The duties a waiter, wait staff or server partakes in can be tedious, but are vital to the success of the restaurant. Such duties include, prepping a section before guests sit down, offering cocktails or specialty drinks, recommending food options, requesting special chef items, pre-clearing the tables, and serving food and beverages throughout the shift. Silver service staff are specially trained to serve at banquets or high-end restaurants. These servers follow specific rules and service guidelines which makes it a skilled job. They generally wear black and white with a long, white apron (extending from the waist to ankle).
The head server is in charge of the waiting staff, and is also frequently responsible for assigning seating. The head server must insure that all staff does their duties accordingly. The functions of a head server can overlap to some degree with that of the Maître d'hôtel. Most restaurants employ busboys or busgirls, increasingly referred to as busser or server assistant to clear dirty dishes, set tables, and otherwise assist the waiting