Restaurant server phone screen questions
Server screens are about pace, guest handling, and availability. The phone itself is a small test: a candidate who is warm and clear on a phone screen will usually be warm and clear at a table.
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 the restaurants you have served in and roughly how many tables you handled at once.
Listen for: Concept, volume, and section size. Fine dining and high-volume casual are different jobs.
- 2
Have you used a POS system before? Which one?
Listen for: Toast, Square, Aloha, Micros. Not required, but it shortens training.
- 3
Tell me about a time a guest was unhappy. What did you do?
Listen for: Listen, fix what you can, get a manager early. Blaming the kitchen or the guest is a warning sign.
- 4
How do you keep track of several tables at different stages of their meal?
Listen for: A system: full hands in, full hands out, checking back on a rhythm.
- 5
Do you have a current food handler or alcohol service certification?
Listen for: Yes/no; some states require both.
- 6
Which shifts can you work, and are weekends workable?
Listen for: Match to the schedule you are filling.
- 7
Are you comfortable upselling specials and drinks?
Listen for: Comfort with suggestive selling without being pushy.
- 8
When can you start?
Listen for: A date.
Red flags on the call
- Cannot describe a past restaurant
- Weekend availability that does not match
- Unhappy-guest story that ends with the guest being wrong
- Flat or curt on the phone
Keep it short
Five questions, four to six minutes. Restaurant server 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.
Be the restaurant server candidate for three minutes
We call your phone and run a real three-question screen for The Harbor Grill, a busy waterfront restaurant in Charleston. Your scorecard is emailed to you exactly as a recruiter would see it.
- 1Tell me about the restaurants you have served in and how many tables you handled at once.
- 2Tell me about a time a guest was unhappy. What did you do?
- 3Do you have a current food handler or alcohol service certification?
Your phone is about to ring at
Joe from The Harbor Grill will introduce himself and ask three questions. While you talk, try a few things:
- Cut in mid-sentence and notice the pause
- Give a vague answer and hear the follow-up
- Say you are not interested and hear it wrap up
Your scorecard lands in your inbox about a minute after you hang up.
Run this exact screen for every restaurant server 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 the restaurants you have served in and how many tables you handled at once.
- 2Tell me about a time a guest was unhappy. What did you do?
- 3Do you have a current food handler or alcohol service certification?
- 4Which shifts can you work, and are weekends workable?
- 5When can you start?
Common questions
Does an automated call turn off hospitality candidates? +
Not in practice. The interviewer is warm, waits when the candidate pauses, and answers questions about the job. Completion rates for call-in screens are high because candidates pick the moment.
Screening for restaurants · More roles: line cook, dishwasher, barista, bartender, restaurant host, forklift operator · Why the same questions for everyone