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NARRATOR: Tonight on "Mystery Diners"...
Michael Vujovich, owner of Bistro Baffi
in Seattle, Washington,
is concerned about stolen wine and artwork in his restaurant.
I went to the police.
They told me it must be an inside job.
Are his customers stealing from him,
or is one of his employees?
That's my art!
For the first time ever,
the Mystery Diners are committing theft
in order to show Michael what's really going on.
I think that guy stole a bottle of wine.
Shame on you.
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 Michael Vujovich,
and I own Bistro Baffi here in Seattle, Washington.
When you come to my Italian restaurant...
I collect fine arts and fine wines.
I have wine that fits everybody's budget,
anywhere from $25 to $12,000.
You can see on my walls all these paintings.
They're all priceless.
This collection of art and wine
is actually a source of my problem.
Recently, I had to take several trips back to Montenegro,
where I am from,
and upon every return,
I would notice a couple bottle of wines, they're missing.
And last trip that I took,
one of my paintings was missing.
Now I'm doubting everybody that works for me.
It's eating me up,
and I really have to get to the bottom of this.
Hi. Michael?
Charles Stiles. Mystery Diners.
This is Allison.
My pleasure.
It is gorgeous.
What does Bistro Baffi mean?
"Curly mustache" in Italian.
You have a nice baffi, too.
Well, I have to work on the curls.
Michael, I just love your paintings.
Thank you very much. I love to collect them.
I love to collect expensive wines.
And I like to share that with all my customers
that walk through that door.
Well, Michael, it seems like you have an amazing restaurant.
What seems to be the problem?
I'm from Montenegro, and my mom still lives there.
And last year, she became a little ill,
so I frequently visit with her.
So, last couple times I returned from Montenegro,
I notice that I have some expensive bottles of wine missing.
After my last trip, one of my very dear paintings is missing.
No.
I have spare paintings that I keep in my office.
Very secure. I went to the police.
They told me it must be an inside job.
If I realize that one of my employees is stealing,
that would just destroy me.
I really need to find out what's happening here.
Based on everything you told me,
you're right to be suspicious of your staff.
The best way to start is at the top, with your manager.
NARRATOR: For this sting, Mystery Diners
will be focusing on manager Ron...
and waitress Stacy, two employees
who may be responsible for missing wine and art.
So, let me tell you a little bit
about how my company operates.
Any place an employee or customer can be,
we want to make sure we have it wired with cameras
so we can see and hear everything that's going on.
One of the other things we like to do
is bring in undercover Mystery Diners.
I'm gonna suggest that I come into your restaurant
as an undercover waitress
so I'll be able to report back to you
if I see anything suspicious at all.
If somebody who works for me did this,
I could not live with that.
That would devastate me.
NARRATOR: To carry out the sting,
cameras have been hidden
at key locations throughout Bistro Baffi.
Two cameras have been set up in the main dining room
to give an overall perspective
of the restaurant and its customers.
Three cameras have been set up in the back dining room.
One camera has been set up in the kitchen.
One camera has been set up in the hallway.
One camera has been set up in the office.
And one camera has been set up by the patio
to track any action that happens outside.
Mystery Diner Allison
will go undercover as a waitress in training.
John and Julie will pose as customers.
And Benny will come in as an art aficionado.
Thank you.
Wow. Look at that.
CHARLES: Here's your control room.
Oh, my God. It's like a spaceship when you sit here.
Told you we were gonna get every angle
of your restaurant covered.
You can see we've got your parking lot,
we've got the inside of your restaurant,
your dining areas, employee break area.
If somebody's stealing your wine or stealing your pictures,
we'll find it.
We'll see how it goes.
CHARLES: Okay, that looks like your manager.
Yeah, Charles, that's my manager, Ron.
He's also very knowledgeable in wine and art.
He knows what I'm about.
I almost feel guilty suspecting him.
Well, Michael, as we've talked about before,
I want to start the sting by sending in undercover Mystery Diner Allison.
Why don't you go ahead and get her introduced to Ron?
We'll get her started on her shift.
Sounds great.
All right, we'll see you in a minute.
ALLISON: For this sting, Charles gave me a pair of glasses
with hidden cameras built right into them,
so whatever I see, the owner, Michael, will also see.
Hello.
Not bad. How's it going?
Okay, I want you to meet Allison.
Thank you.
Hey, Ron, I need to talk to you.
So, I have to go take an emergency trip to Montenegro.
Some things came up.
Ron, you're my right hand.
Thank you, my man. Okay.
Bye, guys.
Thanks, Michael.
All right, Charles.
Perfect.
Nice to meet you.
CHARLES: So, that looks like our other target, Stacy.
MICHAEL: She's a very good waitress. But I don't know.
I have to suspect everybody, right?
Allison, ask Stacy how she feels about the expensive wine
being out in the open and not protected.
ALLISON: Do you think it's weird
that they leave the wine just out in the open?
If someone wanted to steal it, it's just right there.
Sounds like your staff thinks it's possible
for your customers to be stealing your wine.
Maybe I'm too trusting, but I believe in good in people.
Well, Michael, what I'd like to do is play
a little bit of devil's advocate here
and find out just how easy it is to steal
a bottle of wine out of your restaurant.
I've already got a number of Mystery Diners
planted throughout your entire restaurant
that I'll call into action as this sting progresses
to do just that, and then we'll find out
whether or not your staff is paying attention.
Let's try.
Julie, I want you to steal
a bottle of wine from the rack behind you.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
Look at that.
None of your staff even noticed
Julie sticking that wine in her purse.
They're just too busy doing their own stuff.
Maybe it's not an inside job after all.
Okay, Julie just paid the bill.
All right, Julie, leave the restaurant
and see if anybody stops you.
Come on, guys. Let's go.
Just like that.
That's how easy it is to steal wine from your restaurant.
Oh, my God.
Apparently, he's making decisions on his own,
It's crazy.
I'm gonna give you 100 bucks.
Shame on you.
NARRATOR: Michael Vujovich,
owner of Bistro Baffi in Seattle, Washington,
is concerned about stolen wine and artwork in his restaurant.
I went to the police.
They told me it must be an inside job.
Charles has set up a control room next to Bistro Baffi,
where Michael can watch everything
that happens in his restaurant with our hidden cameras.
It's like a spaceship when you sit here.
Mystery Diner Allison has gone undercover
as a waitress in training.
Julie and John are posing as customers.
And after starting the sting,
Mystery Diner Julie shows Michael how easy it is
for customers to steal wine from his restaurant.
CHARLES: Just like that.
That's how easy it is to steal wine from your restaurant.
Oh, my God.
At the minimum, you need to tighten security
because your staff wasn't even paying attention,
and that walked right out.
That's horrible. That's unacceptable.
[ Indistinct conversations ]
Michael, do you recognize those customers?
Yeah, those are one of my regular customers
that come a couple times a month.
It looks like they're really enjoying their experience.
It looks like Ron's doing a good job.
That's very true.
Wow. Has Ron lost his mind?
What's going on with that dude?
Is that your normal practice,
to comp a bottle of wine like that?
No. He should never do that.
I have to approve, and he knows the policy,
so he's bending the policies.
A $15 bottle of wine is one thing, but a $150 bottle?
Whole different story. Completely different story.
Something that he shouldn't even attempt.
You know, what's really disheartening
is Stacy is trying to do the right thing,
being a good employee,
and it's clear she's got your back.
That's what managers are for --
to protect you when you're not around.
He's not doing that.
Apparently, he's making decisions on his own,
and he's going rogue.
It's crazy. He should know better.
They're probably not gonna spend
more than $150, $200 on the meal.
And if you throw in a free bottle of wine that's $150,
you've lost.
Yeah, I know.
Look at him. He just opened a $150 bottle of wine.
He has a thing coming.
Now I think it'd be a good time to test your staff
and find out how they actually handle a situation
when they catch a customer stealing a bottle of wine.
Let's find out. I think this is a very important point.
Mystery Diner John is just about to finish his meal.
We'll use him to grab an expensive bottle of wine and walk out.
Okay.
It was great. Delicious. Thank you.
This server over here, who is this?
That's Michelle. I trust her. She's great.
She's great.
John, pretend to use the restroom,
and on your way out, grab a bottle of wine.
The bottles on the table over there are so exposed.
This is something your staff should absolutely catch.
Absolutely.
John was able to walk right over to the cabinet,
grab a bottle of wine,
stick it in his bag, and nobody even noticed.
This time, we'll alert Allison
and make sure that he gets caught.
All right.
Allison, I want you to walk over to the staff and tell them
you saw a customer just steal a bottle of wine.
Okay, Charles, I'll go tell them.
Thanks.
I think that guy actually stole a bottle of wine.
I definitely saw him.
CHARLES: Well, that's going above and beyond.
She's willing to go outside and confront the customer and stop him from stealing.
Great job, Michelle. Great job.
I don't know what you're talking about, but we got to go.
No, don't. Listen, listen, listen. All right.
Hey, John, bribe her with some cash
and see if that'll stop her from calling the police.
JOHN: Listen, I'll make it right, all right?
Just let me pay for the bottle of wine, no big deal, okay?
I'm gonna give you 100 bucks.
That covers the cost of the bottle of wine.
I'm really sorry. Here you go.
Just take this money. I paid for it.
It's all good, okay?
Thank you. I appreciate that.
All right. Have a good night.
CHARLES: Okay, so, she took the money.
Let's hope she does the right thing
and gives it to your manager, Ron.
She'll do that.
He just took off?
Now she's lying to your manager?
That's ridiculous.
Shame on you.
That would be fantastic.
He should never even be thinking
about doing something like this.
There we go. There we go.
That's my art!
NARRATOR: With the help of hidden cameras
and undercover Mystery Diners,
Michael Vujovich, owner of Bistro Baffi,
has learned that customers
can easily steal bottles of wine...
Oh, my God.
...manager Ron is giving away bottles of wine
without his permission...
A $15 bottle of wine is one thing, but a $150 bottle?
Whole different story.
...and waitress Michelle
accepts a cash bribe from Mystery Diner John
after he is caught stealing.
Shame on you.
Going through this exercise does prove
that you have some employee negligence going on here.
I would never suspect that.
I'm so angry right now, I can't even sit in my chair.
Before we stop this thing now,
I want to find out what else we can uncover.
I want to find out everything, Charles, whatever it takes.
We need to know if your missing artwork
is due to your staff's lack of awareness
or if they're just truly complicit.
So, now would be a good time to send in another one
of our Mystery Diners, Benny.
He'll come in as an art expert
and see if he can buy one of your paintings.
It should be impossible.
All right, Benny, go ahead and go on in.
Hello, there.
For this sting, I'll be coming as an art expert.
And I'm gonna do whatever it takes to walk out with a painting.
Okay, so, I'm looking at the rare-wine selection.
Basically, money is no object.
Top drawer. The best.
Appreciate that. Thank you very much.
CHARLES: Okay, Michael, what I want to do now
is have Benny walk over and express some interest
in one of your paintings on the wall.
Sure.
Benny, go admire the painting behind you.
Yeah, I was just admiring the art, actually.
It's fantastic. The colors are exuberant.
Everything just jumps right off it, you know?
Benny, ask if any of the artwork is for sale.
Are they for sale?
CHARLES: So, how much is a piece like that worth?
Those paintings, they start at $15,000.
All is done by a friend of mine from Croatia.
His name is Marko Mavrovich.
I would never sell any of Marko's paintings.
Is there anyone else here that could, you know, tell me
a little more about the art?
Can I speak to Ron about it? All right, thank you.
Hey, Benny, tell Ron that you're an art collector.
Ask if any of the artwork is for sale.
Nice to meet you, Ron.
Listen. I'm out here as an art collector.
I mean, I go all over. Right now I'm in Seattle.
I'll go to New York, Chicago, Los Angeles.
I've been checking out the artwork the whole time,
and I'm absolutely fascinated.
Is this one for sale?
Exactly. He's doing a good job.
That would be fantastic.
Okay.
My God, he should never even be thinking
about doing something like this.
CHARLES: Is your manager allowed
to take customers back into your office?
No, it's off the limits --
not only to customers, to Ron, too.
That's -- I mean, that's very, very beautiful, Ron.
But can I see what else you have?
Fantastic.
Oh, there we go. There we go.
That is absolutely beautiful.
How the hell can he think
that that's something for him to do?
[ Sighs ] What about $3,000?
I can write you a check.
Offer him $1,000 cash, Benny.
Well, I have $1,000 in cash,
and I'll be prepared to give that to you right now
if, you know, I can take it home.
Don't even think about selling that.
Thank you very much, man.
That's my art!
He knows that's not for sale. I'm shocked.
Charles, I have it.
Now I know where my first painting
that was missing has gone.
He sold it.
Well, you know what? We've seen enough.
We've got all the evidence that we need at this point.
Why don't you go ahead and go back there
and grab Ron and grab Michelle at the same time,
You better believe it.
MICHAEL: The fact that he was actually ready
to sell that painting enraged me.
It made me crazy.
And I can never stand for that.
Ron, stay right there.
Michelle, come over here.
Come over here.
Just come. I'll tell you.
Get in. Get in there.
Michael, what's going on?
Guys, come on in.
Excuse me!
I have never stolen from you, Michael.
Michael, I was set up.
Really?
NARRATOR: After conducting an undercover sting operation
at Bistro Baffi in Seattle, Washington,
the Mystery Diners have revealed
how an inattentive staff can result in customer wine theft.
Oh, my God.
Waitress Michelle is letting customers steal
for a cash bribe.
And worst of all, manager Ron is caught selling paintings
from owner Michael Vujovich's priceless art collection.
Michael, what's going on?
Guys, come on in.
Excuse me!
My name's Charles Stiles.
I'm with a company called Mystery Diners,
and your owner, Michael, called my company
because he had a recent break-in here in the restaurant,
where he was missing some expensive bottles of wine,
including an expensive piece of artwork.
When Michael went to the cops,
they told him it was an inside job,
nobody broke into the restaurant,
and that he needed to be suspicious of the employees.
You recognize this guy here, John?
He's an undercover Mystery Diner that works for me.
He gave you $100, and you stuck it in your pocket.
You took money that doesn't belong to you.
Michael, I was set up.
Michelle, now you owe some money to Charles.
Give him that money back.
Shame on you.
I hate thieves.
So you're fired.
MICHELLE: I'm really ashamed
about what I did with that customer,
and I let greed get the best of me.
I had no idea that she was accepting bribes in the parking lot.
Ron, she's not the reason you're here.
You're giving away a $150 bottle of wine to some customers.
I've seen you do the exact same thing.
I was trying to make it a night they could remember.
Difference is that's my restaurant,
and you were never told that you're allowed to do that.
Okay, I got it. I'm sorry.
You must be out of your mind.
And if that wasn't bad enough,
you're selling this man's piece of artwork
for $1,000 cash.
Look, I was gonna give the money to you when you got back.
Come on.
You know, let me tell you something, young man.
You are so lucky that you are still standing here
when you should be in the back of a police car.
Give the money back.
I'm sorry. You got the cash back.
Everything's taken care of.
Get the [bleep] out of here right now.
Michael, come on.
You are fired.
Charles, you helped me a lot, and you know what?
You are my guest. We'll open a good bottle of wine.
You know what? I'm looking forward to that.
MICHAEL: I'm very thankful to Charles.
He helped me find out what's going on
so I can have my beautiful art and my great wine collection
available for my customers for the time to come.
NARRATOR: Since being fired,
Ron still claims his innocence in regard to missing artwork,
Michelle has apologized and found employment elsewhere,
Stacy was promoted to head waitress,
the staff has been trained to better protect
the restaurant's pricy collection,
and Michael is happy to report
that he is no longer missing bottles of wine or art
at Bistro Baffi.