Fast Food and Counter Workers

What the job really is

Perform duties such as taking orders and serving food and beverages. Serve customers at counter or from a steam table. May take payment. May prepare food and beverages.

At a glance

• Sector: Food Preparation & Serving
• O*NET-SOC code: 35-3023
• O*NET job zone: 2 — some preparation
• Work sample tasks on file: 12
• Tools and technologies listed: 12

What you actually do

Work sample tasks recorded for this occupation:

• Accept payment from customers, and make change as necessary.
• Serve customers in eating places that specialize in fast service and inexpensive carry-out food.
• Request and record customer orders, and compute bills, using cash registers, multi-counting machines, or pencil and paper.
• Balance receipts and payments in cash registers.
• Communicate with customers regarding orders, comments, and complaints.
• Serve food, beverages, or desserts to customers in such settings as take-out counters of restaurants or lunchrooms, business or industrial establishments, hotel rooms, and cars.
• Monitor and order supplies or food items, and restock as necessary to maintain inventory.
• Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping, mopping, and washing dishes, to keep equipment and facilities sanitary.
• Brew coffee and tea, and fill containers with requested beverages.
• Clean and organize eating, service, and kitchen areas.
• Prepare daily food items, and cook simple foods and beverages, such as sandwiches, salads, soups, pizza, or coffee, using proper safety precautions and sanitary measures.
• Prepare and serve cold drinks, frozen milk drinks, or desserts, using drink-dispensing, milkshake, or frozen-custard machines.

Tools and technology

Facebook, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office software, Microsoft Windows, Aldelo Systems Aldelo for Restaurants Pro, Automatic dicers, Automatic peelers, Automatic slicers, Barcode scanners, Blenders, Broilers, Can openers

What employers expect you to already be comfortable with.

Where this job leads

Related occupations — the usual moves up and sideways:

• Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
• Food Preparation Workers
• Food Servers, Nonrestaurant
• Baristas
• Waiters and Waitresses
• Cooks, Restaurant
• Cooks, Short Order
• Dishwashers

Getting in

O*NET assigns this occupation job zone 2 (some preparation). The related occupations above are the realistic routes in and out.

Find openings

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Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Fast Food and Counter Workers — the authoritative public-domain profile this page is derived from, including the full task list, reported skills and the wage estimates for your region.

Derived and rewritten from the public-domain O*NET database (U.S. Department of Labor / Employment and Training Administration). Figures are observations, not promises — always confirm salary, licensing and visa requirements with the employer and the relevant authority.