Informal waiter/waitress vs waitress

The differences between informal waiter/waitresses and waitresses can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a waitress has an average salary of $24,770, 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 waitress are food orders, food preparation, and customer orders.

Informal waiter/waitress vs waitress overview

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Waitress
Yearly salary	$24,354	$24,770
Hourly rate	$11.71	$11.91
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	3,660	87,315
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 36%
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 waitress do?

Waitresses are responsible for ensuring that guests are given proper attention during their visit to the restaurant. They guide guests to their table, provide menu boards, answer any questions the guests may have, take the guests' order, and communicate the order to the kitchen. Once the order is ready, waitresses collect the food from the kitchen and serve it to the guests. They then give guests time to finish their meal. Upon the guests' request, waitresses bring them their bill and wait for them to finish paying up. Once the guests leave, waitresses are responsible for ensuring that the table is ready for the next guests.

Informal waiter/waitress vs waitress salary

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

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Waitress
Average salary	$24,354	$24,770
Salary range	Between $16,000 And $36,000	Between $17,000 And $35,000
Highest paying City	Saratoga Springs, NY	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	New York	New York
Best paying company	Aspen Snowmass	New York Institute of Technology
Best paying industry	Hospitality	Hospitality

Differences between informal waiter/waitress and waitress education

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

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Waitress
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 40%	High School Diploma, 36%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Informal waiter/waitress vs waitress demographics

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

	Informal Waiter/Waitress	Waitress
Average age	28	28
Gender ratio	Male, 23.3% Female, 76.7%	Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1%
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, 11.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 8.6% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between informal waiter/waitress and waitress 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.

Waitress example responsibilities.

Manage a recurring book of business of top VIP clients secure through networking.
Relay orders to bar and kitchen by quickly and accurately recording guest selections and keying them into the POS computer system.
wait tables, handle money, exceed guest expectations, serve food and drinks, micros, clean, side work.
Increase store sales by upselling merchandise.
Enter order/payment information into micros system, deliver receipt and change to the customer.
Bring wine selections to tables with appropriate glasses, and pour the wines for customers.

Informal waiter/waitress vs waitress skills

Common informal waiter/waitress skills

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

Common waitress skills

Food Orders, 13%
Food Preparation, 9%
Customer Orders, 8%
POS, 7%
Drink Orders, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

Informal Waiter/Waitress vs. similar jobs

Informal Waiter/Waitress related careers

Informal Waiter/Waitress related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Informal Waiter/Waitress
Informal Waiter/Waitress vs Waitress

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse food preparation and restaurant jobs