Maitre D’

What is a Maitre D’?

Duties

The following duties are under the purview of the Maitre D’:

• Effectively collaborates with other team members to accommodate requests and queries from customers at all times.
• Graciously and courteously interact with each guest starting from greeting, seating to taking reservations with the expected level of professionalism.
• Ensure that the establishment is complying with all essential regulations of health and sanitation standards as well as all applicable federal, state, local laws/ordinances.
• Oversee the recruitment of staff members as necessary at the venue, which is inclusive of interviewing, selecting, scheduling, evaluating and promoting individuals as fit.
• Promoting a seamless flow of information among team members at the venue via regular attendance at scheduled departmental meetings with senior management.

Day In The Life

During your career as a Maitre D’, you will be the person overseeing various staff and services at a fine dining restaurant or hotel dining area. In other words, you will ensure smooth operations between the kitchen and dining space. There are a wide range of issues you might have to deal with calmly and efficiently, e.g. the oven in the kitchen is out of order, an employee gets seriously injured, the software assigning table reservations faces a glitch or an order is incorrectly placed. You will have to be prepared at all times to support and lead the teams involved so that the quality of service remains uncompromised.

In addition, you are the first point of contact from a guest’s point of view. You will address them when they walk into the restaurant or take their calls for a table reservation. Your goal is always to present a professional and pleasant demeanour no matter what the situation. Excellent customer service skills are essential for functioning on a day-to-day basis in this type of role, to ensure that all guests have the best experience possible. Sometimes as the Maitre D’, you may have to pitch in with extra tasks like lending a helping hand with serving customers, or putting the finishing touches on a main course.

Work Schedule

When working as a Maitre D’, you will typically work 40 hours per week which sometimes includes weekends and evenings. You can expect the hours to be irregular as per demand and may be working for long hours at a stretch on call. The work environment is usually moderately noisy, stressful and hot with team members sometimes exposed to a smoke-filled environment.

Growth Of The Job

As per the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics, a 12 percent growth is predicted in job opportunities in the food service sector, in the decade between 2010 and 2020. Candidates possessing a degree in hospitality or food service management will have a distinct advantage over other competitors. Competition can be fierce to become a Maitre’D, especially due to the scarcity of jobs in this area and an aging population of workers.

Typical Employers

Typical employers of a Maitre’d includes hotels, restaurants, cruise ships with multiple restaurants, casinos, cafes or other eating places. Some examples of recruiters currently hiring for such positions include Compass Group, Union Square Hospitality Group, Princess Cruises and Holland America Line, MGM Resorts International, American Queen Steamboat Company and more.