Job Details
Food Runner Job Description
While Food Runners serve many purposes, their primary function is to act as a liaison between a restaurant s guests, wait staff and kitchen staff. They oversee delivering food to the appropriate table at the appropriate time, assisting customers with any issues that may arise and coordinating with the kitchen staff to properly prioritize orders. Food Runners can be employed by any type of establishment which serves food to seated customers, from bars to coffee shops to fine dining restaurants. Food Runners work in a restaurant environment, and frequently switch between working in the front of the house and working in the back of the house. To succeed as a Food Runner, you should be friendly, proactive, and efficient. Food Runners should also be passionate about the food and drinks they serve and creating a fun, enjoyable experience for every customer.
Food Runner Duties and Responsibilities
To ensure that all customers receive and are happy with their food, Food Runners perform a wide array of tasks. We analyzed various online job postings to identify these key duties and responsibilities.
Deliver Food
As their name would suggest, the main responsibility of Food Runners is to run food from the kitchen to waiting customers or to members of the wait staff. This involves lifting trays, plates, and glasses, sometimes multiple at one time.
Assist Customers
One of the most important duties performed by Food Runners is that of dealing with customer questions and complaints. If customers are unhappy with their food or the service they ve been provided, it is typically up to the Food Runner to identify the problem and address it accordingly. And, an ongoing basis, Food Runners will need to refill guests drinks.
Greet Guests
Since members of the are often busy attending to other tables, Food Runners will usually be charged with greeting guests, providing them with menus and explaining items on the menu to them.
Check Food
As the liaison between the back of house and front of house, it s crucial that Food Runners inspect food orders for accuracy and presentability before it is handed over to members of the wait staff.
Clean
When dropping off food and after guests have left the restaurant, Food Runners need to clear and clean their table, bring dirty dishes back to the kitchen and, depending on if the restaurant employs a dish washer, wash used dishes to prepare them for the next guests use.
Food Runner Skills
Successful Food Runners are energetic and detail-oriented individuals. They can effortlessly switch between working behind the scenes and in the spotlight, and are just as comfortable speaking with customers as they are speaking with coworkers. In addition to these general skills and personality traits, employers are seeking Food Runners with the following skills and responsibilities.
Physical stamina Because Food Runners must be standing and walking on their feet all day while simultaneously carrying food orders, it is important that they have a moderate to high level of physical stamina.
Communication skills As the primary liaison between customers, wait staff and kitchen staff, Food Runners must have excellent communication skills, particularly when it comes to verbal interactions.
Attention to detail In order to adequately clean tables and reliably identify when food going out of the kitchen isn t up to par, Food Runners must have exceptional attention to detail.
Speed Many aspects of a Food Runner s job depend on the effective and efficient completion of tasks. Because of this, they must be able to move and act quickly, whether they re walking food from the kitchen to the dining room, refilling drinks or clearing tables.
Accurate memory Food Runners must remember which numbers are assigned to which tables, which waiters are serving which tables, which customers have made complaints and which customers have already received drink refills. Thus, they must be able to accurately recall small details.
Food Runner Salary
Food Runner Tools of the Trade
To accomplish their daily tasks, Food Runners use a variety of tools. If you plan on becoming a Food Runner, make sure that you feel comfortable using the following.
Standard restaurant equipment Depending on the needs of the kitchen and wait staff, Food Runners may need to operate dishwashers, industrial sinks, ovens, walk-in refrigerators and more.
Point of Sale (POS) systems In the process of greeting customers, taking drink orders or preparing bills for waiters, Food Runners may need to use a POS system to record purchases.