Undercover Boss (2010) s02e20 Episode Script
Baja Fresh
Americans are worried about the economy.
Many of them wonder if our corporate and elected leaders have the answers to our problems.
In these tough times, some bosses are taking radical steps to discover how to improve their companies.
Each week, we follow the head of a major organization as they work undercover alongside their own staff.
This week, the ceo of Baja fresh, the country's leading chain in fast, casual Mexican dining.
Burrito for you, Jorge.
Thank you.
Poses as a reality show contestant competing for a job.
- Hi.
- My name's Ken.
I'm Carrie.
Nice to meet you.
Come on, go.
He'll trade in his pack of corgis and countryside estate for a cash register and whisk.
- Gonna whisk it.
- Oh.
Pushed the wrong button.
Donde esta manager? By working on the front lines, this Korean immigrant will find out what needs improving in his business.
All this should be under 40 degrees.
If it doesn't reach the temperature, then we have to grab some new product.
This is not how we run restaurants here.
And along the way Hi, dad.
How are you? He gets some unsettling news.
Baja fresh.
With more than 400 restaurants operating in 29 states, they are the leading restaurant chain in fast, casual Mexican dining in the United States.
And overseeing this $300 million business is one man.
I'm David Kim.
I'm the ceo of Baja fresh.
Oh, we're not fast food, no.
None of our products are processed.
We use fresh ingredients every day.
We make everything from scratch.
We're very proud of that, by the way.
Hey, good morning.
How are you? Taco king? That's what people call me.
Taco king, an Asian face.
You know, try tout the thing together.
I'm not sure if it fits well.
A lot of people don't believe that I actually work out of a cubicle.
You get to hear everything.
And you can deal with problems right away.
And you can make decisions right away.
It's actually fun.
I was born in South Korea.
And I traveled the world because of my father's job.
He was a diplomat.
We skipped from countries to countries, a year here, two years there.
I was in Egypt, Bolivia, Brazil, Singapore.
I would have no friends.
It was tough.
And we settled in t United States about 30 years ago.
And I'm proud to be a citizen of the United States.
When we first came to the United States, my father didn't have any money.
And he took us to a swap meet.
And we sold toys to make up for our living.
That is where I made a very passionate decision that I will work very hard to make sure that my parents don't have to work anymore.
I was in the retail video business.
I was in the restaurant business.
And about five years ago, my brother and I and a group of investors bought Baja fresh.
Hey, good morning, guys.
How are you? Good morning.
You know, I was thinking about, you know, we grew so big as a company, and I think we should be reaching over almost 400 stores now.
And we actually have an opportunity to go on this show called undercover boss.
- You gotta be kidding.
- Really? We really don't get to see a lot of the people out there.
I'd like to go see what really goes on.
But think it's a very good opportunity.
I think it's a great opportunity.
Yeah, very exciting.
Oh, by the way, hey, this is my disguise.
Check this out, guys.
Yeah, right? How do I look? Do I look different? You don't look like David.
I'm trying to be a punk rocker or something.
Korean punk rocker? David, when you can't roll a burrito, don't cry.
After the goatee catches on fire, you're on your own.
- Go get 'em, David.
- Okay, yes.
Yes.
See you guys.
Good luck, David.
- Hello? - Hello, dad.
- Yeah? - Hi, it's David.
- Yeah, how are you? - Good.
How are you? Oh, I'm okay.
My adult relationship with my dad is not as close as a relationship I had with my mother.
I lost my mother three years ago, and it's not been the same for me ever since she passed away.
She was everything to me.
How you feeling? Are you okay? We just found out my father is ill.
He has a disease, a lung disease That's not curable.
And, um, losing my mom and now having to lose my dad, um That's not easy too.
Hey, guys, gotta go now.
Going undercover helps me to see the truth.
Dear lord, while papa goes on this trip, keep him safe, watch over him.
And in his name we pray.
Amen, okay.
In the past, that's what I did, is to work at the restaurants.
Bring it on.
I think I might be better than the rest of the guys.
We'll see.
Have a safe trip.
- Bye, dad.
- Bye! While undercover, I'll be going by the name Ken Sein, video clerk in Los Angeles.
My coworkers will be told that I was chosen to be on a reality show where two people are going to be competing for one job at Baja fresh.
Today I'm at the Baja fresh in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This Baja fresh has had steady sales during the recession, unlike some of the other restaurants in the Las Vegas market.
I'm here to see Jose.
My name is Ken.
Ken, how are you? - How are you? - Nice to meet you.
First, let's button up all the way.
- Oh, sorry.
- And then tuck in your shirt.
Oh, okay, all right.
Where's the restroom? The restroom is actually on that side.
All right, thank you.
I'll be working as a general manager.
And I would like to see what it is that this management does to maintain the consistent sales volume.
So welcome to my world.
Okay, so when do I get into the action? - The action? - Yes.
We're actually running out of salsa Verde.
So we're gonna make salsa Verde.
Okay, so start peeling tomatillos.
No problem, okay.
Start over there.
There you go.
This is not a manager's job though.
It's not a manager's duty, but why not come over here and then, you know You already touched your moustache.
Let's go back again.
Take off your gloves.
Put 'em on.
The trash is over here.
Wash your hands.
I take my job seriously to the point where, like, you know what, it needs to change every single time because you're touching your face, you're touching your glasses, you're touching any part of your body.
We have to do it.
So what do you do during off times? Go to school nights.
What are you studying? Food and beverage management.
- Oh, really? - Yeah.
So what do you want to do afterwards? Have my own restaurant.
This is what I do.
This is what I like to do.
We always try to fill it three-quarters.
Be as clean as possible, okay? I will.
There you go.
And salsa Verde's gonna be ready to go.
You come over here.
Careful, okay? Careful.
I didn't tell you to grab it.
I'm sorry.
See, like, this, when this happens, I always like to bring an extra shirt with me.
Do you happen to have an extra shirt with you? - Uh, no.
- No? Customers are gonna see this.
I don't want customers to see this, all right? Although he was upset with me, he was very calm with me, kept his composure.
He was very gracious to me.
We're gonna scrub this floor.
Here you go.
Come on.
Harder, Ken.
Harder, faster.
I thought I had it in me, the mojo that I thought I had.
Forget all that.
I mean, it's out the door.
It just tells me how old I've gotten.
Does the manager have to do all this? Yeah.
I don't just like to sit around and then tell them what to do.
I like to get involved with what they're doing.
Let's go over here, Ken.
There you go.
Doing pretty good.
That's good.
Careful with the wet sign.
I wouldn't hire him.
At all.
I will not even think about it.
So how 'bout we just sit down in the corner while I make a quick phone call to make sure they're bringing another shirt.
All right? You're not meant for this work.
You're not meant for it, you know, for the job that I do.
You like this business, although it's a hard business.
I guess the thing that I like is just I get to know my customers.
You know, I'll tell them, how's their day going? Or tell them, hey, look, you know, let me buy you your lunch for today, because I know you're a regular.
You do that to customers? You know No manager ever offered me a free lunch.
Really? Even if you go to restaurant every single day? Never.
I just was blown away.
That is what defines great service in our business, in any business.
When I started here, I was a cook for two years.
When my family decided to brought us over here from Mexico.
I didn't speak any English at all.
You didn't speak any English? So I wanted to always keep going, start for more, strive for more, strive for more.
Owning something is a lot of people's dreams, isn't it? Yeah.
Jose sacrifices.
He sacrifices for his family so that they and the next generation can have a better life.
That's America.
That's what makes this country so great.
- Here's your shirt, Ken.
- Oh, thank you.
And then I want to present actually my brother and sister.
- Oh, how are you? - Primavera.
- What was your name? - Primavera.
This is my brother.
His name is Oscar.
Oscar, how are you? You have a terrible brother.
He's been working - Working you out? - Oh, yes.
Two minutes, all right? Let's look then.
Good to go.
- Okay, Ken, bye.
- Nice meeting you.
Bye, baby.
Same here.
Coming up, the boss takes matters into his own hands.
I'm not gonna apologize for my disappointment, but this is not how we run restaurants here.
And later, the boss shocks the boardroom.
I'm really thinking about to give a franchise.
Really? David Kim, the ceo of Baja fresh, is a boss undercover in his own company.
- My name is Ken.
- Ken, nice to meet you.
His employees think he's one of two people competing for the same job.
I wouldn't hire him.
I will not even think about it.
His journey continues in California.
Today I'm at the cypress store.
I'll be doing the cashier job.
I'm here to see Anthony.
Oh, okay.
Anthony, this is Oh, hi, my name is Ken.
I'm here to work with you today.
Oh, all right, hey.
Let me show you where your uniform's gonna be.
Okay, great, thanks.
The lunchtime is the busiest time at our restaurants.
The cashier's the face to our company, the voice to our company.
I would like to see how are cashiers are handling our customers during the busy times.
Right here, this is our register.
So this is what we're gonna work with.
All right, I'm ready to go today.
Once you, like, see how I do it, you can, like, take in the orders yourself.
There's a lot of boxes here.
Oh, yes.
How do you memorize all these? It's easy.
Actually we just get to know the menu.
It's our duty, it's our responsibility to know the different kinds of burritos that we have.
If they want a chicken, there's chicken right here.
If they want a steak, steak's right here.
A guacamole, pico de gallo, cheese.
You're going too fast for me.
You gotta 100 times slow down.
You're going When you get it down, then everything will flow to you.
Okay, here's a customer.
Hello.
Just wanna get the two mahi-mahi tacos.
Would you like a drink? No, I'm just gonna have water.
Would you like to try some chicken taquitos for $1.
49? Okay, is this gonna be for here or to go? For here.
Okay, here you go.
Change is $12.
40.
Utensils and napkins are on the side.
Thank you.
Don't think about it too much.
Just think, like, I can do this.
I'll do the punch-in, and you just interact with the customer, okay? Hi, how are you? A burrito ultimo, chicken.
And? All right, so one ultimo chicken burrito, right? - Yeah.
- Your name, please? - Tim.
- Tim.
Okay, it will be $7.
38.
$7.
38, sir.
We'll call your name once your order's ready, okay? You need to be a little bit more faster.
- More faster? - Yeah.
I'm keeping up trying to just focus on this.
Anthony, I need you to go outside and check.
And then Ken can stay here and take orders.
I don't think that's a good idea.
- Okay.
- Don't leave, okay? Hi, how are you, sir? You got the nacho burrito anymore or is that Uh, do we have the nacho burrito? Sione, do we have nacho burritos? - Yeah.
- Si? At Baja fresh, as much as we are obsessed with freshness, speed is very important to us.
All these boxes are all different.
And then where's nacho? Oh, pressed the wrong button.
Donde esta manager? I need some help.
I got everything here.
I got that.
See? Can you believe that? See that? Oh, that's a special burrito? Oh.
No, remember, you have to push the button.
Ken is doing He's not doing so good.
He's having trouble taking orders.
He's holding up the line.
Customers, I see their face expression getting a little frustrated.
That's not good.
I think what we're gonna do is we're gonna go to the tables and apologize for the delay.
- Hi.
- Hi there.
We just want to come by and apologize to everybody for the delay on taking the order.
This is Ken.
We're actually training him today.
I'm sorry.
It my first day.
I'm just not making it here.
You get two free burritos for your next visit.
Hopefully you'll come back.
This is Ken.
He's training here at the store.
We're sorry that we've been delayed today.
It's my first day getting trained and Oh, well, make sure it never happens again.
I promise you.
Because you said that, here, I'm gonna give you a free burrito.
If I said that I was a good cashier today, I would be the biggest liar in America.
Ooh.
So how do you think of the job? I don't know how you do it.
No, you just need to get used to it.
Back in the Philippines Oh, you're from the Philippines.
Yeah, back then, you know, we were kinda like We had a hard time, like, getting through financially.
When did you come to the United States? - Two years ago.
- So do you have a family? I have two sisters and three brothers, and I'm the oldest.
You're the oldest? Yeah, so it's kinda like I can Kinda like the burden of the family is, like, on my shoulders.
Could I ask how old you are? You look pretty young.
I'm 20.
- You're 20.
- Yeah.
My mom, she lives in San Diego right now.
And I tried looking for a job there, and I couldn't, so I have to move here with my Uncle.
You must really miss them.
I do, but, you know, by the grace of God we're still here, and we're able to, like, get through it.
- So you're a Christian? - Yes, I am.
- I'm a Christian.
- Oh, yeah? So for now I guess I just have to work harder for them.
'Cause I know they're counting on me.
That's a heavy burden that you carry at your age.
Yes, it's a burden, but at the same time, I feel like it's a blessing.
Because this is one of my stepping stones, becoming a better person.
Your mom should be so proud of you.
I hope so.
She never gave up on us.
Even though, like, my dad left us and stuff.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I didn't wanna I didn't wanna ask that question.
It's okay.
Don't worry about it.
Anthony is an inspiration to me.
I just can't believe what he's going through at his age, to be able to take that burden on to take care of his family.
Anthony.
Uh-huh? Is it okay that we pray for one another, okay? Dear heavenly father, lord.
Pray, lord, for brother Ken.
You be with him in his times of troubles and his times of joy, oh, lord.
Just continue to be with him.
Despite his difficulties he has, he calls himself a blessing.
That can't be a blessing.
All right.
Let's go.
'Cause we still need to work.
I don't want her to kill us.
Just give me a second.
In my experience, the more successful I get, I become more distanced from people.
All this I do, all this we have, it's all irrelevant.
It doesn't mean anything.
This means nothing.
Many times I feel like I live a hypocritical life.
Yes, I had to work very hard in my life.
But there's a lot of people that work very hard in their life that has not been as blessed as I am.
And yet, I see myself complaining, taking for granted.
I'm ashamed.
I've hurt a lot of people in my life, and I'm truly sorry.
I don't wanna take anything for granted anymore.
I'd like to do more for others, not just selfishly for me, to give hope.
And hopefully that I can learn how to be true to myself.
Today we're at the mesa, Arizona Baja fresh.
This Baja fresh has had some issues and some complaints in the past but recently has been turned around and is doing exceptionally well.
Hi, I'm looking for rami.
- I'm rami.
- Oh, my name is Ken.
How are you? Nice to meet you, Ken.
If you do a good job, this could be your office.
Okay.
So there's a shirt for you.
In business, there's always ups and downs.
And I like to learn how to rebound.
And I'm here to find out what they're doing well so that we can implement it throughout the country.
When you first come into work, what we gotta do at 10:30 every day is we check our temperatures before we start prepping anything for the day.
So we're gonna take this, stick it kinda in between everything, and wait for that number to go down.
All this should be under 40 degrees.
Over 40 degrees, we call that the danger zone.
That's when someone can get food poisoning, you get parasites and all that stuff.
And it might take a little bit.
Yeah, temperature Temperatures are very, very critical to what we do.
Food safety comes first.
So if we don't get this fixed right away, that's it.
End of story.
We're not gonna compromise on that.
You gotta make sure all this stuff is closed.
Usually we have covers, so all the cold stays cold.
That's why kinda gotta move it around, make sure it's dropping below temp.
'Cause all this hot air when it's this close to the grill.
So once it hits below 40, we know it's good product.
So as we're waiting for this You mind if I take just a quick break and I'll be right back? Is that okay? No problem.
Just a real quick break.
Bill.
Hi, this is David Kim.
I'm at one of the franchise stores in mesa, Arizona, and e cold table is not meeting temperature.
I don't know what's gonna happen, but what is important right now is I need to focus, making sure that we meet our temperatures.
And that's every That's all I'm concerned about.
I'm not gonna apologize for my disappointment, but this is not how we run restaurants here.
Hi, this is David Kim.
I'm at one of the franchise stores in me, Arizona, and the cold table is not meeting temperature.
I need this done, like, now.
Some of the cold tables aren't meeting temperatures, and we gotta fix that right away.
It's been a big eye-opener for me right now.
Temperatures are very, very critical to what we do.
Everything about Baja fresh is about excellence, and I'm not gonna compromise that.
We're gonna meet our temperatures.
That's it.
Hey, Billy, how we doing? Um the avocados on the cold line were reading, like, 44, 45.
Like, I mean, the cold table was fixed the other week, so everything was reading temperature.
Okay.
Okay, boss.
All right, bill.
All right, bye-bye.
Hey, Manuel.
Sorry, I had to take care of something.
It's okay.
Bill Pilawski just called me and said what we need to do, boss, is all this stuff, like, they need to be on ice, okay? Like, the container underneath, ice, ice.
And then, like, the sour cream, the cheese, all of it needs to be.
We're gonna get the temperature down, so gotta start the day off.
I called the office, and they're getting a tech in right away.
I didn't feel any suspicion from rami.
I don't think he had any idea.
And he took care of the problem right away.
So the Baja burrito comes with the Jack cheese, so we'll take about three ounces of Jack cheese.
Just sprinkle it over.
Let the cheese melt.
So then we take one scoop of the guacamole and spread it on there.
You take chicken.
It's about three ounces.
And then pour that right there.
Okay? And then you want to roll it.
Roll it.
Roll it, roll it.
Baja chicken.
Baja chicken.
Okay? The Baja chicken right there.
So basically you've got the Baja.
Yes, sir.
Cool, just letting you know.
All right, I need an ultimo steak with extra rice and sour cream, all right? And I'll be back to heck on you.
- Ultimo - Ultimo steak.
Ultimo What goes in ultimo steak? I'll be back in, like, ten minutes, five to check on you.
Okay.
How you doing, ladies? What can I get for you? What was the order again? Can I get you ladies any drinks? Oh, yes.
Regular? Large are only 30 cents more.
Oh, why didn't you bring it back? Rami's personality is a huge positive.
He's really energetic.
He's really engaged.
You should buy another one then.
- No.
- Okay, all right.
I thought I'd ask.
He really has that outgoing personality that can give great service to our guests.
So what do we have here? An ultimo? Ultimo.
I hope so.
Are we good? I think I'm good.
You feel confident? I feel okay.
There's no beans in the ultimo.
Okay.
So why don't you make me another one? Another one? Well, yeah, I mean, can you serve that to a customer? I don't know if Ken's ever worked in a restaurant, but, you know what, that's what we go through every day here.
I was kind of debating whether he could last or not.
So what I need you to do is grab this.
Follow me to the back.
We have the bathroom located right over here.
As soon as you're done, I'll be in the kitchen.
I'm going down.
I think I'm done.
Ugh.
So tell me what you think.
Not easy, right? It's hard.
It's very, very hard.
When you're a manager, you have to control your food cost, your labor.
You gotta control your employees.
You know, like, I had to get rid of a cook and the cashier.
That made me, like I have to find people if they can't cover their shift, then you're looking at an opener, closer, mid.
I work all day, all night.
So how long have you been a manager? About three months now.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm still having trouble with it.
But, you know, if I have to, I'll read training manuals all day just to make sure I'm doing everything correct.
Because really, to be honest, Ken, this is my first opportunity.
Being so young, not having a degree in anything, when I first started at the store, I was told the customer service was horrible.
Call my owner, go talk to him, see how it's doing now.
I guarantee you it's 100 times better.
It's just it all comes, to be honest, from my parents.
Where are your parents from? Jordan.
Like, paleste, and a little city in there.
My dad went to, like, driving taxis a couple For a few years.
My dad my dad's amazing.
Like, he's the guy that I call every day if I need anything.
You know? Here's the defective thermostat.
Let me show it to you real quick.
I found out today that it is rami that turned this restaurant around.
Running a restaurant is like being in war, and despite all the chaos of what he had to deal with, he was in there, he was great handling all those pressures coming all at the same time.
So let's go get you something to do.
I really don't wanna go back to work.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! None of that here.
You don't wanna go back to work? What? I'm getting all dirty.
Today we're in Boise, Idaho, at one of our successful Baja fresh restaurants, and it is cold here.
Today I'll be working with an operations manager who has a blizzard of responsibilities - - hi.
- My name is Ken.
I'm Carrie.
Nice to meet you.
We'll give you a uniform, get you started.
Today I would like to find out what is that this operations manager does to make their operation successful - - okay, so we're gonna go check out our produce.
Avocados so we're just gonna open them up, make sure the quality is nice make sure they're fresh and green and these are gonna be used for guacamole.
We have to whisk our salsa.
Okay so whisk.
Yeah, you're just gonna whisk it.
Get down as far as you can to make sure it's' all blended right.
Good? Oh.
And Uh I've got a little problem you dropped the whisk in there.
Yes, I did.
I have tongs I can did it out with.
Alright.
Feel it.
I've never seen anybody use the whisk in the salsa before 'cause it's not hard.
So we're gonna do a delivery.
- Delivery now? - Yep, come on.
You can take your gloves off.
And this one actually just right over across the street so we walk over there.
So do you often deliver to your Um myself, usually two or three times a week.
It's just nice to have that options for customers because they don't always have the ability to come get it.
Awesome this is your receipt if you need it, and we'll take care of it.
- Okay, thanks.
- Thank you.
I had not knew that there were locations that were doing delivery.
In a very competitive environment like today, that was something, to me, that I really want to explore.
Your service that you deliver to guests, that's really amazing.
I think that's the one leg up we have over other restaurants similar to ours, is our service.
And we've tried a lot of different things through couponing, and now it seems like nobody wants to buy it unless they have a coupon.
And I think that we've devalued the brand.
So what do you suggest? Anything that can compete that's not telling our customers our food is not worth the price listed on the menu board.
I mean, we used to have items on our menu that were less expensive.
We had a, you know, smaller portion but more affordable.
Now we have more people sharing.
You know, we sell a lot of a la carte tacos.
If we had a combo plate with one taco and rice and beans, you'd still make more money than just getting one cut in half.
I think Carrie brings a lot of great ideas to the table.
Anything that can bring improvement to Baja fresh, we wanna implement it throughout the country.
So tell me, do you have family? I had my husband and I have an almost two-year-old little girl, Emma.
And so he works nights and I work days, so we just kinda yeah.
I get home in time to take the baby, and he goes to work.
So it's yeah, it's good.
I can't complain.
So now we have a few customers in line.
We're gonna expedite some orders and put some food out over the counter.
All right.
When I first started this journey undercover, I didn't really know or understand what this whole meaning was.
Hi, dad, how are you? I'm okay.
You okay? - Yeah.
- When I was younger, I had frictions with my dad.
Now I have children, I have a family.
I understand him now.
My dad wanted the better life for his children.
What did the doctor say about your breathing? Yesterday, she told me that, you know, I have only 50 % lung functioning.
Don't listen to the doctors, okay? Whatever the doctors say, it doesn't mean anything.
So don't don't don't I just wanna create memories with him, the best memories possible, so that I can give him peace with the remaining days he has.
I'm very much proud of you, yes.
Thanks, dad.
I think mommy would be happy.
Yes, I think mom will be watching from up there.
As I get older and older, when I think back, you know, my past back life, don't be too greedy, you know? To stay humble, it's very important, yes.
Millionaires, common people, all we go to supermarket.
We buy same bread.
You should not forget.
Yeah, I'm gonna go now.
Nope, nope, come on.
Okay, I'm gonna leave.
Gonna be okay, right? Yeah, sure, okay.
Gonna give you a hug.
Okay.
Okay.
Take care of yourself, okay? Yeah.
- All right.
- Don't worry.
Okay, bye.
Agh! My week being undercover is over.
So I'd like to talk to our senior management team of all the things I've learned.
I like that.
Hey, David! - Hi, guys, how are you? - How you doing? - Did you have fun out there? - Yes, I did.
The reason why I asked you guys to come in, I just wanted to have a short meeting with you guys and go over some of the things that I've learned.
One of the restaurants that I've been to had the store manager deliver She actually set the whole table up.
Oh, so for catering? - For catering, yes.
- Oh, that's great.
And they'll call us back.
That's right.
They'll call us back.
That's what's important.
Sounds like a great idea.
One other area that I saw was one of the stores needed a little more manpower because the manager was having to part with people that weren't performing to his standard.
He just maybe needs a little bit more help - Some support now? - Some support now.
So if we can work on that So definitely areas of opportunity.
I was very much touched of the great people we have at our restaurants.
And I'm really thinking about, uh, to give a franchise.
- Really? - Yes.
- To our employees? - Uh-huh.
Giving? As in "give"? No franchise fee, that type of thing? Yes, I have several people I have in mind.
Are you sure you wanna do that? Is that really a good idea? Because there's a lot of sacrifice that has to go into running your own business.
Let's train them, let's teach them how to become an owner.
Correct.
But let us work out through those details, and we will discuss this more.
Thank you very much, guys.
Okay.
All right.
Today the employees will be called to come to headquarters.
They think they will be voting for two guys competing for one job.
I felt really nervous about today, and I really can't wait for it to be over.
How you doing, sir? - How are you? - Very good.
How are you? Do you know who I am? No, I don't know who you are.
You're Ken.
I'm not Ken.
I'm actually David Kim.
I'm the ceo of Baja fresh.
Okay.
Like the boss? The boss, yes.
Oh, wow.
Oh.
Carrie, I was really humbled how you were able to jugee so many things all at once.
Thank you.
I think you have a gold mine of great ideas.
If you can take the time and help us implement some of these great ideas you have, we'll pay for all your expense, right, for you to travel with us and teach us how these programs could come into play with our company and actually roll it out nationwide.
And, Carrie, I know that you have a two-year-old daughter.
I know you work very hard for her.
And you work very hard for the future.
And I really want Emma to have a great future for her.
I'd like to give you $7,500 for her college education.
Oh, wow, thank you.
And by the time she gets to college, I think it will be worth a lot.
Thank you.
I'm glad that I had the opportunity for Baja fresh to know that we work hard.
And it means a lot for somebody to notice and want to use some of the ideas that we've implemented.
So You know, rami, you're like this diamond in this rough.
I see you the way I was when I was younger.
Oh, and do you remember that I asked for permission to leave the restaurant? I actually called the office to get you some help.
Yeah, no, that was That was a serious A serious problem.
It's okay.
Yeah, I was really impressed how you took care of that problem right away, so Appreciate it.
And I'd like to spend some time with you over the year and really mentor you to become a better business person.
What I'd like to do for you is give you $5,000 towards your schooling.
I want you to finish that, because it'll help you for your next stage.
I want to offer something else to you too.
When you were telling me about your relationship with your father, I want you to have a memory with your father.
So I'd like to give you $5,000 to go spend it with your dad on a golf trip.
And cherish that time.
Thank you, sir.
You know, it's It's a privilege somebody wants to take the time and work with me and try and make me a better person.
And, you know, never in a million years would I think that would ever happen.
I'm speechless with just what hap With what happened.
I can't even talk right now.
Anthony, I was so moved by your story.
And I know what a burden it is for you to leave your mom and your brothers down in San Diego.
Yeah.
I mean, I miss them every day.
I wanna give you, like, $15,000 so that you and your mother and your brothers and sisters can get together.
Whoa.
Oh, God.
I don't know what to say.
Thank you, Anthony, for touching me.
My life, like, has been so hard that I thought that I would never experience anything that would be a blessing to me.
Lord, the family and his mother has gone through so much.
Give them the strength, give them that hope that their lives will be better.
Amen.
And this clearly shows that I was wrong, that this was God working wonders, that ts blessing's, like, a miracle for me.
Jose, you're just very warm.
Very warm to the customers, very warm to me.
You always said during that day that you wanted to own your own business, didn't you? Yeah, it'd be phenomenal.
It'd be fantastic.
Well, I want to let you know that I'm gonna make you one of our Baja fresh franchisees.
I'm gonna give you your very own franchise.
That's worth $50,000.
What? Yeah, Jose.
You're gonna be the youngest franchisee in our Baja system.
You okay? Yeah.
Jose, this path of ownership is gonna be hard work.
And don't worry, I'm gonna be next to you.
I'm gonna help you through this process.
I will not let you down.
I will not let my family down.
Thank you for not firing me that day.
Hey.
Hey.
You're not gonna believe what just happened to me, what's happening to me right now.
I'm gonna be the youngest franchisee owner of Baja fresh.
You're what? Yeah.
He bought it for you? Yes.
Oh, my God.
Who does that? People with good hearts.
People that wanna make people's dreams come true.
Hi, dad.
No, I'm fine, I'm fine.
When you're blessed with so many things in life, you you tend to forget where you came from.
You start getting big and stuck in this cubicle, and you see numbers all day long, and all these superficial things.
Here you go.
Success is not about achievements and money.
- This is fun.
- Oh, I got it.
It's really about your relationship with your parents, with your family, with your kids.
I wish my mom was here seeing this.
I wish that, uh, dad will live see this.
Many of them wonder if our corporate and elected leaders have the answers to our problems.
In these tough times, some bosses are taking radical steps to discover how to improve their companies.
Each week, we follow the head of a major organization as they work undercover alongside their own staff.
This week, the ceo of Baja fresh, the country's leading chain in fast, casual Mexican dining.
Burrito for you, Jorge.
Thank you.
Poses as a reality show contestant competing for a job.
- Hi.
- My name's Ken.
I'm Carrie.
Nice to meet you.
Come on, go.
He'll trade in his pack of corgis and countryside estate for a cash register and whisk.
- Gonna whisk it.
- Oh.
Pushed the wrong button.
Donde esta manager? By working on the front lines, this Korean immigrant will find out what needs improving in his business.
All this should be under 40 degrees.
If it doesn't reach the temperature, then we have to grab some new product.
This is not how we run restaurants here.
And along the way Hi, dad.
How are you? He gets some unsettling news.
Baja fresh.
With more than 400 restaurants operating in 29 states, they are the leading restaurant chain in fast, casual Mexican dining in the United States.
And overseeing this $300 million business is one man.
I'm David Kim.
I'm the ceo of Baja fresh.
Oh, we're not fast food, no.
None of our products are processed.
We use fresh ingredients every day.
We make everything from scratch.
We're very proud of that, by the way.
Hey, good morning.
How are you? Taco king? That's what people call me.
Taco king, an Asian face.
You know, try tout the thing together.
I'm not sure if it fits well.
A lot of people don't believe that I actually work out of a cubicle.
You get to hear everything.
And you can deal with problems right away.
And you can make decisions right away.
It's actually fun.
I was born in South Korea.
And I traveled the world because of my father's job.
He was a diplomat.
We skipped from countries to countries, a year here, two years there.
I was in Egypt, Bolivia, Brazil, Singapore.
I would have no friends.
It was tough.
And we settled in t United States about 30 years ago.
And I'm proud to be a citizen of the United States.
When we first came to the United States, my father didn't have any money.
And he took us to a swap meet.
And we sold toys to make up for our living.
That is where I made a very passionate decision that I will work very hard to make sure that my parents don't have to work anymore.
I was in the retail video business.
I was in the restaurant business.
And about five years ago, my brother and I and a group of investors bought Baja fresh.
Hey, good morning, guys.
How are you? Good morning.
You know, I was thinking about, you know, we grew so big as a company, and I think we should be reaching over almost 400 stores now.
And we actually have an opportunity to go on this show called undercover boss.
- You gotta be kidding.
- Really? We really don't get to see a lot of the people out there.
I'd like to go see what really goes on.
But think it's a very good opportunity.
I think it's a great opportunity.
Yeah, very exciting.
Oh, by the way, hey, this is my disguise.
Check this out, guys.
Yeah, right? How do I look? Do I look different? You don't look like David.
I'm trying to be a punk rocker or something.
Korean punk rocker? David, when you can't roll a burrito, don't cry.
After the goatee catches on fire, you're on your own.
- Go get 'em, David.
- Okay, yes.
Yes.
See you guys.
Good luck, David.
- Hello? - Hello, dad.
- Yeah? - Hi, it's David.
- Yeah, how are you? - Good.
How are you? Oh, I'm okay.
My adult relationship with my dad is not as close as a relationship I had with my mother.
I lost my mother three years ago, and it's not been the same for me ever since she passed away.
She was everything to me.
How you feeling? Are you okay? We just found out my father is ill.
He has a disease, a lung disease That's not curable.
And, um, losing my mom and now having to lose my dad, um That's not easy too.
Hey, guys, gotta go now.
Going undercover helps me to see the truth.
Dear lord, while papa goes on this trip, keep him safe, watch over him.
And in his name we pray.
Amen, okay.
In the past, that's what I did, is to work at the restaurants.
Bring it on.
I think I might be better than the rest of the guys.
We'll see.
Have a safe trip.
- Bye, dad.
- Bye! While undercover, I'll be going by the name Ken Sein, video clerk in Los Angeles.
My coworkers will be told that I was chosen to be on a reality show where two people are going to be competing for one job at Baja fresh.
Today I'm at the Baja fresh in Las Vegas, Nevada.
This Baja fresh has had steady sales during the recession, unlike some of the other restaurants in the Las Vegas market.
I'm here to see Jose.
My name is Ken.
Ken, how are you? - How are you? - Nice to meet you.
First, let's button up all the way.
- Oh, sorry.
- And then tuck in your shirt.
Oh, okay, all right.
Where's the restroom? The restroom is actually on that side.
All right, thank you.
I'll be working as a general manager.
And I would like to see what it is that this management does to maintain the consistent sales volume.
So welcome to my world.
Okay, so when do I get into the action? - The action? - Yes.
We're actually running out of salsa Verde.
So we're gonna make salsa Verde.
Okay, so start peeling tomatillos.
No problem, okay.
Start over there.
There you go.
This is not a manager's job though.
It's not a manager's duty, but why not come over here and then, you know You already touched your moustache.
Let's go back again.
Take off your gloves.
Put 'em on.
The trash is over here.
Wash your hands.
I take my job seriously to the point where, like, you know what, it needs to change every single time because you're touching your face, you're touching your glasses, you're touching any part of your body.
We have to do it.
So what do you do during off times? Go to school nights.
What are you studying? Food and beverage management.
- Oh, really? - Yeah.
So what do you want to do afterwards? Have my own restaurant.
This is what I do.
This is what I like to do.
We always try to fill it three-quarters.
Be as clean as possible, okay? I will.
There you go.
And salsa Verde's gonna be ready to go.
You come over here.
Careful, okay? Careful.
I didn't tell you to grab it.
I'm sorry.
See, like, this, when this happens, I always like to bring an extra shirt with me.
Do you happen to have an extra shirt with you? - Uh, no.
- No? Customers are gonna see this.
I don't want customers to see this, all right? Although he was upset with me, he was very calm with me, kept his composure.
He was very gracious to me.
We're gonna scrub this floor.
Here you go.
Come on.
Harder, Ken.
Harder, faster.
I thought I had it in me, the mojo that I thought I had.
Forget all that.
I mean, it's out the door.
It just tells me how old I've gotten.
Does the manager have to do all this? Yeah.
I don't just like to sit around and then tell them what to do.
I like to get involved with what they're doing.
Let's go over here, Ken.
There you go.
Doing pretty good.
That's good.
Careful with the wet sign.
I wouldn't hire him.
At all.
I will not even think about it.
So how 'bout we just sit down in the corner while I make a quick phone call to make sure they're bringing another shirt.
All right? You're not meant for this work.
You're not meant for it, you know, for the job that I do.
You like this business, although it's a hard business.
I guess the thing that I like is just I get to know my customers.
You know, I'll tell them, how's their day going? Or tell them, hey, look, you know, let me buy you your lunch for today, because I know you're a regular.
You do that to customers? You know No manager ever offered me a free lunch.
Really? Even if you go to restaurant every single day? Never.
I just was blown away.
That is what defines great service in our business, in any business.
When I started here, I was a cook for two years.
When my family decided to brought us over here from Mexico.
I didn't speak any English at all.
You didn't speak any English? So I wanted to always keep going, start for more, strive for more, strive for more.
Owning something is a lot of people's dreams, isn't it? Yeah.
Jose sacrifices.
He sacrifices for his family so that they and the next generation can have a better life.
That's America.
That's what makes this country so great.
- Here's your shirt, Ken.
- Oh, thank you.
And then I want to present actually my brother and sister.
- Oh, how are you? - Primavera.
- What was your name? - Primavera.
This is my brother.
His name is Oscar.
Oscar, how are you? You have a terrible brother.
He's been working - Working you out? - Oh, yes.
Two minutes, all right? Let's look then.
Good to go.
- Okay, Ken, bye.
- Nice meeting you.
Bye, baby.
Same here.
Coming up, the boss takes matters into his own hands.
I'm not gonna apologize for my disappointment, but this is not how we run restaurants here.
And later, the boss shocks the boardroom.
I'm really thinking about to give a franchise.
Really? David Kim, the ceo of Baja fresh, is a boss undercover in his own company.
- My name is Ken.
- Ken, nice to meet you.
His employees think he's one of two people competing for the same job.
I wouldn't hire him.
I will not even think about it.
His journey continues in California.
Today I'm at the cypress store.
I'll be doing the cashier job.
I'm here to see Anthony.
Oh, okay.
Anthony, this is Oh, hi, my name is Ken.
I'm here to work with you today.
Oh, all right, hey.
Let me show you where your uniform's gonna be.
Okay, great, thanks.
The lunchtime is the busiest time at our restaurants.
The cashier's the face to our company, the voice to our company.
I would like to see how are cashiers are handling our customers during the busy times.
Right here, this is our register.
So this is what we're gonna work with.
All right, I'm ready to go today.
Once you, like, see how I do it, you can, like, take in the orders yourself.
There's a lot of boxes here.
Oh, yes.
How do you memorize all these? It's easy.
Actually we just get to know the menu.
It's our duty, it's our responsibility to know the different kinds of burritos that we have.
If they want a chicken, there's chicken right here.
If they want a steak, steak's right here.
A guacamole, pico de gallo, cheese.
You're going too fast for me.
You gotta 100 times slow down.
You're going When you get it down, then everything will flow to you.
Okay, here's a customer.
Hello.
Just wanna get the two mahi-mahi tacos.
Would you like a drink? No, I'm just gonna have water.
Would you like to try some chicken taquitos for $1.
49? Okay, is this gonna be for here or to go? For here.
Okay, here you go.
Change is $12.
40.
Utensils and napkins are on the side.
Thank you.
Don't think about it too much.
Just think, like, I can do this.
I'll do the punch-in, and you just interact with the customer, okay? Hi, how are you? A burrito ultimo, chicken.
And? All right, so one ultimo chicken burrito, right? - Yeah.
- Your name, please? - Tim.
- Tim.
Okay, it will be $7.
38.
$7.
38, sir.
We'll call your name once your order's ready, okay? You need to be a little bit more faster.
- More faster? - Yeah.
I'm keeping up trying to just focus on this.
Anthony, I need you to go outside and check.
And then Ken can stay here and take orders.
I don't think that's a good idea.
- Okay.
- Don't leave, okay? Hi, how are you, sir? You got the nacho burrito anymore or is that Uh, do we have the nacho burrito? Sione, do we have nacho burritos? - Yeah.
- Si? At Baja fresh, as much as we are obsessed with freshness, speed is very important to us.
All these boxes are all different.
And then where's nacho? Oh, pressed the wrong button.
Donde esta manager? I need some help.
I got everything here.
I got that.
See? Can you believe that? See that? Oh, that's a special burrito? Oh.
No, remember, you have to push the button.
Ken is doing He's not doing so good.
He's having trouble taking orders.
He's holding up the line.
Customers, I see their face expression getting a little frustrated.
That's not good.
I think what we're gonna do is we're gonna go to the tables and apologize for the delay.
- Hi.
- Hi there.
We just want to come by and apologize to everybody for the delay on taking the order.
This is Ken.
We're actually training him today.
I'm sorry.
It my first day.
I'm just not making it here.
You get two free burritos for your next visit.
Hopefully you'll come back.
This is Ken.
He's training here at the store.
We're sorry that we've been delayed today.
It's my first day getting trained and Oh, well, make sure it never happens again.
I promise you.
Because you said that, here, I'm gonna give you a free burrito.
If I said that I was a good cashier today, I would be the biggest liar in America.
Ooh.
So how do you think of the job? I don't know how you do it.
No, you just need to get used to it.
Back in the Philippines Oh, you're from the Philippines.
Yeah, back then, you know, we were kinda like We had a hard time, like, getting through financially.
When did you come to the United States? - Two years ago.
- So do you have a family? I have two sisters and three brothers, and I'm the oldest.
You're the oldest? Yeah, so it's kinda like I can Kinda like the burden of the family is, like, on my shoulders.
Could I ask how old you are? You look pretty young.
I'm 20.
- You're 20.
- Yeah.
My mom, she lives in San Diego right now.
And I tried looking for a job there, and I couldn't, so I have to move here with my Uncle.
You must really miss them.
I do, but, you know, by the grace of God we're still here, and we're able to, like, get through it.
- So you're a Christian? - Yes, I am.
- I'm a Christian.
- Oh, yeah? So for now I guess I just have to work harder for them.
'Cause I know they're counting on me.
That's a heavy burden that you carry at your age.
Yes, it's a burden, but at the same time, I feel like it's a blessing.
Because this is one of my stepping stones, becoming a better person.
Your mom should be so proud of you.
I hope so.
She never gave up on us.
Even though, like, my dad left us and stuff.
Oh, I'm sorry.
I didn't wanna I didn't wanna ask that question.
It's okay.
Don't worry about it.
Anthony is an inspiration to me.
I just can't believe what he's going through at his age, to be able to take that burden on to take care of his family.
Anthony.
Uh-huh? Is it okay that we pray for one another, okay? Dear heavenly father, lord.
Pray, lord, for brother Ken.
You be with him in his times of troubles and his times of joy, oh, lord.
Just continue to be with him.
Despite his difficulties he has, he calls himself a blessing.
That can't be a blessing.
All right.
Let's go.
'Cause we still need to work.
I don't want her to kill us.
Just give me a second.
In my experience, the more successful I get, I become more distanced from people.
All this I do, all this we have, it's all irrelevant.
It doesn't mean anything.
This means nothing.
Many times I feel like I live a hypocritical life.
Yes, I had to work very hard in my life.
But there's a lot of people that work very hard in their life that has not been as blessed as I am.
And yet, I see myself complaining, taking for granted.
I'm ashamed.
I've hurt a lot of people in my life, and I'm truly sorry.
I don't wanna take anything for granted anymore.
I'd like to do more for others, not just selfishly for me, to give hope.
And hopefully that I can learn how to be true to myself.
Today we're at the mesa, Arizona Baja fresh.
This Baja fresh has had some issues and some complaints in the past but recently has been turned around and is doing exceptionally well.
Hi, I'm looking for rami.
- I'm rami.
- Oh, my name is Ken.
How are you? Nice to meet you, Ken.
If you do a good job, this could be your office.
Okay.
So there's a shirt for you.
In business, there's always ups and downs.
And I like to learn how to rebound.
And I'm here to find out what they're doing well so that we can implement it throughout the country.
When you first come into work, what we gotta do at 10:30 every day is we check our temperatures before we start prepping anything for the day.
So we're gonna take this, stick it kinda in between everything, and wait for that number to go down.
All this should be under 40 degrees.
Over 40 degrees, we call that the danger zone.
That's when someone can get food poisoning, you get parasites and all that stuff.
And it might take a little bit.
Yeah, temperature Temperatures are very, very critical to what we do.
Food safety comes first.
So if we don't get this fixed right away, that's it.
End of story.
We're not gonna compromise on that.
You gotta make sure all this stuff is closed.
Usually we have covers, so all the cold stays cold.
That's why kinda gotta move it around, make sure it's dropping below temp.
'Cause all this hot air when it's this close to the grill.
So once it hits below 40, we know it's good product.
So as we're waiting for this You mind if I take just a quick break and I'll be right back? Is that okay? No problem.
Just a real quick break.
Bill.
Hi, this is David Kim.
I'm at one of the franchise stores in mesa, Arizona, and e cold table is not meeting temperature.
I don't know what's gonna happen, but what is important right now is I need to focus, making sure that we meet our temperatures.
And that's every That's all I'm concerned about.
I'm not gonna apologize for my disappointment, but this is not how we run restaurants here.
Hi, this is David Kim.
I'm at one of the franchise stores in me, Arizona, and the cold table is not meeting temperature.
I need this done, like, now.
Some of the cold tables aren't meeting temperatures, and we gotta fix that right away.
It's been a big eye-opener for me right now.
Temperatures are very, very critical to what we do.
Everything about Baja fresh is about excellence, and I'm not gonna compromise that.
We're gonna meet our temperatures.
That's it.
Hey, Billy, how we doing? Um the avocados on the cold line were reading, like, 44, 45.
Like, I mean, the cold table was fixed the other week, so everything was reading temperature.
Okay.
Okay, boss.
All right, bill.
All right, bye-bye.
Hey, Manuel.
Sorry, I had to take care of something.
It's okay.
Bill Pilawski just called me and said what we need to do, boss, is all this stuff, like, they need to be on ice, okay? Like, the container underneath, ice, ice.
And then, like, the sour cream, the cheese, all of it needs to be.
We're gonna get the temperature down, so gotta start the day off.
I called the office, and they're getting a tech in right away.
I didn't feel any suspicion from rami.
I don't think he had any idea.
And he took care of the problem right away.
So the Baja burrito comes with the Jack cheese, so we'll take about three ounces of Jack cheese.
Just sprinkle it over.
Let the cheese melt.
So then we take one scoop of the guacamole and spread it on there.
You take chicken.
It's about three ounces.
And then pour that right there.
Okay? And then you want to roll it.
Roll it.
Roll it, roll it.
Baja chicken.
Baja chicken.
Okay? The Baja chicken right there.
So basically you've got the Baja.
Yes, sir.
Cool, just letting you know.
All right, I need an ultimo steak with extra rice and sour cream, all right? And I'll be back to heck on you.
- Ultimo - Ultimo steak.
Ultimo What goes in ultimo steak? I'll be back in, like, ten minutes, five to check on you.
Okay.
How you doing, ladies? What can I get for you? What was the order again? Can I get you ladies any drinks? Oh, yes.
Regular? Large are only 30 cents more.
Oh, why didn't you bring it back? Rami's personality is a huge positive.
He's really energetic.
He's really engaged.
You should buy another one then.
- No.
- Okay, all right.
I thought I'd ask.
He really has that outgoing personality that can give great service to our guests.
So what do we have here? An ultimo? Ultimo.
I hope so.
Are we good? I think I'm good.
You feel confident? I feel okay.
There's no beans in the ultimo.
Okay.
So why don't you make me another one? Another one? Well, yeah, I mean, can you serve that to a customer? I don't know if Ken's ever worked in a restaurant, but, you know what, that's what we go through every day here.
I was kind of debating whether he could last or not.
So what I need you to do is grab this.
Follow me to the back.
We have the bathroom located right over here.
As soon as you're done, I'll be in the kitchen.
I'm going down.
I think I'm done.
Ugh.
So tell me what you think.
Not easy, right? It's hard.
It's very, very hard.
When you're a manager, you have to control your food cost, your labor.
You gotta control your employees.
You know, like, I had to get rid of a cook and the cashier.
That made me, like I have to find people if they can't cover their shift, then you're looking at an opener, closer, mid.
I work all day, all night.
So how long have you been a manager? About three months now.
I'm not gonna lie, I'm still having trouble with it.
But, you know, if I have to, I'll read training manuals all day just to make sure I'm doing everything correct.
Because really, to be honest, Ken, this is my first opportunity.
Being so young, not having a degree in anything, when I first started at the store, I was told the customer service was horrible.
Call my owner, go talk to him, see how it's doing now.
I guarantee you it's 100 times better.
It's just it all comes, to be honest, from my parents.
Where are your parents from? Jordan.
Like, paleste, and a little city in there.
My dad went to, like, driving taxis a couple For a few years.
My dad my dad's amazing.
Like, he's the guy that I call every day if I need anything.
You know? Here's the defective thermostat.
Let me show it to you real quick.
I found out today that it is rami that turned this restaurant around.
Running a restaurant is like being in war, and despite all the chaos of what he had to deal with, he was in there, he was great handling all those pressures coming all at the same time.
So let's go get you something to do.
I really don't wanna go back to work.
Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! None of that here.
You don't wanna go back to work? What? I'm getting all dirty.
Today we're in Boise, Idaho, at one of our successful Baja fresh restaurants, and it is cold here.
Today I'll be working with an operations manager who has a blizzard of responsibilities - - hi.
- My name is Ken.
I'm Carrie.
Nice to meet you.
We'll give you a uniform, get you started.
Today I would like to find out what is that this operations manager does to make their operation successful - - okay, so we're gonna go check out our produce.
Avocados so we're just gonna open them up, make sure the quality is nice make sure they're fresh and green and these are gonna be used for guacamole.
We have to whisk our salsa.
Okay so whisk.
Yeah, you're just gonna whisk it.
Get down as far as you can to make sure it's' all blended right.
Good? Oh.
And Uh I've got a little problem you dropped the whisk in there.
Yes, I did.
I have tongs I can did it out with.
Alright.
Feel it.
I've never seen anybody use the whisk in the salsa before 'cause it's not hard.
So we're gonna do a delivery.
- Delivery now? - Yep, come on.
You can take your gloves off.
And this one actually just right over across the street so we walk over there.
So do you often deliver to your Um myself, usually two or three times a week.
It's just nice to have that options for customers because they don't always have the ability to come get it.
Awesome this is your receipt if you need it, and we'll take care of it.
- Okay, thanks.
- Thank you.
I had not knew that there were locations that were doing delivery.
In a very competitive environment like today, that was something, to me, that I really want to explore.
Your service that you deliver to guests, that's really amazing.
I think that's the one leg up we have over other restaurants similar to ours, is our service.
And we've tried a lot of different things through couponing, and now it seems like nobody wants to buy it unless they have a coupon.
And I think that we've devalued the brand.
So what do you suggest? Anything that can compete that's not telling our customers our food is not worth the price listed on the menu board.
I mean, we used to have items on our menu that were less expensive.
We had a, you know, smaller portion but more affordable.
Now we have more people sharing.
You know, we sell a lot of a la carte tacos.
If we had a combo plate with one taco and rice and beans, you'd still make more money than just getting one cut in half.
I think Carrie brings a lot of great ideas to the table.
Anything that can bring improvement to Baja fresh, we wanna implement it throughout the country.
So tell me, do you have family? I had my husband and I have an almost two-year-old little girl, Emma.
And so he works nights and I work days, so we just kinda yeah.
I get home in time to take the baby, and he goes to work.
So it's yeah, it's good.
I can't complain.
So now we have a few customers in line.
We're gonna expedite some orders and put some food out over the counter.
All right.
When I first started this journey undercover, I didn't really know or understand what this whole meaning was.
Hi, dad, how are you? I'm okay.
You okay? - Yeah.
- When I was younger, I had frictions with my dad.
Now I have children, I have a family.
I understand him now.
My dad wanted the better life for his children.
What did the doctor say about your breathing? Yesterday, she told me that, you know, I have only 50 % lung functioning.
Don't listen to the doctors, okay? Whatever the doctors say, it doesn't mean anything.
So don't don't don't I just wanna create memories with him, the best memories possible, so that I can give him peace with the remaining days he has.
I'm very much proud of you, yes.
Thanks, dad.
I think mommy would be happy.
Yes, I think mom will be watching from up there.
As I get older and older, when I think back, you know, my past back life, don't be too greedy, you know? To stay humble, it's very important, yes.
Millionaires, common people, all we go to supermarket.
We buy same bread.
You should not forget.
Yeah, I'm gonna go now.
Nope, nope, come on.
Okay, I'm gonna leave.
Gonna be okay, right? Yeah, sure, okay.
Gonna give you a hug.
Okay.
Okay.
Take care of yourself, okay? Yeah.
- All right.
- Don't worry.
Okay, bye.
Agh! My week being undercover is over.
So I'd like to talk to our senior management team of all the things I've learned.
I like that.
Hey, David! - Hi, guys, how are you? - How you doing? - Did you have fun out there? - Yes, I did.
The reason why I asked you guys to come in, I just wanted to have a short meeting with you guys and go over some of the things that I've learned.
One of the restaurants that I've been to had the store manager deliver She actually set the whole table up.
Oh, so for catering? - For catering, yes.
- Oh, that's great.
And they'll call us back.
That's right.
They'll call us back.
That's what's important.
Sounds like a great idea.
One other area that I saw was one of the stores needed a little more manpower because the manager was having to part with people that weren't performing to his standard.
He just maybe needs a little bit more help - Some support now? - Some support now.
So if we can work on that So definitely areas of opportunity.
I was very much touched of the great people we have at our restaurants.
And I'm really thinking about, uh, to give a franchise.
- Really? - Yes.
- To our employees? - Uh-huh.
Giving? As in "give"? No franchise fee, that type of thing? Yes, I have several people I have in mind.
Are you sure you wanna do that? Is that really a good idea? Because there's a lot of sacrifice that has to go into running your own business.
Let's train them, let's teach them how to become an owner.
Correct.
But let us work out through those details, and we will discuss this more.
Thank you very much, guys.
Okay.
All right.
Today the employees will be called to come to headquarters.
They think they will be voting for two guys competing for one job.
I felt really nervous about today, and I really can't wait for it to be over.
How you doing, sir? - How are you? - Very good.
How are you? Do you know who I am? No, I don't know who you are.
You're Ken.
I'm not Ken.
I'm actually David Kim.
I'm the ceo of Baja fresh.
Okay.
Like the boss? The boss, yes.
Oh, wow.
Oh.
Carrie, I was really humbled how you were able to jugee so many things all at once.
Thank you.
I think you have a gold mine of great ideas.
If you can take the time and help us implement some of these great ideas you have, we'll pay for all your expense, right, for you to travel with us and teach us how these programs could come into play with our company and actually roll it out nationwide.
And, Carrie, I know that you have a two-year-old daughter.
I know you work very hard for her.
And you work very hard for the future.
And I really want Emma to have a great future for her.
I'd like to give you $7,500 for her college education.
Oh, wow, thank you.
And by the time she gets to college, I think it will be worth a lot.
Thank you.
I'm glad that I had the opportunity for Baja fresh to know that we work hard.
And it means a lot for somebody to notice and want to use some of the ideas that we've implemented.
So You know, rami, you're like this diamond in this rough.
I see you the way I was when I was younger.
Oh, and do you remember that I asked for permission to leave the restaurant? I actually called the office to get you some help.
Yeah, no, that was That was a serious A serious problem.
It's okay.
Yeah, I was really impressed how you took care of that problem right away, so Appreciate it.
And I'd like to spend some time with you over the year and really mentor you to become a better business person.
What I'd like to do for you is give you $5,000 towards your schooling.
I want you to finish that, because it'll help you for your next stage.
I want to offer something else to you too.
When you were telling me about your relationship with your father, I want you to have a memory with your father.
So I'd like to give you $5,000 to go spend it with your dad on a golf trip.
And cherish that time.
Thank you, sir.
You know, it's It's a privilege somebody wants to take the time and work with me and try and make me a better person.
And, you know, never in a million years would I think that would ever happen.
I'm speechless with just what hap With what happened.
I can't even talk right now.
Anthony, I was so moved by your story.
And I know what a burden it is for you to leave your mom and your brothers down in San Diego.
Yeah.
I mean, I miss them every day.
I wanna give you, like, $15,000 so that you and your mother and your brothers and sisters can get together.
Whoa.
Oh, God.
I don't know what to say.
Thank you, Anthony, for touching me.
My life, like, has been so hard that I thought that I would never experience anything that would be a blessing to me.
Lord, the family and his mother has gone through so much.
Give them the strength, give them that hope that their lives will be better.
Amen.
And this clearly shows that I was wrong, that this was God working wonders, that ts blessing's, like, a miracle for me.
Jose, you're just very warm.
Very warm to the customers, very warm to me.
You always said during that day that you wanted to own your own business, didn't you? Yeah, it'd be phenomenal.
It'd be fantastic.
Well, I want to let you know that I'm gonna make you one of our Baja fresh franchisees.
I'm gonna give you your very own franchise.
That's worth $50,000.
What? Yeah, Jose.
You're gonna be the youngest franchisee in our Baja system.
You okay? Yeah.
Jose, this path of ownership is gonna be hard work.
And don't worry, I'm gonna be next to you.
I'm gonna help you through this process.
I will not let you down.
I will not let my family down.
Thank you for not firing me that day.
Hey.
Hey.
You're not gonna believe what just happened to me, what's happening to me right now.
I'm gonna be the youngest franchisee owner of Baja fresh.
You're what? Yeah.
He bought it for you? Yes.
Oh, my God.
Who does that? People with good hearts.
People that wanna make people's dreams come true.
Hi, dad.
No, I'm fine, I'm fine.
When you're blessed with so many things in life, you you tend to forget where you came from.
You start getting big and stuck in this cubicle, and you see numbers all day long, and all these superficial things.
Here you go.
Success is not about achievements and money.
- This is fun.
- Oh, I got it.
It's really about your relationship with your parents, with your family, with your kids.
I wish my mom was here seeing this.
I wish that, uh, dad will live see this.