[ad_1]
Dr. James Taylor (left) with restaurant owner Scott Choi after Taylor performed his act of charity of leaving an extra $100 after paying his bill. Taylor does this to help others enjoy a nice meal, or to help the server or someone else with financial challenges.
Courtesy
Looking for a free meal? Just tell ‘em the magic words: “Dr. Taylor sent me.”
James Taylor, a chiropractor who lives and offices in North Richland Hills, is more than your average big tipper. Each Friday he chooses a different restaurant at which he eats lunch, and when he’s finished with his meal, he not only leaves his own tip, but also a little something extra.
In fact, he leaves a lot extra. Taylor leaves $100 in cash. It can be used for anyone else who wants to come to that restaurant and eat if they say the aforementioned magic words.
However, if the server is in a tough spot in life and needs the money, he’s fine with that as well. Or, if the server knows someone else with whom the money could make a difference, that’s an option. However, it’s used, the idea is to make an impact on someone’s life.
Taylor said he got the idea from his business coach.
“He is very big on creating relationships and, kind of a guerrilla of underground marketing and a huge proponent of the law of reciprocity,” Taylor said, following with a quote from motivational speaker Dhar Mann. “’The good you put out in the world will surely come back to you.’ The way the world is looking lately, a little more good out there would certainly not be a bad thing.”
Taylor started his good will project in the summer of 2023. His first stop was his wife Tamika’s favorite “office-away-from-her-office,” in Colleyville, which is now closed.
“After there, I started off with a lot of the places I would regularly eat anyway,” he said.
The amount he leaves has been $100 since the beginning.
Taylor likes to include numerous restaurants and communities. The reaction is always the same, especially in places where he does it for the first time.
“I’ve only doubled up on a couple of places, so every time I do this, the server, the bartender, the host, they’re typically experiencing it for the first time, and 99 times out of 100, they’re always as surprised as they are confused,” he said.
Joe Crenshaw of Lewisville got a free meal after seeing a Taylor’s post on social media.
“One day my children and I were actually the ones who received a free meal at the restaurant that he posted about, and my children were so grateful, and it was a memorable experience for them,” Crenshaw said. “They even asked me to send an audio recording to him letting him know how thankful they were and how much fun we had.”
To make people with the restaurant trust him, Taylor takes a photo, which he then posts on social media.
“I have the post ready to go before I even leave the restaurant. That way I can show the server,” he said. “This isn’t a joke. This isn’t some scam or you’re not getting punk’d or anything like that. This is a real random dude leaving you a $100 tab and I hope you either A) give it to somebody who needs it or B) if you need it, keep it for yourself.”
Choosing the restaurant
At first Taylor would drive around looking for restaurants. Then, he joined neighborhood and food groups on social media to get recommendations.
He makes a post on Thursday, something like, “Hey, I’m gonna go out and grab a bite to eat. Give me your best recommendations.” Then people do exactly that, with him often getting up to 50 suggestions.
“I think that in and of itself it is great marketing for these restaurants,” he said. “And then, when Friday comes, and I get done at the office, it’s just like, ‘Well, what am I hungry for?’ I’ll kind of go back to these lists of these recommendations and just pick a restaurant.”
On Fridays, he sees patients until noon. Then, he does a YouTube live recording at 12:30 called “Dr. Taylor Sent Me” where he sometimes drops a hint on where he’s going — and then he goes to lunch.
Taylor said he does this most because it’s fun, especially the look on the servers’ faces.
“It’s fun to see the people that get the $100 go and use it, and they tag me in it,” he said. “Shoot, I’m going to spend money going out to eat anyway. Why not just pay it forward, quite literally?
“I’d like to think that it gets attention to these local restaurants. Its people helping people.”
Also, Taylor used to work in the restaurant industry.
“I feel people should have to be a server for at least a year out of their life — almost like compulsory military service,” he said. “I think that would make everybody understand that their ranch dressing isn’t really that important.”
Publicity for restaurants
Lauren Lindsey, a resident of Hurst and employee of the Taylors, said this is one of the many ways Taylor helps fellow small businesses.
“It allows the public to hear about a restaurant they may not have experienced before, with a hint of a fun twist,” she said.
Taylor’s wife Tamika is the founder of Evolution Collective in North Richland Hills, where he says she is “Helping people become better adults.”
They have two children, Frankie Clare Taylor, a third-grader, and Calvin Michael, a first-grader. They are big fans of what their parents are putting on the internet.
“Initially, when they were younger, they would just think that we’re on TV. They’ve started to ask, ‘Daddy, how many views did you get? Mommy, how many likes did you get? How many hearts did you get on the videos that we make?’
“I feel I’m setting a wonderful example for my kids. Both myself and my wife. As far as setting a wonderful example for others, I’m sure, I mean I hope so.”
Taylor said, however, his goal is to simply put good in the world.
“Hell, it might even be a bit of a selfish because why am I putting good into the world? I’m putting good in the world so it will come back to me,” he said. “But if this is going to influence others to do the same thing, I am absolutely 100% here for it.”
[ad_2]
Rick Mauch
Source link