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The differences between server managers and service 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 server manager, becoming a service manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a service manager has an average salary of $74,009, which is higher than the $61,639 average annual salary of a server manager.
The top three skills for a server manager include customer service, payroll and POS. The most important skills for a service manager are POS, performance reviews, and cash handling.
| Server Manager | Service Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $61,639 | $74,009 |
| Hourly rate | $29.63 | $35.58 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 153,999 | 341,785 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
As the name entails, server managers are responsible for managing and overseeing the serving areas in restaurants. This role is associated with several tasks, including checking the appearance of servers, checking a server's knowledge of the restaurant's daily specials and menu items, and greeting the customers. Additional tasks may include assisting new serving crews and evaluating their self-reliance and capabilities, managing the schedule of servers, and organizing staff training. The skills needed for this position may include excellent customer service skills, leadership skills, and communication skills.
Service managers are employees who oversee the departments related to providing services to customers. They ensure that service delivery agreements are met by employees in the department. Service managers meet with stakeholders to set service delivery metrics and department goals. They then create strategies to reach these metrics and goals. They are responsible for cascading such goals and metrics to their employees and ensuring that the employees understand what they need to do. Service managers should have a deep understanding and appreciation of the company and its business so that they can create strategies that are in line with the company's identity. They should also be familiar with the customer profiles of the company. Service managers are also responsible for creating department reports and sharing these with stakeholders.
Server managers and service managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Server Manager | Service Manager | |
| Average salary | $61,639 | $74,009 |
| Salary range | Between $23,000 And $162,000 | Between $47,000 And $116,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Latham & Watkins |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a server manager and a service manager in terms of educational background:
| Server Manager | Service Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 47% | Bachelor's Degree, 52% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between server managers' and service managers' demographics:
| Server Manager | Service Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 34.3% Female, 65.7% | Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.1% Asian, 8.6% White, 58.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |