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Food service associate vs food service/cashier

The differences between food service associates and food service/cashiers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food service associate has an average salary of $31,642, which is higher than the $28,481 average annual salary of a food service/cashier.

The top three skills for a food service associate include patients, food handling and excellent interpersonal. The most important skills for a food service/cashier are food service, POS, and cleanliness.

Food service associate vs food service/cashier overview

Food Service AssociateFood Service/Cashier
Yearly salary$31,642$28,481
Hourly rate$15.21$13.69
Growth rate2%14%
Number of jobs64,167247,779
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 35%High School Diploma, 48%
Average age3723
Years of experience--

What does a food service associate do?

A food service associate performs fundamental functions in the food industry. Food service associates prepare and serve food items. They cater to special events, which involve facility preparation, food presentation maintenance, and setting up tables. Their duties include cleaning preparation and service equipment. They restock the work stations for the essential supplies. The skills they need to perform their job include customer service, teamwork, work with diverse cultural, ethnic, and academic backgrounds, and learn safety and health regulations.

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 service associate vs food service/cashier salary

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

Food Service AssociateFood Service/Cashier
Average salary$31,642$28,481
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $39,000Between $22,000 And $35,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCMontclair, NJ
Highest paying stateRhode IslandNew Hampshire
Best paying companyMaine Health/maine Mental Health PartnersAspen School District
Best paying industryTechnologyRetail

Differences between food service associate and food service/cashier education

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

Food Service AssociateFood Service/Cashier
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 35%High School Diploma, 48%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Food service associate vs food service/cashier demographics

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

Food Service AssociateFood Service/Cashier
Average age3723
Gender ratioMale, 38.0% Female, 62.0%Male, 28.3% Female, 71.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 16.6% Asian, 7.3% White, 58.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%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 Percentage6%8%

Differences between food service associate and food service/cashier duties and responsibilities

Food service associate example responsibilities.

  • Experience using a cash register and POS system to manage food orders.
  • Maintain pantry, follow USDA guidelines for proper food storage, and maintenance on equipment.
  • Help track inventory using FIFO.
  • Stock product according to date, using the FIFO method.
  • Perform complex math calculations using fractions, percentile, probabilities and/or ratios.
  • Rank one of the top math and technology schools in the nation.
  • 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 service associate vs food service/cashier skills

Common food service associate skills
  • Patients, 14%
  • Food Handling, 12%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 11%
  • Cleanliness, 7%
  • Math, 6%
  • Kitchen Equipment, 6%
Common food service/cashier skills
  • Food Service, 17%
  • POS, 13%
  • Cleanliness, 9%
  • Basic Math, 8%
  • Math, 7%
  • Customer Complaints, 7%

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