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The Complete Guide to Becoming A Host and Hostess, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop
The real pay, real daily grind, and real career path of the person who runs the front door of every restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop in America.
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: What Does a Host and Hostess, Restaurant, Lounge, and Coffee Shop Actually Do?
Welcome to the front door. Before you decide to become a host or hostess, you need to know exactly what it is you are signing up for. This is not a passive, "just stand here and smile" job, and it is not an easy one to fake. The host and hostess is the first person a guest sees, the first voice they hear on the phone, and often the last person they speak to on their way out. You are the traffic controller, the customer service rep, the busser, the cashier, and sometimes the therapist for a hungry and impatient public. You do not make the food, but you control the entire flow of the dining room, and when you do your job badly, every other employee feels it.
Core Responsibilities: The Daily Grind
At its heart, the role is about managing the physical space of the venue and the expectations of everyone in it. Your primary job is to seat guests. This sounds simple, but it involves a complex set of decisions you will make in seconds. You must determine how many people are in the party, which section has the right server, whether that server's table is ready to be flipped, and whether the guest has a reservation or is a walk-in. You are the only one in the building who has the full map of the floor in your head. In a