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.

A Journey through Search Terms

Sometimes I get all nerdy and take a look at the various search terms that lead people to my blog.  Occasionally these adventures through my traffic sources actually lead to blog posts because sometimes people actually look up pretty legit questions.  Some people Google things like:  "pictures of girls picking wedgies, "I fucked a Hooters Girl," and "ass dad wife."  I regret to inform you, this post is not for you.  I now present a few select searches and my answers to them.  Glad I could help.

Do Hooters Girls use real names on their nametags?
Hooters Girls are supposed to use their real names on their nametags.  While I'm sure that there are both Hooters stores and Hooters Girls that break this rule, for the most part girls have their real names on their nametags.  At my store, we happen to have quite a few girls with different names - including two named Stormy - so we get this question quite often.  Yes, we really do have that many odd names; I guess our parents were all really original.

Are Hooters Girls promiscuous?
I would say that Hooters Girls are probably serve as a good sample of the population of women as a whole.  Basically all that mumbo gumbo means that I think that Hooters Girls are no more or less promiscuous than other woman.  Some are...um...easy and others are not.  This is no different from going to any bar on any Friday night - some girls will go home with you, but most probably won't.

Where can I find articles written about Hooters?
Yes, you're in the right place.  Stop here.  Now.  You can go anywhere on the Internet and find lots of crap about Hooters, but you should read mine first.

Can I share Hooters all you can eat wings?
Most Hooters will not let you share all you can eat wings.  After all, it's called all YOU can eat wings, not all you and your friends and your cousins and you neighbors can eat wings.  If you think about it, some people will eat less than, say, $12.99 worth of wings and some will eat more.  If you and every one else pitched in together you would obviously get your money's worth every time.  Good for you.  Bad for business.  You get the idea.

Can I buy the official Hooters uniform online?
Why yes you can buy the uniform online.  You can do so HERE.  But apparently they don't sell the shorts anymore.  For those, I'd try Ebay.

Do Hooters Girls get insurance?
Yes and no.  Because Hooters is a franchised company it is up to individual owners if they want to offer insurance.  I have worked for Hooters full-time for over two years and receive no insurance because it is not an offered benefit where I work.  But then again, I've never received a raise either.  I don't think my Hooters is the norm however.

Crafty things to do with old Hooters uniforms?
Um have I mentioned I ADORE crafts?!  Well I do.  I've never even thought about this, but I think it's fabulous that you're being all green about reusing your uniforms.  Why not make a tank top shaped throw pillow or perhaps an orange shorts hobo bag.  Or you could always burn the uniforms as a way to economically heat your home.  Yes, I'd probably go with that.

Does Hooters offer half off a boob job?
Contrary to popular belief, Hooters does not in fact offer boob jobs as a benefit.  This question appears - in varying forms - quite often amidst my searches.  Apparently this is common yet stupid belief.   So once again, Hooters does not give boobs jobs.  Or half off boob jobs.  Or half off hack boob jobs done in Tijuana.  I have seen Hooters Girls make the money to buy boobs by working at Hooters though.  Lucky them.

What are Hooters uniform sizes?

Hooters uniforms are available in size xxxs - small.  Yes, that's written correctly.  Yes, you read it correctly.  Don't worry; the sizes don't reflect actual sizes very well.

How much should I tip at Hooters?
Here is my solution to tipping at Hooters.  Is it the right way?  No, it's simply one solution to a question a lot of people have.  Tipping is individual and should not be expected.  In the end it's up to you.

Is it bad for my boyfriend to wear a Hooters shirt?
No, it is not bad for your boyfriend to wear a Hooters shirt.  It is after all, just an effing shirt.  Odds are, he went to Hooters, had a few wings, had a fun time and decided to buy a shirt.  Buying a shirt does not indicate that he cheated on at Hooters.  Or that he doesn't like you anymore.  Or any of the other totally off base conclusions you may jump to.  In fact, Hooters is probably the last place any of those things would happen.  And for the record we sell just as many shirts to girls.

When do Hooters Girls wear black?
Hooters Girls wear black every Friday.  This is called formal Friday is quite possibly the best day of the week.  We also wear black for "special events" like UFC or local college football games.  The special events change from store to store, but all stores participate in formal Fridays. 

Will a Hooters Girl kiss you if you ask?
Hate to kill any fantasies, but Hooters Girls will not kiss you even if you say please.  I don't think I need to elaborate.

So hopefully, somewhere out there on the Internet, I answered someone's burning Hooters question.  I try to be helpful now and again.  If you have your own Hooters question, don't waste your time with Google and email me instead - girlandguitar@live.com

Hello World, It's Me, Sauce!

I am a naughty blogger. I have left my poor readers neglected for well over a week, thus committing a cardinal sin of blogging. I may very well be struck down by the powers that be by some nasty plague that may or may not include locusts, death of my firstborn, and incurable boils.

To appease the blogging world I will attempt to deliver some delicious content the next few days - think Slip n' Slides, strip clubs, and bags of Twisted Tea (all mutually exclusive of course). We'll start off with an email I received several weeks ago that poses an interesting situation that occurred at a reader's local Hooters.

I had an odd experience with the waitress at my local Hooters this morning which I've been trying to figure out, but I don't want to ask one of the waitresses, since I thought that it might get her in trouble. Here's the situation:

I went to Hooters kind of early this Monday, i.e., normally a pretty slow day and time. I got a waitress at my table who I haven't had at my table before, but I've seen around a lot - in fact, when she first arrived at our table, she was very friendly, and knew what I was going to order before I told her (I was with two friends, neither of whom have been to Hooters before, so she wouldn't have seen them before).

Just after our table ordered, a big group of school kids came in (at least twenty of them); there were also four or five other regular tables (all two-three people each). Overall there were four girls on the floor, but maybe they weren't prepared for such an influx of people, since the food wound up being cold, and the service was terrible (food delivered by a cook rather than a waitress, and no one even came by to check on our table). Since none of us enjoy cold food and the service was non-existent, we wanted to get out as quick as possible. So, I called our original waitress over, and gave her enough bills to cover the tab, and asked for change, which she promptly brought back. I left a small tip, and since my friends were itching to leave, I left without a second thought - only once I'd left, and checked my pocket did I realize that the waitress had basically given me back the full cost of the meal. Specifically, she kept three dollars, and gave me back the rest in smaller denominations. (I never saw an actual bill for the meal, but I'm at Hooters enough to know pretty much exactly what our bill was supposed to be.)

So, the question is: was this waitress very kind (i.e., did she realize that I was regular customer who'd brought two friends with me, only to have us all get jerked over), very incompetent (i.e., not only couldn't she handle her customers, she also couldn't count cash), or what? I find it hard to believe that it's the latter, since she seems like a veteran waitress. But if it's the former, how could she get away with that? And why keep just three dollars? Am I likely to get her in trouble by asking someone at the restaurant the next time I'm there?

My take: Honestly I think it was simply a mistake. As odd as it may seem to make such an elementary error this seems most probable. Primarily I believe this because no waitress wants to take the cost of a whole meal from her tips. This is the most important thing to realize in this situation, odds are your waitress ended up paying for your meal from her tips at the end of the day and she probably didn't even realize. When paying out what she owed the restaurant from her bank at the end of the day, she'd fork over Hooter's share and think she just had an awful day on the floor. Or she might notice she ended up with less than anticipated when counting her tips and realize her mistake far too late.

So how does a "veteran waitress" make what seems to be a blatant mistake? From the sounds of your visit to Hooters, I'd ventured to say that your Hooters Girl was probably pretty flustered and even with her vast experience she made an error in her math somewhere. Most Hooters Girls are responsible for their own bank and counting out their own change. Some girls will use calculators or the computers at the wait stations to calculate the appropriate change but many - myself included - will simply count back change using mental math. Odds are her math was off somewhere or, more probable, she not only messed up her math but also gave you the wrong stack of money back in her effort to return your change quickly. Sometimes mistakes are made and unfortunately your Hooters Girl ended up paying for it. At this point I'd say there's little to no point to saying anything at the restaurant. Your best bet might be to tip her a little extra the next time this Hooters Girl is your server.

So that's my take, any other opinions?