Hooters Waitress Shares Customer Harassment And Image Rules On TikTok Register for free to continue reading

When Hooters unveiled a change to its infamous Hooters Girl uniform this month, launching new underwear-like shorts, the reaction was immediate, with numerous female employees sharing their concerns on platforms like TikTok.

The viral videos, which included comparisons between the new shorts and the old ones, were enough to convince the company to reverse its decision. Hooters released a statement clarifying that Hooters Girls would be allowed to choose between the two versions of the Bermuda shorts.

While the issue was resolved, largely due to those speaking out against the change on TikTok, the incident raised interest in the restaurant chain and the work of its employees.

According to Hooters, the Hooters Girls - the term the company uses to refer to its waitresses and bartenders - are "an international icon and proud ambassadors of the Hooters brand," while the website's career section notes that "being a Hooters Girl is an honor given only to the most entertaining, goal-oriented, glamorous and charismatic women."

To find out what it's really like to work at Hooters, we spoke with two current Hooters Girls, who discussed everything from job interviews to the strict guidelines staff must follow.

According to Hooters, in addition to women who are "charismatic" and "entertaining," a major requirement for the role of Hooters Girl is appearance, as these employees are "identified by [their] glamorous hairstyle, ready-to-wear makeup, the camera, and body in shape”.

Talking to The Independent, Lexi, a 23-year-old Hooters Girl who works at one of the restaurant's Georgia locations, said the application process began by filling out an online application and "uploading a photo."

Lexi was then asked to come to the restaurant for an in-person interview, during which she was instructed to try on the Hooters uniform, which includes a white tank top with the Hooters emblem, orange shorts , pantyhose, sports shoes, white socks and makeup.

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"I tried on the uniform, which I didn't know was part of the interview," she said, adding that "it never gave her the feeling that they were looking for big tits."

However, according to a 19-year-old Hooters girl who would only speak to The Independent on condition of anonymity, as she noted that “Hooters has a policy that we are not allowed to speak to the media on behalf of Hooters, “The company does look for a certain type of woman” during the interview and hiring process.

“The company is looking for a certain type of woman. The job application requires you to attach a photo of yourself and they judge you on your appearance more than anything," the woman, whom we will refer to as Megan, told us. And he added that one of the most important factors is weight, such as “the uniform literally has up to a medium size and if you gain weight they can literally fire you for no reason”.

However, she confirmed that Hooters doesn't discriminate based on breast size or "butt size," which she says "shocked" her.

Once the company hires a woman, they are required to follow a series of strict guidelines that dictate everything from their hairstyles to what they post on social media.

“Some rules we have to follow [...] is to be ready for pictures,” Lexi revealed. “Which basically means getting your hair and makeup done and being ready to take pictures with clients. They love to take pictures. There's also a social media policy that just states what we can/can't post on our uniforms."

According to Megan, Hooters Girls are required to wear makeup, which she said is "mandatory" but can only be applied with a natural look.

“We are told our nails can only be French tips or certain colors, we are not allowed to have any hair color other than natural,” she continued. "Even certain hairstyles that we can't wear [and we can't] have anything cute in our hair like accessories and the headband needs to match our hair color."

Appearance requirements also extend to tattoos and piercings, with Megan explaining that Hooters girls can't wear any jewelry “more than two rings, one on each hand” and can't have facial piercings. Hooters' tattoo guidelines, which previously prohibited all tattoos from being displayed, have recently been relaxed, according to Megan. However, he said that tattoos on the neck and face are still not allowed.

Megan also noted that some locations “even have uniform checks every shift before you go to work and if there's even the slightest tear in your tights, you have to buy new ones, which are $5 a pair.”

When it comes to social media guidelines, the 19-year-old, who has been working at Hooters since early 2021, said the company prohibits Hooters Girls from posting on social media in their uniforms if they are play a song with profanity, nor are they allowed to curse themselves.

“Even during Halloween we have rules for costumes, we can't wear scary makeup, it has to be pretty,” she said.

However, according to Lexi, the consequences of breaking any of the rules are usually not serious. "If you break the rules, you just have a conversation with the manager and he sees fit to handle the situation," she said.

In addition to ensuring they “wow everyone who visits Hooters restaurants” and follow the various rules, a career as a Hooters Girl also means dealing with frequent harassment or “weird” customers, the women assured us.

In response to a question about her experience working at Hooters, Lexi noted that employees simply "have to be careful and watch out for strange customers." When we asked her to explain the protocol in place for dealing with customers behaving inappropriately, she told us that "she's not really sure exactly what the protocol is, but we usually just tell our manager and they handle it for us." ".

Megan also described client harassment, telling us, "When it comes to harassment, it happens a lot because certain men think they can treat you a certain way just because of your uniform."

As for how these situations are handled, Megan said she usually tries to explain to the client why their behavior "isn't okay in a nice way." According to Megan, "some men stop" at that point and "everything's still fine," while there have been other times when male customers have made her "very uncomfortable to the point where I literally stop serving them and have my managers take care of them.”

"It's not just sexual harassment, there's also regular harassment," she said, adding that "several men" have told her she's "too skinny and needs to eat," while "some men choose girls based on of their race or appearance or body type.”

According to Megan, bullying is usually worst on Friday, when the Hooters Girls are required to wear bow ties for "casual Friday."

“At this point, they might as well give us bunny ears and make us Playboy bunnies because that's what it looks like and customers harass us more for ties, comparing us to Playmates,” Megan explained. "They harass you even more when you use them."

However, Megan also pointed out that she is unaware of a protocol, if any, for handling inappropriate clients.

As for the benefits of working at Hooters, both women acknowledged that money earned in tips can make the job worthwhile.

According to Lexi, she decided to work at Hooters because she needed a way to earn "quick money" to pay off her student loans, and she wanted to become a Hooters pinup girl after seeing her cousin do the same.

“My cousin was a Hooters girl and I saw all the opportunities Hooters gave her,” she explained.

In a single night, Lexi can earn $300 in tips working at Hooters, which she said is more than she made working at Applebees.

According to Megan, the money female employees make at Hooters, which recently became a point of contention after a Hooters employee discussed wages on a viral TikTok, is only good because of tips.

“The pay at Hooters is good just in tips,” the 19-year-old said, adding that the company only pays employees at her location $2.13 an hour, which she says is “well below wages.” minimum".

The federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, however, tipped employees such as servers and bartenders, who receive at least $30 per month in tips, can be paid as low as $2.13 per hour , according to the US Department of Labor.

On a slow night, Megan said she can make $80, while some nights she can make $300. However, she noted that the tipping issue is not specific to Hooters, as a significant part of the tipping industry services depends on tips.

According to Megan, Hooters offers benefits like tuition reimbursement and health insurance to employees who have worked there for more than a year.

As for whether she would recommend a job at the restaurant chain, she told us, "If you're okay with all the control rules and sexual harassment of customers, then yes."

Lexi, however, told us she loves working at Hooters and even recommended the job to her younger sister. In addition to opening up opportunities for her, she noted that being a Hooters Girl can be "a confidence booster."

“The managers are very easy going and nice. The only thing I don't like is how easily the drama can start working with a bunch of girls, but even then I'm left alone,” she opined.

The Independent has contacted Hooters for comment.