About Busser:

The Busser is usually termed as bus boy or bus girl and they are mostly hired by restaurants to perform small tasks that involve setting tables, cleaning them after the customer’s leaves, cleaning the used dishes and in some cases they take orders from the customers. The job of the Busser varies with the restaurant size and number of tables in the restaurant. In small restaurants they even perform administrative task and in case of big restaurants they are completely restricted to do tasks related to the cleaning department.

The Busser even carryout some extra tasks like moving food from kitchen to other places in the restaurant. The prime task of the Busser is to serve water to the customer who comes in to the restaurant and they offer fruit juice if the customers comes to have breakfast. They make effective use of the cart to gather the used dishes and move them to the cleaning room. They must be physically strong as they need to stand for many hours every day. The Busser must have enough patience to serve the customers and must be ready to receive bad comments from the angry customers even if the service is good.

The Busser mainly looks after the sanitation d aesthetic maintenance of the restaurant by ensuring that the tables, fixtures, interiors, design elements are cleaned regularly and keep the restaurant clean to attract the customers. They work along with team of hospitality management and keep track of the food service and plating in the restaurant. Usually the role of the Busser is strenuous and they can make huge money by collecting tips from the diners for the service that they offered. The vital role of the Busser is to ensure the delivery of the food ordered on time, maintaining quality and creating a good atmosphere in the restaurant.

Educational requirements:

• There is no specific education required for the Busser. They need to just have practice of handling dishes and other crockery that are usually used in the kitchen room.
• The Busser with high school diploma make him feel easy to read the items in the menu card and dictate the same to the chef.
• The Busser is the entry level for many individuals to step in to the hospitality industry and on gaining experience they can move to the server position.
• The Busser with experience in small restaurants can find opportunities in big restaurants and they usually hire experienced Busser.
• They need to have knowledge of the predominant language of the people and the state in which the restaurant is located.
• The minimum age required for an individual to take up the role of the Busser is 16 years.
• The Busser must lift certain weight as part of regular duty and they require good physical fitness to perform the tasks assigned by the senior Busser in the restaurant.
• The individuals to build career as a server need to start with the role of a Busser.
• They need to learn several dining procedures and have idea about the safety and sanitation policies.

Duties and responsibilities of Busser:

• They support the restaurant staff in wiping the tables.
• They are responsible to be punctual and wear correct uniform designed by the restaurant and it varies from restaurant to restaurant.
• The Busser is responsible for maintaining correct level of crockery and cutlery and check the amount of polishing cutlery if necessary.
• They backup the restaurant staff and aid them in repairing seats, coffee etc.
• The Busser is accountable to check the fire plan in the company and other safety policies.
• They need to instruct the newly appointed staff and brief them about the services that are to be offered.
• Wash the dishes and ensure the cleanliness of the dishes to improve the appeal of the restaurant.
• Check whether the menu cards are placed on every table and remove the worn menu cards on the tables.
• While doing administrative work, they need to enter the order details in the computer and make a print copy of the order and forward it.
• They need to cater the demands of the customers and serve them efficiently.
• They need to serve quickly and perform all the duties with finesse.
• They need to dress properly and neatly while attending the customers and until his stay in the restaurant.
• They need to keep a constant watch at tables and must be ready to serve the customers.
• They must greet the customers by offering a warm welcome.
• The Busser must assist the chef in the kitchens and he uses many dishes to make the items ordered by the customers.
• Once the chef has finished the dish, the Busser needs to clean all the crockery items used and keep them ready to use for making other dish.
• Inspect the rest room every 30 minutes and clean it whenever needed.
• They need to communicate with the servers and ensure the proper seating for the customers visiting the restaurant.
• They carry the linen and other soft furnishings to the laundry.
• They clean all the leftover food, broken dishes and gather the empty bottles and put them in to the trash.

Skills required for the busser:

The Busser needs to have outstanding skills in all departments to satisfy the customers and increase the restaurant reputation.

• Communication skills:  The Busser requires high level people skills to transform the information effectively and communicate with the customers visiting the restaurant while taking order and serving food to them.
• Active listening: They need to possess good listening skills to pay complete attention to what the customers say and understand the customer needs.
• Coordination: They need to collaborate with hospitality department and other staff for proper functioning of the restaurant.
• Instructing: They need to posses good teaching skills to instruct the junior Busser and explain them about various cleaning procedures.
• Critical thinking: The Busser use logical skills to know the strengths of the junior staff and analyze their performance.
• Speech clarity: The Busser must speak clearly while taking order from the customers.
• Friendly outlook: The Busser must greet the customers and offer kind welcome to customers with smile on the face.
• Endurance: The Busser must be strong enough to stand for long hours. They need to walk around the restaurants from one corner to other to attend the customers and get orders from them.
• Speed: The Busser must be able to work quickly and move fast across the tables to get the orders from the customers. After the customer leaves the table, they need to clean table quickly and make it ready for the next customer.
• Setting the tables: They must skillful in setting the linens ,folding napkins, placing flowers on the table and other supplies on the table to make it look beautiful and give them complete homely look for the customers visiting.
• Time management: The Busser must be able to manage time effectively and use it efficiently to complete the assigned work.
• Handling objects: The Busser need to move various crockery items from kitchen to dining hall and they need to have gods muscle power to handle the objects carefully.
• Punctuality: They must be punctual by coming on time and wearing the uniform designed by the restaurant.
• They need to have idea about the various crockery and cutlery items that are used in the restaurant.

Salary and remuneration:

The salary range of the Busser gets varied due to several factors. The experience of the Busser, location, type of employer, industry type and restaurant size are the important things that alter the salary of the Busser. The mean salary of the Busser is $18,900 per annum.

Years of experience:

• The salary range of the Busser with experience of less than one year is between $9,000 and $14,500.
• The Busser with experience between one to four years, the salary range is between $ 10,203 and $17,119 and the hourly salary of the Busser is between $7.28 and $13.20.
• For individual with experience between five to nine years, the salary scale is between $15,052 and $27,235 and the hourly wage range is between $11.52 and $15.00.
• For Busser with experience of ten to nineteen years, the salary range is between $21,101 and $30,742 and the hourly salary range is between $13.90 and $19.10.
• For the candidate with experience of more than twenty years, the salary range is between $25,701 and $39,452 and the hourly wage is between $16.51 and $24.50.

• Industry type:

• The Busser working in the restaurant earns an annual salary range between $14,973 and $27,160.
• The salary range of the Busser working in the food service sector earns an annual salary range between $22,656 and $31,417.
• The salary scale of the Busser working in the fast food restaurants earns an annual salary range between $16,351 and $25,717.
• The Busser working in a hotel and hospitality management sector earns an annual salary range between $24,697 and $38,317.
• The Busser working in bars or restaurants or night clubs earns an annual salary range between $21,394 and $34,359.
• The salary range of the Busser working deli or cafe earns an annual salary range between $19,045 and $25,920.
• The salary scale of the Busser working in the food and beverage sector earns an annual salary range between $23,331 and $31,546.

• Employer Type

• The Busser when he is employed by a company earns an annual salary in the range between $25,186 and $32,197.
• The Busser when he is employed by a restaurant earns an annual salary in the range between $17,382 and $20,825.
• The Busser when he is on a contract he makes an annual pay in the range between $8,400 and $20,000.
• The Busser when he is employed by restaurant operated by the government either state or local he gets an annual salary in the range between $15,000 and $44,866.
• The salary range of the Busser when he is employed by a foundation or trust earns between $11,271 and $21,216 per annum.