Short for maître d'hôtel - in the original French - literally "master of the hotel". In a suitably staffed restaurant or hotel is the person in charge of assigning customers to tables in the establishment and dividing the dining area into areas of responsibility for the various servers on duty. The maître d' may also be the person who receives and records reservations for dining - as well as dealing with any customer complaints. It is also his duty to make sure that all the servers are completing their tasks in an efficient manner. In small restaurants - the post is also known as the headwaiter or host.