'Undercover Boss' showers Toms River Rita's Italian Ice owner with trailer, tech & trip

TOMS RIVER - Rita's Italian Ice & Frozen Custard franchisee Hezrron Gonzales didn't know how to react when the "Undercover Boss" told him "it's time to retire that cart."

Instead of the old-fashioned ice cart that Gonzales trucked to community events, Linda L. Chadwick, Rita's president and chief executive officer, said he'll get a new "prototype trailer." 

"Right now, I just don't know how to react. I'm trying to hold it in," Gonzales said on the episode of "Undercover Boss," which premiered Friday night on CBS. It's also streaming on Paramount+.  "My knees are shaking. I'm on cloud nine."

Chadwick went undercover, playing "Marcy Morgan," a retired teacher looking for a new career as a RIta's franchisee. In the reality show "Undercover Boss," bosses go behind the scenes to see what's really happening at their companies.  

Gonzales, 42, of Edison, was one of three franchisees featured on the program. In 2018, after working in a Rita's franchisee in Union County for 10 years, he purchased Rita's on Fisher Boulevard in Toms River and an ice cart with an umbrella, from owners who retired.

Chadwick was the newest member of Gonzales’ “Treat Team,” working behind the window, taking orders and serving up ice and custard.

"My goal is to help franchisees become more profitable and help our business grow," Chadwick said. "We put a lot of new initiatives in place. I want to see how they're working."

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She had to contend with an old register and outdated credit card machine that still used dial-up internet, causing long customer waits. Chadwick was annoyed. The company was investing in new technology, including a new digital register system. 

“I was surprised that the cash register stickers are blurred,” Chadwick said. “They're old. They're faded.”

One customer wanted to pay with a credit card, so Chadwick had to use an old card swiper.

"When I took her credit card order it was so slow, quite honestly, it was driving me crazy," she said. Gonzales told her he spent available funds replacing the tile floor and putting up a new awning so he put a new register on hold.

Later in the segment, Chadwick helped Gonzales roll a cart up a ramp to his pickup truck. "Imaging doing it by yourself," he said during the struggle. They would later sell ices at a local field hockey game. But the cart didn't have ice packs inside that would allow him to sell ices for more than two or three hours.

"Yeah, I get it," Chadwick said. "Hezrron is showing great initiative, getting out into the community to grow his business, but he's limited by having an old cart."

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Gonzales didn't know that his business was about to get a makeover. 

"He spent his money on his flooring and his awning and it is important to keep the image up but from what I can see today Hezrron's shop really needs some modernizing, and I really want to help him," Chadwick said.

The unveil came at Rita's headquarters in Philadelphia.

The cash register

"I had a great time working in your shop," Chadwick said. "But I really struggled with your cash register system and the dial up for the credit card was a disaster."

The solution: $5,000 from Rita's to upgrade Gonzales' cash register and internet service.

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The cart

"You can't keep the ices cold so it's time to retire that cart," Chadwick said. 

The solution: A new prototype trailer valued at $60,000. It's equipped with a generator so Gonzales can sell ices at events. "It's gorgeous," he said. "It's a tremendous help."

Earlier this week, Chadwick told the Asbury Park Press the new trailer will be "a gamechanger for him." It should be ready by mid-March.

"It's almost ready to go and when we go and deliver it, we're going to make a big to-do over there in Toms River about it," Chadwick said.

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The rest

"I want to give you something back for all your hard work and loyalty," Chadwick said.

The reward: $15,000 for Gonzales and his family to take a "well deserved vacation."

Final thoughts

"I'm like so happy and you're doing something that you love that you enjoy and getting rewarded for that," Gonzales said. "It's priceless."

David P. Willis, an award-winning business writer, has covered business and consumer news at the Asbury Park Press for more than 20 years. He writes APP.com's What's Going There column and can be reached at dwillis@gannettnj.com. Join his What's Going There page on Facebook for updates.