Colorado restaurant workers stunned by "Shock and Claus" tips: "It's Amazing!"
When Claudia Lopez arrived for her job as a waitress Thursday at the Stone Creek Cafe in Englewood, she had no idea what she was in for. It was a busier morning than most, as a group of 22 friends took up most of the small restaurant, ordering eggs and hash browns, coffee and juice.
But the group had a secret agenda.
"The idea is to celebrate hard-working people in the community," said one of the organizers, Dudley Morton.
So when the friends were done eating, each of them left a $100 tip, leaving Claudia and the rest of the restaurant workers shocked at the $2100 tip.
"For me it's amazing," said Claudia, who is a mother of three teenagers. She said she might use the windfall to help with Christmas shopping.
Tara Hart, another waitress, said, "I'm amazed. It's going in the book I'm going to write!"
The money was shared with kitchen workers and others in the restaurant.
The event was part of what is known as the "Shock and Claus" breakfast movement, which started in Colorado in 2015 but has been picked up all around the country. Events have taken place in 20 states.
Groups of friends gather in restaurants and leave outsized tips around Christmas, thus the name "Shock and Claus."
"The thought is to aggregate random acts of kindness into an impactful event," said Morton. "I mean... $2,100 to them to share with their families at Christmas time, we all feel fantastic about that."
The Shock and Claus events in Colorado have left tips totaling about $100,000 over the last seven years.
Abdul Aryan, who has owned the Stone Creek Cafe for 38 years, told CBS News Colorado, "They (his employees) all got some money and are very happy, so happy. The day was so good for them."
They weren't alone.
In Wheat Ridge, at the Appleridge Cafe, 50 friends descended on the restaurant for a Shock and Claus breakfast, leaving a tip of $5,000 for the workers to share.
"This is going to be great, I'm going to cry," said one server. The employees said they were "excited and very grateful."
Rusty Perry, one of the organizers of that event, said, "Helping other people out is a lot of fun. Hopefully, it makes some people's holidays, some hard-working waitresses."
Morton said he hopes this week's events inspire others to throw their own Shock and Claus events.
"Inflation has hit people hard, it's harder for people to buy presents for their families," he said. "This is about being good human beings and to spread some goodness and cheer and love at the holidays."
