How to Bus Tables

As a bus boy or bar back, you are the back bone of the restaurant. It may seem like grunt work, but no job is a better foot in the door at a quality establishment than the busser. Keep up the quick, neat work and you may work your way up to wait staff in no time. Read on to learn how to bus tables.

Instructions

1. Keep your shoes new. As a busser, you will spend 70 percent of your time on wet, slippery floors. You must wear new shoes with good bottom treads at all times. Otherwise, you will fall.

2. Carry as much as you can at one time, but no more. Don't try to impress the wait staff with your muscles. You will be twice as efficient carrying back one bus tub at a time, quickly, than trying to stack bus tubs in an awkward manner, slowing your trek and possibly hurting your back. Safety is just as important as speed.

3. Keep the glassware separate from the dishware and silverware. This is for your protection as much as other people. The second a glass goes into a bus tub with dishes and silver, it is seconds away from breaking. The some goes with bottles. Most places have separate bins for bottles and trays for glassware. Always use these to avoid cutting yourself.

4. Make yourself indispensable. If you are walking through the dining room and you see a table trying to wave down a waiter who is busy doing something else, assist the table. Go above and beyond, and the wait staff will appreciate it, as will the management. This is how bussers and bar backs get promotions, and how your tip out amount increases.