TIA shuttle driver gains reality fame

Kenny Garcia could very well be the only person to ever fire his boss and get promoted as a result.

The 25-year-old Tampa resident was part of a recent episode of the CBS reality series “Undercover Boss” featuring Henrik Slipsager, president and CEO of New York-based ABM Industries Inc. Slipsager posed as an immigrant looking for jobs with ABM around the country, accompanied by what was supposed to be a documentary camera crew.

Slipsager's first employment attempt brought him to Tampa International Airport, where ABM subsidiary Ampco System Parking operates shuttles for the economy garages. Garcia was in the process of training Slipsager as a driver when the “employee” inadvertently uttered a bad word over the dispatch radio, abruptly ending his job.

Later, Garcia was surprised to learn that Slipsager was the worker in disguise, then Slipsager surprised the Puerto Rico native again by putting him in ABM's management training program and getting him in a supervisory position at TIA.

“It was a very humbling experience, and at the same time very exciting,” Garcia tells Coffee Talk. “It opened my eyes to what could actually be.”

He attends Hillsborough Community College when he isn't working at the airport and planned to become a firefighter, but now wants to pursue a business career as a result of his “Undercover Boss” experience.

Garcia has gained a bit of notoriety among his TIA coworkers since his Dec. 5 TV debut, and he says a few passengers who recognize him have asked for autographs. But he's not letting fame go to his head and wants to help other shuttle drivers succeed.

Despite the dismissal, Garcia gained an important ally in Slipsager, who leads a $3.5 billion publicly traded company with more than 90,000 employees. “I was just doing my job,” he says.