Dishwasher phone screen questions
The dish pit is where kitchens most often come up short on a Friday night. The screen is short: have they kept up with a rush, do they know the machine and the sanitizer, can they close, and will they show up.
Eight questions, and what to listen for
Ask them in this order. The first two sort the pool; the middle ones show judgment; the last ones settle logistics before anyone books an interview.
- 1
Tell me about your last dish or kitchen job: what kind of restaurant, and how busy did it get?
Listen for: Type of place, covers on a busy night, and how long they stayed. Tenure in a dish pit says a lot about reliability.
- 2
Have you run a commercial dish machine, and do you know how to check that it is sanitizing?
Listen for: Machine type (conveyor, door-type, Hobart) and some sense of temperature or test strips. None is fine with training; a candidate who knows test strips has been taught well.
- 3
How do you keep up when the pit is backed up and the line is calling for plates?
Listen for: Prioritizing what the line needs first, pre-rinsing, racking efficiently, asking for help. Listen for a method.
- 4
Have you used a three-compartment sink for pots and pans?
Listen for: Wash, rinse, sanitize, in that order. A quick, confident answer.
- 5
Are you comfortable helping with prep or closing duties like mopping and taking out trash?
Listen for: A willing yes. Dishwashers who help with prep are the ones who move up to the line.
- 6
Are late nights, weekends, and holidays workable for you?
Listen for: A direct answer. Closing shifts are the job.
- 7
Can you stand for a full shift, work around heat and water, and lift racks and bus tubs up to 40 pounds, with or without reasonable accommodation?
Listen for: A plain yes or a stated limit. Do not probe for reasons.
- 8
How do you get to work for a closing shift, and when could you start?
Listen for: A way home after midnight and a date. Late-night transit gaps cause no-shows.
Red flags on the call
- Cannot describe a past kitchen at all
- Not available for the nights you need
- No plan for getting home after close
- Unwilling to help beyond the dish machine
Keep it short
Five questions, four to six minutes. Dishwasher candidates are usually applying to several jobs at once; a screen they can finish between shifts gets finished. Save the deeper questions for the interview, where the candidate has already answered these once.
Ask whether the candidate can perform an essential task with or without reasonable accommodation; do not ask about disability or medical history. Avoid age, family, religion, national origin and other protected characteristics. See the EEOC's hiring-question guidance.
Run this exact screen for every dishwasher who applies
Create a role in PhoneScreen with these five questions, share the link, and every candidate gets the same screen the moment they call. You read the scorecards. First 10 screens are free.
- 1Tell me about your last dish or kitchen job and how busy it got.
- 2Have you run a commercial dish machine or a three-compartment sink?
- 3How do you keep up when the pit is backed up and the line is calling for plates?
- 4Are late nights, weekends, and holidays workable for you?
- 5How do you get to work for a closing shift, and when could you start?
Common questions
Does a dishwasher need a food handler card? +
It depends on where you are. Some states and counties require a card for anyone who handles food or clean utensils, and others do not. Check your state and local health department rules, and if you need it, ask on the screen so you know who has to get one before the first shift.
Most of our dishwasher applicants prefer Spanish. Does the screen work for them? +
Yes. The candidate picks Spanish on the apply form, the interview runs in Spanish, and the kitchen manager reads the transcript and scores in English.
Screening for restaurants · More roles: line cook, restaurant server, barista, bartender, restaurant host, forklift operator · Why the same questions for everyone