Waiters and Waitresses

What the job really is

Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment.

At a glance

• Sector: Food Preparation & Serving
• O*NET-SOC code: 35-3031
• 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:

• Collect payments from customers.
• Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.
• Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.
• Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals, and take action to correct any problems.
• Take orders from patrons for food or beverages.
• Prepare checks that itemize and total meal costs and sales taxes.
• Remove dishes and glasses from tables or counters, and take them to kitchen for cleaning.
• Clean tables or counters after patrons have finished dining.
• Serve food or beverages to patrons, and prepare or serve specialty dishes at tables as required.
• Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping and mopping floors, vacuuming carpet, tidying up server station, taking out trash, or checking and cleaning bathroom.
• Present menus to patrons and answer questions about menu items, making recommendations upon request.
• Prepare tables for meals, including setting up items such as linens, silverware, and glassware.

Tools and technology

Facebook, Alphanumeric paging equipment, Blink, Carving knives, Cash registers, Compris Advanced Manager's Workstation, Compris software, Credit card processing machines, Hospitality Control Solutions Aloha Point-of-Sale, Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale, MICROS Systems HSI Profits Series, NCR Advanced Checkout Solution

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 Servers, Nonrestaurant
• Bartenders
• Fast Food and Counter Workers
• Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
• Baristas
• Food Preparation Workers
• Food Service Managers

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

Browse the verified job sources directory, or explore more occupations.

Check this against the source

O*NET OnLine: Waiters and Waitresses — 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.