Restaurant supervisor vs restaurant server

The differences between restaurant supervisors and restaurant servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a restaurant supervisor has an average salary of $39,134, which is higher than the $24,558 average annual salary of a restaurant server.

The top three skills for a restaurant supervisor include cleanliness, customer service and restaurant operations. The most important skills for a restaurant server are wine, exceptional dining, and guest satisfaction.

Restaurant supervisor vs restaurant server overview

	Restaurant Supervisor	Restaurant Server
Yearly salary	$39,134	$24,558
Hourly rate	$18.81	$11.81
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	105,192	141,250
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Average age	37	28
Years of experience	-	-

What does a restaurant supervisor do?

A restaurant supervisor supervises all the restaurant's tasks to keep the restaurant running smoothly. Besides controlling the restaurant staff members' work schedules, restaurant supervisors also screen, interview, hire and train restaurant staff members. They inspect the restaurant kitchen from time to time to ensure the staff members maintain proper sanitation and hygiene standards. Moreover, these professionals oversee food storage, presentation, and preparation to ensure they comply with the food safety regulations and food health regulations.

What does a restaurant server do?

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.

Restaurant supervisor vs restaurant server salary

Restaurant supervisors and restaurant servers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Restaurant Supervisor	Restaurant Server
Average salary	$39,134	$24,558
Salary range	Between $29,000 And $51,000	Between $15,000 And $37,000
Highest paying City	Vallejo, CA	Washington, DC
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Chili's Grill & Bar	University of California, Berkeley
Best paying industry	Utilities	Agriculture

Differences between restaurant supervisor and restaurant server education

There are a few differences between a restaurant supervisor and a restaurant server in terms of educational background:

	Restaurant Supervisor	Restaurant Server
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 52%	Bachelor's Degree, 48%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Restaurant supervisor vs restaurant server demographics

Here are the differences between restaurant supervisors' and restaurant servers' demographics:

	Restaurant Supervisor	Restaurant Server
Average age	37	28
Gender ratio	Male, 45.1% Female, 54.9%	Male, 40.8% Female, 59.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.4% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 19.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 56.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9%	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	10%	6%

Differences between restaurant supervisor and restaurant server duties and responsibilities

Restaurant supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage the bar, restaurant and in-room dinning.
Coordinate service and set-up functions base off BEO, with meeting planner, sales and kitchen, to manage events smoothly.
Maintain fine dining expectations, including diverse food and wine menu, and anticipation of customer needs.
Inventory of all bars and stock room
Supervise the restaurant, bar, and in-room dining.
Make real time edits, necessary changes, and additions to the POS system.

Restaurant server example responsibilities.

Demonstrate adequate culinary and Italian wine knowledge through suggestive selling.
Input orders in micros and issue guest check for each order.
Prepare the groceries for the customer in their request baggage handing.3.
Maintain clean, sanitize FOH area and ensure health & safety and hygiene procedures and standards are meet.
Work with operations manager in ordering and setting up all FOH systems need in opening a new restaurant.
Provide thorough knowledge of the restaurant's menu to make recommendations or answer questions, and enter POS charges.

Restaurant supervisor vs restaurant server skills

Common restaurant supervisor skills

Cleanliness, 14%
Customer Service, 8%
Restaurant Operations, 7%
Guest Service, 5%
Culinary, 4%
Wine, 4%

Common restaurant server skills

Wine, 28%
Exceptional Dining, 6%
Guest Satisfaction, 5%
Cleanliness, 5%
POS, 5%
Food Service, 5%

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Food Preparation and Restaurant Industry
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Restaurant Supervisor vs Restaurant Server

Updated January 8, 2025

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