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The differences between restaurant servers and restaurant managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a restaurant manager has an average salary of $52,202, which is higher than the $24,558 average annual salary of a restaurant server.
The top three skills for a restaurant server include wine, exceptional dining and guest satisfaction. The most important skills for a restaurant manager are customer service, guest satisfaction, and food handling.
| Restaurant Server | Restaurant Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $24,558 | $52,202 |
| Hourly rate | $11.81 | $25.10 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 141,250 | 225,340 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 1 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Average age | 28 | 39 |
| Years of experience | - | 4 |
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.
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.
Restaurant servers and restaurant managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Restaurant Server | Restaurant Manager | |
| Average salary | $24,558 | $52,202 |
| Salary range | Between $15,000 And $37,000 | Between $39,000 And $69,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | University of California, Berkeley | Hillstone Restaurant Group |
| Best paying industry | Agriculture | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a restaurant server and a restaurant manager in terms of educational background:
| Restaurant Server | Restaurant Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 48% | Bachelor's Degree, 50% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Cornell University |
Here are the differences between restaurant servers' and restaurant managers' demographics:
| Restaurant Server | Restaurant Manager | |
| Average age | 28 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2% | Male, 54.5% Female, 45.5% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 10% |