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Food runner vs food service/cashier

The differences between food runners and food service/cashiers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food service/cashier has an average salary of $28,481, 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 a food service/cashier are food service, POS, and cleanliness.

Food runner vs food service/cashier overview

Food RunnerFood Service/Cashier
Yearly salary$25,536$28,481
Hourly rate$12.28$13.69
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs240,853247,779
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 38%High School Diploma, 48%
Average age2323
Years of experience--

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 a food service/cashier do?

Foodservice/cashiers are often employed at food restaurants and played various roles. Their duties include recording orders from customers and making sure their payments are collected. They are responsible for managing financial transactions and creating financial reports at the end of the day, making sure that order receipts correlate to the amount of money collected. They could also function as service members, welcoming customers and taking their orders politely, packaging them, and ensures that they are delivered promptly, taking in and resolving customer's queries and complaints. They can also be tasked to stock supplies and may help in cooking if the needs arise.

Food runner vs food service/cashier salary

Food runners and food service/cashiers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Food RunnerFood Service/Cashier
Average salary$25,536$28,481
Salary rangeBetween $18,000 And $34,000Between $22,000 And $35,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WAMontclair, NJ
Highest paying stateVermontNew Hampshire
Best paying companyUniversity of Massachusetts BostonAspen School District
Best paying industryHospitalityRetail

Differences between food runner and food service/cashier education

There are a few differences between a food runner and a food service/cashier in terms of educational background:

Food RunnerFood Service/Cashier
Most common degreeHigh School Diploma, 38%High School Diploma, 48%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Food runner vs food service/cashier demographics

Here are the differences between food runners' and food service/cashiers' demographics:

Food RunnerFood Service/Cashier
Average age2323
Gender ratioMale, 59.0% Female, 41.0%Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7%
Race ratioBlack 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, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between food runner and food service/cashier 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.
  • Show more

Food service/cashier example responsibilities.

  • Cashier, serve food, manage calls, drawer counting, heavy lifting, heavy use of POS system and filing.
  • Greet guests, take food and drink orders, prepare and assemble food items, maintain the cash drawer and POS system
  • Time management while delivering patients orders and providing exceptional customer service in a fast pace environment.
  • Order and receive supplies for culinary needs of the fleet.
  • Maintain food safety and quality by applying HACCP principles throughout service.
  • Load and unload commercial dishwashers.
  • Show more

Food runner vs food service/cashier skills

Common food runner skills
  • Cleanliness, 20%
  • Wine, 9%
  • Culinary, 7%
  • Food Orders, 6%
  • Fine Dining, 5%
  • Food Handling, 5%
Common food service/cashier skills
  • Food Service, 17%
  • POS, 13%
  • Cleanliness, 9%
  • Basic Math, 8%
  • Math, 7%
  • Customer Complaints, 7%

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