What does a waitstaff do?
The waitstaff takes responsibility for tasks like recommending dishes based on the tastes and preferences of guests, accepting payments, and taking orders. Waitstaff delivers food to tables, ensures outstanding guest experience, and accepts payments. They work with diligence to get outstanding service quality and work with the other staff. It is part of their job to show customers their seats and provide menu options. They attend to tables for food service and guarantee cleanliness standard compliance.
Waitstaff responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real waitstaff resumes:
- Set up, work in, and manage the private room events as both bartender and waiter.
- Assist with stocking of pantry when groceries arrive.
- Cater private events and perform light bartending duties.
- Increase total restaurant sales by upselling specials and top-shelf liquors.
- Work regularly on the pass as well as a waiter.
- Offer meal suggestions base on diverse culinary repertoire and expert food knowledge.
- Communicate with the residents and to fulfill orders in a pleasurable manner.
- Work POS system to input orders, finalize sales, and calculate meal usage.
- Learn local breweries and suggest to customers, learn to make mix drinks and bartending
- Demonstrate knowledge of the POS system and accurately inputs charges, resident names, and selections.
- Be able to correctly and effectively communicate menu specials, menu items, wine and alcohol menu.
- Provide assistant to the wait staff and work as a busboy when need once the party are over.
- Learned the pairing of Italian food and wine from a nationally rank chef and owner from Naples, Italy.
- Serve multiple roles during a schedule shift which require changing uniforms from busboy, bar-back, to server as needed.
- Maintain cleanliness and organization of restaurant.
Waitstaff skills and personality traits
We calculated that 23% of Waitstaffs are proficient in Food Service, Beverage Orders, and Culinary. They’re also known for soft skills such as Detail oriented, Communication skills, and Customer-service skills.
We break down the percentage of Waitstaffs that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Food Service, 23%
Collaborate with cook to prepare meals for patrons; stayed abreast on food service industry standards such as handling and health.
- Beverage Orders, 19%
Received and placed all food and beverage orders for the extremely fast paced atmosphere.
- Culinary, 19%
Cross trained in culinary operations and sanitation operations.
- Team Work, 16%
Team work was always number one.
- Meal Orders, 8%
Assist with setting the dining room for breakfast and lunch, obtain meal orders from residents and serve them their meal.
- Wine, 3%
Prepared and served mixed drinks, beer, wine, and snack food to an average of 12 leagues a night.
"food service," "beverage orders," and "culinary" are among the most common skills that waitstaffs use at work. You can find even more waitstaff responsibilities below, including:
Detail oriented. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a waitstaff to have is detail oriented. Their role and responsibilities require that "waiters and waitresses must record customers’ orders accurately." Waitstaffs often use detail oriented in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "customer-oriented food service and hospitality industry. "
Communication skills. Another essential skill to perform waitstaff duties is communication skills. Waitstaffs 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." Waitstaffs also use communication skills in their role according to a real resume snippet: "have excellent customer service communication. "
Customer-service skills. This is an important skill for waitstaffs to perform their duties. For an example of how waitstaff responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "waiters and waitresses are frontline workers for their restaurant." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of a waitstaff: "greet customers, take food and drink orders and ensure a pleasant dining experience. ".
Physical strength. waitstaff 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 waitstaffs do with physical strength on a typical day: "strengthened overall sales, balanced cash drawers, promoted local fundraisers, and managed phone orders. "
The three companies that hire the most waitstaffs are:
- Atria Senior Living228 waitstaffs jobs
- Masonicare38 waitstaffs jobs
- The Bristal Assisted Living22 waitstaffs jobs
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Compare different waitstaffs
Waitstaff vs. Server
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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between waitstaffs and server. For instance, waitstaff responsibilities require skills such as "culinary," "team work," "meal orders," and "food preparation." Whereas a server is skilled in "cash handling," "english language," "seat guests," and "punctuality." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Servers really shine in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $28,027. Comparatively, waitstaffs tend to make the most money in the health care industry with an average salary of $26,991.On average, servers reach similar levels of education than waitstaffs. Servers are 0.3% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Waitstaff vs. Food server
A Food Server specializes in helping customers attain a pleasant dining experience while ensuring to meet all food handling and health regulation standards. Most of the responsibilities revolve around greeting customers and directing them to comfortable seats, responding to their inquires and taking their orders, and courteously suggesting options. Aside from serving meals, Food Servers must also accept payments, organize order receipts, replenish stocks in food containers and drinking stations, and clean tables for the new customers.
While some skills are similar in these professions, other skills aren't so similar. For example, resumes show us that waitstaff responsibilities requires skills like "food service," "culinary," "team work," and "meal orders." But a food server might use other skills in their typical duties, such as, "guest service," "cash handling," "beverage service," and "kitchen utensils."
Food servers earn a higher average salary than waitstaffs. But food servers earn the highest pay in the retail industry, with an average salary of $27,445. Additionally, waitstaffs earn the highest salaries in the health care with average pay of $26,991 annually.In general, food servers achieve similar levels of education than waitstaffs. They're 0.2% less likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Waitstaff 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.
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from waitstaff resumes include skills like "team work," "meal orders," "good communication," and "groceries," whereas a food runner is more likely to list skills in "safety standards," "garnish," "food delivery," and "food quality. "
Food runners earn the best pay in the hospitality industry, where they command an average salary of $26,747. Waitstaffs earn the highest pay from the health care industry, with an average salary of $26,991.When it comes to education, food runners tend to earn similar degree levels compared to waitstaffs. In fact, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree, and 0.1% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Waitstaff vs. Food and beverage server
Types of waitstaff
Updated January 8, 2025
