Food & Beverage Service-Tutorial Notes

serve guest and also acts like housekeeper when needed. Bussers are knownby different names. In America, a busser is called as a busboy or busgirl,or bus person. Also they are known as dining room and cafeteriaattendants. Again these terms are not popular among British people. InBritish English, busser is called as commis waiter or commis derang or commis boy or waiter’s assistant. All these terms are samewhich refer to busser or bus staff.There is a related term we should also discuss which is “bussing tables”.Basically it is what a bus staff does. Bussing tables means clearing dirty orused items like napkins, dishes, silverware or glassware and cleaning thetable. By the way, don’t get confused that is it bussing or busing. It is bussing.Busser Job RequirementBusser is an entry level job position. In an organization chart, the lowest rankfood and beverage service staff is the busser. That’s why an employer reallydoesn’t demands much while hiring bussers. In fact no post secondary leveleducation or certificate or even previous job experience is required. There abusser has to have certain qualities like ability to stand for a long time, cleantables properly, lift heavy objects and politely talk to guests an overall afriendly service attitude with good communication skills.There are many people who are enjoying high level management positions athotel or restaurant, have started their career as busser. This is a very goodentry level job to enter the hospitality industry and start someone’s career.Many times this position is filled by trainees. Employers also enjoy very littlerisk to hire someone for this position and if that person can perform wellthen easily he or she is promoted from busboy to waiter.What does a Busser DoA busser or busboy or bus person performs a lot of duties in a restaurant. Insome restaurants, busser comes at the very beginning after guest seated andmenu is given by waiter. A busser then pouring water, refilling tea and coffeecups, taking bread and butter to the table, clearing tables and even servingfood and beverage items during busy period when waiter is not available. Healso cleans table and chair and resetting them with fresh linens, clean serviceware and glassware. 197

Job Description of a Busser or Busboy Position Title: Busser or Busboy or Busgirl or Bus Person or commis waiter Reports To: Head Waiter or Captain or Restaurant Manager Duties and Responsibilities: 1. Restock dining room with tableware, flatware, utensils, condiments and linen. 2. Maintain adequate supplies of required items in side stations when the restaurant is open.3. Clean Table and chairs that includes highchairs and booster chairs.4. Reset table and chairs and put fresh linens, clean silverware and glassware.5. Pour water and refill tea and coffee cups.6. Remove soiled and dirty items like used napkin, silverware, glassware etc.7. Brings foods from the kitchen and place on the table.8. While bringing used items must keep chinaware, glassware, flatware separated.9. Serve food and beverage items in extremely rush periods when waiters cannot attend every table.10. Must maintain communication with hosts, kitchen staffs, dishwashers, restaurant manager, and food servers.11. Must attend all guest requests, special needs.12. Provide supplementary items to guests if required.13. Return soiled linen items to the laundry.14. Make food preparation cart empty and clean.Prerequisites Education: High school degree. Must be able to talk in clearly in required language. Experience: None required but similar working experience will be appreciated. 198

 Physical: Must be able to lift heavy objects, stand for a long hours, move quickly, carry trays and other objects that may weigh up to 25 pounds or more.Follow these tips to be a good Busser or Busboy1. Don’t overstock items that will invite breakage and unwanted accidents.2. Do not talk unnecessarily with guest. Be friendly but professional.3. You must be in real hard pressure most of the time but don’t lose your cool.4. Even in rush hours walk fast but don’t run.5. Safety comes first. If there is any broken chinaware or glassware then act immediately. If there is any spilled liquid in the floor, immediately mop the area or at least inform housekeeping.Salary of a Busser or BusboyYou may wonder how much does a Busser make. According to the latestreport from Bureau of Labor Statistics, in USA, 423,080 people work asbusser or busboy or Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and BartenderHelpers. Among them, 273,830 people work at restaurant and other eatingplaces. On average, bussers or busboys make$10.74 per hourand $22,340 in a year. Bussers who work at drinking places where alcoholicbeverages are allowed earn slightly more money ($22,560 per year) thanother buss persons who work at Rooming and Boarding Houses ($20,530per year) or Restaurants and Other Eating Places ($21,720 per year). InCanada, bussers or busboys are making around $20,530 per year.Generally very young people, from 16 to 18 years old, unskilled withoutexperience adult enter in hospitality industry as busser or bussboy orbussgirl or bus person. This is not high paying career path but if youreally have no other choice, if you are student who can work part time basis,if you don’t have any good degree or experience but want to work inhospitality industry then working as a busser should be a right choice. If youcan make your presence felt, very soon you will get chance to be promoted aswaiter.And also keep in mind 199

Johnny Depp, Langston Hughes, and Jon Stewart all worked as a restaurantbusser at one point in their life. Its a tried and true position in the restaurantbusiness that will always need doing, and will always need doing well. Onceyou have experience on your restaurant resume as a busser, it will be mucheasier in the future to get a job as a restaurant host or hostess, and one daytrain your way into waiting tables, which is where the real money is made.But everyones got to pay their dues in one way or another.Bus away! 200

50. Side Work: A Waiters or Waitresses Worst Enemy?Picture this: You’re at the end of a long shift of waiting tables. Your last tablehad not one, but two crying kids, and their parentsignored them while they crushed cereal into thecarpet without cleaning it up. Two tables beforethat, an angry customer took you to task becausethe kitchen overcooked their burger, even thoughyou rang the order in correctly. You’re late to meetup with friends, and your manager finally tells youyou’re cut. You bus your last table, sweep up the lastremaining corn flake on the floor, and you’re aboutto untie your apron and run joyfully intofreedom……when you realize you haven’t done yourside work yet.For those that don’t know, side work is sort of exactly what it sounds like. It’swork that you have to do on the side of your main task, which is serving foodand waiting tables. Side work varies from restaurant to restaurant, but it’sgenerally a list of maintenance tasks that are required to keep a restaurantrunning smoothly, cleanly, and efficiently.Wiping down counters, refilling certain beverages, rolling napkins orsilverware, cleaning the espresso machine, sweeping, filling salt and peppershakers, and running laundry, are just a few of the examples of tasks thatmake up restaurant side work.Generally this decently long list of tasks is divided up by all of the waiters andwaitresses that worked that shift, and depending on when you’re cut fromthe floor, you’ll have a certain chunk of the list that you’re responsible for.For instance, if you were the first server in and opened the restaurant andyou get cut first, it makes no sense for you to clean the espresso machine andthe coffee makers at 10 a.m., because someone is most certainly going to beordering coffee and it defeats the purpose of your time spent.The problem with side work, as most waiters know, is that it just isn’t apriority during a normal work shift. Most of the time, it can’t be. When you’re 201

running food, running beverages, greeting tables, and remembering whatfeels like a million things at once, you’re just not thinking about cleaning thefloors of the restaurant. And that’s okay; it’s normal.But when it’s not a priority during a normal shift, that means that whenyou’re bone tired at the end of your shift and want nothing more than to leavefor a cocktail or your bed, you’ve got a checklist of tasks you’ve still got tocover. Most of which, are somewhat tedious. I’ll be honest, I’ve been irritated,frustrated, and plain old mad when I’ve put aside or forgotten to do my sidework during a shift. You feel like you’ve already done your work, and you’vealready made your money, and then someone wants you to clean a stickysoda machine? Your brain immediately says, “No thanks.”But as side work is an inevitable part of being a waiter, here are a few tips onhow to deal with side work more efficiently to make for a better serving shift,and get you in and out of your restaurant in good time having done your jobto the best of your abilities.1.) Keep Side Work in MindIt’s easy to, I know, but if you keep it in the forefront of your mind, you’regoing to be much better prepared to execute it during your shift. And even ifyou don’t have time to complete your side work during your shift, at least byremembering it’s coming, you set yourself up to not be bummed out whenyou realized there’s more to do before you can end your work shift.2.) Do A Little Bit at a TimeBy keeping it in mind, you’ll be thinking about what needs to be donethroughout your shift, and if you have a free five minutes, you might be ableto get some things done. About to be cut in 45 minutes? Maybe you can sweepyour section quickly, and wipe down some counters. When you check thoseoff your list, there’s less to do at the very end of your shift, and you cut downon the time you have to stick around. Being proactive and avoidingprocrastination can help you get out of the restaurant sooner and get on withyour life faster.3.) Many Hands Make Light Work 202

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it athousand times, but working in arestaurant is a team effort. If you’rewilling to help your fellow waitersand waitresses out throughout ashift, it just may come back to you.Don’t do it for that reason, though.Help out because you have an extrafew minutes. Help out because ifyou have to restock coffee filtersand someone else has to restock to-go cups, and they’re right next to eachother in the back storage closet, it’s a nice thing to do. And the more you helpothers, guaranteed the more willing they’ll be to help you. If you have a hardor long night, and someone helps you out with a couple side work items,Keeping all these things in mind can help side work be a little more bearableand help get it done faster, getting you done with your shift and on with yourlife. But remember, it’s part of the gig. You can’t sign up to be a firefighterand say, “Yeah, I’m going to fight fires, but I’m just not going to climb laddersbecause I don’t like heights.” It’s part of the whole package and you shouldknow that going into waiting tables.Too many times, I’ve worked with people who conveniently “forget” to dotheir side work, or do it as sloppily and quickly as possible just so they canclock out and leave. The biggest problem with side work, is that if you decideyou’re not going to do it, or you’re going to do it poorly, then you end uppunishing your fellow waiters and waitresses because they won’t have certainitems stocked or certain places cleaned. And frankly, it’s a pretty easy reasonto fire someone, if they’re simply not willing to do all of the essential elementsof the job.Sometimes, as a waiter, you have to take a deep breath, puff out your chestand plow through it. And then you get to that well-earned beer on the otherside of your shift! 203

51. Food Runner Job DescriptionWelcome to our job description series. Previously we have shared followingarticles, for example:In our today’s tutorial, you will learneverything you should know about foodrunner of a restaurant, their jobdescription, list of duties andresponsibilities, salary, tips, jobrequirement etc.What is Food RunnerA food runner is another integral piece ofthe inner workings of a restaurant. Somerestaurants have food runners on every shift, some restaurants have foodrunners on only specific high volume shifts, and some restaurants do not hirea food runner at all, as the duties of a food runner are perceived to be thecollective responsibility of every member of the wait staff, including waitersand waitresses, busser or busboy, and restaurant managers. Either way,food runners still continue to be a part of many restaurant experiences,especially in restaurants that do a high volume of business, or that are largerin size, and necessitate more assistance than generally smaller or slowerpaced restaurants.Food running is another job within the restaurant industry that isn’t exactlyviewed as glamorous, but food running is a great entry level restaurantposition, that can certainly lead to further positions inside the restaurant,like waiting tables, once you have got your foot in the door, know the staff,and most of the menu items. Hot food! Getting it to the tables is prioritynumber one for a food runner.All in all, the job isn’t a terrifically difficult one (though it does help to knowhow to carry multiple, sometimes up to four, plates of food at one time) andyour work hours are usually fairly short, while still allowing you to get paid a 204

minimum restaurant wage, and also gettingtipped out in cash at the end of the night by thewait staff.Food Runner Job DescriptionThe job description of a food runner is quitesimple; almost intelligible just by its name. Thejob of a food runner is to pick up food from thekitchen, and deliver it to the correct table in therestaurant, to the correct diner who ordered thefood (preferably without needing to ask whoordered what). The purpose of a food runner isto alleviate some of the pressure off of the waiter or waitress who is servingthat table, and to ensure customer satisfaction by assuring that the food getsto the table hot and as soon as possible, without sitting in the heating windowand overcooking or getting cold.Food runner Duties and Responsibilities Speedily and efficiently deliver food from the kitchen to tables in the restaurant. Know the order the food was placed in, so as to deliver each dish to its respective patron. Fill water glasses and/or pass on beverage refill orders to servers at table. General waiter and waitress assistance, including table bussing, check dropping, etc.Food Runner TipsHow much do food runners get paid? Well, as we have said before, and willcontinue to say in the future, compensation for many positions within therestaurant, depend tremendously on the type of restaurant you might beworking in. Again, bigger restaurants with higher price points will deliverbigger tips to servers, and bigger tips to bussers and food runners. Theopposite is also generally true for smaller restaurants with lower price points.That said, food runners can expect to be paid roughly their minimum wagesalary, along with about $10 or so dollars more an hour cash tips from the 205

wait staff. Again, this dollar amount can change drastically from place toplace, anywhere from 5 to 25 dollars an hour more or less.Food Runner SalaryFood runner usually make $10 to $15 per hour in USA and around £7.47 onaverage in United Kingdom. Average salary of a food runner in USA isaround $19,200 per year and in UK, food runners make around £18,150 peryear. This is mostly for entry level positions. Experienced food runners earnlot more than these figures.How Do Food Runners Get Paid?Food runners are tipped out, just as many other positions are tipped outwithin a restaurant. At the end of a shift, food runners are tipped out by thewait staff. Depending on the night, servers might leave tips in an envelope toaccommodate for all of their tips from the evening, with a food runners nameon it to be picked up and another shift. Food runners will also generally geta bi-weekly wages check as well.Food Runner Skills and Requirements Education While this isn’t an imperative part of the job, its best to have a diploma or your GED in order to be a food runner. A basic level of education proves a lot for a prospective employer, and this could be the difference between whether or not you get the job. Restaurant Experience Again, if you don’t have it, still go for the job, but to be a food runner, it is important to employers that you understand customer service at a basic level, as well as some of the pacing and necessities of the restaurant industry. If not, no worries, this can be an entry level position that will get you the experience you need as well. Cleanliness Its important to remember that if you are the food runner in the restaurant, you are the last face a customer will see before they eat their dinner. Its important to have good hygiene (clean fingernails, hair in place, etc.) to represent yourself and the restaurant as well as possible. Strength As strange as it might seem, its definitely true. Restaurant plates can be heavy duty, and with food on them, can weigh up to a couple pounds each. Now put six or so of those on a platter, or carry them around with your arms outstretched, and youve got some sore arms at the end of 206

the night. Prepare for that by making sure your body can handle the stress of lifting and carrying for a whole night. Teamwork The better you can interact, communicate, and assist your fellow employees the better off you will be. People often think they are out for themselves in the industry, but the more amicable you can be, and the easier you get along with your coworkers, the faster you will get things done as a group, and the mo:re apt you will be as a restaurant crew to make more tips, and that way everyone benefits.Get those things in line, and you should be all good to go hopping into therestaurant industry and getting hot food to patron tables. Be ready for a fastpaced environment, and be excited to have lots of quick communication thatremains professional and friendly with coworkers, customers and managersalike.Remember, once you’ve ran food for long enough, proved your abilityto know the menus and the staff, interact well with customers, and built upa reputation with your superiors, running food is a great way to get promotedto a waiter or waitress position within a restaurant, which can really lead tofar better tips, and a much better income all around. 207

52. How Much Waiters Make from TipsAs with any job, how much you money you earn is a major concern. As awaiter, you will work long, tiring shifts, be on your feet for hours, and maydeal with stressful customer service situations, so obviously you want to bepaid well for how hard you work. Luckily, you will find that typically, being awaiter pays very well! Working as a waiter or waitress is a very popularjob because of how much money you can make – depending on where youwork you could find yourself making as much as $200 per night in tips aswaiter, which can add up to a significant amount of money!Of course, the amount of money you make as a waiter is very dependent onthe kind of restaurant you work in. Since most of your wages will come fromthe tips left by your customers, it is important to understand how the type ofrestaurant you work at can affect how much you will make. While somewaiters can expect to leave their shift with $200-$300 for a nights work, thetypical waitstaff probably earns closer to $75-$100 a night. This not onlydepends on where you work, but the amount of money you get paid by therestaurant itself.In the United States, waiters work primarily for tips, but the restaurant youwork at still has to pay you an hourly wage. This is called being a “tippedemployee” and it means that as a server you are paid an hourly wage by therestaurant you work at, but the rest of your salary comes from tips. There aregovernment regulations in place to make sure that waiters earn anappropriate wage. The federal “tipped employee” minimum wage is $2.13 anhour, although this varies by state. This means that your boss pays you about$2-$4 an hour, and you are expected to make up the rest of your wages intips from customers. If for any reason your tips and salary combined do notequal the minimum wage of that state, your boss is required to pay theremainder. The least a server can earn would be the federal minimum wagewhich is $7.25 for tipped employees.How Much Do Waiters and Waitresses Really Make? 208

However, this is unusual. As a server you canexpect to earn significantly more than theminimum wage. Even at a family-stylerestaurant, diner, or chain restaurant, you willmost likely deal with happy customers who tipbetween 15% and 20% of their bill, meaning youare making a significant amount of moneyhourly! In fact, the average a waiter makes perhour is closer to $15 an hour, which is more thandouble the federal minimum wage!Of course, how much money you make is verydependent on the kind of restaurant you work at.There are many factors including what kind ofrestaurant it is (such as a 4-star reservation only restaurant versus a localchain), how much the food costs, how busy it is and how many customersthere are, what night of the week it is, and what part, or “section” of therestaurant you are working in. Consider the difference: in a 4-star restaurantyou may only be serving a few tables a night but they might order more than$200 in food and drinks, and may tip you upwards of $40.00. That can addup quickly, and if you get particularly generous table you could find yourselfwith a tip of $100 or more! However, at a local diner you may have 20 tablesin the same period of time, but you might be serving college studentsdrinking coffee, high school students eating burgers, or families grabbingdinner on their way home from a soccer game. If they only spend $10-$20,you may find you are tipped around $3-$5 a table. The work is very different,and so is the amount of money you get paid!There are a few basic ways to increase your tips no matter where you work.The best way to make more money is to strive to be the best waiter you canbe, whether you are serving a $200 bottle of wine or a bottomless refill ofsoda. If you are cheerful and efficient and do your job well, you will get highertips! Keep in mind that customers are paying a tip in addition to their bill,and they dont even have to tip at all! Most often, a pleasant, funny, andefficient waiter will get a great tip, whereas a tired, disgruntled, or slowwaiter may only get 10% which can be just a few dollars. 209

Restaurant Price Points Can Make A Big DifferenceIt might be hard to work for tips at first, but most waiters know that theirhard work and positive attitude will create a memorable dining experience.Ultimately you will be paid for how hard you work – if a customer sees youdoing your job well they will want to pay you accordingly, so you will find itis not hard to make good money no matter where you work! 210

References:www.hospitality-school.com 211

©www.psthm.edu.np 212