Informal waiter/waitress vs food runner

The differences between informal waiter/waitresses and food runners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food runner has an average salary of $25,536, which is higher than the $24,354 average annual salary of an informal waiter/waitress.

The top three skills for an informal waiter/waitress include beverage orders, waiter and customer service. The most important skills for a food runner are cleanliness, wine, and culinary.

Informal waiter/waitress vs food runner overview

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Food Runner
Yearly salary	$24,354	$25,536
Hourly rate	$11.71	$12.28
Growth rate	10%	14%
Number of jobs	3,660	240,853
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 38%
Average age	28	23
Years of experience	-	-

What does an informal waiter/waitress do?

An informal waiter/waitress is primarily in charge of serving patrons in coffee shops, fast-food chains, and other similar dining establishments, ensuring efficiency and customer satisfaction. Their responsibilities revolve around coordinating with kitchen and management staff, greeting and welcoming customers, providing menus and answering inquiries, offering suggestions, and serving the customers' orders promptly and accurately. They may also process payments or provide other assistance as needed. Furthermore, an informal waiter/waitress must maintain the cleanliness of tables and workspaces, ensuring a safe and healthy environment for everyone.

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.

Informal waiter/waitress vs food runner salary

Informal waiter/waitresses and food runners have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Food Runner
Average salary	$24,354	$25,536
Salary range	Between $16,000 And $36,000	Between $18,000 And $34,000
Highest paying City	Saratoga Springs, NY	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	New York	Vermont
Best paying company	Aspen Snowmass	University of Massachusetts Boston
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between informal waiter/waitress and food runner education

There are a few differences between an informal waiter/waitress and a food runner in terms of educational background:

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Food Runner
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 38%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Informal waiter/waitress vs food runner demographics

Here are the differences between informal waiter/waitresses' and food runners' demographics:

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Food Runner
Average age	28	23
Gender ratio	Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7%	Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.8% Asian, 8.7% White, 54.4% 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	6%	8%

Differences between informal waiter/waitress and food runner duties and responsibilities

Informal waiter/waitress example responsibilities.

Train in bartending duties, knowledgeable of preparation of alcoholic beverages.
Request and record customer orders, and totale orders using the POS system.
Help bartending when staff are short.
Fix POS computers, printers, and credit card systems above and beyond job responsibilities.
Start as a busboy and are quickly promote to a waiter when a spot are made available.
Develop relationships with regular patrons; develop an understanding of their personal needs and expectations, including preferences and food allergies.

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.

Informal waiter/waitress vs food runner skills

Common informal waiter/waitress skills

Beverage Orders, 48%
Waiter, 18%
Customer Service, 12%
Food Service, 9%
Fine Dining, 3%
Wine, 2%

Common food runner skills

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

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Informal Waiter/Waitress
Informal Waiter/Waitress vs Food Runner

Updated January 8, 2025

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