Ep 2. Poaching Profits

Poaching Profits is the second episode of season 8 of the television series Mystery Diners, a reality show that focuses on helping restaurant owners identify and eliminate employee theft, sabotage, and other forms of misconduct. In this episode, the team is called to investigate a restaurant that suspects one of its employees of poaching its customers and selling their contact information to a rival business.

The episode begins with Charles Stiles, the founder and CEO of Mystery Diners, meeting with the owners of the restaurant in question, a seafood joint called The Fish Tank. The owners, Stan and Rebecca, explain that they have noticed a decline in their business over the past few months, despite their best efforts to improve the menu and the service. They suspect that one of their servers, Kelly, is giving away their customers' contact information to a competing restaurant across town, which has been advertising identical discounts and promotions as The Fish Tank.

To find out the truth, Charles and his team deploy a group of undercover Mystery Diners to The Fish Tank, posing as ordinary customers. Each Diner is equipped with hidden cameras and microphones, and their goal is to observe Kelly's behavior and interactions with the customers. They also keep an eye out for any signs of communication with the rival restaurant.

The Mystery Diners quickly discover that Kelly is indeed engaging in some suspicious activities. She seems overly eager to collect the customers' email addresses and phone numbers, and she even offers them additional discounts if they agree to share their contact information. Moreover, she appears to be communicating with someone via text message during her shifts, which raises suspicions about her true intentions.

As the investigation continues, the team decides to put Kelly's loyalty to the test. They create a scenario where one of the Mystery Diners pretends to be an influential food critic, and offers Kelly a bribe to give away the restaurant's recipes and secrets. To everyone's surprise, Kelly eagerly accepts the offer, and even writes down the critic's phone number on a napkin for later use. This confirms Stan and Rebecca's worst fears, and they decide to confront Kelly on the spot.

The confrontation is tense and emotional, as Kelly denies any wrongdoing and pleads for her job and reputation. However, the evidence is overwhelming, and she eventually confesses to selling the customers' information to the competitor for a cash reward. She also admits to giving away the restaurant's secret recipes and cooking techniques, in exchange for a promise of a better job at the rival restaurant.

Charles and his team conclude the investigation with a meeting with Stan and Rebecca, where they present them with the evidence they have collected. They also devise a plan to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future, including implementing stricter data protection policies and better training for the staff. The episode ends on a positive note, with The Fish Tank back on track and a stronger sense of trust and security among the owners and employees.

Overall, Poaching Profits is a gripping and informative episode of Mystery Diners, which shines a light on the dangers of employee theft and loyalty breaches in the food industry. It also showcases the professionalism and expertise of the Mystery Diners team, as they use innovative tactics and cutting-edge technology to uncover the truth and help businesses get back on track.