• TG participants had a positive attitude toward the training content

• TG participants were highly satisfied with the instructor and training materials

• Sense of Accomplishment (T1): Pride in passing the certification exam; recognition from coworkers, managers and the corporate team

• •“I'm the wine guy now”

• Defeat (T4): Feelings of disappointment and discouragement upon receiving the exam results

• •“…it's like I wasted six weeks”

• Immediate reactions to the wine education program were consistently positive, but diverged when the certification exam results were distributed a month later

• Significant increase in TG wine knowledge from pre-test to post-test

• 70.5% of TG passed the certification exam

• Sense of Accomplishment (T1): Recognition of learning and knowledge gained

• •“I did not pass the exam but I learned so much from doing this”

• The wine education program was effective in positively impacting learning

• TG participants indicated a high level of transfer motivation

• No significant difference in reported transfer motivation between participants who passed the certification exam and participants who failed the certification exam

• Enhanced Guest Interaction (T2): Positive changes to guest-facing behavior, including more time with each table and focusing on “ideal” food-wine pairings

• •“I have so much I want to tell [guests]”

• •“I'm suggesting wines that pair with the food. Sometimes they might be cheaper.”

• Defeat (T4): Uncertain or confused as to how to transfer knowledge to sales

• •“I don't think we spent enough time practicing selling”

• Participants' transfer motivation was high at the end of the wine education program but motivation to transfer did not lead to actual training transfer for all participants

• No effect of training on wine sales

• •No significant difference between TG and CG for wine check average or wine mix

• •No significant interaction between group (TG vs CG) and time (pre-training to 60 days post-training) for wine check average or wine mix

• Within the TG, wine mix was significantly higher for participants who failed the certification exam (16.0%) than for exam (13.2%)

• Tips and Gratuities (T3): Increase in direct compensation from guests as a result of participation in the wine education program

• •“My average take home in tips has definitely gone up”

• Defeat (T4): Use of a scripted upselling strategy focused on price point

•“If I have to make a recommendation, I suggest the more expensive one because I make my money on how much the final bill is”

• For participants who passed the certification exam, financial results were achieved but in the impact was to the employee instead of the restaurant

• For participants who failed the certification exam, use of a price-driven sales strategy contributed to higher wine mix