2009-12-10
Explanation
This comic is part of Zach Weinersmith's "Social Faux Pas" series. It shows a man sitting at a restaurant dinner table with other people, earnestly telling them about his experience as a restaurant patron: "I was a really good restaurant patron today. I mean REALLY good. Polite? Friendly? Outgoing?" The caption beneath reads: "Social Faux Pas #12: Trying to get a waiter to tip you."
The humor comes from the complete reversal of the normal restaurant dynamic. In real life, waiters provide good service in hopes of receiving a tip from the patron. Here, the joke imagines a patron who was so attentive and well-behaved that he expects the waiter to tip him instead -- as if being a good customer is a service worthy of financial reward. The man's self-congratulatory tone, listing his positive qualities, mirrors how a waiter might describe their own performance when hoping for a good tip.
The votey panel extends the joke, showing the man saying "I accept cash or credit card," further emphasizing the absurdity of a restaurant patron expecting to be compensated for simply being pleasant. It's a sharp commentary on how some people view basic social decency as an extraordinary accomplishment deserving of recognition.