🍸 Is This Costing You Thousands Of Dollars?

Brandon’s system stops it without hurting service.

August 13, 2025

This week, Brandon’s tackling something most owners don’t realize they’re bleeding money from:

Your team’s bad habits around waste and missed charges.

  • Sodas that never make it to the POS.

  • Napkins handed out like flyers.

  • Sauces comped “to get a better tip.”

These little things add up to thousands of dollars.

Here’s how to fix it … with coaching, not chaos.

Watch the full video — or scroll for the breakdown. 👇

🎥 How to Audit for Profit
(Without Killing Culture)

You can watch the full video training on YouTube, or keep scrolling for a breakdown of Brandon’s lessons below.

🍸 Brandon’s No-BS Service Lesson:
Stop The Bleed: How To Coach Your Team Toward Profitability

Step 1: Audit Checks

Start randomly spot-checking receipts — especially with new hires.

Are sodas, sides, and sauces actually getting rung in? If not, it's costing you.

Let your team know you’ll be checking.

Give them a one-week grace period.

Then, hold the line.

And if you catch missed items?

Brandon puts it like this:

“You’re not writing them up to fire them. You’re writing them up because once they sign it, they’re a thousand times less likely to do it again.”

Write-ups aren’t about punishment; they’re about setting a standard that sticks.

Step 2: Talk About Waste

Use lineup to talk real numbers:

  • How much you spend per year on lemons

  • Napkin waste totals

  • What every ramekin costs you

If the business wins, they win too — more profits = better tools, training, resources, and opportunity.

Step 3: Reframe It — Be the Hero

Over-serving by default is lazy.

Train your team to serve just enough, then watch and wow.

  • Ask: “How many lemons would you like?”

  • Drop fewer napkins, then bring more right before they’re needed

  • Notice the guest needs more sauce before they ask

Brandon explains it like this:

“Most restaurants just throw extra stuff at the table. We read the guest, then deliver exactly what they need — at the perfect time.”

That’s how you reduce waste and create a 5-star experience.

TL;DR Coaching Game Plan:

  • âś… Audit for missed charges

  • âś… Teach where waste happens

  • âś… Use write-ups to reinforce, not punish

  • âś… Encourage anticipation over excess

  • âś… Tie profitability to guest satisfaction

Free TRL August Masterclass:
Turn Chaos Into Consistency 🍽️🥷

On Tuesday, August 26th, we will be hosting a free LIVE masterclass breaking down:

  • Why most sequence training fails—and how to create one that your team actually follows

  • The 7 critical touchpoints in a perfect service sequence that maximize sales and guest satisfaction

  • How to coach your team on execution without micromanaging.

  • How to fix broken sequences in real time—and turn “order takers” into hospitality pros

  • The secret to making upsells natural, so your servers sound confident (not pushy)

🚀 Tactical Reminders:

Our Last Three Lessons:

  • 5 Ways Great Service Boosts Sales: Read More.

  • How to Handle Staff Phones (Without Drama): Read More.

  • This 7-Step Service Flow Boosts Sales Fast: Read More.

You can read the rest of the past lessons here.

Mike Romaine

Chief Email Ninja at The Restaurant Launch (TRL)

PS — If you’re ready to get started with our team, you can also book a call to see how we’re able to guarantee results.