A real shift
Arrive before service to check the book, note allergies, birthdays and regulars, and agree sections with the manager. Then hours of greeting, seating, quoting wait times and juggling walk-ins against no-shows, finishing with goodbyes and tomorrow's confirmations.
Skills that matter
- Calm under a queue
- Table management and pacing
- Reservation systems such as OpenTable, SevenRooms or ResDiary
- Remembering names and faces
- Diplomacy with difficult guests
- Reading the room
Qualifications
- No formal requirement
- Level 2 Award in Customer Service (UK)
- Level 2 Hospitality Team Member apprenticeship
- Allergen awareness training (FSA online course)
Where it leads
What we'd ask on the show
- The art of the walk-in: how hosts invent tables that do not exist
- No-shows, deposits and the guest who swears they booked
- Why the host stand is the most underrated power seat in the building