Hosts and Hostesses, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Answer telephone calls and respond to inquiries or transfer calls.
• Speak with patrons to ensure satisfaction with food and service, to respond to complaints, or to make conversation.
• Plan parties or other special events and services.
• Direct patrons to coatrooms and waiting areas, such as lounges.
• Hire, train, and supervise food and beverage service staff.
• Operate cash registers to accept payments for food and beverages.
• Inspect dining and serving areas to ensure cleanliness and proper setup.
• Inform patrons of establishment specialties and features.
• Inspect restrooms for cleanliness and availability of supplies, and clean restrooms when necessary.
• Assist other restaurant workers by serving food and beverages, or by bussing tables.
• Provide guests with menus.
• Hire, train, and supervise food and beverage service staff.
• Prepare cash receipts after establishments close, and make bank deposits.
• Supervise and coordinate activities of dining room staff to ensure that patrons receive prompt and courteous service.
• Greet guests and seat them at tables or in waiting areas.
• Maintain contact with kitchen staff, management, serving staff, and customers to ensure that dining details are handled properly and customers' concerns are addressed.
• Perform marketing and advertising services.
• Assign patrons to tables suitable for their needs and according to rotation so that servers receive an appropriate number of seatings.
• Take and prepare to-go orders.
• Inform patrons of establishment specialties and features.
• Receive and record patrons' dining reservations.
• Take and prepare to-go orders.
• Operate cash registers to accept payments for food and beverages.
• Order or requisition supplies and equipment for tables and serving stations.
• Confer with other staff to help plan establishments' menus.

Skills

• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.

Abilities

• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

Knowledge

• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• 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.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• 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.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• 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.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• 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.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• 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.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Education

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

36500/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

17.55/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

9,050

Yearly Projected Openings

2400

Personality

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

• Stress Tolerance
• Cooperation
• Persistence
• Self Control
• Adaptability/Flexibility
• Dependability

Tools

• Carbonated beverage dispenser
• Cash registers
• Commercial use coffee or iced tea makers
• Desktop computers
• Ice dispensers
• Non carbonated beverage dispenser
• Personal computers
• Pocket calculator
• Point of sale POS terminal
• Special purpose telephones
• Touch screen monitors

Technology

• Calendar and scheduling software
• Data base user interface and query software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Point of sale POS software
• Spreadsheet software
• Web page creation and editing software