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The differences between server assistants and lead 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 $25,654 average annual salary of a server assistant.
The top three skills for a server assistant include cleanliness, reservations and service stations. The most important skills for a lead server are customer service, new servers, and fine dining.
| Server Assistant | Lead Server | |
| Yearly salary | $25,654 | $28,677 |
| Hourly rate | $12.33 | $13.79 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 194,248 | 123,215 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Average age | 39 | 28 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A server assistant, also known as a busser, is a restaurant employee who assists food servers in providing prompt and polite service to their guests. Server assistants are responsible for the preparation of tables for their arriving guests at the same time to help deliver food to tables when the food servers are busy. Aside from entertaining guests, server assistants must ensure that beverages are refilled, menus are sanitized, and process payments. Server assistants must also possess excellent communication and customer service skills.
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.
Server assistants and lead servers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Server Assistant | Lead Server | |
| Average salary | $25,654 | $28,677 |
| Salary range | Between $19,000 And $33,000 | Between $11,000 And $70,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Maine | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Pioneer High School | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a server assistant and a lead server in terms of educational background:
| Server Assistant | Lead Server | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 40% | Bachelor's Degree, 49% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between server assistants' and lead servers' demographics:
| Server Assistant | Lead Server | |
| Average age | 39 | 28 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.2% Female, 40.8% | Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.5% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.1% Asian, 7.7% White, 59.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.1% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |