Cafeteria attendants help ensure diners have all the items they need to enjoy their meal, and help facilitate an efficient dining environment. Specific tasks include removing dirty dishes, cleaning tables, ensuring tables have clean linens and serving drinks.
Be sure not to neglect the skills section of your cafeteria attendant job description, which should make note of such necessary professional attributes as coordination, solid communication ability, physical stamina and service orientation. Because cafeteria attendants interact with diners, they should also have solid customer-service skills.
In addition to physical stamina, attendants need the physical strength necessary to lift racks of dishes, boxes of supplies and dishes. For a solid idea of what to include in your very own cafeteria attendant job description, be sure to take a close and careful look at the example below.
Cafeteria Attendant Job Summary
Do you enjoy creating a dining atmosphere for guests that goes above and beyond? As a cafeteria attendant, you have the opportunity to create a relaxing and well-organized dining environment for our guests, one where the tables are clean, dirty dishes are promptly removed and guests always have silverware, glasses and dishes. In addition to taking care of guests, you’ll utilize your strong attention to detail and interpersonal skills as you work with the rest of the staff to ensure every work area is well-stocked to allow for expedient and efficient operation. Share your positive and helpful attitude as you work quickly to ensure satisfied guests. If you love working with a team, this could be the perfect opportunity for you.
Job Responsibilities
- Wipe down tables and seats when clearing tables with a clean, damp cloth soaked in sanitizer solution to ensure guests always sit at a clean table
- Scrape and pre-rinse dirty dishes, properly arranging them in the correct section of the dish pit for the dishwasher to take care of
- Set tables with clean condiments, linens and other items as needed according to restaurant standards and demands of the table seating
- Serve water, soft drinks, coffee and juice as well as bread and butter to customers
- Clean and stock throughout the restaurant as necessary throughout your shift
- Carry dishes, food, silverware and trays from kitchen to serving counters when supply runs low
- Perform janitorial duties as needed when time permits, such as cleaning work stations, emptying the trash, mopping up spills and sweeping during your shift
- Polish and clean walls, shelves, furniture and equipment throughout the establishment during shift when time permits
Job Skills & Qualifications
Reqiured:
- Able to lift at least 50 lbs. without assistance
- Proven written and oral communication skills
- Willingness to be a team player and contribute
- Able to deal with difficult customers and diffuse situations
Preferred:
- Able to work nights, weekends and holidays
- Prior experience in the food service industry
- Knowledge of RestaurantPlus POS software
- Knowledge of how to use dishwashing machines
Cafeteria Attendant Job Responsibilities
The job responsibilities section of your cafeteria attendant job description forms the backbone of the description overall. In this section, you list the everyday tasks of the position. Jobseekers will decide based on the responsibilities listed here whether they have the necessary skills to perform the job. They’ll also use the list as a baseline to decide if this is the type of job they could see themselves doing. As such, it’s critical you write this section in a way that makes the position come across in an appealing way; otherwise, candidates may turn to other listings.
Bullet points make this section easy for jobseekers to read and immediately identify if this position is suitable for them. List the most common tasks this person performs each day, but be broad rather than extremely detail-oriented. A best practice is to include at least six but no more than eight of the most important responsibilities. Start off each of the tasks in your cafeteria attendant job description with a strong action verb so you catch the jobseeker’s attention and make this section engaging to read.
The following list gives you an idea of cafeteria attendant job responsibilities
- Keep dining area clean, wipe down tables and replace utensils and place settings as needed
- Clear dirty dishes from tables and take them to the kitchen for washing
- Respond to customer questions and help them locate restrooms, condiments and other items
- Refill beverages as needed
Cafeteria Attendant Job Specifications
Although the job qualifications and skills section is likely the shortest of the cafeteria attendant job description, it contains essential information for jobseekers. This is where you let potential candidates know the educational background you require to move forward in the hiring process, along with any additional training or professional qualifications. It’s important to be specific about what you require to reduce the number of applications from underqualified candidates. This will ultimately save you time in the initial screening process.
As you craft this section of the cafeteria attendant job description, take into consideration not only the educational background you desire for this position and any other specific training requirements, but also some traits or skills that are merely preferred rather than required. This allows you to keep the call for applicants broad enough to not eliminate jobseekers who could still perform the position well even without every single professional qualification on the list.
The following list shows some typical cafeteria attendant job specifications you can include in your description:
High school diploma or at least one year of relevant work experience Personable and customer-service oriented Able to stand for long periods and carry heavy trays Previous experience operating a cash register preferred