Cafeteria attendants facilitate food service in stand-alone cafeterias as well as those located at schools, hospitals, office buildings and other facilities. Their duties involve serving customers, keeping the cafeteria clean, helping to ensure the operation runs in a smooth and orderly fashion, ensuring that there are adequate food and drink supplies on the serving tables and replenishing the same where necessary. To be an effective cafeteria attendant, you must be organized and efficient and have excellent customer service skills.
A cafeteria attendant is responsible for keeping the food service areas clean. He cleans the tables and dining areas and wipes down surfaces such as food counters, shelves and walls. He is responsible for removing dirty dishes from the tables and stacking them up in the kitchen where they are washed. The cafeteria attendant is also responsible for cleaning up spilled food or drink and carrying away broken dishes and other waste items to the trash bins.
A cafeteria attendant maintains order in the food service areas by arranging the chairs and tables in way that allows for easy movement within the establishment. She also removes dirty linen from the tables and sets them with fresh ones. In some cases, cafeteria attendants carry meals from the kitchen or the serving counter to the customer’s table to ensure a proper flow of service within the establishment.
The cafeteria attendant is responsible for stocking the food service areas. He ensures that there is an adequate supply of glasses, plates and cutlery for the customers to use. He also checks on the condiments, water and other supplies that are provided for the customers and replenishes them if need be. The attendant also liaises with the manager of the establishment to replace broken crockery, glasses, trays and other food service equipment.
A cafeteria attendant performs customer service duties for customers who can't carry trays themselves, such as elderly, disabled or young customers. She also circulates around the dining room refilling water glasses, handing out extra napkins, serving coffee to customers and checking to see that customers are properly taken care of.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
- Recruiter.com: Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
- 500paths.com: Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
- Job-descriptions.careerplanner.com: Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
- Benchmark-careers.com: Cafeteria Attendant
- Comstock Images/Comstock/Getty Images