What Do Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop Counter Attendants Do?

Job Description & Duties Serve food to diners at counter or from a steam table.

Life as a Cafeteria, Food Concession, or Counter Attendant: What Do They Do?

• Order items needed to replenish supplies.
• Perform cleaning duties such as sweeping, mopping, and washing dishes, to keep equipment and facilities sanitary.
• Serve salads, vegetables, meat, breads, and cocktails, ladle soups and sauces, portion desserts, and fill beverage cups and glasses.
• Prepare bills for food, using cash registers, calculators, or adding machines, and accept payment or make change.
• Take customers’ orders and write ordered items on tickets, giving ticket stubs to customers when needed to identify filled orders.
• Balance receipts and payments in cash registers.

What a Cafeteria, Food Concession, or Counter Attendant Should Know

When polled, Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop Counter Attendants say the following skills are most frequently used in their jobs:

Active Listening: Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Service Orientation: Actively looking for ways to help people.

Speaking: Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Time Management: Managing one’s own time and the time of others.

Social Perceptiveness: Being aware of others’ reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Types of Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop Counter Attendants

• Ice Cream Scooper
• Soda Fountain Operator
• Concession Stand Attendant
• Soda Dispenser
• Coffee Shop Attendant

Job Opportunities for Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop Counter Attendants

There were about 505,200 jobs for Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop in 2016 (in the United States).

New jobs are being produced at a rate of 4.6% which is lower than average. The Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts 23,100 new jobs for Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop Counter Attendants by 2026. The BLS estimates 113,200 yearly job openings in this field per year.

The states with the most job growth for Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop are Texas, California, and Florida.

Watch out if you plan on working in Minnesota, Ohio, or Maine. These states have the worst job growth for this type of profession.

Do Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop Counter Attendants Make A Lot Of Money?

Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop Make between $17,790 and $30,500 a year. A Cafeteria, Food Concession, or Coffee Shop Counter Attendant median salary is $22,330.

How much do Counter Attendants, Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop make in different U.S. states?

Annual Mean Salary by State

State	Annual Mean Salary
District of Columbia	$31,780
California	$28,120
Washington	$27,720
Massachusetts	$26,780
Oregon	$26,020
Connecticut	$25,860
New York	$25,680
Arizona	$25,530
Vermont	$25,490
Nevada	$25,440
Hawaii	$25,060
Alaska	$24,750
Rhode Island	$24,610
Colorado	$24,300
Maryland	$24,010
North Dakota	$23,850
Illinois	$23,830
New Hampshire	$23,440
Minnesota	$23,290
Maine	$23,040
Michigan	$22,870
Ohio	$22,340
Arkansas	$22,030
Idaho	$21,920
Utah	$21,900
South Dakota	$21,860
West Virginia	$21,850
New Jersey	$21,800
Nebraska	$21,690
Delaware	$21,690
Virginia	$21,640
Montana	$21,320
Missouri	$21,300
Texas	$21,140
Iowa	$21,090
North Carolina	$20,980
Florida	$20,970
Wyoming	$20,840
Pennsylvania	$20,690
New Mexico	$20,180
Alabama	$20,180
Kentucky	$20,150
South Carolina	$20,010
Wisconsin	$19,890
Georgia	$19,830
Indiana	$19,600
Oklahoma	$19,520
Kansas	$19,300
Tennessee	$19,270
Mississippi	$18,720
Louisiana	$18,420

What Tools do Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop Counter Attendants Use?

Although they’re not necessarily needed for all jobs, the following technologies are used by many Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop Counter Attendants:

• Microsoft Windows
• Data entry software

Becoming a Cafeteria, Food Concession, or Counter Attendant

Are there Cafeteria, Food Concession, or Coffee Shop Counter Attendant education requirements?

How Long Does it Take to Become Cafeteria, Food Concession, or Counter Attendant?

Where Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop Counter Attendants Are Employed

Related Careers

Those interested in being a Cafeteria, Food Concession, or Coffee Shop Counter Attendant may also be interested in:

• Library Assistants, Clerical
• Dining Room and Cafeteria Attendants and Bartender Helpers
• Amusement and Recreation Attendants

Are you already one of the many Cafeteria, Food Concession, and Coffee Shop Counter Attendants in the United States? If you’re thinking about changing careers, these fields are worth exploring:

• Demonstrators and Product Promoters
• Gaming Dealers

References

Bureau of Labor Statistics

College Factual

O*NET Online

Image Credit: Via Wikimedia Commons