Undercover Boss (2010) s02e11 Episode Script

America is struggling to shake off the recession.
Public distrust of wealthy CEOs remains high.
But more and more bosses are looking for radical ways to reconnect with their workforce in order to find out what's really going on in their companies.
Each week, we follow the boss of a major corporation as they go undercover in their own company.
This week Let's go down to Johnny Rockets The President and CEO of Johnny Rockets, America's largest chain of '50s Diners, poses as a former gym owner looking for a new line of work.
- Hi, Tom Carter.
- Nice to meet you.
This divorced dad will trade in his poker nights and flat-screen tvs - Cheers.
- Cheers.
For an apron and a serving tray.
A little pink there, Tom.
Uh-oh.
That's not good.
I need you to remake that burger.
Oh, man.
By working on the front line, this single father will get an insider's look at his own company.
Business is a little slow.
So what do you do when it's not busy? Do you know about our late-night happy hour? And he'll discover the unsung heroes that make his company run.
Ever since I started working here, it's like my life was just starting to make a change, man.
How will his coworkers react when they find out he's really the boss, and how will it change their lives? I've never worked a day in my life in a restaurant, and so this was truly an undercover experience.
Find out next on Undercover Boss.
With headquarters in Southern California and 320 locations worldwide, Johnny Rockets serves over and at the head of this $230 million chain of nostalgic diners is one man.
My name is John Fuller, and I'm CEO and President of Johnny Rockets.
At Johnny Rockets, we don't just sell hamburgers, we actually sell Americana.
It's a '50s, '60s-style diner.
It's an all-American type feel to it, and it takes you back to a simpler time.
We'll put happy faces in the ketchup plates when we serve 'em with our fries.
Every half hour or so, our waiters and waitresses will get up and dance.
What's fun for us to see is some of the guests and their kids get up and dance with our crew.
Our hope is that they leave feeling good about themselves and wanting to come back and tell their friends.
I was hired in April 2008 as the Chief Financial Officer of the company.
I was promoted to CEO ten months ago.
I actually grew up in the finance world.
I was at public accounting for nine years.
I grew up in Ojai, California, which is a real small community, about 5,000 people.
I was from a middle class family.
My mom was a teacher, and my dad was in electrical engineering, and my parents very much viewed education as a top priority, and so they also saved a lot of money in order to be able to put their five kids through college.
I ended up getting married at age 30.
We, uh, had two beautiful girls-- Brianna who's 13, and Michenna, who's 11.
Unfortunately, like many Americans, you know, I'm one of the half that ended up getting divorced.
All-in? All right.
All right.
Cheers.
Cheers.
Since I live on my own now, there is no shortage of big screens throughout every room in the house, and I have sports memorabilia thrown everywhere.
I have a pool table where the living room should be.
It's the definition of a man cave.
King, 7.
Straight.
- Ah.
Oh.
- I quit.
The hardest part about being a divorced dad is not being in the same house as your daughters, and even five years later, I'm still struggling with that.
I'd like to spend more time with him, because I don't get to see him that much.
I'm with my mom almost all the time, and because of his job, my dad's traveling a lot.
Hey, Michenna, it's daddy.
How are you? Uh, I'll try calling you later.
Sorry I missed you.
My dad is away at work a lot, but we still get to see 'em over the weekends and stuff.
But I miss him a lot.
The reason I want to go undercover is because, as the finance guy, I've never worked a day in my life in a restaurant.
And I really think I need to see it from the other side, and understand our restaurant operations through the eyes of an operator.
The only thing I'm kind of dreading is the dancing.
Uh, because I'm not much of a dancer.
So I'm kind of dreading having to learn how to do that.
While undercover, I'll be posing as Tom Carter, a former gym owner from Santa Barbara, California.
My employees will be told that I'm taking part in a program where two victims of the recession are competing for one open position within Johnny Rockets.
Well, I'm getting ready for my first day up in the restaurants.
And I--I'm excited, but I have to admit, I'm also a little bit nervous about it.
It's almost like my first job, uh, out of college.
Uh, the fear of the unknown, uh, is, uh Is sinking in.
Today I'm gonna go to work as a cook in one of our Manhattan locations.
I love the food at Johnny Rockets, and I want to see what it's like to do this.
No, I can't even cook for myself, so it's gonna be kind of interesting to see how I do here.
Hi.
I'm here to see Ajay.
How you doing? I'm Ajay.
Hi.
Tom Carter.
- Tom? - Yes.
First I need you to go in the bathroom, wash your hands before you come on the line, Tom.
Okay.
All righty.
- You excited, Tom? - I am.
We have a variety of burgers, different ingredients which we have to make daily.
We serve a tuna and egg salad here.
We're gonna have to prep those.
I'll teach you the grill.
I'll teach you the wheel.
Here's some disposable, latex gloves for you to wear.
- Okay.
- New York City law demands it.
Let's go make some tuna, Tom.
All right.
- Hold this.
- All right.
So we take this tuna.
We put it in.
Fill this up.
With? Uh, mayonnaise.
- All right.
- Go ahead.
Put that all-- get all of that out.
We don't waste product here at Johnny Rockets.
Go ahead.
Fold it over.
Keep folding.
Just stirring.
You know, fold it, Tom.
You fold the mixture.
You fold it.
You don't swish it all around, you know what I mean? You fold it, right? That's how you do it.
It has to be chunky.
If you stir it, it's gonna come out mushy.
He's a little slow, I see.
Okay.
Slap your meat.
This is very important.
A hamburger total cooking time, I need you to remember this, is five minutes.
It's two presses of the Patty, all right? Two presses, left and right.
Shake about a couple shakes on there like that.
Let it sit.
We never press that Patty again.
- Okay.
- So you go like this.
You slide it.
Let me see you do that.
Slide it under there and flip it to a clean part of the grill.
- All right.
- Yeah, go ahead.
Slide it all the way under.
Pick it, flip it.
Yep.
Season it up a little.
Know what I mean? Boom.
Let's see you flip that burger.
I was--I wasn't impressed the last time.
- All right.
- Go ahead.
Come in hard andBoom.
That's it.
Flip it.
On a clean part.
Right, right.
Drop it.
Drop it.
Go ahead.
Drop the cheese.
Let's wait for the cheese to melt.
Okay, here we go.
If I had a grill-- a wheel guy there, I'd be say "swinging meat.
" 'Cause we want people to be ready, know we're swinging the meat, you know what I mean? Yep.
He takes it very seriously.
And you know what? If I'm a customer coming in, I'd love to know that my cook's taking it that seriously.
So it's kind of a thrill to watch this guy in action.
You want to just pick up enough sauce, swipe it once.
Sideways on here.
Okay.
And then face the customers if they were sitting there.
Oh, they can see it? Yeah.
And then we ring this little bell here.
Tom, he saw I was running the ship and he--he knew it, you know? I am the guy here.
I make it happen over here.
There's a technique to everything I do, all right? We don't do things Willy-nilly here, you know what I mean? - Right.
- We're not animals, you know? We don't just run around and just do things without purpose.
Shape up or ship out.
That's my motto.
He'd be a heck of a drill sergeant.
What'd you do before this? I went to school for other interests of mine.
Yeah? Like music and stuff like that.
Yeah.
- What kind of music? - Uh, hip-hop music.
- Really? - And R&B music.
Reggae music.
Do you play, or you, uh Yeah, sing, rap, dance, reggae.
Yeah.
Oh, that's great.
My daughter plays guitar.
I want to-- I want to learn to play guitar.
She's teaching me, but I'm not Yeah.
I don't really That's great.
If I could learn an instrument soon, that'd be excellent, yeah.
I'm feeling hungry.
I'm in the mood for some mushroom cheese fries.
Something I kind of whipped together when I was here.
So that's an off-menu thing, it sounds like.
Yeah, it's off-menu.
It's kind of, like, what I like to make when I eat.
- An Ajay special? - Yeah.
- Sit right here? - Yeah.
All right.
Cool.
So how do you do the music thing without playing an instrument? Essence and elegance sprang selfish devilish hooligans duking it out proving which faction we're living who with it why you wanted nothing to do with it but any time you mean business you can't be timid even if it means risking you being missing You know what I mean? You just made that up? Yeah, we just do it like that, you know, so Wow.
Want to try the mushroom cheese fries? - Absolutely.
- Yeah.
I'll just dive in this side.
Yeah.
And this isn't on the menu, right? No, it's not.
We submitted some ideas to corporate.
Yeah? And I'm looking to see if they're gonna take it, yeah.
Who'd you send it to? Or who's the person or department, or how's that work? One of my bosses sent it, so I don't know who they sent it to, but, uh, somebody high up there.
Oh.
You ever hear back? - No.
- Yeah.
I was kind of bummed that he didn't get a response back, because you don't want to stifle that kind of creativity.
We done yet, Tom, or what? Go back to work? All right, Tom.
Master test time.
We're gonna see what you learned.
You're gonna do me a rocket double with fries, all right? And I want to get that in under ten minutes, all right? Under ten? Yeah.
Your time starts now, and go.
All right.
Ten minutes, Tom.
You're on your own now.
Right? That's a great amount of fries.
Rocket double top bun.
Special sauce is this guy.
- That's right.
- All right.
What is the special sauce? Uh, some kind of thousand island? Right.
So stay settled, don't panic.
Turning.
Turning or moving.
Something.
Ajay, food's ready.
You got it.
French fry golden brown, crispy.
Burger not falling apart.
Okay, let's test it, though.
Mm-hmm.
- A little pink there, Tom.
- Uh-oh.
I'm not impressed, Tom.
I'm gonna need you on the fry station.
Okay.
Oh, man.
I had to admit, I was torn between just totally busting up or having my feelings hurt when he told me that my burger was unacceptable and he threw it away.
Let me see you clean this grill here, Tom, right? Ajay's a entertaining guy.
Uh, I love learning from him, and he was passionate about cooking and what it's like to work for Johnny Rockets.
I think you can handle that, Tom.
Make it happen.
One of the concerns every brand faces is the addition of new menu items.
Here's a cook that was looking out for the overall good of the company.
I want to find a way to encourage our franchisees to share ideas they have, you know, because that's great leadership.
All right.
It's not rocket surgery, right? Coming up Do you want to take a seat and watch us? The boss learns a few moves.
I'm gonna try to do it with you.
All right.
Shake, shake, shake, shake.
Attitude! Twist, twist.
Twist, twist.
Twist.
Twist.
And later That's Tom.
John struggles to maintain his cover.
You look like somebody else.
Who's that? The CEO of the Johnny Rockets.
John Fuller, the CEO of Johnny Rockets, is a boss undercover in his own company.
His employees think he's part of a reality show where two people compete for one job within the business.
Slide it under there and flip it to a clean part of the grill.
Go ahead.
Slide it all the way under.
His journey continues in Connecticut.
Today I'm gonna be working at the Mohegan Sun Casino here in Connecticut.
Uh, this restaurant is the most successful restaurant we have in the system.
I really want to see if this restaurant does anything more unique than some of our other locations that maybe we can learn from.
I'm excited to get to work today, but today's gonna be tough.
It's my daughter's and I'm missing it.
Excuse me.
Hi.
- I'm here to see Janice.
- Oh.
Hi.
Tom Carter.
Hi, Tom.
Nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
How are you? Very well, thank you.
Are you coming in? Are you gonna be my wingman today? - Yes, I am.
- All right.
Come on right down this way.
This is your stuff.
- I need help.
- All right, baby.
Anyone got a stool? Yeah, I--I can't do bow ties.
Okay, you know what's funny is this is usually my job.
When all the new people come in, I usually dress them.
Who's my big boy? Okay, so you're gonna follow me.
All right, put me to work.
- Get ready.
- Teach me.
All right, here we go.
So our breakfast is 8:00 to 10:45.
- Oh, just two hours? - Yep.
Now, not a lot of Johnny Rockets do breakfast.
Yeah, the few I've been in haven't--haven't done it, so Couple months ago we decided we're gonna do breakfast-- let's do it Monday through Friday.
It has worked out awesome for us.
It's all about just taking care of people.
"Hi, how are you today? You having a good day? What do you feel like eating?" You know? Yeah, just interacting.
And take care of 'em like they're your family.
Like they're your daughters, like they're your mom, your dad.
And that's what I do.
Okay.
Okay, Tom, come here.
This is teamwork.
This is Cara.
She's got an omelet.
- All right.
- You want to grab the toast? Sure.
Grab the two English muffins.
- All right.
I'll follow you.
- All right.
Morning, fellas.
How we doing this morning? Who's doing the omelet? - I am.
- All right, love.
All right, come on.
We're gonna go take a table's order.
Are you guys ready to eat some breakfast this morning? - We are.
- All right, my dears.
What are we having? Three eggs over.
Over easy, medium, or hard? Over here? That was good.
All right, and this is big Tommy.
He's gonna be helping me out.
So if you can't see me, you can see him.
All right.
Can I get you something to drink to start out with? All right.
- How you doin', honey? - All right.
He wants coffee.
Did he want milk or cream? He didn't want anything.
He wanted it black.
Black? All righty.
Don't forget a spoon.
- I'll give him a spoon.
- You take his order yet? - Not yet.
- All right.
I'm gonna come up behind you.
Here you go, sir.
Hey, good mornin'.
You're back again! Have you decided what you wanted off the menu? Yes, I'll have the one egg.
Okay, one egg.
How do you like it? - I'm sorry, over and-- - medium.
Medium.
Yeah? Okay.
What kind of meat? Bacon, ham, or sausage? Oh, what kind of meat would you like? Okay, bacon.
Do you like it crispy? Crispy or Crispy? All right.
- What else? - Toast or English muffin? Toast or English muffin? - English.
- Okay.
All right.
Is there anything else I can bring you? - That's it.
- All right.
Thank you.
All right, come on over.
Janice has more energy than any person I've ever met in my life.
Are we winning any money yet? - Uh, stayin' alive.
- Aha! That a girl! She's fun, and you can tell that the customers there really like her.
Ha ha ha ha ha! - You know all your customers? - Yeah.
I have a lot of regulars.
I've been here almost nine years.
I have more regulars than I do Oh, really? That's great.
- How's the Turkey doing? - Good? - Beautiful.
- Do you ever get a line out the door? Heck, yes.
That's when it's thrilling.
That's exciting.
That's when you're star quality.
And that's when you gotta go fast.
Yes, you gotta go fast.
And you gotta love it, and you gotta be boppy, and you gotta be like-- because you've got all these eyes watching you, and they watch you! Then we get up there, we do the dance-- we're like come on come on Yeah, and then you get people that, you know, had a couple drinks, some of 'em, and they wanna dance with ya! But the more people, the better.
- Yeah.
- 'Cause you can feel it, and you'll just--spaa.
Part of the Johnny Rockets brand experience is to have dancing in the restaurants.
And I knew coming into this undercover experience that I was gonna dread the dancing part.
You wanna take a seat and watch us, or are you gonna do this actually? No, I'm gonna try to do it with you.
And I do dread it.
I don't dance.
I don't like it.
To let you know All the Johnny Rockets dance.
From Texas to Hong Kong, they're supposed to dance.
Okay.
Corporate gives us some dances.
I'm gonna be straight honest with you-- the corporate dances stink.
Really? Okay.
So I've basically created-- myself-- I've created a bunch of new dances.
- All right.
- This is easy.
Ready? One, two, three.
This is it! This is a very happy song.
'Cause we wanna liven this joint up.
Let's go down to Johnny Rockets come get your show and away we go go where, back to the '50s where the fun begins come on, everybody, grab my hand shake shake shake shake attitude - shake shake shake - twist twist twist When Tom came to dance, I can tell right off the bat he's not a dancer.
You know, he's not gonna be like a superstar! You know? That's just not him.
- Jump jump - swim swim - jump jump jump - swim swim If I was to grade my dance performance, you know, if there was a letter worse than "f", I'd probably give it to it.
But, you know, I tried.
It just-- that's just not a skill I have.
Go, rockets! I did it.
- You ready for the-- - are we done? Done for the moment.
Let's sit.
Let's find out who Tommy is.
Where do you wanna sit, over here? All right, lovey.
So Tell me a little bit about you.
Okay.
About me.
Um I'm a divorced dad.
You are? Okay.
I have two daughters, How long were you married for? - Uh, 12 years.
- Okay.
Yeah.
And then, um, like didn't work out and I went on my own, and, you know, what about you? Um, okay.
II have four daughters.
My first marriage-- I got married a second time.
Your kids--like, how'd they handle the divorce? They were great with it.
You know why? 'Cause I always tell them you love your kids.
- Yeah? - Just love 'em.
'Cause there's a lot of people, they go out there, they party--"oh, what are you doing this weekend? Let's go to the--" don't.
You know what? I have plenty of time to do that when they're in college.
Right now, I got 'em.
I'm the kinda mom-- I get sad when they have a birthday.
- Oh, yeah.
- It's just another year closer to them leaving, you know, starting their own lives, so How are you gonna pay for schooling? Do you know how you're gonna--? Not right now.
I'm the breadwinner of the family.
My husband works, but I'm definitely the breadwinner.
So you can make a living being a server here.
Yeah.
It's stressful.
My kid's like, "mommy, can I have this, I need this," - da da da da-- - it's hard to say no, isn't it? I sensed that Janice was under some pressure as the primary wage earner for her household.
But she seems to not let that pressure get to her when she's at the restaurant, 'cause she is nothing but positive, endless energy.
You know, I survive with this.
You know, but I have nothing put aside for-- not that I don't want to have anything put aside, but I always look at it-- if I have it now, I want to be able to make memories with them.
I wanna be able to be My dad died, and he wanted to go see the grand canyon before he died.
He wanted to take my mom out west before he died.
So did he ever get to the grand canyon or-- no So before he died he said, "jan, if you have it now--money's nothing.
Your health is everything.
" Right.
And he says, "if you have it now, do it now.
" I lost my dad My youngest daughter was born Swear to God.
- Wow! - Yeah.
So today's her birthday.
Yeah, today's her birthday.
So it's a special day for both of us.
That's freaky.
That--well, that's amazing.
There's some similarities between Janice and our families and mine.
She strikes me as someone who is very selfless and would do anything for her kids.
She's a very caring, genuine person.
Honey, you wanna take a coffee with you - in a to-go cup? - That would be nice.
All right, you're welcome.
Keep that engine goin'.
It's been a long time since I've been able to talk to my kids, and I'm very much looking forward to getting home and seeing my girls again.
Hey, Michenna, it's daddy.
How are you? Hey, I wanted to call and say Happy Birthday.
I cannot wait to get home.
It's killing me that I'm missing my younger daughter's birthday.
But I'm gonna see you very soon.
Miss you, love you, can't wait to see you.
Bye.
I really can't wait to see my kids again.
Today I'm at one of our New York City restaurants, and this particular site has a strong interest for me because it's a sports lounge.
There's only a few Johnny Rockets that does have a full bar.
We're testing them and-- to see how they do.
Simply put, we're in New York City, the biggest city in the country.
It's a sports-crazy town.
I'm excited to really get in to see how our sports bar concept is working, and no better place to do that than New York.
- Hi.
- Hi.
How are you? I'm looking for Claudia.
- Hold on just a second.
- All right.
Here you go.
Okay, let me just get you your uniform.
Wow, you're a big guy.
Ha ha.
Yeah.
All right, so what do I do? So they're gonna order a drink, so A few months ago, I met the franchise owner of this location and his in-laws.
His in-laws are actually sitting at the bar right now.
- That's Tom.
- Hi.
Who's that? They recognize me, the, uh, in-laws of the owner.
I feel like if I stay here five more minutes, she's gonna blow the whole thing.
John Fuller in his own company.
So they're gonna order a drink, so Right now, he's bartending in New York City and is on the verge of blowing his cover.
A few months ago, I met the franchise owner of this location and his in-laws.
His in-laws are actually sitting at the bar right now.
Who's that? They recognize me The, uh, in-laws of the owner.
Okay.
This is our signature drinks of Johnny Rockets.
Right now he's gonna have a classic mai-tai.
You offer them the menu.
There's a menu over there.
All you can eat rocket wings for $10.
I wasn't hearing a single thing Claudia was telling me for about five minutes, 'cause my mind was racing on is this over, are we done? Thanks.
Thank you.
All right.
Can I get you guys any food? I don't think Claudia picked up on my cover being blown, so I think I'm gonna be okay.
Well, business is a little slow, which I appreciate from the standpoint of I get a chance to learn.
What do I do with all of these, like, menus and everything? Just leave 'em here? Yeah.
Those stay there.
The business side of me, though, hates it that slow because that's a missed opportunity.
Can I get you anything or clear anything off for ya? I'm hopin' it's just a New York kinda thing and it's a late arriving crowd.
They want a frozen Margarita, so Okay.
So since it's slow right now, I could just teach you a little bit here.
It's like a bartender's guide, whatever.
All right.
Is that how you learn? 'Cause I'm a beer drinker, you know? Beer and ice--about all I know out of this.
It's really easy.
It's gonna consist of tequila, triple sec, and Margarita mix.
Then the Margarita mix in the refrigerator.
Since it's frozen, you're gonna throw it in the blender.
All right, let me know if this is any good.
That took me forever.
No.
Your tips rely on having people here - Yeah.
- So what do you do when it's not busy? Where are our flyers at? Flyers are right here.
Here's some of our flyers here.
"Late night happy hour.
" That's kinda cool.
Okay, so we're promoting late night happy hour.
Hi, how are you doing? Would you like a flyer for late night happy hour? Thank you.
Hi! How are you guys? - Late night happy hour.
- Hi, how are you? Do you know about our late night happy hour? There you go.
- Yeah! - Yeah.
It's right upstairs.
- Get outta here.
- Yeah.
- Thank you.
- Oh, my God, yay! Monday through Thursday.
- Yay! - Wow.
See? That worked.
That worked.
I'm very discouraged by the low turnout.
It's Monday night.
I would have expected this place to be packed.
There's gotta be a better way to do this than have Claudia outside at night trying to drum up business by handing out flyers.
I need to find a way to attract more customers to this sports bar.
Where do you live? Where's home? Brooklyn.
I was born and raised here, but I was, like, in foster care until, like, five.
- Right.
- And then my adoptive parents, that's when they adopted me, whatever.
But then my mom got sick and my adopted father, I don't know, I feel like once the paycheck was up, he was gone.
I've been here at Johnny Rockets for so long, it's like a safety blanket.
Really? Wow.
Okay, that's neat.
So this is like your family.
Yeah.
Johnny Rockets itself is like a, you know, family.
I've met a lot of people.
Claudia shared a little with me about her upbringing, and maybe that's why she views Johnny Rockets as her family, and that certainly makes me feel good as being, you know, being the guy in charge of this company.
I'm putting even more pressure on myself to make certain this place turns around, 'cause I really wanna help Claudia out.
Check on whoever's up there.
Even though there's like one customer.
I don't know why-- I'm not gonna make no money.
How you doing? - What's up, John? - Hey, how are you doing, man? Good to see you.
How are you, sir? Let's go sit, let's go sit.
After working in the sports bar, I felt it was important to sit down with ray, the franchise owner, and share with him a couple of the concerns I had about this location.
Yeah, the name of the show is Undercover Boss.
This is a real chance for me to learn more about the company and be a better CEO and be a better franchise partner with all of our franchisees such as yourself, so You know, your mother-in-law nailed me the second I walked in.
- I apologize.
- No, don't apolo-- I mean, we didn't know.
Here's what I did notice.
I like the happy hour from 10:00 to 12:00.
I look at that, and I go, okay, that works for me.
But people still don't know it's a sports bar, you know? I mean, if you're walking that side of the street, you're not looking up and out, you know.
I'm thinking Claudia-- it seems like, you know, at some point, if she doesn't get enough tips, you're gonna lose her, right? We've got a new marketing person that I wanna get you in touch with, and I'm gonna have him kinda maybe go through and do a review with you.
Yeah, we still got work to do.
- Yeah.
- We still got work to do.
That's the thing in this industry-- - we're never done, right? - Thank you so much.
All right, let's head back.
Don't forget your phone.
- Good seeing you.
- Take care of yourself.
All right.
Bye.
Today I'm in Atlantic city, New Jersey, and I'm gonna be working today as a food runner.
This restaurant's in a casino, and it opened up the middle of the summer and it's already one of the top performers we have in our system, so I'm very excited to see how they do this.
- I'm looking for Tony.
- Tony! - Are you Tony? - Yes, I am.
- Tom Carter.
- Tom, how are you doing? - Nice to meet you.
- I gotta get you a uniform? - Yep.
- Oh, my God! Let's do it.
Hope you got my size.
I think we stitched two together.
Okay.
Okay, what's gonna happen, when they sit down, you're gonna see a red number on their table.
If they're sittin' here, you go to 55 and you write 19 on it, 'cause that's the booth they're gonna be in.
Then you look what drinks they have, then you bring their drinks, introduce yourself, say, "hey, my name is Tom.
I'm gonna be your server for today.
When your food's ready, I'll have it right out.
" You want 'em leaving happy.
They leave happy, they're gonna come back and they're gonna tell their friends.
A food runner's really the same thing as a server.
The only difference is instead of walking up and taking their order, the customer walks in and pays first and sits down, and then the food runner will bring the food over just like a server would in a traditional restaurant.
All right, here comes tiny.
It's just strange seeing somebody that big serving tables.
I've never seen a server that big, and I've been in the restaurant business all my life.
And then one thing here, we always serve our fries with a smile, okay? Enjoy your meal.
We'll check back shortly to make sure everything is okayAll right? Thank you.
Here you go, Tom.
You wanna take this? Sure.
Absolutely.
The same ladies with the milk, and just don't forget your smiley faces.
Okay.
Thank you.
Here you go.
I'm gonna get you some ketchup also.
All right.
This is my first work of art.
Oops.
It's not the best artwork of all time.
I gotta go to art school to get better on this.
Even though I'm not-- I've yet to make a good one.
Tom's smiley faces are horrible.
They're like third grade smiley faces.
That's supposed to be a happy face.
I think he was very nervous and he was just trying to rush it.
It's also important to tell him why you're doing it.
Especially if you draw like Tom.
- There you go.
- Anybody that might be done, grab their plates, get them off the table.
Can I take that plate with me? That's right, stack him up.
There you go, another one.
See how much he can handle.
Playing with fire.
Big guy should be able to hold big plates.
You got big hands, you can grab four or five cups at the same time, right? Pull them, I grab them, I got them, I'm going, I'm over here I was starting to break out into a sweat.
I needed to pick up the speed, and you don't have a chance to catch your breath.
And like a little mini-workout we had going on in there.
I was a manager at Ihop for nine years, and I also worked at a Denny's.
Do you like doing this better where you don't-- oh, I like this better 'cause it's faster.
Because if you're a hustler and you can get these guys moving, you can turn tables over a lot quicker.
If you move your tables faster, you make more money.
- Oh, that makes sense.
- I make more tips than I do than taking an order.
- Really? - Yeah.
Being a food runner, Tony actually makes more in tips because he's able to turn tables faster and provide a better guest experience.
So this is definitely a method I wanna explore more.
- Do you wanna take a break? - Yeah, let's do that.
All right.
Aw, it feels so good out here.
You know what, in the summertime, there's nothing like the ocean breeze.
- Oh, I love it.
- Nighttime, you can just open your windows Yeah.
So where'd you grow up? Well, I grew up in Lancaster.
And then Where's that? - Pennsylvania.
- Okay.
It's outside of Philadelphia.
Are you an Eagles fan? No, sir.
I like the Miami Dolphins and the New York Yankees.
- Do you have kids? - Yeah, I do.
I have kids.
I actually lost one.
My daughter was murdered.
When I found out who it was, I took the law in my own hands.
I went out and I assaulted him.
And I don't remember much, I blacked out, andBy the time I came through, I was already going to jail.
I really hurt the guy pretty bad.
He's still alive.
He's not dead, thank God.
So I ended up serving three years for it.
Tony told me that his daughter's murder is still an unsolved crime, but he believes he caught the guy who did it.
I lived under the Boardwalk, then, for three months.
I kept a couple blankets under there.
So I'd turn my chair, and I'd take my blankets and my backpack, and go under there and sleep.
Go in one of the casinos in the bathroom and wash up.
Wow.
And I kept coming here, and I kept seeing the sign-- hey, Johnny Rockets is coming.
And then one day the owner was sitting out there.
So I just asked him and I told him the truth about my - Yeah.
- You know, about my background.
And the guy gave me a job down here, man.
And I owe him so much for taking me off the street.
You don't know.
Ever since I started working here, it's like my life is just starting to make a change, man.
And it's incredible.
Wow, that talk with Tony, I don't even know where to begin.
A guy who's had that much bad luck in his life I'm--I'm just thrilled that we have a restaurant that opened up that was able to employ him and put some money in his pocket so he doesn't have to live under the Boardwalk.
It feels good that we could make a difference.
I wish I knew the words to say back, 'cause I'm just-- I'm dying inside.
I'd really rather nobody say anything to me, but take what I have to say and go home and make sure that your kids are safe, that's all.
That's the only thing I can pass on.
Man.
I just think if I was a stronger father, she'd still be here.
No, you can't do that to yourself.
You can't do that.
I just know I can't wait to get home and give my girls the biggest hug ever.
And you know, tell them I love them and can't wait to see them.
Hi, daddy.
Hey, Bree, how you doing? I was calling to say hi, let you know that I miss you tons, and I wanted to hear about your soccer games.
Oh, I did goalie for the first time-- this h been a hard one.
And I'll never forget Tony as long as I live.
How is school going? Anything exciting happening at school? Um, not much.
It's spirit week this week, and we have a dance this Friday.
I wanna try to make certain I value every second I have with my kids going forward.
And I know I get sort of down sometimes because I don't wake up in the same house as they do.
Okay, bye-bye, daddy.
Love you.
Love you too, sweetie.
Bye.
But I still get to see them.
And I know I'm gonna be able to see them when I'm done with this trip.
I'm at a loss of words.
I just can't get this out of my mind.
Coming up John's employees think they're coming to company headquarters to cast their vote.
I mean, it's serious business we're dealing with.
But how will they react when he reveals the truth? I'm actually John Fuller, President and CEO of Johnny Rockets.
My undercover journey is now over.
I learned a lot of new things, and I'm gonna go take back and change this corporate policy.
This experience has made me look at the company completely differently.
Hey, guys.
You're back! - Oh, hey! - Hi.
How you doing? How did it go? - Good.
- Good to see you back.
I'm gonna ask you to lead this one for me, and that's work with Terry in Human Resources, and I wanna create a training program that requires every executive we hire to go through the same experience in the field that I just had.
You mean going into a store and actually working? Yeah, and I want that done on week one.
I don't want us to have people come in here and start working and trying to give opinions without having actually lived it.
And again, I'm embarrassed I didn't do that on my first week here.
And thanks for letting me take some time with you today.
- Great, good meeting.
- All right.
See you guys in a little while.
- All right, John.
- All right, bye.
All the employees have been called to company headquarters to supposedly vote for two guys competing for the same job.
I feel like they're both great guys.
It's not an easy decision that I'm here to make today.
I mean, it's serious business we're dealing with.
So do you know who I am? No.
Well, you know me as Tom Carter.
- Yes.
- But I'm actually John Fuller, President and CEO of Johnny Rockets.
What? Okay, now I'm confused.
I'm confused now.
Do you know this is the tv show called Undercover Boss? Janice, I really love your interaction with the guests.
And it's obvious that they come back to see you.
And that is phenomenal.
What a compliment to you.
- It is, it is.
- And your ability to do that.
You had shared with me that corporate's dances aren't very good.
And so I'm gonna ask your help.
- Okay.
- Will you help us roll out dances that we can use at all of our other 300 stores? Oh, I would be honored.
We're going to certainly compensate you fairly for your contribution.
You shared with me another thing, very personal.
That, you know, your dad passed 11 years ago, on the day we were talking.
And the one thing I remember about that is you talked about he wasn't able to achieve one of his dreams, which was to go to the Grand Canyon.
And I'm hoping you would do something in his honor and that if I could send you, your husband, and your four kids to the Grand Canyon All expenses paid, and we would like for you to do that in his honor.
Wow.
Thank you, that's Thank you.
That's amazing.
I wanna do something else for you, and that is to set up a college fund for each of your kids.
And we're gonna put $2,000 in it for each of your kids, to help at least ensure that they get a good start.
Wow.
I wanna give you a hug.
And you're so far away from me.
Here, I'll get closer.
There you go.
I feel amazing right now.
Can I jump up and down? Okay, I don't feel like it's real.
I feel like I'm dreaming right now.
It would definitely make things a lot easier just to think that they have, like, a little nest egg.
It's something that I couldn't do for them.
So for me, that's big.
It's huge.
Ajay, I had so much fun working with you, and I love your style.
Okay.
It was fun.
You showed me, you know, your mushroom-fry concoction that - Yeah.
- You created.
And I loved the creativity and the initiative that you took to create something like this.
So we're gonna call it "the Ajay special.
" - Oh, my God! - And we're gonna test it on a limited time basis, and if it sells, "the Ajay special" may make it on to our menu.
- Thank you.
- Yeah.
On top of that, coming up here in a few weeks is the American Music Awards.
And we wanna fly you and a guest out.
And you'll be able to walk the red carpet - Oh, wow! - Be backstage, you'll be in the Green Room.
I want you to have a great time on that.
And maybe get you a little closer to-- someday maybe you'll be on the stage versus in the audience.
I will be one day.
I will be.
You know what? And I'll be--even though I don't know a thing about rap, I'll be the first guy in line to buy-- - thank you, thank you.
- To buy your music.
Yeah, welcome to Johnny Rockets where the good times roll I'm a pro behind the cook line, bro you know how I do it I'm here with John we're making history here, baby specs Yeah.
- Awesome.
- All right.
This is unbelievable.
Not many people do good things for me, you know? Hard work definitely pays off.
You work hard all your life, you definitely get your shot one day.
You definitely do.
Claudia, I want you to be at our sports bar for a long, long time.
And sometimes I'm worried that you don't get enough business there, that we may lose you because of that.
And that would-- that would really bum me out if that happened.
So I don't want that to happen.
I want you to stay with us for a long time and be part of our success.
So I wanna pay your rent for a year, so that you're gonna be in a good spot and that you can ride this wave with us while we improve our business.
Thank you.
I'm just Okay, I'm not gonna cry.
Sorry.
It's okay.
I'm so shocked that I can't even think right now.
I'm so excited.
I'm just Yeah, I'm so happy.
Tony, my experience with you was phenomenal.
You are inspiring, and I really did learn a lot from you.
And we talked about kids, you know.
It hurts me so much to hear what you had to go through.
But you'll never forget your daughter.
But I want you to take advantage of all the time you can get with your other members of your family.
What I wanna do for you is send you on an all-expenses paid trip to an amusement park of your choice so you can spend some quality time with your kids.
Thank you.
I really appreciate it.
They're gonna appreciate it.
On top of that, there is a charity, it's called the national center for missing and exploited children.
Johnny Rockets is gonna make a $5,000 donation in Nikki's name.
That's great, man.
And so we're going to do that in Nikki's honor.
- Thank you so much.
- Sure.
Tony, I mean, the tragedy that happened with your daughter, your living situation where you were under the Boardwalk-- it's hard for me to even fathom what that must've been like.
I was really nervous coming down here, 'cause actually I was taking off time, and I didn't know I was gonna make my rent.
I don't wanna go back out there no more.
One of the other things I wanna do to help get you back on your feet is to give you $5,000 and for you to be able to make sure you have a roof over your head for a long, long time.
Thank you.
Nobody's ever done something like that for me.
You deserve it.
Thank you so much.
I didn't even know anybody really paid attention to me like that.
He's like a gentle giant.
He really touched me a lot today.
He touched my heart deeply.
And I'm never ever gonna forget it.
I am minutes away from walking out and telling our company what I've been doing for the last week and a half.
I am so excited to share this experience.
Here is our President and Chief Executive Officer, John Fuller.
Thank you.
Hi, everyone.
Hi, thank you all for coming today.
I have been undercover for the last week and a half traveling to our restaurants throughout the country.
It's been phenomenal.
I've had a chance to learn a lot of things about the restaurants through the eyes of the operations folks.
I actually would like to share some of those experiences with you guys right now.
Please watch this video.
Shake, shake, shake, shake.
Twist, twist, twist, twist.
A little pink there, Tom.
- Uh-oh.
- Not impressed.
I'm not impressed.
Oh, man.
I need you to remake that burger.
Tom's smiley faces are horrible.
They're like third grade smiley faces.
Thank you, I think.
Anyway What a privilege it was to work with you all, and I learned so much.
And we've got a wonderful company.
And what you guys contribute to it is so encouraging and uplifting for me.
I'm more motivated than ever to continue to find ways for us to grow.
And it's a real honor.
Thank you so much.
This experience has been incredible.
I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
ButRight now I just wanna go home and spend time with my daughters.