Waitress Work
Waitress work refers to the job of attending the needs of the guests in a restaurant or hotel by exhibiting hospitable skills, talents, and professional demeanor. The job of a waitress demands pleasant personality, tidy appearance, and formal etiquette.
Requirements of Waitress Work
The basic requirements of waitress work are as follows:
- 4-year bachelor's degree or 1-year diploma in hospitality management or hotel management from a recognized college
- Sound knowledge about serving techniques, food and beverages of different cuisines, silver serving methods, table settings, and equipments used in serving
- Formal behavior with excellent communication abilities. Candidate should possess skills to build a rapport with the guests
- Good sense of professional dressing and maintenance of clean and sanitary conditions
- Physical fitness is necessary as waitresses require to stand, walk, bend, and perform other physical activities frequently
- Ability to maintain a smiling face throughout the day irrespective of the emotional or family problems faced
Job Profiles of Waitress Work
There are various job profiles that can be put under waitress work. They are given below:
- Bar Waitress: Bar waitresses are responsible for taking accurate orders of food and especially beverages at the restaurant bar. They also serve these beverages and food and provide detailed information about the specialty beverages and dishes to the guests. The guest must be above 18 years of age to consume alcoholic beverages. Hence, these waitresses precisely check the legal identification of the guests before accepting the orders of alcoholic drinks
- Banquet Waitress: Banquet waitresses are involved in the proper maintenance and arrangement of tables, chairs, food items and decorative materials in the banquet halls. They take orders that are specific to the availability of food and beverages served in the banquet halls. They are also responsible for the stocking of banquet stations and ornamental presentation of wine bottles
- Cocktail Waitress: Cocktail waitresses take orders of beverages of different categories that not only include cocktails but also mocktails, soft drinks, aerated drinks, hard drinks, etc. They make sure that the guest is well above the legal age limit when dealing with the serving of alcoholic drinks. They may also take payments and perform other duties like clearing of tables
- Room Service Waitress: Room service waitresses serve food and beverages to the guests in their rooms. They initially take orders over the phone or even personally and make sure that the order is placed in the guests room within the stipulated time. After serving the food, they offer further assistance to the guests regarding room service. They make even take feedback from the guests
- Head Waitress: Head waitresses handle the responsibility of training newly joined waitresses and allocating duties to the waitresses. They may also assist in the recruitment procedure of waitresses. They take complaints and suggestions from the guests for an improving the service of the restaurant. They escort the guests and maintain a professional and cordial attitude with them
Work Conditions of Waitress Work
Waitresses are involved in executing a lot of physical tasks that can be tiring, exhaustive and wearisome. They work in irregular shifts involving night shifts, morning shifts, evening shifts, and split shifts. They may even work constantly for two or more days with limited breaks during peak times like parties, celebrations, hotel openings, etc. Their interaction with the guests is very professional, humble, and modest.
They are required to remember and note the likes and dislikes of the regular in-house guests. They are well acquainted with every detail of the restaurant including the contact details, location, capacity, meals available, operating hours, etc.
Job Prospects of Waitress Work
Employment opportunities for waitresses is expected to be much higher than before due to the growth in the field of hospitality. There are many hotels and restaurants coming up in major cities to fulfill the demand for quality food and service.
People may visit the restaurants for entertainment purpose and to spend time with their family apart from exploring different food cuisines. Whereas, the hotels may cater to the official and administrative needs of corporate companies. Besides, the hotel owners expect prime quality of service extended towards the guests.
Such circumstances has greatly enhanced the job prospects of waitress work in the recent years.
