In the
restaurant business, an expo (short for
expeditor) is an experienced
server who, on particularly busy nights, does not take any
tables, but, instead, gets
paid by the hour to stand by the
line and ensure that everything goes
smoothly. Since attending to the
needs of four to five tables at once, (if you assume that you have an
average of four
people per
table, that's up to twenty
people you're taking care of,
simultaneously) can be extremely
stressful and demanding on one's
faculties it's easy to forget things or
neglect to
notice when your food is up. The expo will let everyone know when their food comes up, help to
dress food in the
kitchen, and if they see that someone is
in the weeds, the expo will either
assist them or find
someone else who is not as
busy to do so. They will also keep track of all the
tickets in the
kitchen to ensure that the
cooks don't
space any orders.
Since the expo takes no
tables, his or her
mind is
unencumbered by the
mental lists and
stress which may cause a
mental traffic jam and reduce
awareness, making them extremely
helpful to have around in a press. Their position as a
server also makes them a better
candidate for this job than a
manager, who may not have
experience serving and, thus not fully
understand what needs to be done and how to do it properly.