Restaurant hosts are often thought of as being a group of individuals who have the sole responsibility of guiding people to their tables. However, this article is meant to put similar misconceptions about restaurant hosts to rest by discussing and debunking them. The following is a list of just 8 of these misconceptions that people have about restaurant hosts as well as explanations for why they should be reconsidered:

1. We're the ones responsible for assigning long wait times.

No, actually, the reason why we assign such long wait times is that some parties choose to reside at their tables for much longer than what is typically expected. We may even need a few minutes to clean off a table for you. Or perhaps the size of your party is so large that it will take a bit of time for a certain number of current guests to leave so that we can make the proper arrangements for you. In other words, the fact that we assigned you such a long wait time isn't because we don't want you to dine with us. As a matter of fact, we genuinely wish that we could accommodate you at the time you inquire with us about a table.

However, there are some circumstances which we, unfortunately, have little to no control over.

2. All we do is escort guests to their tables.

While escorting guests to their tables is one responsibility that we have, there are also numerous other responsibilities that we perform in order to enhance your overall dining experience. Those responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

-Assigning approximate wait times

-Performing table and restroom checks

-Confirming/canceling reservations

-Recording, packaging, and delivering to go orders

-Restocking items

-Etc.

These tasks may seem very simple when considered individually. However, the only way for someone to fully understand the level of maintenance that each of these tasks entails would be for them to become an official host or hostess themselves.

3. The wait times we tell you are exact.

Oftentimes you'll hear one of us say that the wait time for an order or a table to be ready is going to be "about 15 minutes". The keyword here is "about", meaning that the wait times we assign you are actually approximations.

Again, these wait times are based on a variety of factors, including the current obligations of staff in the kitchen, the number of guests currently residing in the restaurant, etc.

Overall, just know that we always try our best to assign you the most accurate wait time so as to ensure that you will have the best possible experience by the time you come in to dine with us.

4. There's plenty of open tables in the restaurant, so we should be able to seat you immediately at whatever table you want.

This is one of the most common misconceptions everyone has about restaurants. Just because a table is open doesn't always mean we can seat you at that particular table. On the contrary, the open tables you see are often reserved for other parties on the wait list who have yet to show up to the restaurant to claim them. Sometimes there aren't enough servers to assist those tables in addition to the ones they already have. It also wouldn't make much sense to have you seated at a booth for 6 when you really only have a party of 4.

However, if we're not especially booked when you inquire about a particular table, then we definitely won't hesitate to seat you at it.

5. When we walk around and look at your table, it automatically means we're stalking you.

It's okay! I used to think this was true before I became a hostess myself. Most of the time, however, we're really only looking at your table to determine how far along you are with your dining experience.

6. The number on the pager we give you indicates your designated wait time.

Nope, it's just the number we record in our system so that we'll know which pager to activate once your table is ready.

7. You have children dining with you, so you deserve priority seating.

We ALL understand the pain of having to wait to eat on an empty stomach. However, that's why it's important for you to reserve your table ahead of time (especially around the holidays). It also wouldn't be fair to have you seated earlier than the guests who already took the initiative to put their names on our wait/reservation lists.

8. We are your server as well as your hostess.

We can definitely perform minimal tasks for you (e.g. deliver more silverware/menus to your table, inform your server of a guest's birthday, etc.). However, we are obligated to return to the host stand as soon as possible after seating you, so your server will need to take care of any major dining requests you may have.

I've had the pleasure of serving as a hostess since May of 2017 and decided to create this article to give you a better sense of who we really are based on my own personal experiences with the position. My hope is that you'll exit it knowing that we're so much more than just a group of pretty faces who assign you disturbingly long wait times.