The Hidden Truth of Glasgow Shot Girls
It’s not as glamorous as it looks.
Written by Olivia Meehan
Everybody wants an extra bit of cash, right? Last summer, I did too. I had just quit my mind-numbingly boring retail job when I saw an advertisement on Instagram looking for shot girls in Glasgow. It couldn’t have come at a better time. Desperate for some extra summer cash, I saw this as easy money. What followed was anything but easy to understand. I’m a confident person who thought I would be unbothered by the old-fashioned sexist rhetoric and stigma attached to the job, but I soon realised the issue was much more complex.
Objectification, moral guilt, dodgy owners, creepy chefs, and tax avoidance—hundreds of young girls across the UK walk through the sticky floors of their local pubs and clubs every weekend, arms full of alcohol. Most people wouldn't think twice about the logistics when buying an overpriced shot of Apple Sourz from them. Now, I can’t avoid thinking about it every time I’m on a night out.
I questioned why nobody was telling this story. A few articles had been written, but they were now well past their best-before date. I couldn't understand why, in this post- ‘girl boss,’ post- ‘Me Too’ climate, the story wasn’t being picked up.
My theory? People don’t care about what is going on after they leave the club. The girls are seen as a product—like the salt and lime that comes with your tequila shot or the photobooth in the corner of the bar. While it's true the girls have chosen to take the job, that doesn't mean the ramifications should be ignored.
The average clubgoer assumes these girls are employees of the bar. In reality, they are more than likely working for a third-party ‘shot girl agency.’ The agencies keep things tightly under wraps, usually fronting as ‘entertainment companies’—some are more honest than others.
To build my case, I had to be more specific. I looked locally. As far as my research showed, there are about three major shot girl agencies operating in Glasgow—some are easier to find and dissect than others. My experience alone would not be enough to understand the scope of the situation. Through friends-of-friends, I sought someone with experience as a shot girl in Glasgow.
The answer to my questions came in the form of a bubbly fashion student, only 19 years old, who asked to remain anonymous. She seemed reasonably nervous as she agreed to talk to me in a busy Glasgow coffee shop. She explained that she had recently worked as a shot girl in Glasgow but had quit, mostly due to discomfort with the customers and sketchy behavior by the agency.
She admitted she didn’t fit the typical image of a former shot girl. "The experience was quite daunting," she told me. "They never gave you any, like, tips on how to do it. They kind of just throw you in at the deep end."
We discussed the mental toll of being viewed as an object by customers. She recalled incidents where men would corner her and make crude remarks. “A lot of people forget that you're a human, not an object. That was quite hurtful, because why can’t they respect me?”
It was clear to me—based not just on my experience but also on what I learned from others—that these agencies are not just cutting corners; they are operating in ways that skirt the law. The lack of accountability is shocking.
She explained the sketchy nature of it all: "We got the shots from the bar, so we had to pay them back. We were put in a back room, like a cellar. You had the workers from the bar going in and out. Anyone could have followed you into that room, and nobody would have known."
Her experience echoed what I’d seen firsthand during my time working as a shot girl, and it also aligned with numerous reviews I found online. One review of an agency on Google warned, “Stay clear of this company. They take advantage of young girls and have them work long hours for less than minimum wage, often commission-only.”
When I asked my interviewee about her pay, she laughed nervously. “I wasn’t even sure how it worked,” she said. “I remember selling £200 worth of shots but only getting £100. It was unclear how the payment worked.”
It was clear to me that there are severe illegalities going on within these companies. Why the UK government still allows these businesses, which cut every legal corner, to operate is beyond me.
Agency workers in the UK are still protected by many laws meant to ensure legal payment and safety. I know that people will still blame the girls: "At the end of the day, it's supply and demand." I disagree. We have a duty to protect young women in this country. Why has the alcohol industry been given a free pass? For greedy millionaires to rip off desperate teen girls, grafting at the expense of their dignity?