Otázka: The waiter’s job
Jazyk: Angličtina pro hotelové školy
Přidal(a): Kristýna Koutníková
Describe the waiter’s job as you know it
Jobs at the restaurant
Some of the restaurant employees work at the front of the dining area, some of them work in the back. They all report to the manager: The food and beverage manager is responsible for the kitchen and restaurant staff. He plans the menus with the chef, handles the day-to-day running of the business, does the accounts, and manages the team. He/ she also has to deal with the complaints of the guests. A food and beverage manager has to be well organized and efficient. Three people report directly to him: the head waiter, the bar manager and the head chef.
The restaurant manager / the food and beverage manager is responsible for the whole restaurant. He manages the head waiter and the bartender. The head waiter manages the specialist wine waiters and the other waiters and waitresses. The bar manager is responsible for the bar staff.
There is also a dining room assistant. The cashier takes payments and makes change. He operates the cash register.
There may be several parts of the restaurant: the dining room, the private dining room, the bar. There can also be a breakfast restaurant.
Responsibilities and qualities of a waiter / bartender (barman)
The waiter / waitress welcomes / receives / greets the guests, shows them to their table, takes their coats and serves them – brings the menus, takes orders, explains how the dish is made, what it contains, makes recommendations when needed, brings the drinks, refills the glasses, removes the dishes and sets up the table for a new course. He/ she empties the ashtrays, checks that the guests are satisfied, sometimes deals with complaints, brings the bill, explains it if required, and says good bye to them. After the guests have left, he or she clears the table for the next customers.
The barman prepares and serves drinks at the bar. He usually wears a black vest, a black bow tie, a white skirt and a long apron. He is responsible for setting the bar before the shift.
The restaurant staff prepares the banquets too. They arrange the tables in a banqueting style according to the occasion. They lay the tablecloth on the tables, decorate the tables with flowers, candles, napkins, cards with names of the quests, the menus ……
They set the tables with dinner plates, soup plates, side plates and dessert plates, with glasses: water, red and white wine, champagne glasses, fish and meat cutlery and soup spoons.
He or she has to be friendly, polite to the customers, pay attention to their wishes. The guest is always right. He/ she has to pay attention to his/ her appearance and to personal hygiene, and dress well. He/ she has to know all the dishes, how they taste and what ingredients that go into them. He/ she has to remember the names of the guests when they come often. Foreign languages are essential for waiting jobs.
Uniform and equipment
The waiter usually wears black trousers, white shirt and a bow tie, a jacket and black shoes. The waitress usually wears a black skirt, white blouse, a vest and black shoes. The shoes must be comfortable! Sometimes they wear
the hotel or restaurant uniform. Some restaurants don´t require formal uniform and the staff wears trousers with a T-shirt and an apron. The equipment of the waiting staff includes a white side towel, a corkscrew and a lighter or box of matches.
Advantages and disadvantages of waiters´ job
The waiters job is quite hard – you have to walk a lot, carry heavy things, if you work in a smoking restaurant you breath the unhealthy air. The restaurant staff works in shifts, irregular times, often long in the evening, in long duty periods. Sometimes you are under pressure because of difficult guests. But there are also some advantages to this job – you are in contact with the customer, you work in a team, the work is not the same all the time. You may work in your family or own restaurant. You get some extra money – tips.
Your practical training
During my studies I worked as a trainee ………..…. in …………..…. I got experience in all aspects of waiting: I learned how to …………
