Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between waitresses and beverage servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a beverage server has an average salary of $25,886, which is higher than the $24,770 average annual salary of a waitress.
The top three skills for a waitress include food orders, food preparation and customer orders. The most important skills for a beverage server are drink orders, guest service, and beverage orders.
| Waitress | Beverage Server | |
| Yearly salary | $24,770 | $25,886 |
| Hourly rate | $11.91 | $12.45 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 87,315 | 79,100 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Average age | 28 | 28 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
A beverage server specializes in mixing and preparing drinks, serving them to customers courteously. Their responsibilities also include greeting the customers, taking orders, answering inquiries, offering recommendations when necessary, and checking the customers' identification to confirm their ages. They may also provide assistance to managers by monitoring beverage inventories, receiving and unloading deliveries, organizing supplies and equipment, and maintaining the cleanliness of work areas. Moreover, as a beverage server, it is essential to have a clear communication line with co-workers for smooth work operations.
Waitresses and beverage servers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Waitress | Beverage Server | |
| Average salary | $24,770 | $25,886 |
| Salary range | Between $17,000 And $35,000 | Between $20,000 And $33,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | - |
| Highest paying state | New York | - |
| Best paying company | New York Institute of Technology | - |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | - |
There are a few differences between a waitress and a beverage server in terms of educational background:
| Waitress | Beverage Server | |
| Most common degree | High School Diploma, 36% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | - |
Here are the differences between waitresses' and beverage servers' demographics:
| Waitress | Beverage Server | |
| Average age | 28 | 28 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1% | Male, 13.6% Female, 86.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 20.2% Asian, 8.6% White, 53.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 11.5% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 19.3% Asian, 8.3% White, 54.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |