Informal waiter/waitress vs restaurant server

The differences between informal waiter/waitresses and restaurant servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a restaurant server has an average salary of $24,558, 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 restaurant server are wine, exceptional dining, and guest satisfaction.

Informal waiter/waitress vs restaurant server overview

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Restaurant Server
Yearly salary	$24,354	$24,558
Hourly rate	$11.71	$11.81
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	3,660	141,250
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	28	28
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 restaurant server do?

Also called food servers, restaurant servers perform food preparation, cleaning duties, and customer service in casual dining eateries and restaurants. The food servers stock supplies, handle credit cards and the cash register, and clean restaurant counters and tables. They provide assistance to restaurant patrons to take orders, deliver food, and answer customer questions. The skills they need include trustworthiness, organization, customer relations, and communication skills.

Informal waiter/waitress vs restaurant server salary

Informal waiter/waitresses and restaurant servers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Restaurant Server
Average salary	$24,354	$24,558
Salary range	Between $16,000 And $36,000	Between $15,000 And $37,000
Highest paying City	Saratoga Springs, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	California
Best paying company	Aspen Snowmass	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Agriculture

Differences between informal waiter/waitress and restaurant server education

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

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Restaurant Server
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Informal waiter/waitress vs restaurant server demographics

Here are the differences between informal waiter/waitresses' and restaurant servers' demographics:

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Restaurant Server
Average age	28	28
Gender ratio	Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7%	Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2%
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, 10.9% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 20.9% Asian, 9.4% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between informal waiter/waitress and restaurant server 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.

Restaurant server example responsibilities.

Demonstrate adequate culinary and Italian wine knowledge through suggestive selling.
Input orders in micros and issue guest check for each order.
Prepare the groceries for the customer in their request baggage handing.3.
Maintain clean, sanitize FOH area and ensure health & safety and hygiene procedures and standards are meet.
Work with operations manager in ordering and setting up all FOH systems need in opening a new restaurant.
Provide thorough knowledge of the restaurant's menu to make recommendations or answer questions, and enter POS charges.

Informal waiter/waitress vs restaurant server skills

Common informal waiter/waitress skills

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

Common restaurant server skills

Wine, 28%
Exceptional Dining, 6%
Guest Satisfaction, 5%
Cleanliness, 5%
POS, 5%
Food Service, 5%

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

Updated January 8, 2025

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