The tip goes to the wait staff. The bill goes to the chief/ingredients/building upkeep/owner. Tipping won't improve the entire experience, but it can improve the service.
If the service can be improved, but can only be improved by bribing staff to do their job properly, that's a terrible indictment of the hospitality business.
Tips rarely go to only the wait staff. Most restaurants pool their tips (for accounting/tax tracking), and share them with busboys, hostesses, wait staff, line cooks, and even dishwashers. At the restaurant I worked at in the 80's, the management even skimmed some for themselves.