Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
NARRATOR: Tonight on "Mystery Diners,"
AJ "Poppy" Tusa,
owner of The Crazy Lobster in New Orleans, Louisiana,
is concerned about staff in-fighting at his restaurant.
I got a glass open kitchen there overlooking the dining room,
so the guests get to witness things like cage fighting.
Does he have too many cooks in the kitchen,
or someone else causing all the drama?
The Mystery Diners are going undercover
in order to show Poppy how crazy his restaurant really is.
They're wrecking my restaurant!
FELECIA: Jason, are you out of your mind?!
NARRATOR: Owning a restaurant isn't easy.
You can have great food, atmosphere, and customers,
but reckless employees...
You're being a jerk, man.
...can ruin everything.
That's where the Mystery Diners come in.
Charles Stiles has helped thousands of restaurants
find their problems and remove them.
He sends in his team of undercover operatives...
I'm Chris. I'm the new supply guy.
...to show restaurant owners
what really happens when they're not around.
MAN: You were stealing from me.
I want to go over there right now! I want to go over there right now!
This is my business!
That food is my life!
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
AJ: My name is AJ Tusa,
but everybody around here calls me Poppy,
and I own Poppy's Crazy Lobster.
In New Orleans, everybody knows how to cook,
but we do it a little better.
We specialize in Cajun and Creole cooking --
shrimp Creole, sausage-and-chicken gumbo,
seafood gumbo, char-grilled oysters.
You name it, we got it.
Being a restaurateur, for me, is not a job --
it's a way of life.
At the heighth of our seasons,
I could have as many as 1,200 employees,
and keeping an eye on that many employees is quite a chore.
Of all nine restaurants I have,
Poppy's Crazy Lobster in New Orleans
seems to be my biggest challenge right now.
When I walk into this property, everybody's perfect.
The minute I leave, I'm starting to get reports
that we have two cooks in the kitchen
cursing, pushing, pulling.
I'm worried if these types of arguments continue,
an employee could be hurt,
and I could have a lawsuit against me.
That could cripple my business.
It's already affected my bottom line.
If I don't fix this problem soon, it will kill me.
Yeah.
Welcome to Poppy's.
Yes, thank you. This is Amber.
Hi.
So, is this your only location?
No, Charles, this is my flagship.
Wow.
And the one we're standing in now
is kind of a problem child to me right now.
I get reports from my management
that we have some friction between cooks.
Do you have any specific cooks
that, I mean, you're most concerned about?
Yes. Rick's the supervisor.
Jason works under him.
And as you can see,
I got a glass open kitchen there overlooking the dining room,
so the guests who are here for great guest experience
get to witness things like cage fighting.
There's a problem. We know that.
The solution to it I don't know,
because I really can't put my finger on what's causing it.
I mean, is that -- the biggest issue is fighting, or...
Mnh, that ain't the only one.
Got a bartender, Shane,
who is kind of like a part-time animal trainer.
Animal trainer?
Yeah, wild animals.
He brings them here?
He's been known to have brought snakes.
So is it like "Wild Kingdom" around here? Is that the deal?
There's something wrong up here.
He just can't connect the dots, okay?
So when was the last time Shane
actually brought in a wild animal?
Couple of months ago.
I reprimanded him several times in the past.
I don't -- I don't know if he's taking me serious.
I understand you want to make sure he's listening to you,
but if it's a problem, why don't you just fire him?
Charles, he's a good bartender.
Plus, he's my nephew.
NARRATOR: For this sting,
Mystery Diners will be focusing on Rick and Jason,
a grill supervisor and cook who are constantly fighting,
and Shane, Poppy's nephew and bartender
who may be bringing wild animals into the restaurant.
What we we do is, we come in,
wire your entire restaurant with hidden cameras.
Anything's going on, we'll capture it all.
One of the things we like to do is we like to bring in undercover Mystery Diners.
AMBER: So, Poppy, what I'll do is I'll meet Shane,
I'll flirt with him,
and I'll see if he'll break the rules.
Whether your employees are fighting
or bringing in wild animals,
They can turn off your customers and cause you legal problems.
I got something happening here.
If it keeps going the way it's going,
it could have a real devastating effect,
and I can't have that.
NARRATOR: To carry out the sting,
cameras have been hidden at key locations
throughout The Crazy Lobster.
Cameras one, two, three, and four
have been set up in the main dining room
to give an overall perspective of the restaurant
and its customers.
Cameras five, six, and seven have been set up in the kitchen.
Camera eight has been set up by the bar.
And camera nine has been set up by the back patio
to track any action that happens outside.
In addition to Amber,
who will be posing as a customer,
Mystery Diner Nicole will go undercover
as a waitress in training.
Poppy, come on in. Welcome to your control room.
Damn, you got to be [bleep] me.
This is unbelievable.
So what do you think, looking at your restaurant like this?
Let's see what this stuff does for me. Show me.
So, that's Jason back here?
Yes, that is.
And I'm assuming that must be Rick?
The tall guy is a grill cook,
and the other one is the grill supervisor.
We just started this operation, and there you see it already.
I mean, obviously something's going on between these guys
so let's see if we can find out where the problem's coming from.
Yeah.
Okay, that guy there. That's Shane, your bartender?
That's Shane.
He's about as loony as they get.
So, Poppy, is there a server
that you would suggest that Nicole shadow under
to start her training?
Felecia. She's been with us about a year now.
Well, great.
So we'll have you go in and grab Nicole
and bring her in, introduce her to Felecia.
Sounds good to me.
Poppy wants to know why his grill supervisor
and line cook are always fighting.
So for this sting,
I'll be starting work as a waitress in training.
Felecia.
I want you to meet Nicole.
I want her to trail you.
Felecia's one of our --
She knows everybody here and does a great job,
so you show her the right way.
Okay.
Cool.
Hey, Poppy, how'd that go?
Felecia doesn't have a clue of what's going on.
Hey, Nicole, why don't you ask Felecia
about some of the tension in the restaurant?
I mean, so what is it like working here?
Really?
Oh, my God.
[ Laughs ]
CHARLES: Your customers, with an open kitchen,
can see everything that's going on.
What the [bleep]?
They shouldn't be doing none of this crap at work.
What is this horse [bleep] now?
NARRATOR: AJ "Poppy" Tusa,
owner of The Crazy Lobster in New Orleans, Louisiana,
is worried that he will lose customers
and face a potential lawsuit
because his grill supervisor, Rick,
and cook, Jason, are fighting,
and his nephew and bartender, Shane,
is bringing wild animals into the restaurant.
And if it keeps going the way it's going,
I'll have more serious problems.
Charles has set up a control room next to The Crazy Lobster
where Poppy can watch what happens in his restaurant
with our hidden cameras.
Let's see what this stuff does for me. Show me.
Mystery Diner Nicole has gone undercover
as a waitress in training,
and Amber will pose as a customer.
And after starting the sting,
Poppy sees how quickly the temperature can rise
in his kitchen.
Oh, God. This is crazy, man.
You're gonna end up with a lawsuit on your hands.
What the [bleep]?
You got hot grills. You got sharp knives.
Somebody's gonna get hurt back there.
This is totally unacceptable.
Poppy, I know that you also have some concerns
about your bartender, Shane.
My nephew.
So one of the things I'd like to to is send in
one of our undercover Mystery Diners -- Amber.
Go for it, man. I'm ready.
Amber, come on in.
Poppy's concerned that his bartender, Shane,
is still bringing wild animals into the restaurant
after he's been repeatedly told not to.
So for this sting,
I'm gonna come in as a flirty animal lover
to try to tempt Shane into breaking his promise.
Yeah, I'm really hungry.
CHARLES: Before we test Shane,
let's have Amber place an order that she'll send back,
and we'll see if it creates tension in the kitchen.
Fair enough.
Hey, Amber, I want you to order a shrimp kabob.
I would like the shrimp kabobs.
Are they good? Do you like them?
CHARLES: You know what?
While we're waiting for the shrimp kabob to come up,
I'm gonna send Amber over to the bar
and have her talk to Shane.
Sounds like fun.
All right.
Hey, Amber, I want you to go over to the bar
and flirt with Shane a little bit,
and let's get this test started on him.
Hello.
Can I get some more ice, please?
It is. I'm a cat lady. [ Chuckles ]
I miss my babies.
I've got two.
Look, this is McLovin, and that's Gizmo.
Do you like animals?
Looks like he's a little interested. He's taking the bait.
Oh.
Really?
He's showing her some of his damn wild-animal videos --
the thing we tell him not to do with guests.
Fish are yucky.
They're slimy. I don't like fish.
Your pets scare me.
Do you have any of these animals, like, as pets?
It's got to be really special.
Good job, Amber.
This ***'s really going somewhere.
Get your [bleep] back to the bar, Shane!
I'm interested to see what Shane brings back to the restaurant,
but I can't believe that he abandoned the bar
in the middle of his shift.
Oh, my God.
There it is.
Looks great. Thank you.
CHARLES: Hey, Amber, I want you to call Felecia over
and have her send the shrimp back.
Tell her it's too spicy.
Excuse me.
The shrimp is way too spicy.
Could you make a new batch that's less spicy?
I just want to -- I'm sorry.
Thank you.
Look at this bull [bleep]
Jason didn't do anything wrong.
There's no excuse for Rick to berate him like that.
What the [bleep]?
They shouldn't be doing none of this crap at work.
Nicole, I want you to go over and hang out by the bathroom.
NICOLE: Oh, my God.
Man, this is sick.
I have never seen anything like this.
They're wrecking my restaurant!
NARRATOR: With the help of hidden cameras and undercover Mystery Diners,
AJ "Poppy" Tusa, owner of The Crazy Lobster,
has confirmed his fears
that his grill supervisor, Rick, and cook, Jason,
are disrupting his restaurant by fighting.
Oh, God. This is crazy, man.
Nephew and bartender, Shane, is willing to leave work
in the middle of his shift to impress a pretty girl.
Get your [bleep] back to the bar, Shane!
And Jason and waitress Felecia are kissing on the job.
What the [bleep]?
CHARLES: Are those two dating?
Yeah, but they shouldn't be doing
none of this crap at work.
Hey, Nicole, looks like there's something going on with Jason and Felecia.
NICOLE: So, listen.
I could not help but notice
that you and Jason were holding hands.
What's up with that? Are y'all together?
One of the problems with dating in the workplace, obviously,
is something's gonna go wrong at some point.
Yeah, exactly.
Where's he going?
My little turtle boo boo?
What is this horse [bleep] now?
I thought she was having an affair with Jason.
This looks like a love triangle,
and she's the center of the whole thing.
No wonder these guys are fighting.
I think we need to take a little bit closer look
No [bleep]
Where the hell's he going now?
Did he just walk into the women's bathroom?
Nicole, I want you to go over and hang out by the bathroom.
I don't know what they're doing in that bathroom,
but I'm pretty sure it has nothing to do with cooking food.
This is sick, sick [bleep]
NICOLE: It's obvious that Rick is being so tough on Jason
because he wants him to quit.
That way he can have Felecia all to himself.
I hope to hell they washed their hands.
Let's have Nicole
get in the middle of this love triangle
to see how the rest of your staff is being affected
by Felecia's and Rick's behavior.
Okay.
Hey, Nicole...
I want you to go over to Felecia
and tell her you're interested in Rick.
Mm-hmm.
What is up with Rick?
He is fine.
I mean, I like my guys
with a little meat on their bones, you know.
CHARLES: She's jealous. She's playing both boys.
Of course she's gonna be upset if Nicole wants to go flirt with Rick.
I'm gonna ask him myself, 'cause it's the best way to find out
is to get it from the horse's mouth.
Yes, ma'am.
It's gonna be interesting.
NICOLE: Rick.
How's it going?
It's better now.
As long -- I mean, yeah, as long as you're here.
I just like the way that you handle things.
It's very, very attractive, and I like that.
Okay. You know all the right things to say. I see that.
CHARLES: Now look at this scumbag.
Rick's hitting on Nicole now!
Make sure you call me, now. I'm not gonna be waiting.
I can't believe this is going on in your restaurant.
I'm about to hit my boiling point.
Yay-yay-yay-yay-ee!
Is that Shane?
Oh, no. He ain't doing this. Tell me he ain't doing this.
He brought in an alligator.
[ Screams ]
Yay-ee!
Oh, my God.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
They're wrecking my restaurant!
I'm going down there and get some people and fire them.
You know what? Poppy, you're right. You're right.
You know what? Bring them all back here.
On my way.
[ Indistinct shouting ]
What the hell?!
Get that [bleep] damn alligator out of here!
You, get out of here!
Jason, get out here now!
Just get over here!
Let's go, man. Let's go.
Just get going.
Come on, man. Get in here.
Guys, come on back in here.
JASON: What's up with these cameras?
What the hell?
He's wanting you to quit because they're having an affair.
What?
Oh, my God.
Are you serious?! Are you serious?!
NARRATOR: After conducting an undercover sting operation
at The Crazy Lobster in New Orleans, Louisiana,
the Mystery Diners have revealed that tension in the kitchen
is being caused by waitress Felecia,
who is dating cook Jason
and having an affair with grill supervisor Rick,
in addition to Poppy's nephew and bartender, Shane,
who has brought a wild alligator into the restaurant.
They're wrecking my restaurant!
CHARLES: Guys, come on back in here.
What's up with these cameras?
My name's Charles Stiles.
I'm with a company called Mystery Diners.
Man, shut the [bleep] up and let him talk.
Let me tell you what's going on here.
Poppy called my company,
'cause he's had some complaints and concerns
about stuff going on in his restaurant.
I want you to take a look over here.
You recognize any of these people over here?
You recognize her?
You recognize this young lady here?
They both work for me.
When he called me,
What?
The real problem I saw tonight was you.
What the hell?
You know what? What about the little bathroom trip the two of you made?
You and Rick.
Hey, man what the -- What are you talking about, man?
You know why he's treating you so bad?
He's wanting you to quit,
because they're having an affair.
What?
Oh, my God!
Are you serious? Are you serious?
Really? Oh, my God.
Jason, are you out of your mind?!
Don't put your hands on me, then.
You get over there, and you ain't hitting nobody.
Both of you get your sorry *** out of here.
You don't work for me no more. Move out. Go!
Who's gonna manage your waitresses now?
Are you serious?
Are you serious?
[Bleep] Poppy.
And you -- let me tell you something.
Right, wrong, or indifferent,
you didn't have to fight back at the guy.
You could have went to the management.
I'm gonna put you on a couple of weeks of probation
to make you think about what you did wrong.
Two weeks. I'll see you in two weeks.
I don't want to see your sorry [bleep] till that time.
JASON: You know, as far as coming back here again, man,
I don't know,
'cause everywhere I look around here, I'm gonna see her.
It hurt.
Shane, I've warned you time and time again
not to do this -- bring in the animals.
Shane, what I need to be doing
is firing your sorry [bleep] right now.
That's what I really need to be doing.
I don't really care.
Please. Please, listen to what I'm saying.
Don't fire me. The pudding's in the proof.
I'm gonna make you happy.
Give me one reason that makes sense to me
why I wouldn't fire you.
I love you, and I love this place.
You know I put a lot of time -- over five years here.
Get your sorry *** up.
What I'm gonna tell you is you got two weeks off --
no pay.
Yes, sir.
Yes, sir.
Thank you, Charles. I really appreciate it.
I've never seen an alligator in a restaurant before.
I got to tell you. That's a first.
Well, we sell it, but not on the hoof.
No, you're right.
Thank you, Mystery Diners,
for helping me uncover the mess I had in my restaurant.
Now we can move forward.
NARRATOR: Since being fired,
Felecia and Rick have stopped seeing each other.
Jason returned to work
and is training to become the grill supervisor.
Shane has kept his promise
to keep all wild animals out of the restaurant.
And with new-employee harmony,
Poppy reports that life is a little less crazy
at The Crazy Lobster.