Have you ever run a restaurant? By what crazy math is staffing only 1% of the cost of running one? (Keeping in mind that tips aren't just going to the your main waiter, they're also distributed among busboys and other customer-interacting staff.)
He didn't say that the waiting staff is 1% of the cost. He said that being waited on is only ~1% of the value the customer is receiving, since the waiting experience is much less important to the consumer than the food quality, convenience, or venue.