Fast Food and Counter Workers

• Summary

• Details

Work Activities

• Add relishes and garnishes to food orders, according to instructions.
• Collect and return dirty dishes to the kitchen for washing.
• Notify kitchen personnel of shortages or special orders.
• Brew coffee and tea, and fill containers with requested beverages.
• Request and record customer orders, and compute bills, using cash registers, multi-counting machines, or pencil and paper.
• Plan, prepare, and deliver meals to individuals with special dietary needs.
• Plan, prepare, and deliver meals to individuals with special dietary needs.
• Perform cleaning duties, such as sweeping, mopping, and washing dishes, to keep equipment and facilities sanitary.
• Request and record customer orders, and compute bills, using cash registers, multi-counting machines, or pencil and paper.
• Clean and organize eating, service, and kitchen areas.
• Communicate with customers regarding orders, comments, and complaints.
• Prepare and serve cold drinks, frozen milk drinks, or desserts, using drink-dispensing, milkshake, or frozen-custard machines.
• Distribute food to servers.
• Accept payment from customers, and make change as necessary.
• Perform personnel activities, such as supervising and training employees.
• Take customers' orders and write ordered items on tickets, giving ticket stubs to customers when needed to identify filled orders.
• Set up dining areas for meals, and clear them following meals.
• Plan, prepare, and deliver meals to individuals with special dietary needs.
• Serve food, beverages, or desserts to customers in such settings as take-out counters of restaurants or lunchrooms, business or industrial establishments, hotel rooms, and cars.
• Replenish foods at serving stations.
• Scrub and polish counters, steam tables, and other equipment, and clean glasses, dishes, and fountain equipment.
• Scrub and polish counters, steam tables, and other equipment, and clean glasses, dishes, and fountain equipment.
• Wash dishes, glassware, and silverware after meals.
• Serve customers in eating places that specialize in fast service and inexpensive carry-out food.
• Deliver orders to kitchens, and pick up and serve food when it is ready.
• Request and record customer orders, and compute bills, using cash registers, multi-counting machines, or pencil and paper.
• Wrap menu items such as sandwiches, hot entrees, and desserts for serving or for takeout.
• Monitor and order supplies or food items, and restock as necessary to maintain inventory.
• Select food items from serving or storage areas and place them in dishes, on serving trays, or in take-out bags.
• Deliver orders to kitchens, and pick up and serve food when it is ready.
• Prepare and serve cold drinks, frozen milk drinks, or desserts, using drink-dispensing, milkshake, or frozen-custard machines.
• Balance receipts and payments in cash registers.
• Set up dining areas for meals, and clear them following meals.
• Prepare daily food items, and cook simple foods and beverages, such as sandwiches, salads, soups, pizza, or coffee, using proper safety precautions and sanitary measures.
• Arrange tables and decorations according to instructions.
• Clean and organize eating, service, and kitchen areas.

Skills

• Operation and Control
  • Using equipment or systems.
• Equipment Maintenance
  • Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
• Equipment Selection
  • Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
• Time Management
  • Managing your time and the time of other people.
• Operations Analysis
  • Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
• Programming
  • Writing computer programs.
• Management of Personnel Resources
  • Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
• Writing
  • Writing things for co-workers or customers.
• Complex Problem Solving
  • Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
• Mathematics
  • Using math to solve problems.
• Science
  • Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
• Systems Analysis
  • Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
• Critical Thinking
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
• Repairing
  • Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
• Quality Control Analysis
  • Testing how well a product or service works.
• Social Perceptiveness
  • Understanding people's reactions.
• Persuasion
  • Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
• Negotiation
  • Bringing people together to solve differences.
• Learning Strategies
  • Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
• Coordination
  • Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
• Installation
  • Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
• Active Listening
  • Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
• Management of Financial Resources
  • Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
• Monitoring
  • Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
• Instructing
  • Teaching people how to do something.
• Technology Design
  • Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
• Active Learning
  • Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
• Reading Comprehension
  • Reading work-related information.
• Judgment and Decision Making
  • Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
• Management of Material Resources
  • Managing equipment and materials.
• Speaking
  • Talking to others.
• Systems Evaluation
  • Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
• Operations Monitoring
  • Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
• Troubleshooting
  • Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
• Service Orientation
  • Looking for ways to help people.

Abilities

• Arm-Hand Steadiness
  • Keeping your arm or hand steady.
• Information Ordering
  • Ordering or arranging things.
• Night Vision
  • Seeing at night or under low light.
• Time Sharing
  • Doing two or more things at the same time.
• Explosive Strength
  • Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
• Peripheral Vision
  • Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
• Depth Perception
  • Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
• Category Flexibility
  • Grouping things in different ways.
• Selective Attention
  • Paying attention to something without being distracted.
• Multilimb Coordination
  • Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
• Problem Sensitivity
  • Noticing when problems happen.
• Visualization
  • Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
• Deductive Reasoning
  • Using rules to solve problems.
• Hearing Sensitivity
  • Telling the difference between sounds.
• Speed of Limb Movement
  • Quickly moving your arms and legs.
• Trunk Strength
  • Using your lower back and stomach.
• Dynamic Strength
  • Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
• Written Expression
  • Communicating by writing.
• Perceptual Speed
  • Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
• Extent Flexibility
  • Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Wrist-Finger Speed
  • Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
• Mathematical Reasoning
  • Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
• Flexibility of Closure
  • Seeing hidden patterns.
• Oral Comprehension
  • Listening and understanding what people say.
• Control Precision
  • Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
• Stamina
  • Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
• Rate Control
  • Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
• Auditory Attention
  • Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
• Written Comprehension
  • Reading and understanding what is written.
• Oral Expression
  • Communicating by speaking.
• Speech Recognition
  • Recognizing spoken words.
• Finger Dexterity
  • Putting together small parts with your fingers.
• Inductive Reasoning
  • Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
• Response Orientation
  • Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
• Gross Body Equilibrium
  • Keeping your balance or staying upright.
• Spatial Orientation
  • Knowing where things are around you.
• Memorization
  • Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
• Manual Dexterity
  • Holding or moving items with your hands.
• Near Vision
  • Seeing details up close.
• Far Vision
  • Seeing details that are far away.
• Glare Sensitivity
  • Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
• Number Facility
  • Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
• Speed of Closure
  • Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
• Static Strength
  • Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
• Fluency of Ideas
  • Coming up with lots of ideas.
• Speech Clarity
  • Speaking clearly.
• Dynamic Flexibility
  • Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
• Originality
  • Creating new and original ideas.
• Reaction Time
  • Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
• Gross Body Coordination
  • Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
• Visual Color Discrimination
  • Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
• Sound Localization
  • Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

Knowledge

• Public Safety and Security
  • Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
• Foreign Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
• Communications and Media
  • Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
• Design
  • Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
• Mathematics
  • Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
• History and Archeology
  • Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
• Engineering and Technology
  • Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
• Customer and Personal Service
  • Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Economics and Accounting
  • Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
• English Language
  • Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Psychology
  • Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
• Education and Training
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• Sales and Marketing
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
• Philosophy and Theology
  • Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
• Geography
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
• Sociology and Anthropology
  • Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
• Personnel and Human Resources
  • Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
• Mechanical
  • Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
• Biology
  • Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
• Physics
  • Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
• Medicine and Dentistry
  • Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
• Food Production
  • Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
• Therapy and Counseling
  • Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
• Computers and Electronics
  • Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
• Chemistry
  • Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
• Telecommunications
  • Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
• Transportation
  • Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
• Building and Construction
  • Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
• Law and Government
  • Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
• Administrative
  • Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
• Fine Arts
  • Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
• Production and Processing
  • Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
• Administration and Management
  • Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Education

Education

No formal educational credential

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

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Education and Training Opportunities

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Pay

Washington Annual Salary

36820/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

17.7/hr

Washington Employment Trends

Currently Employed

126,380

Yearly Projected Openings

30750

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

• Self Control
• Dependability
• Adaptability/Flexibility
• Cooperation
• Attention to Detail
• Initiative

Tools

• Bar code reader equipment
• Belt conveyors
• Cappuccino or espresso machines
• Carbonated beverage dispenser
• Carts
• Cash registers
• Commercial use blenders
• Commercial use broilers
• Commercial use coffee grinders
• Commercial use coffee or iced tea makers
• Commercial use convection ovens
• Commercial use cutlery
• Commercial use deep fryers
• Commercial use dishwashers
• Commercial use dough machines
• Commercial use electric can openers
• Commercial use food choppers or cubers or dicers
• Commercial use food grinders
• Commercial use food processors
• Commercial use food slicers
• Commercial use food warmers
• Commercial use graters
• Commercial use grills
• Commercial use heat lamps
• Commercial use microwave ovens
• Commercial use mixers
• Commercial use molds
• Commercial use ovens
• Commercial use peelers
• Commercial use ranges
• Commercial use scales
• Commercial use scoops
• Commercial use steamers
• Commercial use toasters
• Desktop computers
• Domestic kitchen or food thermometers
• Food grade sanitizers
• Ice dispensers
• Intercom systems
• Laser printers
• Magnetic stripe readers and encoders
• Milk dispensers
• Milkshake machines
• Non carbonated beverage dispenser
• Personal computers
• Pocket calculator
• Point of sale POS receipt printers
• Point of sale POS terminal
• Slush machines
• Soft serve machines
• Touch screen monitors

Technology

• Computer based training software
• Data base user interface and query software
• Office suite software
• Operating system software
• Point of sale POS software
• Spreadsheet software
• Web page creation and editing software
• Web platform development software