A Texas Roadhouse server has been trying out different hairstyles at work regularly to see which one gets her more tips, and TikTok is entranced.
Theories have been floating around on social media that women in customer service positions that allow for tips generally make more money when wearing pigtails. It’s been a controversial topic, to say the least, in part, because pigtails are often associated with children, yet men are allegedly anecdotally tipping more when grown women wear them—including strippers.
@juliabates7777 decided to wear her hair differently over the course of several weeks and document the results, adding to the conversation.
On day one, she wore a high ponytail. Day two saw Julia in pigtail braids, and she didn’t make it to traditional pigtails until day five.
@juliabates7777 #servertiktok #roadie #texasroadhouse #tips ♬ original sound – Music table
After the first week, she shared an update about how things were going.
“It’s so hard to judge these things because, one, I’m in a different section every day. Two, you get cut at different times every day,” she explains, voicing criticisms that had been made when other TikTokers tried similar tests in the past. “Some days it’s super busy, some days it’s super slow, so it’s hard to completely judge this.”
That having been said, Julia admitted that in the first week, the first day’s high ponytail actually got her the most tips.
@juliabates7777 Replying to @juliabates7777 Results!!! #servertiktok #hairstyle #roadie #texasroadhouse #tips ♬ original sound – juliabates7777
“I am surprised the pig tails weren’t the winner,” one viewer commented, to which Julia replied that the day she wore pigtails, she was actually working the outside tables and wound up getting cut early.
Another five days of new hairstyles and she had a new winner—albeit still not one of her pigtail variations.
@juliabates7777 #servertiktok #roadies #texasroadhouse #tips #hairstyle ♬ original sound – Music table
But while restaurant patrons may be unknowingly voting on Julia’s hairstyles with their money, there’s also an argument to be made that TikTok viewers are doing their own form of voting with views. And in that scenario, it actually is one of the pigtail variations—the one with braids—that’s doing the best, racking up nearly 500,000 views.
Julia previously said she plans to keep trying this out for a few weeks, so maybe pigtails will rake in the cash on a different day. Even if not, it’s certainly worked out all too well for too many other TikTokers at this point to be a fluke.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Julia via Instagram message.
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