While in Louisville attending the Midwest Pawnbrokers Convention, a group of pawnbrokers from all over the continent gathered for breakfast and kicked off what they say is a new tradition—a tip drop. The idea, which gained popularity over the past few years, particularly during the holiday season, is that a group of diners pay for their breakfast with a $100 bill and refuse the change, thus leaving behind a large tip.
“We saw a story of a group of people doing this during the holidays and wanted to do the same. We knew that this sort of generosity was a perfect fit for the folks we knew we’d see at the Midwest Pawnbrokers Conference,” says Erika Brooks, who coordinated the event on behalf of The Pawnbroker Network, resulting in a tip of $930 for the unsuspecting server. Once the recipient realized what was going on, she was overheard saying that this was one of the luckiest days of her life, second only to the day she learned she was pregnant with her daughter at age 38.
The group included pawnbrokers from stores across North America—Oxford Pawn Shop and J&S Pawn and Gun from Mississippi, Capital Pawn in Oregon, AmeriPawn in Northern Indiana, VA Premier Pawn in Virginia, Top Dollar Pawn in Maryland, and Premiere Pawn in Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada. The group found it such a fun and gratifying experience that they plan to do it again whenever they travel together for conferences and events!
“Not everyone knows pawnbrokers since many consumers have never been inside of a pawn shop,” Brooks said, “So this is a fun way to get out and let folks see our industry from a completely different perspective.”
The Pawnbroker Network is a Marketing and PR Firm that serves the pawnbroking industry with connections, campaigns, and content. They have offices in Forth Worth, Texas, and Grand Rapids, Michigan, and serve clients from across North America. More information is available at www.pawnbrokernetwork.com.
