What does a server do?
A server is a restaurant employee assigned to the main dining area of the restaurant to primarily attend to the customer's needs. Servers assist guests to their tables, wait for the guests to be ready with their orders, and take the guests' orders. They should be knowledgeable about the restaurant's offerings since they should be able to answer any questions asked by the guests regarding the menu. They communicate the guests' orders to the kitchen crew and serve the orders once they are ready. Once the guests are finished eating, servers provide their bills upon their request and clean up the table when they leave. Servers should have excellent customer service skills and hospitality management skills.
Server responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real server resumes:
- Manage expediter window paying close attention to garnishes and presentation.
- Provide exceptional customer service, while frequently checking for food allergies, by utilizing excellent communication and multitasking skills.
- Maximize profits by upselling food and alcoholic beverages and utilizing excellent customer service skills to ensure guests repeat business.
- Clean bars, work areas, and tables.
- Provide exceptional service to guests with charm, professionalism, respect, and bright personality.
- Embrace serving on a more personal level due the quaint, small-town charm of the location.
- Assist customers in taking and delivering choices from bar and kitchen; delivering condiments from service bars.
- Require knowledge and application in a computer program call micros, handling of money, and phone handling.
- Relay orders to bar and kitchen by quickly and accurately recording guest selections and keying them into the micros.
- Experience working hands on with customers and providing excellent customer service and making sure their dining experience are pleasurable.
- Provide excellent customer service to insure a pleasurable dining experience at a variety of venues in the same casino.
- Maintain knowledge of all menu pricing, preparation, method, time, ingredients, garnish and method presentation.
- Detail menu selection, major ingredients, appearance, texture, quality standards, garnish and method of presentation.
- Master POS system and proper hospitality etiquette.
- Prepare customer reservations and appease unsatisfied customers.
Server skills and personality traits
We calculated that 15% of Servers are proficient in Wine, Customer Service, and Guest Satisfaction. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Communication skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Servers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Wine, 15%
Maintained strong working relationships with colleagues and patrons while consistently demonstrating wine knowledge and proper serving etiquette.
- Customer Service, 10%
Served food and tended to customers with a happy and charismatic disposition, basically assured optimal customer service.
- Guest Satisfaction, 8%
Provided high-quality, made-from-scratch dishes and signature beverages in an upscale atmosphere, ensuring quality guest satisfaction and overall experience.
- Cleanliness, 7%
Conducted continual visual inspection of cleanliness, organization, customer satisfaction and proper food handling methods.
- Cash Handling, 7%
Provided customer service *Computerized order entry *Food/beverage handling *Cash handling/Credit card transactions
- POS, 6%
Collected payments from customers and processed payments using POS system authorization.
Common skills that a server uses to do their job include "wine," "customer service," and "guest satisfaction." You can find details on the most important server responsibilities below.
Detail oriented. The most essential soft skill for a server to carry out their responsibilities is detail oriented. This skill is important for the role because "waiters and waitresses must record customers’ orders accurately." Additionally, a server resume shows how their duties depend on detail oriented: "preformed excellent customer service skills, showing attention to details, and menu knowledge. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform server duties is communication skills. Servers responsibilities require that "waiters and waitresses must listen to customers, ask questions as needed, and relay information to the kitchen staff so that orders are prepared to the customers’ satisfaction." Servers also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "provide exceptional customer service through menu knowledge and effective, friendly communication. "
Customer-service skills. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of servers is customer-service skills. This skill is critical to many everyday server duties, as "waiters and waitresses are frontline workers for their restaurant." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "job description: customer service, taking orders, inputting orders into computer, menu knowledge/accuracy"
Physical strength. server responsibilities often require "physical strength." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "waiters and waitresses need to be able to lift and carry trays of food or other items." This resume example shows what servers do with physical strength on a typical day: "strengthened beer and liquor knowledge * resolved guest complaints quickly and efficiently * quickly recorded transactions in micros systems"
The three companies that hire the most servers are:
- Darden Restaurants2,645 servers jobs
- Pizza Hut2,594 servers jobs
- Cracker Barrel2,511 servers jobs
Choose from 10+ customizable server resume templates
Build a professional server resume in minutes. Our AI resume writing assistant will guide you through every step of the process, and you can choose from 10+ resume templates to create your server resume.
Compare different servers
Server vs. Waitress
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.
These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a server are more likely to require skills like "wine," "cleanliness," "cash handling," and "english language." On the other hand, a job as a waitress requires skills like "food preparation," "waiter," "food stations," and "phone orders." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.
Waitresses earn the highest salaries when working in the hospitality industry, with an average yearly salary of $25,414. On the other hand, servers are paid more in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $28,027.On average, waitresses reach similar levels of education than servers. Waitresses are 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.0% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Server vs. Hostess
Hostesses are responsible for managing guests who come to the restaurant. They greet guests, ensure that the guests have tables ready before letting them into the restaurant floor, guide the guests to their assigned tables, and introduce the guests to the waiter assigned to the table. Hostesses also manage the reservation list, often manning the restaurant's reservation hotline. They also control the entry of guests, answer any query that guests may have, and take note of any special requests. Hostesses ensure that guests have the best possible restaurant experience.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that server responsibilities requires skills like "wine," "cleanliness," "cash handling," and "english language." But a hostess might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "reservations," "ensure cleanliness," "front desk," and "floor plan."
Hostesses may earn a lower salary than servers, but hostesses earn the most pay in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $26,739. On the other hand, servers receive higher pay in the hospitality industry, where they earn an average salary of $28,027.In general, hostesses achieve similar levels of education than servers. They're 0.5% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Server vs. Food runner
Food Runners are responsible for assisting waitstaff on serving customers at a restaurant or similar establishment. Among their duties include maintaining cleanliness in particular areas, setting tables, refilling drinks, assisting customers with everything that they need, and coordinating with the workforce in and out of the kitchen. Furthermore, Food Runners need to ensure that all deliveries are accurate according to what is ordered by a customer. It is essential to stay presentable and helpful at all times as the main priority is customer satisfaction.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a server is likely to be skilled in "cash handling," "english language," "punctuality," and "guest complaints," while a typical food runner is skilled in "culinary," "food handling," "safety standards," and "food preparation."
Food runners make a very good living in the hospitality industry with an average annual salary of $26,747. On the other hand, servers are paid the highest salary in the hospitality industry, with average annual pay of $28,027.food runners typically earn similar educational levels compared to servers. Specifically, they're 0.7% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Server vs. Assistant manager/server
Types of server
Updated January 8, 2025
