Sexuality sells. Call it charm, flirtatiousness, romanticism, but in a variety of different industries the age-old adage is true. Heck, Helen of Troy was so slammin’ that Achilles and countless others got themselves merked in a war that was set off because of her beauty.
Food service industry workers, particularly servers, know that this is the case and use this knowledge of human nature to secure themselves larger gratuities while on the job. Expression of sexuality can manifest itself in a variety of different ways, like when one server wore her hair in pigtails and secured higher tips as a result.
On average, women in the service industry earn larger tips than men. One TikTok user who works as a server decided wanted to test out another weapon in the battle for increased gratuities: pheromone perfume.
TikToker and food server Alexa Johnson, who goes by username alexxajohnson, uploaded a viral video that’s garnered more than 455,000 views since it was posted on Aug. 6. In the video, Johnson says she will document the effects of applying pheromone perfume to her body before a shift, and promises to report if there is a noticeable uptick in the amount of money she receives in tips while she works.
@alexxajohnsonn #pureinstinct #pureinstinctpheromone what do we think??? #waitressing #work #seasonalwork #travel @Pure Instinct ♬ original sound – alexa johnson
She begins her video in what appears to be the kitchen of the restaurant she works in. A text overlay in the video reads: “How much I make waitressing with pheromone perfume.”
Johnson says in the video while holding up her secret sauce to the camera: “This is how much I make per check, but, I’m gonna put on pheromone perfume by Pure Instinct and see how much I make.” She then proceeds to rub some on her wrists and neck. “I’m not 100% sure what pheromones are but it’s in the perfume and we’re using it,” she clarifies.
The National Library of Medicine defines the chemical as such: “Pheromones are substances which are secreted to the outside by an individual and received by a second individual of the same species in which they release a specific reaction.”
The center goes on to state that while there are numerous examples in the animal kingdom that demonstrate how members of the same species can perceive, recognize, and react to pheromones, the effect and reception human beings have to them is “uncertain.”
At the end of Johnson’s clip, she records the results of wearing the Pure Instinct pheromone perfume. Johnson says she kept track of everything on her shift. “So let’s see if my pheromones being released with the perfume made any difference,” she says. According to her calculations, Johnson’s tables all tipped her 20% or greater.
And as it turns out, Johnson wasn’t the only one who thought to use pheromone perfume to boost their tips. One user said that they use it and it’s worked wonders for them: “the pheromones perfume is worth gate keeping, i’ve made so much more money with it.”
Another said that there is a potential downfall to using it, however, as it will have an Axe body spray effect on women, who may attract unwanted male attention as a result: “also tho it’s good to know that guys will approach you more when you wear it! stay safe with it girly<3.”
Scientifically speaking, the experiment Johnson conducted would work better with a control. Therefore, it would probably be better for Johnson to not wear the perfume working a shift at the same time during the same day of the week. Then she can compare her tip percentages.
“We’d need to have some info about what you make without the perfume to know if it’s better dude,” another user recommended.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Johnson via Instagram DM for further comment.
