Busboy (and -girl) jobs are typically found in restaurants or dining halls. We often think of busboys as the young people who remove our dirty dishes and reset the table, but they have many additional responsibilities.

What is a Busboy?

A busboy's main job is to clean tables after guests leave. Busboys are often high-school students who are too young to work as bartenders or servers. Typically, they work their way up to the position of cook/chef or waiter/waitress.

Cleaning Tables

Busboys will spend most of their shift cleaning tables. This involves waiting for those at the table to finish eating, then clearing all of the dirty plates, glasses and silverware into a tub. The busboy then wipes down and sanitizes the table, as well as vacuums or sweeps the floor and chairs to clean up any food spills. The busboy must also supply the table with new silverware, place mats and napkins.

Garbage Duty

Some busboys must empty all of the filled trash cans and replace the used bags. They must bring filled bags to a dumpster or trash compactor. Garbage is often heavy, so busboys should have good physical stamina.

Dish Washing and Spills

Some busboys are responsible not only for clearing dishes and silverware from the table, but for washing them as well. This may involve hand washing or using a dishwasher. Dried dishes must then be put away in the proper location. Also, if there are any spills in the kitchen or dining room, busboys are usually the ones to mop them up.

Customer Service

When a restaurant is very busy, busboys must often help seat and serve customers drinks and appetizers. This requires that busboys are prompt and friendly, so having good people skills is a must for the job.