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Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
Facilitate food service. Clean tables; remove dirty dishes; replace soiled table linens; set tables; replenish supply of clean linens, silverware, glassware, and dishes; supply service bar with food; and serve items such as water, condiments, and coffee to patrons.
Also Known As:
Barback
Buffet Attendant
Bus Boy
Bus Person
Busser
Dining Room Attendant
Food Service Aide
Food Service Helper
Server Assistant
Server's Assistant
Wages
Annual wages for Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers in United States
Job Outlook
Bright
New job opportunities are very likely in the future
United States
2034 Projected Employment
560,600
6% Change From 2024
Explore Fast Food and Counter Workers video
Tasks you might complete in a day.
- Stock cabinets or serving areas with condiments and refill condiment containers.
- Clean up spilled food or drink or broken dishes and remove empty bottles and trash.
- Serve food to customers when waiters or waitresses need assistance.
- Serve ice water, coffee, rolls, or butter to patrons.
- Scrape and stack dirty dishes and carry dishes and other tableware to kitchens for cleaning.
- Carry linens to or from laundry areas.
- Greet and seat customers.
- Perform serving, cleaning, or stocking duties in establishments, such as cafeterias or dining rooms, to facilitate customer service.
- Perform serving, cleaning, or stocking duties in establishments, such as cafeterias or dining rooms, to facilitate customer service.
- Greet and seat customers.
- Garnish foods and position them on tables to make them visible and accessible.
- Locate items requested by customers.
- Clean and polish counters, shelves, walls, furniture, or equipment in food service areas or other areas of restaurants and mop or vacuum floors.
- Stock refrigerating units with wines or bottled beer or replace empty beer kegs.
- Slice and pit fruit used to garnish drinks.
- Run cash registers.
- Perform serving, cleaning, or stocking duties in establishments, such as cafeterias or dining rooms, to facilitate customer service.
- Greet and seat customers.
- Replenish supplies of food or equipment at steam tables or service bars.
- Set tables with clean linens, condiments, or other supplies.
- Carry food, dishes, trays, or silverware from kitchens or supply departments to serving counters.
- Clean and polish counters, shelves, walls, furniture, or equipment in food service areas or other areas of restaurants and mop or vacuum floors.
- Maintain adequate supplies of items, such as clean linens, silverware, glassware, dishes, or trays.
- Garnish foods and position them on tables to make them visible and accessible.
- Carry trays from food counters to tables for cafeteria patrons.
- Wash glasses or other serving equipment at bars.
- Mix and prepare flavors for mixed drinks.
- Wipe tables or seats with dampened cloths or replace dirty tablecloths.
- Fill beverage or ice dispensers.
Subject areas you may need to master.
- Mechanical - Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
- History and Archeology - Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- Economics and Accounting - Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
- Production and Processing - Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
- Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
- 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.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
- Medicine and Dentistry - Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
- Geography - Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
- Philosophy and Theology - Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Public Safety and Security - Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
- Transportation - Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
- Food Production - Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
- 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.
- Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
- Therapy and Counseling - Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
- Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
- Foreign Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
- Physics - Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
- Chemistry - Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
- Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
- Administrative - Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
- Psychology - Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
- Sociology and Anthropology - Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
- Building and Construction - Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
- Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
- Fine Arts - Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
- Telecommunications - Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
- Design - Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
- Engineering and Technology - Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Strengths you may need in this role.
- Operations Monitoring - Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
- Systems Evaluation - Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
- Equipment Maintenance - Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
- Management of Personnel Resources - Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
- Monitoring - Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
- Speaking - Talking to others.
- Operations Analysis - Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
- Instructing - Teaching people how to do something.
- Technology Design - Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
- Management of Financial Resources - Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
- Installation - Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
- Repairing - Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
- Complex Problem Solving - Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
- Science - Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
- Coordination - Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
- Persuasion - Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
- Active Listening - Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
- Service Orientation - Looking for ways to help people.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
- Operation and Control - Using equipment or systems.
- Management of Material Resources - Managing equipment and materials.
- Social Perceptiveness - Understanding people's reactions.
- Programming - Writing computer programs.
- Troubleshooting - Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
- Time Management - Managing your time and the time of other people.
- Writing - Writing things for co-workers or customers.
- Learning Strategies - Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
- Mathematics - Using math to solve problems.
- Quality Control Analysis - Testing how well a product or service works.
- Systems Analysis - Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
- Equipment Selection - Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
- Critical Thinking - Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
- Negotiation - Bringing people together to solve differences.
- Reading Comprehension - Reading work-related information.
- Active Learning - Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
- Stamina - Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
- Near Vision - Seeing details up close.
- Gross Body Coordination - Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
- Speech Clarity - Speaking clearly.
- Dynamic Flexibility - Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Oral Comprehension - Listening and understanding what people say.
- Problem Sensitivity - Noticing when problems happen.
- Inductive Reasoning - Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
- Number Facility - Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
- Night Vision - Seeing at night or under low light.
- Peripheral Vision - Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
- Glare Sensitivity - Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
- Auditory Attention - Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
- Visualization - Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
- Response Orientation - Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
- Manual Dexterity - Holding or moving items with your hands.
- Rate Control - Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
- Arm-Hand Steadiness - Keeping your arm or hand steady.
- Time Sharing - Doing two or more things at the same time.
- Spatial Orientation - Knowing where things are around you.
- Multilimb Coordination - Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
- Visual Color Discrimination - Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
- Hearing Sensitivity - Telling the difference between sounds.
- Sound Localization - Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
- Written Comprehension - Reading and understanding what is written.
- Written Expression - Communicating by writing.
- Deductive Reasoning - Using rules to solve problems.
- Mathematical Reasoning - Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
- Flexibility of Closure - Seeing hidden patterns.
- Extent Flexibility - Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
- Far Vision - Seeing details that are far away.
- Speed of Closure - Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
- Reaction Time - Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
- Explosive Strength - Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
- Static Strength - Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
- Depth Perception - Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
- Gross Body Equilibrium - Keeping your balance or staying upright.
- Speech Recognition - Recognizing spoken words.
- Selective Attention - Paying attention to something without being distracted.
- Speed of Limb Movement - Quickly moving your arms and legs.
- Wrist-Finger Speed - Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
- Dynamic Strength - Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
- Perceptual Speed - Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
- Control Precision - Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
- Oral Expression - Communicating by speaking.
- Fluency of Ideas - Coming up with lots of ideas.
- Originality - Creating new and original ideas.
- Information Ordering - Ordering or arranging things.
- Category Flexibility - Grouping things in different ways.
- Memorization - Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
- Finger Dexterity - Putting together small parts with your fingers.
- Trunk Strength - Using your lower back and stomach.
Average Education Attained
Highest level of education earned by people in this career.
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Content sourced from United States Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration ("DOLETA") and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development ("DEED")