Anecdata but now seems relevant after reading this. And this is from 2013/2014. I visited SV on business trips and was boarding in downtown San Jose for a week or two on each trip.

I was always surprised that the waiting staff would actually stand with me and engage in conversation while I queued up to be seated. Travelling from the U.K. I had never experienced this level of "niceness ?"

Later I was educated that they are basically only earning anything meaningful from the tips. The wages were puny and they were increasing their chances of getting relevant tips by being so nice.

Things have gotten worse I believe.