Every position in the busy restaurant industry is vital to ensuring that guests have a wonderful dining experience.
Servers and food runners make sure everything runs smoothly. While their duties can sometimes overlap, there is a difference between these two distinct roles in the food industry.
Let’s see how the roles of food runners and servers overlap, and how they are different from one another!
Who are Food Runners?
A food runner works in a restaurant and helps get the food from the kitchen to the tables. The simplest food runner job description is ensuring the food is delivered quickly and to the right person.
Food runners work closely with the kitchen staff and servers. When a meal is done, food runners make sure the plate is correct and looks presentable, and then carry the dish to the tables, so that each guest receives what they ordered.
Food runners also help in setting up the tables for new guests, refilling water glasses, and clearing away dirty dishes.
The food runner job is physically demanding and fast-paced, especially when you consider that they often work in busy restaurants, carrying multiple dishes at once.
Who are Servers?
Servers take care of the guests from the moment they sit down until they leave. They greet them, give them menus, and even suggest what the guests should have.
Servers need to know the ingredients of every item on the menu, to accurately inform people with certain dietary requirements what they are ordering.
Once the guests have decided on the order, the server then takes the order back to the kitchen and the bar.
The server can take the ready meals to the guests, but in a busy restaurant, that would be the food runner’s task.
The server’s tasks are to check in on their guests to see that everything is in order, if the food tastes good, and if they need drink refills or extra napkins.
They also deal with any possible problems or questions the guests might have throughout the meal.
After the guests have finished, the server’s task is to get them their bill, take payment, and thank them for coming.
Interaction With Customers
One of the main differences between a food runner and a server is the interaction with customers. While food runners have limited interaction with customers, only when they are bringing the food to the tables, waiters are the opposite.
Waiters should be friendly, and charismatic, and their main job is to make the guests feel good at the restaurant. They take the orders, chat with guests, check on them to make sure everything is up to their standard, and if it is not, address the issue at hand.
After the meal has ended, the waiters again chat with customers to see if they had a great time, and they take payment from the guests. Waiters need to be friendly, organized, observant, and most importantly, in a good mood.
Skills and Training
The biggest difference between a food runner and a server is their skills and training.
A food runner’s skills should include stamina, speed, and attention to detail. In short, to know which plate goes where, and to do it quickly. Food runners usually do not have the training, especially since their communication with guests is so limited.
A waiter’s skill set should be much more focused on the guest’s experience.
From strong communication and interpersonal skills to detailed knowledge of the menu and restaurant policies, to multitasking, organizational, and problem-solving skills, a waiter’s job is much more demanding than that of a food runner.
Typically, waiters don’t receive training either, as all the skills above can be learned through observing and experience.
However, it is wise that every server first does an entry-level position and gradually moves up, to be able to have the time and experience to successfully communicate with customers so that everyone leaves happy.
Career Path and Opportunities
Food runners are usually entry-level roles from which people can advance to other roles, such as a server, or a barman. These entry-level roles serve as a way for people to quickly and efficiently learn the restaurant policies, the menu, who their customers are, what they like, how they behave, and how to problem-solve.
Observant food runners can quickly advance to other roles within the restaurant with the help of a good manager.
As for the servers, their role is above the food runner’s role, and as such, they have more responsibilities. With more responsibilities comes a raise.
In certain US states, servers are now being offered hourly wages, but most opt out of wage-based salary, as their earnings in tips are far greater.
Conclusion
On a restaurant’s ladder, the position of a food runner is below the role of the server. Their tasks can sometimes overlap, but the limited communication with customers in food runners is the main difference between the two positions.
Servers need to be able to enthusiastically chat with their customers to ensure the best dining experience, as their tips (and earnings) largely depend on it.
On the other hand, food runners can advance to other, higher-up positions, quickly.
We hope this general division of tasks and skills gave you a clear insight into the difference between the role of a food runner and the role of a server!
