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Lead crew member vs food runner

The differences between lead crew members and food runners 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 $25,536 average annual salary of a food runner.

The top three skills for a lead crew member include drive-thru, customer service and customer orders. The most important skills for a food runner are cleanliness, wine, and culinary.

Lead crew member vs food runner overview

Lead Crew MemberFood Runner
Yearly salary$32,857$25,536
Hourly rate$15.80$12.28
Growth rate14%14%
Number of jobs152,202240,853
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 36%High School Diploma, 38%
Average age2323
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 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.

Lead crew member vs food runner salary

Lead crew members and food runners have different pay scales, as shown below.

Lead Crew MemberFood Runner
Average salary$32,857$25,536
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $43,000Between $18,000 And $34,000
Highest paying City-Seattle, WA
Highest paying state-Vermont
Best paying company-University of Massachusetts Boston
Best paying industry-Hospitality

Differences between lead crew member and food runner education

There are a few differences between a lead crew member and a food runner in terms of educational background:

Lead Crew MemberFood Runner
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 36%High School Diploma, 38%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college--

Lead crew member vs food runner demographics

Here are the differences between lead crew members' and food runners' demographics:

Lead Crew MemberFood Runner
Average age2323
Gender ratioMale, 51.6% Female, 48.4%Male, 59.0% Female, 41.0%
Race ratioBlack 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 Percentage8%8%

Differences between lead crew member and food runner 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.
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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.
  • Show more

Lead crew member vs food runner 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 food runner skills
  • Cleanliness, 20%
  • Wine, 9%
  • Culinary, 7%
  • Food Orders, 6%
  • Fine Dining, 5%
  • Food Handling, 5%

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