Waiter vs Head Waiter
In general, the waiter is the professional responsible for preparing the botim phone number data and all the utensils necessary to properly receive the restaurant's customers, while the head waiter is responsible for organizing and directing the restaurant's services and supervising the staff. In practice, some tasks may overlap, but these are the main differences:
1. Customer Relationship
The head waiter or head waiter is the first person to contact customers. He or she accompanies them to their table, hands them the menu and, in some cases, takes their orders. He or she must be attentive to the customers' needs so that, if necessary, changes can be made to the service and provide a more satisfactory experience.
A waiter is the person responsible for a group of tables in a given restaurant. Most of the time, they take orders, serve drinks and dishes and clear everything away at the end.
2. Functions before service
Before customers arrive, the waiter is responsible for all the necessary mise-en-place, a French term meaning “to put in place”. He must therefore prepare all the materials and products needed for the daily service and know the menu in detail in order to present it to customers.
In addition to organizing and directing restaurant services, the head waiter supervises the team of waiters, coordinating all services and the restaurant's daily mise-en-place.
3. Functions during service
During mealtime, the waiter serves customers, always in accordance with the instructions of the head waiter. He is responsible for taking orders from the kitchen and transporting dirty and clean dishes from the restaurant to the pantry and vice versa.
The waiter oversees all activities that take place during the service. If a customer is not satisfied or has any type of complaint, this professional is responsible for solving the problem, bridging the gap between the establishment and customer satisfaction.
4. Required knowledge
Depending on the type of establishment, the waiter must have knowledge of wines, bars, cuisine, pastries and cafeterias. He or she must be able to perform specific procedures such as carving, coring and peeling, and be familiar with the protocol rules. Preferably, he or she should speak two foreign languages.
The waiter should, in principle, understand and carry out all the tasks of his team, but his skills should go a little further. In addition to knowing the rules of etiquette and protocol, he must be able to give clear and simple instructions and manage his team effectively.
5. Training
There are several professional and practical courses available for both waiters and waitresses. Ideally, these professionals should have basic training specific to their field, particularly in the art of customer service and learning foreign languages.
Despite having an identical basic learning experience, the head waiter or waitress must obtain a little more training, specifically in the area of team management, customer service and skills such as organization, time management, mediation, etc.
