Lead crew member vs cook/server

The differences between lead crew members and cook/servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lead crew member has an average salary of $32,857, which is higher than the $29,716 average annual salary of a cook/server.

The top three skills for a lead crew member include drive-thru, customer service and customer orders. The most important skills for a cook/server are customer service, customer orders, and safety standards.

Lead crew member vs cook/server overview

	Lead Crew Member	Cook/Server
Yearly salary	$32,857	$29,716
Hourly rate	$15.80	$14.29
Growth rate	14%	14%
Number of jobs	152,202	257,582
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 52%
Average age	23	23
Years of experience	-	-

What does a lead crew member do?

A lead crew member is responsible for supervising crew members during their tasks, ensuring that they provide the highest customer service to ensure customer satisfaction that would boost the business' reputation, generate revenues, and increase profitability. Lead crew members assist the team on food handling procedures for safe consumption, as well as reiterating the sanitary and hygienic standards during operations. A lead crew member must have excellent time-management and the ability to multitask, especially on serving customers on high volume days while performing administrative and clerical tasks as needed.

What does a cook/server do?

Cooks/servers are employees who take on the dual role of being a cook and a server in the restaurant. They are usually trained cooks who are in charge of preparing meals for the guests. They prepare ingredients, cook them according to the recipe, and serve them to guests. They are responsible for ensuring that the food is prepared and served to guests within the promised time. They are in charge of managing the pantry, ensuring that the stock is fresh, and checking whether the stock is low. They are expected to have culinary skills, precision, and time management skills.

Lead crew member vs cook/server salary

Lead crew members and cook/servers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Lead Crew Member	Cook/Server
Average salary	$32,857	$29,716
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $43,000	Between $23,000 And $37,000
Highest paying City	-	Bellingham, WA
Highest paying state	-	Alaska
Best paying company	-	The Harley School
Best paying industry	-	Retail

Differences between lead crew member and cook/server education

There are a few differences between a lead crew member and a cook/server in terms of educational background:

	Lead Crew Member	Cook/Server
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 36%	High School Diploma, 52%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Lead crew member vs cook/server demographics

Here are the differences between lead crew members' and cook/servers' demographics:

	Lead Crew Member	Cook/Server
Average age	23	23
Gender ratio	Male, 51.6% Female, 48.4%	Male, 45.9% Female, 54.1%
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 lead crew member and cook/server duties and responsibilities

Lead crew member example responsibilities.

Manage food preparation, maintain cleanliness and punctuality while effectively support customers in daily transactions with suggestive selling methods.
Demonstrate exceptional leadership and customer service skills while gaining solid understanding of retail operations and thorough knowledge of product line.
Maintain all database and POS systems to ensure they are up-to date.
Operate and maintain cooking equipment such as grills, deep fryers and griddles.
Maintain all databases, and POS systems, ensuring that they are up- to-date.
Used steamers and grills to prepare meals, as well as fryers and ovens.

Cook/server example responsibilities.

Develop ability to manage multiple stations simultaneously while maintaining high levels of culinary excellence.
Assist customers, bag groceries, replenish carts, and clean store.
Pay close attention to detail while multitasking between communicating over the intercom, utilizing the POS, and order placing.
Make smoothies, coffee, customer service, cashier, fill bakery cooler, inventory, stock, and clean!
Operate the filtration system used for the fryers to keep all sanitation guidelines up to standards as per the health department.
Operate, and maintain clean and safe cooking equipment like pressure cooker deep fryers, plate grills, and deep fryers.

Lead crew member vs cook/server skills

Common lead crew member skills

Drive-Thru, 13%
Customer Service, 10%
Customer Orders, 8%
Customer Satisfaction, 6%
Customer Complaints, 6%
Food Quality, 6%

Common cook/server skills

Customer Service, 41%
Customer Orders, 8%
Safety Standards, 6%
Food Preparation, 5%
Kitchen Equipment, 4%
POS, 4%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
Lead Crew Member
Lead Crew Member vs Cook/Server

Updated January 8, 2025

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