🍸 TRL Weekly: 3 Habits To Ditch Immediately

Your weekly lesson and tactical reminders inside.

April 07, 2025

Happy Monday, owners!

In today’s lesson Brandon is teaching us the habits we need to train our staff to ditch.

Our Last Three Lessons:

You can read the rest of the past weekly lessons here.

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🍸 Brandon’s No-BS Service Tip:
Ditch These Habits

If you want your restaurant to stand out, it’s not just about teaching the basics.

It’s about breaking some habits that are holding your team back from delivering that wow experience.

Here are three habits your staff needs to ditch ASAP—and why it matters for your business.

1- Saying “Good Choice” or “My Favorite”

This one’s way too common.

A guest orders something, and your server responds with “Good choice” or “My favorite.”

Sounds harmless, right?

But think about it—everyone else at the table is now wondering if they made a bad choice or if they should’ve picked that dish too.

Instead, have your staff just repeat the order back exactly how the guest said it. 

It sounds like this:

  • Guest: “I’ll take a burger, medium rare with cheddar.” 

  • Server: “Burger, medium rare with cheddar. And what about you?”

That’s it.

Simple, clear, and no one feels left out.

Just a small tweak that makes a big difference.

2 - Using “Guys” to Address Mixed Groups

This one’s tricky.

Some servers think it’s casual and fine, but as soon as there’s one woman at the table, it can feel off.

You might think it’s no big deal, but why risk it?

Even if one person out of 100 gets annoyed, that’s one too many.

Instead, teach your staff to use words like:

  • “Everyone”

  • “Folks”

  • “Hi, welcome in!”

These phrases are neutral and make everyone feel included.

Plus, it keeps interactions professional without losing that friendly vibe.

3 - Waiting for Guests to Ask

If your guest has to ask for more water or a second drink, your staff already missed the mark.

Great service means getting ahead of their needs.

Teach your team to keep an eye on drink levels and proactively top off waters or bring a second round—without saying a word.

Ideally, they should drop what the guest needs about seven seconds before they even realize they want it.

That’s how you impress people. And when guests feel taken care of like that?

They’re coming back, and they’re tipping more.

Bottom line: Train your staff to ditch these habits and watch how the guest experience improves.

Little changes like these don’t just make your restaurant feel more professional—they make it feel more welcoming.

🚀 Tactical Reminders:

  1. Owners Watch This - Brandon Pre-Bus For Owners -

    Video: Click here.

  2. Coaching Montage - Jess Rowland -

    Video Lesson: Click here.

  3. Skits are back! - Cassidi -

    Video Lesson: Click here.

See you soon,

The Restaurant Launch Team

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

1) Servers - Service Training: Raise Your Tips By $500 A Week Using These 106 Lessons
2) Owners - FOH Service Training: Predictably Raise Your Sales By 10-20% in 56 Days By Getting Your Service To The Next Level