Waiters and Waitresses

Description:

Take orders and serve food and beverages to patrons at tables in dining establishment.

Tasks

Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.
Collect payments from customers.
Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.
Take orders from patrons for food or beverages.
Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals and take action to correct any problems.
Serve food or beverages to patrons, and prepare or serve specialty dishes at tables as required.
Prepare checks that itemize and total meal costs and sales taxes.
Remove dishes and glasses from tables or counters, and take them to kitchen for cleaning.
Present menus to patrons and answer questions about menu items, making recommendations upon request.
Inform customers of daily specials.

Knowledge

Customer and Personal Service: Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
English Language: Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Sales and Marketing: Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Food Production: Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Mathematics: Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Administration and Management: Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Education and Training: Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Psychology: Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Public Safety and Security: Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Production and Processing: Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

Skills

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.
Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.
Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
Coordination: Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
Reading Comprehension: Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
Instructing: Teaching others how to do something.
Learning Strategies: Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
Critical Thinking: Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
Time Management: Managing one's own time and the time of others.

Abilities

Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without 'giving out' or fatiguing.
Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Work Activities

Performing for or Working Directly with the Public: Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.
Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships: Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates: Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
Handling and Moving Objects: Using hands and arms in handling, installing, positioning, and moving materials, and manipulating things.
Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events: Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
Getting Information: Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.
Judging the Qualities of Things, Services, or People: Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
Performing General Physical Activities: Performing physical activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling of materials.
Making Decisions and Solving Problems: Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
Assisting and Caring for Others: Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Work Context

Spend Time Standing: How much does this job require standing?
Contact With Others: How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it?
Face-to-Face Discussions: How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job?
Spend Time Walking and Running: How much does this job require walking and running?
Work With Work Group or Team: How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job?
Physical Proximity: To what extent does this job require the worker to perform job tasks in close physical proximity to other people?
Deal With External Customers: How important is it to work with external customers or the public in this job?
Telephone: How often do you have telephone conversations in this job?
Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls: How much does this job require using your hands to handle, control, or feel objects, tools or controls?
Importance of Being Exact or Accurate: How important is being very exact or highly accurate in performing this job?

Interests

Social: Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.
Enterprising: Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business.
Conventional: Conventional occupations frequently involve following set procedures and routines. These occupations can include working with data and details more than with ideas. Usually there is a clear line of authority to follow.
Realistic: Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others.
Artistic: Artistic occupations frequently involve working with forms, designs and patterns. They often require self-expression and the work can be done without following a clear set of rules.
Investigative: Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

Work Style

Self Control: Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
Dependability: Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
Stress Tolerance: Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations.
Cooperation: Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude.
Integrity: Job requires being honest and ethical.
Concern for Others: Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.
Social Orientation: Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
Attention to Detail: Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
Adaptability/Flexibility: Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace.
Initiative: Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges.

Work Value

Relationships: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.
Support: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.
Achievement: Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.
Independence: Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employs to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.
Working Conditions: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.
Recognition: Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.

Description:

Tasks

Knowledge

Skills

Abilities

Work Activities

Work Context

Interests

Work Style

Work Value

Related Occupations

Common Lay Titles

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