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NARRATOR: Tonight on "Mystery Diners,"
Tommy Brower, owner of Gigi in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
is worried about his mother.
TOMMY: I've noticed the way she treats the younger people.
She discriminates against them
and really bends over backwards for the older clientele.
NARRATOR: Is she driving away young customers...
...or is someone else to blame?
What are you doing?!
The Mystery Diners are going undercover
in order to show Tommy what's really going on.
This is reverse ageism.
Tommy, why am I on the wall over there?
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.
My name is Tommy Brower.
I'm the owner of Gigi Restaurant and Lounge
right here in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Here at Gigi, we're known as a tapas restaurant,
which means small plate.
But there's nothing small about our plates.
We have cheesesteak egg rolls.
It pops, it's filled with flavor.
We also have a barbecue pulled-pork sandwich
topped with another provolone, sautéed onions,
and our homemade barbecue sauce.
We also serve a seafood paella.
It has jumbo scallops, crabmeat,
fresh fish, sautéed calamari.
We have an awesome menu with great food and big flavor.
Here at Gigi, we cater everybody --
young, old, big, little.
But recently,
I've had a drop in my younger professional clientele.
Unfortunately, I think I've narrowed the problem down to one individual,
and that person is my mom.
Don't get me wrong -- I love working with my mom.
I'm a mama's boy.
Recently, I made her a host, and she is great,
but I've also seen her interact with customers
where she shushes them, tells them to be quiet.
It just makes you feel uncomfortable.
If I find out that my mom is driving away my young professional clientele,
I'm gonna be devastated.
I don't know how to handle that.
Hi, Tommy? Charles Stiles, Mystery Diners.
Tommy Brower. Nice to meet you.
Hello, Miranda. How you doing? Nice to meet you.
Tommy, this is a great place. How long have you had it?
We've been here about six years.
Local gem, local neighborhood gem we have, so...
So, Tommy, why did you call my company?
Charles, I have a delicate situation here.
I think the problem could be my mom.
Yes, my mom.
I've noticed the way she treats the younger people,
and they're young professionals.
They're here during happy hour, and they're drinking or eating.
I've seen her shush them.
She discriminates against them
and really bends over backwards for the older clientele.
That's half of your business,
and more importantly, they can be customers for years to come.
I need the best of both worlds, and, you know,
if I lose this young professional crowd, I'm done.
You know, Tommy, I feel for you.
I mean, it is a delicate situation.
You know, focusing a complete sting on your mom,
Yeah.
NARRATOR: For this sting, Mystery Diners will be focusing on Mariann,
the owner's mother, who may be offending younger customers.
We're gonna come in
and pay attention to your entire restaurant.
We'll put cameras in every area
that you have employees and your guests.
In addition,
we also like to bring in undercover Mystery Diners.
Look, Tommy, I'm only 23 years old.
So, I'll be able to find out
whether her attitude is isolated just towards the customers
or whether this overflows into your staff, as well.
I'm hoping to death it's not my mom.
I love her to death.
And, I mean, think about firing your own mother.
I mean, this is a very sensitive subject.
It kills me.
At the end of the day, we'll find out what's going on.
NARRATOR: To carry out the sting,
cameras have been hidden at key locations throughout Gigi.
Cameras 1, 2, and 3 have been set up in the dining room
to give an overall perspective of the restaurant
and its customers.
Cameras 4 and 5 have been set up in the kitchen.
Cameras 6 and 7 have been set up in the waiters' station.
And cameras 8 and 9 have been set up on the patio
to track any action that happens outside.
In addition to Miranda,
who will be going undercover as a waitress in training,
Mystery Diners Gregg and Denise will pose as customers.
Come on in, Tommy.
Wow, man.
Here's the control room. Pretty impressive stuff.
Oh, there's my mom.
Yep, there's your mom. She's on the list.
I apologize, mom.
Hope she's not driving young customers away.
Well, you know what? We're gonna find out.
As you can see, we got your entire restaurant covered,
so whatever's taking place inside of there,
we're gonna find it.
I hope this pans out.
So, that looks to me like that's your mom?
That's my mom. She's 67. She doesn't stop.
I don't know how she does it.
Well, Tommy, why don't you go ahead and go downstairs.
Introduce Miranda, our Mystery Diner, to your mom,
have her start on her shift, and we'll get this thing started.
She's waiting downstairs for you.
I gotcha. Thanks, man.
MIRANDA: Tommy is concerned
that his mom may be driving away the younger customers,
so I'll be going undercover as a waitress in training
to see if she is doing anything negative
to turn away the younger people.
This is Miranda.
Miranda's gonna start working here, okay?
Hi, how are you?
I think some waitressing.
Show her the Gigi way. Show her the way we do things.
Show her around the whole place.
Put her in good hands, all right?
Yes.
All right. Introduced Miranda to my mom.
Yeah, it looks like everything went pretty well.
So far, so good.
MIRANDA: So, are you gonna be the one that trains me?
Oh.
CHARLES: Well, Tommy, it looks like
your mom dumped Miranda pretty quickly
and she didn't spend a whole lot of time with her.
She definitely got rid of her
a little quicker than I wanted her to do,
but, hopefully, Erika shows her the ropes.
So, tell me about your server Erika.
Erika kisses my mom's [bleep] That's why they get along.
So I think that's why they're more BFFs than I want them to be,
but she's up my mom's [bleep]
Erika seems to be doing a good job showing Miranda the ropes.
So far, so good. I'm with you.
Well, your place is starting to fill up.
You've got a good mix of both young and old patrons.
We want everybody here.
21 to 75, I don't care how old you are.
Well, it looks like those guys are getting a little bit rowdy.
This will be a good test for your mom.
Those guys really aren't bothering anybody.
I mean, is that your policy
to have your mom confront them like that?
Definitely not my policy.
I'm speechless right now
that she just talked to somebody like that.
Okay?
That is not making them feel welcome.
That's making them feel like they don't belong here.
This is bull[bleep]
You can't talk to somebody like that.
If I was a real customer, I would walk out.
NARRATOR: Tommy Brower, owner of Gigi in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
believes his mother is driving away young customers.
She discriminates against them
and really bends over backwards for the older clientele.
Charles has set up a control room next to Gigi,
where Tommy can watch what happens in his restaurant
with our hidden cameras.
Pretty impressive.
Mystery Diner Miranda has gone undercover
as a waitress in training,
and Gregg and Denise will pose as customers.
And after starting the sting,
Tommy's mom scolds a group of young diners.
That is not making them feel welcome.
That's making them feel like they don't belong here.
I'm speechless right now that she just talked to somebody like that.
Yeah, they're young and all and they were throwing food,
but, I mean, she could've been a little more polite about it.
Three young guys you want in here,
spending a couple hundred bucks maybe here,
but they're never gonna walk in the door again.
You're right. In addition to those guys spending less money,
Erika's gonna pay the price.
They'll probably give her a smaller tip
than what they would've because of your mom's behavior.
But you know what I want to do is set up a little test.
We'll send in Gregg, who's a little bit younger,
and Denise, who's a little bit older,
and we'll find out if your mom has preferential treatment
based on their age.
I think that's a great idea.
Okay, Gregg. Go ahead and come on in.
Good. Two.
You're mom is immediately seating them at the bar.
Is that normal?
Charles, I love my mom,
but she's talking about seating them in a kid's section, like...
You know, I mean, I can tell your mom's being a little bit lighthearted there,
I mean, but you know what? At the end of the day,
that could be insulting to the wrong person.
Hey, Gregg, I want you to ask to be seated on the patio.
You know what? Could we actually sit at the patio?
No, no, no.
[ Chuckling ] Thank you.
What is she doing? I don't understand it.
Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Oh, okay.
She tried to seat Gregg at the bar 'cause he looks young.
Let's see if she treats Denise any different
because she's a little older.
Hey, Denise, go ahead and come on in.
Hi. How are you?
Love to.
Thank you.
CHARLES: Wow. Your mom just took them straight out to the patio.
Not even having to ask for it.
It's almost maybe there is some preferential treatment.
I can't agree more with you.
Well, here comes Erika.
Let's see if she can make up for the way
that your mom treated Mystery Diner Gregg.
That's interesting.
Erika walked right past Gregg and went straight to Denise.
I mean, it could've been a mistake,
so let's just keep watching and see what happens.
Thank you.
Well, Erika gave exceptional service to Denise.
Let's see if she gives that same service to Gregg.
Whoa, did you see that?
Erika just walked by Gregg again!
Gregg, your waitress seems to be ignoring you.
Flag her down the next time you see her.
Excuse me.
I mean, Tommy, look at this.
Erika continues to go to Denise's table,
taking care of them even though Gregg came in first.
He's still waiting for service.
It seems like Erika is also discriminating
against your younger customers.
Charles, I don't know if it's my mom or if it's Erika,
but from what I'm seeing and hearing,
this is really, really bad.
You know, they could be working in cahoots.
We should keep an eye on Erika and your mom.
Specials tonight?
How much are those?
You know, I have a hunch, Tommy. I want to try something.
Let's see how Erika reacts
if Gregg only spends a little bit of money.
Gregg, only order a few small items to share.
The fish and chips.
And the black Angus sliders.
No, no. We're gonna share.
You know, it's unbelievable the way Erika is treating him.
I mean, she's making him feel uncomfortable.
I mean, she's being condescending to the guy,
you know?
She's telling him he's cheap.
"You're not spending enough money.
You're not doing this, you're not doing that."
Like, you can't talk to somebody like that.
We're fine. We're not big drinkers.
That's all we want. That's all we want.
Erika, what are you doing?!
Both orders of food came up, and she took out Denise's first.
She's giving preferential treatment.
This is complete bull[bleep]
Are you kidding me the way she's talking to my mom like this?
I've had enough.
NARRATOR: With the help of hidden cameras and undercover Mystery Diners,
Tommy Brower, owner of Gigi, has learned
that his mother scolds younger customers
for acting inappropriately.
But even worse, waitress Erika is rude and insulting
to young customers who don't spend a lot of money.
Had a late lunch.
We're fine. We're not big drinkers.
We're fine.
That's all we want. That's all we want.
Erika, what are you doing?!
CHARLES: You know, I got to tell you.
Your mom might've got a little upset
with those guys throwing food,
but she wasn't even close to being as rude as Erika was.
An attitude like that
will permanently drive your customers away.
Miranda, see if you can find out a little bit more
about how Erika treats young customers.
So, you just don't really like the younger patrons
'cause they don't spend a lot of money,
or, like, what's the deal?
How would you know that?
This is not how we do things here.
She's stereotyping everybody.
CHARLES: You know, it's bad enough
that she was judging people based on their age.
She's sitting there saying that, you know,
if they're young, they don't have any money.
This is reverse ageism.
It's mind-boggling. I can't get over it.
NARRATOR: 15 minutes later, both Mystery Diners' orders are ready to go.
MIRANDA: Should I grab those?
Okay.
Both orders of food came up, and she took out Denise's first.
She's giving preferential treatment.
There's no excuse for that.
They could've taken them both out
No.
GREGG: Excuse me. Excuse me.
Can she get a cup of water?
CHARLES: She is totally ignoring Gregg.
She is giving Denise attention
because she thinks she's older, more mature,
and that she's gonna get a bigger tip,
and she's totally walking right past Gregg
and giving him no attention at all.
I mean, if they're young, she treats them like [bleep]
If they're old, she treats them with respect,
and you can't do that.
Here you are, guys.
CHARLES: You know, the bad part about that is,
I mean, obviously, you know, the food's gonna be cold,
and, you know, if I'm a customer and the food comes out cold,
I'm not gonna want it.
I'm gonna ask to send it back,
and guess who's gonna pay for that food loss? You are.
Based on what I've seen so far,
your mom's not driving away young customers, Erika is.
I can't agree more with you.
Gregg's not even done eating,
and Erika's trying to get rid of him.
She can't get him out of here fast enough.
This is complete bull[bleep]
Well, are you gonna ask me if I wanted dessert?
No, we didn't.
Would it make you feel better if I ordered dessert from you?
What the [bleep] is she talking about?
This is not the way we treat people here at Gigi's.
This is not the way I want it done.
Well, to completely exonerate your mom,
let's see how she handles a complaint
from our Mystery Diner.
Gregg, I want you to call Mariann over
and tell her about the service you received from Erika.
Excuse me.
Good.
We were just waited on by the young girl over there,
and we just got really, really bad service.
The people that were sat after me were waited on before me.
I appreciate it.
I really appreciate that.
Oh, mom, I love you.
Charles, you know how happy this makes me that it's not my mom?
Your mom stepped up to the plate,
apologized for the poor service that Erika's given him.
Erika's the issue.
She's being a [bleep] She's got to go.
Are you [bleep] kidding me the way she's talking to my mom like this?
I've had enough.
Go grab her and your mom. Bring them both back up here.
I hated the way Erika talked to my mom.
The fact that she talked to anybody like that,
let alone my own mother, I wanted to wring her neck.
Where's Erika at? I need to see her right now.
Erika, come on. I need to see you.
Walk with me. Come on.
Need you guys both to come with me.
Let's go. Come on.
All right, Tommy, what is going on here?
Tommy, why am I on the wall over there?
What is this?
Thomas J. Brower,
how could you think that I, your mother,
would do something to hurt your restaurant?
'Cause you know what? Everything that I learned was from Ma.
Whoa! I would've never, ever...
NARRATOR: After conducting an undercover sting operation
at Gigi in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
the Mystery Diners have revealed that owner Tommy Brower's mother
isn't responsible for driving away young customers.
Charles, you know how happy this makes me that it's not my mom?
Instead, waitress Erika
is discriminating against young customers,
not because of their age
but because she thinks they're cheap.
Tommy, what is going on here?
Tommy, why am I on the wall over there?
What is this?
All right, Ma, my name is Charles Stiles.
I'm with a company called Mystery Diners.
Your son Tommy called my company 'cause he's been concerned.
There was a lot of complaints of people saying
that they felt like they were unwelcome in the restaurant,
typically from the younger crowd.
And, yes, your picture is on the wall,
'cause he wanted to know what was really going on inside of his restaurant.
But we learned tonight mom's not the issue.
What?
Yes, you're the one running out customers
by the way you're treating them.
You've been sitting here judging every customer that walks in the door
based on how they're dressed and their age.
You recognize anybody on this board?
Gregg?
Yeah.
When he came in, mom put him outside,
put him out in the nice section, as you call it.
You came out, and then you wouldn't even wait on him.
You recognize Miranda?
Yeah.
She works for me, as well.
She came in as an undercover waitress in training,
and you're teaching her how not to serve customers.
You know what? This is bull[bleep]
'Cause you know what?
Everything that I learned was from Ma.
Whoa, whoa.
I treat people the same whether they're 5, 10, 100 years old.
Do you know how much money you cost us tonight?
I took money off their check, and you failed miserably.
Know what? This is [bleep] I ain't dealing with this.
This is ridiculous.
You're treating customers the way you're expecting them to be.
And you know what?
They're probably tipping appropriately
based on the customer service they're getting
because you're treating them like crap.
If I was your customer,
I don't care how much money I got or how old I am.
I'm not gonna tip you well if you treat me like that.
'Cause let me tell you something. I got bills to pay.
It's the lawyers and the doctors
and the ones that are coming in with the suits and everything else
Wow.
I got bills to pay. I don't have time for [bleep]
You are out of your mind. You are out of your mind.
We cater to everybody, everybody.
Everybody over the age of 21, we cater to.
All their money's green.
You treat them with respect, you get treated back with respect.
I can't even think of words to call you.
You are fired.
Oh, yes, I can.
No, no, no, no. She can fire you, and you are fired.
So, you know what?
My little thing to you is [bleep] you, [bleep] you,
'cause I don't even know you, and [bleep] you.
I quit. [Bleep] this.
Bye-bye.
Don't let the door hit you in the [bleep]
I don't need a psychiatry major to know
that if you're young and dress like crap, you're not gonna tip.
I ain't got time for that. I got bills to pay.
Thomas J. Brower,
how could you think that your mother
would do something to hurt your restaurant?
You better explain this 'cause I am not happy with this at all.
I mean, I had to be open to everybody
and see what was going on.
Mom, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I love you to death.
I love you. I'm sorry.
I know you love me, but I can't believe you did that.
Do you know what you put me through?
I know. I know. I'm sorry.
Don't ever do it again.
All right.
NARRATOR: Since being fired,
Erika has started waitressing at another restaurant,
Mariann has learned to ease up on younger patrons,
and Tommy is happy to report
that customers are no longer being discriminated against
at Gigi.