🍸 This 90-Day Fix Beats a 5-Year Resume

You don’t need more experience. You need this daily habit.

June 11, 2025

Happy Wednesday, Hospitality Heroes!

This week, Brandon’s breaking down one of the fastest, simplest ways to turn a new hire into a top-performing server:

👉 Ask more questions.

Daily. Intentionally.

It’s not sexy.

But it works — especially in the first 90 days.

✅ Faster knowledge retention
✅ Higher upsell confidence
✅ Better guest communication

Watch the full video here 👇

🎥 Build a 5-Year Server in 3 Months

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:
Train Faster By Asking Better Questions

Let’s be honest:

Most restaurant training programs fall apart after week one.

That’s when staff stop being coached and start just “figuring it out.”

But Brandon’s take?

If you want five-year results in three months, you need to ask your team better questions. 

Every. Single. Shift.

🍸 Start With This:

✅ 1 - Ask 5–20 questions every shift.

Start in training. Continue through month 3. Never really stop.

It’s low-effort, high-impact. And it builds the muscle memory your team needs to perform under pressure.

✅ 2 - Cover both service and sales.

Don't just quiz the menu.

Hit real-world scenarios like:

  • “Can I get the smash burger medium rare?”

  • “What sides do you have?”

  • “What’s your house vodka?”

  • “What’s the difference between these two sandwiches?”

This is your chance to coach verbiage, body language, and confidence — not just knowledge.

✅ 3 - Delegate the habit.

If you're an owner or GM, pass this off to your managers or server coaches.

Make it part of the culture — not just the training period.

Use a checklist. Rotate the questions. Revisit tough ones.

This isn’t a quiz. It’s a reps system.

🍸 3 Quick Wins You Can Try Tonight:

1️⃣ Build your master list.

Start with 30–50 guest questions or common orders.

Put them on a Google Doc. Start printing.

2️⃣ Coach the response, not just the answer.

You’re not just looking for “what sauce do you want?”

You’re coaching the tone, the phrasing, the upsell — the vibe.

3️⃣ Make it part of your culture.

When coaching never stops, pushback disappears.

They don’t think, “Why am I being corrected?”

They think, “Cool, I’m getting better.”

You don’t need a longer onboarding.

You need a repeatable training rhythm that builds confidence and raises your floor.

This system works for:

  • ✅ New hires

  • ✅ Cross-training staff

  • ✅ Veterans who’ve gone a little soft on their details

Free TRL June Masterclass:
From Order Takers To Rainmakers 🍽️🥷

On Monday, June 30th, we will be hosting a free LIVE masterclass breaking down:

  • Why your team isn’t selling — and how to shift their mindset in one conversation

  • Why most upsells fall flat (and what great servers do instead)

  • The difference between menu knowledge and sales confidence

  • Why training isn't enough — and what real coaching looks like

🚀 Tactical Reminders:

Our Last Three Lessons:

You can read the rest of the past lessons here.

Mike Romaine

Chief Email Ninja at The Restaurant Launch (TRL)

When you’re ready, here are 2 ways we can help:

1) Free Masterclass: On June 30th Jess and Brandon are hosting a free masterclass on how to coach your staff to go from order takers to rainmakers! Click here to sign up.
2) Owners - FOH Service Training: We Guarantee We Can Raise Your Sales By 10-20% in 56 Days