issues and received verbal abuse instead of help.
He said: "Instead of asking me if everything was alright it was, 'What are you doing you haven't sold a car for nine days, you might as well go home. Shall I do your job for you?"
The salesman adds that this is in fact his last month in the company as he has already handed in his notice and leaves while crying.
Forrester says: "He's clearly very upset and has the right to be as it's distressing. He's been very honest with me and I haven't been honest."
He then decides to reveal his true identity.
He tells Gervan: "I wanted to give you somer comfort I've heard what you said, it has registered and clearly I can't ignore it," and admits he would be disappointed to lose him.
"No one can sit and listen to that conversation and not be upset. He's got real talent, he works hard, he's exactly the sort of person we should be encouraging but clearly something is going wrong somewhere."
The undercover big boss then meets 'The Van Man,' Lee who teaches him about online sales videos.
He explains how to have a 'flash bang entry' and how to add in a few specification gags to give all the information available.
Lee says of Robert: "He's not a born salesman but if you left him with me for long enough I think he'd be less s***."
Robert is impressed with Lee's ability to innovate and drive sales with his enthusiasm and passion.
However, he says that some of the sexual innuendos are "unacceptable" in a professional environment.
Lee shares that he struggles with having a work-life balance and looking after his nine-year-old daughter.
As a result, he doesn't want to go down the management route in fear of being 'burnt' from the top.
The final person that Robert meets is one of the company's longest-standing valets, Terry in Newcastle.
Terry admits he wouldn't give Robert a job because "it doesn't look like he's done a hard day's work in his life".
He reveals the past year has been extremely difficult and he had to turn to his parents for financial help when the dealership wasn't operating.
The single father adds that his son's mother passed away two years ago, so now he works twice as hard to make sure he has the best of everything.
Terry also tells Robert that he has little job security as he works for a contractor who could cancel his work at any moment because he is employed on a weekly basis.
He says: "I don't feel I'm appreciated for what I do. The salesmen get targets and bonuses. I don't get any bonus if I hit my targets," which Robert confesses is difficult to listen to considering how much he gives to the business and how he goes the extra mile.
Finally after a week in disguise as Tom Gough, Robert Forrester reveals his true identity.
He tells he was disappointed with as the inappropriate language and "laddish culture" in the show room but adds he's a "born salesman" and his videos are the best he's seen in the whole group, so asks him to be the face of van social media marketing.
Robert then tells Gervan that targets should not be used as a "punishment camp" and there should be more support, encouragement and training as Gervan decides he wants to stay in the company in order to progress. Robert then offers him a 5-star all inclusive holiday.
Finally, Robert personally visits Terry and praises him for going above and beyond before offering him a job at Bristol Street Motors as the Vehicle Progressor for Newcastle Vauxhall as well as £15,000 towards a house deposit.
The undercover big boss said: "Understanding the people behind the data is how we're going to create a much better business.
"It's been a tough 12 months for people but it's good to see the business and people's lives bouncing back."
Undercover Big Boss airs Thursdays on ITV at 9pm.
