What does it mean to be a waiter?

The waiter is the one who provides a service to the public in gastronomic premises.

His function is not only to serve tables, but the waiter must also provide customer service, advising and guiding him in his choice. In this way, we also generate sales and make your stay in the store a complete and positive experience. Therefore, we define the waiter as a host and a seller.

Now, what is a host? Here we have some definitions to make the concept clear to us.

«Person or entity that receives guests or visitors in their country or at their usual headquarters»

«Host is the person who welcomes another in his house or at his table and willingly shares what is his»

«A good host takes care of all the details to make your celebration a success. He prepares the house, designs a good menu, knows how to receive, serve, present and say goodbye. He has a good relationship with ease in conversations and even knows how to correctly resolve possible small conflicts and incidents»

“Thirty years ago, waiters cut sausages, took care of the cheeses, carved poultry, cleaned fish and prepared almost half of the dishes in the dining room. Now all those functions are done in the kitchen. Therefore, now we must learn to be the best hosts. Hospitality is nothing more than hospitality. We must know how to communicate in an attractive, subtle and elegant way…” (Paco Patón, F&B director of the Urban and Villa Real hotels in Madrid).

The waiter is a host who welcomes his «guests» (clients) to his «home» (his place of work), this is how this profession should be lived, and it is what we call Vocation of Service.

At an individual level, the job of a waiter is a broad experience of customer service, management and problem solving, commercial capacity and great socialization. It is a profession to take advantage of everything it has to offer and teach us since it is applicable to many different areas and activities.