Description
Perform duties such as taking orders and serving food and beverages. Serve customers at counter or from a steam table. May take payment. May prepare food and beverages.
- • Communicate with customers regarding orders, comments, and complaints.
- • Accept payment from customers, and make change as necessary.
- • Scrub and polish counters, steam tables, and other equipment, and clean glasses, dishes, and fountain equipment.
- • Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping, mopping, and washing dishes, to keep equipment and facilities sanitary.
- • Balance receipts and payments in cash registers.
- • Request and record customer orders, and compute bills, using cash registers, multi-counting machines, or pencil and paper.
- • Serve food, beverages, or desserts to customers in such settings as take-out counters of restaurants or lunchrooms, business or industrial establishments, hotel rooms, and cars.
- • Prepare daily food items, and cook simple foods and beverages, such as sandwiches, salads, soups, pizza, or coffee, using proper safety precautions and sanitary measures.
- • Clean and organize eating, service, and kitchen areas.
- • Monitor and order supplies or food items, and restock as necessary to maintain inventory.
- • Brew coffee and tea, and fill containers with requested beverages.
- • Serve customers in eating places that specialize in fast service and inexpensive carry-out food.
- • Collect and return dirty dishes to the kitchen for washing.
- • Wash dishes, glassware, and silverware after meals.
- • Wrap menu items such as sandwiches, hot entrees, and desserts for serving or for takeout.
- • Notify kitchen personnel of shortages or special orders.
- • Prepare and serve cold drinks, frozen milk drinks, or desserts, using drink-dispensing, milkshake, or frozen-custard machines.
- • Select food items from serving or storage areas and place them in dishes, on serving trays, or in take-out bags.
- • Replenish foods at serving stations.
- • Perform personnel activities, such as supervising and training employees.
- • Take customers' orders and write ordered items on tickets, giving ticket stubs to customers when needed to identify filled orders.
- • Distribute food to servers.
- • Set up dining areas for meals, and clear them following meals.
- • Add relishes and garnishes to food orders, according to instructions.
- • Deliver orders to kitchens, and pick up and serve food when it is ready.
- • Arrange tables and decorations according to instructions.
- • Plan, prepare, and deliver meals to individuals with special dietary needs.
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Related Pathways
Hospitality, Events & Tourism
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Source
Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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Sources & Standards:
This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
