Food runner vs expeditor

The differences between food runners and expeditors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an expeditor has an average salary of $39,811, which is higher than the $25,536 average annual salary of a food runner.

The top three skills for a food runner include cleanliness, wine and culinary. The most important skills for an expeditor are customer service, cleanliness, and house training.

Food runner vs expeditor overview

	Food Runner	Expeditor
Yearly salary	$25,536	$39,811
Hourly rate	$12.28	$19.14
Growth rate	14%	-3%
Number of jobs	240,853	8,185
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Average age	23	45
Years of experience	-	2

What does a food runner do?

Food Runners are responsible for assisting waitstaff on serving customers at a restaurant or similar establishment. Among their duties include maintaining cleanliness in particular areas, setting tables, refilling drinks, assisting customers with everything that they need, and coordinating with the workforce in and out of the kitchen. Furthermore, Food Runners need to ensure that all deliveries are accurate according to what is ordered by a customer. It is essential to stay presentable and helpful at all times as the main priority is customer satisfaction.

What does an expeditor do?

The role of expeditors is to ensure the timely and efficient preparation and delivery of food. To accomplish this task, they also perform other duties, including managing inventory levels, managing supply requisition, and coordinating with subcontractors. They are also responsible for streamlining interdepartmental communication, monitoring job progress, and collaborating with project managers to collect relevant information about job status. This role requires specific skills and qualifications, including a high school diploma or an associate degree in food service, business management, and hospitality management, relevant work experience, and certifications in CCP, CPSM, or CPPB.

Food runner vs expeditor salary

Food runners and expeditors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Food Runner	Expeditor
Average salary	$25,536	$39,811
Salary range	Between $18,000 And $34,000	Between $29,000 And $53,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	Kansas City, KS
Highest paying state	Vermont	Nevada
Best paying company	University of Massachusetts Boston	Westinghouse Appliances Australia
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Construction

Differences between food runner and expeditor education

There are a few differences between a food runner and an expeditor in terms of educational background:

	Food Runner	Expeditor
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 38%	Bachelor's Degree, 39%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	Western Carolina University

Food runner vs expeditor demographics

Here are the differences between food runners' and expeditors' demographics:

	Food Runner	Expeditor
Average age	23	45
Gender ratio	Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%	Male, 55.4% Female, 44.6%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 7.0% White, 60.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	8%	11%

Differences between food runner and expeditor duties and responsibilities

Food runner example responsibilities.

Manage labor and design of numerous weddings, banquets, buffets, and the restaurant floor.
Manage event reservations and party requests, inform customers about upcoming events and specials.
Provide excellent customer service to guests by describing and suggesting culinary options
Greet customers and prepare drinks (tea, smoothies).
Expedite the kitchen to ensure food leaves fast and accurately.
Demonstrate strong computational skills for tendering receipt of payments from clients.

Expeditor example responsibilities.

Manage requisition and purchase order report facilitating logistics, supply chain and procurement which consolidate and streamline previous standard operating procedures.
Experience with MRP demand and supply planning also familiar with financial analysis relate to inventory management.
Maintain documentation in compliance with ISO requirements.
Place purchase order base on ERP system recommendation.
Handle all carry-out orders and operation of POS system.
Purchase MRO products, electronic components and negotiate pricing.

Food runner vs expeditor skills

Common food runner skills

Cleanliness, 20%
Wine, 9%
Culinary, 7%
Food Orders, 6%
Fine Dining, 5%
Food Handling, 5%

Common expeditor skills

Customer Service, 27%
Cleanliness, 16%
House Training, 6%
Team Work, 5%
Purchase Orders, 4%
Logistics, 4%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
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Food Runner vs Expeditor

Updated January 8, 2025

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