By Geoffrey Toffetti, CEO, Frontline Performance Group
Restaurant owners today are operating in very challenging environments. Post-COVID staffing shortages persist and many of the workers who left the industry have not returned. As a result, restaurants are relying more heavily on newer, less-experienced team members at the same time guests are paying more and expecting more. Inflation continues to push up labor, food and operating costs, tightening margins and forcing operators to rethink profitability from the ground up. Guests have become more value-conscious, but they still expect emotionally engaging, personalized service with every visit.
Looking ahead to 2026, we expect these pressures to intensify. Talent shortages will continue, guest expectations will rise and operators will need to focus on bringing guests in, but on maximizing the value of every guest already in the building. Technology will play a major role, particularly tools like CheckMax that give managers clearer visibility into frontline performance, support training for inexperienced staff and create more consistency across shifts. The restaurants that succeed in the coming years will be those that operationalize consistency and build a culture of strong engagement and service-driven revenue.
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The sharp rise in labor, food and operating costs has changed how restaurants must think about profitability. The old model, simply driving higher guest counts, no longer works on its own. To remain profitable, operators must focus on maximizing revenue from the guests already in front on them. That means enhancing the guest experience through better engagement, more thoughtful recommendations and greater consistency across team members.
Profitability and guest experience are now inseparable. Restaurants can’t afford to leave money on the table through missed opportunities, an unrefilled drink, a forgotten recommendation, or a server who lacks confidence in describing high-margin items. These small lapses have an outsized impact on the bottom line. At the same time, guests are spending more on dining, so their expectations for service and personalization are higher than ever. As costs rise, frontline service becomes the most reliable, scalable way to influence both revenue and guest satisfaction. Better engagement leads to higher checks, higher tips, stronger loyalty and a more stable, motivated workforce.
While the industry has no shortage of technology for inventory management, reservations, or ordering, the biggest gap, and the biggest opportunity, lies in tools that improve frontline performance. Today, restaurant managers lack real-time visibility into how their people are performing, where revenue is leaking, and which behaviors drive higher check averages. With high turnover and inexperienced staff, operators need technology that is both operational and developmental.
The greatest opportunity for technology is in delivering tools that combine clear performance data with actionable coaching. Restaurants need systems like CheckMax that give managers insight into where each server excels, where they struggle, and how their actions impact revenue and guest experience. Technology can deliver bite-sized mobile training, track KPIs in real time, visualize trends and support consistent coaching, making it possible for every team member, not just the top performers, to grow.
Platforms that support culture-building, recognition and engagement will also become increasingly important, because motivated servers sell more, serve better, and stay longer. This is the gap CheckMax fills: unifying training, performance analytics, and frontline engagement into one platform built specifically for restaurants.
Frontline service is one of the most powerful and underutilized drivers of restaurant profitability. Every guest interaction, every refill, recommendation, and moment of awareness, has a direct impact on revenue. When servers are attentive, confident and emotionally connected to guests, they create experiences that make diners feel valued, but also inspire them to spend more. Thoughtful recommendations and personalized guidance consistently increase checks by 5% to 15%, and that increase can double the bottom line. Strong service directly translates into higher tip earnings, which improves retention and morale.
Better frontline service reduces guest frustration, prevents small inconveniences from becoming big problems and creates a smoother, more enjoyable dining experience. When servers understand how their actions influence both the guest and the business, they shift from being order takers to becoming revenue drivers. This transformation benefits everyone: guests receive richer, more memorable experiences; servers earn more and feel more confident; and operators gain a predictable, scalable way to improve revenue without raising prices or increasing guest count.
CheckMax gives restaurants something they’ve never had before: a unified system that connects performance data, revenue insights, and service training into one easy-to-use platform. Through direct POS integration, CheckMax provides daily, or even intra-shift updates on key metrics such as revenue per check, revenue per guest and average tip percentage. Servers can see exactly how they performed on their last shift, and managers gain immediate visibility into the strengths and opportunities within their teams.
What makes CheckMax unique is its ability to turn data into action. The platform uses real performance trends to guide training, coaching and daily goal setting. Servers receive personalized micro-lessons and recommendations that help them improve specific behaviors tied directly to revenue. Managers can identify coaching needs at a glance, run contests or challenges, recognize high performers, and build a culture of encouragement and accountability. CheckMax also empowers leaders to create their own content, menu walk-throughs, chef insights, or pre-shift messages, embedded directly into the system for the entire team to learn from.
Ultimately, CheckMax helps restaurants increase revenue per guest by focusing on the behaviors that matter most: connection, awareness, recommendation, and consistency. It reports the numbers and gives teams real-time insight, meaningful coaching, and a motivating, gamified environment. CheckMax enables restaurants to unlock revenue they already have access to, simply by elevating the performance of the people who serve their guests.
CheckMax helps operators capture the revenue already walking through the door, increasing revenue per guest and often delivering a dramatic lift to the bottom line. It does this by teaching effective suggestive selling techniques and using automated analytics to identify trends, predict performance and drive consistency across teams.
👉 Want to learn more or see CheckMax in action? Click to join the CheckMax waitlist.
Further reading:
Pre-Arrival vs On-Arrival: Which Upsell Wins
Case Study: How New World Hoiana Beach Resort Achieved a 60% Upsell Revenue Increase
Hotel Front Desk Training: How Role Play Boosts Confidence and Sales