Hospitality consultant Preston Lee explains how restaurants can build stronger teams, earn employee trust and create the kind of human connection that keeps guests coming back.

Why This Episode Matters

• Why hospitality begins with genuine care, not a memorized script
• What younger employees need from restaurant leaders today
• How daily training creates consistency without overwhelming the staff
• Why the employee experience directly shapes the guest experience
• How AI may make real human hospitality even more valuable

Banter

Mark and Francis take aim at New York City’s new anti-alcohol campaign and its failure to acknowledge the social and cultural role of restaurants and bars. Francis proposes a protest involving drinks, campaign posters and social media…until Mark’s old college beer funnel makes an appearance and immediately weakens the case.

The Conversation

Preston Lee joins Mark and Francis to discuss why hospitality is ultimately a structured form of kindness and care. He explains how restaurants can motivate younger employees by providing purpose, clarity and consistent expectations rather than assuming earnings alone will create commitment. The conversation explores hands-on training, daily pre-shifts and Preston’s “drip training” approach, which introduces meaningful changes gradually and reinforces them through accountability. They also discuss creating hospitality between employees, recognizing when someone is not right for the organization and developing managers rather than simply promoting them. Finally, Preston considers how AI may support restaurant training while making authentic human interaction an increasingly valuable luxury.

Timestamps

0:00 New York City’s anti-alcohol campaign
6:35 Hospitality as kindness, care and purpose
17:00 What Gen Z needs from restaurant leaders
25:00 Drip training, accountability and earning trust
30:30 Building hospitality within the restaurant team
43:30 The 30% Rule, AI and the future of human connection

Bio

Preston Lee is a hospitality consultant, founder of The 30% Rule and author of The Hospitality Handbook: How Unconditional Hospitality Transforms Teams, Customers, and Companies. He works with restaurant operators to develop stronger leaders, more consistent teams and hospitality systems that can grow with the business.

Info

Preston’s book
The Hospitality Handbook: How Unconditional Hospitality Transforms Teams, Customers, and Companies

Preston’s site
https://30percentrule.com/

Subscribe: Restaurant Guys' Regular

https://restaurantguysregulars.buzzsprout.com/

Magyar Bank

https://www.magbank.com/

Stage Left Wine Shop

https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Our Places

Stage Left Steak
https://www.stageleft.com/

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant
https://www.catherinelombardi.com/

Stage Left Wineshop
https://www.stageleftwineshop.com/

Reach Out to The Guys!
TheGuys@restaurantguyspodcast.com