Well, I would guess that like with most jobs, you get trained with a partner for a while and at some point you go solo. Going solo doesn't mean you are expert, just that you can usually get by on your own. I can't think of a job I ever had where I was assisted until I was expert. I made mistakes, fixed them, and learned a bit more.
As for doing table sweeps, my guess is that is done when you have gotten all your customers settled, orders taken, and all ready food to tables. In other words, when you have gotten other things under control. When you are learning, often it takes a while before things feel under control and you may be backtracking and taking more time than you should. That's a normal learning process. Table sweeps might be only occasional at first.
Some places only want experienced servers to minimize the impact on customers. Hiring inexperienced people keeps costs down and gives new people a job opportunity. Almost guaranteed that there will be some slip ups. I have had waiters explain that they were new at the job and asked for me to point out any opportunity for them to do a good job so I am more proactive with them.
I will agree that upper management should be a little more present when new people are on the job. They should be doing table sweeps themselves to see how the new people are doing AND to help the new people feel less crunched.
|