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NARRATOR: Tonight, on "Mystery Diners," Stephanie and D-Rock,
owners of Cheeseburger Baby in Miami, Florida,
believe their employee Guillermo is stealing money.
The problems didn't really arise until he was around.
Is Guillermo to blame?
[ Thud ]
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Oh, my God!
Or is one of the other employees responsible?
I think we should be keeping an eye on her.
The Mystery Diners will have to go undercover
in order to find out what's really going on.
It's not looking good for Guillermo right now.
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.
Hi. I'm Stephanie Vitori.
And I'm Danielle, AKA D-Rock.
And we are the owners of the world-famous
Cheeseburger Baby in Miami Beach, Florida.
STEPHANIE: When people come to Cheeseburger Baby,
they can expect the best burger they've ever had.
Not only does Cheeseburger Baby have the best burgers
in the state of Florida,
but we have turkey burgers, veggie burgers,
Philly cheesesteaks, hot wings, onion rings,
homemade chili that'll knock your socks off,
handmade milkshakes.
You name it, we probably got it.
DANIELLE: We have that yin and yang balance
so it kind of does work out.
She really works mostly in the back
doing payroll, paying the bills.
I don't want to sit at a desk.
I just want to be with the employees,
with the people that come to Cheeseburger Baby.
And because of that, I think it makes us a really good team.
STEPHANIE: I've been fortunate enough in my life
that people have given me second chances,
and I want to pay that forward.
We have a policy at Cheeseburger Baby
where we like to give ex-cons a second chance
by providing them with a job.
But lately, I think that policy
is part of the problem I'm having.
We've been losing $200 to $300 a week here.
DANIELLE: We're a small business, and every penny counts.
Losing $100, let alone $1,000, could kill us.
STEPHANIE: We really need "Mystery Diners" to come here
to show us what's going on before we make any decisions.
Hi. Charles Stiles. Nice to meet you.
Stephanie. This is D-Rock.
Nice to meet you.
D-Rock? Nice to meet you.
Hi. I'm Tracy.
Tracy, Stephanie.
Nice to meet you.
D-Rock. Nice to meet you.
Like the place. It's great.
Tell me a little bit about your restaurant.
We've been here 13 years.
Started as delivery driver
and worked my way up and eventually bought it,
and right now, we're just having some discrepancies.
We've been missing, like,
anywhere from 100 to 200 bucks a week here,
and 200 bucks, 200 bucks, 200 bucks turns into thousands,
and next thing you know, our doors are closed.
So do you have any suspects?
Unfortunately, one of our waiters, Guillermo.
STEPHANIE: He's a great guy.
Great guy. Always on point.
Always early.
But he just got out of prison.
Is this something new?
Do you normally hire ex-convicts?
I like to give people second chances, you know.
He's not my first ex-con I hired.
I mean, these guys, they're amazing in the kitchen,
believe it or not, because they cook in the pen.
And some of them -- most of them --
want to turn their life around.
We hate to point fingers,
but the problems didn't really arise until he was around.
NARRATOR: For this sting, Mystery Diners will be focusing
on Guillermo, an ex-convict
who may be stealing money from the restaurant.
CHARLES: You want to be able to catch everything so,
you know, we'll come in, we'll wire the entire restaurant --
your back kitchen, your front kitchen,
all your dining areas --
any area that an employee can possibly be.
Right.
One of the things we'll also do is send in Mystery Diners
that'll pose as employees.
Yeah, I think posing as a new employee here
would be a great idea.
You know, a lot of times, co-workers talk to each other
in a way that they would never talk to their bosses.
Correct.
And then we'll be in a control room nearby
where we can watch everything that's taking place in your restaurant.
Well, I need some answers, Charles.
So whatever you can do to help, we're in.
NARRATOR: To carry out the sting, cameras have been hidden
at key locations throughout Cheeseburger Baby.
Cameras one, two, three, four, and five
have been set up by the counter.
Cameras six and seven have been set up in the office.
Camera eight has been set up in the hallway.
And cameras 9, 10, and 11
have been set up in the back patio.
In addition to Tracy,
who'll be going undercover as a waitress in training,
Mystery Diner John will pose as a customer.
We're just right in here.
All righty.
Mr. Charles, you ain't playing.
I actually want these in the restaurant forever.
We're not sure if Guillermo's responsible for what's going on,
but we're certainly gonna be able to find out if he is.
So, is this Guillermo over here with the bandana?
Mm-hmm. Yeah.
Well, as you know, we brought Tracy in
to be an undercover employee.
Why don't we see how Guillermo feels about working here?
All right. Sounds good.
Hey, Tracy. Showtime. You're up.
So, boxes?
Because of Guillermo's prison history,
Stephanie and D-Rock think he may be responsible
for the loss of thousands of dollars.
So I'm going to come in as a waitress in training
to see if he's responsible.
So how are the bosses?
Do all your employees know Guillermo's background --
that he served time in prison?
We don't advertise it, but the employees do talk.
[ Chuckles ]
So who's the girl over here with her hair tied up in buns?
Krystia -- she really likes her.
She's great -- goes above and beyond.
You know, you can't get that from a lot of people.
Okay. So you feel like you can trust her, then?
Oh, of course. Of course.
CHARLES: Well, let's find out what she thinks of Guillermo.
Hey, Tracy, ask Krystia how she feels about Guillermo.
TRACY: Guillermo's a funny character, huh?
What does that mean? What's TGK?
[ Gasps ]
Ooh.
TRACY: He went to jail? For what?
I've never seen her act this way.
CHARLES: You know, it's not Krystia's place
to tell your employees that information,
but she definitely shares your concerns about Guillermo.
Definitely.
TRACY: Sure.
CHARLES: This is the perfect opportunity to test him.
Hey, Tracy, instead of giving him two 10s,
I want you to give him a 10 and a 20.
TRACY: If Guillermo's stealing money from the restaurant,
he'll definitely take advantage of my mistake.
There you go.
And a waitress in my position
would never notice what was going on.
Looks like Guillermo just caught the mistake.
And it looks like he's just gonna keep on going.
That pisses me off.
JOHN: You should learn your job a little better.
Oh, my God. Shut up.
[ Thud ]
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Oh, my God!
That was loud where customers could hear that.
I don't even know if I want to see this.
NARRATOR: Stephanie and D-Rock,
owners of Cheeseburger Baby in Miami, Florida,
believe their ex-convict employee Guillermo
is stealing money from them.
The problems didn't really arise until he was around.
Charles has set up a control room next to Cheeseburger Baby,
where they can watch what happens in their restaurant
with our hidden cameras.
I actually want these in the restaurant forever.
Mystery Diner Tracy is undercover
as a waitress in training,
and John will pose as a customer.
And after starting the sting,
Mystery Diner Tracy tests Guillermo's honesty.
TRACY: Sure.
Hey, Tracy, instead of giving him two 10s,
I want you to give him a 10 and a 20.
There you go.
CHARLES: Looks like Guillermo just caught the mistake.
And it looks like he's just gonna keep on going.
That pisses me off.
TRACY: Oh, my goodness. Thank you.
[ Laughs ]
You know, he just gave her the right change.
I mean, he ended up with 30 bucks instead of 20.
Yeah.
He did the right thing.
TRACY: [ Laughs ] There you go. Thank you.
That's great.
CHARLES: Well, I mean, it looks like Guillermo's passed round one.
You know, I think now is, like, a good a time.
We'll send in one of our Mystery Diners, John,
and have him come on in and test Guillermo
and see how he handles a difficult customer.
Okay, John, you're up.
JOHN: One of the things we like to do as Mystery Diners
is push our marks as far as we can.
My goal is to incite negative behavior
to see if Guillermo stays calm and professional.
Great. I'm in a hurry, though.
Starving. I'm starving.
Is this the menu?
Did you print this up at home, or...?
What's with the headband?
Are you in a gang or something?
CHARLES: Well, I mean, John's doing his job. He's being pretty rude.
Yeah.
JOHN: Give me the best thing you got. I like a burger.
American.
So what makes the burgers the bomb?
Yeah? What kind of answer's that?
Is that your opinion?
Geez, where'd you learn customer service?
So far, he's doing a good job.
I'd punch him if I was Guillermo right now.
Well, it sounds like he's blowing off a little bit of steam.
He's, you know, complaining to the cook about John's behavior,
but at least he's keeping it contained.
STEPHANIE: That's for sure.
Tell me a little bit about your register system.
So does everybody have their own till or cash drawer?
Each shift has their own till.
You know, the bad part of that --
there's no way to track who's responsible.
Right.
It's probably, you know, maybe time to consider
putting a different system in place where you can track
each different person's operation with the till.
Absolutely. I agree 100%.
Wait. Did you just see that?
Rewind camera three.
Holy [bleep]
She just took three rolls of quarters from the back
and then only put two in the register.
I really trusted her. You know, that little [bleep]
And I trusted her because D-Rock trusted her.
Can we just go down there and take care of this, please?
We'll go down there and take care of it in a minute, but you know what?
We need to watch her along with Guillermo.
You might have two thieves on your hands.
Here comes Guillermo with the cheeseburger that John ordered.
Let's use this opportunity to kind of push Guillermo's buttons
a little bit more and see how he reacts.
Hey, John, I want you to flip the script,
and tell him you ordered a hamburger
and not a cheeseburger.
JOHN: All right. It's about time.
Dude, what's up with the cheese on the burger?
I can't eat cheese, dude.
Dude, I got lactose intolerance, so what happened here?
Try to get it right this time. It'd be helpful.
No. No, your headband is screwing with you.
I didn't order cheese.
You should learn your job a little better.
Try that.
No, don't argue with him.
Oh, my God. Shut up.
Just go inside.
Ugh.
Jerk? Dude, who you talking to? I want a burger.
I want a regular burger.
I don't care how John treated him.
That's unacceptable in my book.
Guillermo looks like he's about ready to snap.
[ Thud ]
Whoa! Whoa! Whoa!
Oh, my God!
That was loud where customers could hear that. That's inappropriate.
Thought he was doing good.
It looks like some of those old tendencies are starting to rise to the top there.
He's starting to get a little bit frustrated.
JOHN: Hey, lose the headband.
Guillermo didn't bite when Tracy gave him back too much change,
and John's been riding his back all day.
Let's see how he reacts when he leaves the wallet.
Yeah, that'll be a true test.
Hey, John, I want you to leave your wallet on the table
and walk away.
Guillermo's doing his job.
He should just take the wallet
and put it in the lost-and-found box.
This is gonna be good.
JOHN: Say bye to yourself. Geez.
Do the right thing.
CHARLES: He just found the wallet.
I mean, I know for a fact there's $80 in there.
Oh, my gosh.
It's not looking good for Guillermo right now.
I don't even know if I want to see this.
What are you talking about?
We got to stop this. Seriously.
NARRATOR: With the help of hidden cameras and undercover Mystery Diners,
Stephanie and D-Rock, owners of Cheeseburger Baby,
have learned that their waitress Krystia
is stealing rolls of quarters.
That pisses me off.
NARRATOR: But even worse, their ex-convict waiter Guillermo
appears to be stealing from customers.
CHARLES: Here comes Guillermo.
[ Gasps ]
Yay! Guillermo.
I'll be honest with you.
I did not think that's what we were gonna see.
The look he had on his face when he picked up the wallet looked like --
it was like, "Yeah, I'm getting back at you."
Right.
I was so relieved when I saw Guillermo put that wallet
in the locker.
I really didn't want to think he was stealing from me,
and that made me feel so much better.
Guillermo hasn't fallen for any of our traps.
In fact, the only person I saw steal from you is Krystia.
I mean, we called you in to watch Guillermo,
and now I just feel horrible.
[ Telephone rings ]
Oh, yeah. It's an 8-24.
Oh, look.
I don't even know if I want to see this.
Oh, my gosh!
She just took $80 out of John's wallet.
DANIELLE: I can't believe she stole that money.
I really cannot believe she stole that money.
This is my bread and butter.
DANIELLE: I really couldn't believe
Krystia stole money from that wallet.
I loved her.
I treated her like family,
and I don't know why she would do this.
You know what? I want to do one more thing.
I want to send John back in looking for his wallet
and confront the situation to find out how she deals with it.
Hey, John, I want you to go back in and ask for your wallet.
Hey, hey, excuse me.
I think I left my wallet here.
I was in here earlier.
Well, this will be interesting.
Ain't that the truth.
Ah.
Thank you so much.
Excuse me, where's my money that was in here?
What happened to it?
She knows where the money is, so the question is,
who's she gonna blame?
You're sure you don't know where the $80 is?
I mean, where is it?
Are you sure?
Guillermo.
CHARLES: Yeah, Guillermo's gonna take the fall.
That's unbelievable.
Are you sure you didn't take the $80?
What a lying [bleep]
JOHN: Ah, really?
I am sick to my stomach right now.
Not only is she making a fool out of Guillermo,
but she's making a fool out of us and our restaurant.
I mean, what is she thinking right now?
JOHN: I'm asking you.
We got to stop this. Seriously.
You know what? I agree. This is out of control.
You now, when things get this bad, you got to let the poison out.
Why don't you go down there, bring them both back up here,
and we'll stop this right now.
We've got enough. I mean, it's clear.
DANIELLE: I can't believe Krystia almost tricked us
into firing Guillermo.
You know, threw him under the bus. For what? For $90?
That poor man has to make a living.
DANIELLE: Krystia, Guillermo, we got to go.
Krystia?
Surprise.
Guillermo, come on in.
You worked her, you worked me, you worked our customer.
Clear yourself. You're saying that you're innocent.
Let's see it.
Just give it.
[ Grunts ]
NARRATOR: After conducting an undercover sting operation
at Cheeseburger Baby in Miami, Florida,
the Mystery Diners have revealed that waitress Krystia
is not only stealing from owners Stephanie and D-Rock...
I really cannot believe she stole that money.
...but she's also using ex-convict Guillermo
as a scapegoat.
CHARLES: Krystia?
STEPHANIE: Surprise.
Guillermo, come on in.
My name's Charles Stiles.
I'm with a company called Mystery Diners.
Your owners called my company,
'cause they've been having some shortages with theft
and things just not adding up
as far as the numbers in the restaurant.
They called me because they were concerned about Guillermo,
but after we watched tonight, we know you're the problem.
CHARLES: You see that waitress? She works for me.
She's one of my undercover Mystery Diners.
You see this guy here? John?
He's also one of my undercover Mystery Diners.
That's the guy from the wallet, right?
It's the guy for the wallet.
Yeah, that you stole the $80.
No, he's saying that I took the --
No?
He found the wallet. It wasn't me.
He found the wallet on the floor.
See the cameras back here?
We watched you go into the lost and found
and take $80 out of the wallet and put the wallet back.
Did you know that he was an ex-con?
STEPHANIE: Yeah, we know that.
Did you know?
We give people second chances, just like we gave you a chance.
We treated you like family.
I want to see what's in your front pocket.
No, he's so sketchy. I've never done anything wrong.
Why would you even --
You worked him. You worked her.
You worked me. You worked our customer.
Obviously, I'm an ex-con, and she's given me a job.
If you're innocent, show us what's in your front pocket.
Clear yourself. You're saying that you're innocent. Let's see it.
Just give it.
[ Grunts ]
Okay, okay, okay. I took it. I took it.
I took the money. I took the money. I took the money.
We know you took it. You know what? Not only did you take the money --
I mean, you were throwing Guillermo under the bus,
because he was an ex-con.
You know what? That's pathetic.
You're so full of [bleep] Krystia.
Take your [bleep] *** pack
and get your *** out the [bleep] door.
I'm sorry. Please give me another chance.
Save it. Save it.
I need to work, Steph.
You're fired.
I can't.
I'm sorry, Guillermo.
Words can't explain how sorry we are. Seriously.
It meant a lot to me to see that you put the wallet back
and that the money was there.
Yeah.
You passed the test. That's the key.
So I guess I just go home.
Oh, no, honey, you got to go back to work.
GUILLERMO: I wouldn't do that to them.
They've given me a second chance in life,
and, man, I'm so appreciative of it, and I love them.
And I'll break my back for them.
Really appreciate it. Thanks, Charles.
Thank you so much. It was my pleasure.
Thank you.
I can't believe that I thought Guillermo did this.
I shouldn't have judged him based on his past.
I hope he gives us a second chance,
'cause we're really lucky to have him.
NARRATOR: Since being fired, Krystia hasn't been heard from again.
Guillermo has celebrated his 10-month anniversary
at Cheeseburger Baby.
Stephanie and D-Rock have installed a new register system
and are no longer missing any money.