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The differences between lead servers and waitresses 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 $24,770 average annual salary of a waitress.
The top three skills for a lead server include customer service, new servers and fine dining. The most important skills for a waitress are food orders, food preparation, and customer orders.
| Lead Server | Waitress | |
| Yearly salary | $28,677 | $24,770 |
| Hourly rate | $13.79 | $11.91 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 123,215 | 87,315 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| 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.
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.
Lead servers and waitresses have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Server | Waitress | |
| Average salary | $28,677 | $24,770 |
| Salary range | Between $11,000 And $70,000 | Between $17,000 And $35,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | New York |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | New York Institute of Technology |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a lead server and a waitress in terms of educational background:
| Lead Server | Waitress | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 49% | High School Diploma, 36% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between lead servers' and waitresses' demographics:
| Lead Server | Waitress | |
| Average age | 28 | 28 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5% | Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1% |
| 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, 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% |