From the interview process to the daily duties on the job, the job experience was like no other. I served cold beers and chicken wings at Hooters from the ages of 18 through 21; eventually becoming a corporate trainer.
While working as a Hooter Girl, I noticed how curious people were about the experience. So I?m here to share the unique aspects of working as a Hooters Girl!
The Interview Process
The first two interviews are a sit down and answer question type of interview and the third one is physical. You go into the bathroom with a female manager if available, or a hooters girl if not. There she measures you everywhere with a measuring tape and then grabs a uniform that is your size. You try on that uniform and the manager takes pictures of you. If you make it through the final round, you get to take the uniform with you. Fun fact: you don?t have to have big boobs to work at Hooters.
This picture that is taken of you during this day is stored into a corporate file. If you end up gaining weight years down the line, they can cite this picture and fire you because you look different from when you were hired.
Dress Code
First off, there were no visible tattoos or piercings allowed. All tattoos were covered up with makeup and piercings were removed on the clock. Tip: Dermablend concealer does an amazing job at covering tattoos.
If we had our nails done, they had to be French Tipped or American. If you didn?t know, an American manicure is just a shade of sheer pink; basically a French without the white tip.
For our shift, we were always expected to be camera ready. This meant that we should always have our hair and makeup done while at work. Depending on the managers at the store, this rule might have been more lenient but from my experience, girls who showed up without their hair or makeup done were sent home.
The Tips
Of all my part-time jobs I have worked, being a Hooters Girl was the highest paying. It was very easy money especially if you have seniority and get better sections or are on bar. Although it was good money for the cost of our food, I would probably have made more money working in fine dining. So in comparison to working at a restaurant of similar price range like Applebee?s, we probably made more money serving at Hooters. But not as much as someone working at a more expensive restaurant. I definitely had many experiences where a guy would come in to eat alone and silently leave me a $100 tip.
No ID No Service
A lot of people were surprised when I told them that we ID everyone. A lot of restaurants train their servers to ID everyone who looks under the age of 30 but our policy was to ID everyone. And this rule was probably the most strictly enforced one. Secret shoppers would come in and eat; in the case that a hooters girl did not ID a secret shopper, it resulted in termination. I know that this was a corporate rule and the store that I worked at actually lost our calendar girl due to her failure to ID a secret shopper. I thought that this was a little unfair because when it get?s busy, it just didn?t seem necessary to card someone who was obviously above 21. Sometimes guests would have their ID in their car and would be annoyed that they had to retrieve it.
Tuition Reimbursement
This is something that nobody seems to know about. I was a full time student while working as a Hooters Girl and got tuition reimbursement every semester. It kicks in after a short three months of working there. Although it didn?t cover full tuition, it covered a good chunk. I sent a screenshot of my final grades at the end of every semester and they paid for a portion of my tuition. You get paid more based on the grade you receive; A?s are reimbursed at the highest rate.
Walk Out and Cover Up
It wouldn?t be a good idea to have petite, female waitresses with our pocket full of tips leaving the store in the dark. So if we work at night, we were walked to our car by a manager after our shift. Additionally, it was mandatory to ?cover up? our uniform outside of the restaurant. I usually threw on an oversized T-shirt over my uniform and just took it off when I got to work. We had to cover up before being walked out to our car.
