Being a ‘bottle girl’ is not for everyone, but those who can handle the job – and succeed within it – will definitely be rewarded with decent pay, life skills, and maybe even an array of gifts on top of the memories from one hell of an experience.
I went into the position fairly blind. You can find all sorts of information on being an entertainer (a stripper) on the internet, and more recently, on TikTok, but there is a lack of the needed information on being a waitress or a bottle girl in strip clubs.
This article is only from my personal experience and doesn’t reflect every club – club rules also vary by state and even by county in some areas. Others will have different experiences and if you’re interested in working at a strip club, I would recommend first researching as much as you can about the club through their website, their social media, and maybe even some of the girls who already work there. Next, you should go into the club as a customer (especially if you’ve never been in one before) and if you feel as if this place would be a good fit for you after first being a customer, then asking other girls their experience, you should talk with the manager about interviewing, applying, and maybe even expectations.
First and foremost, there was a very fine line between waitress and entertainer. If anything, a waitress was an entertainer in training.
The main differences between the two are that waitresses are actual employees of the club, they get a paycheck (although small), have to claim their tips, have to abide by more rules, may wear more clothes, and are given a schedule, unlike entertainers who are independent contractors and decide when to work and are actually paying the club to work.
Depending on the club, waitresses may also do dances and go on stage, even if they aren’t necessarily performing in the typical sense.
Also, depending on the club, the sole purpose of being a waitress may be to eventually transition into being a dancer. While this would likely not be required, even the girls who go into it saying they would never be strippers rethink their decisions real quick after seeing how much more money the girls make, along with being able to pick their own schedule, wear what they want, etc.
I worked as a waitress for nearly a year at a strip club in particular, which is a long time to remain an employee at a club – most girls either quit or transition to dancing within a few weeks.
Most of the time, I had a lot of fun and was making a ridiculous amount of money, more than I had ever made before. I was constantly being complimented, being bought gifts (such as shoes and outfits), being paid money just to talk and entertain men, plus I have a ton of hilarious and weird stories to share.
You’ll also learn a lot about how a club is run, the good and the bad…
As far as prerequisites, it really depends on the club, and you’re better off going to the club and feeling out the environment and then asking the managers about the position. Waitress or bartending experience will definitely help, having confidence is key, you have to be prepared to deal with assholes and sexual harassment, you have to fit ‘the look’ of the club, and also be willing to work crazy hours.
However, if you can handle it and you learn how to properly play the game, it’ll be worth it when you see how much money you’re making. After all, there’s little else you can do as a young woman that would make you more money unless you were an entertainer.