SOUTH AFRICA · SALARY IN RANDS

Waiters and Waitresses

What the work involves, the skills employers want, and how to get started in South Africa.

  • Banquet Server
  • Buffet Server
  • Cocktail Server
  • Food Runner
  • Food Server
  • Restaurant Server
  • Server
  • Waiter
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What do Waiters and Waitresses do?

Waiters and waitresses are essential members of the hospitality industry, primarily responsible for serving food and beverages to customers in restaurants, cafes, bars, and other dining establishments. They play a crucial role in ensuring diners have an enjoyable experience, which can significantly impact the establishment's reputation and customer satisfaction. Their duties include taking orders, delivering food and drinks, providing menu recommendations, and addressing customers' inquiries and special requests. In addition to serving, they may also be tasked with setting and clearing tables, managing payment transactions, and maintaining cleanliness in their designated work areas. Good communication skills, a friendly demeanor, and the ability to work in a fast-paced environment are vital traits for success in this role. Effective waitstaff not only serve meals but also create a welcoming atmosphere that encourages customers to return.

What the work actually is

  • Take orders from patrons for food or beverages.
  • Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals, and take action to correct any problems.
  • Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.
  • Collect payments from customers.
  • Write patrons' food orders on order slips, memorize orders, or enter orders into computers for transmittal to kitchen staff.

Skills employers expect

Skills

  • Active Listening Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Service Orientation Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Speaking Talking to others to convey information effectively.
  • Social Perceptiveness Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Coordination Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.

Abilities

  • Oral Comprehension The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Oral Expression The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • Speech Clarity The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
  • Speech Recognition The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
  • Near Vision The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Knowledge

  • 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.
  • English Language Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • 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.
  • Food Production Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
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How people get into it

Education of new hires

High school diploma or equivalent
or: GED, High School Equivalency Certificate
Less than high school diploma
Bachelor's degree

A normal week

  • Getting Information
  • Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships
  • Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others

Tools used on the job

Technology

  • Web page creation and editing software Facebook
  • Instant messaging software Blink
  • Point of sale POS software Compris Advanced Manager's Workstation · Hospitality Control Solutions Aloha Point-of-Sale · Intuit QuickBooks Point of Sale · NCR Advanced Checkout Solution

Tools

  • Point of sale POS terminal Point of sale POS terminals · Point of service workstations
  • Bar code reader equipment Portable bar code scanners
  • Commercial use cutlery Carving knives
  • Paging controllers Alphanumeric paging equipment
  • Magnetic stripe readers and encoders Credit card processing machines

Who it suits

Social

Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.

Conventional

Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Enterprising

Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.

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Questions people ask

How much do Waiters and Waitresses earn in South Africa?

Waiters and Waitresses salaries in South Africa vary by experience, province and employer.

What do Waiters and Waitresses do?

Take orders from patrons for food or beverages, Check with customers to ensure that they are enjoying their meals, and take action to correct any problems and Check patrons' identification to ensure that they meet minimum age requirements for consumption of alcoholic beverages.

How do I know if this career fits me?

Take the free Assessify career assessment. It matches your answers to careers and shows the South African salary next to each one.