Waitress vs fine dining server

The differences between waitresses and fine dining servers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a fine dining server has an average salary of $32,140, 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 fine dining server are wine, fine dining, and cleanliness.

Waitress vs fine dining server overview

	Waitress	Fine Dining Server
Yearly salary	$24,770	$32,140
Hourly rate	$11.91	$15.45
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	87,315	77,549
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Average age	28	28
Years of experience	-	-

What does a waitress do?

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.

What does a fine dining server do?

Fine dining servers the people who make your stay at a restaurant enjoyable. They deliver well-written orders for the kitchen to prepare and bring your food and beverage. Being a fine dining server is no easy task, as certain skill sets need to be met in order to become an effective dining server. An efficient server is detail-oriented, observant to the needs of the diners, and intuitive. An extensive knowledge of wines and other specific food categories may be required depending on the restaurant.

Waitress vs fine dining server salary

Waitresses and fine dining servers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Waitress	Fine Dining Server
Average salary	$24,770	$32,140
Salary range	Between $17,000 And $35,000	Between $21,000 And $47,000
Highest paying City	Washington, DC	-
Highest paying state	New York	-
Best paying company	New York Institute of Technology	-
Best paying industry	Hospitality	-

Differences between waitress and fine dining server education

There are a few differences between a waitress and a fine dining server in terms of educational background:

	Waitress	Fine Dining Server
Most common degree	High School Diploma, 36%	Bachelor's Degree, 53%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	-	-

Waitress vs fine dining server demographics

Here are the differences between waitresses' and fine dining servers' demographics:

	Waitress	Fine Dining Server
Average age	28	28
Gender ratio	Male, 19.9% Female, 80.1%	Male, 39.6% Female, 60.4%
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, 11.4% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 19.6% Asian, 8.2% White, 54.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between waitress and fine dining server duties and responsibilities

Waitress example responsibilities.

Manage a recurring book of business of top VIP clients secure through networking.
Relay orders to bar and kitchen by quickly and accurately recording guest selections and keying them into the POS computer system.
wait tables, handle money, exceed guest expectations, serve food and drinks, micros, clean, side work.
Increase store sales by upselling merchandise.
Enter order/payment information into micros system, deliver receipt and change to the customer.
Bring wine selections to tables with appropriate glasses, and pour the wines for customers.

Fine dining server example responsibilities.

Schedule and prioritize workload while managing multiple tasks as a representative of this distinctive establishment frequent by wine enthusiasts.
Maintain Microsoft windows base computer system.
Work closely with management to implement new organizational systems to facilitate efficient wine service and inventory.
Craft featured cocktails and signature drinks when bartending.
Inform chefs if guests have any allergies or other requests.
Maintain cleanliness of work areas, china, glass, etc., throughout the day.

Waitress vs fine dining server skills

Common waitress skills

Food Orders, 13%
Food Preparation, 9%
Customer Orders, 8%
POS, 7%
Drink Orders, 5%
Customer Service, 5%

Common fine dining server skills

Wine, 27%
Fine Dining, 24%
Cleanliness, 7%
Customer Service, 5%
Beverage Orders, 4%
POS, 4%

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Waitress vs Fine Dining Server

Updated January 8, 2025

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