Undercover Boss (2010) s04e08 Episode Script
Moe's Southwest Grill
Male announcer: This week on Undercover Boss The president of Moe's Southwest Grill What's going on with the catering? Announcer: One of the fastest growing southwestern food chains in the world I'd dial back the heat.
Announcer: Goes undercover, posing as a failed steak house owner looking to get back in the kitchen.
Hey, how you doing? Hey, I'm Mark.
Announcer: His employees think he's on a reality show where he's competing to win money to open his own restaurant.
[Blender whirring.]
Just a little bit more.
Announcer: And he'll get down and dirty and do whatever it takes to win.
Give him his change, and tell him to have a wonderful day.
Announcer: By working side by side with employees Isn't there some automation we can find for this? The prep guy does three to four cases of this a day.
Announcer: Paul discovers the people who sacrifice it all to make his company grow.
She's the reason why I get up every morning.
I've only had two hours of sleep today.
Announcer: But what will happen when he comes across an employee with a bad attitude Mike, sweep the line.
Announcer: Who keeps cutting coworkers down to size? You are just a ding-dong.
I don't like to see managers run a shift like this.
Someone's not saying something.
Welcome to Moe's! And I look forward to the day that he finds out who he was bossing around.
I hate it when he corrects me like that.
Announcer: Find out next, on undercover boss.
Announcer: Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Moe's Southwest Grill offers healthy cuisine at 500 locations, serving more than 150,000 guests a day, making it one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the world.
- How was everything? - It was great.
Announcer: Leading this $1/2 billion-a-year industry and its 10,000 employees is one man.
My name is Paul Damico and I'm the president of Moe's Southwest Grill.
Welcome to Moe's! Moe's is a high-energy restaurant.
Thank you so much.
We'll see you later.
Thank you.
We're known for our burritos, quadrilles, tacos and nachos.
The Moe's concept was founded in 2000, in Atlanta, Georgia.
And the brand grew very quickly throughout the southeast.
In 2007, I joined the company to lead it to it's next evolution.
Today, we have over 500 restaurants in 34 states and in Moscow.
We are opening a restaurant every six days, and have been for the better part of two years.
I think what sets moe's apart from our competition really takes place in the restaurant.
The energy level, the irreverent "welcome to Moe's.
" All: Welcome to Moe's! When you look at our menu names, there are things that make you laugh.
So an Art Vandalay and a Joey Junior, both combos with queso.
My role as president is really to ensure that I am bringing the most talented, high-energy people into this brand.
Is that it? You've got it.
We are a brand that is growing extremely fast.
And we really don't have any room for mistakes.
Have a great day.
Chef, how are we doing? So I got four new salsas.
You never tried 'em before.
One of the coolest things that I get to do is really take part in the culinary development.
And so spending time with our executive chef is something that I love to do.
And this is where the magic takes place.
Oh.
[Bizet's Habanera from the opera Carmen.]
Is there a fruit in that? - There is no fruit in that.
- Hmm.
It's very sweet.
So maybe a little bit more cilantro in that one.
Okay.
Being able to be part of that excites me.
The fried green tomato, the chipotle-serrano, are absolutely gonna hit the market sometime next year.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
I grew up in eastern Long Island, on the North Shore.
My mother was a stay-at-home mom raising six kids, and my father had a full-time job at Grumann Aerospace Corporation.
And then, in addition to that, he worked every weekend in a catering establishment.
As a ninth-grader, my father took me to work, as a dishwasher, cleaning ashtrays.
By my junior year, I started to cook and really had a knack for this.
I really enjoyed it.
Following high school, I made a decision to go to culinary school.
And I received my culinary degree, and I stayed on for my business degree.
And this is where I sit today, you know, 25 years later.
Growing up with five siblings, we were an extremely close family.
When I was 20, my younger brother was diagnosed with hepatitis and needed a liver transplant.
And so, when he was 16, the doctor said, "we have found a liver for you, "and you have two hours to get from Port Jefferson to Pittsburgh.
" And that was a six-hour drive.
My father, at that time, was working for Grumann Aerospace, and the CEO of Grumann sent his plane to pick up my parents.
And no one expected this liver to take.
If my father's company had not stood behind him I'm not sure we would have got there.
You know, that's something that I will remember till the day I die.
The liver transplant was a success.
And I think that family challenges bring families together.
And if there's one thing that I took from my childhood, I have a very, very close family.
It's our last dinner before I go.
I'm gonna be gone.
How are you gonna feel, like, not being the boss? I am the boss.
I am married and have three wonderful daughters.
I try to pass on to my kids to keep life in perspective.
I haven't stood on my feet for ten hours and served customers for a lot of years.
- That's gonna be yeah.
- That's gonna be huge.
You go to bed early.
[Laughter.]
It's been a long time since he's been an hourly employee.
And I think it's good for him to remember all the work that they go through and see it through their eyes.
I want to see what you look like.
I know.
- How's it feel? - Can't really feel it.
I'm going undercover, because Moe's is growing extremely fast.
I think we should do a Steven Seagal ponytail.
I know.
And I want to make sure our franchisees are not falling short of the standards of our brand.
I'm gonna make it look like a real tattoo.
And the second thing is I'm gonna be given an opportunity to change the lives of some of the associates.
And if that's what I can do through this adventure, then I'm all-in.
While undercover, I am going to be Mark Richards, a failed fine-dining restaurateur.
Throughout my undercover journey, my employees will be told I am taking part in a hosted reality show where contestants compete for the opportunity to open their own restaurant.
They think they are going to give feedback on whether or not I deserve to win.
We've traveled South to Fort Myers, Florida.
The woman pretending to be the host of the fake show will keep asking my employees whether Mark deserves to win.
So hopefully they will have no idea that this is secretly Undercover Boss.
[Edgy rock music.]
- Oh, my God! - What do you think? So different.
Let me see your tattoos.
Look at your outfit, look at your outfit.
Look at your little vans.
Okay, so what's your name? - Mark Richards.
- What's your restaurant? My restaurant was Cabernet Steak House.
I hope I come away from this experience with something that changes how I think about the business.
That would be awesome.
- Bye, guys.
- Good luck.
We'll miss you.
[Upbeat pop music.]
Today I am in Fort Myers, Florida, and I will be working with a shift supervisor.
All: Welcome to Moe's! This Moe's is a very high-volume store.
Today I will be looking for how the evening shift runs.
is done in the evening or the dinner hours.
Anything else? The shift supervisor sets the tone for the shift that they run, and so I want to see an engaged crew that is sincerely taking care of the guests.
Hey, is Tito in? Right over there.
- Which one's Tito? - Tito! - How is it going? Tito.
- How are you, man.
- I'm Mark.
- Nice to meet you, man.
Good to meet you.
Here, let's go to the back and get you your hat and name tag.
Mark came in, and my first impression was a younger older guy.
He had tattoos on his arms.
He looks like he wants to be younger than what he is.
This is our main dining room right here.
It's a busy dinner.
It looks no, this is pretty slow actually.
- It's slow right now? - This is pretty slow.
- How long you been doing this? - Uh, nine months.
- Wow.
- Yeah, so But, I mean, I just got recently promoted about two months ago.
- Well done.
- Yeah.
First thing, I'm gonna show you how to roll a burrito.
I'm gonna show you one time.
If you don't understand, don't ask me again, ask one of them, okay? Okay.
Everyone knows how to roll a burrito.
- Don't ask me again.
- Okay.
During my first interaction with Tito, he said, "I'm gonna show you one time, "I'm not gonna show you again, and you're gonna do it right.
" And that was a bit shocking to me.
Because that is not how you train within Moe's.
I'm gonna show you this one time Why you being so why you being so strict? Because this is how I am with everybody.
You're gonna flap it right down the middle.
You're gonna tuck over it and just keep rolling.
Okay, now you're gonna fold this one.
- Okay, I think you said - Fold it straight down.
Straight down? What are you doing wrong already? Tuck the sides.
Tuck tuck and flip the back.
- Flip the back.
- Come across.
All the way to the top.
There you go.
Good? Probably one of the slowest people here.
Tito's a little flippant with me.
You're gonna take over from here.
You hear me? Take over.
He's a little bit too direct for just meeting me today.
You know, he didn't make me feel at home.
Mandy, do this one, show him how to fold these.
- I just got back.
- Shut it.
As the leader of the brand, I don't like to see managers run a shift like this.
It's not a professional atmosphere.
Any time a customer walks in, yell, "welcome to Moe's!" As loud as you can, all right? [Timer beeping.]
Chicken's up.
They should be about 1/2-inch cubes, you understand? You know, I had a restaurant at one time, so I know how to use a knife.
All right, cut it up.
Welcome to Moe's! All: Welcome to Moe's! Hey, mark, I wanna hear you down there too.
Uh, welcome to Moe's! A little bit louder.
- Welcome to Moe's! - Welcome to Moe's! Every time, Mark, every time.
Welcome to Moe's! Tito, on a couple of occasions, has tried to yell at me or tell me that I've not done something right.
Someone's not saying something.
Welcome to Moe's! I don't like being yelled at.
I hate it when he corrects me like that.
- Welcome to Moe's! - Welcome to Moe's! You gonna say it? He said it.
- Oh, okay.
- I got that! Little bit louder, little bit louder.
I got that.
He's never happy.
The way that he's treating me is very similar to the way that he's interacting with the other associates in the restaurant.
Mike, sweep the line.
Oh, my God, you are just a ding-dong.
I am not okay with what is happening in front of the guests.
What he's doing behind that line is unbelievable.
- Welcome to Moe's! - Welcome to Moe's! Someone's not saying something.
Welcome to Moe's! I think that Tito was having some fun telling me what to do.
The perk of being manager, I don't have to do no damn cleaning.
That's what these guys are for, and you'll be doing that tonight.
A trained shift supervisor would not be directing employees in the manner that Tito was directing them.
Tito, where are you going? He's just saying, "do this, do that.
" That's not a good thing.
Inside, I'm saying to myself, "I'm the president of this brand, and I'm actually evaluating your performance right now.
" But I'm keeping that in.
So now, you're gonna scrub the whole grill up and down.
You said you used to be an owner.
I was an owner of a high-end steak house - What happened? Really? - And it failed.
So I'm here to learn more about this kind of restaurant.
Mmhmm.
And you've taught me a lot today.
- That's good to know.
- Right? Yeah, all right, we're gonna move on to this one.
So you've only been a shift leader how long now? Uh, two months.
- I'm 19.
- Yeah? This is my second job ever.
- That's it? - Yeah.
And it's my first manager experience.
Tito's 19.
It's not like he's a 27-year-old manager that's behaving like that.
You know, eight weeks ago, he was one of those five other employees that were ringing the register, cutting chicken, and now that he's a shift supervisor, he thinks that that is cause for him not to ever have to do those menial things again.
And that is not the case.
What makes you get promoted? Why you, not all these other people? Um, I don't know.
It was, like, kind of a surprise thing.
I had no idea about it.
I don't know what our franchise partner in that restaurant saw in Tito that caused them to say, "you can now lead people.
" I didn't find that out in my time with Tito.
And I need to do that.
What are you doing? Come on, man, seriously.
Hurry up, okay.
And I look forward to the day that he finds out who he was bossing around.
Working with Tito yesterday was extremely upsetting.
That's not the type of behavior we expect to see from our employees.
So today I'm in Charleston, South Carolina, to work with a seasoned manager.
Welcome to Moe's! The manager is responsible for all aspects of the restaurant everything from the guest experience, the food quality, the teamwork - How's it goin'? - Good, how are you? I'm doing good today.
The worst thing that could happen here is that the manager has lost control of the shift, that the associates are not working as a team.
So I'm really hoping that today goes better than my last job.
I'm looking for Angelisa.
- Hey, how are you? - Are you Angelisa? I'm Mark, how are you? Nice to meet you, Mark.
Okay, so you're primarily gonna be on the register.
The Moe's franchise standard is three minutes from the time that they place their order Art Vandalay! To the time that they leave your counter, okay? So you you have to multitask.
And you have to be happy the whole time that you're doing it.
One of the things that distinguish Moe's is the speed of our service.
And so we want to make sure that our guests get through the line within three minutes.
- How ya doing? - Hello.
You had the Joey? So you hit "main menu.
" - Uh - Joey, chicken.
Get his drink ready.
Hit your $20 button.
Give him his change and tell him to have a wonderful day.
[Bouncy pop music.]
When Mark first arrived today, the restaurant was slammed.
So Joey Junior with a side of queso.
Everything was chaotic, and I definitely think it showed in his initial nervousness.
You had the homewrecker? This is an earmuffs with steak.
Thank you.
Out of 12, sorry.
[Bouncy country music.]
We're doing a little trainin' today.
- Hit it three times? - Yeah.
What else on your Joey? - This is very fast.
- Yes.
It's been a long time since I've been thrown into the fire like this.
The line has not stopped, it's outside the door.
I'm trying my best.
- Hey, how's it going? - 7.
49.
You really want to greet your customer before you start pushing buttons.
Both: Welcome to Moe's! You want that to be second nature, okay? If Mark is going to stay on this line with me, he is going to have to be a little bit louder - Sign the top copy.
- Thanks.
Smile when you talk.
And make the customers feel comfortable.
Funk Meister, side of queso! Oh, you switched it up? - Where are your tacos? - I know.
You didn't get your tacos today.
- No tacos today.
- Here you go.
- Great, thank you.
- You're welcome.
See you later, okay? All righty, thank you.
A lot of our customers are regular customers.
Yeah, three or four times a week, he's in here.
No problem.
One of the things that makes me the happiest is to see those repeat customers and to build a relationship with them.
I don't want to come to work and just ask people if they want rice, chicken, and beans on their burrito.
I want to come to work and ask them how their children are doing and, you know, make it a community.
So you're building somewhat of a little connection with the guys.
Exactly.
Thank you so much.
Have a good day.
Thank you, you too.
Fast is important.
But that friendly side of it is just as important, if not more important sometimes.
Angelisa stressed the importance of balancing speed and the positive guest experience.
We can push and shove the guest through the line make a decision, get out of the way, pay.
That's not what her goal is.
She is exceedingly company-standard with the guest experience.
Thank you.
Have a great day.
- How's that? - Yes.
- How's the smile? - We're getting there.
But we made it through that rush, right? That was a bit exhausting.
Okay, so our line's dying down a little bit.
We're gonna start on some frying.
So these are corn tortillas.
You just wrap it around the mold.
There you go.
Perfect, perfect.
Thanks for making me comfortable.
You're welcome.
[Laughs.]
So what kind of restaurant did you have? - It was a high-end steak house.
- Really.
This Mexican concept thing, it's just so different.
Yeah.
Okay.
If you want to dump those into there.
And here, let me show you the trick.
You want to pull 'em to this side.
- And dump 'em right in.
- Okay.
How long have you been doing this? Um, I've been the GM of this store for two years.
I've been with this company for three years.
Wow.
I started working in the restaurant industry when I was 15.
I was a single mom for a long time.
I have my son's eight, and my daughter's four.
- Really? - Yes.
And I only got my associate's degree.
I haven't gotten I hope to get a bachelor's degree at some point.
But it's, um, whenever it fits into my busy life.
[Laughs.]
- Sure.
Angelisa is a single mom.
I respect that tremendously, and I can relate to that.
My father was always at work.
And so my mother was acting as if she was a single mom raising six kids.
Both: Welcome to Moe's! There you go.
She is an incredible person.
That, coupled with her energy level, is why this restaurant, I think, is so successful.
Mommy! - Hi, honey.
- Mommy! Hey! You want a cup of queso? - And chips.
- Okay.
Thank you, mommy.
You're welcome, Colby.
Hi, guys.
Both: Hey.
- I'm Mark.
- I'm John, nice to meet you.
This is Mark.
He's our contestant.
- How are you? - Give him some skin.
She ain't being too rough on you, is she? I wouldn't use the word "rough.
" - Oh, yeah? - Constructive criticism.
But she's been very direct with me.
Yeah, yeah, she's like that at home too.
Oh, stop it.
You guys want cookies for dessert? - Yes, are they chocolate? - Chocolate chip? If we made dessert burritos here, would you put chocolate chips and queso in your dessert burrito? I'm telling you, I think we should do that.
- Dessert burritos? - That would be so fun.
You think what? We totally think that we should make a dessert burrito line.
You do? We will never say no to an idea.
Many of the menu items we have today are a result of our franchise partners sharing those ideas.
I will absolutely surface this to the menu committee to determine if it could be a menu item for Moe's.
Okay, guys, I think me and Mark are gonna get back to work.
You guys finish your dinner.
And I'll see you.
It was great meeting you.
Okay? [Kisses.]
I love you.
- All right, Mark, good luck.
- Appreciate it.
- Take it easy.
- Good to meet you.
Good to meet you.
I got you guys cookies too.
But you have to eat all your dinner first.
[Laughter.]
Okay? When I see someone like Angelisa, and then I have a chance to meet her children, I can absolutely see why she puts her heart and soul into this job.
Well, I mean I definitely think that you've done a great job here today.
And I want you to know I'm pulling for you in this competition.
That's so sweet.
[Tender music.]
My first two jobs have been a total roller coaster of emotions for me.
Angelisa is a model manager.
But I was a bit concerned with Tito's behavior.
Going undercover has been very eye-opening.
Boy, have I been looking forward to this.
Just some relaxation.
You listen to the story about Angelisa.
I can't even imagine what it's like to work, you know, 50 hours a week and then try to make time for two young kids.
Mmm.
That is good.
Hearing these very difficult stories makes me want to help them.
And now that I'm president, I can help my employees, like my father's boss helped my family so many years ago.
I can't wait to see who else I meet this week and see how I, as the boss, can take some weight off their shoulders and pay it forward.
Announcer: Coming up Paul hears the hard truth from one of his employees.
I used to live in a car.
Announcer: And later - You got this.
Announcer: The boss puts his undercover journey in jeopardy.
I am Paul, I mean "mark.
" Um I felt like I made a colossal mistake.
Announcer: Paul damico, the president of moe's southwest grill, is a boss undercover in his own company.
- I'm looking for angelisa.
- Hey, how are you? Announcer: His employees think he's a contestant, on a hosted reality show, trying to win money to open his own restaurant.
His journey continues in South Carolina.
I'm halfway through my journey.
And today I am in Columbia, South Carolina, and I am going to be working with one of our catering directors.
All: Welcome to moe's! Catering is a really important part of the moe's brand.
It represents about 8% of our system sales.
And we want to take that up significantly.
- How you doing, man? - Hey.
- Looking for Janet? - Yeah.
Hey Let me get her.
She's in the back.
- Thanks.
- Hey, Janet.
I'm really interested to see how the values of our brand are being taken care of outside of our restaurant.
- Janet, I'm mark.
- Hey, mark.
- How are you? - Hey, nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
I'm here to spend the day with you.
- Whoo-hoo! Lucky you, man.
- And [Laughter.]
Wow, you've got some energy.
Yeah, is it too early for you? - No, no.
- Good, good.
Okay, we have a 50-person catering that we're gonna set up.
So we're going outside the restaurant? We are.
We're out of here, man.
We're hittin' the road.
All right, good.
All right, let's do this.
I'm gonna assume, by your accent, that you're not from the South.
No, no, I you know, I had a restaurant in New York.
So tell me a little bit about that.
You know, the economy took a dump.
- Yeah.
- And we had to close the doors.
It was And that makes it tough.
I was very fortunate, in the fact that, catering with moe's, they were like, "okay, we've got to grow this.
" We need someone that can push it [stammers.]
And, you know, market it.
And I really feel that, with the right marketing, it could just skyrocket.
Got it.
So we're at richland county sheriff's department.
We're gonna set up our catering.
Okay.
- Long time, no see.
Both: Good to see you.
Welcome to the sheriff's department.
Thank you, thank you.
Great.
Great for being here.
We're excited to have you.
- Y'all hungry? - Oh, they are starving.
- I cooked it all myself.
- You did? - I did, every bit of it.
- Everybody's waiting on you.
- Come on.
- No pressure.
- Okay.
- All right.
Are they just gonna all come in here? Yeah, they'll just file in, however you want to do it In however okay.
Mark seems to be very anxious.
You know, I think he might be a little hesitant at the fact that we've got a roomful of people waiting to eat.
You'll get plates and everything here, move this way, and we may have to do some cold and drinks over here.
Okay.
[Energetic pop music.]
- Rice is going - Down here.
Another chicken on this side.
The first thing that I got from Janet was that she is extremely organized.
When I set up a catering, all of my utensils are to the right.
I make sure that everything is "fluffed," if you will.
- First impressions.
- Good and fresh.
Yes.
Every piece of that catering was meticulously delivered, from the marketing and the branding, to the spoon location.
It was really pretty awesome to see.
Bring on the troops! [Overlapping chatter.]
Welcome to moe's! So everyone has been to moe's before, right? - "Welcome to moe's!" - Right? So everybody knows our menu, everybody knows how awesome it is.
Janet is the mayor of catering in this market here and really a great representative of the moe's brand.
It's really great that they know the brand.
Yeah, man.
She's taking the moe's restaurant experience into the community.
It's exactly what I want to see for all of our caterings.
- Well, thank y'all so much.
- Thank you, everybody.
- Enjoy, come see us.
- Enjoy that.
Call us for catering.
We'll take care of you.
So what we'll do now is some sales and marketing.
Okay.
You know, I'll go into these different businesses and drop off a bag of chips or drop off cookies and some catering information.
I mean, I'm always thinking of crazy ideas and different things we can do.
Some of the best ideas come from craziness, right? Exactly, exactly.
I will grow catering so that it's at least 20% of our business.
Janet's catering sales are right around the system average, at 8%.
She wants to take them to 20%.
That's more than doubling the catering business.
That was really cool.
So they don't know that we're coming in here? They don't know, no, no.
This is how we do it in the South.
The most exciting part about this Is that you get to do this one.
I feel confident that I can do this job.
You know, I am involved in selling moe's almost every day.
You got this.
And so this should be fairly easy for me.
After you.
Hey, guys.
Both: Hey.
- How are you? - Good, how are you? I am great.
I am Paul, I mean, "mark.
" [Dramatic music.]
Um I forgot my name, and I introduced myself as "Paul mark.
" I felt like I made a colossal mistake.
I am with moe's.
Hey, I'm Holly.
- This is my colleague.
- Hey, I'm Janet.
While I said my real name, I don't think that she heard it.
I think I just dodged a major bullet.
Shannon, we are working the streets, and I want you to know that we have some really great catering.
We brought you some gifts, obviously, some chips and salsa for the team.
Awesome.
We have so many salons that book a catering.
And they do it not just for their crew, but they do it for their guests.
Do you deliver it and We will deliver everything.
We will set it up.
We try to make it as easy as we can.
So here's our information, here's our phone number.
- All right? - All right.
Pleasure meeting you, thanks so much.
- Nice to meet you too.
- Pleasure to meet you.
Look forward to hearing from you guys.
- Thank you.
- Y'all have a great day.
- You too.
- That was great! - Really? - Oh, my gosh! You are such a natural.
Janet is an overachiever.
She is a ball of energy.
She clearly loves the moe's brand.
She loves catering.
And she spent a lot of time telling me how she expects to take catering here to a new level.
- Oh, that was great! - It was really good.
You ready for about three more? [Laughs.]
Today, I'm in Nashville, Tennessee.
And I'm excited to be working the line here at moe's.
The line worker at moe's has many jobs, from prepping the food to making the burritos, to running the cash register.
- Hey, how are you doing? - Hey, how are you? - All right.
- Is Damon in? Yeah, he's in there, just go straight to the back.
Thanks.
I'm gonna be looking to see how the associates here at this restaurant are setting up the restaurant and getting ready for the opening of the doors at 11:00.
Damon.
Hey, how are you doing? - Hey, I'm mark.
- How are you doing, mark? - It's good to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
- How are you? - Pretty good, man.
What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna show you the ins and outs from the back of the house to the front of the house.
What time do we open? - Open up at 11:00.
- Okay.
[Mixer whirring.]
Just a little bit more.
You're gonna learn to do rice.
Everything is hand-chopped, made from scratch.
If he wants to win this money to open up his own restaurant, he's gonna have to listen to me, you know, 'cause I'm gonna try to take him to the promised land.
Since we're working fast, we don't try to wrap it up like it's a Christmas present, we try to wrap it up to where it's secure enough I'm gonna show him how to do the pico, and he's gonna have to slam some cilantro.
Gonna show him how to do the corn pico.
This is like boot camp here.
This is moe's boot camp.
So do you have any kids? I have two daughters.
You? Yeah, I got a little girl.
She's ten.
I have custody of her.
She's out front with me today.
- She's here? - Yeah, she's here today.
What you can do here's the way I do it.
Let me show you.
You just catch 'em like that.
- One motion.
- Yeah.
- You see my face? - I see it.
Yeah, you see it? That's the one I'm talking about.
- You see my shirt? - Moe's! That's the one I was talkin' about.
- I'm back, I'm back.
- That's like Gallagher.
[Laughter.]
Didn't give me a cut on that one.
[Slicer banging.]
- Got a whole piece? - It's faulty.
Don't laugh at me.
My arms hurt.
That is not an easy job, cutting a case of tomatoes.
That is back-breaking work.
The prep guys does three or four cases of this a day.
And, really, this is like half a case, I believe Isn't there some automation we can find for this? [Laughter.]
He was complaining about slamming tomatoes.
It was only 3/4 of a box, and it took him 20 minutes to slam it.
Come on, dude, you did, like, 3/4 of a box and your arm was tired.
So, you know, you need to go hit the gym or something.
You need to hit the gym with me, 'cause I was trying to hit the gym too.
You thought you was tired then Next thing we're gonna do is guacamole.
- [Scoffs.]
Awesome.
- [Whistles.]
- This is hass avocado.
- Okay.
Just go ahead and put that.
Diced onions.
That's 12 cups.
Don't matter how long you've been working here, we always keep our prep sheets out.
Sometimes you'll forget.
I'm going 3 quarts.
Yes, sir.
While we were making the guacamole, Damon showed me that, step by step.
Go ahead and dump that on there, like that.
We would not let me go to the next ingredient until I had the one prior.
That is the sign of a great teacher.
Because we could very easily forget that ingredient, and then our guac wouldn't be moe's guac.
How's it look? That looks great.
Should be good and ready.
Does your daughter come to work with you a lot? Or is she just hanging out with you today? She is usually, if I don't have a babysitter, she'll come she'll come to work with me.
But she's a good kid.
Her mom fell on some bad times, so I ended up getting custody of my daughter.
I mean, I packed up everything and just moved because I didn't want to take her out of her school and bring her down here.
Before that, I used to live in a car.
- Okay.
- So that kind of hurt I had a friend who kind of helped me.
So you pulled yourself out.
Yeah, I pulled myself out.
- That's unbelievable.
- It was crazy.
See, this is my daughter right here.
MacKenzie? This is mark.
Nice to meet you.
- Yeah, she's my pride and joy.
- What are you reading? Ramona.
[Laughs.]
You like to read? Yeah? She burnt through 134 books in a year.
- What grade are you in? - Fifth.
What's your favorite subject right now? - Reading.
- Reading? I just spent the last two hours with your dad.
He's trying to teach me.
[Laughs.]
You think you could ever think of him as a teacher? [Laughter.]
He's teaching me.
Did you have fun working here? I had so much fun with your father.
The way I see Damon bringing his young daughter to work, it's so much like when my dad did it with me.
There's no question that she's learning about work ethic right now.
Very cool, it's a great story.
Yeah, she's the reason I get up every morning.
I've only had two hours of sleep today.
And that's just something something that get's me up every morning, you know.
It choked me up.
I think about my daughters, and how How you want the best for them.
It was nice meeting you.
And I see him trying to give her the absolute best.
Your daughter probably doesn't know how to show you, but I got to believe she's proud of you.
Do you? Nothing better in life than that.
This undercover experience has been an eye-opener for me.
All right, mark, this is it.
You're out of here.
You know, there were issues with tito, and those will have to be addressed.
Good-bye, pig.
No more tats.
But I also met three really great and hard-working people who give their all to moe's despite their individual challenges.
It inspires me to want to give back to them.
And now I'm given the chance to do for them what my father's boss did for him.
And that touches my heart.
Announcer: Coming up How will the employees react when they find out mark is really the boss? My name is Paul damico.
I am the president of moe's southwest grill.
I'm so confused right now.
Announcer: And Paul finally gets his chance to set tito straight.
- Is this a joke? - This is no joke.
All of the employees I worked with this week are coming here to the Miami culinary institute.
They think they're meeting with a panel of judges to help determine whether or not I deserve to win my own restaurant.
Hello.
Hey, how are you doing? I'm good.
So, tell me about mark.
Mark is amazing.
Mark did well.
- He did? - Yes, sir.
Do you think he's worthy of the $100,000? No, I don't.
Really? I have some news for you.
- There's no contest.
- Okay.
My name is Paul damico.
Okay, Mr.
damico.
I am the president of moe's southwest grill.
No.
I'm so confused right now.
Oh, my gosh! Oh, I think I know what this is.
[Laughs.]
This is undercover boss? This isundercover boss.
[Laughs.]
Oh, man.
Is this a joke? This is no joke.
I spent a lot of hours with you.
Mmhmm.
I had to bite my tongue a lot.
Yeah.
Let's talk for a second about how you treat the associates there.
That's the one thing that really concerned me a lot.
Mike, sweep the line.
Oh, my God, you are just a ding-dong.
Tito, that type of behavior is just unacceptable.
Yes, sir.
You've only been in the position for eight weeks, and you put yourself on a different level than the hourly associates.
When it was first official that I was manager, people didn't take it as serious, so I had to take it to a different level.
Mmhmm.
You know, tito, I've talked with your franchise owner about your behavior.
And you can imagine what I was thinking.
Yeah.
[Suspenseful music.]
But, I want to give you a second chance.
Thank you very much.
But you need to make some changes.
The hourly employees that are on your team are just as important to me and to moe's as the guests.
You have got to treat them with respect.
Can I get your commitment to do that? Yes, sir.
And you have to be willing to do all the positions in the restaurant.
You have to work hand in hand and pitch in with all of the hourly associates.
- Okay.
- You're young.
And you're inexperienced.
Correct.
What I want to do, to help you with that, is I want to fly you to Atlanta for three weeks.
And get you properly trained so that you can run a shift.
- Okay.
- Is that a deal? Yes, sir.
I want you to keep your word, and want you to treat your associates with the utmost respect, okay? Yes, sir.
I do understand what Paul is speaking of when he tells me I need to treat my employees better.
Uh, I'm a little harsh on them at times.
More than I should.
I made Paul a promise, and I'm gonna stick to it.
Janet, you are someone that I would seriously consider putting on my executive team.
You know what I do? I surround myself with smarter people.
You're smarter than me.
Thank you.
You said without a doubt, we can double catering.
You are making your franchise partner extremely successful.
And so I want to thank you for that.
Thank you so much.
In January of 2014, we have the moe's worldwide conference.
And I want you to work with our director of catering on putting together a moe's-centric catering symposium at that forum.
And so you're gonna have the opportunity to share your "wild" and crazy ideas with hundreds of moe's caterers throughout the system.
That's exactly the type of things that I want to do.
That's I want to be able to incorporate all that and grow this amazing product.
That is right up my alley.
It takes place in San Antonio.
But I want to give you $10,000, and I want you to take your husband.
It's a weeklong event.
Again, I want to fly the two of you first-class.
Stay in a great hotel, enjoy yoursel enjoy your husband.
You're gonna make me [Sighs.]
cry.
You can't do it on camera.
I want you to look good when you get there.
And so for that, I'm gonna give you a $5,000 shopping spree, and I want you to look like a rock star.
For once in my life, I'm speechless.
[Laughing.]
I am.
Oh, my gosh.
Words can't express wow.
Can I give you a hug? I was just me that is how I am at work so it made me feel great that the real me is someone that he actually learned from and that he feels confident in.
That is such a compliment.
Angelisa, you are a one-in-a-million manager.
I would love to have 10,000 of you.
The way you cared about the guests, - see you later, okay? - All righty, thank you.
What you did in that restaurant was probably one of the most amazing experiences I've had in my 27 years in the restaurant industry.
Thank you.
And so I want to reward you with a couple of things.
I want to send you to Atlanta, 'cause you seem to have a lot of good ideas.
You brought up the dessert items.
Right.
I want you to meet with our executive chef and talk to him about your ideas, okay? This is all so surreal to me right now.
You talked to me about education.
And you talked to me about how you've gotten your associate's degree.
But you've not had a chance to get your bachelor's degree.
- Right.
- I think that's very important.
One of the things I want to do for you, is I want to give you $15,000.
Thank you for all of this.
You're welcome.
[Voice breaks.]
'Cause I want you to get that bachelor's degree.
And I know you have to find the time to do that.
And when you're ready, then you call me, and I want to pay for that bachelor's degree.
Yes, sir.
I had the chance to meet your family.
Your two kids are absolutely adorable.
Thank you.
I want to give you $40,000.
And I want you to put $20,000 in each of the children's college funds.
Because, by the time they are ready to go to school, I don't want you to worry about that.
I could never say thank you enough for that.
I worry about them and their future way more than I worry about myself.
And I couldn't ever be grateful enough or repay you.
Hard work goes unrecognized so often.
Yes.
And I don't want to be that leader.
And that's why I'm thanking you for letting me get into your restaurant and see, without a filter, what it looks like.
Both: Thank you.
I have worried about what I'm gonna be able to provide for my kids, as far as education, for a long time.
I've always hoped that they would understand that I work hard for them and their future.
Because I don't always get to do as much with them as I would like to.
I appreciate it all.
This is just one of those moments where it makes everything that we do worthwhile.
I feel really good.
Damon, you are a great trainer.
You took the time to show me everything about your restaurant.
- Yes, sir.
- And I thank you for that.
We had a chance to share personal stories.
And yours is one that I've never heard before.
I don't think anybody ever should be homeless.
I want to see you succeed.
Thank you.
I also got a chance to meet your daughter.
Yes, she's amazing.
She made me step up to being a better person.
[Voice breaks.]
I was able to spend a few minutes with her.
Yeah.
And she really touched me and my heart.
Pretty amazing little girl.
Yeah, thank you.
One of the things I want to share with you is, my younger brother, who's ten years younger than me, you know, he had to go through a liver transplant.
And my father's boss took care of my father Yes, sir.
And made the transportation happen for my family.
So what I learned from that is that my father's boss took care of him so that he could take care of other people.
And so I want to help you, and I want to take care of you.
Thank you.
I want to give you $15,000, and I want you to go out and get the best reliable car you can.
Thank you.
[Crying and laughing.]
Thank you.
And I understand how expensive child care can be.
Yes, sir.
So I want to give you $20,000 in cash.
And I want you to use that for quality day care, so that when you come to moe's, and you work, you're not worrying about MacKenzie or what her day care is looking like.
Thank you for all this, man.
You know, it's been a struggle.
But, you know, keeping faith has really kept me above water.
Your daughter's amazing.
I know MacKenzie's getting great grades.
And I don't want you to ever have to worry about her college education.
And so I want to give you $20,000 to start her college fund now, so that there's plenty of money in that by the time she's ready to go off to school.
You know [Sighs.]
I don't know what to say, man.
You really don't have to do that for my daughter, you know.
I can't put words into it, man.
I mean, I knew God puts people in our paths for a reason.
I knew there was something about you when I seen you.
You're not here you were here for a reason.
And I'm just blessed and Just thankful.
Both: Thank you.
- The best.
- Thank you.
- The best.
- It's been a journey.
The past couple years has been a journey, you know.
Thank you.
I feel real relieved, with the help of moe's and, you know, I'm just keeping my faith and I'm keeping my friends and family around.
It's gonna be sugar for now, and I'm not gonna fail, you know.
I can't fail, and I won't fail.
I may fall down, but I'm gonna always get back up.
This past week has been amazing.
Giving back to the community has always been an important part of moe's value system.
All: Welcome to moe's! - Hey, guys.
- Hey, how are you? - Doing great today.
But being able to help people in a very significant way and on such a personal level is something I've been looking for an opportunity to do since my father's boss stepped in and helped save my brother's life 22 years ago.
How are you doing? Everything's good? Yeah, good.
I know that for me, this is just the beginning of paying forward the gift my family was given.
And I hope the people I've helped today will find their own way of paying it forward.
And that the concept of giving people a hand is something we can continue to incorporate into the moe's culture.
That is a perfect roll.
That is a perfect roll.
[Upbeat music.]
Announcer: Goes undercover, posing as a failed steak house owner looking to get back in the kitchen.
Hey, how you doing? Hey, I'm Mark.
Announcer: His employees think he's on a reality show where he's competing to win money to open his own restaurant.
[Blender whirring.]
Just a little bit more.
Announcer: And he'll get down and dirty and do whatever it takes to win.
Give him his change, and tell him to have a wonderful day.
Announcer: By working side by side with employees Isn't there some automation we can find for this? The prep guy does three to four cases of this a day.
Announcer: Paul discovers the people who sacrifice it all to make his company grow.
She's the reason why I get up every morning.
I've only had two hours of sleep today.
Announcer: But what will happen when he comes across an employee with a bad attitude Mike, sweep the line.
Announcer: Who keeps cutting coworkers down to size? You are just a ding-dong.
I don't like to see managers run a shift like this.
Someone's not saying something.
Welcome to Moe's! And I look forward to the day that he finds out who he was bossing around.
I hate it when he corrects me like that.
Announcer: Find out next, on undercover boss.
Announcer: Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, Moe's Southwest Grill offers healthy cuisine at 500 locations, serving more than 150,000 guests a day, making it one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the world.
- How was everything? - It was great.
Announcer: Leading this $1/2 billion-a-year industry and its 10,000 employees is one man.
My name is Paul Damico and I'm the president of Moe's Southwest Grill.
Welcome to Moe's! Moe's is a high-energy restaurant.
Thank you so much.
We'll see you later.
Thank you.
We're known for our burritos, quadrilles, tacos and nachos.
The Moe's concept was founded in 2000, in Atlanta, Georgia.
And the brand grew very quickly throughout the southeast.
In 2007, I joined the company to lead it to it's next evolution.
Today, we have over 500 restaurants in 34 states and in Moscow.
We are opening a restaurant every six days, and have been for the better part of two years.
I think what sets moe's apart from our competition really takes place in the restaurant.
The energy level, the irreverent "welcome to Moe's.
" All: Welcome to Moe's! When you look at our menu names, there are things that make you laugh.
So an Art Vandalay and a Joey Junior, both combos with queso.
My role as president is really to ensure that I am bringing the most talented, high-energy people into this brand.
Is that it? You've got it.
We are a brand that is growing extremely fast.
And we really don't have any room for mistakes.
Have a great day.
Chef, how are we doing? So I got four new salsas.
You never tried 'em before.
One of the coolest things that I get to do is really take part in the culinary development.
And so spending time with our executive chef is something that I love to do.
And this is where the magic takes place.
Oh.
[Bizet's Habanera from the opera Carmen.]
Is there a fruit in that? - There is no fruit in that.
- Hmm.
It's very sweet.
So maybe a little bit more cilantro in that one.
Okay.
Being able to be part of that excites me.
The fried green tomato, the chipotle-serrano, are absolutely gonna hit the market sometime next year.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
I grew up in eastern Long Island, on the North Shore.
My mother was a stay-at-home mom raising six kids, and my father had a full-time job at Grumann Aerospace Corporation.
And then, in addition to that, he worked every weekend in a catering establishment.
As a ninth-grader, my father took me to work, as a dishwasher, cleaning ashtrays.
By my junior year, I started to cook and really had a knack for this.
I really enjoyed it.
Following high school, I made a decision to go to culinary school.
And I received my culinary degree, and I stayed on for my business degree.
And this is where I sit today, you know, 25 years later.
Growing up with five siblings, we were an extremely close family.
When I was 20, my younger brother was diagnosed with hepatitis and needed a liver transplant.
And so, when he was 16, the doctor said, "we have found a liver for you, "and you have two hours to get from Port Jefferson to Pittsburgh.
" And that was a six-hour drive.
My father, at that time, was working for Grumann Aerospace, and the CEO of Grumann sent his plane to pick up my parents.
And no one expected this liver to take.
If my father's company had not stood behind him I'm not sure we would have got there.
You know, that's something that I will remember till the day I die.
The liver transplant was a success.
And I think that family challenges bring families together.
And if there's one thing that I took from my childhood, I have a very, very close family.
It's our last dinner before I go.
I'm gonna be gone.
How are you gonna feel, like, not being the boss? I am the boss.
I am married and have three wonderful daughters.
I try to pass on to my kids to keep life in perspective.
I haven't stood on my feet for ten hours and served customers for a lot of years.
- That's gonna be yeah.
- That's gonna be huge.
You go to bed early.
[Laughter.]
It's been a long time since he's been an hourly employee.
And I think it's good for him to remember all the work that they go through and see it through their eyes.
I want to see what you look like.
I know.
- How's it feel? - Can't really feel it.
I'm going undercover, because Moe's is growing extremely fast.
I think we should do a Steven Seagal ponytail.
I know.
And I want to make sure our franchisees are not falling short of the standards of our brand.
I'm gonna make it look like a real tattoo.
And the second thing is I'm gonna be given an opportunity to change the lives of some of the associates.
And if that's what I can do through this adventure, then I'm all-in.
While undercover, I am going to be Mark Richards, a failed fine-dining restaurateur.
Throughout my undercover journey, my employees will be told I am taking part in a hosted reality show where contestants compete for the opportunity to open their own restaurant.
They think they are going to give feedback on whether or not I deserve to win.
We've traveled South to Fort Myers, Florida.
The woman pretending to be the host of the fake show will keep asking my employees whether Mark deserves to win.
So hopefully they will have no idea that this is secretly Undercover Boss.
[Edgy rock music.]
- Oh, my God! - What do you think? So different.
Let me see your tattoos.
Look at your outfit, look at your outfit.
Look at your little vans.
Okay, so what's your name? - Mark Richards.
- What's your restaurant? My restaurant was Cabernet Steak House.
I hope I come away from this experience with something that changes how I think about the business.
That would be awesome.
- Bye, guys.
- Good luck.
We'll miss you.
[Upbeat pop music.]
Today I am in Fort Myers, Florida, and I will be working with a shift supervisor.
All: Welcome to Moe's! This Moe's is a very high-volume store.
Today I will be looking for how the evening shift runs.
is done in the evening or the dinner hours.
Anything else? The shift supervisor sets the tone for the shift that they run, and so I want to see an engaged crew that is sincerely taking care of the guests.
Hey, is Tito in? Right over there.
- Which one's Tito? - Tito! - How is it going? Tito.
- How are you, man.
- I'm Mark.
- Nice to meet you, man.
Good to meet you.
Here, let's go to the back and get you your hat and name tag.
Mark came in, and my first impression was a younger older guy.
He had tattoos on his arms.
He looks like he wants to be younger than what he is.
This is our main dining room right here.
It's a busy dinner.
It looks no, this is pretty slow actually.
- It's slow right now? - This is pretty slow.
- How long you been doing this? - Uh, nine months.
- Wow.
- Yeah, so But, I mean, I just got recently promoted about two months ago.
- Well done.
- Yeah.
First thing, I'm gonna show you how to roll a burrito.
I'm gonna show you one time.
If you don't understand, don't ask me again, ask one of them, okay? Okay.
Everyone knows how to roll a burrito.
- Don't ask me again.
- Okay.
During my first interaction with Tito, he said, "I'm gonna show you one time, "I'm not gonna show you again, and you're gonna do it right.
" And that was a bit shocking to me.
Because that is not how you train within Moe's.
I'm gonna show you this one time Why you being so why you being so strict? Because this is how I am with everybody.
You're gonna flap it right down the middle.
You're gonna tuck over it and just keep rolling.
Okay, now you're gonna fold this one.
- Okay, I think you said - Fold it straight down.
Straight down? What are you doing wrong already? Tuck the sides.
Tuck tuck and flip the back.
- Flip the back.
- Come across.
All the way to the top.
There you go.
Good? Probably one of the slowest people here.
Tito's a little flippant with me.
You're gonna take over from here.
You hear me? Take over.
He's a little bit too direct for just meeting me today.
You know, he didn't make me feel at home.
Mandy, do this one, show him how to fold these.
- I just got back.
- Shut it.
As the leader of the brand, I don't like to see managers run a shift like this.
It's not a professional atmosphere.
Any time a customer walks in, yell, "welcome to Moe's!" As loud as you can, all right? [Timer beeping.]
Chicken's up.
They should be about 1/2-inch cubes, you understand? You know, I had a restaurant at one time, so I know how to use a knife.
All right, cut it up.
Welcome to Moe's! All: Welcome to Moe's! Hey, mark, I wanna hear you down there too.
Uh, welcome to Moe's! A little bit louder.
- Welcome to Moe's! - Welcome to Moe's! Every time, Mark, every time.
Welcome to Moe's! Tito, on a couple of occasions, has tried to yell at me or tell me that I've not done something right.
Someone's not saying something.
Welcome to Moe's! I don't like being yelled at.
I hate it when he corrects me like that.
- Welcome to Moe's! - Welcome to Moe's! You gonna say it? He said it.
- Oh, okay.
- I got that! Little bit louder, little bit louder.
I got that.
He's never happy.
The way that he's treating me is very similar to the way that he's interacting with the other associates in the restaurant.
Mike, sweep the line.
Oh, my God, you are just a ding-dong.
I am not okay with what is happening in front of the guests.
What he's doing behind that line is unbelievable.
- Welcome to Moe's! - Welcome to Moe's! Someone's not saying something.
Welcome to Moe's! I think that Tito was having some fun telling me what to do.
The perk of being manager, I don't have to do no damn cleaning.
That's what these guys are for, and you'll be doing that tonight.
A trained shift supervisor would not be directing employees in the manner that Tito was directing them.
Tito, where are you going? He's just saying, "do this, do that.
" That's not a good thing.
Inside, I'm saying to myself, "I'm the president of this brand, and I'm actually evaluating your performance right now.
" But I'm keeping that in.
So now, you're gonna scrub the whole grill up and down.
You said you used to be an owner.
I was an owner of a high-end steak house - What happened? Really? - And it failed.
So I'm here to learn more about this kind of restaurant.
Mmhmm.
And you've taught me a lot today.
- That's good to know.
- Right? Yeah, all right, we're gonna move on to this one.
So you've only been a shift leader how long now? Uh, two months.
- I'm 19.
- Yeah? This is my second job ever.
- That's it? - Yeah.
And it's my first manager experience.
Tito's 19.
It's not like he's a 27-year-old manager that's behaving like that.
You know, eight weeks ago, he was one of those five other employees that were ringing the register, cutting chicken, and now that he's a shift supervisor, he thinks that that is cause for him not to ever have to do those menial things again.
And that is not the case.
What makes you get promoted? Why you, not all these other people? Um, I don't know.
It was, like, kind of a surprise thing.
I had no idea about it.
I don't know what our franchise partner in that restaurant saw in Tito that caused them to say, "you can now lead people.
" I didn't find that out in my time with Tito.
And I need to do that.
What are you doing? Come on, man, seriously.
Hurry up, okay.
And I look forward to the day that he finds out who he was bossing around.
Working with Tito yesterday was extremely upsetting.
That's not the type of behavior we expect to see from our employees.
So today I'm in Charleston, South Carolina, to work with a seasoned manager.
Welcome to Moe's! The manager is responsible for all aspects of the restaurant everything from the guest experience, the food quality, the teamwork - How's it goin'? - Good, how are you? I'm doing good today.
The worst thing that could happen here is that the manager has lost control of the shift, that the associates are not working as a team.
So I'm really hoping that today goes better than my last job.
I'm looking for Angelisa.
- Hey, how are you? - Are you Angelisa? I'm Mark, how are you? Nice to meet you, Mark.
Okay, so you're primarily gonna be on the register.
The Moe's franchise standard is three minutes from the time that they place their order Art Vandalay! To the time that they leave your counter, okay? So you you have to multitask.
And you have to be happy the whole time that you're doing it.
One of the things that distinguish Moe's is the speed of our service.
And so we want to make sure that our guests get through the line within three minutes.
- How ya doing? - Hello.
You had the Joey? So you hit "main menu.
" - Uh - Joey, chicken.
Get his drink ready.
Hit your $20 button.
Give him his change and tell him to have a wonderful day.
[Bouncy pop music.]
When Mark first arrived today, the restaurant was slammed.
So Joey Junior with a side of queso.
Everything was chaotic, and I definitely think it showed in his initial nervousness.
You had the homewrecker? This is an earmuffs with steak.
Thank you.
Out of 12, sorry.
[Bouncy country music.]
We're doing a little trainin' today.
- Hit it three times? - Yeah.
What else on your Joey? - This is very fast.
- Yes.
It's been a long time since I've been thrown into the fire like this.
The line has not stopped, it's outside the door.
I'm trying my best.
- Hey, how's it going? - 7.
49.
You really want to greet your customer before you start pushing buttons.
Both: Welcome to Moe's! You want that to be second nature, okay? If Mark is going to stay on this line with me, he is going to have to be a little bit louder - Sign the top copy.
- Thanks.
Smile when you talk.
And make the customers feel comfortable.
Funk Meister, side of queso! Oh, you switched it up? - Where are your tacos? - I know.
You didn't get your tacos today.
- No tacos today.
- Here you go.
- Great, thank you.
- You're welcome.
See you later, okay? All righty, thank you.
A lot of our customers are regular customers.
Yeah, three or four times a week, he's in here.
No problem.
One of the things that makes me the happiest is to see those repeat customers and to build a relationship with them.
I don't want to come to work and just ask people if they want rice, chicken, and beans on their burrito.
I want to come to work and ask them how their children are doing and, you know, make it a community.
So you're building somewhat of a little connection with the guys.
Exactly.
Thank you so much.
Have a good day.
Thank you, you too.
Fast is important.
But that friendly side of it is just as important, if not more important sometimes.
Angelisa stressed the importance of balancing speed and the positive guest experience.
We can push and shove the guest through the line make a decision, get out of the way, pay.
That's not what her goal is.
She is exceedingly company-standard with the guest experience.
Thank you.
Have a great day.
- How's that? - Yes.
- How's the smile? - We're getting there.
But we made it through that rush, right? That was a bit exhausting.
Okay, so our line's dying down a little bit.
We're gonna start on some frying.
So these are corn tortillas.
You just wrap it around the mold.
There you go.
Perfect, perfect.
Thanks for making me comfortable.
You're welcome.
[Laughs.]
So what kind of restaurant did you have? - It was a high-end steak house.
- Really.
This Mexican concept thing, it's just so different.
Yeah.
Okay.
If you want to dump those into there.
And here, let me show you the trick.
You want to pull 'em to this side.
- And dump 'em right in.
- Okay.
How long have you been doing this? Um, I've been the GM of this store for two years.
I've been with this company for three years.
Wow.
I started working in the restaurant industry when I was 15.
I was a single mom for a long time.
I have my son's eight, and my daughter's four.
- Really? - Yes.
And I only got my associate's degree.
I haven't gotten I hope to get a bachelor's degree at some point.
But it's, um, whenever it fits into my busy life.
[Laughs.]
- Sure.
Angelisa is a single mom.
I respect that tremendously, and I can relate to that.
My father was always at work.
And so my mother was acting as if she was a single mom raising six kids.
Both: Welcome to Moe's! There you go.
She is an incredible person.
That, coupled with her energy level, is why this restaurant, I think, is so successful.
Mommy! - Hi, honey.
- Mommy! Hey! You want a cup of queso? - And chips.
- Okay.
Thank you, mommy.
You're welcome, Colby.
Hi, guys.
Both: Hey.
- I'm Mark.
- I'm John, nice to meet you.
This is Mark.
He's our contestant.
- How are you? - Give him some skin.
She ain't being too rough on you, is she? I wouldn't use the word "rough.
" - Oh, yeah? - Constructive criticism.
But she's been very direct with me.
Yeah, yeah, she's like that at home too.
Oh, stop it.
You guys want cookies for dessert? - Yes, are they chocolate? - Chocolate chip? If we made dessert burritos here, would you put chocolate chips and queso in your dessert burrito? I'm telling you, I think we should do that.
- Dessert burritos? - That would be so fun.
You think what? We totally think that we should make a dessert burrito line.
You do? We will never say no to an idea.
Many of the menu items we have today are a result of our franchise partners sharing those ideas.
I will absolutely surface this to the menu committee to determine if it could be a menu item for Moe's.
Okay, guys, I think me and Mark are gonna get back to work.
You guys finish your dinner.
And I'll see you.
It was great meeting you.
Okay? [Kisses.]
I love you.
- All right, Mark, good luck.
- Appreciate it.
- Take it easy.
- Good to meet you.
Good to meet you.
I got you guys cookies too.
But you have to eat all your dinner first.
[Laughter.]
Okay? When I see someone like Angelisa, and then I have a chance to meet her children, I can absolutely see why she puts her heart and soul into this job.
Well, I mean I definitely think that you've done a great job here today.
And I want you to know I'm pulling for you in this competition.
That's so sweet.
[Tender music.]
My first two jobs have been a total roller coaster of emotions for me.
Angelisa is a model manager.
But I was a bit concerned with Tito's behavior.
Going undercover has been very eye-opening.
Boy, have I been looking forward to this.
Just some relaxation.
You listen to the story about Angelisa.
I can't even imagine what it's like to work, you know, 50 hours a week and then try to make time for two young kids.
Mmm.
That is good.
Hearing these very difficult stories makes me want to help them.
And now that I'm president, I can help my employees, like my father's boss helped my family so many years ago.
I can't wait to see who else I meet this week and see how I, as the boss, can take some weight off their shoulders and pay it forward.
Announcer: Coming up Paul hears the hard truth from one of his employees.
I used to live in a car.
Announcer: And later - You got this.
Announcer: The boss puts his undercover journey in jeopardy.
I am Paul, I mean "mark.
" Um I felt like I made a colossal mistake.
Announcer: Paul damico, the president of moe's southwest grill, is a boss undercover in his own company.
- I'm looking for angelisa.
- Hey, how are you? Announcer: His employees think he's a contestant, on a hosted reality show, trying to win money to open his own restaurant.
His journey continues in South Carolina.
I'm halfway through my journey.
And today I am in Columbia, South Carolina, and I am going to be working with one of our catering directors.
All: Welcome to moe's! Catering is a really important part of the moe's brand.
It represents about 8% of our system sales.
And we want to take that up significantly.
- How you doing, man? - Hey.
- Looking for Janet? - Yeah.
Hey Let me get her.
She's in the back.
- Thanks.
- Hey, Janet.
I'm really interested to see how the values of our brand are being taken care of outside of our restaurant.
- Janet, I'm mark.
- Hey, mark.
- How are you? - Hey, nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you.
I'm here to spend the day with you.
- Whoo-hoo! Lucky you, man.
- And [Laughter.]
Wow, you've got some energy.
Yeah, is it too early for you? - No, no.
- Good, good.
Okay, we have a 50-person catering that we're gonna set up.
So we're going outside the restaurant? We are.
We're out of here, man.
We're hittin' the road.
All right, good.
All right, let's do this.
I'm gonna assume, by your accent, that you're not from the South.
No, no, I you know, I had a restaurant in New York.
So tell me a little bit about that.
You know, the economy took a dump.
- Yeah.
- And we had to close the doors.
It was And that makes it tough.
I was very fortunate, in the fact that, catering with moe's, they were like, "okay, we've got to grow this.
" We need someone that can push it [stammers.]
And, you know, market it.
And I really feel that, with the right marketing, it could just skyrocket.
Got it.
So we're at richland county sheriff's department.
We're gonna set up our catering.
Okay.
- Long time, no see.
Both: Good to see you.
Welcome to the sheriff's department.
Thank you, thank you.
Great.
Great for being here.
We're excited to have you.
- Y'all hungry? - Oh, they are starving.
- I cooked it all myself.
- You did? - I did, every bit of it.
- Everybody's waiting on you.
- Come on.
- No pressure.
- Okay.
- All right.
Are they just gonna all come in here? Yeah, they'll just file in, however you want to do it In however okay.
Mark seems to be very anxious.
You know, I think he might be a little hesitant at the fact that we've got a roomful of people waiting to eat.
You'll get plates and everything here, move this way, and we may have to do some cold and drinks over here.
Okay.
[Energetic pop music.]
- Rice is going - Down here.
Another chicken on this side.
The first thing that I got from Janet was that she is extremely organized.
When I set up a catering, all of my utensils are to the right.
I make sure that everything is "fluffed," if you will.
- First impressions.
- Good and fresh.
Yes.
Every piece of that catering was meticulously delivered, from the marketing and the branding, to the spoon location.
It was really pretty awesome to see.
Bring on the troops! [Overlapping chatter.]
Welcome to moe's! So everyone has been to moe's before, right? - "Welcome to moe's!" - Right? So everybody knows our menu, everybody knows how awesome it is.
Janet is the mayor of catering in this market here and really a great representative of the moe's brand.
It's really great that they know the brand.
Yeah, man.
She's taking the moe's restaurant experience into the community.
It's exactly what I want to see for all of our caterings.
- Well, thank y'all so much.
- Thank you, everybody.
- Enjoy, come see us.
- Enjoy that.
Call us for catering.
We'll take care of you.
So what we'll do now is some sales and marketing.
Okay.
You know, I'll go into these different businesses and drop off a bag of chips or drop off cookies and some catering information.
I mean, I'm always thinking of crazy ideas and different things we can do.
Some of the best ideas come from craziness, right? Exactly, exactly.
I will grow catering so that it's at least 20% of our business.
Janet's catering sales are right around the system average, at 8%.
She wants to take them to 20%.
That's more than doubling the catering business.
That was really cool.
So they don't know that we're coming in here? They don't know, no, no.
This is how we do it in the South.
The most exciting part about this Is that you get to do this one.
I feel confident that I can do this job.
You know, I am involved in selling moe's almost every day.
You got this.
And so this should be fairly easy for me.
After you.
Hey, guys.
Both: Hey.
- How are you? - Good, how are you? I am great.
I am Paul, I mean, "mark.
" [Dramatic music.]
Um I forgot my name, and I introduced myself as "Paul mark.
" I felt like I made a colossal mistake.
I am with moe's.
Hey, I'm Holly.
- This is my colleague.
- Hey, I'm Janet.
While I said my real name, I don't think that she heard it.
I think I just dodged a major bullet.
Shannon, we are working the streets, and I want you to know that we have some really great catering.
We brought you some gifts, obviously, some chips and salsa for the team.
Awesome.
We have so many salons that book a catering.
And they do it not just for their crew, but they do it for their guests.
Do you deliver it and We will deliver everything.
We will set it up.
We try to make it as easy as we can.
So here's our information, here's our phone number.
- All right? - All right.
Pleasure meeting you, thanks so much.
- Nice to meet you too.
- Pleasure to meet you.
Look forward to hearing from you guys.
- Thank you.
- Y'all have a great day.
- You too.
- That was great! - Really? - Oh, my gosh! You are such a natural.
Janet is an overachiever.
She is a ball of energy.
She clearly loves the moe's brand.
She loves catering.
And she spent a lot of time telling me how she expects to take catering here to a new level.
- Oh, that was great! - It was really good.
You ready for about three more? [Laughs.]
Today, I'm in Nashville, Tennessee.
And I'm excited to be working the line here at moe's.
The line worker at moe's has many jobs, from prepping the food to making the burritos, to running the cash register.
- Hey, how are you doing? - Hey, how are you? - All right.
- Is Damon in? Yeah, he's in there, just go straight to the back.
Thanks.
I'm gonna be looking to see how the associates here at this restaurant are setting up the restaurant and getting ready for the opening of the doors at 11:00.
Damon.
Hey, how are you doing? - Hey, I'm mark.
- How are you doing, mark? - It's good to meet you.
- Nice to meet you too.
- How are you? - Pretty good, man.
What I'm gonna do is I'm gonna show you the ins and outs from the back of the house to the front of the house.
What time do we open? - Open up at 11:00.
- Okay.
[Mixer whirring.]
Just a little bit more.
You're gonna learn to do rice.
Everything is hand-chopped, made from scratch.
If he wants to win this money to open up his own restaurant, he's gonna have to listen to me, you know, 'cause I'm gonna try to take him to the promised land.
Since we're working fast, we don't try to wrap it up like it's a Christmas present, we try to wrap it up to where it's secure enough I'm gonna show him how to do the pico, and he's gonna have to slam some cilantro.
Gonna show him how to do the corn pico.
This is like boot camp here.
This is moe's boot camp.
So do you have any kids? I have two daughters.
You? Yeah, I got a little girl.
She's ten.
I have custody of her.
She's out front with me today.
- She's here? - Yeah, she's here today.
What you can do here's the way I do it.
Let me show you.
You just catch 'em like that.
- One motion.
- Yeah.
- You see my face? - I see it.
Yeah, you see it? That's the one I'm talking about.
- You see my shirt? - Moe's! That's the one I was talkin' about.
- I'm back, I'm back.
- That's like Gallagher.
[Laughter.]
Didn't give me a cut on that one.
[Slicer banging.]
- Got a whole piece? - It's faulty.
Don't laugh at me.
My arms hurt.
That is not an easy job, cutting a case of tomatoes.
That is back-breaking work.
The prep guys does three or four cases of this a day.
And, really, this is like half a case, I believe Isn't there some automation we can find for this? [Laughter.]
He was complaining about slamming tomatoes.
It was only 3/4 of a box, and it took him 20 minutes to slam it.
Come on, dude, you did, like, 3/4 of a box and your arm was tired.
So, you know, you need to go hit the gym or something.
You need to hit the gym with me, 'cause I was trying to hit the gym too.
You thought you was tired then Next thing we're gonna do is guacamole.
- [Scoffs.]
Awesome.
- [Whistles.]
- This is hass avocado.
- Okay.
Just go ahead and put that.
Diced onions.
That's 12 cups.
Don't matter how long you've been working here, we always keep our prep sheets out.
Sometimes you'll forget.
I'm going 3 quarts.
Yes, sir.
While we were making the guacamole, Damon showed me that, step by step.
Go ahead and dump that on there, like that.
We would not let me go to the next ingredient until I had the one prior.
That is the sign of a great teacher.
Because we could very easily forget that ingredient, and then our guac wouldn't be moe's guac.
How's it look? That looks great.
Should be good and ready.
Does your daughter come to work with you a lot? Or is she just hanging out with you today? She is usually, if I don't have a babysitter, she'll come she'll come to work with me.
But she's a good kid.
Her mom fell on some bad times, so I ended up getting custody of my daughter.
I mean, I packed up everything and just moved because I didn't want to take her out of her school and bring her down here.
Before that, I used to live in a car.
- Okay.
- So that kind of hurt I had a friend who kind of helped me.
So you pulled yourself out.
Yeah, I pulled myself out.
- That's unbelievable.
- It was crazy.
See, this is my daughter right here.
MacKenzie? This is mark.
Nice to meet you.
- Yeah, she's my pride and joy.
- What are you reading? Ramona.
[Laughs.]
You like to read? Yeah? She burnt through 134 books in a year.
- What grade are you in? - Fifth.
What's your favorite subject right now? - Reading.
- Reading? I just spent the last two hours with your dad.
He's trying to teach me.
[Laughs.]
You think you could ever think of him as a teacher? [Laughter.]
He's teaching me.
Did you have fun working here? I had so much fun with your father.
The way I see Damon bringing his young daughter to work, it's so much like when my dad did it with me.
There's no question that she's learning about work ethic right now.
Very cool, it's a great story.
Yeah, she's the reason I get up every morning.
I've only had two hours of sleep today.
And that's just something something that get's me up every morning, you know.
It choked me up.
I think about my daughters, and how How you want the best for them.
It was nice meeting you.
And I see him trying to give her the absolute best.
Your daughter probably doesn't know how to show you, but I got to believe she's proud of you.
Do you? Nothing better in life than that.
This undercover experience has been an eye-opener for me.
All right, mark, this is it.
You're out of here.
You know, there were issues with tito, and those will have to be addressed.
Good-bye, pig.
No more tats.
But I also met three really great and hard-working people who give their all to moe's despite their individual challenges.
It inspires me to want to give back to them.
And now I'm given the chance to do for them what my father's boss did for him.
And that touches my heart.
Announcer: Coming up How will the employees react when they find out mark is really the boss? My name is Paul damico.
I am the president of moe's southwest grill.
I'm so confused right now.
Announcer: And Paul finally gets his chance to set tito straight.
- Is this a joke? - This is no joke.
All of the employees I worked with this week are coming here to the Miami culinary institute.
They think they're meeting with a panel of judges to help determine whether or not I deserve to win my own restaurant.
Hello.
Hey, how are you doing? I'm good.
So, tell me about mark.
Mark is amazing.
Mark did well.
- He did? - Yes, sir.
Do you think he's worthy of the $100,000? No, I don't.
Really? I have some news for you.
- There's no contest.
- Okay.
My name is Paul damico.
Okay, Mr.
damico.
I am the president of moe's southwest grill.
No.
I'm so confused right now.
Oh, my gosh! Oh, I think I know what this is.
[Laughs.]
This is undercover boss? This isundercover boss.
[Laughs.]
Oh, man.
Is this a joke? This is no joke.
I spent a lot of hours with you.
Mmhmm.
I had to bite my tongue a lot.
Yeah.
Let's talk for a second about how you treat the associates there.
That's the one thing that really concerned me a lot.
Mike, sweep the line.
Oh, my God, you are just a ding-dong.
Tito, that type of behavior is just unacceptable.
Yes, sir.
You've only been in the position for eight weeks, and you put yourself on a different level than the hourly associates.
When it was first official that I was manager, people didn't take it as serious, so I had to take it to a different level.
Mmhmm.
You know, tito, I've talked with your franchise owner about your behavior.
And you can imagine what I was thinking.
Yeah.
[Suspenseful music.]
But, I want to give you a second chance.
Thank you very much.
But you need to make some changes.
The hourly employees that are on your team are just as important to me and to moe's as the guests.
You have got to treat them with respect.
Can I get your commitment to do that? Yes, sir.
And you have to be willing to do all the positions in the restaurant.
You have to work hand in hand and pitch in with all of the hourly associates.
- Okay.
- You're young.
And you're inexperienced.
Correct.
What I want to do, to help you with that, is I want to fly you to Atlanta for three weeks.
And get you properly trained so that you can run a shift.
- Okay.
- Is that a deal? Yes, sir.
I want you to keep your word, and want you to treat your associates with the utmost respect, okay? Yes, sir.
I do understand what Paul is speaking of when he tells me I need to treat my employees better.
Uh, I'm a little harsh on them at times.
More than I should.
I made Paul a promise, and I'm gonna stick to it.
Janet, you are someone that I would seriously consider putting on my executive team.
You know what I do? I surround myself with smarter people.
You're smarter than me.
Thank you.
You said without a doubt, we can double catering.
You are making your franchise partner extremely successful.
And so I want to thank you for that.
Thank you so much.
In January of 2014, we have the moe's worldwide conference.
And I want you to work with our director of catering on putting together a moe's-centric catering symposium at that forum.
And so you're gonna have the opportunity to share your "wild" and crazy ideas with hundreds of moe's caterers throughout the system.
That's exactly the type of things that I want to do.
That's I want to be able to incorporate all that and grow this amazing product.
That is right up my alley.
It takes place in San Antonio.
But I want to give you $10,000, and I want you to take your husband.
It's a weeklong event.
Again, I want to fly the two of you first-class.
Stay in a great hotel, enjoy yoursel enjoy your husband.
You're gonna make me [Sighs.]
cry.
You can't do it on camera.
I want you to look good when you get there.
And so for that, I'm gonna give you a $5,000 shopping spree, and I want you to look like a rock star.
For once in my life, I'm speechless.
[Laughing.]
I am.
Oh, my gosh.
Words can't express wow.
Can I give you a hug? I was just me that is how I am at work so it made me feel great that the real me is someone that he actually learned from and that he feels confident in.
That is such a compliment.
Angelisa, you are a one-in-a-million manager.
I would love to have 10,000 of you.
The way you cared about the guests, - see you later, okay? - All righty, thank you.
What you did in that restaurant was probably one of the most amazing experiences I've had in my 27 years in the restaurant industry.
Thank you.
And so I want to reward you with a couple of things.
I want to send you to Atlanta, 'cause you seem to have a lot of good ideas.
You brought up the dessert items.
Right.
I want you to meet with our executive chef and talk to him about your ideas, okay? This is all so surreal to me right now.
You talked to me about education.
And you talked to me about how you've gotten your associate's degree.
But you've not had a chance to get your bachelor's degree.
- Right.
- I think that's very important.
One of the things I want to do for you, is I want to give you $15,000.
Thank you for all of this.
You're welcome.
[Voice breaks.]
'Cause I want you to get that bachelor's degree.
And I know you have to find the time to do that.
And when you're ready, then you call me, and I want to pay for that bachelor's degree.
Yes, sir.
I had the chance to meet your family.
Your two kids are absolutely adorable.
Thank you.
I want to give you $40,000.
And I want you to put $20,000 in each of the children's college funds.
Because, by the time they are ready to go to school, I don't want you to worry about that.
I could never say thank you enough for that.
I worry about them and their future way more than I worry about myself.
And I couldn't ever be grateful enough or repay you.
Hard work goes unrecognized so often.
Yes.
And I don't want to be that leader.
And that's why I'm thanking you for letting me get into your restaurant and see, without a filter, what it looks like.
Both: Thank you.
I have worried about what I'm gonna be able to provide for my kids, as far as education, for a long time.
I've always hoped that they would understand that I work hard for them and their future.
Because I don't always get to do as much with them as I would like to.
I appreciate it all.
This is just one of those moments where it makes everything that we do worthwhile.
I feel really good.
Damon, you are a great trainer.
You took the time to show me everything about your restaurant.
- Yes, sir.
- And I thank you for that.
We had a chance to share personal stories.
And yours is one that I've never heard before.
I don't think anybody ever should be homeless.
I want to see you succeed.
Thank you.
I also got a chance to meet your daughter.
Yes, she's amazing.
She made me step up to being a better person.
[Voice breaks.]
I was able to spend a few minutes with her.
Yeah.
And she really touched me and my heart.
Pretty amazing little girl.
Yeah, thank you.
One of the things I want to share with you is, my younger brother, who's ten years younger than me, you know, he had to go through a liver transplant.
And my father's boss took care of my father Yes, sir.
And made the transportation happen for my family.
So what I learned from that is that my father's boss took care of him so that he could take care of other people.
And so I want to help you, and I want to take care of you.
Thank you.
I want to give you $15,000, and I want you to go out and get the best reliable car you can.
Thank you.
[Crying and laughing.]
Thank you.
And I understand how expensive child care can be.
Yes, sir.
So I want to give you $20,000 in cash.
And I want you to use that for quality day care, so that when you come to moe's, and you work, you're not worrying about MacKenzie or what her day care is looking like.
Thank you for all this, man.
You know, it's been a struggle.
But, you know, keeping faith has really kept me above water.
Your daughter's amazing.
I know MacKenzie's getting great grades.
And I don't want you to ever have to worry about her college education.
And so I want to give you $20,000 to start her college fund now, so that there's plenty of money in that by the time she's ready to go off to school.
You know [Sighs.]
I don't know what to say, man.
You really don't have to do that for my daughter, you know.
I can't put words into it, man.
I mean, I knew God puts people in our paths for a reason.
I knew there was something about you when I seen you.
You're not here you were here for a reason.
And I'm just blessed and Just thankful.
Both: Thank you.
- The best.
- Thank you.
- The best.
- It's been a journey.
The past couple years has been a journey, you know.
Thank you.
I feel real relieved, with the help of moe's and, you know, I'm just keeping my faith and I'm keeping my friends and family around.
It's gonna be sugar for now, and I'm not gonna fail, you know.
I can't fail, and I won't fail.
I may fall down, but I'm gonna always get back up.
This past week has been amazing.
Giving back to the community has always been an important part of moe's value system.
All: Welcome to moe's! - Hey, guys.
- Hey, how are you? - Doing great today.
But being able to help people in a very significant way and on such a personal level is something I've been looking for an opportunity to do since my father's boss stepped in and helped save my brother's life 22 years ago.
How are you doing? Everything's good? Yeah, good.
I know that for me, this is just the beginning of paying forward the gift my family was given.
And I hope the people I've helped today will find their own way of paying it forward.
And that the concept of giving people a hand is something we can continue to incorporate into the moe's culture.
That is a perfect roll.
That is a perfect roll.
[Upbeat music.]