What does a Bakery Clerk do?

A Bakery Clerk serves as the front line for a bakery or bakery department. They’re usually the first person a customer encounters at the counter. As a result, they are a major influence on the customer’s first impression of your store. By delivering exceptional service, they can help ensure customer satisfaction and drive customer loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals. A Bakery Clerk helps to ensure food safety through their cleaning-related duties and impacts product quality through careful packaging and assisting with preparation.

Bakery Clerk skills and qualifications

To be successful in Bakery Clerk positions, candidates must possess certain skills. The following are some qualifications you’ll often find included in a job description for a Bakery Clerk:

• Interpersonal skills to ensure positive interactions with customers and coworkers

• Oral communication skills to answer questions clearly and concisely

• Customer service skills to handle customer concerns and complaints in a professional manner

• Ability to remain upright for most of the shift

• Multitasking skills to serve customers efficiently during busy periods

• Attentiveness to detail to ensure that food items are prepared and packaged correctly

• Computer skills to operate pricing systems and process customer payments

• Knowledge of food service health and safety standards

Bakery Clerk experience requirements

A new Bakery Clerk can learn most of what they need to know to perform their duties through on-the-job training. As a result, no experience may be necessary to succeed in a Bakery Clerk position. However, candidates with one to two years of prior work history may be better suited to working in some environments. For example, you may prefer to prioritize more experienced candidates when hiring for the busiest shift of the day or if you only have one Bakery Clerk scheduled for each shift.

Bakery Clerk education and training requirements

Generally, formal education is not required for success in Bakery Clerk positions. If your position requires your new hire to assist with food preparation on a regular basis, you may wish to look for candidates who have previously completed training courses on baking and/or cake decorating.

Depending on the nature of your business and the laws and regulations in your area, Bakery Clerks may need to hold food safety certification. While new hires can gain certification after they start work, you may want to give extra weight to candidates who already hold the necessary credentials because they will be able to begin completing their job duties sooner.

Bakery Clerk salary expectations

According to Indeed Salaries, the average salary for a Bakery Clerk is $14.59 per hour. Geographic location, education, experience and certification status determine how much individual clerks earn.

Job description samples for similar positions

If this Bakery Clerk job description isn’t an exact match for your open position, consider the following closely related job titles:

• Baker

• Grocery Clerk

• Pastry Chef

• Stocker

Bakery Clerk job description FAQs

Who does a Bakery Clerk report to?

Who a Bakery Clerk reports to depends on the organizational structure of a business. At large bakeries, there are often several Shift Supervisors who lead teams of Bakery Clerks and report to a Bakery Manager. Alternatively, a Bakery Clerk may report directly to a Bakery Manager, an Assistant Store Manager or a Store Manager. Another approach is to have all workers assigned to the bakery report to the Head Baker or Baker on duty.

What is a Bakery Clerk vs. a Baker?

Although they may play a role in food preparation and baking, a Bakery Clerk’s job duties tend to revolve around customers. A Baker’s main focus is on making baked goods for customers to buy. At many bakeries and grocery stores, Bakers have little to no customer contact. 

What is a Bakery Clerk vs. a Bakery Assistant?

A Bakery Assistant helps a Baker with food preparation. They may perform tasks like measuring ingredients, mixing dough, washing dishes and removing items from ovens, and they typically don’t wait on customers. The Bakery Clerk is responsible for providing customer service and usually only assists with food preparation on an as-needed basis.

How can I make my Bakery Clerk job description stand out?

To help our Bakery Clerk job description stand out, lead with a list of the key benefits of the position. You can mention things like retirement plans, health insurance and flexible scheduling.