My Hooters Girl Touched Me, Is She Flirting?

The following question appeared in my inbox the other day and I thought it was definitely worth addressing.  Remember if you have your own Hooters question (or Sauce question or life question or random conversation) either email me or visit my Formspring and ask away!

Are there rules or recommendations against servers at Hooter's making physical contact with their guests?  I had my (regular) server trail her fingers across my back as she walked by me tonight.  This seems to cross a line between playful flirtation and actually leading on a guest.  What's your take on this?

This would be inappropriate for example.  CREDIT.

My initial answer to your question regarding contact between Hooters Girls and customers would be that I don’t think it’s appropriate in most cases.  I don’t think it’s necessarily because the action is leading, but because it’s simply out of place in the restaurant work environment.  Would it be out of place for your waitress to touch you at TGI Friday’s?  Why would Hooters be any different?  Specifically, in a place such as Hooters where a guest touching the girls is often deemed inappropriate, it seems rather necessary for the policy to work both ways to avoid confusion.

Now all that being said, the situation can get a little confusing when it comes to regulars – as you’ve pointed out you are.  With the increased familiarity of a regular customer, physical contact becomes a lot more commonplace.  However, this is generally very innocent and usually acceptable in my opinion because it never crosses the line.  These are situations where I am very mindful and still keep the contact to a minimum just to avoid any confusion like you’ve mentioned.  An innocent gesture to some and be taken so differently by others so nine times out of ten it’s best to just be avoided.

So do I think she was leading you on specifically?  Obviously being that I wasn’t a part of the situation I can’t say for sure, but based on what you’ve told me (most specifically your regular status) I’d say that her actions were not meant to be leading.  I think it was just a motion made out of familiarity.  Of course I can never know for sure.

What all this does tell me though, is how careful Hooters Girls – and far more broadly women in general – have to be in their customer interactions.  A thoughtless gesture or assertion can easily be taken in a light that was never intended.  Especially when you’re a pretty girl paid to show off your outgoing personality.  Flirting and fun seem to skirt an awfully thin line.