My thoughts on the Hooters bankruptcy rumors--as a former Hooters girl--part 1 (sorry this got way too long).

If you've been around a while you may remember that in the very charged atmosphere of my appearance on reddit, my husband let it slip that I was a Hooters girl. It's not that I was trying to keep it secret but in light of the way I appeared on the scene, it wasn't something I was necessarily ready to go into yet. But since he's always "so funny" he thought it would be hilarious. My reddit trolls reacted just like I expected they would, everyone else was very friendly and respectful.  Having said that, the day that my first account got banned was the day that a reddit troll called me all sorts of insane names regarding my employment at Hooters and said he had pics of me with my uniform half off giving "oral" to a trucker. I still don't know why I was banned but the timing of it makes me think reddit had finally had enough and with the threats of pics being posted they pulled the plug. To be honest, I wasn't that scared because I know those particular pics don't exist but it does still happen from time to time that someone will run across a website with a pic from my days as a Hooters girl where I'm in the background of some event, carrying a huge plate of wings or singing happy birthday. The location where I worked was closed down a while ago so I suspect most of those old pics are gone from the internet but I wouldn't be surprised if some are still out there. 

It's probably worth mentioning how I became to be a Hooters girl before I get into my thoughts on the latest news. I've mentioned that I was fired from my other job as a server...because I slapped the crap out of an drunken oil field guy after he and his friends grabbed me. I had cut them off from drinks but had been directed to keep serving them by the manager--to this day, one of the most disgusting human beings I have ever met. I needed to work and getting fired actually caused me to be pretty distraught because I worked hard, I always showed up to my shifts on time, I covered other people when they needed it--it just seemed so insanely unfair. I did try to follow up with corporate from the other place but it was one of those things where life got in the way and it just came to pass. Bubs and I were living together in his apartment and he was trying to console me and kind of as a joke he said "you can always go work at Hooters." I did the typical girl thing of "oh I'm not pretty enough to work there" backhandedly seeking his assurance that he was still attracted to me. He told me that I could easily work there and I'll never forget his "your 'hooters' would look great in that shirt" as he made the universal man gesture for big boobs as he cupped his hands in front of his chest. It was almost like he was daring me so I was like--ok, I'll go apply tomorrow.   He scoffed like he didn't believe me so I told him I was dead serious. He said "Dani if you even step foot in Hooters to apply there, I will give you $1000 bucks because there is no way. Your parents would kill you." I was really annoyed that we were living 8 hours away from home, he'd talked me into living with him and I would gleefully bend myself like a pretzel for his enjoyment and he still thought I was under the continual thumb of my parents. I told him to get his checkbook ready because I was going to skip a class and show up there first thing in the morning. He still scoffed and told me he didn't believe me which made me even more annoyed. I want to say we went to bed that night without him getting what he wanted from me but even when he's irritating, he's pretty charming. 

When I woke up the next morning, I noticed he had made me lunch--which he never had before. And I asked him what that was about he said "oh I just thought it would be nice for us to meet and have lunch together today." I knew right away what he was actually doing was that he had tossed and turned all night worrying that I may be serious about applying at Hooters and he had tried a little subterfuge to get me to "forget" about it. I repeated what I told him last night, I was skipping class and I was going in to apply as soon as the restaurant opened. When I started to pick out an outfit that was much nicer than my normal school clothes, Bubs changed his tone considerably. I think he said "you know, you don't have to do this just because I dared you." I knew I had him so I innocently said "do what?" 

"Don't play dumb with me Danielle, I was joking last night. I'm not sure how I feel about this." 

"I recall a little wager last night, that if I even step through the door to apply--I get $1000?"

"You know I don't have $1000." 

"Well then I really need a job!" 

"Dani, can we just talk about this--I'm cool with a lot of the nutty stuff you do but if someone sees you there, it will never go away. And people will certainly talk and it will get back home." 

"We live in a college town--of course people are going to see me there."

"With your tits out!" 

"Good thing you told me how nice they are last night!" 

"Dani, a couple of drunk assholes grabbed you at --pepper restaurant-- what do you think is going to happen at Hooters?" 

"Well I know for sure it can't be worse. This isn't that big of deal. I'll apply and they'll say yes or no. If they say no then I still need a job." 

So with that Bubs was resolved that I was going to get my way...again and he told me to please call him after I filled out my application. But to be very honest, I still was pretty unsure about it. He had been right that my parents would kill (or so I assumed--there was a lot going on back home), with the handful of people from our area that had come to our school, I knew it would get back to everyone at home in a matter of days and to be honest--I was pretty nervous about the reputation the management and customers. I grew up a gymnast so my body has been on display in various forms since I was little so showing skin didn't bother me...but for some reason I was still uneasy about it. I'd heard the rumors about the "jiggle test" and jumping rope being part of the interview and for all I knew the could be true. 

I think before then I had been in a Hooters maybe once or twice. There used to be one near the San Antonio Riverwalk and I vaguely remember going in there with my dad and his cousin. So I was completely unsure what I would find when I walked in the door. They were just opening and the girl who greeted me gave me the biggest smile and told me she recognized me from a Church group we had together. That really took me aback, although it took me a second, I recognized her too--as being a very buttoned up church girl but here she was in the full on cheeky shorts and tight tank top with a face full of make up and curled hair. She asked if I wanted a table and I said that no, I was actually hoping to apply. She told me to walk with her and took me in the back to where the manager's office was, on the way she told me that she loved working there and to please exchange numbers with her before I left so she could give me the ins and outs. I said somethin about "if" I get hired, she said "oh you're getting hired" as she opened the door to the managers office and asked him if he had time to talk with me. 

The "oh you're getting hired" line kind of made me want to run out of the building because I thought that was an allusion to "oh you're getting hired, just let me open the door to the boss's office where you lay down on his desk so he can do his thing, it won't take long." Instead what I got was the nicest man I have ever worked for. He was kind and affable. He was easy going, there was no formality, he had pictures of his kids and wife everywhere in his office. He stood up and offered his hand and introduced himself and asked if I had serving experience. He seemed so friendly that I was honest and told him I had just been fired from the other place but I thought unfairly. He actually laughed out loud and said "you too huh? We have a couple of girls and cooks from there. I've heard its bad." I gave him a rough run down of what had happened while leaving out some of the details and he said that when I work for him, I need to know that he doesn't put up with any disrespect towards his staff. He asked when I could start I said literally now if needed me. He said he definitely needed a server but didn't have a trainer that lunch shift and asked if I would be willing to start the next evening. I said of course. He asked if I had a husband or boyfriend. In the back of my mind I was like "oh ok, this was too good to be true--here goes." I think he could see my face get scrunched up knew what I was thinking because he said "I know that sometimes our girls' boyfriends and husbands  can be a little uneasy about you working here. If you have one, please let him know that he's welcome any time and I'll even buy his dinner."  I told him that was very nice and I'd actually been dating my boyfriend since we were in middle school and we live together now and I explained that the reason I was there was because Bubs had dared me. I will never forget the manager saying "your fella's name is Bubs?" I had to quickly explain that no but I've been calling him that for so long that I almost forget his real name. He said that he really wanted to meet a man who lets himself be called Bubs and dares his girlfriend to work at Hooters so have him try to swing by for my first shift. 

He took me up to the bar and had me fill out some paper work and asked me what I would like to eat and if I he could send me home with some food for my boyfriend. I said that no, my boyfriend had actually packed me a lunch that morning and I was still going to try to make it back to campus to meet him.  He said he was more curious to meet this mysterious lunch packing boyfriend more than ever and left me to fill out my paperwork. By the time I was done, my friend from the church group handed me a bag of brand new hooters uniforms; the traditional orange and white, the black and the camo version for supporting the troops. She said she was confident that she'd gotten my size right. I kind of whispered and asked her if I needed a special bra and she laughed and said I'll learn pretty quickly that most of the rumors you hear about Hooters are from people who would never step foot in one. So with that, I was a Hooters girl. 

I don't remember how long I was a trainee, I think it was only a couple of shifts because their system was really easy to get a hang of. I know that the first night I was on my own was super busy and I walked out of the restaurant that night with more cash than I had ever seen. And contrary to any sort of rumors about us being strippers or offering "extras" on the side, all I did was the same I'd done at my previous serving job. Be friendly, be polite and fix problems in a way that makes the customer happy. 

Of course it was mostly men but there were a surprising number of couples and families that would come in. Occasionally I'd get some dirty looks from a wife or girlfriend but I tried to never change how I acted regardless of who the customers were. I also learned pretty quickly that Hooters girls biggest fans are not guys at all...but the little 6-10 year old girls who come in with their families. They were absolutely adorable and would make us feel like rocks stars. I made really good money for a serving job right off the bat but when I started to get regulars was when I really started to make great money. Most of the time these were very nice older guys who were either widowed or divorced and had a lot of hurt in their past. All they ever wanted was someone to be nice to them and if they found it in a cute girl, even better. I think in 2.5 ish years of working there I had maybe 10 comments that were inappropriate and I think only one of those was something that I felt like I couldn't handle on my own and had to get the manager involved. 9 of those 10 times all I had to say was something like "you know I have a boyfriend, you've met him" or "we've been friends for a while now, you know better than to talk to friends like that." 

For the most part, I loved the girls that I worked with (and as I've mentioned in the past, I got my best friend Ashely a job after I'd been there for a bit). Occasionally there would be catty moments or girls who would come in who really did think they were going to spring board serving hot wings and beer into a "side business" (so to speak) but they only lasted a few days or week at best. It was fun work but it was hard work and bad or non-genuine attitudes had a way of revealing themselves very quickly. We also only ever had a few episodes of real drama of love triangles or cheating or anything like that. And again to be totally honest, it had been so much worse at the "Pepper Restaurant" because that manager actually did get girls (and probably some guys) to get in his good graces by being open to back room shenanigans--that kind of managerial misconduct caused way more problems that semi-scantily clad girls ever could. 

Wow, have I ever gone on too long here--I meant to start this as my thoughts on the company (or companies--Hooters is actually two very separate companies, I'll talk about that on my next blog) but I went way too far down memory lane. I guess if anything, this one sets up that I'm a little sad about the news of a possible bankruptcy--but I sort of saw it coming--which I'll get into next time. 

Again posting this on reddit so if you'd rather talk there, please feel free! My user name is DecentData5441 or if you are reading this on reddit and want to see my blog it's My life after the 15 mins

Have a great rest of your Sunday everyone!