Jonah and Amy take Glenn's tickets to a managers' conference in Chicago so they can enjoy a free night on the town, but their plan hits a few bumps. At the store, Cheyenne helps Mateo damage control after his undocumented status is leaked, and Dina and Garrett struggle at gift-wrapping.
Plot[]
Glenn offers tickets to a managers' conference to Amy and Jonah who initially aren't interested until they find out it's in Chicago and they get to stay together in a hotel. Later at the conference check-in, they're denied access as the tickets are non-transferable. In the Break Room, Glenn announces that he's required to check all employees' citizenship status through an on-line system and has discovered a problem. Mateo, who is undocumented, becomes very nervous while Cheyenne tries to help him by making up flaws with the system. However, the issue is with Sayid who Glenn discovers is a Syrian refugee and feels bad for not knowing his status. Discussing the civil war in Syria leads Cheyenne to wonder if Sayid owned slaves and causes Garrett and Marcus to disagree on the cause of the American Civil War. Glenn welcomes Sayid to America and has everyone applaud him.
Dejected that they can't get into the conference, their former district manager Jeff sees them and says he can get them in. He unsuccessfully tries to persuade the registration lady to give them badges, claiming to know her. In the store, Marcus speculates that Sayid is part of ISIS which Dina counters, and everyone agrees that Marcus is a more likely terrorist. When Glenn hears that Sayid is shoveling snow, he feels Sayid has been through enough hardship and tells Mateo to take over for him and assigns Garrett to the gift wrapping station. Jeff steals badges for Amy and Jonah and over their objections that they want to go to their hotel room, insists they party with him at the conference. At the store front, Mateo complains to Cheyenne about the special treatment being afforded Sayid and that he should receive it since he's undocumented. Sayid passes by just as Mateo mentions his status causing Cheyenne to wonder if he overheard and will tell Glenn or Dina.
Entering the conference room, Amy and Jonah are surprised at the opulence, food and amenities. Jeff indicates the conference is an excuse for a party and they manage to convince him to mingle and leave them alone. Seeing Garrett send a customer away with a poorly wrapped gift, Dina confronts him and he admits he doesn't know how to wrap presents. Cheyenne asks Sayid if he had any harrowing experiences in Syria as an excuse to test his hearing. Finding Sayid hears well, she indicates to Mateo he might have overheard his status. Unable to leave the conference since Jeff is hovering at the door, Amy comments that all the managers there are selfish "d-bags" who don't care about their staff. Jonah disagrees and strikes up a conversation with Ted and Kent while affecting a southern accent. Amy is proven right as Ted and Kent put down their staff which, Amy joins in on.
Dina tries helping Garrett wrap a present but she's just an inept as he is. Talking to Sayid about to his immigration status, Mateo mistakenly mentions he's undocumented. Backtracking, he says he's in the country legally and was sworn in by the president which Sayid finds hard to believe. Feeling sorry for Jeff, who is pretending to see people he knows at the conference, Amy and Jonah make a break for the door. However, Amy is offered a free iPad and realizes that the staff in green shirts are all giving away free items. After getting an expensive coat, she and Jonah start drinking, get more swag and have fun at various booths. (♫ Santigold - Coo Coo Coo ♫) Jeff then joins them for a forced fun picture.
As Glenn shows Dina and Garrett how to wrap a present, Mateo approaches Cheyenne and loudly asks why she didn't tell him she was pregnant. Intending that Glenn would overhear, Cheyenne denies being pregnant which Mateo says he heard from Sayid. Mateo and Cheyenne then engage in an obviously practiced conversation that Syrians are liars and place doubt in Glenn's mind as to Sayid's trustworthiness. Marcus worries that Sayid lied about liking his haircut. At the conference and having drunk a lot, Amy and Jonah call Ted and Ken over to their table and start telling mean jokes about Cloud 9 workers. A man pulls a woman on a sled through the store. (♫ Andy Williams - It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year ♫) Getting better at wrapping presents, Garrett makes fun of a customer who looks like Santa Claus who insults Garrett.
Amy jokes with Ted and Kent that a full-time worker could be replaced with two part-time workers to save on benefits. Liking the idea and calling a company lawyer over, Amy realizes she's gone too far and leaves. Sayid confronts Mateo about spreading rumors that he's a liar which Mateo explains is due to Sayid hearing about his undocumented status. Sayid doesn't care until Mateo accidentally suggests Sayid might be deported if he hides Mateo's secret. Reading that Sayid intends to tell Glenn, Mateo starts following him. Later in Glenn's Office, Glenn tells Mateo that Sayid reported his undocumented status. Glenn checked Mateo's SSN which belongs to a woman in Buffalo. Mentioning that the SSN in his file is wrong, Mateo then hesitantly gives a new SSN which Glenn can see is a lie.
Dina and Garrett finally wrap a present correctly but they're so happy with it, they refuse to give the item to the customer they wrapped it for. Sobering up, Amy comments on the low intelligence of the Cloud 9 managers so Jonah suggests that she become one. In the hallway outside Glenn's office, Cheyenne tries to comfort Mateo and talks about visiting him in the Philippines. Glenn arrives and tells Mateo that his SSN checked out. Relieved, Mateo then realizes that Glenn is lying. Glenn wishes Mateo a Merry Christmas and giving him a knowing look, turns away. Cheyenne, thinking that Mateo really was documented all along, maligns him for lying about being undocumented to get attention.
Marcus questions if Sayid is part of ISIS and when Garrett jokingly asks what that is, Marcus asks if Garrett uses Instagram.
Mateo feels that Sayid is being treated like part of Janet Jackson's entourage.
As Cheyenne fears Mateo may be deported or taken on a sex trafficer's yacht, he says that he's not Liam Neeson's daughter referring to the movie "Taken".
Cheyenne asks Sayid if he was exposed to any action in Syria and mentions an IUD but probably meant an IED.
Marcus hopes his haircut makes him look like Jeff Probst.
On their first day back from suspension, Amy and Jonah steel themselves for a barrage of jokes and snide comments about their sex video, while Jeff goes to extreme lengths to win back Mateo.
Jonah helps Amy get creative to stock up on supplies for her new baby, while Glenn and Jerusha take maternity pictures that inspire Dina to have her own photo shoot directed by Mateo.
Amy and Jonah get combative to keep their new relationship hidden from their co-workers. Meanwhile, Glenn spirals when he learns Kelly wants to transfer to a new store, and Cheyenne struggles to organize a Cloud 9 carpool.
When an employee costume competition is announced, Amy and Mateo aren't afraid to play dirty to win first prize, a paid day off. Meanwhile, Glenn is preoccupied by Cloud 9's new automatic cart collector, and Garrett is tormented by an annoying Halloween novelty song.
Amy and Dina are both in labor! But while Glenn's manager status gets Dina the royal treatment at a fancy hospital, Amy and Jonah have a far different experience at a cheaper clinic. At the store, Garrett struggles to express his best wishes for the new parents.
Amy faces a nightmare day at work when she learns she doesn't have maternity leave, made worse by Cheyenne and Mateo campaign to change her baby's name. Meanwhile, Jonah and Garrett take on hiring the new seasonal help.
When a new Cloud 9 initiative forces employees to be friendlier to their customers, Amy ends up getting to know Jonah's parents, and learns he hasn't been completely truthful with them. The new policy also inspires Garrett and Dina to find out who can hold a smile longer.
Jonah and Amy take Glenn's tickets to a managers' conference in Chicago so they can enjoy a free night on the town, but their plan hits a few bumps. At the store, Cheyenne helps Mateo damage control after his undocumented status is leaked, and Dina and Garrett struggle at gift-wrapping.
Glenn drives Amy crazy with a new, over the top training system. Cheyenne and Mateo brainstorm a new business, while Dina recruits Jonah to help her when she starts second-guessing her own future.
Amy and Cheyenne attend Cloud 9 Academy to advance their careers. Dina and Garrett get roped into babysitting Glenn's daughter while he childproofs his office, and Jonah and Mateo become political activists.
Corporate introduces a friendly step-tracking challenge between Cloud 9 branches, and Amy, Jonah, and Dina create a fake rivalry to inspire Store #1217's laziest employees. But healthy competition gets increasingly chaotic when the fake rivalry becomes real.
With a massive snowstorm beating down on St. Louis and an unsympathetic home office, the Cloud 9 employees and customers get snowed in, leading to escalating tensions and in-fighting.
Jonah and Amy's first Valentine's Day together gets derailed when Dina brings her birds to work, which also causes trouble for Garrett. Meanwhile, Cheyenne offers to give Marcus a sentimental tattoo, and Glenn makes videos for his daughter to watch while he's at work.
Amy jumps at an amazing career opportunity, only to run up against an exec with a major grudge against her. Jonah and Mateo help Glenn with a financial problem, while Garrett and Cheyenne struggle to spend a day without cell phones.
Amy finds herself at odds with her coworkers when some salary numbers get leaked, while Dina worries that Jonah is coming between her and Amy. Mateo tries to give himself a promotion, and Garrett attempts to sabotage Glenn's positive attitude.
Suspicious that people are making fun of her, Amy and Jonah spy on Cloud 9 employees through the security system, while Dina tries to track down an unsanctioned Easter Bunny in the store. Glenn preps for his church's Passion play.
Jonah struggles to find his place at Amy's daughter Emma's quinceañera. Dina proves very popular with some teenage boys. Cheyenne and Mateo are obsessed with seeing Amy cry.
Despite Dina's protests, Amy lets Glenn's pastor host an Earth Day booth at the store, but things quickly unravel when Glenn won't recognize Amy's authority. Jonah spearheads Cloud 9's green initiative, but is met with apathy from his coworkers.
Dina agrees to play the bad guy when corporate forces Amy to cut everyone's hours. Meanwhile, Jonah and the other employees play an elaborate game of laser tag with the store's new scanners, and Mateo makes a startling discovery about Marcus.
When a photo of a mess at store 1217 goes viral, Amy and Jonah try to use it to their advantage, while Dina starts hunting for the anonymous tweeter. And with money tight now that their hours have been cut back, Mateo, Cheyenne, Garrett, and Glenn sell their personal items in the store.
Amy and Dina visit Cloud 9 corporate to fix problems caused by Sandra's misguided activism, while Jonah tries to sabotage an employee meeting and Garrett tries to prove to his co-workers that he's a good person.
Amy and Jonah find themselves on opposing sides as corporate tries to win over employees by showering them with treats. But when the company's tactics grow more extreme, everyone must band together to save one of their own.