What does a Server do?
A Server is employed within a food-service business to wait tables and mediate customer requests. Servers are required to provide excellent customer service to diners, not only taking orders but also dealing with feedback and ensuring that customer satisfaction is high. Servers are often required to sell drinks, liaise with the restaurant kitchen and take payments at the end of a meal.
Servers may be asked to perform varied tasks on a day-to-day basis, including cleaning jobs within the restaurant and administrative tasks such as inventory checks.
Server skills and qualifications
Servers need excellent customer service and communication skills to excel in delivering the right meals and beverages. They will require a mixture of practical restaurant skills alongside food and beverage knowledge.
Important skills and qualifications for Servers include the following:
- Call and response speaking and writing
- Applied arithmetic and accurate cash-register accounting
- Multitasking to manage multiple tables, orders and meal deliveries at once
- Barista and drink mixing
- Food and beverage preparation, regarding garnishes and dish identification
Server experience requirements
Servers should have experience working under pressure while they are multitasking. They need experience in working within a team and knowledge of the specific consumer that a restaurant receives. Previous experience working in a fast-paced restaurant, bar or cafe environment is ideal. Direct experience waiting tables, taking orders and serving food is preferable, but experience working in kitchens or other customer-facing roles can also be appropriate for the job.
Entry-level Servers might have no restaurant experience, but a willingness to learn and gain new skills is important for the job.
Server education and training requirements
Formal qualifications aren’t always necessary to become a Server, but in-house and on-the-job training is imperative for success if a candidate is joining at entry-level. Servers need basic school qualifications, including General Certificates of Secondary Education (GCSEs) in mathematics and English. Some Servers have training from college courses in customer service, food handling and hospitality.
College courses include a Level 1 Certificate in Food and Beverage Service or a Level 1 Award in Introduction to Employment in the Hospitality Industry. Active servers also possess apprenticeship placements in the hospitality industry, earn respected degrees in hospitality or restaurant management at a university.
Server salary expectations
According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for a Server is £9.26 per hour. This salary can vary depending on their level of experience, location and type of food they serve.
Job description samples for similar positions
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