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The differences between lead servers and restaurant servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lead server has an average salary of $28,677, which is higher than the $24,558 average annual salary of a restaurant server.
The top three skills for a lead server include customer service, new servers and fine dining. The most important skills for a restaurant server are wine, exceptional dining, and guest satisfaction.
| Lead Server | Restaurant Server | |
| Yearly salary | $28,677 | $24,558 |
| Hourly rate | $13.79 | $11.81 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 123,215 | 141,250 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Average age | 28 | 28 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
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.
Lead servers and restaurant servers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Server | Restaurant Server | |
| Average salary | $28,677 | $24,558 |
| Salary range | Between $11,000 And $70,000 | Between $15,000 And $37,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | California |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | University of California, Berkeley |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Agriculture |
There are a few differences between a lead server and a restaurant server in terms of educational background:
| Lead Server | Restaurant Server | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | Bachelor's Degree, 48% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between lead servers' and restaurant servers' demographics:
| Lead Server | Restaurant Server | |
| Average age | 28 | 28 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5% | Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2% |
| 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, 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% |