What is a Front of House Manager?
The front of house manager oversees all operations at a restaurant (except for the kitchen), ensuring a seamless and quality customer experience for guests. They are responsible for supervising front of house staff and for reporting to the Food and Beverage Manager.
How to become a Front of House Manager?
You could get into this job through a hospitality team member intermediate apprenticeship, or a hospitality supervisor advanced apprenticeship.
You may not need any formal qualifications to apply directly for work as a front of house. It will help to have good admin and customer service skills.
Some employers will prefer you to have a good general education, with GCSEs and IT skills to work with computerised booking or payment systems.
Front of House Manager Duties:
Front of House Manager duties are diverse and depend on the employer and specialty, but some responsibilities are common to most:
- Supervising a team of eight front of house staff including waiters, commis, head waiters and sommeliers.
- Accepting and informing the relevant staff about food and beverage requests
- Scheduling work rosters for the front of house team, ensuring the correct level of staffing is achieved on each shift
- Monitoring staff performance and giving feedback where necessary
- Providing guests with their checks after the meal sitting
- Hiring and training new employees so they meet high quality standards
- To ensure the front of house area looks presentable and tidy at all times
Front of House Manager Skills:
To be an effective front of house manager, you’ll need certain skills and competencies. The following are often cited in job vacancies:
- Multi-tasking skills
- Ability to work in a fast-paced environment
- Good communication skills
- Point of sale system experience
- Organizational skills
How to find a front of house manager job
These jobs are advertised online, in local newspapers and at your local jobcentre. To find all the front of house manager jobs near you, you need to:
- Search for front of house manager jobs on popular job websites such as; Indeed, Total Jobs and CV Library
- Use the DWP’s Find A Job Service
- Check local newspapers and local Facebook groups, especially groups dedicated to local jobs
How to find a front of house manager job
When you search for front of house manager jobs online, be aware that the jobs might be advertised using a different job title. Popular job titles for front of house manager jobs include;
- Host/hostess
- Server
- Busser
- Runner
- Bartender
What does a front of house manager do?
The day-to-day tasks of a front of house manager include;
- Greet guests
- Receiving and confirming walk-in, telephonic, and online reservations
- Directing early arrivals to the bar as they wait for their tables to become available
- Transporting food orders from the kitchen to each pertinent table
- Supporting colleagues and staff during busy periods, including taking orders, serving meals and clearing tables
- Liaising with the kitchen staff to ensure an efficient and seamless service
- Enforce and monitor all health, safety, and sanitation standards in their area