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The differences between informal waiter/waitresses and food servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a food server has an average salary of $25,209, 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 server are beverage orders, wine, and cleanliness.
| Informal Waiter/Waitress | Food Server | |
| Yearly salary | $24,354 | $25,209 |
| Hourly rate | $11.71 | $12.12 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 3,660 | 125,455 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 40% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Average age | 28 | 42 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
A Food Server specializes in helping customers attain a pleasant dining experience while ensuring to meet all food handling and health regulation standards. Most of the responsibilities revolve around greeting customers and directing them to comfortable seats, responding to their inquires and taking their orders, and courteously suggesting options. Aside from serving meals, Food Servers must also accept payments, organize order receipts, replenish stocks in food containers and drinking stations, and clean tables for the new customers.
Informal waiter/waitresses and food servers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Informal Waiter/Waitress | Food Server | |
| Average salary | $24,354 | $25,209 |
| Salary range | Between $16,000 And $36,000 | Between $18,000 And $34,000 |
| Highest paying City | Saratoga Springs, NY | Los Angeles, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Vermont |
| Best paying company | Aspen Snowmass | Gettysburg College |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Retail |
There are a few differences between an informal waiter/waitress and a food server in terms of educational background:
| Informal Waiter/Waitress | Food Server | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 40% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between informal waiter/waitresses' and food servers' demographics:
| Informal Waiter/Waitress | Food Server | |
| Average age | 28 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7% | Male, 36.0% Female, 64.0% |
| 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, 4.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.4% Asian, 8.7% White, 60.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 7% |