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| That Sexy Gatekeeper |
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Published:
New Sunday Times - Clubs |
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Date:
September 9, 2007 |
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KUALA Lumpur's club scene has expanded, offering lounges, dance floors, chill-out rooms, resident
DJs and club music - sometimes in one setting. Seating and standing spaces can sometimes vary to
accommodate from 150 to 300 people in these clubs, so it isn't surprising to note that people will do
and say anything to get in.
"You would not believe what lengths people go to. Some clubbers drop names and connections," says former
Traders F&B director Robert Marek who used to oversee the Skybar.
But they are more likely to wait longer and dropping names will rarely make a difference if there is a
seasoned gatekeeper like Fadzilah Yusof.
Gatekeepers, better known as door bitches by clubbers, are not guest relations officers or hookers.
Underneath their fashionably painted nails they wielded power over the guestlists.
Fadzilah, who is set to work as a door bitch at the soon-to-be opened Heritage Mansion, is pretty
sharp and handy with her clipboard of expected guests.
"Walk-ins usually have to wait," says Fadzilah who is dead ringer for a popular TV host.
But watching Fadzilah at work, people don't mind waiting in line.
Her presence at any club adds to the party atmosphere of the venue as she connects with the music, the guests and the line outside.
"Of course I have encountered some pushy guests. I use my most polite tone and try to make them understand why they have to wait.
"I try to reassure them that I am looking out for them.
"Most of them then understand and some even feel bad that my job is not easy," says Fadzilah who sings jazz at local clubs and attends acting classes.
"It is not an easy job" says former club operator and gatekeeper trainer Joanna Chee.
"Not any girl can be a door bitch. It takes a certain quality and there is a criteria that has to be met," says Chee, once a gatekeeper.
"I never train a girl just because she looks hot in sexy clothes," says Chee.
"They have to speak well and with conviction too.
"They had to be savvy and know how to relate to guests with style and class without making themselves sound or look cheap.
"The girls are part of the club, an extension of the music, the entertainment and the DJs," explains Chee.
That, for Chee, means that the girls - after letting the guests in - have to party as well.
"Which is not easy," says Chee. "A lot of girls can look good, can even party and dance but might not be resourceful or sharp on their feet."
They have to be sharp and think fast simply because all sorts of situations can arise in a club and the door bitch has to handle them with tact and style.
"If three men who are not dressed to club regulations have to be turned away, the door bitch must be able to turn them away with style but make sure that they return the next time properly dressed," says Chee.
The last thing she wants is to pick a fight or be the cause of a fisticuff.
But let's say she comes across someone who does not meet the dress code but has a personality that is going to liven the party, she can cheekily let them in.
It is about discretion and the gatekeeper makes that decision.
But that discretion must be something that has a marketing quality. That comes with wisdom and experience.
There is more to the girl than just these qualities.
"The girls must have a personality, but she must be sure that the personality adds to the charm of the club.
"I mean, if the girl is sexy and icy and the clubbers don't mind it because they know it is all part of the scene, then the girl can continue with her thing.
"But if her icy thing is not working, she will have to drop it and work on something else. We don't want to lose clubbers."
According to Chee, private clubs in the US are already using sexy gatekeepers.
"Over there, it is an established concept and they complement the smooth operations of the clubs," says Chee who has worked in the US.
She says that when she first started training gatekeepers, it was hard to find girls who fit the bill.
Not many girls can put up with the demands of the job and some eventually leave.
Some continue, like Fadzilah, who Chee endorses as one of the best girls she trained.
One girl who refuses to be named says she took the job at first because it sounded glamorous but left after a week. "I just could not handle the pressure. It is not just hard work, but having to smile and deal with difficult clubbers just took its toll and there are the misconceptions that people have about the job."
Chee says it is sometimes confused with other less appealing professions. "It is not about a woman with loose morals. It is simply a term about a girl who decides who get in and who stays out of the clubs. They are not part-time prostitutes, mamasans or whatever misconception people have about them," clarifies Chee.
But do the girls get hit on? "I am sure they do but they have to make sure that while they are at the club they carry themselves with dignity and decorum."
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