Happy Friday, Hospitality Heroes.

This week, Brandon and Jess are breaking down how to actually train your new hires.

Not "shadow someone for a few days and figure it out."

A real format you can implement immediately.

👉 The new hire training format every restaurant should be using.

If your answer to "what's your ongoing training?" is "we don't really have one" … you're not alone. But it's costing you.

Here's what changes when you fix it:

✅ New hires who are actually ready to take their own tables
✅ Less guest complaints in the first month
✅ A culture where it's cool to care

Watch the full video here 👇

🎥 Steal This New Hire Training Format

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

🍸 Jess & Brandon’s No-BS Service Lesson:
Steal This Training Format For New Hires

Let's be real:

Most restaurants don't have a real training program for new hires.

They have a few shadow shifts, maybe a wine rep comes in, and then it's:

• "They'll figure it out."

• "If they're good, they don't need as many days."

But "good" usually just means they have experience. It doesn't mean they know your menu, your culture, or how you want things done.

The "they'll figure it out" mentality isn't working anymore. You have to figure it out with them.

Here's the format.

🍸 Start With This

✅ 1 – Build a Day One sheet.

What are the questions your guests ask 500 times a week? Your sodas, your side items, your desserts, your beer list, what happens when someone orders a burger. All of it should be on one sheet that every trainee learns before their first day.

Right now, most trainees are getting to day four and can't name your sodas. That's a Day One problem.

✅ 2 – Every day is pass or repeat.

Set three to five days of training. Each day has a small written test and verbal coaching throughout the shift. They either pass the day or repeat it. And repeating is normal, not a punishment.

You'd way rather they make a mistake on day three than get a guest complaint in three weeks. And the question that decides if they're ready? Would the guest experience suffer if I wasn't with you anymore?

✅ 3 – Pick the right trainers. Not just the best servers.

Your best server is probably not your best trainer.

Most great servers are too Type A. They ring things in for the trainee, they do 90% of the work, and the new hire never learns.

You want the trainer who's warm, patient, empathetic. The one with a dad gene or a mom gene. And you should be shadowing your trainers too.

Watch how they interact. Have a dialogue with them after the shift about how it went.

🍸 3 Quick Wins You Can Try Tonight:

1️⃣ Require 10 questions a day from every trainee.

Too many trainees are waiting for you to teach them everything. Make it their job to come in with questions. At my last job we did this. How do you do it here? It shifts them from passive to active on day one.

2️⃣ Let them touch the glass on day one.

They have to talk to the table. They have to ring in the order. They have to mess up so you can teach them. If your trainers are doing everything for them, the trainees are learning nothing.

3️⃣ Don't stop training after day five.

For the first 30 to 60 days, a manager should be dropping checks, doing table visits, and coaching new hires on the floor. Not to catch mistakes. To make sure they have everything they need. There's no way someone becomes the server you want in five days. It's just not possible.

Training and hiring go hand in hand. The better your training program gets, the more clearly you see who's a fit and who's not.

And the culture you're building? It starts from the top. You can't expect your team to care if you're not showing them what caring looks like.

✅ A team that's always improving — not just getting older
✅ New hires who are ready, not just surviving
✅ A culture where continued education is the standard

🚀 Tactical Reminders:

Jess & Brandon’s Last Three Videos:

• Restaurants Are Running Pre-Shifts Completely Wrong: Watch now.

• 5 Things You Need To Teach Your Servers: Watch now.

• 3 Things That Are Killing Your BRAND REPUTATION: Watch now.

You can watch all the past lessons here.

Mike Romaine

Chief Email Ninja at The Restaurant Launch (TRL)

P.S. The restaurants we work with become the gold standard in their market.

• Servers carry themselves with confidence.

• Guests can’t stop talking about the experience.

• And the owner’s name? It carries weight.

If you want your place to be that restaurant, click here and let’s make it happen.