Fast Food Worker Responsibilities
Fast food workers are involved in serving customers in restaurants, cafeterias, and other fast food outlets. Some of the workers are solely responsible for serving food, while others undertake other kitchen tasks like dish washing, cleaning the counters, or managing the cash counter.
Key Responsibilities
Fast food outlets have limited menu list, and these establishments usually serve fast food and other snack items. These outlets can either be eating outlet or serving the take away food. Fast food workers have to work on priority basis, and attend the customers on time for winning their trust. In the hospitality industry, customers are treated with utmost importance, and hence it becomes necessary to not annoy the customers by any means. Along with this, fast food workers also have to maintain the quality of services offered to their customers.
The key responsibilities of a fast food worker comprise:
- Attending customers as quick as possible, greeting them accordingly, and making them feel comfortable in the ambiance of the restaurant, cafeteria, or fast food outlet
- Taking fast food order as per their request, requesting the same to the food preparation counter, ensuring the quick preparation of the food requested, and delivering the same to the customer in a timely manner
- Selecting the requested items from preparation counter appropriately, assembling the same in a serving tray / take away bag, and delivering it to the customer who requested that particular order
- Assisting kitchen authorities in various kitchen related functions, undertaking other kitchen tasks like dish washing, and cleaning the counter if required
- Notifying the kitchen authorities about the special order and / or product shortage, ensuring the appropriate delivery of special order to the customer, and informing the same to the customer in case of unavailability of that particular order
- Operating cash counter for receiving the exact bill amount from the customer, managing the cash flow by registering the amount transactions on a daily basis, taking payment from customers by cash or card (credit card / debit card), and providing exact change to the customer if the payment is made by cash
- Operating the billing transactions accurately by verifying the amount displayed on electronic cash calculator and peripheral electronic data processing unit, and operating the multi counting machine for recording the order and computing the bill simultaneously without hassle
- Complying with the standards of HMS (Host Customer Service) for providing better services to the customer, showing humble behavior towards them, taking their complains (if any) accordingly, and resolving the same in a graceful manner
- Providing proper information to the customers about food menu availability, persuading the customers for trying fast food from their special menu, and looking for opportunities to serve their customers with up sell menu for increasing the profitability
- Serving beverages and cold drinks to customers using drink dispensing machine, serving desserts and milk shakes using frozen custard machine / milkshake dispenser, serving hot beverages using coffeemaker or automatic water heater, and securing lids on beverages properly before placing them on the serving tray / take away bag
- Handling cash payments as per cash handling policies provided by the manager, following the guidelines accordingly before handing out the discount coupons, and checking the clauses correctly before accepting any discount coupon provided by the customer
- Cleaning the customer area properly after the customer departs, bringing the used containers and serving trays back to the counter, and disposing the disposable containers in bins for maintaining cleanliness in the eating area
Along with this, fast food workers are also required to perform miscellaneous duties like transferring the supplies and equipment between storage and work area by using hand carts, and cook a portion of fast food like French fries if required
Required Qualifications and Skills
Fast food workers work part time in restaurants, cafeterias, and fast food outlets for sustaining their education along with obtaining some work experience. The job of the fast food worker is mainly taken by the undergraduate students who prefer to gather some work experience along with extra income without disrupting their studies.
Fast food workers are involved in customer service, and it is their prime responsibility to ensure complete customer satisfaction. For that, they need to have working knowledge of the hospitality industry like knowledge of governmental health regulations and food safety, along with the knowledge of food handling and sanitation. Along with this, one is also required to handle the pressure effectively and maintain adequate energy levels while performing the duties.
Working Conditions
Fast food workers are required to work at irregular working hours like evenings, weekends and / or holidays. Along with this, they are required to stand in a confined area (billing counter) for most of the time. They are usually provided with on job training by the restaurant / cafeteria employees and managers.
The job of a fast food worker is very demanding, and it requires one to have high energy level for accomplishing the responsibilities successfully. If you think you have the ability to manage this work efficiently, it is advisable to have a thorough look on the roles and responsibilities of a fast food worker for obtaining better prospects in this field.
