Waitress Job Description

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Are you interested in learning more about waitress job descriptions? Whether you are seeking employment as a waitress or if you are looking for ideas that can help you write a job description for your company, finding out the types of duties waitresses are expected to perform and the skills they need to have can be very helpful to you.

About Waitress Job Descriptions

While not every restaurant will use the same job description for waitress positions, the basic duties for this type of work are similar from one employer to another.

Essential Functions of Waitress Jobs

Essential functions specified as mandatory in the majority of waitress job descriptions include:

  • Providing excellent customer service
  • Greeting patrons once they are seated
  • Presenting menus to customers
  • Explaining menu items to customers
  • Answering questions from patrons about food and beverages
  • Taking food and drink orders
  • Up-selling additional food and beverage products to patrons
  • Verifying age of customers who order alcoholic beverages
  • Entering each item ordered into restaurant register system
  • Communicating customer orders to kitchen staff
  • Sharing information with customers about the status of their orders
  • Refilling customer drink orders throughout the meal
  • Ensuring that customer orders are assembled properly in the kitchen
  • Delivering orders to customers
  • Finding out if customers need additional items
  • Verifying that customers are satisfied with their orders
  • Removing empty plates, used silverware, and soiled napkins from tables
  • Determining when customers have completed the meal
  • Delivering check to customers
  • Accepting payment for the meal
  • Attending scheduled team or shift meetings
  • Compliance with all relevant health department rules and regulations

Optional Waitress Duties

Since each restaurant location or chain has its own guidelines for customer service and staffing, wait staff may be asked to perform a variety of different functions. In some facilities, working as a waitress requires additional duties such as:
waitress duties
  • Taking reservation phone calls
  • Greeting customers at the door
  • Seating patrons
  • Assisting with preparation of some food items
  • Preparing table for the next guests once a party has departed
  • Presenting a dessert tray once the main course is finished
  • Working with other wait staff members to provide team oriented service
  • Cash register operation
  • Singing Happy Birthday to patrons upon request
  • Preparing cocktails
  • Providing private event and banquet service
  • Training new food servers
  • Keeping the restaurant location clean and tidy
  • Restocking salad bars or buffet lines
  • Encouraging customers to complete customer service surveys
  • Folding napkins
  • Arranging table settings

Additional Requirements to Work as a Waitress

Some employers prefer to hire waitresses who have previous serving experience, while others are willing to give chances to inexperienced individuals with a positive attitude and good work ethic. When interviewing candidates for waitress positions, hiring managers tend to look for those who come across as positive and upbeat and who can demonstrate that they can be expected to be reliable employees.

Regardless of employer hiring preferences, there are several skills and abilities that individuals who want to work as waitresses must to have. For example, working as a waitress is a physically demanding job. Waitresses must have the ability to work on ones feet, performing a combination of standing and walking, for extended periods of time. They must also be able to lift and carry very heavy trays from the kitchen to where customers are seated.

Sample Job Descriptions for Waitresses

For more information on waitress job descriptions and tips on they should be formatted, it's a good idea to review sample documents. Free example descriptions can be found on a variety of websites, including:

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