In large luxury establishments, there are often multiple ranks of waiting staff in the dining room:
Maître d'hôtel, responsible for dining room as a whole, greets guests; sometimes acts as headwaiter and/or supervisor
Floor manager
Expeditor, or "Expo", responsible for ensuring accuracy and completeness of orders. The expeditor is also often responsible for preparing the tray for the servers so they can bring all of the plates of that course to all of the table guests at the same time
- Captain, responsible for several tables
- Waiter
- Front waiter
- Back waiter, who helps waiters refill water, replenish bread, etc.
- Bar back, who helps a bartender by bussing, and restocking glassware and alcohol
- Runner, who brings cooked dishes to diners
- Busser, busboy, clears tables, sets tables
In such restaurants, the captain is typically responsible for interacting with the diners and overseeing waiters.
There are also specialists, notably a sommelier for wine service, and occasionally a maître fromager for the cheese service. A host or hostess may be responsible for seating diners if there is not a maître d'hôtel.