Friends and Family Day

The first day on the floor was a soft open called friends and family.    They way it worked was the day was split into morning and evening shifts.  If you worked the morning you’d come at night with friends or family or vice versa.  Or you could tell friends and family to come in and visit you.

It was a complete madhouse in the beginning because the dressing room was overflowing with girls changing into their costumes.  You could barely move, it was hot, and purses and bags were strewn everywhere because they didn’t have enough lockers for everyone.  I think during a normal shift people’s clock-in times would be more staggered but for now everyone came in at the exact same time.  There was even a line to get into the dressing room and change, it was crazy.  Another problem was the dressing room was too small.  I was really disappointed because I had pictured something totally different.  I think I’ve been watching too much of The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders Making the Team because I had envisioned more of a small locker room with a bench and a big mirror.  I also read in some girl’s Hooters blog that their dressing room had a curling iron, lotion, straighter, and other amenities.  Here, it was basically a dinky little room with one full length mirror and that was it.

After everyone was dressed we all lined up and had to get checked by management who would look at everyone in their uniform and see if we were appropriate for the floor which meant they just made sure your outfit fit properly and your hair and makeup were ‘camera ready’.

It was weird for the first hour because there were hardly any people in the restaurant.  Girls were just walking around with no direction and really nothing to do.  I didn’t have a table for a good hour or so, I walked around and talked to the other girls.  I met Alex and Staci who were hilarious and full of energy,

almost as much as Leanne.  They were very social and were some of the people who had requested everyone on Facebook.  Since they did everything together people even called them Alexi.  I tried to run more food to get the hang of the table numbers and identifying all the different menu items but there wasn’t enough food to run so people were just standing in line waiting to run the next order.  The trainers seemed to get mad if they saw us in line because it was more important that we’d be entertaining our tables than waiting to run food.  Most of us didn’t have tables yet so the trainers told us to talk to other people’s tables. 

The first table I had wasn’t even friends or family.  They were a couple in their 60s who had thought we were already open.  I asked management what I should do because they weren’t friends or family and the check was going to be comped.  Kevin said to tell them that tonight I was inviting them as my friend. 

Even though we made an exception for them the couple seemed to complain a lot.  I never understood people who complained that got things for free.  The man became really irritated that he couldn’t order a beer from the bar.  For friends and family night there were only a few drinks to choose from.  The reasoning was the bartenders could get practice making the special signature Tilted Kilt drinks.  In theory the bartenders already knew how to pour a beer so that was not offered on friends and family night.   When I explained this to him he kept asking if I could make an exception so I asked the trainers and they said no.  Then they also got a little testy about not being able to order whatever they wanted because it was only a choice among 3 or 4 entrees.   I felt bad that they couldn’t order what they wanted but they already knew they were on a night when they technically weren’t supposed to be there as well as they were eating for free.  The woman ordered the fettuccine and complained that the dish was way too spicy for her so I got her something else.  I had tried it during training and I didn’t think it was that spicy at all. She said I should warn everyone next time how spicy it was and said something weird like younger people usually had more of a tolerance for spicy food so that’s why I probably didn’t realize it was so spicy. 

 The couple seemed more like a curmudgeonly Denny’s 4pm crowd than the typical Tilted Kilt crowd and I was wondering why an older couple would want to come here in the first place.  Either way The Tilted Kilt is for everyone, all walks of life but it’s definitely geared to a more party some younger crowd, usually male or the going out drinks and watching sports type crowd.  I sat down with them for a little bit to socialize.  It turns out they were from a retirement community nearby apparently it was one of the biggest in the state, almost like a small city.  The woman asked where we found so many pretty girls.   I told her Craigslist which sounds funny but it’s true. Practically everyone I know found out about the Tilted Kilt hiring there besides that girl Leah who Theresa had seen in person at the park and told her to apply. 

The other table I had was another couple in their 60s as well.  They knew about friends and family so it made it easier because I didn’t have to explain how things worked.  They were neighbors of some girl I never met but she actually worked in the morning so I waited on them instead.   Since they arrived right before the kitchen closed (I think they were even the last table of the night) I was told to ring the whole order in at once so the kitchen could finish up.   It was weird because they actually got their dessert 20 minutes before their entrees since everything was rung in at once.     

All in all the night went pretty smoothly and I had a really good time.   I got better with knowing the table numbers and recognizing the food to run.