A restaurant host is responsible for ensuring guests have an enjoyable meal and their needs are met. They take reservations, seat customers, handle complaints, and assist waiters. They must be friendly, sharp problem solvers, and knowledgeable about the menu and surrounding area.
A restaurant host is a front desk restaurant staff member who is responsible for ensuring that guests have an enjoyable meal and that their needs are met. This person can also simply be a “host” or “hostess,” in the case of women. Typically, training for the position includes waiting and hospitality experience, and this staff member may also have experience with accounting and financial matters. Some cooking and professional schools offer training specifically geared towards people who want to become hosts.
The job includes taking reservations, seating customers, answering questions, keeping an eye on room flow, handling complaints and being prepared for a variety of events. Sometimes, the host will assist the waiters, if the restaurant is very busy, depending on the restaurant. A host also often handles the financial side of closing the restaurant, totaling revenue, distributing tips, and so on.
In essence, a restaurant host is like a restaurant ambassador. The hosts must be friendly and also very sharp to solve problems early. For example, they need to be prepared to handle the needs of children and disabled diners, and they also need to ensure that staff are catered for. Hosts should balance seating carefully to ensure servers aren’t overloaded, and should watch out for customers who seem restless or angry on the floor.
A good restaurant host can deal with most problems and complaints without having to call the owner or manager, and in some cases, the host is the owner. Because a host may have to perform a variety of tasks, they are often given a great deal of leeway to do things like gift plates to diners who have expressed unhappiness with their service or offer drinks to patrons while they wait for tables.
Usually, a host dresses differently from the rest of the front of house staff to ensure they can be easily identified. Hosts typically have elegant, professional manners and are very knowledgeable about the menu, wine list, and restaurant so they can answer patrons’ questions. They are also usually encouraged to be knowledgeable about the surrounding area, so that they can make further restaurant recommendations, as well as tips on accommodation and entertainment.
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