A hostess/server may be responsible for handling clients’ credit cards.
In most cases, a receptionist/waitress is a restaurant professional responsible for serving and seating duties. This typically includes keeping track of the waitlist, if applicable, welcoming guests and taking orders along with serving food and beverages, checking guest satisfaction, and creating the account. In some establishments, the receptionist/server also acts as a cashier for their customers.
A host/server makes changes to a previous model check record.
You are more likely to find a hostess/server position in a small private establishment than in a large restaurant or chain restaurant. Positions are generally combined to reduce the number of employees needed per shift. This means that employees must perform the functions of two jobs.
The hostess part of the job usually involves managing customers at the front door or in the lobby. In slow times, this might mean simply seating guests when they arrive. Still, the host/server should be careful about changing service areas if other servers are in service. This helps ensure that no one server has too many tables to handle at the same time, while another server has none.
A hostess usually greets guests upon arrival.
When there is a lot of work, the hostess/waiter may need to manage a waiting list. He or she may also be responsible for answering calls for reservations and information. In some cases, this role must also accept compliance requests in person or over the phone and enter them into the system.
The server portion of the service typically involves taking orders, delivering food, and assisting guests with needs like drink refills or condiments. In most restaurants, an attendant or attendant/hostess is responsible for fulfilling initial drink orders from the fountain area. In some establishments she prepares appetizer salads or bread baskets; in others, these items are prepared in the kitchen by line cooks, with the housekeeper/waitress serving only the food.
The hostess/server position is more likely to be found in a small private establishment than in a large restaurant.
It is not uncommon for a hostess/server to also have duties on duty that do not strictly apply to their specific clients. This may include rolling cutlery and refilling salt and pepper dispensers or other condiments. Other duties may include preparing bread baskets, side dishes or other food preparation items in the kitchen and vacuuming the floor in the dining room.
A hostess/server must be eloquent, agile and graceful under pressure.
Occasionally the hostess/server is also responsible for cashier duties. That means using credit cards or giving change for cash payments. It can also mean settling the payment system at the end of the night, which often includes closing the credit card system and counting and cleaning the cashier.