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The differences between lead servers and lead associates can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lead associate has an average salary of $54,903, which is higher than the $28,677 average annual salary of a lead server.
The top three skills for a lead server include customer service, new servers and fine dining. The most important skills for a lead associate are PET, leadership, and POS.
| Lead Server | Lead Associate | |
| Yearly salary | $28,677 | $54,903 |
| Hourly rate | $13.79 | $26.40 |
| Growth rate | 10% | - |
| Number of jobs | 123,215 | 188,353 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Average age | 28 | 43 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
A lead server is responsible for assisting the guests' needs, responding to their inquiries, and immediately addressing their dining concerns. Lead servers ensure the timely and accurate serving of orders, offering promotional menus and other additional services. Lead servers must have excellent communication skills to interact with the guests, as well as time-management and multitasking skills to perform duties in the fast-paced environment. They also help in developing strategic procedures and food menu recommendations by researching on the latest food trends in the industry to generate revenues and attract more customers.
The duties of a lead associate depend on one's line of work or industry of employment. In a retail setting, their responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify new business opportunities, devising strategies to optimize sales, and reaching out to clients through calls and correspondence. A lead associate may offer products and services to potential clients, answer inquiries, conduct demonstrations, process payments, arrange billing plans, and perform follow-up calls. Furthermore, they may also handle issues and concerns, resolving them in adherence to the company's policies and regulations.
Lead servers and lead associates have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Server | Lead Associate | |
| Average salary | $28,677 | $54,903 |
| Salary range | Between $11,000 And $70,000 | Between $25,000 And $117,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | - |
There are a few differences between a lead server and a lead associate in terms of educational background:
| Lead Server | Lead Associate | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi |
Here are the differences between lead servers' and lead associates' demographics:
| Lead Server | Lead Associate | |
| Average age | 28 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5% | Male, 44.8% Female, 55.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 19.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 53.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 6.9% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 9% |