Picture this: you are in the club once more, the music is beating, the night is young, and your friends start cheering “shots, shots, shots!”. Who is responsible for those shots? Shot girls. Smiley, bubbly and very protective over their double-priced jägerbombs, shot girls are a staple in the nightlife industry. If you are looking to pick up some extra cash whilst you are studying, you like to have a good time or you just want an excuse to leave the house after this arduously long pandemic, then look no further. Here are some girl-to-girl tips to excel at the club shot girl game…
Become well-versed in chat up lines
Ladies, we have all been there before. You are in the club, at the bar, and the old men start trying to chat you up with these cliched pick-up lines that are making you wish you were still under eighteen. These pick-up lines will be dealt to a shot girl double as hard and more consistently too; you will need to be prepared to shrug off any cringey one-liners like ‘I’ll have a shot of you darling!’, or even better, why not try and come up with your own wittier response? You might pick up a few extra tips for making your punters laugh.
Be semi-decent at maths
Shot girls are responsible for their sales and earn commission on the back of that; if you want to take on the role, you might have to revisit the old times tables from primary school! Not many people consider that shot girls are working in a loud, busy environment, so you will certainly have to be capable of counting up all those separate £3’s whilst dealing with a group of lads screaming the lyrics to ‘Come on Eileen’ behind you.
Get a bigger wardrobe
Club employers will want their shot girls looking friendly, sociable and professional whilst on the job. What is great is you do not have to plan your outfit as you would for your own nights out, you can definitely get away with a comfy t-shirt and jeans. If you are really looking to work as a shot girl, have a look at second-hand dresses and nice tops you can dress up for work without having to worry about getting alcohol spilt all over them. Remember, you want the regular punters to think you own more than five unwashed outfits!
Do not be a pushover!
The drunks will be after your precious shots for free, so be aware, be smart and be strong. Whether it is the freshers, a lad’s night out, or even a Hen Do, whoever you offer your shots to will beg and barter until they get it for free, or at least for half the price. Shot girls usually are not paid by the hour, but by what they sell, so you certainly need to make sure you convince your customers to pay up. A good top tip is to hang around the customers queuing for drinks at the bar; they are all extremely dehydrated and extremely fed-up of having to queue.
Be somebody who can hack the sesh but will not miss the sesh
Shot girls, or anybody who works in the nightlife industry, will know that shift patterns are not the best bit about the contract – you will have to withstand long and late nights. If you will be upset about missing out on your own friend’s parties or plans, then perhaps this is not the job for you. However, it is certainly worth noting that many shot girls’ shift patterns only require them to work two weekends or Saturdays per month, so it is very flexible and suitable for a student looking to pick up a little extra cash when they can. `
Get on good terms with the bouncers
Top tip: you want to be on the good side of the bouncers and your colleagues (especially if you are doing agency work and move from bars to clubs). Anyone with authority in the club will look out for their own on the potential occasion that a customer may get a little too ‘rowdy’.
Have a good playlist to go home to
You might get a bit bored of the repetitive club classics each shift, so create a playlist that will get you feeling active and ready to take on each club night. Make a calmer playlist to cool off at the end of the night (or early in the morning). Self-care is key, before and after work! Have a bath, a sleep and a nice cup of tea so you can be ready for your next night in the club.
And finally… be yourself
No one wants a shot girl who is pretending to be ‘a shot girl’… be yourself, smile and have a laugh. At the end of the day, people go out at night for a good time, and they just want to see a friendly face who can have a joke with them, but equally not pester them so much that they want to fight you. Not that they will fight you… that is for the bouncers to sort out!
