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The differences between restaurant managers and restaurant general managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a restaurant manager, becoming a restaurant general manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a restaurant general manager has an average salary of $56,521, which is higher than the $52,202 average annual salary of a restaurant manager.
The top three skills for a restaurant manager include customer service, guest satisfaction and food handling. The most important skills for a restaurant general manager are customer service, strong analytical, and customer satisfaction.
| Restaurant Manager | Restaurant General Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $52,202 | $56,521 |
| Hourly rate | $25.10 | $27.17 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 225,340 | 339,757 |
| Job satisfaction | 1 | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A restaurant manager is responsible for handling the overall restaurant operations. These include monitoring revenues and daily restaurant sales, checking inventories and supplies, negotiating with third-party vendors, and managing customers' inquiries and complaints. Other duties include creating promotional offers, developing and improving sales strategies, organizing staff duties, maintaining the highest sanitary standards for everyone's strict compliance, and controlling operational expenses. A restaurant manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills and exceptional knowledge of food industry management.
A restaurant general manager is someone whose responsibility is to handle the daily operations of the restaurant. Restaurant general managers ensure compliance with the overall operations to the company's standards. They oversee the preparation and delivery of products, restaurant repair and maintenance, team management, inventory management, and customer relations. To become a restaurant general manager, one should have excellent customer relations and service skills, and commercial awareness. Good personal skills, flexibility, and strong communication skills are also necessary.
Restaurant managers and restaurant general managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Restaurant Manager | Restaurant General Manager | |
| Average salary | $52,202 | $56,521 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $69,000 | Between $40,000 And $79,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | New Hampshire | New York |
| Best paying company | Hillstone Restaurant Group | Tesoro |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a restaurant manager and a restaurant general manager in terms of educational background:
| Restaurant Manager | Restaurant General Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 50% | Bachelor's Degree, 44% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Cornell University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between restaurant managers' and restaurant general managers' demographics:
| Restaurant Manager | Restaurant General Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5% | Male, 62.2% Female, 37.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.6% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 17.9% Asian, 9.4% White, 55.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |