Jon Taffer on Why Businesses Fail: Excuses, Accountability & Bar Rescue | Planet Tyrus

Summary

Planet Tyrus – June 16, 2026
Episode: Jon Taffer on Why Businesses Fail: Excuses, Accountability & Bar Rescue

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Episode Overview

This high-energy episode of Planet Tyrus features a lively and in-depth conversation between Tyrus and Jon Taffer, famed hospitality consultant and the star of Bar Rescue. The discussion revolves around why businesses fail, the crucial role of personal accountability, the psychology of rescue TV, and how pandemic-era culture shifts have changed the American workplace. Packed with candid stories, sharp humor, and signature straight talk, the episode also includes an entertaining, real-time “rescue” of Tyrus’ own team.

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Key Topics and Discussion Points

1. The Real Reason Businesses Fail

• It’s Not Just the Business – It’s the People

  • Taffer stresses that fixing business operations is relatively simple compared to changing people’s attitudes and behaviors.
    • “Fixing the business is easy, man. It’s fixing them that’s hard.” (Jon Taffer, 00:30)
  • Owners regularly know what’s wrong but are stuck in self-defeating habits.

• Accountability and Excuses

  • Taffer reveals, after 283 episodes, that almost no failing owner takes personal responsibility at the start.
    • “I found a common denominator of failure. It's an excuse. ... Not once did an owner say, I'm failing because of me.” (27:12)
  • Making excuses is identified as the root cause of business—and personal—failure.

Memorable Quote:

“The ones that fight me the hardest, Tyrus, are the ones that hug me the tightest.”
(Taffer, 00:48; revisited 47:30)

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2. The Human Factor in Rescue TV

• Why Bar Rescue Succeeds

  • Unlike other reality shows, Taffer insists on authenticity—no manufactured drama.
    • “My deal with the network, it would have to be real. … They’ve left me alone.” (07:33, 09:09)
  • The show often turns into family therapy, with Jon dubbed “Dr. John” by his crew.

• Emotional Transformation is Key

  • Only real, personal epiphanies lead to lasting change. Taffer uses tough love and inventive strategies to break bad patterns.
    • “If I'm only with you four days, the only way I can do that is to change the way you think.” (02:50)
  • Examples include making an alcoholic parent see their child's face on their glass to impact behavior.

Memorable Story:

Taffer recounts a rescue where an owner’s wife hands him divorce papers, then, thanks to the intervention, the couple reconciles and has another baby.
(04:02–06:24)

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3. Pandemic Culture & Work Ethic

• Quality of Life vs. Work

  • Both Tyrus and Taffer observe that pandemic lockdowns led many to re-evaluate work-life balance—but sometimes to the detriment of traditional work ethic.
    • “There’s a real shift in mentality. … Quality of life before career.” (13:13)
  • Tyrus notes that pride in hard work is fading, replaced by entitlement and narcissism, especially among younger or post-pandemic workers.

• The Challenge of Employee Motivation

  • Social media instant gratification has created unrealistic expectations for constant praise and quick advancement.
    • “Now they come to work, and their boss doesn’t give them instant gratification. … It’s very difficult to motivate employees.” (10:37–11:32)

Notable Exchange:

“Narcissism was the biggest disease that broke out during the pandemic—worse than Covid.”
(Tyrus, 12:45)

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4. Hotel and Restaurant Service Decline Post-Covid

• Tyrus notes a disappointing drop in hospitality standards across all hotel tiers, even luxury brands.
  • “I’m in a five-star hotel eating my eggs out of a cardboard box…” (23:42)
• Taffer blames prolonged industry excuses and staff turnover, which erode company culture such as Ritz Carlton’s ethos of “Ladies and gentlemen serving ladies and gentlemen.” (26:34–27:04)

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5. Ownership & Integrity

• Taffer’s Personal Code
  • He refuses to fake anything for TV and has famously shut down production when producers tried to manufacture drama.
    • “Shut the production down, tell this guy to go F himself…” (07:33–08:19)
  • “Integrity … is not something that you get overnight. You have to prove yourself.” (35:50)
• Transferring Ownership to Clients
  • In corporate settings, Taffer lets management take public credit for success, while he owns the blame if it fails—building trust.

Quote:

“Integrity goes a long way. But the thing about integrity … it’s not something you get overnight.”
(Tyrus & Taffer, 35:43–35:50)

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6. The Psychology of Denial & Change

• Owners and employees often remain in denial until failure is absolute (i.e., the business shuts).
  • “They don’t think they failed until it’s closed. … You can fake it now, but you can’t fake it when the lights go out.” (38:07)

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7. Memorable TV Moments & Toughest Cases

• Taffer describes walking out on abusive owners and using psychological “gut punches” to bring about self-awareness.
  • “If I think they’re detrimental to the people that work for them, I won’t perpetuate that.” (34:46–35:02)
• Toughest moments are always when personal crises, not just business crises, require intervention.
  • “It’s always personal, guys. It isn’t business. … The guy who’s crying in a corner…that’s heavy duty.” (59:29)

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Entertaining Moments & Quotes

• The “Excuses” Diagnosis:
  • “I’m failing because of the euro in Greece.” (27:12, Taffer’s favorite excuse from Detroit episode)
• Classic Taffer Tough Love:
  • To Tyrus’ team intern Harry: “How can you be great if you have people working for you that are substandard and you do nothing about it?” (55:59)
• To Ryan: “So you’re a waste of time.” (56:49)

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Live “B Team Rescue” Segment (53:00–65:36)

Tyrus brings in his young staffers, Harry and Ryan, for a real-time “Bar Rescue”–style assessment:

• Taffer exposes their quirks, presses for accountability, and turns the segment into a mini masterclass on real-world standards in any workplace.
• “You don’t need any training, right.” (63:00)
• “Are you supposed to do a certain amount of output every day?... If it was real, then the question would be, how can you be great if you have people working for you that are substandard and you do nothing about it?” (55:37–55:59)

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Practical Takeaways for Business Owners

(62:03–62:38)

• Know Your Metrics:
  • “There are certain metrics that every business has… Look at those metrics and react to them.” (62:03)
• No Excuses:
  • Excuses never propel you—they paralyze or slow you down.
• Balance Hard Work and Life:
  • True quality of life requires meaningful effort—not just leisure.

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Notable Final Insights

• “Integrity is more important, because in the long run, integrity is gonna be the reason why I have 170 episodes.” (35:02)
• “I also like to think I put honesty back in their relationship.” (46:45)
• The hardest cases are always the most personal—when careers, marriages, and self-respect are on the line.

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• Why Businesses Fail / Excuses – 00:30, 27:12, 28:17
• Real vs. Staged TV – 07:33, 09:09, 35:50
• Pandemic Culture Shift – 10:37, 11:32, 13:13
• Personal Sacrifice & Work-Life Balance – 16:03, 18:39
• Emotional Stories (Divorce Papers, Reconciliation) – 04:02–06:24
• Classic Bar Rescue Moments / Abusive Owners – 34:05–35:02, 61:00
• Live “B Team” Assessment – 53:01–65:36
• Practical Advice for Struggling Owners – 62:03–62:38

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Closing

This episode embodies what fans love about Planet Tyrus: straight talk, humor, and powerful real-world lessons. Whether you’re in business, watch Bar Rescue, or just want to understand what makes people tick, Jon Taffer’s insights on excuses, accountability, and integrity resonate far beyond the hospitality industry.

Transcript

[A]

I've coached the game, I've played the game. So when I break it down on don't me, you're getting more than opinions. You're getting experience. We've put really dumb, racist people on the air. That's the ESPN model right now. The show is about winning, accountability and truth, not the usual nonsensical soft takes. If you want real analysis from someone who's been there, join me, search. Don't me on Spotify or Apple. Podcasts. Subscribe right now. It's free, it's portable, and most importantly, it's as real as it gets.

[B]

Fixing the business is easy. Easy, man. It's fixing them that's hard.

[C]

You're not solving their problem, you're just giving them wisdom.

[B]

My intentions are really good. I'm not fighting with them, I'm fighting for them.

[C]

People smell that quick. They know the difference between genuine and somebody who's just trying to make a show.

[B]

And the ones that fight me the hardest, Tyrus, are the ones that hug me the tightest.

[C]

It's an exciting time right now. I always love this time of year because, you know, you get. I've got my baseball game, although my Red Sox are God awful, but doesn't matter. I hang in there anyways. You get the NBA playoffs, the hockey playoffs. It's just, this is like the sport month. You know, football's around the corner, but you know what? And that falls right in line because whenever you go to a great sporting event, it usually ends with going to a nice restaurant. And if you can't afford the tickets, you find a nice sports bar. And you, sir, beside all your other accomplishments, are a household name when people think about, is this restaurant good or not? You know, and I, of course, I've had the privilege of being on the Gutfeld show with you for many years. But, you know, I, like everybody else, watched you save restaurant chains and expose things. And I always think less about the restaurant business itself because you, you kind of fix a lot of families. Was that something that you just noticed as you were like, you're there to try to build up sales and make a productive rep, but at the same time, you're dealing with a lot of personal issues, which usually leads to a lot of financial problems.

[B]

Anyways, you know, that that is astute. And you're right. When I started the show, I never expected that at all to this level, Tyrus. Now, my crew comically calls me Dr. John sometimes. But you know what I realized? Fixing the business. Easy, man. It's fixing them that's hard because they walk past the filth. They know their employees hate them, they know their costs stink. You know, they're not. I'm not the first person to tell them these things in many cases. So if I don't get them off their butts or somehow change the way they behave, Tyrus, then I'm not going to succeed. That's a huge challenge though. I'm there for four days, man.

[C]

Yeah. That's not a lot of time to

[B]

change what you do. If I'm only with you four days, the only way I can do that is to change the way you think. And the only way I can change the way you think is to. To discredit the way you are thinking.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

In that moment of doubt, I can sort of start to change you.

[C]

Do you think that has a lot to do with the success? Because there have been a lot of people who have tried the, you know, the self help TV shows or you know, we're going to come in, but you have been at the top since you've began. And there's Gordon Ramsay had one where he came into restaurants for a little while and you know, you see a lot of like, it's like rescue this, rescue that. There was dog rescue show and they all seem to kind of come and go, but yours doesn't go anywhere. You think it's the human side of it Because I also. You're tough as hell. Like you're. You take no from nobody and that's one of the things I respect about you. But you do it differently. Even though you're emotional and you can lose your cool, there's a tenderness to it. I'm trying to. There's a way. Because the same guy you're screaming at, within four days, you're hugging and he's calling you brother when you're leaving.

[B]

Yeah, it's amazing. I can curse him out ugly in front of his wife and then put my arm around him a minute later. You know why I think that they figured out after a few hours my intentions are really good. I'm not fighting with them, I'm fighting for them. They have to figure that out at some point to tolerate my aggressiveness. But think about the impact sometimes. Tyrus, I've had situations where I'll tell you a funny story. I'm doing a bar in Orange County, California and my production crew gives me about a 60 second briefing. That's all I get. Tyrus, you know, John and George are ready to kill each other. They've been in business two years. They're losing 40 grand a month to have enough money for two more months. That's about all I know. So they tell me that this guy has been not coming home. His wife says he doesn't come home at night. She think he's cheating on him. They're losing their whole fortune, are about to lose their house. So I say, let me have the wife to do recon with me. So I put the wife in my car. Her name was Edith. And I said to her, hi. She gets in my car. Remember, I had the screen in my suv? She gets in my car with a little gift bag. And I said her. What's that? She goes, oh, It's. It's my 14th anniversary. I said, oh, is that for your husband? She goes, yes. I said, what did you get him? She goes, divorce papers, and pulls them out of the bag. Oh, that's how the show starts. Then he flirts with some girls. We're watching them on a video screen, and I see the veins popping out of her neck. And some girl says to him, are you married? And he says, there's no ring on this finger. And she's watching this with me. So I say, edith, this is the time to change your life. I've got your back. You need to go in there with me. And he needs to understand that you are not going to tolerate this anymore, that this is a different day. And she goes, okay, okay. We get out of the car. She runs in a bar, punches him in the mouth, rips his shirt open, and throws a drink in his face. But you know what? Four days later, at the end of that episode, she put her wedding band back on, tore up the divorce papers and her tough husband. This was one tough son of a bitch. Her tough husband looked at me and cried and said, thank you. You're the father I never had. Six months later, I get an email. They had it. They're having another baby. So that's bar rescue, man. It's unbelievable how personal it gets. Tyrus. And after that, I scream even louder the next week. You know what I mean?

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

There's. The thing is, like, I. Because I used to. I used to watch the show when I first started, because you. The first time you watch anything, you. You look for the. The highlight is you losing your. On somebody, right?

[B]

Yep.

[C]

And then that kind of becomes less because it's the. You want to know how it turns out? I want to know that it's going to like when you come give us the a. Four months later doing this and that, and A lot of situations. I also love the fact that there isn't really a laid out objective on your shows. And what I mean by that is like, you don't. You're not guaranteeing this is going to. I'm not saving you. I'm giving you the tools. It's up to you. And when you leave, it's not. Ha ha, I've done it like I have. I think they're on the right trajectory. You're giving them the tools. Ultimately they have to do the work. You're not solving their problem, you're just giving them wisdom.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, that was not an easy thing to accomplish. When I started the show Tyrus, I was nobody in tv, but I was very successful in my business.

[C]

Yeah. Because outside. Yeah, that's not when we'll get into that. Because I want to talk about what made you cross over.

[B]

So when I started the show, my deal with the network, it would have to be real. And I wanted real failures so I could stretch my muscles and do this. And they agreed to that. The third show in, some new producer, vice president of the network comes to set and takes a tampex, puts it in ketchup and drops it in the ladies room on the floor. I see this go absolutely crazy. Shut the production down, tell this guy to go F himself, have a massive fight with this network vice president onset. The show shuts down. Everybody leaves. The president of the network flies to Chicago where we're shooting, walks me around the block and says, list John, we can have creative agreements, but you can't tell the vice president of the network to go himself.

[C]

I feel like in that situation the yourself is accurate because for one, you're creating problems that aren't there when they already have problems. Two, if that was my place and I saw that and I'd be like, wait a minute, you came here to help me and you're creating problems. Get out of my restaurant. You know what I'm saying? You're it and I'm being dishonest. Yeah. The producer's not going to be the one that's being like, oh, this guy's. And you know how quick that would spread. It would be everywhere. Like, oh, he comes in, he, he sets up. He's fake, he's reality. And people, here's the thing. As much as a lot of the stuff you see on TV is scripted and stuff people smell that quick, they know the difference between genuine and somebody who's just trying to make a show. And that's the difference. I think that's why you don't need it. Life's hard enough. You don't need the bells and whistles.

[B]

No, I don't. And so after that incident, they've left me alone. So I've shot well over 100 episodes without any network people on set ever. And I don't know what I'm doing when I get there. My deal with my production company is I show up, I do recon after recon. I put everybody in vans in the parking lot, and I designed the bar that night.

[C]

Yeah, I was almost. I was almost gonna go.

[B]

Kat actually saw this when she was on.

[C]

Yeah. I was gonna go with you in Colorado. And then I had a scheduling conflict because I used to bounce clubs, and I was a kitchen manager at Carlos o'. Kelly's. Shout out to Carlos.

[B]

I still want you to do recon.

[C]

You see what you do? Yeah. Oh, yeah. Once. And. But the restaurant business, you deal with a lot of personalities, a lot of emotions, a lot of people who are there, especially the waiters and waitresses and the cooks like myself. It wasn't our plan, you know, and we're. It's a. It's a job that is fairly easy. Like, if you don't have a lot of experience, you start there. You can still get a starting spot. You know, you can get a job there. Bartending is a little more complicated, but you. It's a place where a lot of people start their life or. Or where they're there to reset. So there's a lot of emotion to the next thing. Yeah. And then you're working for someone who is. This is my life. I don't. You're. I know you're waiting for your next big break in Hollywood, but I really need you to bust my tables.

[B]

Yeah. And it's a challenge. You're right. Especially in today's environment. And, you know, the. The entire workforce has changed. Tyrus, if I can be deep for a second. You know, social media. If you and I posted pictures of us looking the worst we've ever looked in our lives, somebody's gonna say, tyrus, great, buddy. So we get this instant gratification on social media. Instant for people who don't deserve it. They're getting it constantly. So now they come to work, and their boss doesn't give them instant gratification. They don't get a pat on the back 10 fricking times a day. They don't get promoted in a week. So things don't happen quick enough for them from a recognizing standpoint. So it's very difficult to motivate employees in this type of environment today because they've been conditioned for this immediate, you know, kind of recognition. They think they should be promoted in

[C]

a week, you know, because I wanted to get into, I think, the service industry as. As a whole and has not recovered from the pandemic.

[B]

Has not.

[C]

I think we lost our work ethic somewhere in there. I remember working in a restaurant, getting off even though the restaurant closed at 10. I and my crew usually didn't get out there till 12. We had floors to scrub, grills, oils to change. Once. Once, I think once every three weeks, we had to clean the whole rotating oven. You know, it was work. You know, it was. You come in early, the. You know, the floor is underneath. You know, you got to lift the pans, the grinds, the hot. It's a lot of. A lot of work, and it's a certain. And you take pride in it. When I left shift, when the morning manager came in, the last thing I wanted to hear was, this wasn't done. This wasn't done. The inside of the freezer was terrible. We've got no one checked the dates on the thing. You know, there was a sense of pride. Didn't matter what your job was, it was your job and you wanted to be the very best at it. And there was a certain level of pride there. But now I feel like there was so much time of staring in the mirror with. With beer goggles on where we all filled our heads, where we're all stars and we're all these. And then you'll see the attitude where, like, I don't wash floors or I don't do this and I don't do. I don't know where that level of obnoxious narcissism. And I say narcissism was the biggest disease that broke out during the pandemic. Worse than Covid because there's. Everyone lives by one point of view.

[B]

Now tell me if you agree with this. You know, I think during COVID we were locked in our houses and everything. We started really thinking about quality life of.

[A]

Of life.

[B]

Quality of life. And I think, you know, we all thought about mortality and. And, you know, I'm a little older than you. I could have gotten it and died.

[C]

Yeah. Oh, no. I got sick as hell because I was.

[B]

So we're all thinking about, you know, now pandemic ends and. And, you know, there's a different orientation now. It's almost quality of life before career. And I've read research that actually says that quality of life before career, you know, I think pre pandemic. Look at you as the rest of your life. Look at me, man. Career came first.

[C]

Yeah. Even before family. Unfortunately, in a lot of cases, yes.

[B]

Think of the time you and I spent on the road away from family, away from our lives, and, you know, the dues that we paid. If you put quality of life first, Tyrus, you or I would not be here.

[C]

No.

[B]

So. But it's a real shift in mentality in that way. Do you agree with that?

[A]

No.

[C]

Yeah. You know what? And that's a. And I like the way you put it because it's a. It's a positive spin. I think the problem is because you eat so quick, well, they're not working hard. And the quality of life versus. I think you're a thousand percent right. And I've never really looked at it that way, but yeah. Because I think it affected us all in a way, because even myself, like, I live in one place and I have to work in another, you know, and then when it comes for, you know, contracts and, hey, we want to give you more days and a bigger role. Before that, I would have been like, yes, because my mentality would be, I'm doing this now so I can relax later and I can be with my family later. Now it's like, you know what? Keep an extra day. You know, I don't need it that bad because I want those. I want my three days a week or four days a week going home to my family. So I. But at the same time, I didn't lose the concept of I still got to work. I just don't. I just. You can. There's a balance, I think. To what. To your point, and I hate that phrase. It's an overshift to where my quality of life is is more important. But they're missing the key ingredient to quality of life is hard work and having a solid career in this country because you need to make money to enjoy the finer things in life. And in some people are able to live lower lives and live off everybody else. And for me, I couldn't live my life that way. It's not the way I'm wired. You know, you're the same way. And it's not a generation thing. It's a. It's a people thing. So I think it's true. We just. I'm hoping at some point you get a shift. I think you can have it. I think you can have it both ways. You just. You have to just. Your life's Going to be better when you roll up your sleeves and work.

[B]

I think the word is balance. You just said you figured out a balance for you now.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, I'm older than you. It took me a lot longer to figure out that balance. And I look back at those extra years, Tyrus, and it sucks that I, that I didn't have that balance then. You know, I used to go to China for three to five weeks to open hotels in Asia for Hyatt and Sheridan and companies like that. And my daughter was growing up then. She was 6, 7, 8 years old. I used to have her fax me her homework to my hotel in China. It would be five in the morning for me, would be five in the afternoon, afternoon for her. I'd have shoes and everything all over my desk to keep the curly paper in order. And I do my homework with her every night to at least have some kind of contact with her on a daily basis. Today I could FaceTime. And it's all.

[C]

Yeah, that's what I'm gonna say. Because I have an advantage. Because I don't know. I don't know what type of relationship I would have with my kids if I didn't have FaceTime. Because now in the wrestling world before my generation, the guys before me who were on the road 325 days a year, they were. They had a term called payphone, dad. They would drive to towns and get on a payphone and call their family for maybe for as long as, you know, they had change in their pocket or call and collect. And that was, you know, and you think about that and you're like, man. And a lot of them, the worst is they didn't have anything to show for it when it was done. And then you go home and you're a stranger, you know, And I think. And that's one of the things that I, even now, as much as I enjoying the success I've had in life and I've made it to where, you know, my daughter can jump horses and, you know, my wife can work from home and be with the. In homeschool and my son's on every traveling baseball team. My other daughter's in swim camp and et cetera, et cetera. My other daughter, was she still figuring it out? But. And everyone can kind of is living their own dream. But there are days when I get there and I feel like a stranger, you know, because. And, and it's a. It's a tough thing to give up. And you. I'm in. I'm in Another state, I'm an airplane away. If something goes wrong, you're on the other side of the world. Was there a moment where it looked like you were. It was either the career or family. Was there a time when you were like, because you're the best in your field, you're number one, and that's something. You're the guy that everybody wants, and you're making the best money and your recommendations mean something, but there's a family missing you all the time.

[B]

Yeah, I had a problem in that regard because I could never quite replace myself. Tyrus. No matter who my clients were before tv, they wanted to. So, sure, I had great support teams around me and great employees and, you know, but I could never send somebody in to feel it like I do, for lack of a better term. You know, sure, I can get them to check the boxes. Is the labor cost this percentage? Do they have these products? That's all easy. But there's a feeling, there's an intuitiveness. There's something special. My team uses the term savant. I think that's a little too flattering for me. But there's a gut feeling that you have a.

[C]

When you walk into a ring for

[B]

wrestling, there's a gut feeling that you have, and it's very intuitive, too, when you're in that game. Well, my game is sort of equally as intuitive, and it's sometimes moving just as quickly.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Because I'm known for my quick whip. You know, he never writes his jokes. He's in the chair. You never know what he's going to say, you know, But I can't. I can't teach that. No, it's.

[D]

It.

[C]

You know, I couldn't say, like, hey, I'm going to be out next week, but I'm. Have somebody come in and I'm going to tell them how to hit jokes. My. You just. Or how I'm going to answer things. It's not the. The, you know, we're feeling how Greg's. Where Greg's at, Cat's at. Because I'm the anchor. I'm the guy who brings it home. If somebody strays off, like, I got to bring him. So I. I completely understand that. And another. The difference is, though, if I. My mistakes affected me and my TV time. Your mistakes affects an industry. So if you say, hey, I'm going to send my trusted assistant and they drop the ball, they're not going to say, oh, no, no, Taffer, that's fine. It was your assistant. It wasn't you. They're going to be like, you screwed me over, you know, so. And it has a trickle down effect because now they got to fire employees. Their, their business goes up, you know, and then so it's a lot of pressure because you, you're having to save communities and a lot of, you know what I'm saying? It's a restaurant or restaurants, businesses, hotels. That's community. There's, there's hundreds of people, thousands of people in some cases who are relying on you to fix their problems or make their life better to where they can get better races. They have clientele, they get the five star rating. So that's a lot of pressure.

[B]

Yeah, it is. And, and you're always good as your last project. Yeah, you know, most of them. Bar rescue. You see the independence bar side of me, my actual consulting practice became very corporate. You know, my clients were people like Ritz Carlton, Hyatt Hotels, Sheridan Hotels, TGI Fridays, Buffalo Wild Wings, companies like that were all my clients. And in that world, if you screw up, it travels pretty quickly.

[C]

Yeah, that's also a challenge though, because

[B]

imagine this, corporate sends me into a, let's say a Hyatt hotel. And I walk in, in a gym sitting like this. Why are you here?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So they're against me. Before I start. They don't want to show me anything. They think I'm going to be a tattletale. I'm going to call corporate. So it was, it was a difficult way to figure it out. Here's what I used to do. I used to look at the management team and I would say, here's the deal. If this fails, you blame me. That caffer blew this.

[C]

Right?

[B]

But if it's successful, it's you, man. So you can't go wrong. My failure, your success. And I would figure out a way to crack through those things and work together successfully. But trust was everything, Tyrus.

[C]

Well, you're only as good as your word. And I, I, I believe that. And it doesn't matter. I know it's an old saying, you know, but if people can depend on you or when they're in moments of, of struggle, you know, you have a manager who's just not getting it right. And you can't help him if he doesn't tell you what his strengths are, but, or most importantly, his weaknesses, where other people will tell you what he sucks at. And then he's defensive and then he's like, well, that person is the problem. Now you're dealing with a whole. I need you to be able to look me in the Eye and say, hey, man, I don't know why I'm not able to save money on the orders. You know, I don't know why that I keep over ordering from Cisco or whatever the situation is, or the hospitality. We keep having so many guest complaints, you know, because the hotel industry, again, another one that since the pandemic has, has not been the same, you know, to the point where my family, we're considering getting an RV instead of saying, and I've got, you know, we stay at the Ritz, but I, I find myself more comfortable at a Holiday Inn Express, you know.

[B]

You know, it's funny that you say that because I, I do have a bus for that reason. And you know, after the pandemic, I would call the GM of the Ritz Carlton of the Four Seasons or wherever I'm at now and say, hey, listen, guys, when do you become a Ritz Carlton again? Yeah, when do I get like China? When do I get my full room service again? When do things normalize? And it almost seems like the industry, I'm not picking on one brand and

[C]

one, it's across the board because.

[B]

Yeah, across the board, but the industry almost used it as an excuse a little too long. Tyrus.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Rather than jumping back into the game, they all figured out, maybe I don't have to jump in, maybe I don't need to do. Maybe I can. I mean, I'm in a five star hotel eating my eggs out of a cardboard box. You know exactly what I'm saying?

[C]

Because here's the, and here's the thing.

[A]

Now

[C]

my wife likes the finer things. Let's just, just say that. And, and she puts up with me, so I feel like it's a fair trade off. Okay. All right, sweetheart, you want to stay at the Ritz Carlton, fine, no problem. But she has allergies. And as she's gotten older, not very old, but as she's, you know, you know, she's 30, 10. And some change, a lot of change. And you would call ahead and be like, you know, I'm allergic to dogs, I'm allergic to perfumes. And, and I would like to make sure that I don't have. And she uses a specific soap. And, and so please don't, you know, the bedspreads, the pillows, like all those things. If you could make sure it's unscented. And the answer is, oh, yes, absolutely perfect. Like no air fresheners in the room, Febreze. And the more that we research, we know that all those perfume chemicals are horrible for you. They're really bad and being autistic, she'll pick up on that stuff immediately. So you call ahead and they always say, oh, perfect, and absolutely, we got you. Then you get to the hotel room, you walk in and it's nothing but perfume. And then now it's there. Then it's me calling down saying, hey, we called ahead about the perfume, soaps and the linens and things like that. Oh, no problem, no problem. We'll take care of it, we'll take care of it. We're so sorry. We're so sorry. We're so sorry. And then the next day, it's the same thing and the same thing. And then you get to the point where you're saying, I'm just going to go to Target and get pillows and blankets to stay at a place that's $3,000 a day or whatever the hell it is, you know, then, then the food comes and it's basically. I feel like every, every hotel now is like Cisco, you know, it's just. It's no longer the personal touch. And the answer is always, we're very sorry, we'll give. I don't want any more points. You know, and you just. It's a sad thing because if you go to the like, and then we'll be like, you know what, let's just go to a Holiday Inn. Because at least there, at 100 and whatever, 25 bucks a night, I'm not spending outrageous thing to hear, you know, room service, hey, we're allergic to onions and oils and stuff. And then you get the meal and half of it's right. And. Yeah, and it's not just one thing that it's across the board, the prices keep going up, the service has fallen down, and then when you have the audacity to say, hey, this is not what I'm paying for, it's, you're the problem. You become the feel guilty about it. Yeah. And I can remember it was not

[B]

like that, Tyrus, that that whole situation is connected to the problem we were talking about before with career versus, you know, private lives. And, and, and the turnover in a hotel industry is massive now. So you train these people and you train these people and, you know, pick Ritz Carlton. Ritz Carlton has a slogan that's an amazing slogan for their company, ladies and gentlemen. Serving ladies and gentlemen, yes.

[C]

Love Ritz Carlton. We used to go to Cayman Islands and that's where all my points are at Aruba.

[B]

With massive turnover, that culture is hard to reinforce. So the industry is struggling with that very Much. I want to tell you a great story if I can.

[C]

Oh, please. That's why I'm here. You want.

[B]

A few years ago, I found a common denominator of failure. You're going to love this. I'm in Detroit, Michigan. I'm rescuing a bar. It's my 120th episode of Bar Rescue. I've done 283 now. So this is years ago. And I look at the woman who owns this bar and I say, why are you failing now? I ask every owner that question on every episode. Tyrus. Sometimes it makes the final cut, sometimes it doesn't. But I always ask them the question. This woman looked me in the eyes and said, I'm failing because of the Euro in Greece. What? I'm failing because of the euro in Greece. Now, Detroit had a somewhat of a Greek population, but nothing significant enough to make that statement even close to valid. I go back to my hotel room that night and I think to myself, 120 episodes, I've asked 120 owners why they're failing. Not once, not one time did an owner say, I'm failing because of me. Were decisions that I made in every single case. Tyrus. They blame the government, competition, the weather, their employees. They're this, everything but them.

[C]

President Trump.

[B]

Then I realized, wow, I found a common denominator of failure. It's an excuse. Because what is an excuse? When you do something you shouldn't do, you got an excuse. When you did something you shouldn't have done, you got an excuse.

[C]

You're the victim.

[B]

So you up, you go home and you cuddle up in your excuse and you feel like a baby. It's complete. So that's when I wrote my book. Don't BS yourself. Cut the excuses that are holding you back. When I realized these owners going back to what we were talking about, you know, they come up with excuses not to act. An excuse never propels you. All an excuse ever does is stop you or paralyze you or slow you down. So after I wrote that book, I'm on this quest to eliminate excuses. My team can't use them. We can't use them. Let's own it. Let's just.

[C]

Trickability is sexy.

[B]

You lose a. You lose a fight. Piracy. You go back, you watch the videotape, and you own it.

[C]

Yeah. So why is ownership so hard? Is it victimhood is. So that's, I guess, goes back to the quality of life. Because if I'm fine, it's not me, it's society that's the problem.

[B]

You know, narcissistic thread that you were talking about.

[C]

Yeah. And. And I. One of the things that, like, I pride myself on is take I ownership. I think that's why I've been able to always pick myself up, because I don't have to look. You know, if I get knocked out or, you know, life kicks me in the face and I'm on the ground, I don't look for someone to talk about what happened to me. I'm like, I just got my ass kicked. I can't get it back. So I got to get up and I got to figure it out. It's on me. I should have ducked, you know, And. And that's not a brag. That's just when it's the fan. I don't look for who threw it. I look for how I'm going to clean it up and keep going, you know, And I thought that was a common thing. I didn't think that was a. And now it's. It's just easier to sit down, and it's not. You have to understand. And the same people. And I bet you get this with some of those owners you deal with when you give them a solution or try to. Well, I would do that, but you have to understand, as soon as I do that and they make a scenario up, we're like, hey, you need to talk to your wife. Let's say your wife is drinking your profits. Yeah, your wife is drinking your profits away. You have to not allow people who work for you to be able to eat or drink while they're on the clock. Okay? You're not singling out her. You're just saying, like, this is how we're going to solve this. If you are working, you cannot eat while you're on the clock or drink while you're on the clock or drink during business hours. Well, if I do that, the first thing she's going to do is she's going to blame me, and she's going to come after me, and then I'm going to be yelling and screaming, and then it's just going to do it anyways. So, you know, and you're like, do you want a solution or do you want to be here? That drives me insane. And you deal with that in the beginning. Is that, like, day one, the biggest thing is all the reasons why. And you're saying, well, if you didn't have a dirty kitchen, people wouldn't be disgusted by your food. Well, you have to understand.

[B]

You know, it's interesting. When I went to college, I Studied cultural anthropology, and I was really into the study of primates. Right. Gorilla society.

[C]

Oh, I'm obsessed with it. That's all. I watch Netflix.

[B]

We gotta have a sandwich over that one.

[C]

I watch Chimp Empire every night in my hotel room before, because I'm always finding somebody new. Right. Now, my guy who I watch is Abrams, the young guy who's trying to come up in the thing. But I watch the manipulation because you don't need word. And that's how you read people. And people like. Well, no, no, no. Facial expressions, body posture, eye contact. I watch them because they do it like we do. The difference is that we don't put a bunch. They don't put a bunch of words in front of it.

[B]

That's right. But, you know, we are primal, too.

[C]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Thousand percent.

[B]

You know, if I did something to you, your initial reaction is going to be primal. You might get defensive, you might get aggressive. You might get. You know, you're going to land somewhere.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Then what happens is, in a split second, you're going to reassess where you want to be, not where you are.

[C]

Yes.

[B]

Then you're going to verbalize where you want to be. That's why the word but is so important. You know, I should have won that fight, but it's because of that referee.

[C]

Yes.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Ref screwed me. You know, my wife. My wife kept me on the phone all night, and someone says, well, why didn't you hang up? Well, if I hung up, then she'd just call back. Well, then I guess, sir, you're done. I guess that's it, then. We're done. Here, give me your gloves. You know, is that the. Which. Which day is the hardest day for you? Is it the. Is when you first get to a client or when you're leaving?

[B]

Recon is tough. You know, keep in mind, I'm walking into their domain.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And I'm going to rip them to shreds, probably in front of their employees, in front of their spouse. I like doing it in front of the spouse. You want to talk about accountability?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

When he goes home that night, he's going to hear it from his spouse. And I almost get the spouse to reinforce what I'm doing right ways. So she pounds him at home. I'll pound them all day. Because, again, I'm focused on changing the way he thinks. You know, Tyrus, I can build bars all freaking day long. You know that.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

And program and do the demographic research, and that's easy. Changing them is really, really, really hard. And you know, I've done things like taking a picture. Imagine if you were an alcoholic, and I took a picture of one of your kids and glued it to the bottom of the glass that you use. So every time you go to drink, you stare at their face. I mean, the things that I try to do to jog their behavior and change their behavior is my biggest challenge. But I go back to primally. Where are they? Where do they land? Are they a good guy in trouble? Are they an asshole? And then if they're an asshole, why do I want to help this guy?

[C]

Yeah, because I'm wondering, is there. When you meet somebody, has there been a. I'm sure there has, but the cases where you're just like, there's nothing I can do for it to help this individual.

[B]

There's three times I've actually walked out in bar rescue. One of them was really famous. And you know what. What. What happened is I'm in the bar, I'm going through the process, and a guy is a real jerk to his employees. I mean, real obnoxious asshole. And my crew were watching one of his security videos, one of his discs, and he punched an employee in the face. We saw it on camera. And then I talked to an employee to go, yes, he's violent. Well, I want nothing to do with that. So we walked out. It's a famous episode. Never remodeled the bar.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

And the guy wound up going to jail a year or two later for harassment. And there's two others that I've walked out over the years. I can fix the bar. If I think they're detrimental to the people that work for them, I won't perpetuate that.

[C]

Yeah, and that's a. And that goes back to the. The ownership and accountability thing, because at the end of the day, if you were to say, okay, well, you know, we'll let it go, because this is going to be a great ratings episode. You know, kind of like the. The producer was like, hey, if we put a tampon with ketchup in the bathroom, you know, everyone's gonna. We're gonna get a great moment on TV when somebody screams or, you know what? And to be like, that's not important to me. Integrity is more important, because in the long run, integrity is gonna be the reason why I have 170 episodes. It's the reason why that, you know, every. Every network's like, hey, when's your contract up so we can get you. You know, integrity goes a long way. But the thing about integrity. And you can probably speak to this almost as better than I can is it's not something that you get overnight.

[B]

Oh, you have to prove yourself in this world in every aspect of it. But, you know, integrity. In the beginning of this, I decide I am not going to lie to my audience, period. End of discussion. So I never have, I've never set up one scene. Nothing is scripted. There's no actors, there's no extras. It's real as real can be. And it's amazing that the network has been so supportive of, have made that. They spend all this money and it's not cheap to make an episode, as you know. We spend all this money. I. I travel with a crew of 57 people, five trucks. It's a big production.

[C]

In a lot of cases, you're remodeling an entire restaurant and then you're giving them tools that they couldn't possibly afford. The computer.

[B]

Almost every case we're doing that.

[C]

The lighting, I mean, and it's POS

[B]

systems, kitchen equipment, bar equipment, refrigeration, ice machines, signage.

[C]

Yeah. I mean a dance floor dj. I mean, I've. I've watched religiously, you know, Absolutely religiously. I have. When it's on a loop, it's. It'll be running in my hotel, you know, and, and the thing is like, it's never like, oh, I saw this one. It's always, oh, this is the one. You know, And I think that's something that you can't. I don't think you can write what you do. I don't think you could produce it.

[B]

No. You couldn't come up with the ideas and the things that happened. I mean, the things that I've seen are just remarkable. What an education I've had in human nature though, when you think about it, Tyrus guys like you and I, you know, normal in our normal world, we're taught everything about success. This is success. The steps, the words, the phrase, the this success. I've seen 283amazing failing businesses in the past 16 years. I've seen people your age, Tyrus, living in their parents basement. They already lost their house. They're about to lose their parents house. Their parents are 75 years old. They blew through their parents retirement and they're still open losing 20 grand. The guy's living in a basement on a mattress on the floor. The things that I have seen, the depth of failure that I have seen is just remarkable. I never knew this even existed, to be honest with you.

[C]

You know, what is it? Is it the inability to accept I'm Failing is it? I can turn around in a strange

[B]

way, they don't think they failed until it's closed. Because people see it open so publicly, they're succeeding.

[C]

Right.

[B]

That's why when I say close, that's the ultimate. When I say at three weeks, what are you going to say to your friends when you're closed? That's pretty powerful.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

What are you going to say to your wife when you're closed? Because you can fake it now, but you can't fake it when the lights go out. What are you going to say then? You got enough money for three weeks. I got to say heavy things to them to get them to accept any kind of change at all. And then, of course, they're failing. They're in debt a million dollars, and they're questioning me on everything.

[C]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Every dime. It's kind of like someone who posts a picture of him and his wife and then a beautiful. Every picture is. There is amazing smile. They're always at a wonderful dinner together, and they're just posting. Everyone's like, oh, they have a great marriage. But when they're not posting on the. Whatever it is, social media, they don't even speak to each other. But we're married because, look, it's up. I'm posting it, so we're great. And then the divorce, and everyone's like, what happened? You just posted that you guys were in love. Forever in love, you know, and it's. It's the kind of the same thing. It's like it goes back to the. I'm just gonna billboard my life for a while. As long as the lights are on in the restaurant, I'm fine. Not the fact that, like, people and I've been there, I've had. I've worked at bars where, you know, as a. As a bar, I did a bartender for a while, and a bartender. A lot of times you're a psychiatrist more than you're making drinks. And 90% of the time, one of the hardest days would be out there as owners, like, hey, look, we. We don't have vodka this week. And, you know, you're like, well, why don't we. Well, the order's off. And I was like, no, I made the order. I'm the man. And he's, no, no, no, it's because they. They won't release anything to us because you owe them $32,000. So now then you go out there and people like, hey, I'll have. Let me get a. You know, pretty much every basic drink, you know, I want a Bloody Mary. Oh, sorry, don't have that. Okay, well, I want that. I want to. Can I get a vodka Nori? Kid, don't have it. Cranberry. Sorry, don't have it. You know, and people are like, what do you have? And it's like apple whiskey. You know, there's not a lot you can miss with that.

[B]

And you see employees embarrassed by that. Yeah, that's on the employee, you know.

[C]

Yeah. Oh, please.

[B]

I'm running the Troubadour in Hollywood, California, and I'm a young guy. And when we ran the Troubadour, everybody drank and did whatever they wanted to do in the Troubadour. And when I took over the Troubadour, or the club was losing about $20,000 a month, I was brought in. It was my first management job. So I'm trying to clean this place up, and I take the receipts from the day and I put them in a floor safe. And I got to come back at 8 in the morning. Now I'm leaving at 4 in the morning. I got to come back at 8 in the morning to get the liquor delivery. So I come back at 8 in the morning, I open the floor safe, the cash is gone. The owner came and took the cash and packed it up his nose. This is the late 70s, early 80s. Now I can't get any liquor for anybody. So now every night I put the money in a safe to get the liquor. The next day, the owner takes the money out and puts it up his nose. So I started taking the money home. Got into a huge fight with the owner. But he loved me, he didn't fire me or anything. And I started taking the money home and I saved the frickin Troubadour. In those days, it was pretty much about to close. That's how I got in the bar business. I was in music booking and stuff, booking bands and things. And I'm sitting with the owner of the Troubadour, Doug Weston, a genius sitting with him in a booking calendar. And one day he looks at me, goes, take this place, I don't want it. And he threw the keys to me. And the next day I was in a nightclub business, writing. Probably the most famous nightclub in the world.

[C]

When are you gonna have a movie?

[B]

That would be fun, wouldn't it?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Gonna play me?

[C]

Oh,

[B]

Tim Robinson.

[C]

Yeah. I would have said before he lost his mind. A young De Niro.

[B]

But she lost his mind.

[C]

Yeah. But you know, before he, you know, he got tds. But it would have to be pesci's. Too short. But that mentality that they play at characters, you know, with just the.

[B]

When my daughter was young, all her friends used to say, because I wear a pinky ring, all her friends used to say, your father looks like a mobster.

[C]

Oh, yeah, everyone. Yeah. Well, and you. I don't know if it's the east coast mentality. It's just you, You. You have a way. You talk direct, and that's something that, for some reason in Hollywood, you have to be a master criminal in a movie to speak directly. You notice the. The guy who you care the most because you're not feeling. To your. Your book's point. You're not filling the conversation with. You're looking somebody dead in the eye and saying, you're failing, and I want to help you. And here's your choices. And the only time you see that is in the Godfather, where Michael sits down and he says, like, you're going to sell me the bar. You're going to do this. Here's your choice. I'm making an offer you can't refuse that is always portrayed as villainous, but that is the most honest, genuine thing you can do for a person. That's what the hero should be saying.

[A]

Yes.

[C]

Because you don't. I think the reason why I respect you and I'm such a big fan, is you have passion in what you do, but in your actions to do it. Feelings are not involved in the process. In terms of getting the results, you're not going to say, I don't want to hurt his feelings. So I'm not going to tell him his wife is diddling the waiter and doing this and doing that and spending money on using company profits to buy minks. And I'm. I. I don't. I don't want to get involved.

[B]

Oh, I will jump right in the

[C]

middle of it because I came here to do a job and I'm going to do it. And I. And I'm sorry your feelings are hurt, but that your feelings do not matter when it comes to getting the results that we need. And it's not. And automatically just saying that the pushback would be like, well, that's mean. No, no, no. That's life. And that's the best friend that I have. The reason why I have a small circle of best friends is because it didn't matter what I had going on if I was up. You'd be like, hey, great, man. You're the best guy on television. But when's the last time you called your wife you know, like, what's going on with your family? Like, you know, like. Or, hey, man, you know, don't go out so much. You know, those are your real friends. Like, you're gonna lose this if you don't do that. A friend who's just. I'm just here with you, buddy. That's not a friend. They're worried about their quality of life at your expense.

[B]

Well, think about this. I'm dropped in. This guy's house is on the line. He's lost one of two cars. He's in debt hundreds of thousands of dollars. His wife is ready to leave him. His kids don't respect him. Now I'm dropped in this situation and I've got to fix these things and I got to fix it all because he can't go to work and run a bar if he thinks his wife isn't behind him either, right? So I got a lot of things I got to deal with. I got to get his kid involved in a business. I got to turn this whole fricking thing around. It's very, very difficult and it's taken a lot of episodes to get good at it. Now I got to tell you, I'm really good at it. And the ultimate compliment comes to me who's somebody who's become a very, very good friend the past 10 years, is Dr. Phil. Dr. Phil loves bar rescue and thinks that that calls me the king of tension television. But he loves the way I deal with their personal, personal problems, which is very flattering to me because I'm not trained professionally in it. I'm just.

[C]

Well, you're trained in life. Yeah, like you, I think, I think because I would say the exact same thing. I. Because you also, a lot of times when you're speaking to people plainly and tell it like it is, people at home have similar issues. Maybe it has nothing to do with a restaurant, but relationship wise or communicating with, with a loved one, there's, I think that's the, the, the ingredients that makes your show so differently because you personally take things away. It has nothing. At the end of the day, it's less about the restaurant and more about human interaction and how I relate because I will see things where, like, you get so caught up in your own stuff and I'm like, well, my wife's always, she's always nagging at me or she doesn't listen to me. And then when you're watching a show where you're seeing the both sides of it and you think, oh man, am I doing that too? You Know, like you, that's just an example, but I think that's why. And the word rescue. And you fix relationships which then ultimately lead to prosperity. And I think that's what makes you different.

[B]

I also like to think I put honesty back in their relationship.

[C]

Yeah. Because that's the only way you fix things is being honest. You can't.

[B]

I put the honesty on the table. Now they gotta deal with it and support each other and get through this. And, you know, it's easy to take them through that process when there's an objective. And the objective is to make money and win and have a retirement and all of these things. But, you know what's funny is at the end of the episode, you know, I get that hug and we're wearing microphones on our chest, so you can't hear what they say to me when I get those hugs. Tyrus. It's amazing the things they say. John, you saved my marriage. My children respect me. Me again, you know, the father I never had. Thank you. Thank you. The things they say to me and the ones that fight me the hardest, Tyrus, are the ones that hug me the tightest.

[C]

Yep. I remember the. Was the rancher that had the restaurant and he was. He was so a cowboy. He was so arrogant and he had. He wanted to fight you and he. All this other.

[D]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

And, you know, and then you just broke it down to him. And then at the end of the. I think. I think he cried too when he hugged you because, you know, he had to make some tough life decisions I don't think he would have made. He had too much going on. And, you know, he had to make some tough decisions. And he put the family first. And the brought. He decided to bring the family and get the wife a bigger role, if I remember the episode correctly. And then, you know, there was.

[B]

Still doing very, very well.

[C]

Yep.

[B]

Chilean's on 17 in Arizona still doing very well.

[C]

Yep. And. And I always liked that because he was such a macho guy, you know, and he's a real cowboy. You allowed him to humble himself. You didn't humble him. You just put it out there and gave. Because that's the difference. You humble the guy, you. You punk the bully, you leave. The bully's gonna look around and be the bully again. So that's the. That's the art form that you have, because you have to convince them or they have to convince themselves that they are. They have to humble themselves because that's change. And if you have change, then good things happen, you know, and so that's why I tune in and episode comes to mind. Yeah, you know, it's an episode.

[B]

There was an owner, I can't remember where or what, maybe 10 years ago. It was an episode of the owner just disgraced his employees publicly. I mean, just terribly. So I walked into the. The bar, I threw a drink in the owner's face, made him lay on the floor and kiss the floor, and I had the employees put their feet up on them. And I said, now, how do you like it when it's done to you? Sometimes when they're degrading of their employees, I just want to let them feel much more degrading themselves because when you feel it, you might not do it again. So I love those episodes when I get to rub their face in it.

[C]

Right. And again, you're not picking on them, you're helping them, because some people don't. Well, I'm not doing it. They made me do it. You know that you hear that a lot. You made me mad or you're making me mad or you're making. No, no, no. I'm telling you the truth and you don't want to hear it. There's a difference. And again, I don't think I have to tell anyone on my podcast where to find Bart Rescue, because it is everywhere. It's one of the best solid shows on tv. It's one of the shows that I don't mind my 14 year olds watching because it gets intense, but it's. I want them to see. Life can be intense, you know, and it comes from a place where hard times, you got to hear hard words and you got to hear hard messages. And I. It's one of the things on TV where I think, where you don't have to say, hey, what did we learn today? I think you really learn about people and yourself and also when you're watching them, see who you most identify with. You know, and I always, and I think a lot of the things you, you also deal with in dealing with restaurants and bars is how substance abuse can ruin families if it's not dealt with. That has been a lot of episodes where it's been the drinking. The owner's sitting at the bar drinking more than the. In the bartender, you know, he's talking to the bartender. Bartender can't do his job and the family's all enabling him. And I know you deal with a lot of. And that's one of the things where when you have a show or you have a client that you're working with who has the substance issues. Do you guys also help them life after? Like, hey, you need to double.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[B]

Anytime. We've had those issues in bar rescue, I've always left them with a counselor.

[C]

And it's important that people know that because that's great.

[B]

Oh, absolutely. In every case we've done that, sometimes the counselor actually comes on the episode and I make it seen. But in every case we do that. Now, I'm not going to leave somebody in a bad spot. Remember, when I leave, they're still surrounded by booze.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

So we need to do something to help them through those. And we. And we do that quite responsibly, I might add.

[C]

Yeah, that's one. And like I said, that's one of the things that I think makes you a lot different because most TV shows, when it's credits up, I'm out, it falls tomorrow, don't care, we got the episode. But then again, you wouldn't be you. And it's funny because you're considered the. One of the most in your face guys on television, but I don't think anyone has a bigger heart than you do, sir.

[B]

Thank you, buddy. I appreciate that, Tyrus.

[C]

And before I let you go, because I actually myself have a little rescue situation and I was hoping you could help me today. I've got my B team, Harry, and I think is Ryan. Did Ryan make it? Yeah, I. I've taken on some patagons or assistants, whatever you want to call it. Teach them the game, you know, and one asks the world's longest questions, which is Ryan. He cannot ask a question that is not five paragraphs. And. And then there's Harry. He's a lovable guy and he's just strange. And I just. Maybe if you could just. I want to ask you a couple questions and maybe you could get some. Some words of encouragement and, and if you. Maybe I need to make a change. But you could. And I would really appreciate your expertise on, on them if you have time. Okay. All right, let's bring Harry. Will, come in, please. Don't trip on the door or anything.

[E]

Yes, sir.

[C]

All right. And Ryan. And Ryan is flying down the hallway, so I'm going to switch out, let these guys in. And again, feel free. They might need some tough love.

[E]

Hi, John.

[B]

Hi, how are you?

[E]

I'm Harry. It's a pleasure to be here with you.

[B]

Nice to meet you, Harry. So why did Tyrus say you're strange?

[E]

I don't know. I don't know. Maybe you could figure that out by the end of Our quick conversation today.

[B]

Okay? Who's with you?

[D]

What's up, John? I'm Ryan.

[E]

This is Ryan.

[B]

Ryan, is Harry strange?

[D]

There's a lot wrong with them, but it's all right. I'm the straightforward guy, so be straightforward with me.

[B]

Is Harry strange?

[D]

Yes. Very, very strange.

[B]

In what way?

[D]

Well, I don't know if he just gets it. He just think of it like the bartender who can't give you a soda. That's what Harry's like. You ask Harry, can I have.

[B]

Soda? Is the easiest drink in the world. So you tell him, I'm making a

[D]

very clear point here. Hey, can I have a diet soda? And Harry gives you chocolate milk. So that's Harry.

[B]

So, Harry, how do you feel when he says that?

[E]

John, what are the ingredients in a Tito's and soda?

[B]

Tito and soda.

[D]

All right. That's a great question. I got a real question for you, John.

[B]

Okay, so in other words, Harry's not going to answer my question because it's too difficult for him to. To face the reality of the situation of which he is in.

[D]

Yes, essentially, Harry.

[B]

So this is where we're at, buddy. You're not going to. You're not going to have any meaningful dialogue with me here.

[E]

You want to get deep? We can get deep.

[B]

Let's get deep. How is it working for Tyrus?

[E]

Tyrus. Where do I start? Tyrus?

[B]

Start by answering my question without three paragraphs.

[E]

He doesn't like to hang out after work.

[B]

So you like to hang out after work?

[E]

No, I'm always working. I'm working right now.

[B]

Okay, well, don't you think he works hard? Don't you think he should go to his family, too?

[E]

Yes, absolutely.

[D]

All right, this is a little straight for Harry. I'll ask you a question, John. What do you think? Bar owners and restaurant owners, what do you think the biggest mistake they're making is without even realizing they're making it?

[B]

Having people like Harry work for you who you don't think is doing a good job, but he still works for you anyway.

[D]

That's a really good.

[B]

So I asked you a question, and I'm not trying to. Do you guys have standards? Do you have standards? Are you supposed to do a certain amount of output every day? You're supposed to be correct in the decisions that you make. You're supposed to hit a budget. I mean, what are the performance characteristics that you have there? And either an employee achieves that performance standard or they don't.

[E]

Right?

[B]

I know we're kidding around here, Harry. Obviously you think so you're playing a role right now, and I'm not sure if this is real at all, but if in fact it was, then the question would be, how can you be great if you have people working for you that are substandard and you do nothing about it?

[D]

Yeah. It's actually crazy watching your show after all of these years, seeing. Because I worked in a restaurant, in a bar, when I was in high school and college, I wanted to go to culinary school. So I was very into the industry. And it's kind of crazy seeing the kind of people that are like Harry. No pun intended. Sorry, buddy. That.

[B]

So, Ryan, what are your shortcomings at work? If I were to ask Tyrus, what are your shortcomings, what would he say?

[D]

If you were to ask Tyrus about my shortcomings, I ask long questions. I don't stop talking.

[B]

So you're a waste of time.

[D]

Yeah. Yeah, I guess I'm a waste of time. Yeah.

[B]

What else would he say?

[D]

My parents said the same thing. That was a waste of time.

[B]

What else would he say?

[D]

I've bad sports taste. Yeah. I see you're a Vegas Knights fan. I'm an Islanders fan. So I guess. Bad sports taste.

[B]

I got bad sports taste for the Islanders.

[D]

Go ahead, Harry. You have any questions for John? Any other questions?

[B]

Harry, after this conversation, does anything change at your job? What?

[E]

I'm going to set my standards higher. I'm going to be okay with the fact that maybe Tyrus doesn't want to hang out with me after work because he needs to be with his family. And I'll make new friends, which I struggle doing sometimes. But I have a question for you.

[B]

Okay.

[E]

About a debate that we have in the office. It's a food question. You're a New York guy. I know you value the breakfast sandwich.

[B]

I do.

[E]

As a delivery mechanism for a breakfast sandwich, whether it's a bacon, egg and cheese, a sausage, egg and cheese, a Taylor ham, egg and cheese. What is more of an acceptable order? A bagel or Kaiser roll.

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Kaiser roll. Way to go, John.

[E]

Why is that?

[B]

Now, you don't want an overly toasted or too firm a Kaiser roll. You don't want it to break, so you want a sort of a soft Kaiser roll. The classic say egg sandwich goes on the Kaiser roll. That's just the way it is.

[E]

I couldn't agree more.

[D]

All right. That's a great question to ask.

[E]

Oh, I had a question about when you were on the weird Brain show on barstool.

[B]

Okay.

[E]

Have you stayed in touch with Any of those businesses that you invested in. And what business seemed like the most, you know, clear cut, mission driven?

[B]

You know, the, the B12 inhaler I invested in, I thought that was pretty cool, but they, they just never quite got it together, so it sort of fell apart. But remember, it looked like a cigarette inhaler.

[E]

Yeah.

[B]

But it was B12 and it was pretty cool. It worked. You could actually feel it, gave you a little energy, but they could never get it off the ground. Guys, having a great idea and having the money doesn't mean you're going to get there. It takes a lot of work to get there.

[D]

What would you say in all your years of rescuing bars, whether it's a trend or something, specifically, what would you say is the hardest moment that you had while trying to rescue one of them?

[B]

You know, I think the hardest moments that you have is it's always personal, guys. It isn't business. We can fix the business things. Ryan. So, you know, it's more the. That guy who's crying in a corner. You know, he's 55 years old, his family, his house is on the line. He's crying in the corner, but that's heavy duty. Or the wife is crying, pulls me aside and is crying to me that they're going down the tubes and her husband's doing nothing but drinking. And, you know, these are people in serious, serious personal crisis. That's why I'm so aggressive when I get there, guys. I mean, they just need that aggression. I'm only there four days, which probably

[D]

makes it more rewarding in the end when you're able to help recover the business. And those people that were having those hard times now have at least a path forward to brighter days. Right?

[B]

Yeah. In essence, Ryan, I've given them hope.

[D]

Right, Exactly.

[B]

And the tools to achieve it. And the tools to achieve it.

[D]

And you did mention something in your answer. You said, when you can get angry. So I did have a question. You've had a lot of angry, angry moments over the years, and I love watching them. I think you have 30 minute videos on YouTube of all your angriest moments. But if you had to say and pick one, is there anything that you can remember as the one time that you were the most pissed off?

[B]

I've never been asked that question before, Ryan. Touchet.

[D]

That's why they bring me in, Harry.

[B]

You know, there was a guy in Denver who pushed. Remember he called my chef fat boy.

[D]

Yes.

[B]

And he pushed my chef. And we got into a bit of an altercation that one Comes to mind. There was another one when we did the firehouse in Queens, New York. And the brother Jimmy, who's really tall, much taller than I am, behind the bar. I'm gonna fire you. And we would face to face like this. That was a pretty intense moment. But I'm going to guess the one with fat boy might be one of the more intense fights that we've had. By the way, those first 10 years or so, I had no security on set.

[D]

Really?

[B]

Never security on set till the past couple years.

[D]

Wow, that's crazy. You have something else, Harry?

[E]

That's all that I have for.

[D]

All right, I got one question. One last question for anyone. Listen, I was. I came down here, Harry, to conduct an interview with a legend, and you came down to ask him what he likes on his breakfast sandwich.

[E]

That's all I asked him.

[D]

The last question. Is anyone that's watching this video, specifically a business owner that's struggling, Is there any advice that you can give to them right now before they hit the level of needing someone like you to come in and fix things?

[B]

Yeah. Well, there are certain metrics that every business has. What is the labor cost? What is the product cost? What is the rent? What kind of revenue level do you need? For example, in a bar business, Ryan, that. That occupancy cost can't exceed 10% of revenue. So if my space cost me $40 a foot, I have to do $40,000.

[D]

Yeah, right.

[B]

$400. Right. I have to do $40,0000 in sales. So there's certain ratios and metrics that a business has that. That will tell you if you're successful or not. What. At those metrics and react to them, because that's what I'm going to do.

[D]

Yeah, that's. That's great advice. And, John, you're a living legend, and I hope you keep doing what you're doing. Love watching for you guys. Yeah.

[B]

Harris is your boss. What could he do to be a better boss? Could he train you more?

[D]

He could train Harry for sure.

[B]

You don't need any training.

[C]

Right.

[D]

He'll put up the checkbook. Harry would probably say sleepovers, but maybe. Maybe just some more, like, friendliness to us in the hallway instead of, like, growling at us, maybe like, hey, you know, nice job today. You know, I like your outfit. I like your shirt instead of. What are you looking at? Get away. You know?

[E]

Yeah.

[D]

What would you say, Harry?

[B]

Ah, so you're one of those positive reinforcement guys. You need that pat in the back.

[D]

I don't need the pat on the Back. But it's nice that you don't feel threatened every single second of the day.

[E]

So you were. John was talking about earlier in this episode when everyone. Our generation always needs so many pats on the back.

[D]

Oh, I don't see.

[E]

I was actually gonna say less positive reinforcement.

[D]

John, you don't need. Our generation needs to struggle. Genuinely, I believe that. I think our generation needs to get a work ethic. And if you keep patting them on the back for every single thing that they do, they're not gonna get anywhere because you're.

[B]

Okay, now we're getting somewhere.

[D]

You're lowering their bar by giving him that positive reinforcement. You're lowering the bar.

[B]

Can we get Tyrus in here for a minute?

[D]

Can we get Tyrus in here? Tyrus is. He's probably trading horses somewhere. He's a big horse guy. I know.

[C]

Anyway.

[D]

Oh, God, he's coming back.

[E]

So he'll sit in this chair and I'll sit behind him.

[B]

All right, my brother. You ready?

[C]

Yeah. Mr. Taver, are we saving this assessment?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Ryan thinks he's hot.

[C]

I'm not sure he is interrupting a legend. And by the way, you kept calling him John. I call him Mr. Taffer. So.

[D]

Next?

[C]

Yeah, go ahead.

[B]

Harry accepts being substandard, and it doesn't seem to bother him.

[C]

Yeah. You're good with low bars.

[E]

Oh, yes.

[C]

Pardon the pun.

[B]

When I asked them, you know, what could they think that their generation needs to struggle more? Tyrus.

[A]

Oh.

[B]

So I think you as an employer need to put things on their desk that caused them to struggle a little more.

[C]

Oh, cool. You guys gonna start doing all your interviews from the subway?

[D]

I will get stabbed if I go in the subway by myself.

[C]

I will know. Harry will be with you.

[D]

Harry will probably start being the one talking to himself on the subway. I will be murdered,

[C]

Mr. Taffert, or

[B]

you'll talk him to death. One of the two, Ryan.

[E]

Yeah.

[C]

The head. It goes on both ears.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

Hold on.

[B]

I'll take them.

[C]

It's all right. He doesn't need it.

[D]

All right, Mr. Taffer, thank you. Everything was great. Pleasure taking the time to meet with us.

[C]

May I say goodbye now? Thank you. Yeah. Wow. Again, I don't know if I'm gonna save this bar or burn it down, but. Always a pleasure, Mr. Taffer. And you gotta be scheduled soon for Gutfeld. I know you're a busy man, but you gotta come back and visit us. There's no.

[B]

I'll be up soon.

[C]

Awesome. And maybe.

[B]

And I'm get you on bar rescue.

[C]

Yes. Yes, we're gonna definitely make that happen.

[B]

And by the way, we should talk. You know why I'm sitting in my house right now in Wellington, Florida.

[C]

That's ridiculous. You were named.

[B]

I know.

[C]

And I'm. I'm there. My daughter jumps, like, every other weekend there.

[B]

I know.

[C]

Yeah, we definitely need to have you. We need to grab dinner or something.

[B]

I'd love to come see her jump. I have seats.

[C]

Oh, yeah, we'll have to do. At the table. That would love that. That would be amazing.

[B]

Excellent. Great. Well, we'll change numbers and make that happen.

[C]

Yes, sir.

[B]

All right, great.

[E]

Thank you.