I had no idea my sister had a twin who was separated from her at birth and that she runs a restaurant now.
I think if you wanted to launder some money, you could add imaginary items to each ticket, so you wind up with, say, 25% more receipts than actual orders/income from patrons, then funnel your dirty money through that. Seems tedious and slow though.
We used to watch the British version, and it seemed much more about fixing restaurants - less manufactured drama and grandiose musical stings and such. But even then, people had a LOT of trouble breaking out of their habits, seeing around their blind spots, and letting go of their deathgrip of control.
Are you saying that Panera keeps what is in the tip jar? I can understand if everyone splits the cash in there at the end of the day or week or whatever, but if the company just takes it that’s sort of horrifying.
I just watched this whole episode on the train home (there goes this month’s data allowance!) Or at least I think I saw it all - two parts, about 20 min each, on YouTube, right?
Nowhere did I see Gordon finding out the cakes were bought in; nowhere did I see the quite about how he wouldn’t “get it” that selling frozen crap was ok because he’s not American, etc. Did those come from somewhere else?
Anyway, it was pretty compelling viewing. The crazy is strong in these two (Amy especially - I kind of liked/pitied Samy!)
Yeah, they didn’t show that revelation.
Well, technically, nobody “got” it. If people offered us tips, we were supposed to say “No, sorry we aren’t allowed to take tips. If you want to show gratification over the service, you can donate the money to the insert charity here box.” I never really thought about the company pocketing it. People rarely tip anyway. It’d be like a stray fiver or even a 20 every month and that’s if you’ve got some crazy strong rapport with a regular customer. lYes, it’s sort of horrifying but with the meager of money that’s lost, it didn’t really matter. We were much more concerned about getting our hours cut. However as far as I can tell, not accepting tips is standard operating procedure for fast food.
I’ve only seen this show on YouTube since the story exploded, but I’ve seen the Tabatha Takes Over and Bar Rescue shows. What the owners seem to get out of it, besides good advice and management tools that, if they apply them, can save their business. And they get free redecoration, equipment, training for employees, and stuff like that.
Actually, this is about the only legal way to go about it. If there’s a mandatory “service charge”, it doesn’t all have to go to the wait staff (as long as they end up with at least minimum wage).
But voluntary tips definitely go to the staff.
That’s because IIRC Panera doesn’t have servers. They have people that take and make your order, but every time I’ve been there, I’ve collected my own food and brought it to wherever was available to sit. If I am mistaken please correct me because it’s been awhile, but I am pretty certain this is correct.
The rant for tip jars for hourly employees in such places is for another time I guess.
The other thing I will mention is that nobody has mentioned Gordon slipping his initial server some cash after he discovers what is truly going on at that miserable place. It happens right before they cut to commercial after the initial service where he “tries” all the food.
I see a few people commented on how she doesn’t bake her own cakes, but I didn’t see that on the show - how did that get clear? Also, she clearly told Ramsey that she had made the cakes herself.
For most owners going on the show is a last ditch effort to turn the business around.
Right, it’s the same reason why Wifeswap and Trading Spouses always pair up the most incompatible families possible.
Watched the episode on the YouTubes. Watched another local news story covering the Yelp review battles. Have read quite a few of the reviews.
Gordon, bless his heart, knows how to make good t.v. He also knows how to push people if he can tease out a kernel of goodness from them. It’s not brilliant but it does take a certain light quick touch. He did try but the raging trainwreck that is Amy coupled with the deeply frightening hoodlum husband meant that there was no kernel of goodness to be found.
I don’t blame his producers either. They found a real dilly or so they thought. I cannot imagine they went into this knowing it would hit a brick wall.
There’s a bigger dialogue to be had here about owning one’s business, owning one’s behaviors and what it is to exist in a service industry.
But this ain’t the thread for it.
At the bottom of it, I agree with those posters who think this is all about money laundering and not about mediocre food. Ramsey and his staff caught wind, I think, of things they did not want to be involved in and coupled with the stonewall attitude, walked away. Wisely.
Not for nothing, but that ravioli looked like vomit.
ETA: I don’t watch a lot of t.v. In surfing once, I saw a show called Hotel Hell. It was also a Ramsey show. The episode focused on a couple where the man had sold everything to buy an old schoolhouse and turn it into a B&B. He lived in some immature and somewhat meanspirited universe where his wife’s dreams and needs were severely marginalized and where he gloried in feeding his own ego more than the guests who wanted a good breakfast. By the end of the show, Ramsey broke him. People don’t abandon an adult lifetime’s behavior patterns just because a star came through the door and on national television pointed them out. But this fellow was in love with his wife as much as with his dream, and it took a thorough shaking up to realize that. I got the manipulation and game being played- but this guy, he was shaken at the idea of losing his marriage. More than losing the B&B. Did they make it work? No clue. I should go digging to find out. But at least in that case, the kernel of human goodness existed. Ramsey did what he could to help them out, he truly did pull together some quick and strong ideas.
It’s not highbrow but it’s entertaining when the elements exist and await reformation. This thing in Scottsdale? Criminal train wreck…
I don’t think the implication is overt, rather, that anyone as clearly unskilled and clueless with savory foods as Amy is in a kitchen environment has about a zero chance of making quality, well-presented baked goods.
how would it benefit a money laundering operation to appear on tv?
Yesterday, the Phoenix Business Journal ran this article saying that the restaurant is becoming a tourist attraction with people taking pictures of the restaurant and eating there as a result of the hoopla. So they might be busier than ever.
I watched the episode last night, and I saw that too. I’m kind of torn over it - it is nice of Ramsey to make sure his server gets her tips, but I can’t help thinking the TV crew was hoping the owners would see it and make the server give the tip to them.
And I never did find out how much they were paying their servers. I find it hard to believe, even in this economy, that 100 people would agree to work for $2.13 an hour and having the owner snag their tips.
But no matter what, this was great TV. Shifty looking older Mafioso type with trophy wife with crazy eyes. :eek: I like the repeated shots of Amy pulling knives off the magnetic rack.
On a sneaking level I was hoping she would wind up chasing Ramsey down the street while the soundtrack from Psycho played in the background.
Regards,
Shodan
Note that the About Us page on the restaurant’s website claims the cakes are made in-house, “All of our Pastries are baked fresh daily by me and all of our food is made per order.” And as said, the name of the place is Amy’s Baking Company, so one would expect them to actually bake the stuff themselves.
ETA: And also because they claimed other food like the ravioli was made fresh in house but was later revealed to be store bought/frozen.
Katy, the girl who was fired did an AMA on Reddit yesterday and she said she got 8 dollars an hour. The anger is not from the idea that the servers are forced to work for scraps. It’s that Amy and Samy were using the expectation that in a restaurant with table service, the server gets a tip to make an extra 10 bucks a table. Either pay your servers the server wage and let them be tipped or pay them hourly and don’t accept tips at all.