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All right, guys, show me what you got. Go live.
NARRATOR: Tonight...
We'll need 10, 15 cameras.
...on "Restaurant Stakeout"...
What's going on with Beso?
Beso is in trouble.
...Willie helps a first-time owner.
Who's giving her the permission to give people free drinks?
Watch her dreams of running a restaurant
turn into a nightmare...
Oh!
...as her staff's behavior drives her business
into the ground.
Dude, you the chef?
I'm sitting here waiting on wings,
and you eating wings?
She is so disgusted by what she sees...
If this continues, you're done.
...she walks out on Willie.
I can't watch anymore.
NARRATOR: Meet Willie Degel...
So we had a good lunch?
...owner of a string
of successful steak house restaurants in New York City.
Let me get that door for you.
Our service is number one in the world.
NARRATOR: And how has he managed to have such great service?
These --
his staff is under surveillance 24/7.
If you can't see the problem, you can't solve the problem.
NARRATOR: Now owners across the country are reaching out to Willie...
Let's get ready to roll.
...for his help in saving their troubled establishments.
Beam me up, Robbie.
NARRATOR: Willie combines his expertise in both service...
You girls got to really test her on the menu.
...and surveillance...
WOMAN: Oh, my God.
...to give owners hard evidence
of what happens in their restaurant...
when no one is watching.
WILLIE: I'm gonna go in there and tell them exactly
how this restaurant should be run --
no excuses, no crybabies, period.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
[ Bell rings ]
DONNA: My name is Donna.
I'm the owner of Beso,
located in Bedford-Stuyvesant in Brooklyn.
How are things going tonight?
Good.
I named the restaurant Beso because "beso" means "kiss,"
and it inspires love,
and this is what I wanted to bring to this restaurant.
WOMAN: This is good.
Okay, this is good.
The atmosphere here at Beso is very sexy,
and the food is Latin-Caribbean.
It's very tasteful and exotic.
Hey. How are you?
Good. Good.
DONNA: I really love this neighborhood,
and when I opened Beso, the neighborhood reaction was great.
Right.
Yeah, that is pretty.
Pretty.
The Beso shrimp is our signature dish.
It's made with coconut rice,
and it's topped with barbecue-glazed shrimp.
People like the spiciness and the different textures
and tastes that they've never experienced before.
NARRATOR: But this once-thriving restaurant...
...has seen its customers disappear.
I don't get what's taking so long.
I opened Beso a year and a half ago,
and at first, we were doing great.
Everything was excellent.
We've waited an hour, we're hungry,
we'll eat anything at this point.
Exactly.
There's actually no one in here.
I can't even recommend this place to anybody.
So, now everything went downhill,
and things just got worse.
I don't think we'll be back, but thanks again.
NARRATOR: After pouring $300,000 into Beso,
Donna's worried she could lose it all.
I have invested a lot of time and a lot of money in Beso,
but it's not working.
My kids say Beso is a monster
because it's taken a lot of time away
from the quality of life for my kids.
I've been doing this all week.
Long hours.
This is really kicking my butt,
and I hope not to close these doors.
Beso's gonna fail if I don't get some help soon.
NARRATOR: Financially and emotionally drained...
WILLIE: Yeah, Donna, it's Willie.
I need you to meet me at Prospect Park.
NARRATOR: ...Donna calls Willie for help.
So, what's going on with Beso?
Okay.
Well, I opened the restaurant about 16 months ago.
Okay, so things were good in the beginning?
Things were great in the beginning,
but now everything is going downhill.
So, what made you open a business?
Were you in business when you were younger?
Well, I've been working for myself
from the time I'm 18 years old.
Okay. And you're married with kids?
I'm married with kids.
They call the restaurant the monster.
Yes.
And the monster's taking mommy away, right?
Absolutely.
So, I'm here to help you every which way.
I'm gonna set up Willie-vision --
hidden cameras, microphones.
Don't tell anybody. Give me a set of keys.
Okay? I'll call you in a little while. All right?
Yes.
NARRATOR: With no time to lose,
Willie sets to work staking out Beso.
Lock it all down. Need 10, 15 cameras.
Get this whole yard, too, right?
Willie's team wires up Beso
then sets up to watch in an office upstairs.
All right, guys, show me what you got. Go live.
We're in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, right?
Donna needs our help, so I'm bringing her in, guys.
Get ready.
Now that we got the place locked down and wired,
it's time to do our stakeout.
First, I want to meet Donna's employees
and see exactly what they do on the floor.
Then I'm gonna send in plants to pinpoint the problems.
Finally, I confront the staff and set them all straight.
Come on, Donna. Have a seat.
Oh, wow.
So, we got your whole place locked down, right.
You see you got all the cameras, everything.
All right, so based on what you told me,
you have no real restaurant background,
you don't have no manager helping you out, right?
No.
Have you ever interviewed a manager?
Why?
'Cause I do everything myself.
So, this is a problem right there.
Maybe.
Right? Tell me about your kitchen staff.
My kitchen staff -- three guys --
two cooks and a dish washer.
Two cooks and a dish washer,
and who's that on camera E right now?
That's Rammor, the chef.
Beer wings, two. One jerk, one soy.
How long's he with you?
He's been with me from the beginning.
Okay.
How's the food get out if you're busy
and you got 30, 40 people in there
with only two people cooking?
Serge is usually on the fryer,
and Rammor usually plates and sends out.
Okay, so let's take a look at your wait staff.
Right now, it's $5 for drinks, and $3 for tequila shots.
WILLIE: Who's that?
Anadessa.
And what does she do here?
She's a waitress.
How is she?
She's not as confident as a waitress.
She don't have an outgoing personality?
She doesn't. She's very timid.
Yes.
We, I mean, I don't have all the menus.
Like, it was like two days ago,
so we still had it on the shelf.
I did.
And why?
You needed somebody?
I did.
And you just put her in the position?
Yes.
So, you're already hurting your own business
by not putting her in the right position.
I guess.
All right, camera G. Who's that?
No, just us.
DONNA: Promise.
5 months.
Yeah.
Okay.
You said Promise?
Do you give him a script to run? You give him plays?
You teach him how to greet a table,
what you want to sell?
Okay.
So, let's watch and see how Promise is
with these customers.
What do you suggest that we have?
The empanadas?
Not bad. Promise had a recommendation.
Empanadas -- they're not big money makers,
so let me ask you, what would you want to sell?
I would like him to sell everything.
Yeah, but you got to give him a plan.
Selling everything's one thing,
but what's your five key signature items here?
Beso shrimp, the Arepas,
Plantain Relleno, quarter chicken,
the whole fish.
Okay. So, you have signature items.
So, those are the game plans
you want them first to really highlight, right?
Right.
I'm kind of in the mood for shrimp.
So, we were looking to do the Beso shrimp.
Ooh, I could do shrimp.
[ Chuckling ] Okay, serious?
WILLIE: Wow.
So, the Beso shrimp is one of your signature items,
and you're out of it.
[ Sighs ]
Right.
No wonder you're at work all the time
and never see your family.
If this is one of your biggest-selling items,
how can you be running out of it already?
That's not how you're gonna run your business.
Are you serious?
Okay.
You got any specials?
Wait a minute. Is it spicy?
'Cause I'm not overly fond of spicy food
'cause it doesn't do my digestive system too well.
Your staff should know what has spice in it in
and what's cooked, and they should know that.
They should be able to talk with the guests.
If they don't like spicy,
they got to steer them away of certain things.
I always tell everyone that this menu, it's like your bible.
If you don't know it, you can't sell.
Sometimes, customers will ask a question --
"What is in the Arepas?"
They probably don't know
because that's probably their first time here,
so the waiter's there to answer those things.
Mm-hmm.
How about we try the chicken taco Tuesday olé?
All right, so they're gonna order the tacos
'cause you're out of the Beso shrimp.
Now, with the $3 tacos, any taco's $3?
Any tacos are $3.
Okay, I would do it three or more,
so then you get everybody to buy three.
Right?
So, I'm gonna show your chef
how to make three tacos at a time.
Now that we've decided on tacos, how long does that take?
Are you sure?
Is anyone back there in the kitchen?
WILLIE: The chef's nowhere to be found.
Look at the guests. They're hungry.
They want to eat. Where is this guy?
We have about eight tickets
ticking out the p.o.s. printer.
Where's your chef? He's not in the kitchen.
Probably downstairs, but with all those tickets --
Why's the chef getting supplies now?
You should be fully stocked. You're open for business.
Who's in charge of ordering?
I am.
That's a major no-no, right?
Once you get these build up of tickets,
how's the service gonna be on the floor, right?
Customer's gonna be waiting for food,
now they're all backed up, they're gonna be upset, right?
These little things affect your guests.
We're the only ones in here.
There's no one in the kitchen. It's crazy.
No way should there ever be nobody in that kitchen.
DONNA: Exactly.
This is just unreal.
All of this is really surprising.
This is insane.
Come on. This is ridiculous.
I can't believe what I'm seeing.
You have to take charge of your business
and do what it takes to make your place survive.
WILLIE: The chef's nowhere to be found.
How you gonna serve customers
when there's nobody in your kitchen?
Exactly.
This is just unreal.
Look who just showed up.
I can't believe these customers are still here.
So, this is affecting your business.
New Yorkers are used to fast service,
everybody all over them, in, out, get it done, right?
Yeah, I should get -- Oh, looky there.
It's about time. They better be good.
So, let's see what they say about your tacos.
Ooh.
Surprise, it's spicy.
Are you kidding me?
She asked for no spice,
and now her mouth's on fire with these tacos.
I don't know if I can really eat this.
Come on. This is a joke.
They ordered the tacos,
the girl said she didn't want spice,
yet she gets one that's super spicy.
Your staff needs to pay attention to the details.
They need to listen to the customer.
They need to know what's spicy and what's not
and communicate to the chef.
I mean, this is steps we go through every single day.
DONNA: It's just totally disappointing.
I don't know how well you train them,
but it doesn't seem to me
that anybody here's been trained professionally.
So, one of the key issues I see here at Beso --
there's no attention to detail.
Promise didn't know that the tacos were spicy,
even though the guest specifically said,
"I do not like hot food."
Little things like this
is what's gonna kill Donna's business.
They're not coming back.
The staff has to be informed, they got to educate the guest,
got to know the food, and you got to make things better.
They're never gonna come back.
It's really a big eye-opener.
So, you say you go over the details
with your staff all the time,
but obviously, none of them are following through
with what you tell them, so I'm gonna send in a test,
and we're gonna see how they handle special requests.
WOMAN: Hi, how are you?
Good afternoon.
Yes.
All right, Sammy,
go ahead with your friends, go in the backyard.
It's your birthday,
you're having a celebration, have some fun.
Do you ask people when they make their reservations
if it's a special occasion and they're coming here --
if it's their birthday, their anniversary,
make them feel special?
Yes. It helps to know those things.
Well, let's see what happens, right?
My name is Anadessa.
I'll be your server for today.
Awesome.
It's my birthday today.
Thank you.
Oh.
Do you do anything for people when it's their birthday?
Birthday cake with candles.
That's okay, but you do a little birthday cake
Yes, with the candle.
So, Sammy, they give complementary birthday cake,
but see if you can get some free shots.
Have you thought about, like, any type of drinks
or food for right now that I can just put in?
I could do a shot of whiskey.
Can we get it special?
Special for her?
Birthday special?
I don't know if they --
Come on. She's pretty.
[ Chuckles ] Oh, my goodness.
I could ask if we do that.
I'll ask the bartender.
Can you go check?
Yeah, I'll go check right now.
You're welcome.
Why does Anadessa have to ask
when you supposedly have a policy?
What's with that?
I expect people to know.
I mean, this is things we go through,
steps we go through every single day.
You're beginning to sound like a broken record.
You say you're going over this, you say you're going over that,
but nobody's listening.
They're all clueless.
You don't have no manager helping you train them.
So, you're just flying from the seat of your pants.
They asked me if we do, like, whiskey shots
'cause it's, like, her birthday or whatever.
I don't know if you want to give her something
and then, like, obviously, like, well, on the others.
I don't know. You figure it out.
I'm gonna put it in.
And now you're giving out free whiskey,
so you're already losing money on the table.
She's not trained. She's ad-libbing.
But who's giving her the permission
to give people free drinks?
You are. You hired her.
You trained her. This is your business.
Everyone is doing their own thing.
Everybody's doing whatever it is...
...they want to do.
Does this happen when you're in there?
It doesn't happen when I'm in there.
No.
And it's extremely upsetting.
TOGETHER: Shots. Shots. Shots. Shots.
I bring an extra shot of tequila just in case
if any of you want a little spice or something.
That's ridiculous.
It is your birthday, you know?
She didn't even mention about the birthday cake.
She just offered the free shots
and even gave them an extra one.
This is what's going on when you're not here.
I don't know how it's run when you're here.
You say you're all over everything,
but they can't be two completely different staffs.
They're like, what -- Jekyll and Hydes?
It is very frustrating to watch.
This is a fail, and it's your fault.
This is upsetting.
It's like money going down the drain.
So, all the hard work for your family isn't paying off.
Look what's going on here.
All right, so who's that on camera E?
Hello. How are you?
Alyssa.
Yes.
And she's the bartender here?
She's the bartender.
And how long's she been here?
She's been here for 6 months.
Alyssa. Girl over-poured your ***.
God, she's giving away the whole bottle.
Look at that. You hired her?
Yes, I did.
Okay, who trained her?
Okay.
What is that? You got two girls on camera D.
Oh, my gosh, girl.
How are you, ladies?
Pretty good.
So, already seen Alyssa, your bartender, over-pouring.
Let's see how she does with these two girls.
What is the specials you have?
ALYSSA: Specials --
or ladies night, we have the $20 fish bowl.
So, ladies night starts at what time?
6:00.
We have fish bowls, which is $20.
Yeah? $20, one big fish bowl.
One big fish bowl.
And how many people could drink that?
Two or four?
I've seen two drink out of it.
All right, so we could start with a --
The fish bowl, yes.
We'll share it.
Okay.
WILLIE: That's a lot of *** in there.
Come on.
This drink is crazy.
She got some grenadine going in.
She's got blue curaçao going in.
Finish the damn drink already.
I know.
Come on. This is unbelievable.
Wow, that's a big-*** drink.
That drink right there's for four people, not for two,
if you're gonna put that much *** in it, right?
I started as a bartender.
You have a three-second count.
Three seconds for any liquor is plenty for any drink.
You're losing profits like crazy here.
Our first fish bowl, 'cause I've never had one before.
Let me tell you, those two ladies drink that one drink,
they're whacked, right?
They're not buying a second.
Would you drink one of them?
No, right?
That drink's loaded with alcohol.
You're losing a lot of money.
We got to re-invent that drink.
You need juice in that drink.
Ooh. [ Chuckles ]
It is very strong.
You about to tap out?
[ Both laugh ]
Bed-Stuy, the alcohol.
You so slow.
WILLIE: This is sickening.
They're out of their minds already from one drink.
Usually, she makes great drinks.
It's surprising.
That's too much alcohol -- way too much alcohol.
Way too much, right?
What are you drinking?
You should order the fish bowl, I'm telling you.
WILLIE: You got to pay attention
to customers drinking too much.
Nobody wants to come to a restaurant
and see a bunch of drunk slobs at the bar.
DONNA: If somebody came in for a quiet dinner,
is that, you know, service for them? No.
The next key issue I see is that this bar is not being managed.
Donna's losing thousands of dollars a week by over-pouring.
It's not good for your bottom line,
and nobody wants to see guests falling down drunk.
Beso's bar is losing money,
and most of all, getting customers whacked.
It got me feeling like, "Damn."
It is ladies night, and we deserve to feel good.
It's definitely getting over-the-top now, right?
It is over-the-top. They're drunk.
And not one staff member,
not anybody say one thing to them.
There's no authority figure,
none of your staff is stepping up to take charge.
They don't have your back at all, really.
Every single day, I'm pushing hard
to make sure that this business works.
I've tried so many different ways,
and it's still not working.
That's why I just want to give up.
It's not too late. Order it now.
Oh.
Whoo, ladies night!
Well, when you finish, fish bowl.
WILLIE: Those customers are outside,
and they can still hear these clowns.
These girls are out of control.
You got to taste this, okay?
Unbelievable.
You have got to taste --
Oh, my God.
Oh, my gosh.
Oh, no.
That's insane.
These are your customers walking in the door.
Not theirs.
I bust my *** for everything that I do.
Everything that I have, I work hard for it.
So, you can't give up.
You're not dead yet.
I can't watch anymore.
That's a first ever.
MAN: Yeah, that was crazy.
But she's, like, giving up a little bit.
Yeah, I've never seen anything like that before.
She's not a restaurateur,
but I'm gonna help her get there.
So, the issues I see at Beso so far are there's a wait staff
that pays absolutely no attention to detail
and a bar that's not being managed at all.
So obviously, it was too hard for Donna to watch firsthand
what was going on in her restaurant,
but she needs to get real about her staff,
or she's gonna lose everything she's worked so hard to build.
She's coming.
We got work to do.
You got some air?
You're calmed down?
All right, I'm glad you're back.
Yeah, I'm back.
It is.
All of this is upsetting, you know?
It's a wake-up call.
I mean, people go to school and college
and train in restaurants for years
and work their way through the ranks
to open their own restaurant,
so you really took a huge risk,
and then you bring in people to work here.
You're not maybe putting them in the position they belong in,
so you got to look in the mirror a little bit
and you got to say,
"Hey, whatever I'm doing ain't working."
Maybe the way I speak to people, the way I come across,
I'm rough with it,
and some people, they just don't take to that.
You have no patience. You're --
None.
You want things a certain way,
so you hammer it right to them.
Yeah.
And how do you think they feel about that?
I don't think they're happy with it.
So, really, you could do it,
but you need a manager because if you're not here,
a lot of these issues are happening, right?
Right.
All right, so let's get back to business.
Give me camera K.
Look at this service bar.
Miss, excuse me.
Can I talk to you for a minute, please?
ALYSSA: Sure.
What is the Beso wings? How are they cooked?
Beso wings are chicken wings,
and they're coated in whichever sauce you choose.
We have jerk, soy ginger, or guava barbecue sauce.
I'm gonna have the Beso wings, jerk.
Okay. Anything else?
Yes.
All right.
All right, and I hope it don't take too long,
'cause I got somewhere I got to be.
They already started.
Like, they've prepped them to be finished.
They prep them to be finished?
Yes, they're just gonna dip it in the grease
and give it to you with the sauce on it.
Dip it in the grease?
They got to put it in the grease.
Huh?
They come out very quickly.
Out of the grease?
I've never heard anybody call it "out of the grease"
in my life.
Dip it in grease? Who the hell says that?
Who calls anything grease?
People are into health and fitness.
Who wants to hear about grease?
With a staff like this,
you can forget about spending more time with your family.
These people keep texting me. I got to go.
You're not that busy,
you're not running a 10-cents wing night,
you're not cooking hundreds of wings, right?
No, it's not.
I've been waiting a long time.
Okay, so you want to rush it, but you're not gonna rush it.
WILLIE: So, your bartender right there,
she's giving him an attitude,
she's being condescending to him, right?
Miss, you checking on those wings for me?
I'm going to it right now for you, okay?
All right, thank you.
I'm sure.
Her attitude sucks.
So, she needs a class in *** kissing.
Imagine that. Your chef's nowhere to be found again.
Where's this guy always going?
No possible way would it ever take 15 minutes
to deep fry four wings.
Where's this damn chef?
Look at the bar. Give me camera G.
Look at this guy -- He's in the dining room,
and he's literally eating a wing.
This is the best chef in the world. I love him.
Yo, dude, you're the chef?
Where my wings at, man?
You know how long ago I ordered those wings?
I'm sitting here waiting on wings, and you eating wings?
Come on, Donna. Look at this.
Are you frustrated or what?
Look at the chef.
He's at the bar eating chicken wings
instead of making chicken wings.
Exactly, and they know for sure
there's no eating once we're open.
And your bartender's still hiding in the kitchen.
Come on. This place is an embarrassment.
There's no reason for her to be in that kitchen.
None whatsoever.
It's frying.
I'm not gonna give you no food
then you say it's not well done, all right?
All right, that's fair enough.
You want to get it well done, you're getting it well done.
Hold on.
WILLIE: Unbelievable, this one.
Like, 15 minutes?
No. No.
He wanted wings. He's gonna get wings.
WILLIE: The chef's got an attitude with the customer.
First of all, he should be in the back.
Under no circumstance should any staff in any restaurant
be acting like this.
He's getting his wings now.
Tell him enjoy.
Come on. This is a joke.
It's just laziness -- laziness on their part,
you know, not wanting to deal with the situation.
She got my wings?
About time.
You know how long I been waiting for them wings?
Thank you.
Miss. This is not cooked.
It's a free for all,
and you haven't done anything, really, about it.
That's crazy.
If this continues, you're done.
Miss. This is not cooked.
ALYSSA: Not cooked?
No. You see that?
I'm looking at it with you.
WILLIE: So, your staff should know
there's no excuse for that ever.
It's a no-brainer. It's just stupid.
You all right? You upset a little bit?
That's good. Get it all out.
That's what we're here for, right?
And it's just so painful to watch this.
It really is.
Yeah. It's killing you.
It is.
It does.
Sucks the life out of you, actually.
It does.
We're not crying and whining today.
I'm here to help you,
but you have to take charge of your business.
Everything we see, every little action your staff makes
is why customers aren't coming back.
You cannot run a restaurant like this
without proper management.
If things don't change quick, you can kiss Beso goodbye.
Next key issue I see is a complete lack of leadership.
Donna works really hard, but she's not working smart.
She's frustrated with the staff,
and they tuned her out a long time ago.
Beso desperately needs a manager who cares just as much as Donna
to right this sinking ship.
We need to get somebody who knows what they're doing
to help you now to stop this place from bleeding.
You're totally right.
Come on. I've seen enough.
I'm sick to my stomach.
Give me 10 minutes. I'm coming in there.
Unbelievable.
So, the key issues at Beso are
the staff pays no attention to detail,
the bar's completely mismanaged,
and there's a lack of leadership running this restaurant.
NARRATOR: Not wanting to wait until morning...
Hi, everyone. Thanks for coming out.
...Donna calls an emergency meeting with the staff.
I've put a lot of money into this business,
and we need to make a lot of changes here in Beso.
It's really important that we get it together,
or else these doors are gonna be closed.
They have no idea that Willie is about to come through the door.
The way we treat our customers...
Hi, Donna. Hi, everybody.
I'm William Jack Degel of Uncle Jack's Steakhouse.
We set up hidden cameras and microphones.
We did a stakeout for the entire week,
and quite frankly,
we were both very shocked at what we saw, right?
Right. It was really, really disgusting what I saw on tape.
So, Anadessa, we sent in some people,
they had a birthday party.
You were buying them a round of shots right away.
I mean, free shot -- okay.
So, you just chose it upon yourself
to give them out free shots.
No.
We watched it.
You gave them a free shot.
She says you have a birthday dessert
that you give people complimentary.
I guess.
TOGETHER: Shots. Shots. Shots. Shots.
And what made you choose to do that?
It was a birthday, so --
Well, do we have to give away free drinks on the house?
No.
So, she saw you give out free stuff when she's struggling.
She says that's not part of the routine.
No, you're right. You're right.
Right? So, that's her money.
She don't want to give it out, right?
This is not complicated.
This is a woman who came here, built this opportunity,
gives everybody a job,
so you guys got to be ready for this show.
Alyssa, you were bartending.
I do.
Well, you got to do a much better job at bartending.
You got to have a sense of urgency.
You want to make the drinks quick, you want to move.
You were making that big drink where the two girls got drunk.
A fish bowl?
That drink has way too much alcohol.
The two girls drank, and they got whacked from one of them.
You have got to taste --
Oh!
I want to change the recipe.
I'm gonna work with you tomorrow.
We got to fix that.
And you were talking about how the wings are made.
How are the wings cooked here?
They're blanched first, and then re-fried.
Oil.
Oil?
You tell us oil.
You told the customer grease.
They're just gonna dip it in the grease
and give it to you with the sauce on it.
Dip it in the grease?
Yeah. They got to put it in the grease.
I never heard anybody say "grease"
in my life in a restaurant.
You just say they deep fry it.
But people come here for service, right?
Great service, happy.
Let me see your face. Where's your smiley face?
No?
I really got to tell you, me -- you wouldn't work for me.
I hear you.
I wouldn't put you nowhere in this business
'cause I don't think you're a people person.
You got to be outgoing, right?
You failed a lot, but that's okay.
You know, a lot of people do.
But now we work from that, and we only get great.
Yeah.
So, Ram, you're back in the kitchen,
and then you were nowhere to be found.
You can never let tickets back up in the kitchen like that.
Where are you going, downstairs?
Downstairs, yeah.
For what?
'Cause I got other stuff,
like, I need to take from the kitchen to downstairs.
Are you not prepped and ready and prepared for your night?
If you're gonna do 40 to 50 guests
and have your most popular items ready,
you have to be prepared.
You have to have a list.
You have to look at sales based on the week, every day.
You have to look at this.
DONNA: We got to get it together.
I saw the guy.
He had some wings at the bar.
He asked for them well done.
Rammor, you were outside at the bar
actually eating wings with your fingers
while he was looking for his wings to get cooked.
I'm sitting here waiting on wings, and you eating wings?
Guy with the wings, that's how I realized he was outside.
I don't know why you would be out of the kitchen,
'cause you weren't that busy.
You should be back there making the food, prepping,
getting ready for the dupes and putting the food out, right?
Right.
But you have to have discipline in this business
and you got to care,
'cause she said when she first opened,
so many people came, it was so busy,
and it just keeps getting slower and slower,
and she don't understand why.
I know why.
It's all these little things you guys are doing wrong
that we saw.
And you, Promise, right?
What have I done?
What have you done?
You got to be more on point.
I believe I did that.
WILLIE: It's all these little things
you guys are doing wrong that we saw.
And you, Promise, right?
What have I done?
What have you done?
You got to be more on point.
Sent somebody in.
They had tacos, and she said she didn't want spicy tacos.
WOMAN: Is it spicy?
I'm not overly fond of spicy food
'cause it doesn't do my digestive system too well.
What happened?
I haven't tasted it to know how spicy --
But you should know that.
You got to study the menu.
You know, I showed her what needs to be known
as somebody who's just coming in.
If a customer tells you they don't like spicy,
you as a server, you're on red alert.
They're ordering the tacos, you tell her, "No problem.
It comes with this tomatillo sauce."
Mm-hmm.
Right? But you didn't do that.
So, you dropped the ball.
Right.
Have you worked in any restaurants prior to here?
Yes.
And did they have structure and organization
and guidelines and ways of doing things?
Yes. The boss told me exactly what they wanted.
And did you follow that day in and day out?
Yeah.
And what happened if you didn't follow it?
If you didn't, probably write ups,
and then you're on your way out the door.
This is what I'm talking about.
You have to have systems and procedures in place.
So, what is this business based on, right?
Consistency in product, executed excellence,
fast, sense of urgency.
So, that's what we're gonna work on tomorrow.
I'm gonna get in the kitchen with you.
I'm gonna get behind the bar.
Beso is my whole life.
It really means a lot keeping those doors open.
And I need your help. I cannot do it by myself.
and together as a team, I think we all can succeed.
Stressful, but we got a long road to go, right?
Thank you so much. Thank you for the input.
See everybody tomorrow.
DONNA: I'm a little bit overwhelmed with what I saw yesterday.
I put every single thing that I have into this business,
so I would love more help to run this restaurant the right way
so I can spend quality time with my kids.
And it's just not working.
But it's a new day,
and I'm happy that Willie's here to help out.
NARRATOR: Willie brings in his director of operations
for the Uncle Jack's brand
to advise Donna on how to run a successful restaurant.
So, Brad, you know I'm trying to help this woman Donna out.
I normally never need you over here, but with this woman,
she got into this business, put $300,000 in,
she's never been in the restaurant business.
She's tough on herself. She's a fighter.
This has been tough on me.
She's been fighting 'cause she's so frustrated.
She feels like --
She needs what we can do.
Yeah, yeah, we have to show her everything we do,
how we hire, how we train,
show her the systems we implement at Uncle Jack's,
everything we do, what makes us the best.
So, we'll just show her how to do it.
Great.
All right. Hi, Donna.
Have a seat.
How are you?
Nice to meet you.
Director of operations, right.
So, Brad's got almost 40 years' experience,
I have almost 30 years' experience,
so you're talking almost 70 years here to help you.
I did not know what I was getting into.
For sure.
So, three basic concepts to make sure.
You hire hard, you train with detail,
and then you cut your losses.
Okay.
You don't hire somebody because it's a warm body,
and that's what happens in this industry.
I'm guilty. I've been doing it.
You sit across them and you go, "Wow, I got a great feel.
"This is a person who's worked.
"They had a paper route as a kid.
"They've worked as a person.
I'm gonna teach you how to work in my job."
That may be the best hire.
But after that, you train with detail.
Give them a game plan and a reason.
Here's your checklist.
"This wasn't done. Why wasn't it done?"
"Okay, well, you're not doing your job right.
Do you want to keep your job?"
You can't leave things to memory.
You want to have it written down.
So, the next thing that you have to do is cut your losses.
Training them five days.
Your employee comes over to you and goes,
"Listen, you know that new guy?
"I'm telling you, he's late, he's smelly,
he doesn't care, he hasn't learned anything."
So, now day three of training, what do you do?
There you go. That's it.
How are you feeling? You ready?
Good.
To hire hard, train with detail, and cut my losses.
There you go. All right, so let's get inside.
Let's get to work, all right?
Brad, thanks for coming out.
Let's go talk to Alyssa.
We might have to cut our losses on this one.
So, Donna -- Donna, we went through this thing.
You saw Alyssa.
You know,
she wasn't so enthusiastic about the whole stakeout,
her personality behind the bar, she was slow.
She says you're a steady Eddie.
Yes. Steady Eddie.
But that's just not enough in this business.
You got to really step out of your shell.
Right, and I haven't told you,
but a lot of people have complained
about "Alyssa's not great."
But for some reason,
I feel like, you know, I got to keep Alyssa on.
But the great bartender is more outgoing, more personality.
You're affecting everybody.
It's almost like when they're making a drink,
it's like, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom.
And their eyes are at the bar,
they're getting your attention, "I'll be with you in a minute."
Service -- "I got you covered. Two seconds."
I want to see the enthusiasm, the excitement.
You coming in, whether it's fake or not, bring it.
This is what we do in this business.
We kiss ***.
Oh, wow, she sounded just like me.
Unbelievable, huh?
[ Chuckles ]
I'm creating a monster over here, right?
Do I look enthusiastic?
I'm enthusiastic, right?
You're, like, all right there.
Something.
It's like he's on an enthusiastic pill.
I need you to get on that same pill.
Why am I -- why do I love doing this?
Why? I love people.
Even if they're pain in the ***,
I look at them as, "Ah, this guy's a pain in the ***.
"He's got his story. It's okay. We'll get through it."
Yeah, when the man came in,
he spoke about the chicken wings being not cooked.
I think I handled it well.
No, you didn't handle it very well.
Okay.
Talking about grease is not handling it well,
talking condescending to the guest is not handling it well.
I could've handled it a lot worse.
You had a face on the whole time.
But you're not here to handle it a lot worse,
and that's what you're not getting.
That shouldn't even be said.
I don't know if you really got it in you,
I really got to tell you.
Maybe you're tired of Beso.
Maybe it's time for a change.
If she don't make changes and come with her "A" game
and understand what it is to be a bartender,
what are you gonna do?
DONNA: When the man came in,
he spoke about the chicken wings being not cooked.
I think I handled it well.
No, you didn't handle it very well.
Okay.
Talking about grease is not handling it well.
Maybe you're tired of Beso.
Maybe it's time for a change. I don't know.
What do you want to do?
I mean, I agree with you guys.
I agree with everything that you're saying.
I can bring out a lot more personality, and...
I think you have it when you want it,
and I think you can really bring it.
So, you have to change your outlook.
It's a switch.
This business is about the people.
That's what you have to do. That's your job.
It's what it is.
I would not want to make you do something
that you're not good at, right?
So, you have to bring it.
You know what I mean? That's this business, right?
So, how do you do that? Charm them.
Charm them. Show them love.
I'll bring it for you.
Now all we got to do is get this one to smile,
and maybe she can stay here.
Yeah.
So, I want you to be friendly and outgoing,
but not so friendly by giving all the *** away,
so let's go over the fish bowl drink
so it doesn't knock your customers literally out.
So, I feel if you have the pineapple and orange juice
in the house, you can cut this the same way.
So, first thing you want to do as a bartender,
you want to pack this glass with ice nice.
Give me the bottle.
Now, you should be able to pick up all four
and go right away with three seconds, right?
Right.
Okay. Much better.
Pour your blue curaçao.
Three seconds. That's it. You're done, right?
Now I say you take this pineapple, right?
Hit it with this.
Same orange juice.
Hit it with this.
For $20, now two people can drink it
and not get intoxicated,
and it's not gonna take them two hours
and not spend more money.
That's what I say, right?
No. You're right.
Let's go. You ready? Dive in.
Now that's a drink, right?
Mm-hmm.
Smooth, not like, "Whoo. Oh, my God," right?
Yeah, smooth.
All right, we got a lot of work to do here.
I got more stuff to do.
I got to get in the kitchen.
NARRATOR: Now that Alyssa's onboard,
Willie teaches chef Rammor the rule of three.
Rammor.
What's up, big Willie? What's up?
You got to run the back of the house
the way I want it run.
You got to be expediting. You got to be preparing.
Come up here and get battle ready.
Get the fridge loaded, be prepped and ready to go.
But you got to stay back here. This is your area.
You can't be hanging out at the bar.
You can't be eating in the dining room.
No real chef would do that.
So, if you want to wear this coat,
respect the coat and be the chef.
Yeah.
All right, so I want to make your tacos --
the signature ones,
the steak, the chicken, and the fish, right?
We want to do it minimum you have to order three at a time.
At a time.
So, let's make your three tacos.
Three tacos.
You put a little Mexican organic greens.
Organic greens.
Not much.
For a little color.
Crunch. Yeah.
What do we got ready over here?
This is the bacalao.
There's the fish, right?
That's the fish.
Okay, and this is the spicy chicken?
Okay.
So, the beef, I notice, is the wettest one, huh?
Yeah. It keeps it much better.
So, listen, the kitchen gets backed up
because you're making items like tacos one at a time.
That takes a lot of work, right?
Yeah.
So, for the bacalao,
I think a couple of little sweet plantains
chopped up would be nice.
I'm gonna take in some of this pineapple.
Pineapple, yeah.
Right, so it's a little sweet, right?
Then what do we got -- chicken?
I think the chicken with the pico de gallo's nice, right?
Yeah.
So, it's chopped onions, cilantro, right?
And then over here, we got the steak.
I think a couple little peppers and onions, right?
Yeah.
Make it nice, right? Salsa verde, right?
This is nice.
Yeah, that's jalepeño.
Okay, so that should go with one little line with the steak.
There you go.
We got the chicken, we got the bacalao, we got the beef.
Yeah.
You're mixing it up.
All right.
Stay focused. I'll see you.
Thank you, man.
Yeah.
WILLIE: So, it's six weeks later
since I staked out Beso's in Brooklyn,
and I'm heading back to see
if Donna has taken any of my advice.
Good.
What are you doing, hosting?
I'm the new manager here at Beso.
Yes.
Great. Where's Donna?
Donna's actually in the backyard.
Okay.
So, when I was last at Beso, the key issues I saw were
a restaurant with no attention to detail,
a completely mismanaged bar,
and a complete lack of leadership.
Hey, Willie. How are you?
There's my hug.
Okay, so what's going on, Donna? How's everything?
Oh, everything is great.
Yeah? It's looking good inside.
Yes. Really good.
Food looks good. What is that?
This is Plantain Relleno -- plantain stuffed with bacalao.
It's really good, spicy.
I got to try that. I didn't try it when I was here.
How is that, good?
All right, good.
Food looks good, right?
So, how's Promise doing?
I see him. He's moving quick.
Yes, he's doing really good.
He's fast. He's much better at customer service.
Good, right?
Is it spicy?
...Promise paid no attention to details
and was unfamiliar with the food.
How are you guys doing today?
Everything's all right?
...he knows the menu inside and out, and he's always on point.
So, how's Alyssa? She's on point?
Oh, yeah, she definitely is.
She just happened not to be here today.
I've been waiting a long time.
So, you want to rush it, but you're not gonna rush it.
...Alyssa was rude to customers and over-pouring drinks.
Oh!
Now they completely retrained the bartender staff
to better serve their customers.
So, who's the girl in front?
She said said she's a manager. How long's she here?
That's Tai. She's my new manager.
Okay, good.
She's a great part of the team.
Good, good. Then keep working with her, right?
She's taking a lot of responsibility from you?
Yes, she is.
Before...
I could do a shot of whiskey.
Shot of whiskey?
WILLIE: ...nobody was overseeing the staff,
so they were calling their own shots.
TOGETHER: Shots. Shots. Shots. Shots.
And the staff was clueless on what rules to follow.
It's frying.
I'm not gonna give you no food
then you say it's not well done.
Now with a manager overseeing the staff,
the place is running like clockwork.
This is the chicken taco that you ordered.
I'll bring an extra so you can try another one.
[ Bell dings ]
And chef Rammor is in the kitchen where he belongs,
preparing his popular Latin cuisine.
Yes.
All right, let's go see chef.
Come on.
I'll tell you. The food's looking good.
I like the colors. I like the plates.
Chef, hey, look who I found over here.
Good, good, good.
Willie coming to Beso has truly changed my life,
and things are much better at home.
Willie, my kids and I appreciate
everything that you've done for Beso,
and I'm so happy with the results.
Started off a little rough, but we finished okay, right?
Yes, we did.
All right, I got to get out of here.
Bye.
WILLIE: The last time I was here,
Donna was watching her investment dwindle away,
and didn't have a handle on any of her staff.
But today, she's hired a manager,
and the bar is running great.
The staff is paying attention to every last detail,
and Donna is back spending quality time with her family.
We changed what needed to be changed.
On to the next one, America.
We banged that one out.