How to Become a Waiter or Waitress
Overview of a Waiter/Waitress Role
The role of a Waiter/Waitress is to greet customers when they enter an establishment, take them to an available seating area, and provide the food and drinks that they request during their stay. A Waiter/Waitress must have good customer service skills to deal with customers politely. They should also be able to multitask, both when taking orders and delivering food, to remember who ordered what, as they will be expected to carry multiple items at once.
A Waiter/Waitress must keep dining areas clean for future customers and keep their uniform tidy to reflect professionalism. They will also be expected to take payments and distribute change.
A Waiter/Waitress job does not require previous experience, and the skills needed to perform well in this role will be learned through on-the-job training.
Dress Code
The dress code will depend on the theme of the establishment, but typically a Waiter/Waitress will wear smart clothes such as a white dress shirt, black pants and black shoes.
Waiter and Waitress Responsibilities
It is important for a Waiter/Waitress to greet customers politely, take their orders accurately, serve food and drink promptly, and process payments when required to provide maximum customer service.
Waiter and Waitress Tips
A good tip for wait staff is to understand the menu, as sometimes customers will ask for recommendations or more information about a particular dish, it is important to be able to describe what they are asking.
You will need to actively listen to customer concerns and be able to cater to their needs. Sometimes they will ask for changes to be made to a dish, and you must note these for the kitchen staff.
Waiter and Waitress Skills
A Waiter/Waitress must have excellent communication and customer service skills to cater to visitors. They will also need to be able to multitask while taking orders and delivering food.
Customer Service Skills
It is very important for a Waiter/Waitress to be able to communicate clearly with customers and understand what they want. Always be polite, and in the event of a complaint, be clear and calm with your explanation.
A Waiter/Waitress takes multiple orders, and it is important to actively listen to the customer’s needs, as sometimes they might need dishes to be modified, and it is your job to communicate that to other staff.
Ability to Multitask
Being able to multitask is important for a Waiter/Waitress, as they will be dealing with multiple tables at a time, delivering many plates of food and serving a lot of drinks. It is important to know which tasks to prioritise, and which customers have been here the longest and will need to be tended to first.
You will need to manage your time effectively when it comes to waiting service, as delays in food or drinks, or waiting too long to have their order taken will cause customers to complain.
Duties of a Waiter or Waitress
A Waiter/Waitress is responsible for taking customer orders correctly, managing payments when the customers are finished and ready to leave, and cleaning the dining areas after customers have left, ready for the next visitors.
Taking Customer Orders
Be an active listener when taking orders from customers, as it is usually quite noisy in an eating establishment, and you will need to take orders correctly and with any changes the customer might request.
Once you’ve taken the orders it is always best to repeat them back to make sure they are to the customer’s specifications before leaving the table. This needs to be done correctly, as some customers might have food allergies, and the preparation of their food will be different from normal.
Be polite and attentive when taking orders for maximum customer service.
Cleaning Dining Areas
Once a customer leaves, a Waiter/Waitress should be vigilant in cleaning the dining area and removing any food or plates that have been left. For health and safety reasons, and to make the area accessible to the next customers, it is important to remove or replace all cutlery, napkins, glasses, plates, or food from the table before they are taken to the table.
Cleaning the dining areas should be done with specific cleaning products which will be shown during health and safety training.
Managing Payments
Customers will usually request the bill when they are ready to leave, it is the Waiter/Waitress's job to calculate the total correctly and take into consideration how many people are paying, and if the bill is split, what each person will be contributing.
For this, it is important to have some numeracy skills, and the ability to work with card payment machines to correctly calculate the total. Some customers will need change, and some will leave a tip, a tip is not calculated into the total payment.
Waiter/Waitress Career Progression and Advancement
After gaining experience as a Waiter/Waitress it is possible to progress into Supervisor or Management roles. If you’re looking for a career adjacent to this, it is also possible to look at other Hospitality opportunities.
Advancing to Supervisor or Restaurant Management Roles
Gaining enough experience as a Waiter/Waitress will give you enough knowledge of the Hospitality industry to move into Supervisor or Management roles. To do this you will need to have experience in managing a team of servers and take on additional duties like scheduling and training new staff.
A Restaurant Manager deals with the entire front-of-house, including managing staff, maintaining budgets and ensuring customer satisfaction. This takes more training and a high level of skill but is still a potential career option for a Waiter/Waitress.
Other Hospitality Opportunities
There are many more hospitality opportunities that you can move into from waiting staff. It is possible to move into the catering sector to be a Waiter/Waitress at events or even a Catering Assistant.
Many of these roles require similar skills that you will have gained as Waiting Staff which will help you progress into these careers. Improving your customer service skills, time management and ability to multitask will be essential for moving into a new role.
FAQs on Becoming a Waiter or Waitress
How Long Does It Take to Become a Waiter or Waitress?
Training for a Waiter/Waitress usually takes between a few days to a few weeks to get used to the role. On-the-job training is usually provided, and no qualifications are needed.
Do I Need Experience to Become a Waiter or Waitress?
No, prior experience isn’t usually needed, but having some customer service experience can be beneficial. However, most places are happy to train new staff on the specifics of their role.
How Much Does a Waiter or Waitress Earn in the UK?
A Waiter/Waitress can expect to earn around £23,000 per year on average. Entry-level positions may start lower, but more experienced staff can potentially earn more.
What Does a Waiter or Waitress Do?
A Waiter/Waitress is expected to greet customers, seat them at their table, take their food and drink orders and bring the items they request to the table when the items are ready. They will also need to ensure customer satisfaction and process payments.
