Formal waiter/waitress vs banquet server

The differences between formal waiter/waitresses and banquet 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 $25,808 average annual salary of a formal waiter/waitress.

The top three skills for a formal waiter/waitress include wine, fine dining and . The most important skills for a banquet server are wine, cleanliness, and food service.

Formal waiter/waitress vs banquet server overview

	Formal Waiter/Waitress	Banquet Server
Yearly salary	$25,808	$29,017
Hourly rate	$12.41	$13.95
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	3,660	125,381
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age	28	28
Years of experience	-	-

Formal waiter/waitress vs banquet server salary

Formal waiter/waitresses and banquet servers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Formal Waiter/Waitress	Banquet Server
Average salary	$25,808	$29,017
Salary range	Between $20,000 And $33,000	Between $20,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	New York, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	Massachusetts
Best paying company	Sunningdale Country Club	Endicott College
Best paying industry	Real Estate	Professional

Differences between formal waiter/waitress and banquet server education

There are a few differences between a formal waiter/waitress and a banquet server in terms of educational background:

	Formal Waiter/Waitress	Banquet Server
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 46%	Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Formal waiter/waitress vs banquet server demographics

Here are the differences between formal waiter/waitresses' and banquet servers' demographics:

	Formal Waiter/Waitress	Banquet Server
Average age	28	28
Gender ratio	Male, 51.5% Female, 48.5%	Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.0% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 58.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	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%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between formal waiter/waitress and banquet server duties and responsibilities

Formal waiter/waitress example responsibilities.

Set up, work in, and manage the private room events as both bartender and waiter.
Develop expertise in wine recommendations and pairings base on extensive winereserves.
Operate large volume cooking equipment like buger grills, fryers, and/or griddles.

Banquet server example responsibilities.

Provide professional bartending and hospitality services to optimize customer service experiences for private, corporate, and public events.
Create PowerPoint food presentations for training purposes.
Gain skills in customer dining service, hospitality and compassion.
Analyze BEOs to ensure rooms are prepare each day for schedule events.
Organize and run every event book through cold calling or past guests.
Review BEOs in order to ensure proper room setup and A/V requests are meet.

Formal waiter/waitress vs banquet server skills

Common formal waiter/waitress skills

Wine, 78%
Fine Dining, 22%

Common banquet server skills

Wine, 12%
Cleanliness, 10%
Food Service, 9%
Customer Service, 6%
Professional Appearance, 5%
Beverage Service, 5%

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Formal Waiter/Waitress
Formal Waiter/Waitress vs Banquet Server

Updated January 8, 2025

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