What??

I was just informed that I cannot be hired as a server at OUTBACK STEAKHOUSE because I have visible tattoos on my forearms.

I have experience in the restaurant industry dating back to 1992, including every front-of-house position for which there is a title. This means I have been a busboy, a host, a server, a food runner, and a bartender. I have worked in customer service (without complaints, and certainly without dismissal) for most of my adult life. I have even risen to the position of bar manager and supervised others in a service environment. 

None of that even came up. My qualifications were not even inquired after, my resume not even glanced at. Once the manager saw that I had tattoos, I was simply told that could not possibly do the job of carrying a Bloomin' Onion from the kitchen to the table. Apparently I would reflect badly on the company.

To my knowledge, this is the first time in the 15 years that I have been tattooed that I have been denied employment due to my tattoos. I have worked for the State of NJ in an office setting and they didn't blink about the tattoos. I worked in the art department of a large city newspaper, as well as the customer service area of a Kinko's computer services center. I worked in two chain restaurants and two privately owned bars, none of which gave my tattoos a second glance. Not to mention the fact that the US Army granted me Top Secret clearance during a background check ten years ago, and earlier this year I was deemed good enough to serve as a Mercer County Sheriff's Officer after yet another background check.

According to all current employment law, this is well within the company's right, and I suppose when I really think about it I can't be all that mad. I believe that people should be able to hire and not hire whomever they please. I just cannot fathom that in this day and age, when 25% of the American population in their 30's has a tattoo, and close to 40% of the people in their 20's do, that this is actually still an issue.

Maybe I'm just not facing reality. Let me know what you all think. Would your waiter/waitress having a tattoo negatively impact your dining experience? Ask others you know as well. I really wonder how much this matters.