I've finally managed to post a multi-page comic after a long while. Normally, I write detailed commentaries, but since creating the comic was quite an effort, I'll keep this brief.

I live in Japan, where there is no customary practice of tipping, so hearing about the rising tipping rates in North America always strikes me as odd. Particularly in European countries, tips are more like a 'gift' given in gratitude for service, such as to a waiter. However, in the United States, tipping functions almost like a mandatory fee, and without it, it seems you can hardly receive proper service, which is hard for me to imagine.

But there's always a reason behind every phenomenon. This might be preaching to the choir for American readers, but upon researching, I found out that in the US, the minimum wage for tipped workers is set much lower compared to other jobs, and workers actually rely heavily on tips for their income. Of course, this is at the federal level, and state laws can raise the minimum wage for tipped workers, but in states without such laws, workers seem compelled to solicit tips from customers.

This situation hasn't changed over the years, but recent inflation and other factors have led to an increase in the customary tip rates from 10% or 15% to 20% or even 30%. With the actual prices of services also rising, the increase in tipping rates can be quite burdensome for customers. I worry that this could lead to a tense atmosphere between employees and customers during shopping or dining.

As I am not a US citizen, I do not intend to interfere with US laws or customs, but personally, I feel that slightly raising the minimum wage and having employers pay a decent wage, thereby reducing the expected tipping rate, might stabilize the relationship between employees and customers.

P.S. Practicing illustrations in the style of Akira Toriyama was a bit challenging. R.I.P. Toriyama Sensei!!!

Edit: Added P.S.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/touhou/comments/1cvr3g9/comment/l4r0ghn/