Greet Guests

A friendly and professional greeting as guests walk in sets the tone for the entire dining experience. The ideal candidate will have outstanding customer service skills and maintain a positive demeanor under pressure. The hostess works closely with everyone in the restaurant and therefore should be an overall team player.

Take and Manage Reservations

A lot is going on behind the podium. On any given day, hosts juggle a matrix of reservations, walk-ins, special requests, and the occasional blowback from cranky customers. But first and foremost, hosts must constantly monitor the wait list and provide accurate wait times to guests. To do this, they must communicate with servers to gauge when tables turn over. When the restaurant is booked solid on busy days, the hosts often work with managers to create a floor plan and seating arrangements. All the while, they’re fielding phone calls and giving bags of to-go orders to waiting customers.

Seat guests and provide menus

There’s much more to hostessing than escorting guests to tables and distributing menus. Hostesses map out seating arrangements so that all the servers get their fair share of customers. During the busiest hours, this means not overworking one waiter. On the flip side, when it’s slow, the hostess must spread the customers across different sections, so every server has tables. Even on top of this, hostesses must remember returning guest preferences. The best hostesses understand the flow of traffic and make guests feel welcomed and cared for during all interactions.

Prepare dining areas

Bussers must quickly and thoroughly clean and set up tables between guests. This might entail replenishing candles, napkins, linens, and flowers, in addition to plates, glassware, and all silverware. Table condiments must be checked and refreshed. They may be called upon to move tables to accommodate large groups or reposition heat lamps on patios. A successful busser is highly organized, detail-oriented, and someone who does not cut corners.

 Maintain cleanliness

Guests see the bussers whisking away dirty plates after a meal is finished, but that’s just the first step of the cleaning-up process. Bussers are responsible for taking plates into the kitchen, placing them in the appropriate dish station setup.

 Be a team player

Bussers always work as part of a group with servers and other bussers. Being a team player might be the single most important characteristic of great assistants. They must constantly communicate with the servers, working closely together to ensure everything happens in a timely manner. Bussers often support each other, stocking supplies for colleagues or jumping in to help in other ways. Evening bussers help close the restaurant, stacking chairs and setting up stations for the morning crew, rolling silverware, sweeping floors, etc.

Customer relations, communication, follow direction, probelm solving, conflict managment