The Challenges and Triumphs of Veranda's Revamp

As Veranda navigated her new role as an owner, she faced numerous challenges that tested her mettle. One of the primary concerns was the tone of conversation with CJ, her mother. Veranda explained to CJ that in India, where they were raised, a particular tone didn't translate well in their new environment. She noted that CJ struggled to adapt to this new dynamic, finding it difficult to be open and honest about her needs and feelings. Despite this, CJ demonstrated remarkable resilience, adapting to the cultural differences with ease.

However, Veranda recognized that CJ's stubbornness posed a significant obstacle to success. The two had a heart-to-heart conversation, during which CJ expressed frustration with Veranda's constant meddling in the kitchen. Veranda reassured her that she needed to let go of her tendency to overstep and trust her staff to handle their responsibilities. She shared her own experiences, having worked long hours at her previous job before learning to delegate effectively. With CJ on board, they began to address the issue, and Veranda's team made significant strides in improving their efficiency.

The renovation process for the brick hotel was another major undertaking. The team, led by Veranda, worked tirelessly to update the hotel with a modern look that would appeal to both locals and tourists. They introduced a classic menu that catered to the town's tastes while also accommodating large-scale events. The relaunch event drew a crowd of excited guests, who marveled at the hotel's newly renovated rooms.

Upon arrival, visitors were greeted by Veranda herself, who welcomed them with charm and warmth. She had promised CJ that she would step back from interfering in the kitchen, allowing her team to work without constant supervision. The brick hotel's kitchen was already running smoothly, thanks to Veranda's trust in her staff. Meatballs, sprouts, and other menu items were being prepared with precision, a testament to the team's newfound efficiency.

As CJ had observed, Veranda's renewed commitment to her role as owner was a positive sign. The brick hotel was thriving once more, thanks to Veranda's dedication and trust in her staff. With CJ having successfully mediated between Veranda and her mother, the issues of communication and delegation were finally being addressed. The future looked bright for the brick hotel, with Veranda at the helm.

The success story of the brick hotel serves as a reminder that even in the face of challenges, perseverance and open communication can lead to triumphs. Veranda's journey from struggling owner to confident leader is a testament to her growth and adaptability. As she continued to work towards revitalizing the hotel, it was clear that the brick had finally found its footing once more.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enI'm in the beautiful Lakeside town of Chalan Washington to help a husband and wife repair their bad reputation they have built walls around themselves they are absolutely no part of this community they don't know the difference between right and wrong there's no such thing as a fresh burger what and they are so stubborn you don't even know the story it'll be a challenge to get through to them all you've done since I've arrived here is lied to me and I totally disagree with that Shan Washington surrounded by the gorgeous Cascade Mountains situated on Lake Chalan this small town is home to the Lake View Hotel and BC McDonald's restaurant owners Brent and athy McDonald have been in business here for over 15 years we bought the hotel in 2000 we came into town and and a lot of the locals they really didn't want to see us make it they figured they won't be here long well I let them know that we are going nowhere you're stuck with us the lake VII hotel is adults only we think that it's the nicest hotel probably in the state of Washington we have a great place here BC McDonald lakei hotel but business is really slow we losing probably 30,000 a month in easy the financial situation here at the hotel and the restaurant it is tough and this year it's extremely tough because we had wildfires in the area and quite honestly that's what kind of has broke the bank the majority of the reason why there's no consistent business here is Brent and aff's reputation H I'm talking I am talking customers come in and she said you hurry up you go sit down I'm training sit down we'll be with you a minute I'm the best employer in town I think I'm easy to work with just be quiet will you please you know I don't know why people don't like to be here if you want to keep money flowing through the locals need to like you and you know if you have a bad attitude towards the locals or other customers they're not going to come back get out there and do a little Dance come on I know you used to pole dance get your ass out there I definitely get very embarrassed by some of the things he says I hope you got a lot of energy tonight cuz baby this is this is Friday night Frid night people are coming to a nice restaurant they don't want to hear dirty jokes and cussing and everything like that Brent does not like to be told anything you can tell him the sky's blue and he's it's going to upset him I think that people are lucky to work for us I think I got a great management style shalan is is a beautiful town the opportunity is there um we just get overlooked because of Brent and A's reputation all of our money that we have made in the last 30 years has been sunk into this business and we have so much invested we cannot stop because otherwise we're we're done valy parking where's the valy guy oh think there Mr Ramy could be okay so that's him I did say Valley Park right yeah it's not my eyesight maybe he thinks he has the wrong place Val parking is not W and Roll Baby the best breakfast lunch and dinner in town come on in come on in how are you good afternoon Chef Ramsey what a gorgeous drive that was oh thank you how are you oh was ladies first I totally understand that nice to meet you um are we uh the valley parking on strikey it is this time time of year so it's temporary bellet parking and what do I do in my car cuz you kept the sign there I I'll park it for you how about that wow was the last time we dusted in here it's a bit Dusty there what's that there something is growing up there can you see that or is it me can you see I can see it wow yeah just right there with me I know you're both wearing glasses I just want to make sure you can see it it's not it's not real easy to see for me how'd you get that down well us we have we have a long pole dust and where is the pole it's right in the back here I'll be right back wow well now you've made everything Dusty down here I've made it Dusty no you haven't cleaned it yeah supposing that falls on a customer's head what would you do I don't I don't think that it will actually you don't think it will no well it's been up there for about 6 months it seems to be growing actually that is disgusting yeah Brett shame on you I know it wow and what's in here more dust over here Brett look is there more you must have missed that spot too there's a big long creepy crawly hanging yes I see that we've been closed for the last 3 weeks when it's so slow this time of the year we go on a holiday and when you close do you normally clean before you close or would you come back dirty uh come back uh the way it is and wow look at that up there we we're living in a very uh Dusty environment here that's yeah okay uh come on seriously this is the mountain clean air well that's all true yes yes oh there you go yeah there we go thank you for that no problem I I didn't expect to clean as I check in I know oh my god there you go they are gross right don't mess it up too much it's all going to come down well how long are you thinking of keeping it up there oh we might as well do them all while we're at it we might as well do them all it's not funny I've got to get this thing out here holy look at that God damn it AFF why didn't you get to that and how long have you own this place 15 15 years 15 years you the last time it was clean it was clean you're just good I was You' got you've got a great eye I can missed I've done lots of things on arrival but I've never quite cleaned like that from a ceiling can I give that back to you I'll do that okay right yeah thank you and what's going on here on the front door you've got 40 flavors so no yes when we're really really busy we have a line that goes out the door and if one person ask for a a sample they will all ask for a sample and how do you think all those yogurt franchises intice business they offer samples so they speculate to accumulate sorry no samples sorry no samples who comes up with all these stupid rules probably myself man you like kicking the crap out of the locals don't you yes so I take it we're not going to get oh there's another one yes there's me thinking that's a flavor so how long go it is closed oh my god look how dusty that is it's not closed this is not closed no it's not stop it is not it looks like it's oh no bloody hell where's the stick gone please oh my God this is monstrous this is like a cobweb on steroids where's the stick gone she's getting it so why did you close for 3 weeks oh I went on a holiday wow and where did you go Mexico wow did you enjoy Mexico yeah we really we enjoyed being she only came for a week she gives me a week by myself say say that again you go on holiday on your own I do rest for a week and your wife comes for the second my wife and daughter meet me for the second week would you not like to go for two weeks holiday I well I would love that if I have a chance I see right um I just want to get this thing down here we synthesiz of this one y holy crap is that a keeper that look at that this is above an ice cream paror if we turn that on it's going to spin dust hopefully it won't we look at that yeah that is a look now what I I think you're doing awesome actually I I think that we should possibly hire him really you know I'm glad that I'm hired to clean yeah this wow do I have to take this to my room it may be a good idea are you serious no let's go no dust right oh whil I'm up here look oh come on now but look at these ones here on the top of that we'll we'll get it oh now you'll get it well it's obvious that you haven't done it before let's go you know how many rooms you have here 12 12 wow this room probably isn't for you but we're going to give it to you anyway what do you mean by that it's for people that haven't been laid for a while quite honestly so that again sorry people that haven't been laid laid laid as in as in what's that got to do with me checking into this room wow and this is a room for those who haven't been laid recently you don't talk about that to guest well this is an awesome room it offers the best view that we have of the river part of Lake Chalan wow wow has a stack stone fireplace awesome ceiling I think they're 15 ft and uh this an awesome Dusty ceiling see those Beams I can see yeah I see that a little bit man what is it with dust round here well as I said we're in a Dusty area apart from the dust the rooms are gorgeous yes these are the air conditioning uh units where is that so you don't have that funky thing down here that cries Motel I thought it was a TV no it's uh air conditioning it's both we program it for both AC or right where do I adjust the temperature uh you don't they're preset it's set at 68 wow why is it set like that I keep the remote controls because I absolutely know that they will get screwed up if I leave them up here in the room you don't give samples you don't let me keep the remotes and you don't let me bring the temperature up or down it's not really the get laid room is it that's up to you wow you're you're setting the bar you're you're telling me what I can and what I can't do weird very weird how dusty this is as well how do I open that up so got all these fany would you like me to open it yes thank you wow when was the last time they were cleaned that gets cleaned about twice a year uh uh would you mind if I just make it three times this year yeah I think that sounds great actually okay so the air condition unit you control they have to breathe in this at night are you bullshitting me no I'm not you right can you uh I will take that you mind I've got no interest in breathing you dust okay I'm going to unpack and I'll be down in 5 minutes please wow honestly look at that it's terrible disgusting hello Hi man um the dust when I walked in what the hell was going on there bizarre how long have you been here a month so you're a new kid on the Block I am yes wow do they go through a lot of stuff I think so there is some that have been here for years but actually the ones that were here the cooks they have recently left and I mean how would you describe them as bosses um different than any I've ever had yeah I'll say anyway let's order um obviously I was going to have a glass of wine hoping to get something local having just driven through those amazing Vineyards but there's nothing local here no I mean New Zealand seven young BL how weird and what would you recommend for lunch what's the soup today the soup is a minr oh that's good yeah uh BC's bacon burger yeah okay let's do a a pizza as well homemade right sorry actually we don't do the pizzas any longer I don't know why the page is not taken out wow okay uh anything else that's not on we are out of the pork stir fry and we do not have chili uh no chili let's do a prime rib as well with that shall we um I believe we're out of prime rib oh we're we're out of a lot of so yeah the um turkey chabata dip is usually a good one let's let's do a turkey dip okay um hold on a minute breaking news BC soon to be famous Teri steak what the does that mean when someone says soon to be famous who writes this on the menu seem to be famous why would that be on the menu I think we should try it let's go um I think we're done okay yeah sure yeah thank you L okay do you need help administrating suit right correct excellent wow that doesn't even chase homemade it's frozen it's frozen frozen Minon suit yeah this is terrible we've got the BC bacon burger wow jeeez look how thin that is my onion ring is thicker than my Pate huh where are they from I I'll find out that answer on the hamburgers it says on the menu certified Angus beef where do we get that are they fresh or frozen no we we always come back it's frozen $12.95 that's have cooked and the the the Pate is Bland actually tastes Frozen but please don't it it it does come Frozen so it says fresh and it's not anywhere near $13 for that is Brut oh the food coming out is very good this is the um turkey milk thank you and what's this here that is the broth for the turkey the broth mhm if you want to get your sandwich in it holy what is that in there just have a little sip wow so salty yes it does so bad it's salty and bitter Jesus you want to taste this actually he had me taste it oh yeah it's really salty really salty yeah holy this here is the terak chicken burger the Neely famous burger what the what is that what's he DST it in Teri over cheese oh nearly famous cuz it's about to be famous to send me to the bathroom yeah I mean I'm not even going to go there nope I'll just have a coffee thank you be BET right let's get reviewing wow headline do not go here if you want mediocre overpriced food this is the place for you unfortunately not my dig bloody hell w this is terrible this is terrible oh it's awful I mean look at the headlines what an odd place the owner Batman another local place at our table do not go here run run run far away horrible service terrible food and stupid expensive the owners are jerks who are rude and don't support their staff they don't welcome kids no wonder this place is empty is that bad it is it's very awkward you know apne says they don't listen to this these are customers they're all negative and FYI no samples allowed that's right tight bastard yeah is he really stingy absolutely is he yeah and the lack of you have children or and they do have a um teenage daughter so they have a teenage daughter but they don't welcome kids yes he goes on holiday for a week on his own Sons himself gets nice and bronzed then she joins him for the second week but he wants a week on his own just like talking about I had not heard that yeah what a creep yeah if I did that to my wife she keep me in the nuts yes I'm at a loss this place is depressing I'd like to um get the owners down here let's just have a little debrief shall we thank wow Jesus Christ they want us he does yeah let's go it's okay take everything Ser don't say anything not make like fun anything there is nothing I'm at a loss the biggest kicking the balls for me is that on the menu it states homemade fr FR daily changing soup of the day your soup of the day M Brent is frozen can you make ministr soup yes how much it cost to make a liter couple bucks tell the owner and you have the nearly famous burger I'd like to congratulate you because it's now famous as the most disgusting bit of between a bun I've ever seen you have a slice of red onion that's thicker than your Pate it was frozen and you're charging $13.95 for it I don't know how low we can go the list everything's from New Zealand there's not even a local wine on here well give it to me then I'll give it to you most of these wineries all opened up restaurants there there are competitors so you can't support the local Vineyard well I came in here to help I'm laughed at lied to and fed frozen food as an owner you two can't be that gone otherwise I'm going to go right before dinner I had a chance to catch up with Teddy the manager so could understand his perspective of what athne and Brent are like as owners inappropriate things are commonly said his personality has a lot to do with it it's you know really common that he'll make you feel that this is the best place and you're lucky to be here their behavior is bosses is unacceptable wow wow wow clearly in denial I appreciate the Insight yeah yeah thank you thank I'll see you in there yes definitely and I want to observe what they're like during an evening at the lake view so you have a key to the room you can't wait but let's hope that it's ready couple things that we're not offering um no Chile and sea bass no pizza so no pizza no pizza no sea bass very disappointing you know Frozen Frozen Frozen wow not even wrapped where are the burgers I mean it just doesn't look anything like a burger and when it's processed like that and stamped and pressed you can just tell right frozen food wow bre come with me yeah how's the fet cheating it's okay not the best damn I'm sorry um Burgers mm a burger cooked here locally would you expect that to be frozen or fresh fresh the burger is not frozen it's the patties and everything come in frozen and they're thought out is that like most people you thought it out so it's not frozen then it comes in Frozen yeah you throw it out and that to your customers is not a frozen Burger well stay there let me just show you something I'm waiting for him to come back he's going to dream me on something oh boy here we go mhm so there's your buers this a Frozen thank you now your husband said it wasn't no what do you mean no it's it's it's frozen of course I never said that it wasn't it we thought it out here it comes in Frozen yeah it's still a frozen Burger there's no such thing as a fresh burger at least at least here in Eastern Washington we cannot get fresh there's no FR you find me the Burger come with me yeah good evening welcome please come in out the cold are you joining yes quick question do you love a burger yeah I love Burger Madam yes would you expect them to be made fresh here or frozen fresh fresh are you going to tell them or should I tell them fresh all the way no should we tell them the truth I mean that's what we want to do well we we sell uh our our Burgers come in Frozen and we thaw them out but thaw them out doesn't make them fresh thank you appreciate it thank you thank you thanks for coming you guys welcome ladies hey folks how are you quick question coming out for dinner would you expect a frozen Burger to be served here tonight or a fresh one fresh fresh you going to tell them or should I tell them I'll let you tell them oh come on you own the place well we all of our beef that we get in Burgers it comes in Frozen our burgers and we and we thaw them out which in his mind convinces him it's fresh oh does that make it sound any better no thank you we're still glad to have you thank you you bet oh my God after Brent tried to convince me that there were no fresh burgers in town I almost cry okay you did good I'm proud of you I walked directly across the street and ordered one so that's the lamburger bur nice to see you coming to a restaurant like this would you expect your Burgers to be fresh or frozen fresh Burgers come in Frozen and with th out out that's the story thank you so that is a lamburger fresh and getting sick to death of this denial denial denial you've been making up all day yes yes you have all your staff have the same thing to say passive aggressive condescending inappropriate and stubborn no absolutely not the staff the way you treat them what there you go again no no no you're just scared about employing a team that's going to tell you the truth that is that is not cuz you don't like them confronting you with the truth you'll fire them no I haven't fired anybody I heard that you fired your son oh you don't even know the story he was having some issues Gordon and I told him I was aware of the alcohol problem I was aware of that right I was trying to save his life yeah my brother's a drug addict we put him in rehab seven times unsuccessfully I don't give up on him but what I'm more concerned about is that nothing's affecting you it's like we're doing great in generally the place runs quite well oh my God come with me just yeah you and I is this a joke for you can you he us two minutes please no is this are you around no I'm not around are you trying to pull the wall over my eyes oh hell no you know the business is dwindling you've got all these rules no samples no kids this place is thriving with families we really don't want to have crying kids here I just I just would like to have a uh quiet getaway for for our Honeymooners and and birthdays and anniversaries a honeymoon Venture they come down a romantic dinner and eating a frozen Burger come on this place is hemorrhaging money cuz you're caught in a web delusional stubborn oldfashioned and pompous anything else it's just a joke for you isn't it no I'm just next time I'm going to know to do a little dusting wow a little dusting me how deluded during dinner service I decided to do some investigating in the rooms Dreadful Dreadful Dreadful and after what I found I gathered the hotel guests along with apne and Brent hey guys come through please um just very quickly glasses on there we are come through if you can just stand over here pillow left hand side pillow number one can you see that I can't see a GI you can't see maybe athne yeah explain to Brent what this is uh spot know spot you don't know yeah spot maybe this one will be a little bit clearer blood there we go honey that's disgusting right athne yes Brent can't see anything I I I uh go ahead where I see that of course okay see that one this is the worrying bit mhm these are the duvet that have been on these beds that was just washed one week ago every single one of them Absolute rubbish and look at this I mean these customers they're the ones you're taking the money from don't you dare tell me that was washed a week ago don't you dare one week ago the bills you cannot be serious we are serious it was done and that's that's it we're not going to say that is not clean that's yeah it's and this go on I see that but one week ago that was cleaned I'm done with this this is years just stop we did 13 of them one week ago and they're not cleaning them properly stop just for once today lying and look at this I mean that is not clean that was just washed one week ago stop just for once today lying let stay there two seconds what the did you have any idea you're sleeping in that no not at all I wish I can't see that want sleep in that Prince I I I see that I want an explanation cuz all you've done since I've arrived here is lie to me lie to me lie to your staff and I am not going to allow you to lie to the customers and I totally disagree with that too I have not said one lie to you I'm not going to go for that yes you have you all day it's not true you convinced that th food is fresh food you're robbing them of their cash you're telling me this was clean a week ago let me ask you a question in front of your customers would you sleep on that no so why did you expect them to would you sleep on that no not an apology nothing I'd like to apologize I'm I'm I'm appalled I'm disgusted I've had enough anything you'd like to say the pillars like this I apologize can I have a word with him on my own would you mind these guests are hours away from putting their heads on your pillows Blood Stained pillows Seaman stained duvet covers and sweat accumulated over years I I can see that going I am struggling I'm struggling with your husband that's in denial I'm struggling with these arrogance and I'm struggling with these blatant lies I'm not here to butt heads with a liar I'm here to help turn this business around Anne you can talk to me are you worried about Brent he's my husband yes I am he's my life we have a daughter together does your daughter feel this at home yeah and he fell out with his son he fired his son yeah does that still bother him is that what it is he's still his son of course he's still his son still care about him it doesn't sound like he's caring about him the guy was drinking he needed help and he got rid of him is that what's bothering him is that why he's in denial I need Brent to take his guard down something inside here is bothering him I don't know if it's the financial debt the pressure is it his son I don't know I can't get in I want to talk to his son how can I get hold of him I got his number thank you athne you're the only hope I've got can we work together yeah and can we get him to open up okay and tomorrow morning and I want the truth and nothing but the truth okay I really needed to break through to Brent and to see why he is so stubborn so my team and I attempted to get hold of his son to meet me at the hotel but we were unsuccessful now it's up to me to try to get through to Brent let's take a seat at the bar I've got to get through to you why are you so stubborn you got off last night I mentioned your son why did that hit a nerve you know we just had a a breakdown in the relationship when his when his mom remarried uh they she remarried the same day the divorce was Final so party company with your son you weren't even present at your daughter's wedding I was not invited I didn't even know she got married I was destroyed everybody wants to see their daughter mhm I've I've got three daughters that's painful you know when you're when you're uh kids tell you I don't know tell you what well uh I have three grandkids I haven't even seen two of them you know what you know I am stubborn maybe I I'm stubborn but when you get shut off and then their mom died I thought wow maybe this is going to be my chance maybe they're going to come to me but my you can't my son just drinks too godamn much but but I but that but that you're still their father you're still their dad I know it you can't go around with that that that that that anger I I've been waiting for them to come to me instead instead of the others that's never going to happen there not enough well that's that's my proudness and my stubbornness you know you have to change your ways and you have to start becoming a lot more generous as a owner as a father responsible for three kids and I'm not here to fix your family I'd love you too I would so love you too and just you calling them making an effort they need to see the change but you need to embrace that I agree there's too much of a stake reach out to those kids you got to bring those barriers down and you got to open up and somewhere in there there's the friendly comforting supportive you know as Brent we got to get back there okay Brent and Anthony's bad reputation within the town comes as no surprise you got a picture there m great give me 2 minutes please okay I've gathered local business owners to show Brent and affley the issues they don't realize they have good morning morning how are we first of all I just want to say a big thank you for coming you guys are the pillars of the community you have businesses and you are very proud of what you built here and I've been struggling trying to get through to Brent he's in denial I feel like Brent is an Undertaker those people that are working for him there aren't many that have good things to say wow that's ridiculous I had a friend that used to work here at BC's and she had a customer that had a steak dinner and her baked potato it was all great and he wanted to take it with him so she took it in the back and set it on the counter and went to get it tog go container and apne scraped it into the garbage and she said would uh my customer kind of wanted to take that and she watched athne grab the baked potato wipe it and grabb the St and she made her give that to the customer no wow no free samples on the ice cream how hard is it to give somebody a little plastic spoon what do they give back to the town they are absolutely no part of this community they they have built walls around themselves and you need to take care of each other in the offseason it's locals taking care of locals you know I will say with the fires you know this whole town came together and I don't think I can remember them offering help in any way it was a crisis that everybody found a need and everybody helped yeah except them except them but that's the spirit of Chalan I think is what we're getting at we share tractors we share you know from Vineyard work to some of us have restaurants so we share employees he's oblivious how come there's no wine from this amazing region on their list when we first started our Winery his excuse was that the wineries have restaurants that compete with his restaurant in addition to that it would be a shame if there was just one good place in town to go to we want tourists to come here and have a great time everywhere they go so if if he does well we'll all do well I really appreciate the feedback but I want you to help me get through to them on another level now because I'm going to go and get them and we're going to tackle this head on uh give me 2 minutes thank you so much you want to go it's really really hard to take it let's go because we try really hard it just shocked me wow hi hi folks these are in my mind even more important than customers because you guys should be bonded clearly you're not why is it taking so long sometime you need somebody to slap your face we were in a comfort zone somewhat and uh used to the way we did everything uh you know for a lot of years and uh it needs to be changed maybe we banked on the location too much there's a lot of things we've done wrong they're desperate to see you do well I think to say there can never be too many fun good places in town we always want somewhere to go and relax and enjoy ourselves I think we all want you back on our radar all of this has been a wakeup call for us this is part of the reason why we asked Chef Ramsey to come to help us we're listening we we heard everything that you had to say and we are going to try to do much much better we're hearing you I don't think that I knew how the business Community was connected that everybody is feeding off of of each other we have to realize that to be part of this connection we have to change with Brent and athne committing to change my team moved forward getting rid of all the dust and cobwebs we furnished all the rooms with brand new bedding but the biggest change was overhauling the ice cream parlor off we go ladies welcome my God holy moly wow unbelievable unbelievable this is what I call aala you had a dreadful space here yes oh my God now it's turned into something magical do you think there's any chance that I could get a sample we will be thrown samples out everywhere this is way beyond our expectation given the importance of the local wineries I brought in similia day Foss how are you who repaired the bad reputations with the locals that Brent and athne had you're going to need to nurture those relationships and he created a brand new menu featuring all Washington wine you're no longer going to have to say sorry I don't have any local wines finally to accompany all this I created a small and more exciting menu that features all fresh food dig in have a little taste oh my God this is so good it's delicious oh my gosh everything fresh better m fantastic what I have learned from this community is that local support is everything and this town is willing to give Brent and affley a second chance hi everybody how are you today good to see you guys would you like to see my new ice cream parlor here with all the new improvements I'm hoping Brent and athne make a good impression for the people of shalan I actually brought you a list of a lot of that prors that we work with cool oh you want a check in how are you guys the hotel is booked up this is just gorgeous and the guests will sleep well tonight in the brand new bedding we've added to all the rooms all right I'm going to try the feral salad there's a real Buzz about the new menu and the kitchen is easily executing the dishes a kiche a chicken sandwich and I got the salmon okay what we're trying to do is just focus on the wineries with the help of similia Dave Foss the customers are pleased with the local selection of wines they offering at BC McDonald's you like that that's really good yeah I'm always making a mess that's the idea I'm the official scooper the ice cream shop is a hit and Brent is even happy giving away samples if you drop it on the floor you own it Brent with everything a success I'm hoping Brent makes one important rule change with his hotel have you thought about what I mentioned about the children regarding children in the hotel or you still sticking with no children you know what I'm going to stick to the adults only adults only why well look at and you take two or three or four children up there and I'm going to tell you they wipe out the whole damn place what the noise noise crying whatever uh gum and uh pop and God forbid samples of ice cream they will you have a young daughter I know I'm talking 3 four eight year old have you asked yourself the consequence I missing on turnover Revenue we may miss a few but I think we miss a few on the other end if they were two or three kids running down the hall but not every every kid is is is that noisy I mean just try to be open with maybe a couple rooms I will give it thought that's a tough one I'm disappointed Brent went alter his rules about allowing kids at the hotel but hopefully after seeing the success of the relaunch he'll change his mind keep up the good work yes Ryan do not let him go back absolutely not okay well done thank you are you leaving yes I am everybody now in this town is rallying around for your success yes so embrace it watching you stand behind that counter just giving samples out and seeing the light on the kid's face that is extraordinary that's awesome please don't go back stay strong there's an amazing guy underneath all those layers there is yes there is I'm just there is thank you there is you can do this okay I can do it yeah take care thank you so much right look out thank you so much and he's going to think about getting some kids in here okay okay yeah they're not on I'm serious Mr stubborn okay couple scoops of ice cream goes a long way o boy it's really gone down hasn't it I'm getting money okay thank you take care good night okay bye-bye despite my my help with the Outreach of the community Brent quickly reverted back to his old ways distancing himself from the locals much of the staff have left or been fired and the hotel's reputation within the town has only gotten worse I don't know I don't know where in the hell everybody's at I'm checking in to the historic brick Hotel in New Town Pennsylvania where I meet an overbearing owner who has run her business into the ground no no no no no no no no no no and what was once a proud Landmark are they bullet holes in the wall That's MO is now suffering from atect this place is disgusting the road ahead is not going to be easy for me I try to get through to the owner who is totally oblivious 30 mil north of Philadelphia lies the burough of Newtown Pennsylvania home to this historic brick Hotel owner Veranda qua a former therapist bought the property in 2006 with her son CJ who serves as a silent partner in their business we bought the brick Hotel because it was an investment opportunity when we first purchased the place we were told that it was going to be a sort of a hands-off it'll run itself self you just have to watch it of course we had no idea zero idea what this business is about I always said to my son maybe this year we'll make a profit maybe this year we'll make a profit and it never happened she used to be in Family Therapy so patients comes with that job and I've seen her have a short fuse where she wouldn't do that um before we bought the place when I came here it blew my mind away that you're still putting in money so I cut out a lot of stuff here and it really annoyed and irritated people and they basically started the dislike verander plan it has been a bit of a dictatorship here with vandar you know it's either her way or not her way no no no no bendar is a control freak she is involved in everything she will not release or relinquish control ever here's the ball you want me to put it in she's not a people person she has no people skills she just screams out demands and she's very rude at times Paul French onion on here now there is such a turnover with staff that I don't even know their names in 8 months I've probably seen over 50 people go some people come in for one shift and they listen to her for 5 minutes and they roll right out the door I wish I had two clones of me and believe me this place would be hopping I feel the brick might have become like the laughing stock of new town so the reputation around town is that you know no nons they call me the crazy lady which is fine to me you know what if I'm crazy because I'm trying to save the business so be it I think we're at that point where this is really our last chance if we don't figure something out it's either sell it get rid of it because we can't sustain it before I came to town I heard the brick Hotel had a high turnover rate so I had my team reach out to former employees so I can get some information before checking in uh first of all good morning good morning I've never met such a large team of EX employees uh small showing this is a small showing oh yeah what there's more there's a lot hundreds hundreds hundreds say 100 um how much turnover is there with staff when I left vinda had been through almost 50 managers 15 50 50 50 managers 50 and the biggest problem with the place is is what vindar she's been cruel to people I watched her and she's she's mean and she can be a bully and I've seen her reduce people to tears wow that's terrible you know there's so much neglect between not only the staff her managers but her customers as well seriously I couldn't take it anymore I worked the holiday season and it was kind of like the last straw for me and what made you quit I worked all of those parties through the whole month of December I was lucky to receive some payback like in February with your tips yeah she'll cut you a check in 6 weeks when she feels like it she wouldn't let you go pick up your paycheck she called the cops on you you said she call the cops on you oh all the time numerous times seriously called the place because you wanted your money yes you were threatening her seriously I mean it sounds like a dictatorship as opposed to a boss that's there to support people loved it there it was very homie the opposite of now all the locals came we had a booming Hotel business wow it was such a great place and then the quality just steadily went downhill and I think she had a complete lack of respect for the staff and didn't understand that your staff is a huge asset what a mess can I ask you a question please have you met her oh no at least I just arrived seriously FL this morning you are in for a treat I was curious just by the way you were speaking because I thought he hasn't met her yet has he no no no so calling the the cops you know High staff turnover um standards dropping I haven't got much confidence however I'm going to tackle it head on you don't look very optimistic do you I thank you wish me luck thank you take care wow look at the size of this place oh dear what happened there damn when did that happen you know it's been here since I've been here oh really hi I'm Marian it's my to it's good to see I get a bit nervous when I check into Hotel the windows are smashed um anyway how are you I'm good thank you I'm happy to be here are they bullet holes in the wall uh you know they might very well be I'm not sure what they are we're 250 years old so 250 years old mhm uh what's wrong with the place I think it's beautiful place but I think it really just needs some upgrading and uh which part's beautiful help me selling out the entrance with the smash Windows well I think it could be beautiful it's been neglected for a while what happened here oh oh my D oh my that looks much better wow dear I dear I don't know if render's not going to be too happy you just ripped the wall Pap then that was fantastic what time is the calling in she might be here I can check I'd love to meet her oh he's bringing vandor up vandor Hi how are you good how are you very well a little nervous the smashed glass what happened there it's been there since before I bought it how long have you had the hotel 10 years 10 years and you didn't think about replacing it first impressions custom walking through the door it's it's the original have you been drinking you look like I drink did you run a hotel before we bought this 10 years ago yeah never never now what did you do therapist for children I did that for 20 years that was my practice wow okay uh 201 I'll see you uh shortly I'm going to go check in and uh unpack okay place is filthy oh woman the Maran I I need a rag uh napkin or housekeeping please God oh my what is that oh Jesus let me get housekeeping for you housekeeping called fire brigade hello are you the housekeeper I'm not I'm looking for I'm I'm Caitlyn Caitlyn please meet so my hands are dirty so I'm just going shake hands like I don't want to shake hands like that sure no when was the last time this place was cleaned there's dust and everywhere uh TOA is here every day uh so I would assume Right cleaning I mean under here look I'm not talking about a couple of weeks of dust I'm talking years and behind here as well look hi hi oh jeez how are you oh hi are you good yes I'm fine fine right what do you do housekeeping stop which house this house come over look at the mess down there what's that what's that fa Fab let's get the place clean fabulous let's just have a little test here look at that look at that do you have a program that you clean floor by floor a program no no uh where is my room to what is that room no what's that up there who sits here is it a tea party for rats or Stuart Little in for dinner tonight what the is that oh what is it like pet corner we drop our cats off for dinner here Jesus man who does this you care to join me come on go go for me come on let's let's sit in the r let's talk about your cleaning habit take aat I think I can fit right there no no I my my butt's way bigger than yours take a seat may we have some menus please oh sure yeah absolutely so what in the is going on I actually said something about that but you know you comfy absolutely not no all jokes apart forget the mice party tea party Che Littles hang out what is the biggest problems here cuz I'm things like this the mold the the mold who who we got rid of the Dust what do you mean the mold where's the mold oh right yes take take me to the mold okay thank you let's start this way but where let's go this way first M so I guess it starts I don't know exactly where it comes but it comes from somewhere on a shower curtains that ex can would change it there is mold do you tell the owner to change these out yes sir and any response she'll get to it oh look at this look at that come over is that mold that is mold yeah yes I said that that's mold see it mhm bloody hell when was all the linen last changed look at the color of this how much sweat is on there oh man oh look at the color of that so that's what that is sweat that's sweat and then is that a is that a tube television how old have you ever heard of a flat screen yeah I got five you you've got five flat screens at my house what a mess what's that in there what a empty box of tights silk Perfections Jesus does the owner ever come into these rooms since I've been here I probably seen her here maybe once once upon a time these were white right you see these look at the color of them how gray and dirty God they oh you can tell this supped have been white oh man I was worried about your eyes for a second there where's my room please 2011 please tell me it's not worse than this one 2011 bloody hell what a mess dust everywhere and all this what is this terrible girl how you doing you found all the nasty no I thought that the curtains were gold no for real they were supposed to be white oh my goodness I am appalled and then just Underneath It All right now it's pretty obvious that the owner doesn't even put a scent back into this room even into the hotel but when an owner can't be bothered to change a smash window in reception I don't hold much hope for the rest of the hotel and look at that up there what's that check out time 11:00 a.m. yeah I'll check out way before that my love hi nice to meet you I'm Tammy Gordon good to see you good to meet you um and you're sales and event coordinator at The Brick rumors has it you do a lot of events do a lot of events W how many a week on average about 350 a year it sounds like this is the oxygen that's keeping this place alive fortunately that's the truth wow what other problems are there help me uh Staffing is terrible why there so many staff going through the door what is it um or randar is firing them often I'll come in on Monday and see who didn't make it through the weekend which is very tough to work for the bottom line is the problem is the owner yes there's nobody else here starts at the top appreciate you honesty well we appreciate you being here after learning the hotel's revenue is strictly from events I want to see how bad the food really is seasonal local fresh I ordered a couple of items the French Indian soup which was tasteless so bad terrible so I opted for something with a little more flavor that tastes better then I ordered something I've never never heard of before a cauliflower steak which by name I should have known better that is a mess who put on the menu Brenda and a crab sandwich which maybe I would expect to be Frozen but not from a can Product of China fresh m- seriously are we done is there did I you've got your burger still do you know what cancel it absolutely cuz if it's coming from the same kitchen forget it got it yeah tell the chef I travel light and I haven't got that many pairs of knickers thank you oh my gosh oh my gosh he's freaking out he's freaking out cancel everything else no more no more he's said enough uh take me to the kitchen introduce me to the team place is huge kitchen is massive uh so where's the chef hello Miss I'm not the chef you're not the chef you nice you are a chef though you got a jacket on yes sir that's how Chef tend to dress Mao nice me good to meet you too and this is Barry sex Barry so you're the chef I'm not the chef no you're the chef a chef but not the chef a chef there's two of them there's two of them the other ones uh where's the head chef well we have both of them in charge no such thing your set of rules your set of rules doesn't benefit the customers I'll come back to the food in a minute I'm in shock before I got here I met a dozen of your ex employees okay I couldn't believe the amount of staff that have left this building in the last 2 years why are you going through so many staff I don't know you don't know I think I hire people and uh oh so it's them not good enough for you yes when you have a young member of staff that is owed money and they won't leave the building until you pay them and you you call the police on them what kind of business are you running here who said that are you saying now that they're lying please I don't know are you saying they're lying simple yes or no I cannot tell people lying it's inaccurate though I do is inaccurate yes I have witnessed vendar called the cops on a number of people she has a close relationship with the New Town Police Department do you care about this hotel it's not funny I mean I I am I'm not here to laugh let's get that right let's move on to my reception when I walked in and there's dust and everywhere when I say dust I'm talking dust that's been embedded for years and there's mold on the carpet I'm a little bit lost of words I ever sat down in the restaurant and had dinner no right top of your menu it's fresh seasonal local it's canned food I'm not a chef and I don't know all these things what's wrong you're feeling sick no I need to take something out of the oven sh you take it out the oven what is this tomorrow's chicken I so you laugh what is this a game you have to wake up hi hiy guys how are you excited yes for checking in no problem bye-bye hey how are you Hi how are you nice to meet you first name is I'm Jessica Jessica good to see you I heard you had a great time today great time not but uh yeah let's wait and see uh who's that that is CJ that is R our son oh hi CJ yes I'm one of the co-owners as well good to meet you how many times a week you're here I'm here right now probably less than once a month even I've got another job that I pretty much a full time you do uh manage it it well why did you buy this why did we buy this it was an investment opportunity when we first got into it we're told that it was TurnKey hands off so that was 10 years ago yes have you seen any return on that yet zero zero when do you think it's coming well I have been talking about that quite a bit over the last 6 months because uh it's getting difficult to keep putting money in wow in your mind forget him what's wrong with the place I'm very sorry cuz I know this is your mom but I can't I can't deal with how she treats me it's like when we don't need her here she's here and she's on me about the smallest things wow do you have one foot in their camp or one foot in your mother's Camp um I'm split between the two I've actually had employees tell me why aren't you around more because you're Pleasant to deal with how's this going to get turned around if she's still micromanaging and dictating to everybody about how place should be run she says if she's not here it's things will fall apart and it won't get done that sounds right here's customers hi guys how are you good evening how are you welcome how are you well you guys have a reservation yeah Weinstein sorry about the smash window and the crbs from China cows from China okay you follow me I don't go to China for crap gentlemen I have one order for you it's just the first course on the first table it's just two sou of the days thank you okay who's next I got all the soups all right first thing is this it's a apple pear no blue cheese and a eggplant stack where's the apple pear can we get this out why is she doing this is she always on the hot plate she is she's never quiet which ones are done can you guys take those down is this done no I've taking my stuff down that's done yeah wow it's a little Egra guys waiting on the EG it's coming it's coming we're working it hard we're making us nervous oh my goodness Carly Carly what I'm coming what is that put this here take this this is yours no that is my New York trip this is craziness who's doing the cauliflower are you cooking the cauliflower now yes fuing nut I know I swear to God can you flip this and what she doing cooking I have no idea does she normally cook yeah is is crazy Absolut crazy what a mess wheels are stuck it's just sliding on the grease oh God that is gross Miranda you got two seconds sure just stand behind there will you oh my goodness just no please stand behind there I'm I'm what is this Mao you guys just clean this is this from to there I don't even know what's back there vindor what when was that cleaned it's they just cleed two days ago they got spilled everything there come here I know hand on heart that is not from yesterday that is not from yesterday what's that up there seriously watch your eyes watch your eyes who cleans this who is it since I've been here no one's cleaned it since you've been here no one's cleaned it I appreciate your honesty Branda yeah this since he's been here he's never cleaned it this place is disgusting and this well I Gordon I don't come and do this you don't I trust them that they would clean that they you you guys cleaned the floor the other day didn't you you we cleaned the line the other day we sweeped the line you said you guys took out I never said it I never said itop I never said you're just trying to make excuses yes you are aren't you embarrassed very at least you told the truth the owner's in denial that has been pulled out for months that wasn't pulled out what a mess what is this bloody hell holy crap don't put in there oh my God what in the is that oh my God what in the is that that's grease from the hood can you stop lying that was not cleaned yesterday I'm telling you this is grease from the hood but they haven't cleaned it do you have any idea what happened if that caught fire why now do you have any idea if that caught fire I do what are you doing you stopped caring no that's not true I mean I that's the sign of an owner that cares I want an answer I'm going upstairs by the time I come down I want an answer CJ is he gone I don't know where he went Jesus oh my God right I'm unconvinced that this place is clean so I want to run a quick bacteria test it looks disgusting and I don't think these vents have been clean for years time tell did you talk to Ramsey no he came down here looking for you and she now 10 to 20 is deemed as sort of clean respectful anything over 30 is unhygienic dangerous and this is reading sh 573 come in you were looking for me uh sit down what is that this is a very simple hygiene test anything above 30 it's in the danger zone okay 573 from the air conditioning unit I don't have an answer for that sorry that's CJ 573 let's do another one how long's this chair been here I believe since we bought the place have you seen the stains on it see the stains there yeah let's see what that yes did you ever stay here uh no I've never stayed here you've never stayed here in 10 years no wow so you bought a hotel you invested in it with Mom and you've never stayed here I'm amazed 446 and you've got no idea it's like this what's the bathrooms like oh my god do you know the shower curtain have got mold on them no I did not your housekeeper pointed it out there hairs there at this rate I really should be wearing gloves oh dear a shall cut what 5,680 what in the seriously uh I don't have an answer for that at all 5,680 that is the volume of live bacteria I'm going to wash my hands hell 5,000 what in the hell's going on I'm going to go and just check 301 sorry distur are you well I'm so sorry do you mind this we we got some issues downstairs and found some pretty horrific stuff I know you get ready for bed I'm sorry that's okay I honestly didn't think they were going to put anyone in here today I'm right look inside that's mold underneath no you did not did no you did not really that is disgusting and I did a bacteria test I've been doing them all day on my shower curtain was mold I just took a shower we just give me 2 minutes okay oh my God what a joke this is insane I'm done let's go come on let's go oh no oh my God leave me back there make your way down to the front please leave the phone it's not important customers are way more important leave the phone customers out custom out let's go out Barry drop what you're doing go off the front please we're not going to be serving this anyway Qui let's go you got to move fast on that let's go everybody stand at the front just wait 2 seconds is everyone out this is in the drill oh my God first of all I just want to apologize there's no fire more importantly over the last 3 hours all I've done is a bacteria test oh my God I want to apologize to all of you but I want to stop right now while I try endlessly to get through the owner who's totally a is that the owner this is the owner we all ate here we were all playing on stay here and you're smiling like a smirk on your face what I'm not going to do is just allow this lady to laugh at me you guys to pay good money and eat and I'm certainly not letting pay gas stay to sleep here I'm done my team will assist you getting yourself out of there relax there is no fire but we are not going to continue I want to stop right now and shut this place down oh my God oh my God I'm so sorry I need you now thank you when are you going to get real when are you going to stop close the door and take a good look at yourself in the mirror if I say anything it's not believed so what's the point what do you mean it's not believed what is wrong with you but I can what is wrong with you I what is wrong with you there's nothing wrong with me it's just after 10 years I'm here every single day they don't like me and they insult me and they disrespect me every second they work here they steal from me they're on their cell phones for 4 hours a day you're disrespecting every member of staff you're blaming everybody for what you've created somewhere you switched off and ignored all the problems and took it out on the staff is that's what they're telling you yes that's what they're telling me right now I'm going to tell you something you've never heard before you're out your depth last night after shutting down the hotel and seeing Veranda had no communication with employees I organized a staff meeting anyone down there but Veranda was nowhere to be found there you are there you looking for you they said that youd run away no I'm not running away I I don't want me in front of you don't want to meet in front of the stuff why not my biggest problem is that you have shut down and you refuse to let anybody in I walk through the windows people steal from me every single day and so you had some incidents with some bad staff years ago and then you think everybody that comes through your door is is is is exactly the same no they're not it's not about a oneon-one anymore you can't just focus on one individual and you've done that brilliantly in the previous career running a team managing a hotel is completely different right okay we need to get the team back on side and they need to believe in you and you need to believe in them it's a two-way thing well it's a process too it is it is a process yeah but if you don't walk back through those doors and face the music with me then I'm going to go as well because I can't do this without you I I don't know how let me show you how uh well first of all um thanks for coming in early this morning um listen this is hard there seems to be a massive conflict how do we get the trust back in the room what would you like to see change we just did a funeral last week 90 people and there was two servers zero busers zero bartender well of course it's a money issue it's a budget issue so I took it over that is why we we we had a schedule on Monday for the cooks we come back Tuesday the schedule's completely changed you do the schedule but there should be the chef's job AB you need to be responsible for your own Department like Macy's responsible for the kitchen Tammy's responsible for the events you have to offload the work from you and give them the responsibility guess that's a mistake when was the last time you had a meeting we had a service staff meeting in here that we get yelled at and it just gets hostile and people get up and me included and walk out and it just doesn't yeah help anything let's stop there we not not a this is why this is why no one wants to no one ever says if you want to manage can't get your voice but you must understand now that's the wrong way to handle things there seems to be a really bad vibe in the room that we can't shake off but if you want to clear their air people need to turn their phones off when they walk in and clock in and leave their I have said that million times please do not bring your cell phones in here and invariably I come in at 2:00 I see you guys outside on your cell phone never see me on my cell phone okay fine I mean know maybe you're not doing it but other people are doing it why is there so much distrust in this building it's people stealing from me drinking on the job doing shots over here that's not now we're talking as if it's present today yes but there is I mean you know these guys aren't taking shots but what I'm trying to say you're you're accusing them of somebody else's bad practices what you need to stop doing is blaming them for the past can you trust your team yes tell them that okay I'll try please but I can't I can promise I can only try look at that smile that will go a long way we all know it's not going to change overnight it's Sur process so we need to embrace that process and we need to install confidence I'm open to the change that he wants me to follow if that's what's going to make this place a success I feel like the St meeting was a step in the right direction Branda seems to be coming around but I want to make sure she is 100% committed morning uh thanks so much for coming I really need to talk to CJ privately because he's the one person who can help get through to her uh CJ I'm going to be honest I'm going to be up front I'm not dealing with a hotelier um I'm dealing with your mom um and I'm sure she holds a special place in your heart but unfortunately she's running around like a dictator and she's not letting any of the staff breathe she's stifling the business I've had conversations with her about a few things similarly I've told her um the way we were brought up and raised in India that tone in conversation doesn't work here and uh she struggled to be very honest adopting to that part of it um you adapted brilliantly come to this country but she's one tough cookie you know that yeah she is nitpicking the staff and then she's not giving any of them responsibility she needs to be less handson okay and more supportive no I know I know this is crazy mid 60s she shouldn't be running around like this no she was very honest with me last week she told me I want to spend more time with the kids and my time is running out and I haven't heard her say that ever right but she needs to let go okay so how can I help I need a commitment from you got to be there to support it we need to get rid of that stubbornness from your mom and make her understand that this business can be fruit for she just has to step back okay we can't continue like this it's do or die and we need to step up okay all right I'm going to have a talk with her today please we got one more shot at this after spending time with CJ he clearly sees the issues his mother has and I have asked him to reinforce the changes she needs to make what we should talk about is how do you let go the responsibility is shifting which means you don't run around doing things if it's Mao's kitchen if you're making that decision it's not your problem to deal with let jamy and the kitchen Chef do everything into the k i I had learned it the hard way at my job I I was working 70 hours a week mother yeah I know but when I got the team in place and I stepped away I only get involved when there's an escalation okay all right I mean you know I can do that and you know what let's see what happens with Veranda on the right track the next order of business is starting the renovation process the brick Hotel needed drastic changes so my team worked through the night to get the hotel ready for relaunch welcome to the new brick in wow oh my god wow wow it's beautiful oh my goodness it's amazing this is it is would you like to come up and see my room yes yes wow oh my god wow oh my gosh I'm about to take a nap I'm taking a nap I think I might have to come check it now I know everything about these rooms are amazing wow I'm excited to come to work in clean come on V jump on that come on jump down my God you do it oh my goodness very nice thank you so much oh you're welcome after updating the brick hotel with a modern look I give them a classic menu that is perfect for the town and can better accommodate catering for the large scale events that take place at the hotel hi good evening welcome to the brick Hotel as for the relaunch I invited the locals not only to dine at The Brick how are the first couple bites of everything oh fantastic you're the best G I've ever actually had in my life but to tour the renovated rooms as well my look at this oh my god look how nice this is while on the hotel side everything has been well received the kitchen is running smoother than ever meatballs arini Sprouts yes one at time6 musles yeah 86 brussel sprouts please 86 BR a good sign thank you and with CJ having a presence R out brussel sprouts nice go get them no no what do you mean go get them he's able to prevent his mother from slipping back into her old habits it's okay let her go you said it's a good sign a good now she can focus on her duties as an owner looks fantastic C was are happy yes yes first of all it's a nice to see you smile yes you had to walk around this town with your head up high well I apologize for the difficulty I gave you initially okay and the only thing I want to see you do is from time to time come in here and walk around like you did all night tonight with charm and Grace I've told them that you are banned from behind that line okay good all right I promise you all this stuff will happen promise me yes Pinky Promise pinky promise I'm not a person who expresses Joy or in a you know jumping up and down and things like that but it's really really wonderful it's given us lot of oxygen for a second life best wishes Take Care thank you wow what a week after leaving the brick the reputation of the hotel was on the men CJ became a more visible owner and Veranda stayed true to her word in trusting her staff to do their jobs and her employee turnover is at an all-time low with these changes in place the brick is well on its way to being what it once wasI'm in the beautiful Lakeside town of Chalan Washington to help a husband and wife repair their bad reputation they have built walls around themselves they are absolutely no part of this community they don't know the difference between right and wrong there's no such thing as a fresh burger what and they are so stubborn you don't even know the story it'll be a challenge to get through to them all you've done since I've arrived here is lied to me and I totally disagree with that Shan Washington surrounded by the gorgeous Cascade Mountains situated on Lake Chalan this small town is home to the Lake View Hotel and BC McDonald's restaurant owners Brent and athy McDonald have been in business here for over 15 years we bought the hotel in 2000 we came into town and and a lot of the locals they really didn't want to see us make it they figured they won't be here long well I let them know that we are going nowhere you're stuck with us the lake VII hotel is adults only we think that it's the nicest hotel probably in the state of Washington we have a great place here BC McDonald lakei hotel but business is really slow we losing probably 30,000 a month in easy the financial situation here at the hotel and the restaurant it is tough and this year it's extremely tough because we had wildfires in the area and quite honestly that's what kind of has broke the bank the majority of the reason why there's no consistent business here is Brent and aff's reputation H I'm talking I am talking customers come in and she said you hurry up you go sit down I'm training sit down we'll be with you a minute I'm the best employer in town I think I'm easy to work with just be quiet will you please you know I don't know why people don't like to be here if you want to keep money flowing through the locals need to like you and you know if you have a bad attitude towards the locals or other customers they're not going to come back get out there and do a little Dance come on I know you used to pole dance get your ass out there I definitely get very embarrassed by some of the things he says I hope you got a lot of energy tonight cuz baby this is this is Friday night Frid night people are coming to a nice restaurant they don't want to hear dirty jokes and cussing and everything like that Brent does not like to be told anything you can tell him the sky's blue and he's it's going to upset him I think that people are lucky to work for us I think I got a great management style shalan is is a beautiful town the opportunity is there um we just get overlooked because of Brent and A's reputation all of our money that we have made in the last 30 years has been sunk into this business and we have so much invested we cannot stop because otherwise we're we're done valy parking where's the valy guy oh think there Mr Ramy could be okay so that's him I did say Valley Park right yeah it's not my eyesight maybe he thinks he has the wrong place Val parking is not W and Roll Baby the best breakfast lunch and dinner in town come on in come on in how are you good afternoon Chef Ramsey what a gorgeous drive that was oh thank you how are you oh was ladies first I totally understand that nice to meet you um are we uh the valley parking on strikey it is this time time of year so it's temporary bellet parking and what do I do in my car cuz you kept the sign there I I'll park it for you how about that wow was the last time we dusted in here it's a bit Dusty there what's that there something is growing up there can you see that or is it me can you see I can see it wow yeah just right there with me I know you're both wearing glasses I just want to make sure you can see it it's not it's not real easy to see for me how'd you get that down well us we have we have a long pole dust and where is the pole it's right in the back here I'll be right back wow well now you've made everything Dusty down here I've made it Dusty no you haven't cleaned it yeah supposing that falls on a customer's head what would you do I don't I don't think that it will actually you don't think it will no well it's been up there for about 6 months it seems to be growing actually that is disgusting yeah Brett shame on you I know it wow and what's in here more dust over here Brett look is there more you must have missed that spot too there's a big long creepy crawly hanging yes I see that we've been closed for the last 3 weeks when it's so slow this time of the year we go on a holiday and when you close do you normally clean before you close or would you come back dirty uh come back uh the way it is and wow look at that up there we we're living in a very uh Dusty environment here that's yeah okay uh come on seriously this is the mountain clean air well that's all true yes yes oh there you go yeah there we go thank you for that no problem I I didn't expect to clean as I check in I know oh my god there you go they are gross right don't mess it up too much it's all going to come down well how long are you thinking of keeping it up there oh we might as well do them all while we're at it we might as well do them all it's not funny I've got to get this thing out here holy look at that God damn it AFF why didn't you get to that and how long have you own this place 15 15 years 15 years you the last time it was clean it was clean you're just good I was You' got you've got a great eye I can missed I've done lots of things on arrival but I've never quite cleaned like that from a ceiling can I give that back to you I'll do that okay right yeah thank you and what's going on here on the front door you've got 40 flavors so no yes when we're really really busy we have a line that goes out the door and if one person ask for a a sample they will all ask for a sample and how do you think all those yogurt franchises intice business they offer samples so they speculate to accumulate sorry no samples sorry no samples who comes up with all these stupid rules probably myself man you like kicking the crap out of the locals don't you yes so I take it we're not going to get oh there's another one yes there's me thinking that's a flavor so how long go it is closed oh my god look how dusty that is it's not closed this is not closed no it's not stop it is not it looks like it's oh no bloody hell where's the stick gone please oh my God this is monstrous this is like a cobweb on steroids where's the stick gone she's getting it so why did you close for 3 weeks oh I went on a holiday wow and where did you go Mexico wow did you enjoy Mexico yeah we really we enjoyed being she only came for a week she gives me a week by myself say say that again you go on holiday on your own I do rest for a week and your wife comes for the second my wife and daughter meet me for the second week would you not like to go for two weeks holiday I well I would love that if I have a chance I see right um I just want to get this thing down here we synthesiz of this one y holy crap is that a keeper that look at that this is above an ice cream paror if we turn that on it's going to spin dust hopefully it won't we look at that yeah that is a look now what I I think you're doing awesome actually I I think that we should possibly hire him really you know I'm glad that I'm hired to clean yeah this wow do I have to take this to my room it may be a good idea are you serious no let's go no dust right oh whil I'm up here look oh come on now but look at these ones here on the top of that we'll we'll get it oh now you'll get it well it's obvious that you haven't done it before let's go you know how many rooms you have here 12 12 wow this room probably isn't for you but we're going to give it to you anyway what do you mean by that it's for people that haven't been laid for a while quite honestly so that again sorry people that haven't been laid laid laid as in as in what's that got to do with me checking into this room wow and this is a room for those who haven't been laid recently you don't talk about that to guest well this is an awesome room it offers the best view that we have of the river part of Lake Chalan wow wow has a stack stone fireplace awesome ceiling I think they're 15 ft and uh this an awesome Dusty ceiling see those Beams I can see yeah I see that a little bit man what is it with dust round here well as I said we're in a Dusty area apart from the dust the rooms are gorgeous yes these are the air conditioning uh units where is that so you don't have that funky thing down here that cries Motel I thought it was a TV no it's uh air conditioning it's both we program it for both AC or right where do I adjust the temperature uh you don't they're preset it's set at 68 wow why is it set like that I keep the remote controls because I absolutely know that they will get screwed up if I leave them up here in the room you don't give samples you don't let me keep the remotes and you don't let me bring the temperature up or down it's not really the get laid room is it that's up to you wow you're you're setting the bar you're you're telling me what I can and what I can't do weird very weird how dusty this is as well how do I open that up so got all these fany would you like me to open it yes thank you wow when was the last time they were cleaned that gets cleaned about twice a year uh uh would you mind if I just make it three times this year yeah I think that sounds great actually okay so the air condition unit you control they have to breathe in this at night are you bullshitting me no I'm not you right can you uh I will take that you mind I've got no interest in breathing you dust okay I'm going to unpack and I'll be down in 5 minutes please wow honestly look at that it's terrible disgusting hello Hi man um the dust when I walked in what the hell was going on there bizarre how long have you been here a month so you're a new kid on the Block I am yes wow do they go through a lot of stuff I think so there is some that have been here for years but actually the ones that were here the cooks they have recently left and I mean how would you describe them as bosses um different than any I've ever had yeah I'll say anyway let's order um obviously I was going to have a glass of wine hoping to get something local having just driven through those amazing Vineyards but there's nothing local here no I mean New Zealand seven young BL how weird and what would you recommend for lunch what's the soup today the soup is a minr oh that's good yeah uh BC's bacon burger yeah okay let's do a a pizza as well homemade right sorry actually we don't do the pizzas any longer I don't know why the page is not taken out wow okay uh anything else that's not on we are out of the pork stir fry and we do not have chili uh no chili let's do a prime rib as well with that shall we um I believe we're out of prime rib oh we're we're out of a lot of so yeah the um turkey chabata dip is usually a good one let's let's do a turkey dip okay um hold on a minute breaking news BC soon to be famous Teri steak what the does that mean when someone says soon to be famous who writes this on the menu seem to be famous why would that be on the menu I think we should try it let's go um I think we're done okay yeah sure yeah thank you L okay do you need help administrating suit right correct excellent wow that doesn't even chase homemade it's frozen it's frozen frozen Minon suit yeah this is terrible we've got the BC bacon burger wow jeeez look how thin that is my onion ring is thicker than my Pate huh where are they from I I'll find out that answer on the hamburgers it says on the menu certified Angus beef where do we get that are they fresh or frozen no we we always come back it's frozen $12.95 that's have cooked and the the the Pate is Bland actually tastes Frozen but please don't it it it does come Frozen so it says fresh and it's not anywhere near $13 for that is Brut oh the food coming out is very good this is the um turkey milk thank you and what's this here that is the broth for the turkey the broth mhm if you want to get your sandwich in it holy what is that in there just have a little sip wow so salty yes it does so bad it's salty and bitter Jesus you want to taste this actually he had me taste it oh yeah it's really salty really salty yeah holy this here is the terak chicken burger the Neely famous burger what the what is that what's he DST it in Teri over cheese oh nearly famous cuz it's about to be famous to send me to the bathroom yeah I mean I'm not even going to go there nope I'll just have a coffee thank you be BET right let's get reviewing wow headline do not go here if you want mediocre overpriced food this is the place for you unfortunately not my dig bloody hell w this is terrible this is terrible oh it's awful I mean look at the headlines what an odd place the owner Batman another local place at our table do not go here run run run far away horrible service terrible food and stupid expensive the owners are jerks who are rude and don't support their staff they don't welcome kids no wonder this place is empty is that bad it is it's very awkward you know apne says they don't listen to this these are customers they're all negative and FYI no samples allowed that's right tight bastard yeah is he really stingy absolutely is he yeah and the lack of you have children or and they do have a um teenage daughter so they have a teenage daughter but they don't welcome kids yes he goes on holiday for a week on his own Sons himself gets nice and bronzed then she joins him for the second week but he wants a week on his own just like talking about I had not heard that yeah what a creep yeah if I did that to my wife she keep me in the nuts yes I'm at a loss this place is depressing I'd like to um get the owners down here let's just have a little debrief shall we thank wow Jesus Christ they want us he does yeah let's go it's okay take everything Ser don't say anything not make like fun anything there is nothing I'm at a loss the biggest kicking the balls for me is that on the menu it states homemade fr FR daily changing soup of the day your soup of the day M Brent is frozen can you make ministr soup yes how much it cost to make a liter couple bucks tell the owner and you have the nearly famous burger I'd like to congratulate you because it's now famous as the most disgusting bit of between a bun I've ever seen you have a slice of red onion that's thicker than your Pate it was frozen and you're charging $13.95 for it I don't know how low we can go the list everything's from New Zealand there's not even a local wine on here well give it to me then I'll give it to you most of these wineries all opened up restaurants there there are competitors so you can't support the local Vineyard well I came in here to help I'm laughed at lied to and fed frozen food as an owner you two can't be that gone otherwise I'm going to go right before dinner I had a chance to catch up with Teddy the manager so could understand his perspective of what athne and Brent are like as owners inappropriate things are commonly said his personality has a lot to do with it it's you know really common that he'll make you feel that this is the best place and you're lucky to be here their behavior is bosses is unacceptable wow wow wow clearly in denial I appreciate the Insight yeah yeah thank you thank I'll see you in there yes definitely and I want to observe what they're like during an evening at the lake view so you have a key to the room you can't wait but let's hope that it's ready couple things that we're not offering um no Chile and sea bass no pizza so no pizza no pizza no sea bass very disappointing you know Frozen Frozen Frozen wow not even wrapped where are the burgers I mean it just doesn't look anything like a burger and when it's processed like that and stamped and pressed you can just tell right frozen food wow bre come with me yeah how's the fet cheating it's okay not the best damn I'm sorry um Burgers mm a burger cooked here locally would you expect that to be frozen or fresh fresh the burger is not frozen it's the patties and everything come in frozen and they're thought out is that like most people you thought it out so it's not frozen then it comes in Frozen yeah you throw it out and that to your customers is not a frozen Burger well stay there let me just show you something I'm waiting for him to come back he's going to dream me on something oh boy here we go mhm so there's your buers this a Frozen thank you now your husband said it wasn't no what do you mean no it's it's it's frozen of course I never said that it wasn't it we thought it out here it comes in Frozen yeah it's still a frozen Burger there's no such thing as a fresh burger at least at least here in Eastern Washington we cannot get fresh there's no FR you find me the Burger come with me yeah good evening welcome please come in out the cold are you joining yes quick question do you love a burger yeah I love Burger Madam yes would you expect them to be made fresh here or frozen fresh fresh are you going to tell them or should I tell them fresh all the way no should we tell them the truth I mean that's what we want to do well we we sell uh our our Burgers come in Frozen and we thaw them out but thaw them out doesn't make them fresh thank you appreciate it thank you thank you thanks for coming you guys welcome ladies hey folks how are you quick question coming out for dinner would you expect a frozen Burger to be served here tonight or a fresh one fresh fresh you going to tell them or should I tell them I'll let you tell them oh come on you own the place well we all of our beef that we get in Burgers it comes in Frozen our burgers and we and we thaw them out which in his mind convinces him it's fresh oh does that make it sound any better no thank you we're still glad to have you thank you you bet oh my God after Brent tried to convince me that there were no fresh burgers in town I almost cry okay you did good I'm proud of you I walked directly across the street and ordered one so that's the lamburger bur nice to see you coming to a restaurant like this would you expect your Burgers to be fresh or frozen fresh Burgers come in Frozen and with th out out that's the story thank you so that is a lamburger fresh and getting sick to death of this denial denial denial you've been making up all day yes yes you have all your staff have the same thing to say passive aggressive condescending inappropriate and stubborn no absolutely not the staff the way you treat them what there you go again no no no you're just scared about employing a team that's going to tell you the truth that is that is not cuz you don't like them confronting you with the truth you'll fire them no I haven't fired anybody I heard that you fired your son oh you don't even know the story he was having some issues Gordon and I told him I was aware of the alcohol problem I was aware of that right I was trying to save his life yeah my brother's a drug addict we put him in rehab seven times unsuccessfully I don't give up on him but what I'm more concerned about is that nothing's affecting you it's like we're doing great in generally the place runs quite well oh my God come with me just yeah you and I is this a joke for you can you he us two minutes please no is this are you around no I'm not around are you trying to pull the wall over my eyes oh hell no you know the business is dwindling you've got all these rules no samples no kids this place is thriving with families we really don't want to have crying kids here I just I just would like to have a uh quiet getaway for for our Honeymooners and and birthdays and anniversaries a honeymoon Venture they come down a romantic dinner and eating a frozen Burger come on this place is hemorrhaging money cuz you're caught in a web delusional stubborn oldfashioned and pompous anything else it's just a joke for you isn't it no I'm just next time I'm going to know to do a little dusting wow a little dusting me how deluded during dinner service I decided to do some investigating in the rooms Dreadful Dreadful Dreadful and after what I found I gathered the hotel guests along with apne and Brent hey guys come through please um just very quickly glasses on there we are come through if you can just stand over here pillow left hand side pillow number one can you see that I can't see a GI you can't see maybe athne yeah explain to Brent what this is uh spot know spot you don't know yeah spot maybe this one will be a little bit clearer blood there we go honey that's disgusting right athne yes Brent can't see anything I I I uh go ahead where I see that of course okay see that one this is the worrying bit mhm these are the duvet that have been on these beds that was just washed one week ago every single one of them Absolute rubbish and look at this I mean these customers they're the ones you're taking the money from don't you dare tell me that was washed a week ago don't you dare one week ago the bills you cannot be serious we are serious it was done and that's that's it we're not going to say that is not clean that's yeah it's and this go on I see that but one week ago that was cleaned I'm done with this this is years just stop we did 13 of them one week ago and they're not cleaning them properly stop just for once today lying and look at this I mean that is not clean that was just washed one week ago stop just for once today lying let stay there two seconds what the did you have any idea you're sleeping in that no not at all I wish I can't see that want sleep in that Prince I I I see that I want an explanation cuz all you've done since I've arrived here is lie to me lie to me lie to your staff and I am not going to allow you to lie to the customers and I totally disagree with that too I have not said one lie to you I'm not going to go for that yes you have you all day it's not true you convinced that th food is fresh food you're robbing them of their cash you're telling me this was clean a week ago let me ask you a question in front of your customers would you sleep on that no so why did you expect them to would you sleep on that no not an apology nothing I'd like to apologize I'm I'm I'm appalled I'm disgusted I've had enough anything you'd like to say the pillars like this I apologize can I have a word with him on my own would you mind these guests are hours away from putting their heads on your pillows Blood Stained pillows Seaman stained duvet covers and sweat accumulated over years I I can see that going I am struggling I'm struggling with your husband that's in denial I'm struggling with these arrogance and I'm struggling with these blatant lies I'm not here to butt heads with a liar I'm here to help turn this business around Anne you can talk to me are you worried about Brent he's my husband yes I am he's my life we have a daughter together does your daughter feel this at home yeah and he fell out with his son he fired his son yeah does that still bother him is that what it is he's still his son of course he's still his son still care about him it doesn't sound like he's caring about him the guy was drinking he needed help and he got rid of him is that what's bothering him is that why he's in denial I need Brent to take his guard down something inside here is bothering him I don't know if it's the financial debt the pressure is it his son I don't know I can't get in I want to talk to his son how can I get hold of him I got his number thank you athne you're the only hope I've got can we work together yeah and can we get him to open up okay and tomorrow morning and I want the truth and nothing but the truth okay I really needed to break through to Brent and to see why he is so stubborn so my team and I attempted to get hold of his son to meet me at the hotel but we were unsuccessful now it's up to me to try to get through to Brent let's take a seat at the bar I've got to get through to you why are you so stubborn you got off last night I mentioned your son why did that hit a nerve you know we just had a a breakdown in the relationship when his when his mom remarried uh they she remarried the same day the divorce was Final so party company with your son you weren't even present at your daughter's wedding I was not invited I didn't even know she got married I was destroyed everybody wants to see their daughter mhm I've I've got three daughters that's painful you know when you're when you're uh kids tell you I don't know tell you what well uh I have three grandkids I haven't even seen two of them you know what you know I am stubborn maybe I I'm stubborn but when you get shut off and then their mom died I thought wow maybe this is going to be my chance maybe they're going to come to me but my you can't my son just drinks too godamn much but but I but that but that you're still their father you're still their dad I know it you can't go around with that that that that that anger I I've been waiting for them to come to me instead instead of the others that's never going to happen there not enough well that's that's my proudness and my stubbornness you know you have to change your ways and you have to start becoming a lot more generous as a owner as a father responsible for three kids and I'm not here to fix your family I'd love you too I would so love you too and just you calling them making an effort they need to see the change but you need to embrace that I agree there's too much of a stake reach out to those kids you got to bring those barriers down and you got to open up and somewhere in there there's the friendly comforting supportive you know as Brent we got to get back there okay Brent and Anthony's bad reputation within the town comes as no surprise you got a picture there m great give me 2 minutes please okay I've gathered local business owners to show Brent and affley the issues they don't realize they have good morning morning how are we first of all I just want to say a big thank you for coming you guys are the pillars of the community you have businesses and you are very proud of what you built here and I've been struggling trying to get through to Brent he's in denial I feel like Brent is an Undertaker those people that are working for him there aren't many that have good things to say wow that's ridiculous I had a friend that used to work here at BC's and she had a customer that had a steak dinner and her baked potato it was all great and he wanted to take it with him so she took it in the back and set it on the counter and went to get it tog go container and apne scraped it into the garbage and she said would uh my customer kind of wanted to take that and she watched athne grab the baked potato wipe it and grabb the St and she made her give that to the customer no wow no free samples on the ice cream how hard is it to give somebody a little plastic spoon what do they give back to the town they are absolutely no part of this community they they have built walls around themselves and you need to take care of each other in the offseason it's locals taking care of locals you know I will say with the fires you know this whole town came together and I don't think I can remember them offering help in any way it was a crisis that everybody found a need and everybody helped yeah except them except them but that's the spirit of Chalan I think is what we're getting at we share tractors we share you know from Vineyard work to some of us have restaurants so we share employees he's oblivious how come there's no wine from this amazing region on their list when we first started our Winery his excuse was that the wineries have restaurants that compete with his restaurant in addition to that it would be a shame if there was just one good place in town to go to we want tourists to come here and have a great time everywhere they go so if if he does well we'll all do well I really appreciate the feedback but I want you to help me get through to them on another level now because I'm going to go and get them and we're going to tackle this head on uh give me 2 minutes thank you so much you want to go it's really really hard to take it let's go because we try really hard it just shocked me wow hi hi folks these are in my mind even more important than customers because you guys should be bonded clearly you're not why is it taking so long sometime you need somebody to slap your face we were in a comfort zone somewhat and uh used to the way we did everything uh you know for a lot of years and uh it needs to be changed maybe we banked on the location too much there's a lot of things we've done wrong they're desperate to see you do well I think to say there can never be too many fun good places in town we always want somewhere to go and relax and enjoy ourselves I think we all want you back on our radar all of this has been a wakeup call for us this is part of the reason why we asked Chef Ramsey to come to help us we're listening we we heard everything that you had to say and we are going to try to do much much better we're hearing you I don't think that I knew how the business Community was connected that everybody is feeding off of of each other we have to realize that to be part of this connection we have to change with Brent and athne committing to change my team moved forward getting rid of all the dust and cobwebs we furnished all the rooms with brand new bedding but the biggest change was overhauling the ice cream parlor off we go ladies welcome my God holy moly wow unbelievable unbelievable this is what I call aala you had a dreadful space here yes oh my God now it's turned into something magical do you think there's any chance that I could get a sample we will be thrown samples out everywhere this is way beyond our expectation given the importance of the local wineries I brought in similia day Foss how are you who repaired the bad reputations with the locals that Brent and athne had you're going to need to nurture those relationships and he created a brand new menu featuring all Washington wine you're no longer going to have to say sorry I don't have any local wines finally to accompany all this I created a small and more exciting menu that features all fresh food dig in have a little taste oh my God this is so good it's delicious oh my gosh everything fresh better m fantastic what I have learned from this community is that local support is everything and this town is willing to give Brent and affley a second chance hi everybody how are you today good to see you guys would you like to see my new ice cream parlor here with all the new improvements I'm hoping Brent and athne make a good impression for the people of shalan I actually brought you a list of a lot of that prors that we work with cool oh you want a check in how are you guys the hotel is booked up this is just gorgeous and the guests will sleep well tonight in the brand new bedding we've added to all the rooms all right I'm going to try the feral salad there's a real Buzz about the new menu and the kitchen is easily executing the dishes a kiche a chicken sandwich and I got the salmon okay what we're trying to do is just focus on the wineries with the help of similia Dave Foss the customers are pleased with the local selection of wines they offering at BC McDonald's you like that that's really good yeah I'm always making a mess that's the idea I'm the official scooper the ice cream shop is a hit and Brent is even happy giving away samples if you drop it on the floor you own it Brent with everything a success I'm hoping Brent makes one important rule change with his hotel have you thought about what I mentioned about the children regarding children in the hotel or you still sticking with no children you know what I'm going to stick to the adults only adults only why well look at and you take two or three or four children up there and I'm going to tell you they wipe out the whole damn place what the noise noise crying whatever uh gum and uh pop and God forbid samples of ice cream they will you have a young daughter I know I'm talking 3 four eight year old have you asked yourself the consequence I missing on turnover Revenue we may miss a few but I think we miss a few on the other end if they were two or three kids running down the hall but not every every kid is is is that noisy I mean just try to be open with maybe a couple rooms I will give it thought that's a tough one I'm disappointed Brent went alter his rules about allowing kids at the hotel but hopefully after seeing the success of the relaunch he'll change his mind keep up the good work yes Ryan do not let him go back absolutely not okay well done thank you are you leaving yes I am everybody now in this town is rallying around for your success yes so embrace it watching you stand behind that counter just giving samples out and seeing the light on the kid's face that is extraordinary that's awesome please don't go back stay strong there's an amazing guy underneath all those layers there is yes there is I'm just there is thank you there is you can do this okay I can do it yeah take care thank you so much right look out thank you so much and he's going to think about getting some kids in here okay okay yeah they're not on I'm serious Mr stubborn okay couple scoops of ice cream goes a long way o boy it's really gone down hasn't it I'm getting money okay thank you take care good night okay bye-bye despite my my help with the Outreach of the community Brent quickly reverted back to his old ways distancing himself from the locals much of the staff have left or been fired and the hotel's reputation within the town has only gotten worse I don't know I don't know where in the hell everybody's at I'm checking in to the historic brick Hotel in New Town Pennsylvania where I meet an overbearing owner who has run her business into the ground no no no no no no no no no no and what was once a proud Landmark are they bullet holes in the wall That's MO is now suffering from atect this place is disgusting the road ahead is not going to be easy for me I try to get through to the owner who is totally oblivious 30 mil north of Philadelphia lies the burough of Newtown Pennsylvania home to this historic brick Hotel owner Veranda qua a former therapist bought the property in 2006 with her son CJ who serves as a silent partner in their business we bought the brick Hotel because it was an investment opportunity when we first purchased the place we were told that it was going to be a sort of a hands-off it'll run itself self you just have to watch it of course we had no idea zero idea what this business is about I always said to my son maybe this year we'll make a profit maybe this year we'll make a profit and it never happened she used to be in Family Therapy so patients comes with that job and I've seen her have a short fuse where she wouldn't do that um before we bought the place when I came here it blew my mind away that you're still putting in money so I cut out a lot of stuff here and it really annoyed and irritated people and they basically started the dislike verander plan it has been a bit of a dictatorship here with vandar you know it's either her way or not her way no no no no bendar is a control freak she is involved in everything she will not release or relinquish control ever here's the ball you want me to put it in she's not a people person she has no people skills she just screams out demands and she's very rude at times Paul French onion on here now there is such a turnover with staff that I don't even know their names in 8 months I've probably seen over 50 people go some people come in for one shift and they listen to her for 5 minutes and they roll right out the door I wish I had two clones of me and believe me this place would be hopping I feel the brick might have become like the laughing stock of new town so the reputation around town is that you know no nons they call me the crazy lady which is fine to me you know what if I'm crazy because I'm trying to save the business so be it I think we're at that point where this is really our last chance if we don't figure something out it's either sell it get rid of it because we can't sustain it before I came to town I heard the brick Hotel had a high turnover rate so I had my team reach out to former employees so I can get some information before checking in uh first of all good morning good morning I've never met such a large team of EX employees uh small showing this is a small showing oh yeah what there's more there's a lot hundreds hundreds hundreds say 100 um how much turnover is there with staff when I left vinda had been through almost 50 managers 15 50 50 50 managers 50 and the biggest problem with the place is is what vindar she's been cruel to people I watched her and she's she's mean and she can be a bully and I've seen her reduce people to tears wow that's terrible you know there's so much neglect between not only the staff her managers but her customers as well seriously I couldn't take it anymore I worked the holiday season and it was kind of like the last straw for me and what made you quit I worked all of those parties through the whole month of December I was lucky to receive some payback like in February with your tips yeah she'll cut you a check in 6 weeks when she feels like it she wouldn't let you go pick up your paycheck she called the cops on you you said she call the cops on you oh all the time numerous times seriously called the place because you wanted your money yes you were threatening her seriously I mean it sounds like a dictatorship as opposed to a boss that's there to support people loved it there it was very homie the opposite of now all the locals came we had a booming Hotel business wow it was such a great place and then the quality just steadily went downhill and I think she had a complete lack of respect for the staff and didn't understand that your staff is a huge asset what a mess can I ask you a question please have you met her oh no at least I just arrived seriously FL this morning you are in for a treat I was curious just by the way you were speaking because I thought he hasn't met her yet has he no no no so calling the the cops you know High staff turnover um standards dropping I haven't got much confidence however I'm going to tackle it head on you don't look very optimistic do you I thank you wish me luck thank you take care wow look at the size of this place oh dear what happened there damn when did that happen you know it's been here since I've been here oh really hi I'm Marian it's my to it's good to see I get a bit nervous when I check into Hotel the windows are smashed um anyway how are you I'm good thank you I'm happy to be here are they bullet holes in the wall uh you know they might very well be I'm not sure what they are we're 250 years old so 250 years old mhm uh what's wrong with the place I think it's beautiful place but I think it really just needs some upgrading and uh which part's beautiful help me selling out the entrance with the smash Windows well I think it could be beautiful it's been neglected for a while what happened here oh oh my D oh my that looks much better wow dear I dear I don't know if render's not going to be too happy you just ripped the wall Pap then that was fantastic what time is the calling in she might be here I can check I'd love to meet her oh he's bringing vandor up vandor Hi how are you good how are you very well a little nervous the smashed glass what happened there it's been there since before I bought it how long have you had the hotel 10 years 10 years and you didn't think about replacing it first impressions custom walking through the door it's it's the original have you been drinking you look like I drink did you run a hotel before we bought this 10 years ago yeah never never now what did you do therapist for children I did that for 20 years that was my practice wow okay uh 201 I'll see you uh shortly I'm going to go check in and uh unpack okay place is filthy oh woman the Maran I I need a rag uh napkin or housekeeping please God oh my what is that oh Jesus let me get housekeeping for you housekeeping called fire brigade hello are you the housekeeper I'm not I'm looking for I'm I'm Caitlyn Caitlyn please meet so my hands are dirty so I'm just going shake hands like I don't want to shake hands like that sure no when was the last time this place was cleaned there's dust and everywhere uh TOA is here every day uh so I would assume Right cleaning I mean under here look I'm not talking about a couple of weeks of dust I'm talking years and behind here as well look hi hi oh jeez how are you oh hi are you good yes I'm fine fine right what do you do housekeeping stop which house this house come over look at the mess down there what's that what's that fa Fab let's get the place clean fabulous let's just have a little test here look at that look at that do you have a program that you clean floor by floor a program no no uh where is my room to what is that room no what's that up there who sits here is it a tea party for rats or Stuart Little in for dinner tonight what the is that oh what is it like pet corner we drop our cats off for dinner here Jesus man who does this you care to join me come on go go for me come on let's let's sit in the r let's talk about your cleaning habit take aat I think I can fit right there no no I my my butt's way bigger than yours take a seat may we have some menus please oh sure yeah absolutely so what in the is going on I actually said something about that but you know you comfy absolutely not no all jokes apart forget the mice party tea party Che Littles hang out what is the biggest problems here cuz I'm things like this the mold the the mold who who we got rid of the Dust what do you mean the mold where's the mold oh right yes take take me to the mold okay thank you let's start this way but where let's go this way first M so I guess it starts I don't know exactly where it comes but it comes from somewhere on a shower curtains that ex can would change it there is mold do you tell the owner to change these out yes sir and any response she'll get to it oh look at this look at that come over is that mold that is mold yeah yes I said that that's mold see it mhm bloody hell when was all the linen last changed look at the color of this how much sweat is on there oh man oh look at the color of that so that's what that is sweat that's sweat and then is that a is that a tube television how old have you ever heard of a flat screen yeah I got five you you've got five flat screens at my house what a mess what's that in there what a empty box of tights silk Perfections Jesus does the owner ever come into these rooms since I've been here I probably seen her here maybe once once upon a time these were white right you see these look at the color of them how gray and dirty God they oh you can tell this supped have been white oh man I was worried about your eyes for a second there where's my room please 2011 please tell me it's not worse than this one 2011 bloody hell what a mess dust everywhere and all this what is this terrible girl how you doing you found all the nasty no I thought that the curtains were gold no for real they were supposed to be white oh my goodness I am appalled and then just Underneath It All right now it's pretty obvious that the owner doesn't even put a scent back into this room even into the hotel but when an owner can't be bothered to change a smash window in reception I don't hold much hope for the rest of the hotel and look at that up there what's that check out time 11:00 a.m. yeah I'll check out way before that my love hi nice to meet you I'm Tammy Gordon good to see you good to meet you um and you're sales and event coordinator at The Brick rumors has it you do a lot of events do a lot of events W how many a week on average about 350 a year it sounds like this is the oxygen that's keeping this place alive fortunately that's the truth wow what other problems are there help me uh Staffing is terrible why there so many staff going through the door what is it um or randar is firing them often I'll come in on Monday and see who didn't make it through the weekend which is very tough to work for the bottom line is the problem is the owner yes there's nobody else here starts at the top appreciate you honesty well we appreciate you being here after learning the hotel's revenue is strictly from events I want to see how bad the food really is seasonal local fresh I ordered a couple of items the French Indian soup which was tasteless so bad terrible so I opted for something with a little more flavor that tastes better then I ordered something I've never never heard of before a cauliflower steak which by name I should have known better that is a mess who put on the menu Brenda and a crab sandwich which maybe I would expect to be Frozen but not from a can Product of China fresh m- seriously are we done is there did I you've got your burger still do you know what cancel it absolutely cuz if it's coming from the same kitchen forget it got it yeah tell the chef I travel light and I haven't got that many pairs of knickers thank you oh my gosh oh my gosh he's freaking out he's freaking out cancel everything else no more no more he's said enough uh take me to the kitchen introduce me to the team place is huge kitchen is massive uh so where's the chef hello Miss I'm not the chef you're not the chef you nice you are a chef though you got a jacket on yes sir that's how Chef tend to dress Mao nice me good to meet you too and this is Barry sex Barry so you're the chef I'm not the chef no you're the chef a chef but not the chef a chef there's two of them there's two of them the other ones uh where's the head chef well we have both of them in charge no such thing your set of rules your set of rules doesn't benefit the customers I'll come back to the food in a minute I'm in shock before I got here I met a dozen of your ex employees okay I couldn't believe the amount of staff that have left this building in the last 2 years why are you going through so many staff I don't know you don't know I think I hire people and uh oh so it's them not good enough for you yes when you have a young member of staff that is owed money and they won't leave the building until you pay them and you you call the police on them what kind of business are you running here who said that are you saying now that they're lying please I don't know are you saying they're lying simple yes or no I cannot tell people lying it's inaccurate though I do is inaccurate yes I have witnessed vendar called the cops on a number of people she has a close relationship with the New Town Police Department do you care about this hotel it's not funny I mean I I am I'm not here to laugh let's get that right let's move on to my reception when I walked in and there's dust and everywhere when I say dust I'm talking dust that's been embedded for years and there's mold on the carpet I'm a little bit lost of words I ever sat down in the restaurant and had dinner no right top of your menu it's fresh seasonal local it's canned food I'm not a chef and I don't know all these things what's wrong you're feeling sick no I need to take something out of the oven sh you take it out the oven what is this tomorrow's chicken I so you laugh what is this a game you have to wake up hi hiy guys how are you excited yes for checking in no problem bye-bye hey how are you Hi how are you nice to meet you first name is I'm Jessica Jessica good to see you I heard you had a great time today great time not but uh yeah let's wait and see uh who's that that is CJ that is R our son oh hi CJ yes I'm one of the co-owners as well good to meet you how many times a week you're here I'm here right now probably less than once a month even I've got another job that I pretty much a full time you do uh manage it it well why did you buy this why did we buy this it was an investment opportunity when we first got into it we're told that it was TurnKey hands off so that was 10 years ago yes have you seen any return on that yet zero zero when do you think it's coming well I have been talking about that quite a bit over the last 6 months because uh it's getting difficult to keep putting money in wow in your mind forget him what's wrong with the place I'm very sorry cuz I know this is your mom but I can't I can't deal with how she treats me it's like when we don't need her here she's here and she's on me about the smallest things wow do you have one foot in their camp or one foot in your mother's Camp um I'm split between the two I've actually had employees tell me why aren't you around more because you're Pleasant to deal with how's this going to get turned around if she's still micromanaging and dictating to everybody about how place should be run she says if she's not here it's things will fall apart and it won't get done that sounds right here's customers hi guys how are you good evening how are you welcome how are you well you guys have a reservation yeah Weinstein sorry about the smash window and the crbs from China cows from China okay you follow me I don't go to China for crap gentlemen I have one order for you it's just the first course on the first table it's just two sou of the days thank you okay who's next I got all the soups all right first thing is this it's a apple pear no blue cheese and a eggplant stack where's the apple pear can we get this out why is she doing this is she always on the hot plate she is she's never quiet which ones are done can you guys take those down is this done no I've taking my stuff down that's done yeah wow it's a little Egra guys waiting on the EG it's coming it's coming we're working it hard we're making us nervous oh my goodness Carly Carly what I'm coming what is that put this here take this this is yours no that is my New York trip this is craziness who's doing the cauliflower are you cooking the cauliflower now yes fuing nut I know I swear to God can you flip this and what she doing cooking I have no idea does she normally cook yeah is is crazy Absolut crazy what a mess wheels are stuck it's just sliding on the grease oh God that is gross Miranda you got two seconds sure just stand behind there will you oh my goodness just no please stand behind there I'm I'm what is this Mao you guys just clean this is this from to there I don't even know what's back there vindor what when was that cleaned it's they just cleed two days ago they got spilled everything there come here I know hand on heart that is not from yesterday that is not from yesterday what's that up there seriously watch your eyes watch your eyes who cleans this who is it since I've been here no one's cleaned it since you've been here no one's cleaned it I appreciate your honesty Branda yeah this since he's been here he's never cleaned it this place is disgusting and this well I Gordon I don't come and do this you don't I trust them that they would clean that they you you guys cleaned the floor the other day didn't you you we cleaned the line the other day we sweeped the line you said you guys took out I never said it I never said itop I never said you're just trying to make excuses yes you are aren't you embarrassed very at least you told the truth the owner's in denial that has been pulled out for months that wasn't pulled out what a mess what is this bloody hell holy crap don't put in there oh my God what in the is that oh my God what in the is that that's grease from the hood can you stop lying that was not cleaned yesterday I'm telling you this is grease from the hood but they haven't cleaned it do you have any idea what happened if that caught fire why now do you have any idea if that caught fire I do what are you doing you stopped caring no that's not true I mean I that's the sign of an owner that cares I want an answer I'm going upstairs by the time I come down I want an answer CJ is he gone I don't know where he went Jesus oh my God right I'm unconvinced that this place is clean so I want to run a quick bacteria test it looks disgusting and I don't think these vents have been clean for years time tell did you talk to Ramsey no he came down here looking for you and she now 10 to 20 is deemed as sort of clean respectful anything over 30 is unhygienic dangerous and this is reading sh 573 come in you were looking for me uh sit down what is that this is a very simple hygiene test anything above 30 it's in the danger zone okay 573 from the air conditioning unit I don't have an answer for that sorry that's CJ 573 let's do another one how long's this chair been here I believe since we bought the place have you seen the stains on it see the stains there yeah let's see what that yes did you ever stay here uh no I've never stayed here you've never stayed here in 10 years no wow so you bought a hotel you invested in it with Mom and you've never stayed here I'm amazed 446 and you've got no idea it's like this what's the bathrooms like oh my god do you know the shower curtain have got mold on them no I did not your housekeeper pointed it out there hairs there at this rate I really should be wearing gloves oh dear a shall cut what 5,680 what in the seriously uh I don't have an answer for that at all 5,680 that is the volume of live bacteria I'm going to wash my hands hell 5,000 what in the hell's going on I'm going to go and just check 301 sorry distur are you well I'm so sorry do you mind this we we got some issues downstairs and found some pretty horrific stuff I know you get ready for bed I'm sorry that's okay I honestly didn't think they were going to put anyone in here today I'm right look inside that's mold underneath no you did not did no you did not really that is disgusting and I did a bacteria test I've been doing them all day on my shower curtain was mold I just took a shower we just give me 2 minutes okay oh my God what a joke this is insane I'm done let's go come on let's go oh no oh my God leave me back there make your way down to the front please leave the phone it's not important customers are way more important leave the phone customers out custom out let's go out Barry drop what you're doing go off the front please we're not going to be serving this anyway Qui let's go you got to move fast on that let's go everybody stand at the front just wait 2 seconds is everyone out this is in the drill oh my God first of all I just want to apologize there's no fire more importantly over the last 3 hours all I've done is a bacteria test oh my God I want to apologize to all of you but I want to stop right now while I try endlessly to get through the owner who's totally a is that the owner this is the owner we all ate here we were all playing on stay here and you're smiling like a smirk on your face what I'm not going to do is just allow this lady to laugh at me you guys to pay good money and eat and I'm certainly not letting pay gas stay to sleep here I'm done my team will assist you getting yourself out of there relax there is no fire but we are not going to continue I want to stop right now and shut this place down oh my God oh my God I'm so sorry I need you now thank you when are you going to get real when are you going to stop close the door and take a good look at yourself in the mirror if I say anything it's not believed so what's the point what do you mean it's not believed what is wrong with you but I can what is wrong with you I what is wrong with you there's nothing wrong with me it's just after 10 years I'm here every single day they don't like me and they insult me and they disrespect me every second they work here they steal from me they're on their cell phones for 4 hours a day you're disrespecting every member of staff you're blaming everybody for what you've created somewhere you switched off and ignored all the problems and took it out on the staff is that's what they're telling you yes that's what they're telling me right now I'm going to tell you something you've never heard before you're out your depth last night after shutting down the hotel and seeing Veranda had no communication with employees I organized a staff meeting anyone down there but Veranda was nowhere to be found there you are there you looking for you they said that youd run away no I'm not running away I I don't want me in front of you don't want to meet in front of the stuff why not my biggest problem is that you have shut down and you refuse to let anybody in I walk through the windows people steal from me every single day and so you had some incidents with some bad staff years ago and then you think everybody that comes through your door is is is is exactly the same no they're not it's not about a oneon-one anymore you can't just focus on one individual and you've done that brilliantly in the previous career running a team managing a hotel is completely different right okay we need to get the team back on side and they need to believe in you and you need to believe in them it's a two-way thing well it's a process too it is it is a process yeah but if you don't walk back through those doors and face the music with me then I'm going to go as well because I can't do this without you I I don't know how let me show you how uh well first of all um thanks for coming in early this morning um listen this is hard there seems to be a massive conflict how do we get the trust back in the room what would you like to see change we just did a funeral last week 90 people and there was two servers zero busers zero bartender well of course it's a money issue it's a budget issue so I took it over that is why we we we had a schedule on Monday for the cooks we come back Tuesday the schedule's completely changed you do the schedule but there should be the chef's job AB you need to be responsible for your own Department like Macy's responsible for the kitchen Tammy's responsible for the events you have to offload the work from you and give them the responsibility guess that's a mistake when was the last time you had a meeting we had a service staff meeting in here that we get yelled at and it just gets hostile and people get up and me included and walk out and it just doesn't yeah help anything let's stop there we not not a this is why this is why no one wants to no one ever says if you want to manage can't get your voice but you must understand now that's the wrong way to handle things there seems to be a really bad vibe in the room that we can't shake off but if you want to clear their air people need to turn their phones off when they walk in and clock in and leave their I have said that million times please do not bring your cell phones in here and invariably I come in at 2:00 I see you guys outside on your cell phone never see me on my cell phone okay fine I mean know maybe you're not doing it but other people are doing it why is there so much distrust in this building it's people stealing from me drinking on the job doing shots over here that's not now we're talking as if it's present today yes but there is I mean you know these guys aren't taking shots but what I'm trying to say you're you're accusing them of somebody else's bad practices what you need to stop doing is blaming them for the past can you trust your team yes tell them that okay I'll try please but I can't I can promise I can only try look at that smile that will go a long way we all know it's not going to change overnight it's Sur process so we need to embrace that process and we need to install confidence I'm open to the change that he wants me to follow if that's what's going to make this place a success I feel like the St meeting was a step in the right direction Branda seems to be coming around but I want to make sure she is 100% committed morning uh thanks so much for coming I really need to talk to CJ privately because he's the one person who can help get through to her uh CJ I'm going to be honest I'm going to be up front I'm not dealing with a hotelier um I'm dealing with your mom um and I'm sure she holds a special place in your heart but unfortunately she's running around like a dictator and she's not letting any of the staff breathe she's stifling the business I've had conversations with her about a few things similarly I've told her um the way we were brought up and raised in India that tone in conversation doesn't work here and uh she struggled to be very honest adopting to that part of it um you adapted brilliantly come to this country but she's one tough cookie you know that yeah she is nitpicking the staff and then she's not giving any of them responsibility she needs to be less handson okay and more supportive no I know I know this is crazy mid 60s she shouldn't be running around like this no she was very honest with me last week she told me I want to spend more time with the kids and my time is running out and I haven't heard her say that ever right but she needs to let go okay so how can I help I need a commitment from you got to be there to support it we need to get rid of that stubbornness from your mom and make her understand that this business can be fruit for she just has to step back okay we can't continue like this it's do or die and we need to step up okay all right I'm going to have a talk with her today please we got one more shot at this after spending time with CJ he clearly sees the issues his mother has and I have asked him to reinforce the changes she needs to make what we should talk about is how do you let go the responsibility is shifting which means you don't run around doing things if it's Mao's kitchen if you're making that decision it's not your problem to deal with let jamy and the kitchen Chef do everything into the k i I had learned it the hard way at my job I I was working 70 hours a week mother yeah I know but when I got the team in place and I stepped away I only get involved when there's an escalation okay all right I mean you know I can do that and you know what let's see what happens with Veranda on the right track the next order of business is starting the renovation process the brick Hotel needed drastic changes so my team worked through the night to get the hotel ready for relaunch welcome to the new brick in wow oh my god wow wow it's beautiful oh my goodness it's amazing this is it is would you like to come up and see my room yes yes wow oh my god wow oh my gosh I'm about to take a nap I'm taking a nap I think I might have to come check it now I know everything about these rooms are amazing wow I'm excited to come to work in clean come on V jump on that come on jump down my God you do it oh my goodness very nice thank you so much oh you're welcome after updating the brick hotel with a modern look I give them a classic menu that is perfect for the town and can better accommodate catering for the large scale events that take place at the hotel hi good evening welcome to the brick Hotel as for the relaunch I invited the locals not only to dine at The Brick how are the first couple bites of everything oh fantastic you're the best G I've ever actually had in my life but to tour the renovated rooms as well my look at this oh my god look how nice this is while on the hotel side everything has been well received the kitchen is running smoother than ever meatballs arini Sprouts yes one at time6 musles yeah 86 brussel sprouts please 86 BR a good sign thank you and with CJ having a presence R out brussel sprouts nice go get them no no what do you mean go get them he's able to prevent his mother from slipping back into her old habits it's okay let her go you said it's a good sign a good now she can focus on her duties as an owner looks fantastic C was are happy yes yes first of all it's a nice to see you smile yes you had to walk around this town with your head up high well I apologize for the difficulty I gave you initially okay and the only thing I want to see you do is from time to time come in here and walk around like you did all night tonight with charm and Grace I've told them that you are banned from behind that line okay good all right I promise you all this stuff will happen promise me yes Pinky Promise pinky promise I'm not a person who expresses Joy or in a you know jumping up and down and things like that but it's really really wonderful it's given us lot of oxygen for a second life best wishes Take Care thank you wow what a week after leaving the brick the reputation of the hotel was on the men CJ became a more visible owner and Veranda stayed true to her word in trusting her staff to do their jobs and her employee turnover is at an all-time low with these changes in place the brick is well on its way to being what it once was\n"