Fountain worker vs food runner

The differences between fountain workers and food runners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a fountain worker has an average salary of $29,234, which is higher than the $25,536 average annual salary of a food runner.

The top three skills for a fountain worker include cleanliness, customer service and POS. The most important skills for a food runner are cleanliness, wine, and culinary.

Fountain worker vs food runner overview

	Fountain Worker	Food Runner
Yearly salary	$29,234	$25,536
Hourly rate	$14.05	$12.28
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	22,579	240,853
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 49%	High School Diploma, 38%
Average age	23	23
Years of experience	-	-

Fountain worker vs food runner salary

Fountain workers and food runners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Fountain Worker	Food Runner
Average salary	$29,234	$25,536
Salary range	Between $23,000 And $36,000	Between $18,000 And $34,000
Highest paying City	-	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	-	Vermont
Best paying company	-	University of Massachusetts Boston
Best paying industry	-	Hospitality

Differences between fountain worker and food runner education

There are a few differences between a fountain worker and a food runner in terms of educational background:

	Fountain Worker	Food Runner
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 49%	High School Diploma, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Fountain worker vs food runner demographics

Here are the differences between fountain workers' and food runners' demographics:

	Fountain Worker	Food Runner
Average age	23	23
Gender ratio	Male, 30.2% Female, 69.8%	Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%
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, 9.6% Unknown, 6.9% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between fountain worker and food runner duties and responsibilities

Fountain worker example responsibilities.

Wait staff: provide friendly customer service; accurately take customer orders; maintain cleanliness of tables and floor.
Stock ingredients, materials, and supply for beverage station.
Operate POS cash register system; responsible for handling money and making transactions.
Clean tables, collect and wash dirty dishes, maintain stock, and perform cleaning duties at closing time.
Maintain legal obligations for responsible bartending by verification of legal age of all customers.
Replace or attach bar code labels on every ammunition containers for identification and location.

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.

Fountain worker vs food runner skills

Common fountain worker skills

Cleanliness, 27%
Customer Service, 17%
POS, 11%
Cash Handling, 10%
Guest Complaints, 7%
Safety Standards, 5%

Common food runner skills

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

Fountain Worker vs. similar jobs

Fountain Worker related careers

Fountain Worker related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Fountain Worker
Fountain Worker vs Food Runner

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse food preparation and restaurant jobs