What does a Runner do?
A runner is considered as a general assistant who works under the direction of a producer and other production staff to do basic works such as answering the phone or making arrangements for staff on locations in the broadcasting and film industry. The role of a runner is to ensure that the production process is running smoothly. A runner should possess a lot of skills, such as excellent time management and teamwork. A bachelor or postgraduate degree is not required for being a runner.
Runner responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real runner resumes:
- Manage tickets for kitchen, run food and intereact with customers, and bus tables
- Manage expediter window paying close attention to garnishes and presentation.
- Operate within compliance of USDA and QA program standards
- Clean tables & floor area also set silver ware, plates, & wine glasses in correct fine dining table positions.
- Line runner, PVC pipe bundler
- Assist the HVAC technician with installations.
- Take guest orders and check for any allergies.
- Stack PVC pipe and check for details of defects
- Remove finish pallets from line and store them in warehouse.
- Inventory and restock assign supply bins using RF scanner for tracking inventory.
- Stock supplies in serving stations, cupboards, refrigerators, and salad bars.
- Assist technicians on-site to run duct work and install A/C and furnace units.
- Greet customers, answer phones, and make reservations for small and large parties.
- Coordinate and execute point of sale (POS) relating to promotional and or special activity.
- Resolve customer concerns, point of sale (POS) cash register system to ensure accounting accuracy.
Runner skills and personality traits
We calculated that 18% of Runners are proficient in Food Service, Basic Math, and Math. They’re also known for soft skills such as Leadership skills, Patience, and Organizational skills.
We break down the percentage of Runners that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Food Service, 18%
Worked in food services for the Democratic National Convention; responsible for catering to media tents and other private parties.
- Basic Math, 10%
Included running the till (using basic math, not a calculator), ordering supplies, nightly inventory, cleaning.
- Math, 9%
Handle money transactions while doing math in my head.
- Customer Service, 8%
Managed and supervised operations in facilitating quality service in administrative duties, customer service, accounting, and general office duties.
- Cleanliness, 6%
Ensured establishment of cleanliness and organization per restaurant standards
- Cash Handling, 6%
Honored with repeated awards for cash handling accuracy, with zero overages/shortages month- over-month.
"food service," "basic math," and "math" are among the most common skills that runners use at work. You can find even more runner responsibilities below, including:
Leadership skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a runner to have is leadership skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "gambling managers and supervisors oversee other gambling services workers and must guide them in doing their jobs and developing their skills." Runners often use leadership skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "promoted within company because of excellent guest service skillsleadership"
Patience. Another essential skill to perform runner duties is patience. Runners responsibilities require that "all gambling services workers must stay composed when they encounter a customer who becomes upset or breaks a rule." Runners also use patience in their role according to a real resume snippet: "managed dining room operations to ensure customer satisfaction displayed patience and problem solving skills when dealing with customer-related issues"
Organizational skills. runners are also known for organizational skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to runner responsibilities, because "gambling managers and supervisors should have an orderly system in place to handle administrative and other tasks for overseeing gambling services workers." A runner resume example shows how organizational skills is used in the workplace: "sorted mail (inbound and outbound) skills used organizational math basic computer"
Math skills. A big part of what runners do relies on "math skills." You can see how essential it is to runner responsibilities because "because they may deal with large amounts of money, gambling services workers must be good at math." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical runner tasks: "handle money transactions while doing math in my head. "
Communication skills. Another crucial skill for a runner to carry out their responsibilities is "communication skills." A big part of what runners relies on this skill, since "gambling services workers must explain the rules of the game to customers and answer their questions." How this skill relates to runner duties can be seen in an example from a runner resume snippet: "provided excellent customer service, and maintained good communication with all customers. "
Customer-service skills. Another skill commonly found on runner job descriptions is "customer-service skills." It can come up quite often in runner duties, since "gambling jobs involve interaction with customers." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day runner responsibilities: "addressed and redirected customer complaints. "
The three companies that hire the most runners are:
- **n/a*
2,542 runners jobs
- DDave & Buster's286 runners jobs
- CCompass Group USA280 runners jobs
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Compare different runners
Runner vs. Sports book writer
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, runner responsibilities require skills like "food service," "basic math," "math," and "cleanliness." Meanwhile a typical sports book writer has skills in areas such as "computer system," "ensures compliance," "computer software," and "mtl." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
On average, sports book writers reach similar levels of education than runners. Sports book writers are 3.3% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 1.3% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Runner vs. Ticket writer
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, runner responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "food service," "basic math," "math," and "cleanliness." Meanwhile, a ticket writer has duties that require skills in areas such as "hotel casino," "sports tickets," "customer disputes," and "football games." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
Ticket writers earn similar levels of education than runners in general. They're 0.5% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 1.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Runner vs. Bingo floater
Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from runner resumes include skills like "food service," "basic math," "math," and "cleanliness," whereas a bingo floater is more likely to list skills in "computer software," "office equipment," "government regulations," and "sales hospitality. "
Most bingo floaters achieve a similar degree level compared to runners. For example, they're 3.3% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.5% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Runner vs. Bingo clerk
Types of runner
Updated January 8, 2025
