It’s not often that a restaurant server at IHOP gets a $1,300 tip — unless the server happens to be waiting on a table occupied by members of the Thousand Dollar Breakfast Club.
The club does exactly as it’s described. It’s led by Richard Brooks, a Westwood resident and attorney at Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks in Braintree. Every few months, members select a restaurant to enjoy breakfast, with each participant contributing $100 toward the tip.
So far, the Thousand Dollar Breakfast Club has visited IHOPs in Framingham, Norwood and Saugus. In December, members plan to visit two more restaurants.
Brooks founded the club about a year ago after his brother told him about a similar group in San Diego.
About the Thousand Dollar Breakfast Club’s founder
Brooks finds it satisfying to make others happy by surprising them with a $100 bill, whether it’s the young man he saw learning the ropes at Starbucks or a woman mopping the floor at Star Market.
“It’s better to give than receive,” is an expression Brooks often heard from his mother.
Brooks, who is one of seven children who grew up on their father’s teacher salary, understands what it feels like to struggle financially. He had to pay for his own apartment, college and law school education while working 60 hours a week as a waiter, running a laundry service, selling magazines and holding a work study job at Boston City Hall.
He also knows how unpredictable a server’s salary is, recalling the biggest tip he got as a waiter.
“The guy didn’t get that much food and he left me $20. That made my whole day,” said Brooks.
Years later, he enjoys having that same impact on people.
Brooks admits to being frugal as a younger man. However, he had a friend who used to like giving money to strangers. When he witnessed one of his friend’s generous acts, he said seeing the reaction of the recipient is what inspired him to also be generous toward strangers.
Brooks recalls the first time he did it. He was at an ice cream stand where a young girl was making a shake and accidentally spilled it. Her boss, who was also her father, got upset with her.
“I handed her a $100 bill and said, ‘This will make your day better,’” said Brooks.
‘Waiting for final inspections’:IHOP set to open Framingham restaurant
She thanked him, saying she now could afford a pair of boots she wanted for school.
“That money would have sat in my pocket doing nothing,” said Brooks. “It changed her entire mood, her day, her weekend. It’s almost selfish. I do it for myself more than the person.
“But if you’re going to Abe and Louie’s for lunch, why not add this to your repertoire of things you do for enjoyment as a fun thing and you’ll know how good it is.”
How the Thousand Dollar Breakfast Club Works
Brooks has focused on breakfast restaurants, like IHOP, because based on his own experience as a server, it’s the shift that generates the lowest tips.
He also likes IHOP — a multinational pancake chain — because it offers large tables with one server. But whichever restaurant is selected, it doesn’t know who club members are or what their plans are.
Brooks said it’s important to keep it a surprise, so that the manager can’t arrange for which server gets the outsized tip.
Roberto Rivas, a server at the IHOP in Norwood, received a $1,600 tip from the Thousand Dollar Breakfast Club.
“He said he was going give the money to his mother to buy a hearing aid,” said Brooks.
Even if service at the Thousand Dollar Breakfast Club’s table is not up to par, Brooks said the server still receives $100 from each diner present.
“You never know why the service is awful,” he explained. “Maybe the server is having a bad day. Maybe they have bad things going on in their life that we can help improve.”
Club grows as publicity increases
The club is flourishing, recently receiving publicity from WCVB-TV and The Washington Post.
Brooks has had no trouble recruiting new members. In fact, many have brought guests and there are now 30 members.
“I told my dentist about it and she wanted to do it,” said Brooks. She came with two guests — a mason who was working on the steps of her building and a friend of his.
Mark Einhorn, of Norwell, a partner at Marcus, Errico, Emmer & Brooks, said he joined the club because he thought it would be so fun to make someone’s day — totally out of the blue.
“It is just pure enjoyment,” he said. “For a brief moment, I think we can do something meaningful in a fun way. I also love seeing all of the other diners as they watch what is happening.”
Like Brooks, Einhorn was also a server while he attended college.
‘Look what I made’:Billerica woman marks the day with an act of generosity
“It’s hard work, and you don’t always wait on people who are appreciative of the job,” Einhorn said. “It would have blown my mind to receive that kind of tip back then. Even now it would.”
Another club member, Janet Meaney of The Barkan Companies, a Newton-based property management company, said giving to servers holds a special place in her heart because her son was a server.
“He would tell me about how some people were stingy and cheap or treated him badly,” she said.
Meaney said she enjoys hearing what servers say they are going to do with the money.
“Every single one of them said they would be sharing it with their families, rather than indulging themselves,” she said. “That made it even more special to me.”
Inspiring others to start Thousand Dollar Breakfast Clubs
“Phenomenal” is how Brooks describes the feeling he and other club members had after the first time they presented a $1,300 tip to a server at the Framingham IHOP. Another server who didn’t have their table said he hoped that when he grew older he could be just as generous.
“He said he watched the whole thing happen and that it was the most beautiful thing he ever saw,” said Brooks. “Experiences like this inspire us to want to do it over and over again.”
Brooks has had people from throughout the country contacting him about how to start similar clubs.
Credit: Source link