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The differences between banquet servers and lead servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a banquet server has an average salary of $29,017, which is higher than the $28,677 average annual salary of a lead server.
The top three skills for a banquet server include wine, cleanliness and food service. The most important skills for a lead server are customer service, new servers, and fine dining.
| Banquet Server | Lead Server | |
| Yearly salary | $29,017 | $28,677 |
| Hourly rate | $13.95 | $13.79 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 125,381 | 123,215 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 28 | 28 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A banquet server is responsible for assisting guests in food catering events. Banquet servers' duties include arranging tables as the client desires, preparing the catering setup, refilling foods and beverages, managing guests' inquiries and possible complaints, keeping the food area clean, and maintaining the highest sanitation standards for the guests' best banquet experience. A banquet server should have excellent communication and time-management skills, especially on serving guests that would require utmost care and safe handling.
A lead server is responsible for assisting the guests' needs, responding to their inquiries, and immediately addressing their dining concerns. Lead servers ensure the timely and accurate serving of orders, offering promotional menus and other additional services. Lead servers must have excellent communication skills to interact with the guests, as well as time-management and multitasking skills to perform duties in the fast-paced environment. They also help in developing strategic procedures and food menu recommendations by researching on the latest food trends in the industry to generate revenues and attract more customers.
Banquet servers and lead servers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Banquet Server | Lead Server | |
| Average salary | $29,017 | $28,677 |
| Salary range | Between $20,000 And $40,000 | Between $11,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Endicott College | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a banquet server and a lead server in terms of educational background:
| Banquet Server | Lead Server | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 41% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between banquet servers' and lead servers' demographics:
| Banquet Server | Lead Server | |
| Average age | 28 | 28 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5% | Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.6% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 7.9% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |