[joshstrange]

Not sure if you are implying that by adding tipping you will get the employees to be more personable/pleasant. If you are:

I can assure that is not the case. I would love to know what the secret is to getting people to show an ounce of enthusiasm. A family member has a bakery and getting the front of house to engage with the customer at all is like pulling teeth, and this is an above-minimum-wage job with tips. They aren't on "commission" (it's been tried) but their tips are directly influenced by the ticket price (obviously).

[Hizonner]

Nobody wants to be fucking "engaged with" at your bakery. Give me my order, take my money, and let me fucking go.

[array_key_first]

This isn't really true, most people do want pleasant and welcoming interactions. That doesn't mean jumping through hoops, just little things like saying hi and smiling.

The opposite - silence and stares - is uncanny, and has gotten much more common in the past 10 years. Everyone notices, and it brings down the vibe.

That doesn't mean forcing your workers to do X Y Z. What it means, IMO, is hiring workers who are pleasant. That would require a pay raise though, because you can't be picky at 10 bucks an hour.

[eudamoniac]

The secret is paying them more (sometimes via tips) and firing them easily. This only works if you're very successful, of course. High end restaurants don't have this problem because the number of waiters wanting tips on $500 bills is very high, and the poor performers get the boot immediately.