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The differences between dining room managers and general managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a dining room manager, becoming a general manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a general manager has an average salary of $71,581, which is higher than the $49,372 average annual salary of a dining room manager.
The top three skills for a dining room manager include fine dining, food service and good judgment. The most important skills for a general manager are customer service, cleanliness, and food safety.
| Dining Room Manager | General Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $49,372 | $71,581 |
| Hourly rate | $23.74 | $34.41 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 162,992 | 442,690 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.25 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
Dining Room Managers are responsible for supervising the operations of a dining establishment or restaurant. Their duties include ensuring workers adhere to operational and service standards, implement training and recruitment processes, addressing customer concerns, achieving customer satisfaction, and overseeing a restaurant's inventory and budget. Dining Room Managers compile daily reports, greet customers, introduce menus, and ensure the dining area is healthy and clean. They also assist in the orientation of workers.
A general manager is responsible for handling the overall operations in the business. General managers manage the staff tasks efficiently, monitor the productivity and efficiency of the work environment, implement new strategies to improve the business performance, recognize the team's best efforts, and effective allocation of budget resources. A general manager must have excellent communication, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills to identify areas of improvement in handling customer complaints, connecting with vendors and other lines of businesses that will direct the company towards its successful objectives.
Dining room managers and general managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Dining Room Manager | General Manager | |
| Average salary | $49,372 | $71,581 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $69,000 | Between $40,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Hca Hospital Services Of San Diego | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a dining room manager and a general manager in terms of educational background:
| Dining Room Manager | General Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Cornell University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between dining room managers' and general managers' demographics:
| Dining Room Manager | General Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.9% Female, 57.1% | Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.6% Asian, 8.5% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |