Great Waiters are Not Born -- They're Made (Part One)

Food service jobs are open to virtually anyone. Getting into the hospitality industry is reasonably easy, but to progress, it is important to have relevant skills and knowledge. You must have the hospitality skills you need to give yourself better employment opportunities.

Many of the food and beverage servers are young teens to twenties, usually with little or no work experience. While older people may have an edge, lacking waiting experience is not a barrier. What is most important, is impeccable hygiene, a clean, neat appearance (get rid of the nose ring or that hair plastered over one eye when at work), and a service-oriented, pleasant personality and good manners.

Most food servers and waiters pick up their skills by observing and working with more experienced staff. It is not unusual to do a part time waiting job over school holidays and find that it is something you want to pursue. Online education is possible and jobs online are easy to find. To search for the latest jobs in restaurants at hospitality, go to careerone.com.au and get a job that will enhance your skills as a waiter. If you are looking for full time or part-time jobs, OzFreeOnline.com ‘Jobs’ has a hospitality section where you can join for free and register to access all the information. Just login and browse all jobs free, post your resume, describe yourself - education, jobs, qualifications, etc. then wait for the offers to pour in.

The Art of Waiting at Tables
Like most things in this world, it's an art. The tricky part of waiting at tables is being able to attend to a number of tables at once and still make your customers happy so that they will want to return. Waiting tables tests a server's ability to cope with much more than remembering an order and delivering it in a timely fashion. It develops self-reliance, resilience, time management, and the ability to manage high levels of stress, all invaluable life skills. In addition to providing excellent training in personal organizational abilities, patience and stamina, waiting provides a test of a waiter's human relations skills.


Few jobs offer such direct contact with such a wide variety of people and in such a large diversity of moods. Each patron expects the waiter to treat him or her with individual care. There is enormous pressure on every food server to juggle a large variety of mental and physical tasks over short, intense periods. No doubt, timing is everything in waiting tables. A server is constantly being watched and judged. Every customer is in a different mindset and a good waiter must be able to read customers well. There is no room or time to lose one's cool at the table.

The hard fact is: How well a waiter can perform under pressure in a restaurant directly influences his or her earnings.

Earning good money is important but finding the right waiting job is imperative. There is no point in working in an establishment where you feel uncomfortable and do not fit in.

Hospitality short courses are an excellent introduction to the industry. You will learn about workplace hygiene, food hygiene, safe food handling, nutritional requirements and much more. In this article, I hope to explain what you may have to do to become an extremely knowledgeable and serious waiter who wants to succeed in the hospitality industry.

Here are some of the varied positions available in the waiters’ domain.

Commis Waiter
A commis waiter assists more experienced waiters. They help in clearing and setting tables, and transferring food from the kitchen or serving station to customers at tables.

Drinks Waiter and Wine Steward (Sommelier)
A drinks waiter and wine steward (sommelier) specialise in serving wine and other beverages.

Maitre d'
A maitre d' is an experienced waiter that supervises the work of other waiters and assists in the administration of the restaurant.

Silver Service Waiter
A silver service waiter is generally a more experienced waiter, who specialises in serving food, using a fork and spoon, from platters directly to the guests' plates at the table.

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